Apr 20- Ho Chi Min, Vietnam

Today Jessie and I enlisted in the ‘Do It Yourself City Tour’ run through the ship.  The tour was just basically transportation for the 2 ½ hr drive to Ho Chi Min city (also known as Saigon), then we made our way around sightseeing at our own pace. 

During the drive to the city, we were on a bus and there was a young family behind Jessie and I.  The mother was talking to her son, who was about 6 years old.  He was very smart, but extremely talkative.  For the entire 2 ½ hours, he talked.  He wanted to know how cement was made, if he could have a pet alligator, why the days of the week had their certain names… the list goes on.  Throughout this I was bordering insanity… Jessie and I discussed whether mothers have an innate ability to tolerate their own children or perhaps I just shouldn’t have kids.  I would NEVER have the patience to answer one question after another EVERY minute of the day… it would not happen!

Anyways, once we arrived in Ho Chi Min city, it was time to go off exploring.  Jessie and I went along various streets stopping into shops along the way.  Jessie bought a new set of calligraphy brushes and ink (that I successfully bartered for).  Eventually we came to the market where we were bombarded with sellers wanting us to buy. 

The day was extremely hot, measuring 33degrees and very humid.  The market was swarming with people and air-conditioning was nowhere to be found.  It didn’t take long for me to announce that I’d be ready to leave whenever Jessie had had enough.  We ended up shopping for a little bit more (I bought a very nice candle holder) and then decided to break for lunch.

We were warned about food safety in Vietnam, so we decided to try a recommended restaurant chain called Pho24.  Jessie and I were very impressed by the food:  fresh spring rolls and delicious beef pho.  Soon after, we decided to keep on trekking. 

Eventually we arrived at the Vietnamese war memorial museum.  This was highly recommended by people who’ve been to Ho Chi Min before so Jessie and I decided it was a must on our things to do.   Now, I’ve never really taken a strong interest in history and can admit that I don’t know very much about the Vietnam war, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when we went into the museum. 

The first floor was very tame.  There was an area where local school children draw pictures of peace and unification which was very nice.  I really wasn’t ready for what was to come on the 2^nd and 3^rd floor.  The images, descriptions and photographs of the brutality inflicted in the war were so intense that I couldn’t go through the whole exhibit.  There were graphic pictures of children being cut up, people being tortured and abused… it was too much. 

Next we learned about the chemical warfare, including phosphorous gas and Agent Orange.  This just disgusted me.  To see that generations of these people have been hugely affected by the toxins that have infected all of their resources is devastating.  There were photographs of numerous deformed babies and adults all reportedly due to the chemical warfare.   It made me sick.

Jessie and I discussed the rational for having such a museum open for public education.  Personally, I did not enjoy my time touring the museum, and overall it made me quite depressed and disgusted with mankind.  I do see that education is a great tool and that people need to understand the past but perhaps I’m just a little too comfortable in my happy bubble. 

Looking back on the day now, I guess it’s never a bad thing to learn about the realities in life, it just forces us to grow out of the childish mindset that the world is a decent place and accept the fact that there’s pain and suffering everywhere, even if we’re not in the middle of it. 

Touring the museum didn’t leave that much extra time in our day.  Jessie and I took a quick walk back to the bus and were able to snap a few pictures of the Notre Dame Cathedral which was beautiful.  Due to the depressing museum, my mood was a bit of a downer, but it was soon uplifted when the little boy on the bus behind me continued with his array of random questions to his father.  I spent the rest of the ride listening to this patient man answering question after question of this little boy.   By the time we returned to the ship, I was pleasantly charmed by the simplicities and innocence of young minds. 

Apr 18- Pattaya, Thailand

Wednesday was a great day for Jessie and I.  The ship was docked in Thailand and most of the passengers were heading to Bangkok for the day.  The ride to Bangkok would be about 2 ½ hours depending on traffic.  The idea of sitting on a bus for 5 hours didn’t exactly appeal to us and since we’d already been there for 5 days, it wasn’t necessary. 

Instead of taking a tour into Bangkok, Jessie and I decided to hop onto a complimentary shuttle and go to the city of Pattaya for the day.  This was only about a 25 minute journey and was an opportunity to stretch our legs after being on the ship for 3 (wonderful and relaxing) days. 

Upon the shuttle, we were given a map and a guide told us that today was a very special day for the Thai people.  We learned that today was their New Years day and they celebrate by throwing and spraying water throughout the streets.  We were warned that we’d get very wet.  Jessie and I were both very excited about this because we had been told about it during our time traveling previously in Thailand, and we’d been sad that we would miss it…. What a lucky day!  Many of the old senior citizens sitting around us were anything but happy about this special day. 

When we arrived in Pattaya, Jessie and I quickly mailed some letters that we’d neglected to do for about a month and then set off exploring.  As soon as we got down to the main road we experienced our first taste of Thai New Year.  People were standing around with buckets of water and water guns, spraying everything within reach.  Jessie and I welcomed the shower because it was unbearably hot out and this served as a nice refreshment. 

We think that the water symbolizes a type of cleansing and starts the New Year off fresh for the people of Thailand.  It’s a great idea especially considering the climate.  And it seems like it really brings a sense of unity and cohesiveness to the citizens, while they’re all out drenching each other. 

Throughout the afternoon we did a bit of shopping and bought a few final souviners, as this would be our last time in Thailand.  We also had a fantastic new experience: Fish Spa!  Jessie and I found a little spa that consisted of several tanks filled with fish.  For less than $5, we were able to sit for 25 minutes and let the fish nibble away at all of the dead skin on our feet and toes.  I’m sure this sounds a little ridiculous but these spas have been all over Asia and we’ve wanted to try them, so this seemed to be a great opportunity to do so. 

I had heard that it can be quite ticklish but I had no idea how unbearable it was until I tried it.  Imagine 200 fish sucking on every inch of flesh on your feet… it tickles beyond belief!  Jessie and I both sat in our tanks squirming and giggling uncontrollably until eventually I had to take my feet out… I couldn’t handle it. 

The owner was very nice and tried to convince me to put my feet back in but it just wasn’t a feeling I was too fond of.  Jessie toughed it out and kept hers in for almost the whole length of time.  All in all, I was glad that I finally experienced the fish spa but it’s not something I’ll be craving to do again. 

A little while later we took the shuttle back to the ship, where we attended a Thai traditional performance.  The show was spectacular and combined dancing with traditional music to illustrate Thailand’s history and culture.  The performers did a great job and Jessie and I were thoroughly entertained. At the very end of the show, the dancers rounded up some of the audience to join them on the stage and try out some traditional thai moves. Jessie and I were called upon and we had fun as our guide on stage tried to make us replicate more and more difficult moves.   

April 15— Boarding the Diamond Princess

Today was the day that Jessie and I would end our land travels and begin our sea travels on our luxury 5 star cruise ship The Diamond Princess.  This was fairly bitter sweet for me because although I was excited to get on the ship, it meant that a large portion of our travels were already over.  I had spent so much time planning and getting excited for this trip (over an entire year), and now it’s going by so fast. 

The upgrade to cruise ship living wasn’t something I was dreading at all.  Over the past two months, Jessie and I have had our share of budget hotel/hostel rooms with cockroaches, ants, bugs, bad odours, and uncleanliness, so I was really looking forward to a bit of upscale living.  I was also really excited for the food on the ship.  We’ve stuck to a fairly strict budget over the past 2 months which usually meant we were eating at some of the cheapest places we could find.  Now, these places weren’t bad, but they definitely weren’t as good as a 5-course meal in a fancy dining room looking out at the ocean. 

Our cruise didn’t start boarding passengers until 1pm, but Jessie and I decided to aim to be there a bit earlier, at 12:15.  This was a really good idea because the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre was already quite full when we arrived.  It turns out that they do take passengers before 1pm.  Jessie and I made our way in to the check in procedures quite easily.  All around us, there were old, white people grumbling about how long the wait was, but I thought that the crew did quite a good job and kept people moving at a very reasonable pace.  Jessie and I were fully checked in and arrived by shuttle to our ship within one hour.  This is definitely faster than other cruises I’ve been on. 

Yay! We arrived!!  Walking onto the ship was a monumental experience… no more cockroaches and smelly rooms!  Everyone greeted us warmly and we made our way to our stateroom: C225.  We’re near the front of the ship, on the 10^th floor.  I’ve learned that it’s best to be in the middle of the ship when rough seas arise, but so far, so good. 

Our stateroom was definitely snug, but quite charming.  Jessie and I both had separate beds separated by two night stands.  The room was furnished with many mirrors to give it a more spacious appearance.  We were able to unpack and store our suitcases under our beds which was so nice… not living out of suitcases was a luxury we haven’t had in 2 months. 

As soon as we arrived in our room, we perused the room service menu.  Of course, we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and so we were ready to gorge ourselves.  Within a short time, we were dining on chicken ceaser salad, cheeseburgers and nachos followed by crème brulè. 

Jessie and I took turns unpacking and showering and soon we made our stateroom into the home it would be for the next 35 days. 

A short while later, we had our mandatory emergency drill, which was quite well organized.  It was fun watching all of the old people because they behave like such children; always doing things the crew tells them not to… like blowing the whistles on their life jackets.  I realized that I could not do this job and handle the passengers on cruise ships… I’d kill them. 

Jessie and I took time to explore the ship after our drill.  It’s a beautiful vessel filled with many things to do.  Due to the fact that there are quite a few sea days on board, the crew fill up every day with various activities to keep the passengers entertained.  There are 6 pools and 8 hot tubs on board.  There’s also golf and virtual golf, a movie theater, a nightclub, casino, shops, stage theater and numerous bars and cafes. 

At around 8:15 that night, Jessie and I went for our first dinner on the ship.  Throughout the past 8 weeks, whenever we ate something bad, we would comfort ourselves by the fact that the cruise food would be outstanding.  It’s fair to say that we had high expectations for this meal.  It’s also fair to say that those expectations were strongly met. 

My first meal consisted of a crab meat salad, pina colada soup and slow roasted beef tenderloin served with a baked potato, corn on the cob and green beans…. AMAZING!!  If that couldn’t get any better for dessert I had a chocolate mousse torte with berry coulis.   Jessie and I were both throrougly impressed by the meal and knew that we’d have to pace ourselves over the next month if we wanted our clothes to still fit by the end of it.

April 12—Birthday Spa Day

Our time in Kuta was very nice.  I spent quite a few days recovering from my “Bali Belly” which meant a lot of time spent in bed and laying around the pool.  It was a nice change in pace because Jessie and I had been fairly tour crazy before that.

One day, we went to Kuta beach and played in the waves.  The water is much rougher than other places we had been to so there were many surfers and surf schools.  Jessie and I decided just to relive our youth and spend the afternoon splashing around in the waves.  It was great fun and we met quite a few nice Indonesian guys (they were quite intent on taking photos with us…odd because there are so many foreigners in Bali). 

Thursday was a special day for Jessie and I.  It was our last day in Bali and it was a day that I had planned last year as an early birthday present for Jessie.  I had booked us into the Bali Green Spa for the Total Body Cleansing package which included an aromatic massage, body scurb, body polish, foot wash and massage, herbal creambath, a rejuvenating facial and a flower petal bath.  This was followed by sweet ginger tea and chocolate cake…. Ahh!

Jessie and I had our own private garden gazebo (very romantic) where we received all of our treatments together.  It was beautifully decorated with waterfalls, birds chirping and a subtle breeze blowing in through the sides of the gazebo.  Both of our masseurs were amazing and did such a great job.  The massage was the best that I received in Asia and I loved the creambath; it made my hair so soft and was so relaxing. 

In total, we were at the spa for just over 4 hours.  It was the best spa experience I have ever had and was one of the nicest things Jessie and I have done together (apart from being totally honeymoonish).  We were taken back to our hotel completely stress free and very rejuvenated.  I wish this spa existed in Canada. 

April 8- Bali Belly

On April 8, Jessie and I had our second day of private touring.  Unfortunately, Nyoman Gede wasn’t able to guide us, so he sent his cousin Komang instead.  He was very nice and soon we were driving along and looking at the beauty of Bali. 

Earlier that morning, I had noticed my stomach was feeling a bit off, but I had been looking forward to this touring for so long, I decided to just let it go and hope it resolved itself over the course of the day.

Komang began our trip at around 10am and our first stop was to a local art gallery that sold beautiful paintings.  There were artists there who were making the paintings and looking at them was amazing.  Their attention to detail and the intricacies of the work was just outstanding.  Jessie and I were both amazed at the beauty of the work.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to afford any of it, but looking was nice.

After the wood carvings we were on our way to see one of Bali’s beautiful lake temples.  Bali has 4 main lakes and wherever there is a lake, there must be a temple.  The drive to get there took about three hours…. Three LONG hours.  During that time, I realized that my stomach pain wasn’t getting any better; in fact it was getting much worse. 

In my mind, I had decided to get Komang to drop me back off at our homestay and then continue with the tour.  When I learned that the temple was 3 hours away, I realized that this was not possible.  Eventually I told Komang that I must have a touch of food poisioning or something and he was very sympathetic and tried to accommodate me.    

By the time we arrived at the temple, I was in quite a miserable state.  I felt horrible because Jessie and I had been excited about this for such a long time and now I couldn’t muster up enough energy to smile for photos or look amused.  We walked around a bit and the scenery was beautiful.  Eventually I sat down on a bench and told Jessie and Komang to walk around.  While I was sitting in my zone of discomfort, of course a bunch of Koreans come up beside me and start sitting with me and taking pictures.  I was not impressed.

Eventually I met back up with Jessie and Komang and broke the news that I think I’d have to go back to the homestay.  They both understood but I felt terrible about having to end our tour after seeing only 2 sights (it’s supposed to be a 10 day tour). 

The 3 hour drive back was very uncomfortable.  All the while I was going through my head thinking what I could have eaten that made me so sick… I wasn’t sure.  Eventually we made it back to the homestay and I spent the rest of the day and all that night in bed.  This is one of the downsides to travelling in a foreign country. 

The next day we were supposed to have another 10 hour tour, but I cancelled that because I still felt quite unwell.  It was our last day in Ubud, so Jessie and I hired a taxi to take us to our next destination in Bali, which was the town of Kuta.  We were staying in the Bali Kuta Resort, which was such an upgrade from Nick’s Homestay.  Our room was clean, airconditioned and modern.  The only thing we found out later was that there weren’t any lights in the room… Just a lamp with a subtle golden glow.  This made reading impossible.   I went down to the front desk to complain, and they looked at me like I was slightly crazy for thinking that a light is a necessity…. There are some things in Asia that I just don’t understand. 

Apr 7—Touring Bali with Nyoman Gede

In my extensive research prior to coming to Bali, I went online and found an excellent tour guide.  His name was Nyoman Gede and all of his customers left fantastic feedback for his touring services.  I was pretty excited to see all that Bali had to offer, so Jessie and I booked him for 3 days. 

His prices are very reasonable, as he only charges $50 a day (which lasts for 10 hours!) and that includes all gas, parking and guide.  Jessie and I knew that we’d be seeing a lot.

On Saturday we got up, had breakfast and were soon picked up by Gede.  He was very professional and sat down with us and made a tailored itinerary based on what we wanted to see and do.  Unfortunately, we found out that Gede had a family wedding for the following two days, so instead he told us that he would send his cousin Komang, who was also supposed to be fantastic.

Gede started our tour by taking us to a theatrical performance, “Barong and Keris Dance”.  The theater was packed by the time we got there, so we got seats off to the side of the stage.  The performance was very interesting.  Despite the fact that the actors were talking in Indonesian, we learned some of the history behind the Hindu beliefs. The play was a rendition of a story from the Ramayana.   We later talked to our guide about the things we saw and learned that many of the stories are based on the ever present balance of good vs evil.  The costumes were quite impressive; very colourful and intricate.  It was a very neat experience. 

Ubud, the area we are staying in, is known for its creativity, and is divided into many villages that produce different types of art. Art becomes a family tradition as sons and daughters take up their parents’ work. There are villages for painting, stone carving, batik and weaving, metal-working, wood-working, and more. We were able to visit a couple of these villages and enjoy the beautiful craftsmanship.

After the show Gede took us to a Baktic factory.  We had expressed our interest in art and so he tried his best to take us to as many art places as possible.  Baktic is a traditional Balinese artform where they weave material and then place layers of wax on it in beautiful designs.  The material is then dipped in dye and the areas without wax become coloured.  This process repeats several times until the material is covered with a beautiful design.  Finally it is washed and the wax is removed through melting.  The end result is a beautiful work of art that can be clothing, blankets or even a framed masterpiece. Because the gallery was part of a formal batik factory, we could only afford to look at the finished products which were beautiful.

Later, we went to a beautiful building in the silver-smithing village. The archetechture alone was memorable and worth a visit. When we were there, we were able to see the process for making jewelry. After visiting the workshop, we saw the showroom, filled with some of the most incredible silverwork I have ever seen. They had pearls the size of gumballs, and necklaces that were so big and intricate that they weighed a few pounds.

After this, we visited Batuan Temple, which dates back to the late 10^th century. Though a major tourist destination, it is still used as the community’s temple today. There have been a few restorations and renovations, but most of the temple is original. We had to borrow batik coverings for our legs so that we could be modestly dressed to walk inside the religious site. Inside, Gede told us the basics about the Hindu faith, and explained how essential the temple is to every Balinese community.

After a relaxing lunch break, we drove for some time to arrive at a breathtaking view of the semi-active volcano, Mt Batur, and the corresponding Batur Lake. The last eruption of the volcano was in 1917, and sadly wiped out a village in the lava’s path. The scarring black crust left over is still plainly visible… but now contributing to healthy nutrients in farmer’s soil. The mountain is in the middle of a huge crater (from which we were viewing it). This crater is the top of the original volcano from very long ago. Next to the mountain is a lovely lake and there were scenic clouds misting over the edges of distant peaks. It was an incredible site for some good picture-taking.  

 After this, we visited Gunung Kawi, Bali – the most scenic temple we have yet encountered. Deep in a valley filled with rice paddies, rivers and jungle foliage stands a temple that dates back to the ninth century. Carved straight out of the bedrock, several monuments to royalty and Deity still stand, imposing and impressive. I was surprised to find it was not only a historic tourist destination, but still used today by the locals as a place of worship. By far, the most beautiful balance of natural and cultural beauty I have seen on this trip.

After this, it was beginning to get late, so we went for a quick visit to the Coffee and Spices Plantation, where we were introduced to Coffee Luwak. Coffee Luwak is one of the world’s most expensive coffees. Undeniably, the process to make it explains the high price. First, they gather coffee berries and feed them to an animal called a civet (which sort of looks like a weasel and an otter). The civet picks only the best berries. After these are digested, the civit poops out coffee gold. These coffee beans are cleaned and roasted, and make some of the best coffee in the world. We had a chance to sample a small cup for $5.00, but we wanted to sleep that night, so turned down the offer. However, the plantation gave us many other delicious samples to try (free this time, as they are much easier and cheaper to make). It was a nice way to end the evening.

After this, we reached the end of our tour and were driven back to our homestay. We had a nice dinner before falling into bed, to get ready for our next adventure!