May 2008

Ok so it has been a little while since we added an entry so here goes. We made it to the Saigon airport after some discussion over the price of the taxi and the exchange of an additional $2 AUD coin for services rendered. We were pleasantly surprised to be allowed entry into the Cathay Pacific 'orchid lounge' thanks to Emily's ever increasing ranking in the Qantas club (now gold). So in the hour and a half available we ate and drank as much as possible! Our destination was Hong Kong, but of course this was only a short flight we also got lucky with the plane, it was less than a week old (would have loved it for the flight to Japan).

3 hours later we landed in Hong Kong airport, the new one on the manmade island. This place was fantastically organised and was a precursor to a really tourist friendly city. Within the hour we had collected our bags, passed customs, caught the train into Kowloon and caught the free shuttle bus to a block from our hotel room.

We dumped our bags in our compact but clean room and headed out into the streets, towards the walk of stars by the harbour, stopping along the way at numerous shopping centres (just looking). Down by the harbour we had a fantastic view of the lights of the city and caught the somewhat cheesy light show where all the buildings shot lasers and lights in the air to an odd little musical ditty. It is here we found a cafe and some English broadsheets and spent an hour or two catching up with what had been going on in the world.

The Olympics countdown was really on here, posters, 50m high neon light billboards and Olympic rings were everywhere. On your way back up Nathan road we passed some lantern like Olympic mascots, the funniest of which was a panda with a handgun, as pictured below.

Armed with our walking tour maps we set out the next morning to see some of the sights in Kowloon, Hong Kong Island and then headed up to the peak on the tram. We did a walking tour and visited practically every market Hong Kong had to offer; Ladies Market, Electronics Market, Bird and Flower Markets oh and of course the gold fish markets. Yes, we walked through streets full of shops selling gold fish - I suppose for many apartment dwelling Hong Kong Chinese that's the only type of pet they can own.

The trek up to the peak was well worth it. The views were amazing and the fact that we made it up there was a feat in itself - the tram at one point felt like we we're going up the peak vertically, it was so steep! Back in colonial days wealthy English aristocrats use to be carried up the peak on the backs of peasants, hmmm talk about putting your life in others hands.

The next day we packed our bags checked out of our rooms and headed to Helsinki - time for Emily to show Jez her one time second home. We arrived in Helsinki at 3pm (the 10 hr flight was a killer and I was slightly scarred by seeing a fellow passenger covered completely by a blanket for 10 hrs - she looked like an upright corpse - and at one time I thought a priest should be called to perform the last rites) anyway on arrival we were greeted by Timo, it was great to see a familiar face again. The sun was out and we had a lovely afternoon tea with Timo and Eija - oh and Esko (the cat). We were exhausted so we had a sauna and went to bed. The next day we went sightseeing with Timo, a grand tour of the city and its history (helped by Timo's past as a town planner!) before heading to Heli and Thoumas' for pizza and to check out their new yacht.

The next day we bussed into the city and then ambled along the tree lined Esplanade, checking out the Finnish designer goods and passing the local family of beggars (not the most appealing country to beg in winter I would think). Quite a new phenomenon in Finland and it seemed like where ever we went we saw the same family, just different members panhandling (of course these were not Fins but our first encounter with gypsies).

We had some lunch and went to check out the Helsinki City Museum. The city has seen a surprising amount of war and has changed hands between the Swedes (yes they were once very powerful) and the Russians. The Finns are now very proud of their country and independence and we happened to be there for two flag days on which flag poles across the country fly the Finnish white and blue flag. After the day out we headed to Antti’s for coffee and to check out the new Sauna (everyone needs this in Helsinki). It was soon about 10pm and the sun was still out, Emily and I were just starting to wake up and the locals were getting a little tired I think.

The next morning we were up and headed into the city for our last day and headed straight to Suomenlinna - a military sea fortress which is only a short ferry ride from Helsinki and I think another UNESCO recognised cultural sight. It was quite windy but the scenery was worth it. We meandered around the island and decided to hit the mainland again to get some lunch before heading back to pack.

When we arrived home Timo arrived soon after and was soon ready to take me for a swim at the local pool. At this stage I was desperate for a little bit of exercise that didn’t involve walking and had asked Timo if there was a pool nearby. As the ever gracious host Timo took me to his local pool to do a few laps while Emily set about packing for Berlin (read: relaxing reading a book). Now the Finnish know how to set up a pool! You enter directly into the locker rooms where your access card (to get in to the rooms) allows you to lock a locker and the key to the locker has a rubber ring around it so you can put it on your ankle. Now unlike Australia everyone has a shower before entering the pool. The pool itself was about ten lanes with a bulk head in the middle of half for those who wanted a 25 meter pool rather than a 50. I opted for the 50. Now as with car traffic on the roads the directions of pool lanes is backwards here. Despite being told before I got in I still managed to swim on the wrong side a few times, luckily not hitting anyone.

After I had finished the session of dodging the slow swimmers doing breast stroke (there were no fast or slow lanes) I went over to the pool Timo was relaxing in (after he had also done some laps). This pool was a therapeutic pool. It had big water pipes that shot water out like a waterfall giving you a great massage, underwater jets on the floor that gave the feet a massage and some others I didn’t try. Feeling really relaxed after this pool I headed into the change rooms for a dip in the “cold hole”. Sound nasty but is basically a small round pool about six feet deep with a ladder into it. The water is about 8 degrees and knocks the wind out of you, but is great for muscle recovery. After that we hit the steam room and then the hot Sauna before showing and heading home. Afterwards I hardly felt like I had done any exercise, I was so relaxed and ready to take on Berlin after the flight the next morning.

Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow to follow soon...

Our last blog entry from Vietnam is typed with a heavy heart as both Jez and I thoroughly enjoyed our time here, however, looking at our diwindled supply of hand santizer and travel wet ones its probably time to go

Last night we headed to the Sheraton for HH and to enjoy their stunning views from the 23rd floor - in a way it was our farewell to Vietnam. We had a lovely traditional vietnamese dinner with rice paper rolls and beef noodle soup. It feels like one leg of our journey has ended and our attention is now focused on Europe where the full on budgeting and backpacking begins!We depart for Hong Kong in the next hour or so and spend two nights in Kowloon before heading to Europe. I've just googled the weather for Helsinki and its a chilly 6 degrees so I think we'll be experiencing Canberra weather ourselves sooner than we originally thought.

More photos of Vietnam will be up soon...........................................

Jez and I kept our word and managed to survive Hoi An without getting anything made - however, we discovered if you weren't buying stuff, Hoi An is a pretty boring place and we had a couple of days to kill! It was very touristy but had some great restaurants so we spent our time taste testing the local cuisine - Jez got addicted to Cau Luc, a broth, noodle and beef dish and is now suffering withdrawal symptons I liked the wontons and the 4 - 9 Happy Hours that were great for our budget. We also discovered a great french inspired bakery house and often avoided the midday sun by spending our afternoons eating chocolate cakes and drinking latte's. Nonetheless, we were happy to leave Hoi An and embark on our final leg of our trip - Nha Trang and Saigon.
We left Hoi An at 10 am and caught a 6 hr train to Nha Trang - which was a killer! Having successfully avoided the bathroom on my last train trip, I thought I could survive, apparantly not Imagine trying to squat, make sure your pants don't touch the floor (unknown liquid was excreating from the toilet plumbing, while one hand clutches the armrest which is unusually moist so you can balance, as the train rocks onward and your otherhand tries to cover your noise as the smell of the cubicle makes you want to dry wrench! I had to do this twice! That said, the staff on the train do their best to keep the train clean and at every stop sweep the floors and collect garbage from all the passengers. The staff were also quite helpful and very friendly - I think Jez and I were a novelty for our fellow passengers as tourists don't often use the trains, everytime a passenger walked past our cabin they would look in and smile. One lady tried to start a conversation but as she spoke little English and I no vietnamese we kinda just sat in silence smiling at each other until she abruptly got up and walked out of our cabin.
When we arrived in Nha Trang I couldn't help but rush to our hotel, to take a long relaxing shower before hitting the sack.
Next morning, we hit the beach and caught a boat out to an island for some relaxation and pampering - I got a massage and had a manicure as well as getting my eyebrows waxed with cotton! Yes, you heard correctly, I'm not sure if its some local technique or if its common in Asia but you get some cotton thread and make three loops, then twist it really quickly so that it catches the hair and plucks it out - it wasn't very painful, but very effective! We spent the rest of the day lying on the beach and catching up on some rays. Tonight, we head to Saigon - another train trip we depart at 9pm and arrive in Saigon at 4.30am - its going to be a killer............................................