Hanoi/Halong Bay

Posted by Jef Stott / at 3:42 AM / / 1 comments

Arrived in Hanoi, Veitnam on July 24th. Leaving the plane via the tarmak always makes me feel like one of the Beatles or a politician for some reason. I actually did a little wave to no one as I left the plane.

The ride into town showed Vietnam on the rise as there was a lot of corporate advertising and development along the highway. A lot of manufacturing contracts are coming into the country.

Everything worked out well upon arrival, staff at the hotel were fabulous helping get my plans for the week here together. Vietnam is a much more dense, chaotic place than Taiwan. Many tribal indigenous people on the streets with the two baskets full of a huge variety of goods suspended between a slice of bamboo. The Old Quarter is a packed burrough where everything in the lives of the people here happens on the street, eating, socializing, siestas, business etc. And everything is for for sale. The whole district is basically one big bazaar or medina. It is hot, loud and intense.

A mini typhoon rolled thru town the first night I got here, wind blowing hard seemingly from every direction, lightning and rain. I decided to grab my recorder and get some field recording of streets sound and the rain. As I was walking around with my mic, everyone around me started yelling, I had no idea why. Then out of nowhere a tree fell right in front of me and blocked the street causing a massive traffic jam. Close call...

Second day, heading out for three days sailing and exploring on Halong Bay and Cat Ba island. Halong Bay is in the China Sea and is an amazing natural wonder of gigantic rock spires jutting up out of the emerald sea. A UNESCO World Heritage site.

The ride out was a long 4 hour drive thru agricultural landscapes of rice patties, water buffalo, small roadside towns and crazy traffic.

The level of poverty here is still very high although it is a different ilk than we have in the US. Here family cohesion is strong and people manage together. There are no homeless individuals here, everyone has a place. Still though it was hard to see so much struggle. I realized on this trip I had chosen destinations and had not considered the journey.
We navigated the harbor/tourist trap and boarded our very well appointed Chinese junk and set off into the blue sea.

Photographs cannot do Halong Bay justice. The widescreen cinematic experience of moving thru these massive shapes was deeply spiritual for me. The majesty and scale of it was amazing. I sat front row center, with my feet hanging over the bow of the ship for hours and hours just taking it all in. We spent the day going from cove to cove, exploring beaches, caves and swimming. The meals were excellent and me and the other 12 or so guests on board were quite happy.

After a great night sleep on the boat, I happened to awake just before dawn and silently slipped into the warm water, gently swimming into the Bay. It was silent still and beautiful. As the sun rose the pillars of rocks, I buoyed myself on the rope of the anchor and watched the sun rise from the surface of the water. I had the whole of Halong Bay to myself until people began to gradually rise and begin the day. I am grateful for this experience as I will most likely remember it for the rest of my life.

Spent the next day kayaking, trekking thru tribal villages on the islands and ended up at Cat Ba island, a resort sort of riviera Vietnamese style. Had a great room and decent meal and went to bed.

Heading back to the mainland another storm caught up with us and it became a bit sketchy for a little while, lightning hitting the water, heavy wind and rain. There were many other vessels in the water and we were really in no danger, but it was pretty dramatic. All ended well and we arrived safely.

Spent the last two days seeing the main sights of Hanoi, Ethnology Museum, Ho Chi Min Mausoleum, ancient Confucian temples and Universities.

Picked up a few very nice old Communist propaganda posters in the Old Quarter.

Heading off to another town tonight via overnight train. I will arrive in Hoi An tomorrow. Another World Heritage Site, Hoi An is the silk capital of Vietnam and nearly every building in the town is a historical landmark.

Will write again once we get settled in Saigon.

thanks for reading this, I apologize for the length of the entry but so much happens when you are out on the road.

caio for now

Jef

Ipod playlist-

Gaudi-Dub Qawwali

Steve Roach-Dream Cycle

John Hassell-Possible Musics

Adrian Sherwood-Never Trust a Hippy

Six Degrees- Asian Travels

Ishq-Orchid

photos at
http://flickr.com/photos/jefstott/sets/

Taiwan/Taipei

Posted by Jef Stott / at 6:28 PM / / 0 comments

Greetings all
have been in Asia over a week now and am feeling very good. No health issues to speak of and am sleeping well.
The flight to Taiwan was an eterinty, many lifetimes spent in the air, flying over the Berring Strait down over China and Japan to Taipei. Was received very warmly by Rebecca's family in Shin Zou. Once settled, we basically ate our way thru Taiwan. The main event of the day is eating. the rest of the daily activities such as sleeping, bathing, etc are just am means to kill time between meals. and the food has been amazing, family dinners, market stalls, elaborate teahouses.
Everything here is a done by family committee. When I wanted to exchange a pair of shoes one day, the mother grabbed a co worker in the family business and insisted on joining us to make sure it all went well. I was embarassed, as we in the US pride ourselves on being independent to a fault. Our lives there at home are very solitary by comparison.
We spent a couple of quiet days in the family house and then went on to Taipei by train with R's sister. We arrived in Taipei just in time for a record heat wave. Reports were saying over 40' celcius in the City Center, something like 105 f with nearly 100% humidity. Taipei is a decidedy modern opulent Asian city which boasts the current tallest building in the world (Dubai is preparing the nest dominant phallic obilisque currently). We spent an evening swimming thru alley after alley of designer shops, tea lounges and bars finally settling on a Japanese grill house for dinner. Many beers later we went in search pf accomodations. As it was late we ended up at a downtown "love motel" which can be rented by the hour. Used mainly for extra-marital activities, these clean modern rooms have certain staged look to them, sharply focused lighting, dramatic lines, etc. In the halls, there was the customary yelping coming from the other rooms. But actually a nice place for a night.
Next day ducked into the National museum to escape the heat and headed home after a great meal in the market stalls.
Last day in Taiwan was spent in the country side with R's mother and sister exploring old villages and tea houses. Very beautiful and soulful places. It was good to get out of the caos of the cities for a while. Last meal with the family was a very elaborate spread of home cooked gourmet food, many many dishes made in our honor. I presented a collection of my music cataloug to R's parents and as the music was playing and the toasting began the conversation became more spirited. R's father, a gentle slight man, is a Chi Gong master and he abruptly jumped up and challenged me to pushups! 60 years plus and he dropped and did 50! I struggled thru 30 or so and gave up. The master wins again...

As a general observation of my initial impression of Asia, I saw very few police and heard no sirens for several days and yet the streets are a wild confluence, a moving sea of moto scooters, buses, cars, carts and bikes all merging and moving together in an organized intuitive flow. Random merging, lane changes etc, whimsical driving technique is really a high art. I think the scooter is another representation of the ADD psyche that I saw on television here, a change of mind, changing lanes, wrong way on a one way road, whatever, it all works.
Actually, it is very safe here, the US is far more dangerous. Also as I travel more I see that the US is the anomoly. Most other places feel basically the same, a more primary human experience. This is what corporate branding is trying to dilute. This is even more apparant in Hanoi, where I am now. For a brand or product (pop star, celebrity, BMW whatever) to rise above the noise of daily life here, is impossible. Life here is much more immeadiate.
And that is why I travel.

In Vietnam now, have had many adventures already. This is a much wilder and unpredictable place. Will write more in a day or so before I begin my journey south to meet up with Rebecca in Saigon.

photos at
http://flickr.com/photos/jefstott/sets/

Posted by Jef Stott / at 8:01 AM / / 0 comments

Heading out to Asia today

Hey everyone I am leaving for my first trip to Asia this afternoon. We will be in Taiwan for a few days visiting family and then I am off for a week solo in Hanoi and then I travel down the length of Vietnam to Saigon. The we are off to ANKOR WAT in Cambodia! Biggest temple structure in the world. Then back to Saigon and the Mekong Delta and then off to Taiwan for shopping and chilling. We will be gone for a month and it will be good to get off the grid for a while and hang out old school in Vietnam and Cambodia.
See you in a month!
caio
Jef