2007 Sailing into a New Year - Sicily to Malta

New Year’s Eve Pozzallo, Sicily to Malta

by Teacher Charlie

Travel Summary:

Although it would be very difficult to find out how to find how to take a train/ship trip to Malta from central Europe, it can be done with a bit of effort.

You would need to make your way to Napoli (Naples) first and assuming you came down by train, after arriving at the central station, go out to the tram stop in front of the station and take Tram #1 towards the port. Not that long a ride and actually it could be walked if you are traveling lightly.

This tram will go a few stops, take a turn to the right along the main industrial port frontage and after a few more stops, you will come to an open area on the port side where a large terminal building is and a café. You will also notice a booking/tour service building with the name “Ontano”. Get out at this stop (Colombo) and go to their office.

Here you can book a ticket to the eastern Sicilian port city of ‘Catania’. The ship’s name will be the M/n Partenope which is actually a huge truck ferry with passenger facilities on the 4^th and 5^th deck. A ticket can be purchased for the 11 hour night passage for 46 Euro with the ship’s departure at 21:00. It is interesting to note after I had a pleasant conversation with one of the ship’s officers that these trucks pay 25 Euro per meter.

It is possible to take a ferry from Catania directly to Malta but during the winter this ferry only runs once a week which is on Saturdays. If you miss that, you need to go further south to Pozzallo.

Unless you wish to pay 170 Euro for for a taxi to take you the remaining 140 kilometers, you need to take a bus. The only service in town that makes it that far south is called “AST” and you will find their ticketing office across the street from the main train station. Two buses supposedly make this journey each day, one at 11AM and another at 1:30 PM. The price is 7.90 Euro and the last bus will get you to the port town at 16:10, 10 minutes after the second ferry leaves for Malta at 16:00 (2 ferries a day, one at 9AM and the last at 4PM). Finding a place to stay in town is no problem and decent places can be had for 40 Euro or so. I stayed at a place called Hotel Ada and find both it and the people to be a very pleasant place to stay.

The ticket for the ‘world’s fastest ferry’ (as it is advertised on their posters) can be purchased in the town of Pozzallo at the Virtu Ferries Office or at the port for 47 Euro. The ship is a large catamaran and the journey takes 1.5 to 2 hours depending on how rough the weather and seas are. Upon arrival, there are no customs or immigration anymore as Malta has now joined the EU.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Napoli to Catania - At Sea heading south into the Med

M/n Partenope – Napoli to Catania

By Teacher Charlie

The ship’s engines are winding up as the deck under me begins to shake and the passenger level I have set up my quarters for the evening begins to vibrate. It is 21:00 and the first leg of my most recent sea journey into the Mediterranean is about to begin.

This leg will take me south out of the chaos of humanity that the Italians call ‘Napoli’ (Naples) to the eastern port city on the Sicilian coast called ‘Catania’. Rumor has it that it should take about 11 hours, give or take a wave or two and get us there on the morning the day before New Year’s Eve.

Not sure what awaits me near the ancient city of Sycracuse, but thus far, from Rome to Naples, I wasn’t sure if I was in African or Europe as at times I seemed to have stepped into a central African republic. In this morning’s IHT there was an article about the serious problems the Greeks were having with their islands and the immigration flood but based on what I have seen personally from the Canary Islands to Italy, everyone along the southern tier of Europe is becoming overwhelmed with the influx of humanity.

It was only a few days ago that once again the EU added another chunk including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltic Republics and even the British speaking island of Malta. Cyprus also adopted the Euro but the immigration controls remain. (I also noted in the same week that the European Central Bank added another 500 billion dollars, but for what? To support this expansion or help slow the economic meltdown?)

Even though border and immigration controls are supposedly “ending’ and the frontiers expanding, based on the 3 passport controls I had on my train trip south out of Germany, two at one stop in Lugano by separate groups of police, the facts seem to be far different than the propaganda…and that was heading south! One can only wonder what it would be like on a night train heading north out of Italy.

As I continue to type these notes, a rolling motion commences and I am sure we have cleared the breakwater at the end of what is a very long quay. The mind numbing TV shows have stopped temporarily for a guide on how to rescue your butt should the ship start to sink. Hopefully there are no soccer matches on tonight for the crew to watch and everyone keeps tuned in to the tasks at hand unlike the occasional Greek ship that ends up at the bottom of the Med.

The ticket for this leg was 46 Euro although I got a sneaking feeling that the ‘local’ rate is a bit cheaper. One thing I did notice related to this at the train station was that when I started to buy a ticket from the ticket machines in Rome, that the ticket was 33 Euro but when an Italian guy came up and suggested he do it for me (in Italian), the same ticket on the same train in the same class was 19.50 Euro. I am use to this 2-tier practice in Asia but this was my first experience here in Europe (recently) for a two level pricing structure for locals and foreigners. The guy asked for money for ‘café’ and as I had just saved a considerable sum, I gave him 2 Euro.

Rome was pleasant enough with a few adventures along the way. Didn’t get a chance to see the German Pope, but honestly that would be on the bottom of my wish list of life’s adventures and things to do.

The 3 days there were decent at the beginning and end with a middle day of very light cold rain. Just as well, as I was exhausted and spent a good part of the day in my room working on photos and such. Have an album to upload called ‘Clocks of Rome’ but given the Internet paranoia the Italian’s have, that will have to wait for a more ‘user friendly’ environment.

It became obvious very quickly that the Internet in Italy is viewed as a evil tool of the devil. It seems that in an effort to control the ‘devil’, or the free flow of information and knowledge not controlled by the fascist state or the church, you have to register your use with the police each and every time you use it. Go figure.

The same country that gave us Operation Gladio, Mussolini, the concept of Fascism, the Inquisition, the Crusades, etc., etc., now want to make sure that the Internet is controlled by the same ruling elite….but there is no lack of sex and long legged dames on their TV. Sex and war is good for business. Same shit, just a different day.

Reminds me also that while I was watching this same TV I discovered that Bhutto in Pakistan finally got her brains blown out (I was surprised it took that long), but the US government is trying to calm everyone’s fears by assuring us that Pakistan’s nukes are ‘secure’ and that US Special Forces will start entering the country after the beginning of the new year. For what purposes seems a bit unclear. Sounds perfectly normal in a totally insane world right?

Let me see if I am interpreting this correctly however. The US is helping secure the Pakistani nuclear arsenal while only a few months ago a B-52 bomber with nukes strapped under its wings loaded into operational cruise missiles is discovered ‘accidentally’ hours after it lands in a US middle-east staging base in Louisiana (like with 911, just forget all the technical details about how such a thing is impossible to happen with the explanations given).

“Oooppss…sorry folks….we misplaced them for awhile”, but when someone ratted on us and turned us in, we had to admit they were ‘missing’. Now we got the same boys ‘locking down’ Pakistani nukes. God help us all! I feel sooooo much better…don’t you?

But you know what? I suspect all these kind folks around me with all their smiling and happy families staring fixated onto the idiot boxes know nothing about any of the above. If it isn’t in the elite’s press or media and doesn’t serve their agenda, it simply doesn’t get reported. And since the Net is for those evil foreign devils and American conspiracy theorists (and we know all about how crazy they are), what you see is what you get….but sex and soccer seem real popular everywhere around here.

Of course it is this same thinking and control that brought us Mussolini and Hitler, but we all know that could never happen again…right? And remember their stories after the Reichstag was burned and the staged Polish attack.

I am passionate about the Internet and I fear that its’ days are numbered as we know it and grew to love it. 2008 will be a pivotal year for it and its demise is underway as we know it.

As the tall black man took my passport to control it in Naples when I went to use it today, he clearly stated it was the law by the police and what was wrong with that…in a rather funny, quizzical way? I asked him if he did the same thing for people placing calls in his phone boxes. The answer was “no”…of course.

I guess it is OK for one uniformed and unaware person to spread the word but we sure as hell want to make sure that we know who is looking at information from the outside. He also mentioned in a rather surprised way that the police can now enter your home anytime they want for anything they want here in Italy. New law here….same as the new law to do the same in the USA.

Hmmmmmm Hitler protected the Germans from the Communist (as did Operation Gladio in Italy) and today we are being protected from the ‘Terrorist’. I feel so much better and safer. Don’t you?

Oh joy…now the Village People’s song ‘Macho Macho Man’ is now playing on 4 TVs around me…..in stereo…and next to them are 5 amazingly sexy, long legged beauties in not much more than their birthday suits….sorry, I mis-spoke…there are a few straps of cloth wrapped around certain strategic assets. Guess you got to please every type of sexual persuasion in a properly ‘harmonized’ Europe. I have to admit however, it is hard not to focus on the screen's carnival!

I am literally sailing into a new year but I do wonder if the sheeple wonder, or even care about what lies before them in 2008? Naaaaaa….and those that do and care beyond today, are insane....

New Year’s Eve Pozzallo, Sicily to Malta

by Teacher Charlie

Travel Summary:

Although it would be very difficult to find out how to find how to take a train/ship trip to Malta from central Europe, it can be done with a bit of effort.

You would need to make your way to Napoli (Naples) first and assuming you came down by train, after arriving at the central station, go out to the tram stop in front of the station and take Tram #1 towards the port. Not that long a ride and actually it could be walked if you are traveling lightly.

This tram will go a few stops, take a turn to the right along the main industrial port frontage and after a few more stops, you will come to an open area on the port side where a large terminal building is and a café. You will also notice a booking/tour service building with the name “Ontano”. Get out at this stop (Colombo) and go to their office.

Here you can book a ticket to the eastern Sicilian port city of ‘Catania’. The ship’s name will be the M/n Partenope which is actually a huge truck ferry with passenger facilities on the 4^th and 5^th deck. A ticket can be purchased for the 11 hour night passage for 46 Euro with the ship’s departure at 21:00. It is interesting to note after I had a pleasant conversation with one of the ship’s officers that these trucks pay 25 Euro per meter.

It is possible to take a ferry from Catania directly to Malta but during the winter this ferry only runs once a week which is on Saturdays. If you miss that, you need to go further south to Pozzallo.

Unless you wish to pay 170 Euro for for a taxi to take you the remaining 140 kilometers, you need to take a bus. The only service in town that makes it that far south is called “AST” and you will find their ticketing office across the street from the main train station. Two buses supposedly make this journey each day, one at 11AM and another at 1:30 PM. The price is 7.90 Euro and the last bus will get you to the port town at 16:10, 10 minutes after the second ferry leaves for Malta at 16:00 (2 ferries a day, one at 9AM and the last at 4PM). Finding a place to stay in town is no problem and decent places can be had for 40 Euro or so. I stayed at a place called Hotel Ada and find both it and the people to be a very pleasant place to stay.

The ticket for the ‘world’s fastest ferry’ (as it is advertised on their posters) can be purchased in the town of Pozzallo at the Virtu Ferries Office or at the port for 47 Euro. The ship is a large catamaran and the journey takes 1.5 to 2 hours depending on how rough the weather and seas are. Upon arrival, there are no customs or immigration anymore as Malta has now joined the EU.

Napoli to Catania - At Sea heading south into the Med

M/n Partenope – Napoli to Catania

By Saigon Charlie

The ship’s engines are winding up as the deck under me begins to shake and the passenger level I have set up my quarters for the evening begins to vibrate. It is 21:00 and the first leg of my most recent sea journey into the Mediterranean is about to begin.

This leg will take me south out of the chaos of humanity that the Italians call ‘Napoli’ (Naples) to the eastern port city on the Sicilian coast called ‘Catania’. Rumor has it that it should take about 11 hours, give or take a wave or two and get us there on the morning the day before New Year’s Eve.

Not sure what awaits me near the ancient city of Sycracuse, but thus far, from Rome to Naples, I wasn’t sure if I was in African or Europe as at times I seemed to have stepped into a central African republic. In this morning’s IHT there was an article about the serious problems the Greeks were having with their islands and the immigration flood but based on what I have seen personally from the Canary Islands to Italy, everyone along the southern tier of Europe is becoming overwhelmed with the influx of humanity.

It was only a few days ago that once again the EU added another chunk including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltic Republics and even the British speaking island of Malta. Cyprus also adopted the Euro but the immigration controls remain. (I also noted in the same week that the European Central Bank added another 500 billion dollars, but for what? To support this expansion or help slow the economic meltdown?)

Even though border and immigration controls are supposedly “ending’ and the frontiers expanding, based on the 3 passport controls I had on my train trip south out of Germany, two at one stop in Lugano by separate groups of police, the facts seem to be far different than the propaganda…and that was heading south! One can only wonder what it would be like on a night train heading north out of Italy.

As I continue to type these notes, a rolling motion commences and I am sure we have cleared the breakwater at the end of what is a very long quay. The mind numbing TV shows have stopped temporarily for a guide on how to rescue your butt should the ship start to sink. Hopefully there are no soccer matches on tonight for the crew to watch and everyone keeps tuned in to the tasks at hand unlike the occasional Greek ship that ends up at the bottom of the Med.

The ticket for this leg was 46 Euro although I got a sneaking feeling that the ‘local’ rate is a bit cheaper. One thing I did notice related to this at the train station was that when I started to buy a ticket from the ticket machines in Rome, that the ticket was 33 Euro but when an Italian guy came up and suggested he do it for me (in Italian), the same ticket on the same train in the same class was 19.50 Euro. I am use to this 2-tier practice in Asia but this was my first experience here in Europe (recently) for a two level pricing structure for locals and foreigners. The guy asked for money for ‘café’ and as I had just saved a considerable sum, I gave him 2 Euro.

Rome was pleasant enough with a few adventures along the way. Didn’t get a chance to see the German Pope, but honestly that would be on the bottom of my wish list of life’s adventures and things to do.

The 3 days there were decent at the beginning and end with a middle day of very light cold rain. Just as well, as I was exhausted and spent a good part of the day in my room working on photos and such. Have an album to upload called ‘Clocks of Rome’ but given the Internet paranoia the Italian’s have, that will have to wait for a more ‘user friendly’ environment.

It became obvious very quickly that the Internet in Italy is viewed as a evil tool of the devil. It seems that in an effort to control the ‘devil’, or the free flow of information and knowledge not controlled by the fascist state or the church, you have to register your use with the police each and every time you use it. Go figure.

The same country that gave us Operation Gladio, Mussolini, the concept of Fascism, the Inquisition, the Crusades, etc., etc., now want to make sure that the Internet is controlled by the same ruling elite….but there is no lack of sex and long legged dames on their TV. Sex and war is good for business. Same shit, just a different day.

Reminds me also that while I was watching this same TV I discovered that Bhutto in Pakistan finally got her brains blown out (I was surprised it took that long), but the US government is trying to calm everyone’s fears by assuring us that Pakistan’s nukes are ‘secure’ and that US Special Forces will start entering the country after the beginning of the new year. For what purposes seems a bit unclear. Sounds perfectly normal in a totally insane world right?

Let me see if I am interpreting this correctly however. The US is helping secure the Pakistani nuclear arsenal while only a few months ago a B-52 bomber with nukes strapped under its wings loaded into operational cruise missiles is discovered ‘accidentally’ hours after it lands in a US middle-east staging base in Louisiana (like with 911, just forget all the technical details about how such a thing is impossible to happen with the explanations given).

“Oooppss…sorry folks….we misplaced them for awhile”, but when someone ratted on us and turned us in, we had to admit they were ‘missing’. Now we got the same boys ‘locking down’ Pakistani nukes. God help us all! I feel sooooo much better…don’t you?

But you know what? I suspect all these kind folks around me with all their smiling and happy families staring fixated onto the idiot boxes know nothing about any of the above. If it isn’t in the elite’s press or media and doesn’t serve their agenda, it simply doesn’t get reported. And since the Net is for those evil foreign devils and American conspiracy theorists (and we know all about how crazy they are), what you see is what you get….but sex and soccer seem real popular everywhere around here.

Of course it is this same thinking and control that brought us Mussolini and Hitler, but we all know that could never happen again…right? And remember their stories after the Reichstag was burned and the staged Polish attack.

I am passionate about the Internet and I fear that its’ days are numbered as we know it and grew to love it. 2008 will be a pivotal year for it and its demise is underway as we know it.

As the tall black man took my passport to control it in Naples when I went to use it today, he clearly stated it was the law by the police and what was wrong with that…in a rather funny, quizzical way? I asked him if he did the same thing for people placing calls in his phone boxes. The answer was “no”…of course.

I guess it is OK for one uniformed and unaware person to spread the word but we sure as hell want to make sure that we know who is looking at information from the outside. He also mentioned in a rather surprised way that the police can now enter your home anytime they want for anything they want here in Italy. New law here….same as the new law to do the same in the USA.

Hmmmmmm Hitler protected the Germans from the Communist (as did Operation Gladio in Italy) and today we are being protected from the ‘Terrorist’. I feel so much better and safer. Don’t you?

Oh joy…now the Village People’s song ‘Macho Macho Man’ is now playing on 4 TVs around me…..in stereo…and next to them are 5 amazingly sexy, long legged beauties in not much more than their birthday suits….sorry, I mis-spoke…there are a few straps of cloth wrapped around certain strategic assets. Guess you got to please every type of sexual persuasion in a properly ‘harmonized’ Europe. I have to admit however, it is hard not to focus on the screen's carnival!

I am literally sailing into a new year but I do wonder if the sheeple wonder, or even care about what lies before them in 2008? Naaaaaa….and those that do and care beyond today, are insane....

2007 Clocks of Rome

Christmas Eve under a full moon and another train into the night

It is Christmas and once again, the road and I become one. Trains from nowhere to somewhere while a full moon shines down on a landscape cold and stark. As I board my next train it becomes Christmas Eve. So many spent on the road. So many spent alone.

All for the love of a woman and dreams..........

2007 Vietnam travel DOs and DON'Ts

Vietnam Travel Dos and Don’ts – 1^st Draft

Last night as I was writing this up, once again, Saigon's power failed. This time for 40 minutes between 17:30 until 18:10. Thank God I wasn't in the elevator. Guess with all the power failures I have experienced across the country, one should add a small flashlight to the list of things you should bring but thankfully, I have a laptop with a 3 hour battery that serves as my portable/emergency power station! haha

These are just some loose thoughts pulled together. I hope they help.

Charlie - mysticsailor@gmail.com

1. Do travel to Vietnam as it is an experience of a lifetime!
2. Don’t gamble in their casinos as they are all massively rigged.
3. Do travel by train in Vietnam if you want to see it and the locals through their eyes while meeting people, young and old.
4. Don’t use travel agencies for train tickets as the price you are charged is considerably higher than the actual price if obtained at the station window.
5. Do expect the trains to be considerably less comfortable than Thai trains and almost always behind schedule, even to the point of hours.
6. Don’t buy electronic goods in Vietnam as they are double the price you would pay if you bought your new camera or laptop at Pantip Plaza in Bangkok.
7. Do expect an effort to be made to steal whatever electronic item you have on you by what is commonly known here as ‘Saigon Cowboys’ who commit the grab and run while on motorbikes. Also expect less violent theft at train stations and other public venues. Almost everyone I have spoke to who has been here for any length of time as had his phone, camera, laptop, etc. stolen but it is somehow accepted as the way things are, very unlike Thailand where such things very seldom happen.
8. Don’t expect the police to assist you if you are robbed. They do not carry weapons and are totally ineffectual. They are a complete joke in Vietnam compared toThailand; which makes a considerable effort to protect you and your personal belongings and security.
9. Do carry toilet paper at all times as you often do not have napkins or tissues available at restaurants and of course, for that run to the toilet afterward.
10. Don’t worry about malaria tablets. Toss them if you have them.
11. Do however carry Tiger Balm, bandages and Band-Aids along with some decent antibiotics you picked up inThailand before heading to Vietnam. Make sure you take care of even the smallest scratch.
12. DON’T get sick in Vietnam as the price of medical care is ridiculously expensive due to a scam they run with travelers and their travel insurance companies. I guess it is OK if you got the insurance but if you don’t, are you prepared to pay $300 for a doctor’s visit? Better fly back to Bangkok if you are that sick as the ticket and medical care is less.
13. Do drink their coffee if you like to wait lengthy periods between being served and actually having the ability of drinking what will mostly be 3 good sips at best as it drips into the cup beneath it. I like all forms of coffee but this method is not appealing to me in either form or taste.
14. Do use Highland’s Coffee cafes in Saigon if you like an excellent cup of coffee, a decent breakfast or meal and a solid and free access to the Internet for your laptop via their WiFi networks.
15. Do expect free Internet and WiFi at most restaurants and cafes around Saigon as well as in Hanoi. Notebook required of course.
16. Do expect VOA (Voice of America) Internet news and sites to be filtered and blocked by the Vietnamese government (www.voanews.com ) Not sure what else they block politically.
17. Do expect to pay less for the local beer, Bovina than for a bottle of water. I have been in cafes where Bovina on the menu is 8,000 dong while the water was 15,000 dong. Other beers such as 333, San Miguel, Heineken, etc. are usually around 30,000 dong as they are beers that foreigners drink.
18. Don’t expect wine to be inexpensive as that is expected to be drunk by foreigners and as in Thailand, taxed as such.
19. Do expect hotels, guest houses, restaurants, café and streets to be exceptional clean with few if any bugs.
20. Do expect many building’s exteriors to be brightly colored along with their trim. Radically different than in Thailandas most buildings there are dull, grey or black.
21. Don’t expect huge differences in prices between a backpacker’s hostel room with bunk beds and a very nice hotel with all the trimmings. The difference is usually only between $7 for the hostel bunk and $15 for first rate accommodations.
22. Do expect high quality postcards with very inexpensive rates for international mail. I have also discovered that all my cards reached their intended recipients in Germany in less than 2 weeks, but none reached the USA. Cheap rates however do not extend to sending items home!
23. Do expect all post office personnel to be amazingly friendly and helpful. Every place I went I was stunned with how professional and friendly they were.
24. Don’t expect your clothes to be ironed when you send them off to be laundered. Even when I ask for them to be ironed, they still come back wrinkled as hell. Seems the concept of an iron is Thai in nature, not Vietnamese.
25. Do expect to pay 9-10,000 dong per kilo in Vietnam for your wash. Two kilos worth of laundry is a couple of shirts, pants and underwear for a week.
26. Don’t expect to sleep late as Vietnam starts early (6AM) and noise is overwhelming all of the time.
27. Do get a room without a window which will cost less AND afford you some quiet from the noise of the street.
    
28. Don’t expect elevators to be a common item which is one reason the higher you go, the cheaper the room, unlike in the west.
29. Don’t expect Vietnamese to queue or line up at any public window or while boarding a bus, train, etc.
30. Do expect to have a wide selection of TV channels on your hotel’s cable system ranging from the Discovery Channel to Chinese TV in English as well as many movie channels.
31. Do expect to have hot water in your room from a central system instead of from wall heaters that seldom work as inThailand. Also expect toiletries in your room such as toothbrush, comb, soap, shampoo, etc. which seems to be required by the government to acquire a ‘star’ rating of at any level. I have never lacked for anything with any hotel I have stayed in Vietnam EXCEPT for peace and quiet!
32. Do expect the traffic to be insane, far beyond what you might have experienced in Thailand. It is nerve racking both as a pedestrian and as a rider or driver. For me, I much prefer to be driving than riding. Sidewalks are no more than an overflow for street traffic and all are used in both directions. Bikes are constantly coming at you and whizzing by you as you walk on the sidewalk if you can. Most of the time you are however forced to walk on the streets as Vietnamese don’t walk anywhere and sidewalks are motorbike parking lots.
33. Don’t expect traffic lights, sidewalks, pedestrian crossings to give you ANY protection from vehicles. I have found it actually to be safer to hire a moto for a short distance than to walk there and I really like to stroll around cities.
34. Do expect to use dollars as your primary currency while inVietnam instead of the dong. Many restaurants hand you the bill in both currencies. Fees and rates are quoted in dollar as well. Euro is hardly recognized and can actually be quoted at rates significantly less than the international rate. Dollar is king in Vietnam and the American’s lost the war???
35. Do expect to pay 10,000 dong for a moto ride just about anywhere you might want to go.
36. Do expect to be able to rent a motorbike but don’t expect the rates to be cheap like in Thailand. Usually double the daily rate I have found.
37. Don’t expect Vietnamese food to be anywhere as good as Thai food. It is also very ‘bland’ by comparison. I consider it much ‘heavier’ than Thai dishes.
38. Do stay in the Hanoi Backpacker’s Hostel and Hoa’s Place on China Beach if you want to meet other folks traveling the world. Both places are incredibly unique and extremely friendly. Email Max atwww.hanoibackpackershostel.com and Hoa at hoasplace@hotmail.com
39. Do use the Air France/KLM office in the Caravel Hotel in Saigon (next to the Sheraton) for some of the friendliest and most professional travel service I have experienced inAsia. Make sure you ask for ‘Diem’.www.airfrance.com.vn
40. Do have a beer and some damn good pub food at a place that has had its named changed to ‘The Office’ as I write this but has no signage yet. They are just down the street from the Sheraton in Saigon and have many different screens showing Rugby to poker playing. Michael the owner is a Brit and quite a character. Actually, every expat I met there is quite a character!
41. Do stay at the Orient Hotel in Saigon if you want to be in the center of the action with an exceptional room with breakfast for $12 a night. They are located in an area which is pronounced ‘fam u lau’ (Pham Ngu Lao) and are on De Tham Street in District One. orient-hotel@hcm.vnn.vn
42. Do visit Finnegan;s Irish Pub in Hanoi if you like to meet other travelers for a beer. Located on Duong Thanh Street. finneganirishpub@yahoo.com.vn
43. Do visit the Cho Dan Sinh Market not far from De Tham street if you want to buy US military memorabilia such as Zippo lighters.
44. Do expect visas in Vietnam to be much easier to obtain than in Thailand as well as being for longer periods of time. Unlike Thailand, but like Cambodia, they can be obtained through travel agencies here.
45. Do expect English teachers to make double that of what you can make for the same amount of hours teaching inThailand.
46. Do expect ‘local grown’ motobikes to be half the coast of similar models in Thailand. A new, 110cc bike is no more than $500USD.
47. Do expect there to be many options for playing golf in and around Saigon.
48. Do expect to find ATM’s EVERYWHERE!!!! And often times they are air-conditioned!
49. Don’t go to any of the 100s of Western Union counters if you want to send money out of the country; only if you want to receive it!
50. Do visit Nha Trang if you want to hit the beach as well as party your ass off at night. Sex and the City has nothing on this place.
51. Do expect your electricity to be sporadic in places likeChina Beach and even Saigon at times.
52. Do expect to hear many conversations from travelers discussing a book called ‘Shantaram’ by Gregory David Roberts. Haven’t read it yet but it sounds pretty amazing.
53. Don’t expect Vietnam Airlines flights out of the country to be cheap as their ticket prices are double what you might expect to pay as are other airlines flying to places likeBangkok. Cheapest ticket I could find one way to BKK was $185.
54. Do expect internal air flights to be a bit dodgy. VASCO equipment ‘shakes, rattles and rolls’ with bald tires and hot shot pilots being the norm as with Vietnam Airlines. Expect bus rides from airports such as in Chu Lai to be the ride of your life!
55. Do expect to find a Mosque calling people to prayers in downtown Saigon next to the Sheraton and Caravel Hotels. Fascinating actually!
56. Do expect to see some of the most amazing colonial architecture in both Hanoi and Saigon with places such as the post office and opera buildings in Saigon as good as it gets.
57. Do expect an amazing day trip via Russian hydrofoil to Vung Tau at the mouth of the Saigon River. Way cool place if you arrange transportation around the area and peaks.
58. Do visit the ‘Ned Kelly Bar’ just across the ferry docks in Vung Tau when you arrive for a cold beer and a decent lunch. Also a good place to meet the local expats.
59. Do expect everyone you meet to have a business or name card. If you like to stay in touch with folks you meet along the way, good idea to get a 100 or so printed up with your contact information, web site or blog on it.
60. Do expect an unending harassment from touts selling things as well as ‘shoe shine boys and men clapping or screaming at you to give you a moto ride while anywhere near a ‘tourist area’. Not bad once in other parts of town or in towns where there are few white faces.
61. Do expect ‘fixed prices’ at many tourist shops on the main streets and no flexibility on price which shocked me. You however can bargain hard and should in tourist markets as they start 300 % higher than what is a real price. Also expect a lot of ‘touching’ and an effort to ‘block you’ from exiting when in their shop. Can be quite trying at times.
62. Do expect children to be very friendly and a simple hello will usually get you a wonderful smile and ‘hello!” back. Many want to practice their English skills as well.
63. Do expect many older men traveling to Vietnam to be here to obtain ‘brides’ or ‘girlfriends’ (…and I DO NOT resemble that remark!!!). Just the nature of the beast I guess and it is a major ‘industry’ of sorts with many web sites supporting these efforts. Not unusual to meet men in their 70s talking about their fiancée and their efforts to get her and her daughter/son a visa to this country or that. If you are older and lonely, guess this is the place to come…..
64. Do expect to be constantly offered ‘marijuana’, ‘pot’, ‘smoke’, ‘massage’, ‘boom boom’, etc. wherever you go, regardless of your age. Not sure what they are trying to sell to the women however…..
65. Do expect every single moto driver to have a plan to sell you something. One I hired for a few days eventually came up with a plan to sell me his neighbor’s motorbike for $350. I had to laugh as he hadn’t tried the other things….yet.
66. Don’t expect to find McDonalds or Burger King as so far, I have not seen one anywhere from Hanoi to Saigonalthough there are quite a few KFCs.
67. Do however go to one of the many ‘’Lotteria’ if you want a super-sized burger with three layers of meat. Super size takes on a whole new meaning there.
68. Don’t expect to find 7/11s on every street corner like inThailand as there are none. The concept of a convenience store seems to be in its infancy here and for the person that gets in first here, an incredible money maker. Here however I would put a Vietnamese spin on it and make them a drive through!!!
    
69. Don’t expect motorcycles riders or drivers to have helmets. Don’t expect most of the bikes to have rear view mirrors as well (….and do you honestly think they have driver’s licenses or have taken a test concerning rules of the roads?).
70. Do visit the very professional Tourist Information Center inSaigon on Le Hoi street to meet some interesting and intelligent young ladies who can help you along the way.www.vntourists.com
71. Do come to Saigon if you like watches, both new and used (originals, not copies) as there is no limit to what you can buy. Most shops I found were clustered around the Sheraton.
72. Do check out these web sites which I stumbled on while traveling around Vietnam and wrote down in my journal:

1. www.sunrisevietnam.com

2. news.vnanet.vn

3. www.ilavietnam.com

4. vnagency.com.vn

5. www.cfvg.org

6. www.vas.edu.vn

7. acethcmc.com

8. aisvietnam.com

9. www.montessori.edu.vn

10. www.ibo.org

11. www.hkairlines.com

12. www.ors.com.vn

13. www.das.vn

14. www.fahasasg.com.vn

15. www.investhkgov.hk

16. www.intrepidtravel.com

17. www.smesc.vn

2007 Midnight ramblings from Saigon

Midnight in Saigon

Well, it has been a long day here but I have opted to end the day in bed watching the Discovery Channel’s Travel and Leisure. As I don’t have a TV in Europe, kind of nice to take a break from the road and veg in front of the idiot box and watch who and what I am suppose to be. Today I am suppose to be rich and famous in Monaco and go experience the foods ofBeijing. Cool. Let’s go!

The trip here in Vietnam is winding down a bit earlier than planned due to me no longer having a camera and a replacement here being twice the price of the same models in Thailand. Same goes for laptops. If you need electronic gear while visiting and traveling in and around Vietnam, make sure you get it at Pantip Plaza in Bangkok before heading out.

As I had to get back to Thailand before heading back to Europe, I hit the usual web sites, from Air France to Thai Airways, and eventually opted to head down to the Air France office where an extremely nice and professional lady named ‘Diem’ joked with me for nearly an hour as I made my travel plans and got my tickets.

If you come overland into Vietnam out of Laos or Cambodia as most due, it seems that most plan on flying back to Bangkokbefore heading home. Although a good plan, it might shock you to learn that ticket prices are twice as much as you might think for the 1 hour flight as all airlines are around $200 for a one way ticket from either Hanoi or Saigon to Bangkok.

Having spent over 60 hours riding local trains in Vietnam with what I estimate to be over 3,000 kilometers, I think I might be qualified to make a few final observations about traveling around Vietnam.

Everyone of course will leave with their own impressions, given age, place, sex differences, etc., but having said that, for me I am constantly comparing Vietnam to Thailand as that is the place I have spent many years and for me, has come to define the ‘Southeast Asian’ experience. And what are the major differences you ask?

1. Noise. It is EVERYWHERE here. Almost without exception, you are immersed in it. Even the hotels I have stayed in, it has been hard to find something that could be defined as ‘quiet’ with people coming and going and partying all through the night. The locals extend their room space into the hall. Doors aren’t closed, chairs moved into the hall and the party continues there between the parties in various rooms. Of course, if you have a window, the non-stop honking and beeping of motorcycles can try your nerves. As mentioned many times before, people here do not speak softly as they do in Thailand.
2. Unlike Thailand, you are constantly ‘assaulted’ by an endless number of touts for this or that when anywhere gets near a tourist hang out. From pretty ladies smiling lovely smiles selling you books at prices far above what they should be to young boys following saying ‘shoe shine mister?”, it is never ending. I have also found that it is not uncommon to have this endless stream of humanity follow you into a restaurant and continue their pitch as I have watched numerous times money given to these folks just to get them to go away, which is the worse thing you could do! Just keep saying “no!”. They eventually get it. Although you and I as westerners want to make eye contact, that is the beginning of the end for you as that eye contact is taken as a welcoming sign to establish the hustle. If you want to avoid these situations, keep your eyes down and don’t make eye contact with those making attempts to sell you something.
3. The moto driver outside your hotel has bigger plans for you than taking you to your destination for 10,000 dong. The better his English gets, the more sophiscated his plan will be. Not as complex as an Istanbul carpet salesman inviting you in for tea, but the hustle for something is part of where this conversation is headed, and depending on your sex, what that entails. If a man, obviously you will hear ‘massage mister?” or ‘boom boom mister?”. A bit younger, you will be assured you will get an offer for some type of entertainment in the forms of drugs. Often times, that person making you the proposition outside your 3 star hotel, is an ‘off duty’ cop. You figure out where this is headed.
4. The price of local transportation is 10,000 dong. End of discussion. Take it or leave and every single driver will but most, unless you look like a local or seasoned traveler, will start at 3 times that amount. Just be firm and walk away if they won’t take it. Seconds later they are next to you saying, “OK! Let’s go!”
5. Trains are always late. Prices are very cheap as long as you stay away from travel agencies that will book you a ticket. Even the ‘Five Star Train Service’ co-located next to the train station will always have a ticket for you BUT at a price double that of what it should cost. They figure, rightly so, that you the foreigner don’t have the guts to deal with the mayhem of the Vietnamese train ticket window and the crowd pressing against you or maybe you have arrived at the station when it is closed from 11:30 to 13:30 civil servant nap time.
6. I found that in Saigon the hotel will arrange a taxi for you to the airport for $6 but it is highly probably the taxi driver will bitch and moan and complain about accepting this rate and when YOU take your bags out of the taxi, expect him to have his hand out.
7. As I have said here in this blog before, theft is a huge problem although from personal experiences and observations, not limited to Saigon or that matter to white faces. Beyond my own experiences, nearly everyone here has a story to tell. Seems theft here Is a non-racial nor western vs. eastern event. Everyone that looks like they got something worth having is a target, even in remote areas such as Quang Ngai. If you got a laptop on you or a camera that is bigger than your pocket, somebody, somewhere has you marked and is most probably waiting for the right moment to strike. I am terribly sorry I have to write these words but they are true…
8. You will meet some wonderful people on your journey, including children and adults. There is an innocence at times that is priceless and the joy of talking to children, as well as adults, is one part of what traveling is all about BUT having said that, if you are male, and alone, somebody is looking at you with suspicion because unfortunately, there are a bunch of perverts out here from all nationalities.
9. I am constantly listening to conversations about health issues with one of the main discussion points being ‘malaria’ tablets. Simply put you don’t need them and if you take them, you are more probably at getting ill that if you don’t them, I also want to mention that health care in Vietnam is expensive. Save getting sick for Thailand. A trip to the doctor here or in the new hospital in Siem Reap is a $300 appointment as they expect you to have ‘travel insurance’ and will charge you as such. These are insane amounts and nothing more than a scam. “Up to you” as we say in Thailand but if you don’t have travel insurance, you better re-think how sick you are before walking through that doctor’s door.
10. One of the most comical things I see daily is what people are carrying. I just can’t imagine what people are lugging around in the huge backpacks they are carrying along with the other backpack strung over their stomach. Clothes inAsia are dirt cheap and often cheaper than what it cost to wash them at a hotel! Is it really necessary that everyone knows you wear designer, name brand clothes fromEurope? For men, a pair of shorts with decent sized pockets and a pair of long pant is all you will ever need. When one gets dirty, wear the other and get it washed. A few t-shirts to keep the sweat away from a couple of shirts is all you will need. Do you really need socks when it is 35 degrees outside and your feet are constantly soaked from the rain. My rule of thumb is my total wash should never be more than 3 kilos, 5 maximum if you want to keep your tux with you…
11. You will acquire things along the way to take home for yourself and friends which is great but if you start off with your maximum baggage allowance, how are you getting those items back? Oh yeah, the post!
12. Not so fast buckaroo! Posting things back home to Europe or the States is expensive, whether in Thailand orVietnam. If posted from Cambodia, you might as well throw your money into the Tonle Sap. Many men I know are mailing back those items that make your sex life a bit more stimulating back home with the lass you lovingly left, but if so, don’t be so stupid to put your name on it, as what you are doing is illegal!
13. Have a small medical kit. Make sure you get some Tiger Balm in Thailand (red not white) as well as some bandages and bandaids (plasters). Some tape with small scissors need to be thrown in as well. When (not if) you get cuts, clean them immediately with bottled water and use Tiger Balm and the bandage to keep it covered. Tiger Balm keeps the wound moist so sometimes, as with poison, that might not be the right choice and will make the rash spread. Tiger Balm is also good for sunburn but having decent lotion is also important from the intense sun. As said before, drop the malaria tablets as they are expensive and will most probably make you ill. An assortment of antibiotics can be bought over the counter in Thailand and cost nearly nothing.
14. Police are not here to help you! You need to get that concept out of your head! They are here to take your money if they are involved. If a crime against you has happened in Cambodia, they will expect $100 to do the paperwork which is a total waste of time. In Thailand, you have an accident, and they are called to the scene, they will be expecting a cut of whatever settlement is arrived at. In Vietnam, the crowd that gathers around the accident becomes the 'jury' to the event and its settlement. You kill someone on your motorbike drunk in Thailand, you aren’t going to jail but you will be expected to pay the family a rate that is appropriate for the person’s age, sex, martial status, number of children, etc. Run over a 10 year old girl, and the price is much lower than a 29 year old man with a family of 3 working as a mechanic. Simple enough but expect the police who ‘broker’ the deal to get their commission. No police, no commission. Simple as that.
15. If you are involved in an accident, sober or drunk, run as fast can and get as far away from the event as possible. State the motorbike was stolen and you were not on the planet that day. Staying at the scene while people are picking up the bodies even though you were not responsible and the person who hit you was drunk out if his mind, will not have an outcome you expect as they will blame you, the foreigner. If you witness an accident and go to help, you will be paying for it. You don’t listen to my advice in these matters, you will regret it for a long time as nice guys finish last out here.
16. In Vietnam they don’t have helmets and no one expects you to wear one. Shit, they don't even have rear view mirrors. In Thailand, helmets have come to be expected in places such as Pattaya only because they are a source of revenue for the police if you don’t wear one in the form of on the spot tickets and fines. Forget the fact that the helmets there couldn’t protect you from the impact of a fly hitting you at 30kph. It is a total joke but as inThailand, show is what is important. Substance is not…
17. Theft in Thailand is different in some ways from Vietnamas a Thai will not steal from you for several reasons. Most won’t steal as they are Buddhist but even if they do, you can expect the police to beat the shit out of them if they get caught (and they will) stealing from a foreigner, as tourism is vital to their economy and they know it. The police in Thailand come down heavy on Thais stealing or committing crimes against us BUT having said that, beware of the new foreign friends you have just met on that long, 7 hour bus ride to a place where everyone intends to get trashed out of their minds. Single white woman have a mystical charm about them to these eastern boys (and horny white boys) and they are immune, even while filling their bags shoplifting at Thailand’s finest department stores. Hopefully they have had their fill before they get to you and your backpack…..
18. You have to be almost insane to survive out here and anyone who has been out here for any length of time has moved their ‘center’ so far to the right or left, that ‘normal’ to them will seem bizarre to you. Hang out here in Asia though for awhile and walk a mile in their shoes (or pumps if you prefer) and you might see everything through a different pair of rose colored glasses. People are here because they don’t fit in where they are from and as we say in Thailand, “you don’t fit in but you don’t stick out!”, as bizarre is normal!

Good night Vietnam!
Charlie