Graham on the road: 2014

How on Earth do some people manage to blog every day? More than twice a year is challenging me at the moment it seems. I got a bit distracted and took my eye off the ball, forgetting that this blog is in fact my main focus in life. It will not happen again.

I’ve just returned from a whistle-stop tour of the UK. Thanks to my good buddies helping with all the gear, I managed to get a day kayaking on a bit of rather exciting whitewater (and was surprised to discover I still know what to do), walked over the Welsh hills in appalling weather (an absolute delight – I’m strange like that), took my nephew Jamie walking and climbing in the Peak District,

and caught up with as many folk en route as I could manage.

*****

One of the best things about returning home is recognising what the food actually is. Living here, the food constantly surprises me. Here is an example …

Yes, White Fungus Drink. It has lumps of jelly in it and is actually quite nice.

Ice cream is very popular and the local shop causes traffic jams as people spill out into the road trying to get at some. The flavours vary from the ordinary … coconut flavour, chocolate flavour … to the rather unusual … mung bean flavour (yum!) and young rice flavour (young rice?! - before I came here I wasn’t aware rice got old).

*****

The highlight of the year so far was my nephew Simon marrying Martyna in Krakow. What a wedding! It was lovely and everyone had a wonderful time, not least the happy couple. I think I drank more vodka over two days than in the rest of my life put together but paced myself and survived.

After the wedding, I headed off to the hills south of Krakow for a spot of walking …

and pottered around town …

A neat a trick if you can do it …

The tornadoes here are strong …

I then went to Wroclaw to see Rich and Aga, who I worked with in Torun just over 3 years ago. It was great to catch up and Wroclaw is lovely.

While I was there I had the good fortune to witness a world record attempt on the number of guitars playing together. Led by The Animals (of 'The House of the Rising Sun’ fame), they managed to get over 7,000 guitarists to play a Jimi Hendrix song and broke the record. Despite the rain.

*****

Another big event this year was my 50^th birthday. What?! No way!! I hear you say. Well, in fact, it’s true.

To mark the occasion, I held a party on the café balcony where I live. About 45 fine folk turned up and a good time was had by all (I hope). In fact, some of my younger colleagues enjoyed themselves so much I had a spot of bother getting them to leave quietly. At about midnight I was encouraging them to head towards the front gate but they were rather keen to hang around talking loudly. Later on I noticed a text from my landlord pointing out that they were closing the café and could I ask my guests to leave now. He’d sent it at 11pm. Oops. I gave the family a big bunch of flowers the next day.

You’ll notice I’m Harris Graham here. In Vietnam the name order is the reverse of that in the UK and this causes enormous confusion. I’m often referred to as Mr. Graham and even if I point the error out, people still do it. My landlord often calls me Harris.

Talking of names, I had 4 girls called Chi in one class last term and in another, 2 girls called Nhi and one called Nhu. It made for some confusion.

The icing on the cake though (pardon the pun), was that my mate Bob was in town and could attend too (we've known each other 30 years).

*****

I think I was getting a bit uptight before I went home this summer – I needed a bit of a break and normality, and I think that is largely to do with the traffic. It is rather too hot to walk around Hanoi and the pavements present several obstacles … like trees …

So I drive, like everyone else. That would be fine but the rules of the road aren’t obeyed too closely. In a way it’s fun – there’s nothing that focuses the mind better than approaching a road junction where there are no traffic lights and so traffic is going in 4 directions at the same time. Your mission is to get to the other side in one piece. Essential, as the only ambulances I’ve seen are minibuses with a red cross on the side and I was rather perturbed to see one stop the other day to treat a patient and a 20-something lad jump out of the front in jeans and a t-shirt. To be fair, a nurse jumped out the back but I’m reassured more if everyone looks the part. Must drive carefully …

*****

Earlier this year there was an added hazard just a few doors down from my flat. There was a sign saying ’Beware of cow’. The sign’s gone now so I suppose the cow has too. Probably eaten.

In fact, livestock are a feature of life in Hanoi. Chickens are everywhere, but it’s a little unusual to see a cow. This one was grazing on the wall beside a main road.

*****

T-shirts with slogans using mis-spelled English are everywhere in Hanoi. The best I’ve seen was a teenage girl with a slogan that said ‘pervert’ very clearly. My guess is that she thought it said ‘perfect’. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth.

*****

Bike photo of the month: The family run-around.

I couldn’t tell if the woman is holding a baby or not. It would be quite normal if she was. I’m still waiting for the elusive ‘5 on a bike shot’ and can’t be sure if this is it. Notice the boy on the front in a sunhat – children rarely wear helmets when on the bike with their parents.

I know, I know, 2 blogs in as many weeks. Don’t I ever work? Well, no actually – we’ve just had another holiday. Tet (Chinese New Year) has arrived and most things close down. Travelling around Vietnam at this time of year is a bit like visiting Britain at Christmas so I hit the road.

The week before however, we had the staff Tet/Christmas party. As ever, I got roped in to a few performances (sorry, no pics!)

The girls in the office did a traditional dance with fans ...

*****

I flew to Saigon first (also known as Ho Chi Minh City although many Vietmamese are happy with Saigon). They know how to do a flower display in Vietnam. Across the road from my hotel was a park with an amazing flower market. Not just flowers but also model animals made from fruit and bonsai too.

I was only here for one night so I did a quick walking tour of the main sights.

Notre Dame (yes, there's one here too) ...

In preparation for Tet, trees are decorated and groups prepare dances.

Father Christmas is, of course, on his 364-day holiday so kids have to settle for photos with Neptune.

The Post Office is worth a look. That's Ho Chi Minh in the picture at the end.

They make remarkable pop-up cards in Hanoi but there's an even greater range in Saigon.

You have probably heard of a 'bull' and a 'bear' market. Well, the origins of these terms are unclear but many believe that they come from the days when the two animals were forced to fight each other. The fighting styles were quite different - the bull swipes it horns up (so it is used to describe a rising market) and the bear swipes its paws down (so it is used to describe a falling market). Here in Saigon the statue outside the Stock Exchange rather graphically makes this all very clear in a way that I imagine would cause outrage in Britain. The fact that the bull is winning suggests optimism I suppose.

*****

A day later I was on my way to Cambodia.

Passport control at the Vietnam-Cambodia border is a long-winded affair. The tourists on the bus gave their passports and cash to the driver and then disembarked. The bus drove into Cambodia and we were left standing there. Nobody told us what to do so we wandered into the main building to find a large crowd of people standing around what looked like the passport control so we went and joined them. I don't have any pictures of this - if I had, I'd probably still be there as they get really upset with you if you take photos.

Basically, the procedure involved the border guard processing the applications, someone calling out the name and then that person grabs their passport and walks through. No searches or checks of any sort. The trouble was, there was about 100 people of all nationalities and the pronunciation of your name might not be correct. We were there a while, not entirely sure if we were in the right place or not.

Once back on the bus, I noticed that I had been given two bits of paper but no stamp. The border guard then got on the bus, took all the passports off us (again), and got off the bus with them in his hand. We drove away, into Cambodia, and away from the border. I sensed something wasn't quite right. Well, it was. We were off for lunch, about a mile down the road. Our passports were stamped and returned to us about an hour later. Phew. There must be a better way...

*****

Phnom Penh reminds me of Hanoi, but quieter. There's less traffic but the rules of the road appear about the same - there aren't any. Look both ways while crossing the road and keep moving.

They have interesting names for the government departments ...

The Royal Palace is impressive.

I passed on the opportunity to visit the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum. I've got the gist.

Here's the best way to get from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap - the fast boat up the Tonle Sab river and across the lake. It takes about 7 hours at speed and is quite exhilarating if you sit on the roof. It would be easy to fall off but that wouldn't be wise.

Siem Reap is a pleasant but touristy place that has become extremely popular due to its proximity to Angkor Wat, which is so much a part of the culture it’s even on the flag.

There are lovely walks along the river

For the true Cambodian experience, there is always the rather noisy 'Pub Street'

Just a few minutes out of town though, and you're back in rural Cambodia

*****

I took a guided tour to Angkor Wat, a sort of lost world hidden in the jungle. In fact, parts of it were used to film 'Tomb Raider' - it's got that sort of feel to it. Angkor Wat is the most famous and best preserved part but it's just one part of an extremely large city/temple complex dating back to AD800. Some experts believe the amount of stone used to build Angkor Wat is equivalent to that used to build the Great Pyramid of Cheops, but just about every surface at Angkor Wat has been intricately carved.

Angkor Thom ('Great City') is just up the road and is also worth a look. Though less well-preserved, it is much bigger with boundary walls 3km long. It is thought that as many as 1 million people lived in or around it at one time.

*****

Cambodia was, of course, devastated by its civil war and so now there are loads of organisations that are endeavouring to help people back on their feet and give them a chance in life. Many provide training and jobs; there are several cafes that train young people in the catering trade for instance. I visited one and was interested to see one speciality on the menu (I gave it a miss).

The circus was the most imaginative training project I came across. It was circus-theatre; the group performing had just graduated and performed a play using acrobatics, gymnastics and circus skills. It was amazing.

Another initiative is craft workshops. They allow the public to wander around to see how things are made.

There are schools too. This one gives an idea of what they are all hoping to achieve.

The biggest laugh of the holiday came as I was waiting to catch my bus. I am indebted to the owner of this Indian restaurant for providing me with the best translation of ‘mouth-watering’ I’ll ever see.

*****

I decided to fly home from Bangkok. Having asked around amongst other travellers who had just come from there, and checking websites, it was clear that Bangkok was peaceful and would be OK for a couple of days so I booked a plane home from there and jumped on a bus.

My journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok was unremarkable – even the border was easy this time. However, at one of the frequent toilet stops at a services in the middle of nowhere, I was standing outside the 7-11 store (they’re everywhere in Thailand it seems) when one of my colleagues cycled in and stopped in front of me. He just happened to be cycling across Thailand and timed it perfectly. Any other 10 minutes and we’d have missed each other.

Well, there are a lot of barricades and razor wire around town at the moment but the rallies were peaceful affairs and everyone was going about their business as usual. I stayed for a day and took some pics: