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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Jan 23, 2007 07:00 PM My Son - ruins of Champa Kingdom
In Hoi An I stay in the Sea Star hotel - now - in the low season they charge only 8 USD for clean, airy single room with bath...
Hoi An in the base for the excursions to the ruins of My Son - the religious center during the period of Champa Kingdom (from 4th century AD - they compare this culture with Angkor Wat and Borobodur).
The half day excursion by bus will cost you just 2 USD plus 60000 dongs entry fee.
I will tell you the true: it is interesting place but do not expect another Angkor Wat or Borobodur. The scale is much smaller...
All buildings - mostly temples, covered partly by tropical vegetation - are located in the radius of 500 m... The first two groups (B & C) are he most impressive...
But it is still most important archeological site in Vietnam. It is also on the UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List.
I was happy to read in the museum that my countryman Kazimierz Kwiatkowski - Kazik conducted there the excavation works in the period of many years... The second surprise was that that the grateful Vietnameese just built his monument on the main tourist street in Hoi An - it will be officially open on Jan 31st... That's nice that they appreciate the man from other country...
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Jan 22, 2007 07:00 PM Vietnam - Smiling and cheating...
I think that in Vietnam there is only one town like that... Hoi An is exceptional: tiny, located on the bank of the river with narrow streets and old yellow houses. Very picturesque place! It has special atmosphere of old, colonial days... There are few interesting chinese temples, little but interesting market and a lot of folklore on the streets. Entry ticket to five main attractions costs 75000 dongs.
Conical hats are still fashionable in Vietnam - you can buy one for you for less then one dollar.
This is the town of the tailors: here is plenty of them and they are ready to get ready your nes shirt in half a day for just 3 USD. If you want a suite it will be ready for tomorrow morning (cost: 30 USD). The people smile. But... If you want to buy a bread roll on the market they will ask you to pay 2000 dongs (price for locals-1000 or less). For the egg they asked me today 5000 dongs - the real price is 2000. And so on... No price on display! The foreinger is here to be cheated... Why?
I uderstand bargaining, 20%, 50%... but I see that locals do not bargain - so the prices for them are more or less fixed. Most of tourist do not know them and very often they even don't know that they are cheated... Smile... and pay!
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Jan 21, 2007 07:00 PM The tombs of the emperors...
Yes, there were emperors in Vietnam - till 1945. Hue, where I am was their capital and south of the city you can visit their ornate tombs...
The most flexible solution is to rent a driver on the motor bike.
Motor bike (like little honda) is the main mean of city transport. In Hanoi you will be bothered many times - and it is worth to use them since Hanoi is too large for the visit on foot. For the short ride you will pay 10000 dong (ask before, otherwise you will be cheated).
The standard price for visit 3 main tombs and the most impressive pagoda in Hue is 5 USD door to door... We started at 8 am and returned at 1 pm. The tombs are worth to see - they need some restoration but it is still wort to see them. The best one in my opinion is Minh Mangh... Just remember - you will pay extra entry fees - 55000 on each place except Thien Mu pagoda - the halls of the pagoda are closed now for restoration...
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Jan 20, 2007 07:00 PM 16 hours on the bus to Hue
The private tourist enterpreneurs in Vietnam are very well organized - they will send you from hands to hands... Tourist bus companies invented "open ticket". Since most of the tourist attractions are located along the 2000-km road linking Hanoi and Saigon they offer just for 22 USD bus ticket who allow you to make as many stops as you want on this route. No extra fees... It is really good deal, but keep in mind that you will be forced to travel with this selected company all over the way... They offer free pick up from the hotel but at the destination they will deliver you to the hotel of their choice...
I boarded the bus in Hanoi at 7.30 pm. Yes, I got a seat but there were not enough space for my knees... Can you imagine such a position during 16 hours? They also take into the bus more people then there were seats - all locals - they were sitting just on the floor...
At the destination they offered me their hotel (6 USD single room with bath). It was not so fancy but I was so tired that I accepted their offer...
Hue is the former capital of Vietnam - in the middle of the town there os old, huge citadel - they charge 55000 for entry. Perfume River is crossing the city... Enough... Good night!
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Jan 19, 2007 07:00 PM Vietnam - islands in the mist...
We spent a night in the La Long Bay anchoring between the islands... All night there was a noise from the boat's generator and they supply hot water only for one hour...
The *** boat was not so bright. If you want to have the beer at evening you must pay extra 18000 dongs. If you want second cup of coffee for breakfast you have to pay 5000. But the sccenery is beautiful! We took a long sail between the islands to the floating village, where local people are approaching on the little boats selling exotic fruits and vegies. You can also land on the one of these houses to see how do they live (poor level - it is not Brunei). They have even little floating school! In the midday we returned to the city of Ha Long and after lunch they delivered us back to Hanoi.
I was always dreaming about seeing Ha Long. It was nice excursion - and quite inexpensive regarding the scope of services... The only problem - I was not lucky with the weather. But this you never know...
In the evening I am taking the bus to the south - to Hue - it will take me whole night (650 km) to get there...
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Jan 18, 2007 07:00 PM Ha Long - not to be missed!
As you know I am not the enthusiast of the group travel, but sometimes it is the last expensive solution. I just make exception fot the trip to Ha Long Bay - famous for the landscape - UNESCO put it on the World Heritage List...
Many travel agencies in Hanoi offer the tours to Ha Long - you have a choice of 1-3 days trip and 2-4 star boat. The prices start at 25 USD for round trip transport from Hanoi, meals, boat, accommodation and guide plus entry fee.
I took 2-days tour with overnight on the *** boat i the cabin withe bath. It is slightly better standard - it costs me 36 USD.
Transfers in Hanoi are included so they took me at 8 am from the hotel. The trip to Ha Long City took us 4 hours. Then we boarded one of many tourist ships and sailed to the chain of those beautiful islands. It is really wonderful place! Unfortunately it was cloudy day, so the pics will have dark colors. The highlight was the visit to the huge cave and then climbing the hill on one of the little island for the great view of the area. Yes, I saw in the past Pha Nga Bay in Thailand. There are also such islands. But here you will see much more of them - here the scale is few times bigger.
Hal Long is a must if you are in Vietnam!
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Jan 17, 2007 07:00 PM Good morning Vietnam!
It was 7.45 am when I boarded 3-wheeler on the street in the remote Pingxang. The chineese driver asked for 20 yuan to the border but after some bargaining he agreed to take me for 15. 20 minutes later we reached parking lot near the Friendship Pass border crossing.
I took my backpack and walked to the huge stone gate. After the gate there were big, impressive border control building - there they stamped my passport without any problem... Then there were just 100 m to the barrier and again 50 m to the Vietnameese building. Formalities took me 10 minutes. The only surprise was requested fee for medical control (5000 dongs - have them ready from the money changers on the chineese side - if not they will ask for 3 yuans).
Nobody at the vietnameese post spoke any european language including Russian - so I had no chance to ask why I was forced to wait 2 days for the entry to their country...
Good morning Vietnam!
There were no bus transport from the border control to the nearest town - Lang Son. It is 18 km. Taxi drivers asked for 200000 dongs. Then for 5 USD, finally they took me for 3 USD. In Lang Son they put me on the private minibus going to Hanoi (about 170 km). They asked again for 200000 dongs. I paid 10 USD for 3,5-hours trip, and I saw that they are collecting from the local people only 50000. Shame... So this is true that in Vietnam very often there are two prices: low for the locals and high (2-3 times higher) for the foreingners... For 1 USD they pay 16060 dongs.
Hanoi has interesting Old Town, the mausoleum of Great Leader and few nice temples on the lakeside to see. I do not like the hordes of motobikes on the streets - they generate a lot of smoke and noise. But at every corner you can buy your bread and crispy, fresh french baguettes. There is also cheese and butter available at every grocery. Oh - la, la!
I pray for the good weather for tomorrow - I plan to go to the famous Ha Long Bay...
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Jan 16, 2007 07:00 PM 18 km to the border...
PINGXIANG. Did you hear about PingXiang? It is a little chineese town on the main road to Vietnam... I stay here involuntary in the chineese army camp... Every time I pass through the gate I politely say -Hallo!- to the guards - soldiers in the elegant uniforms. There is not much to do in PingXiang. I buy my daily bananas on the little market (2 yuan per kilo), mandarines (3 yuan per kilo) and tomatoes (2 yuan again). It is cheap: for 1 USD they pay 7.78 yuan... Sorry - no bread... There are people from the minorities visible on the streets, but they are shy to be photographed. No other tourists... 3 km down the road there is a "downtown" of Pinxiang with few hotels and shops.
No much to do - so it is laundry day. Touts offer money exchange: for 1 yuan - 2000 vietnameese dongs. What will be the rate on the other side of the border? Who knows?
Tomorrow in the morning I'll try to cross the border to Vietnam again. It is 18 km to the road border crossing. Next train will come two days later - I do not want to wait so long time...
So please keep your fingers crossed my friends! I believe it helps!
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Jan 15, 2007 07:00 PM No, I am not in Hanoi...
T-5 train departed from Guilin with one hour delay. In Nanning they took all of us off the train... (for cleaning?) an hour later we boarded our international express again... Only two passenger carriages in the train! Bad news: the chineese carriage will go only to the Vietnameese border town of DangDong. Then, in the middle of the night all passengers are changing the carriage to the Vietnameese one! Even Lonely Planet did not mention that...
At 1 am we reched the chineese border town of Pingxiang. Immigrations collected the passports. They came back with them an hour later. No exit stamp in my passport! -You must disembark the train! - somebody translated because the immigration officers know only english: Hallo!
Why me? -In your vietnameese visa you have written date of entry to Vietnam 18th Jan, it is 16th today! -You have to wait two days!
But... there is no disscussion in the middle of the night with the officer who do not speak any European language...
I dissembarked the train...
It is VERY difficult planing four-months RTW voyage to precise the entry date - I did not know T5 timetable... Now you will know what to expect on this outback border crossing...
Good night from China!
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Jan 14, 2007 07:00 PM Ready for T-5 train...
I am back in Guilin-China. At the railway station I got my ticket for the tnternational T-5 train Beijing-Hanoi. Soft sleeper cars only - they charge hefty 527 yuan. But I got it! Depart will be in the afternoon. There is another - less expensive option to get to Vietnam: 10.30 pm sleeper bus to the border for 250 yuan and then on the other side you have to look for the other bus to Hanoi. But I have bad experience with chineese sleeper buses: they are for the people who are up to 150 cm tall and not so wide. I am 182 cm, so for me a night I such a bus is like a hell... Thank you!
On my first evening in Guilin on the main street between rail and bus stations I was bothered by the local ladies. "Beautiful, beautiful!"- they know some english words. "F... - 200 yuan!"-they offered. And when I politely said: Shieshie! Thank you! the price for "F..." dropped dramatically to 100 yuan.
100 yuan is just 12,50 USD. The price for the party with "beautiful" chineese ladies is not so high! I saw the same ladies on the main street today... They did not repeat their offer probably because I had a huge bacpack on me. I did not see any presence of People's Police there...
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