Americans Retreat from Vietnam

Hanoi was different. In celebration, we will be writing this post differently, showing good points in BLUE. If you are easily depressed, on the verge of suicide, or feeling hopeless, you may want to read only the BLUE sections. If you are Communist, you may want to skip all normal type and go straight to the BLUE. If you want the whole story, read on.

People

Upon arrival, we had a sketchy taxi driver and his partner who tried to take us for a ride, monetarily. He did not have a meter in the cab, but was offering the same rate (it is $7.50 per person to the Old Quarter). On the way there they tried to tell us that 300,000 dong is $2 US, showing us the dong and insisting. (They never counted on us figuring the conversion rates before we came and making a chart for quick reference). We looked up the actual value; $300,000 is around $17 and we told him so. We became very nervous because he was chatty before, but stopped talking when he realized we weren't that foolish. We wrote notes back and forth, which are pretty scary looking back, saying, "they could be taking us anywhere, they may mug us, try to over charge us, hold our bags ransom, or worse." We passed some police and they quickly shut off the light we were using in the backseat, which only made us more uneasy, as they clearly did not want us to be seen in their car. We decided to pretend that our money was in the trunk in our backpacks, and sure enough it was a good idea.
They did take us near our hotel and the street was absolutely packed with people like we had never seen. Manhattan has nothing on these throngs of people walking, riding and sitting all over the streets and sidewalks. They pulled over and said "pay us, pay us now", in very unkind tones. We told them the money was in the trunk and they were very upset by this. We get out on the sidewalk and they threw our backpacks at us and insist on $30 US (twice what they should have and what we agreed to), but we really didn't want to get jacked for $15 bucks so decided to pay it and get out. However, when trying to pay in Dong, they tried to grab the money from Ben, insisting that they would take the equivalent of $30 and again got very upset when Ben refused. Luckily, we had some US money left and gave them that. They were very displeased. Welcome to Vietnam.

Unlike in Thailand, the people are not smiling in the streets. They have no shame in showing their anger at each other. We witnessed a lot of aggressive looks our way. It is important to remember that we went to war with them, only 35 to 40 years ago. Our troops were calling them "gooks", killing their women and children, destroying their villages, and they were punished for their geography and their government's politics. While the US GI's were following orders to win at all costs and kill whoever got in their way, the North Vietnamese soldiers were committing the same atrocities against their own countrymen in the South. We talked about Roger Rabbit, remembering the line "a Toon killed my brother." It is easy to understand why they don't appreciate our presence.

Our hotel had breakfast for us everyday and set up tours for the customers. They were surprised that we did not want to take a tour to Halong Bay (we did not want a 10 hour round trip on a bus, it is out of season there, and we just saw similar geologic formations in Khao Sok.) Instead, they set up a tour of Hao Lu and Tam Coc for us. Our hotel was called The Astoria at 151 Hang Bong. They were gracious, kind, helpful and all around great people. Returning to the hotel everyday was like coming into a sanctuary of kindness and a very cool air conditioned room. Comfortable rooms, very clean and well kept. We recommend this place if you ever have to come to Hanoi!

The young adults of Vietnam are an interesting lot. As in Thailand, the women who are educated or professional show it in their dress and would never be caught dead wearing revealing clothes, skimpy tops or short skirts. They take pride in the fact that they were smart enough to get real jobs, or go to school. They tend to dress in business casual attire, even for a quick bite to eat, so as not to be confused with someone who works in a bar, or worse. It is an interesting cultural difference, and they are very kind, smart and proud when they speak English.

Places

The first morning we were there, the streets were noticeably calmer than when we arrived. We walked to Hoan Kiem lake, a lovely site in the middle of the town where their version of the Sword in the Stone happened, but with a giant turtle. There is upscale shopping here, lovely couples sitting on benches, families enjoying the view. We went to Pho 24, recommended by our hotel, and had a satisfying bowl. We enjoyed watching the city around us from our window seat. We truly felt the appeal of Hanoi and were starting to understand why it is touted as "old World charm".

Water Puppet Theater

We had the greatest time at Water Puppet Theater. They have a live traditional orchestra with singers performing while amazing puppeteers put on a show. The puppets come out of a curtain, pop out of and glide through a pool in the theater. The puppets were glorious, the music was incredible and the story told was of the history of Hanoi. We thoroughly enjoyed this and it is not to be missed if you are ever in Hanoi!

Hao Lu and Tam Coc

We went on an excursion to Hao Lu and Tam Coc, and actually had to ride on the bus with a pedophile from Australia with his 13 year old girlfriend. We were furious, disgusted and exhausted. Tired of the evil around us and are sick that people from the first world support this. This particular person clearly still lived with his mother back home and actually had a FlowBee hairdo. He bragged on the phone to some of his friends. Despicable does not begin to describe! He was from Sydney and is an embarrassment to all Aussies!

The tour consisted of visiting the old capital of Vietnam. Hanoi has only been the capital for the past 999 years, previously it was here in Hau Lu. We were able to see the site for only a few minutes, then were told to follow the tour guide out. Upon departure, we had to get Cathie a hat (112F and laser sun, lost hat, longer story), and decided to get 20,000 Dong out and quickly buy a suitable hat from a local. There are vendors all over, begging you to buy their wares. We found the hat and paid the woman before the others attacked us like flies on rice and moved on. A girl from Israel who was in our group saw the hat, loved it, and decided to go back and get her own. She quickly disappeared in a swarm. All you could see of her were arms above her head with about 15 Vietnamese women dangling off of them. We told the tour guide she needed help and his response was "I told you people not to buy anything."

The bike ride itself was unforgettable, the views of the limestone cliffs and rice paddies were stunning. They call this area the Halong Bay Inland, because the mountain formations are similar to Halong. We rode through scenic areas and villages until ending up at the restaurant that was included in our tour. We sat down for much needed water and a pretty decent buffet where Ben tried the local specialty, goat.


They took us to the river bank where they set us up with local boat guides to take us to the river caves. Our boatman was paddling with his feet and a woman, presumably his wife, helped out. We went through three amazing caves on the water and saw monkeys from the bank.

A tip for the boat ride: bring extra cash to buy the boat people beverages at the turn around, to buy the woman's needlepoint and to tip. Otherwise, you will be grabbed roughly by the vendor, poked by the woman with the needlepoint and they may just leave you somewhere along the river.

We had an interesting and death defying drive back to the hotel in rush hour traffic, with buses and minivans careening toward our bus every three seconds. The trick is not to look out the window. Otherwise, the fear of death kind of ruins any fun you may have had during the day.

Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Vietnamese Ethnology Museum

We went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum by accident after our cab driver dropped us off at the nearest museum, disregarding our request even after we showed him the map. The Ho Chi Minh complex includes the museum, the mausoleum where Uncle Ho's body is kept, and the One Pillar Pagoda which was built in 1049 based on a dream the emperor had about a fertility goddess. The mausoleum holds Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body, despite his wishes to be cremated and spread across all of Vietnam. The corpse is maintained by the world's foremost communist embalmers, who hail from the former Soviet Union. The Ho Chi Minh Museum sits on an angular foreboding looking building, and once inside, is a bizarre mix of communist propaganda and surrealist art. The first floor is filled with photos and writings of Vietnam's most famous citizen, along with more recent photos showing how much progress has been made since his death by following his testament. One of his quotes, prominently displayed on the wall stated that the Vietnamese will never stop in their efforts to rid their country of US aggression. The second floor of the museum is full of art exhibits intermingled with sculpture, paintings, and walk-through exhibits interspersed with communist slogans, propaganda and posters. The only time we didn't feel the weight of totalitarianism was when a group of local teenagers asked if they could take a picture of Ben with their friend. He was a foot and a half taller than them, and might be on the next cover of Vietnamese TigerBeat.

The Vietnamese Ethnology Museum was a gift from the French government, and was the museum highlight of our stay in Hanoi. The exhibits encompass all aspects of the lives and cultures of the more than 70 ethnic minority cultures in Vietnam. Their tools and clothing are displayed, and their rituals are shown on video loop with explanations in Vietnamese, English, and French. A Vietnamese tour guide walked past us speaking perfect Catalan to his group of Spaniards. Everything is clearly labelled, and we could have spent another hour or two wandering around, but it was after lunchtime and we were out of water. Outside the main building, we found the oasis of a French style cafe with a great menu of familiar fare and reasonable prices. After a sandwich and a beer, we were ready to finish the tour of the various ethnic buildings that fill the grounds of the museum. There were many styles of long houses, tall houses, stilt houses, and shacks. The tiny shacks housed one family, while the larger ones house several generations at a time, and the tall house is meant for village gatherings and can hold up to 100 people. Leave it to the French to know how to put together a comprehensive, educational, and satisfying museum experience.

Politics, Facilities and Infrastructure

In the US we had a calendar counting down the days of Bush's reign. It was a gift from our brother-in-law. We never appreciated the fact that in some other countries this could get the entire family imprisoned.

Communism is not cute or funny. Anyone who has ever glorified it has never seen the results up close. Those friends you may have had in college who claimed to be Communists were just contrarians who have clearly never seen it in the flesh. We had the impression that Vietnam was practically a "free country". We thought that if they had anything to hide they wouldn't allow tourists. Vietnam is part of the World Trade Organization with one of the fastest growing economies. They have bike rides across Vietnam for tourists; how benign, how Dutch. We were both excited about the Vietnamese cuisine, fresh ingredients, Asia meets France, strong coffee, it all sounded so great.

To be awoken on a daily basis with propaganda played over loud speakers is fine to use as an alarm clock if you don't understand Vietnamese. Those that do understand the language don't discuss the messages. We were on the streets the first time we heard one, and we both thought it was advertising. (On Ko Pha Ngan, trucks with loudspeakers drive around saying "This Sunday! Buffalo Fighting! The best in Thailand! Come see the buffaloes fighting!!") Well, no one broke into English on this announcement and the people looked down and any chit chat buzz around us dissipated. We wondered if it must be illegal to talk during these messages. We never figured out the schedule, sometimes it was 6:30am, sometimes again at 16:00. Once it was music.

We have read some interesting pieces on the war and understand it much more than we ever could have by reading about it in the safety of our classrooms. We both have a lot of empathy for all sides of the war; the Southerners, the Americans who served in the war, even the Northerners who had to do what they were told. The psychological scarring of this war is downplayed by the US military, as it is by the Vietnam government. There are many more old women than old men in Hanoi. They look at us like we are evil. Even if they could not tell we were American, or what our political beliefs are, they know that only people who could buy their way into air conditioning in the 112 degree heat and only those who had a plane ticket out would come here. We didn't see it that way at all when we bought our tickets.

The people born and raised here, particularly in the North, have only been taught one way of living and thinking. They are taught Ho Chi Minh's principles as soon as they can hear and their schools are there to enforce the communist beliefs, certainly not to expand minds. It is hard to fathom, while in the U.S., they definitely keep a lot of news from the people and out of the text books, we at least have the freedom to seek information if we are curious. Those that do in Vietnam should be applauded for having the gumption and willingness to risk their freedom to obtain enlightenment, whether in religious or political viewpoints. One thing is clear, most of the kids in Vietnam that we encountered would give their right arms to obtain the opportunities that Americans throw away. Like graduating from high school, going to college, or telling off your boss. Americans get to learn what they choose to learn and can travel without special permission from the police. The list of our privileges are endless. Maybe our misguided teens should come to Vietnam to see what they are wasting. It's easy to forgive these people for hating us after what has happened to them and how they have been brainwashed. It's a little less easy to forgive the willfull ignorance, bigotry and intolerance of certain Americans, especially now that we have free access to all the ideas and information in the world.

Everyone tells us it is much nicer in South Vietnam, where they are still treated like lesser citizens than in the north and are friendly to Westerners. Over a quarter million South Vietnamese were killed in the war, yet the country does not acknowledge them or honor them in any way. Only those who died fighting for the Communists are revered.

In Hanoi, like most of Southeast Asia, the water is not potable. Their government has issued warnings that even the bottled water is not safe. Our hotel boiled water in a tea kettle, then poured it into an active carbon filter that fits onto a water cooler. We searched online and couldn't find it, but it was called The Clean Water Filter. This was some of the best water we have ever tasted, surprisingly. We both believe that everyone in the US who pays for bottled water should use one of these instead and stop the madness with the waste of the bottles and extreme cost. After being forced to buy bottled water all through Thailand, we have resolved to stop being part of the problem back home, where we are privileged to have potable water and in some cases delicious water right from the tap, (Colorado).

Hanoi has no use for waste bins, as a government employee comes by once a day to clean the streets. Communism at work. Apparently this is a good thing as it employs people but perhaps giving everyone the opportunity to take care of their own trash, or deposit it in a bin, would give them the idea that throwing feces and chicken bones in the gutter for everyone else to walk through might be downright rude. We saw some of the workers taking a break on the sidewalk to remove bugs from each other's hair. It is disturbing that in this day and age this is happening. Shop owners wash down their sidewalks everyday. They are trying, but without the trash bins, what can they do? The services are provided by none other than their lovely government.

Most of the streets have no traffic lights and most people have upgraded from bicycles to motor scooters here. Surely they would say this is advancement, even capitalism at work, that people can afford to upgrade. However, with no thought going into where they should park, or where to use traffic signals or stop signs, it is chaos on the streets. The amount of pollution and congestion this causes is like they let a bunch of unruly teenagers take over with no plan for the future. You literally risk getting hit every time you walk outside and sidewalks are not even safe as they are blocked by people drinking bia hoi (fresh beer), even at 7am. The scooters and motorcycles have no idea of what a pedestrian walkway is supposed to be, they are either parked on them or driving down them, skirting past the people squatting around. The pollution is so bad that most young ladies wear a mask to cover their mouths. Both of us were ill from the pollution. We met a man in our hotel who has been coming to Hanoi for 10 years and he said it is far worse every year and even two years ago there were less motorbikes and less pollution and he now finds it unbearable.

Pho Party

The delicious soup, Pho, that we enjoy at home, is cooked in pots on the street and back alleys here. Both of us thought we would try the street food, but could not muster the courage. Everyone who knows Ben knows that he will try just about anything, but stopped short here. We saw a 12 year old girl pick up a 32 liter drum of bubbling broth to relight the coals under it. There are buckets of animal parts lying around waiting to be tossed into the mix. Ignore the inhumanity of the street itself, add some questionable meat and throw in some child labor and the soup that is left is bubbling Hanoi. We only ate the Pho at the two restaurants our hotel recommended, and both were in air conditioned, modern restaurants. We did like the Pho, but appreciate the quality of ingredients and the genuine recipes we have back home in Little Saigon. Who knew that taking Pho Party to the source would make us so homesick. Hanoi is a brutal stew.

A Few Notes about Hanoi and Vietnam

• Hanoi was much more expensive than we had hoped. It was closer to Hong Kong prices than anywhere in Thailand, without the amenities. If you have the bucks, stay at the Sofitel and hire a private driver, then you can avoid most, if not all of the ugly side of Hanoi. They do love money and will treat you very well if you are handing it out!

• We had planned to go to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) also, but couldn't do both (we decided we are here for a good time, not a long time, so had to cut some things out). We read warnings that South Vietnam was very hard to enjoy this time of year because of the massive rainfall, muddy river deltas and washed out roads. We chose Hanoi instead because it has less rainfall, is a smaller city, has the French Quarter and was described as "Old World Charm". After getting back to Thailand, everyone we talked to said the South Vietnamese were very nice, and they had heard that it is much different in Hanoi and North Vietnam (angrier, harsher, more political). We wish we would have tried the South instead.
  

• We learned that the government monitors all Internet use. If you say bad things about them, the National Internet Control Board can arrest you for spying or disseminating information harmful to national interests. They work with the ISP providers and cyber cafes. We didn't post anything bad about the government, but upon arriving back in Thailand, a few emails popped up that were apparently blocked while we were there. Not sure how this works, but it has never happened before, in any country. Read more about it here: the attached article is not available if you are actually in Vietnam.

• We learned that this "progress" Vietnam has seen is largely attributed to opening factories to provide the West with our cheap goods, to compete with their enemies, China. They had no interest in involving themselves with the West until the U.S.S.R. fell. The U.S.S.R. were backing all of their previous interests and sending aid. Just like the Chinese manufacturers, we buy their cheap wares although they mock Human Rights and democracy. We all need to take a hard look at where our products come from and realize the real cost goes far beyond the price tag. Our Nike are made in Vietnam, our Keen and Merrell shoes are made in China. We found out that the majority of the clothing and knickknacks at Target and Macy's are made in Vietnam. Does anyone buy anything from North America? Why aren't we investing in Mexico or Canada, or doh!, the U.S.? We will be more conscientious of this in the future, although surely it is impossible to avoid it altogether. How did a country so anti-Communist crazy in the 50's become so pro-Communist for cheap goods crazy in the 90's? Blame Clinton or Bush, but the cronies wanted to make more money, so they did. They could have refused to lift trade embargoes until the police state subsided, but they didn't.
  

• There are still at least 2,000 American MIA's. There are well over 300,000 Vietnamese MIA's.

• When we arrived in Hanoi, we noticed something was missing, something we saw a lot of in Thailand, what could it be? Oh, there are no dogs here. We saw three total dogs, one owned by a wealthy man (purebred), two chihuahuas (owned by a shop owner and not good eatin'). The rest are, well, lunch. Or dinner, actually. If you are invited to someone's home, they may serve it like we would serve a roast for special guests. We weren't invited. A tour guide told us that some restaurants serve it, but they would warn us if we accidently ordered it. Also, don't worry they don't eat their pets, only farmed dogs. Doing the math, there are six million people in Hanoi and three dogs on the street...not sure about the truth of that last statement.
  

• The North took over 100,000 South Vietnamese people and sent them to camps to get the freedom out of them and infill them with Communism. They were told they would be gone for a 3 days to one month. Years later, some never came back, many spent seven years or more in camps and they were not the same people upon their release. These were people who did not want the North to take over, many educated professionals, teachers, etc. Does anyone still think Communism is OK?

• We tried the Ca Phe Chon (Weasel Coffee). Much talked about because the beans are extracted from the feces of civet cats, it is a delicacy and honestly, is some of the best coffee we have ever had. If not The Best. We bought some on our way out of Nam and there is no chance of it making it home with us. SO GOOD. MEOW.
  

• While many will say there was no winner in the Vietnamese War, according to the U.S. they "never lost a major battle", but we did sign a treaty with the North and the South was taken and "unified". So, if we were there to stop the North from taking the South, but the North took the South anyway, how is that not losing? Many other governments in SE Asia feel that if we had not stepped in, they were going to be next (Malaysia and Singapore are examples), so they see it as a victory for them. At least someone was spared, maybe.We can't help but to feel badly for all parties who were injured, killed and maimed, no matter whose side they were fighting on. It is clear that the North Vietnamese troops were not given the chance to claim to be "Conscientious Objectors", and we will never know the real truth because the truth is kept like a secret in Vietnam.

• Here is a great quote we came across printed in our Footprint guidebook, from Robert McNamara, Kennedy and Johnson's Defense Secretary: "Although we sought to do the right thing - and believed we were doing the right thing - in my judgment, hindsight proves us wrong. We both overestimated the effects on South Vietnam's loss on the security of the West and failed to adhere to the fundamental principle that, in the final analysis, if the South Vietnamese were to be saved, they had to win the war themselves." Who said history never repeats?

If You Got the Money, Honey, We Got Your Disease

Welcome to the Jungle

Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

We decided to stay in Thailand for a few more days before heading to Hanoi. We were reading a book on Thailand and found that we were just a few hours from a virgin rainforest, which is older than the Amazon, and believed to be over 160 million years old. Home of the world's largest flower, Rafflesia, wild elephants, Asian sun bears, civet cats and many other friends, we knew this would be right up our alley.

We arrived late and found a bungalow on the river for 400 Baht ($12) after looking at a few that were over priced and very rugged. (Half of us are just not ready to sleep in a tree house with venomous snakes, but the other half really wanted to.) One that was recommended in the guide books, Art's River House, would not let us physically see their rooms before booking (a red flag). It was very European and they seem to charge more for that.

We ended up at Khao Sok Rainforest Resort. The host at the resort, SexyMan, was impressed with Ben right away. He gave him a wood puzzle that he uses to mock the tourists with and Ben solved it in less than five seconds. We read the guest book where past clients comment on the tours and the resort and we noticed that every client commented that they could not beat SexyMan at Jenga. This kind of challenge is what some people live for. Not surprisingly, by the time we left Ben was still undefeated.

The resort owner/manager, Cheri, met us and talked to us about the tours we could take. The resorts in the park are odd because all of the rooms are very rugged and mostly cheap, but they make up the money on the guided tours. She talked us into three tours in one day, the half day rainforest hike, tubing down the river and finally, the night safari.

We started the hike and saw some gigantic scary/hairy insects and later some monkeys. There were wild elephant footprints off the trail, but we weren't lucky enough to see an actual elephant. While we would have wanted to spend a little more time just checking the place out, our guide kept hurrying us along. If given the chance, we could have spent hours just staring into the forest and being quiet enough to see some more animals. We went to a waterfall that was beautiful and hiked on to an 800 year old mangrove. SexyMan showed off his forest skills when he hewed a new handle for his machete from a young tree, and cut some giant bamboo shoots to bring back to the resort kitchen for lunch. He also made us hats from a big leaf and some twigs. The forest is amazing.

After the hike we went tubing down the river along limestone cliffs and Ben took a Tarzan swing into the river with some local kids. At the same time, there were macaque on the other side of the bank swinging from tree to tree. With the white non-indigenous monkey trying to compete on one bank and the macaque on the other, it was almost too much entertainment! We continued on and saw multiple snakes in the trees. The limestone cliffs are impossible to describe, they are unlike anything we've ever seen and photos do not give them justice.

At the end of tubing, they took us to Monkey Temple where tame macaque ate peanuts right out of our hands. They all had different personalities and you could definitely see the hierarchy in their troop. The babies were adorable. The leader ripped the bag right out of our hands.

We went on the night safari at 8pm, and were joined by others from our resort, Paul, Trevor and Mark. We quickly found that Trevor would let the guide put anything in his hand, and we saw several gigantic spiders, millipedes and caterpillars. We watched a frog have a seizure while Trevor was holding it. We all hope he recovered! The only mammals spotted were two civet cats, but it was still exciting! The fauna was actually more noticeable at night. The forest is so massive and green that it is kind of a blur in the day, but with a flashlight it is easy to notice the plants and trees. Some of the palm branches were at least 20 feet long and our necks ached from staring up all night. The sounds in the jungle at night are tremendous. At times we could only hear bugs screaming and not our own thoughts.

After all this ,we were just exhausted, but signed up for the all day Lake Tour the next day. We are starting to think Axl was right, it gets worse here everyday, we're gonna die in the Jungle......



Ratchaprapha Dam was built in 1982, damming the Khlong Saneng River and filled in a jungle valley to make a hydroelectric plant. Dam it. The local villagers were given compensation for having their homelands flooded and many are now tour guides for the lake activities. They run the longtail boat tours and the floating raft houses on the lake. The lake is 160 meters deep allowing access to the tops of the limestone peaks that surround the area, the caves they hold, and a different view than what mother nature ever intended. It is breathtaking.

The lake tour included lunch at the raft lodge, with a crispy fried local gurami after the longtail boat ride to get there with some unbelievable views, spotting of more macaque and a fish eagle. We swam off the bamboo docks in the clean, clear, cool lake and took a kayak around nearby islands. After lunch we went on a jungle hike to a remote boat dock and our guide took us on the bamboo raft to Crystal Cave. The cave is small, pristine and lighted only by a fluorescent light the guide carried, powered by a car battery strapped to his back. This must be what Mammoth cave was like when the first people found caves there. No lights, no handrails, no underground restaurant. It was magical.

We had great time on this tour and highly recommend it. We had wonderful company, with our new favorite Ottawans, Angelique and Paul, and our guide Mr. B was the best we have had since arriving in Thailand. Funny guy, kind of a perv, in the best way (he loved showing us the phallic stalagmites that give Sexy Cave its name). The tour ended with our spotting two hornbills (rare!) and more monkeys on the way back to the main dock. It only took half a beer each for a couple of Dutch guys who were also on the tour to sing nonstop, in imperfect harmony, for the entire boat ride.

With the trip taking around 12 hours we were pretty worn out and ready for a hot shower and a good night's sleep. We decided three days of this jungle tour stuff would be too much, so planned on sleeping in and getting massages the next day, maybe hiking ourselves into the rainforest and sitting on a rock for a couple of hours of peace. If only things work out the way we planned!

It rained pretty hard on the way back to the bungalow and we quickly stripped down to take a shower, then just as quickly ran out of the bathroom and onto the bed shrieking. Well, maybe only one of us was actually shrieking, but there were leeches all over the bathroom. There was very little or no grout between the tiles and apparently when it rains, they come out for a visit. This is very unsettling and no way to feel refreshed. We got dressed and decided to grab a bite and went to the resort restaurant where we were informed that they gave our room away with a tour group that needed it and we had to check out the next day, even though we were reserved for it. They told us with the biggest smiles they had! We really only blame the manager/owner Cheri. The guides just work there, Cheri is the one who pushed us to take two days worth of tours on our first day, clearly planning for this. Pretty smart for the short term, she got all of our money on tours and made room for the next suckers. Hopefully in the long term this kind of business tactic backfires. I want to believe in Karma. Here's a quick tip: the only two people who really took advantage of us in Thailand were both very overweight. Maybe typical American sized, but by Thai standards, they obviously have excess. All that extra money they take is going somewhere, indeed. We found out after we left that Lonely Planet recommends this place, so I am not surprised they are a rip off. On the plus side, we really liked our guide Mr. B, and SexyMan was a nice guy. They were both looked embarrassed by what she did to us.

We walked around town looking for a new room but all of the other resorts were locked down for the night. Since they were kicking us out at 8am (yes, we couldn't even sleep in), we decided we had to blow the joint and leave Khao Sok in the morning. We were disappointed because we had free access on our 24 hour pass to the park and really wanted to sit on that rock and relax. We were also disappointed that the only place we could go to is Surat Thani. Most people don't even know that Surat Thani has hotels, it is pretty much used by tourists only as the port to Ko Samui, Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan. We had a flight to Bangkok from there the next day, so found a room online and gave it a shot.

What a pleasant surprise Surat Thani turned out to be. We stayed at the Wang Tai hotel. We left the room to get beers and were once again the only Anglos around for miles. Clearly this neighborhood was not expecting us. It is a great pleasure when the neighbors treat you like a novelty and not a walking wallet. In one store, the woman proprietor spoke no English and tried to get us to leave several times. After some great charades involving pinching of the nose, pointing at the armpit and the husband, she grew a wide smile and found the strong soap we needed. One little khop khun kha (thank you) later and she was our new best friend in all of Thailand. Follow that with 2 hour massages for only $250 baht (wow) and the best meal we had since arriving in Thailand and count us new fans of Surat Thani!

If you are interested in more photos & video, check us out on Flickr and YouTube. Code name: Sunshinerton!

Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand
3-12 June, 2009

Our exit from Bangkok could not have come soon enough. Venice of the East is so sweaty, bustling, vigorous, and fast-paced, that we were very much relieved to board an air-conditioned bus with big reclining seats for an overnight ride to the Southeastern coast of the country and the Samui Archipelago on the Gulf of Siam. But not before getting caught in a sudden downpour and having to make an unplanned change of clothes in the bathroom of our travel agent's office.

Our destination for this leg was Koh Pha Ngan, a small island which is still out of the way, and not yet overrun with big resorts. We stayed a couple of days in a mediocre bungalow on the beach which was booked by our travel agent in Bangkok. The port where the ferry docked was swarming with taxi drivers who couldn't understand that we might want to walk the short way to our hotel, but we soon made our way through the gauntlet and spotted a sliver of familiarity in this strange land: an Irish pub. From experience in traveling, we've found that Irish expats have spread all across the globe, and take their pubs with them. Surprisingly, the Harp in Thongsalad happens to serve the best curry in Thailand. Their Irish food was also excellent, so we ended up eating here 3 times in 48 hours. It helps to be able to eat something familiar every few days or so.

The south side of the island is a little overrun and not very islandy, there are too many tourists on 4-wheelers and motorbikes and you can't breathe for the number of taxis. We searched the West side of the island for a quiet, clean place that would be far from the all-night reveling of the Full Moon Party on the Southeast side of the island. Sadly, the Full Moon Party is not a Luau style, or any kind of island party, but a rave which attracts up to 38,000 people in high season. (33,000 of them have no rooms to stay in, so they pass out anywhere). Our bus ride down was full of these young party-going freaks, who come frome all reaches of the British Empire (England, Scotland, Australia), and are most likely their respective country's least valuable exports. We knew we had to avoid this, so we found a place called Cookies's at Haad Salad, on the opposite side of the island, which is perched on a steep hillside and has fantastic views of the beach and bay below.

Cookies's is run by a Burmese family and has the best service and friendliest people we have met since arriving. The food is great and they have free wireless internet in the restaurant, a selection of DVDs to borrow, games and puzzles. This is a family resort, and it seems half of the clientele have babies and the owners love to hug and hold them while people eat their dinner. So nice! They also have a great saline pool, which feels like heaven compared to a chemical laden chlorine pool. We could not recommend this place more! We may have agreed to let Zen Zen move in with us in America, her dad will not be pleased to lose her!

Haad Salad is the perfect place to kick back, there is very little to do except relax. Our room has an amazing view of the bay, with a hammock on our balcony. We took a snorkeling trip on a Thai longtail boat (hang yaaw) which took us to several spots along the coral reef and stopped at a remote spot called Bottle Beach for lunch.We rented a kayak and snorkels on our last day and went to a neighboring bay where we snorkeled in the most pristine coral reef. Hopefully the tourists stop standing on the coral and our hope is that the locals will become more conscientious of protecting their natural wonder. With the increase of tourism, more conservation is necessary. We swam in a dead reef in Costa Rica this year and it was very depressing. Keep Ko Pha Ngan alive!

Haad Salad and the whole north and west side of the island is a tropical paradise, the water is aqua and teal and the cliffs are very steep, but made of granite so there are no mudslides like in Hong Kong or Southern California. Considering the pristine beauty here, there are fewer resorts than would be expected, but unfortunately, the popularity of the Full Moon Party is changing that. There are new buildings going up and forest burning to clear the way for more. We hope that the island can maintain the charm that we have found in Haad Salad!