Greetings,

This is the video of preparing a King Cobra Curry in the Mekong Delta. Supposedly if you eat it’s heart and whatever “gon” is while it’s still beating it brings you some kind of, something. Either way in true SHABL fashion, it had to be done so… It got done.

When shooting odd animal internal organs you don’t really taste it so its not that intense. Drinking the blood was another story and that will be uploaded later this week or next week. This was all done on the private Mekong delta tour that started with some gent approaching me while I was having a breakfast.

The curry was alright but the experience is what it was all about. If you’re in SE Asia, go to Vietnam (one of my fav countries) and go on a private tour if you can. The organized tours “just aren’t the same”. If you enjoyed this be sure to watch the “Eating Rats in Vietnam” video as well.

I also have footage of eating all the ginger left from the blood which was arguably the grossest thing of the whole process. Also have one of eating hot chili’s. It doesn’t look like much but after you see the tour guide refuse and the guy he makes eat it take a small bite then spit it out it gives you a better idea. Of course, that is coming as well.

The dude in Pj’s is missing a finger from a cobra bite. He had to cut his finger off then drive himself to a hospital god knows how far away. He said if he didn’t cut his finger off, he’d be dead. He catches the snakes and when random tourists come through on a private tour … They can order them from the menu, if he has any in stock.

That’s about it from SHABL for now.

Tips hat,

Hello and good day?

How art thou? That’s good to hear, I’m fine thanks as well.

Now that the small talk is out of the way, let us get to the very important matter of what’s on the menu, shall we? Monkey brains are a little crass, the Mekong was difficult to fish in, couldn’t even catch a bass, rats. On the topic of RATS let us discuss the very important matter of picking, preparing and well, eating rats for dinner.

The video below is VERY graphic in nature, you have been warned…

Lots of taboo associated with eating rats, why? Many parts of the world do not have the luxury of just showing up at some massive big box grocery store and picking finely procured meat products. Yet many sit back and look down at eating common vermin, we here at SHABL believe the key to understanding is experiences. Considering we had had King Cobra the night before and nobody wanted the duck heads, we thought it only made sense to move a little down the food chain…

Supposedly rats taste like chicken and many prefer it to chicken, believe it or not.. Also the rats one can procure at local markets in the Mekong Delta are field rats, or let us just say “organic rats”. There is a difference, if you know, please let me know.

Personally, not a fan of rat and most likely won’t eat it again unless it’s served to me at a formal black-tie dinner party, you know, tuxedo and top hat affair of such. Think that’s crazy? In Sapa I met some gents at the coffee shop and went back to dinner that one of the gents wives had been preparing. We had shaved pig ear salad to start and pig intestines for the main course followed by a bottle of Jim Bean.

When one is invited to such affairs it would be rude and uncalled for not to partake, also in case you have been living under a rock, we here at SHABL (myself and whomever I’m with) are down for anything, anytime, anywhere. Life is a lot more fun that way, you should try it sometime if haven’t already.

Suffice to say my favorite part of the rat was it’s inners, lungs, heart, all that jazz. Kinda like “extreme pate” We’d have more footage of us eating it and our favorite pajama wearing chef cooking them had we not ran into an old school hippy and, well, gotten distracted. The chef threw them on the BBQ, I’d rather some type of seasoning…

The rats cost us 200,000vdn a kilo or $10US. Still think that was a steep price but it was cheaper than cobra and more expensive then goose heads and none of us wanted monkey brains. Above is my favorite pajama wearing chef. Not only is he down for cooking ANYTHING, he’s always down for a laugh and of course, a cigarette, miss that guy!

I met the gentlemen who joined me for this dinner party in Saigon. After meeting “Mr. X” I ran into one of the gents who was on the same bus as myself while enjoying beers on a street corner. He was with the two other fellows. I mentioned the private Mekong Delta Tour and they were in. Great group for such a trip, remember that when you travel alone, mini-crews form all the time, don’t wait for someone else to come, just go.

Above will give you an idea of what else is coming up on the menu this week here at SHABL. Naturally it was all prepared by our personal chef. Once you have a private cigarette smoking, pajama wearing chef, the rest, seem quite vanilla and incredibly boring, I dare say. This is also where my crippling sugar cane addiction began, thanks guys!

Tip of the hat,

P.S: Enter here to win a free 1st class eurail global pass.

P.P.S: If someone suggests you attend a Long Island Ice Tea breakfast party, I suggest you decline.

Search Du Jour?!: “don’t have boring tuna” – Search.

Good day,

Been going through old travel content I collected over the last 12 months, lots of interesting stuff. Next week will be “eating odd animals week” featuring videos on eating rats for dinner from picking them out at the market to eating their lungs or whatever the insides were to eating King Cobra heart and something else (still not sure) while still beating and of course, drinking its blood.

Then for whatever reason found videos of eating all the ginger that was left in the bottom of the king cobra blood mix and hot chilli peppers that our guide would only eat the tip of then had to spit out, the others wouldn’t even touch them. Lot’s of people I have met didn’t like Vietnam saying the people weren’t friendly, odd? I found them to be some of the most fun people on this planet… ~Shakes them~ What’s wrong with you people!?

Here is a sneak peak, too lazy to process videos so the rat one will be up Monday and the King Cobra will be up later in the week. Looking through this content makes me realize that more odd things must be eaten.

This was all possible by taking a chance and trusting a random moto guy who approached me at breakfast and said I should go with him for a private tour of the Mekong Delta where we could do anything… Arguably best tour of the trip and went with some dudes I met a day or so earlier through most random circumstances, naturally. Ever wonder WHY you run into the people you do? You’re on similar paths, indeed.

That is all,

P.S: Considering I’m “settled in” and only like doing things I enjoy, lots of updates coming daily. We here at SHABL believe in abundance aka some is good but more is better, for most everything.

P.P.S: Don’t forget to enter to win a Free 1st class Eurail Global Pass.

P.P.P.S: Walking around town in slippers is the first step to walking around in public in your Pajamas, very popular in Vietnam by distinguished gentlemen of the highest order.

Random Search!?: “An exray of my brain would show I am insane and boring” – Result.

I write this from an internet cafe in Nanning, China. I took a sleeper night train from Hanoi, Vietnam last night. It left at 9:40PM and arrived today @ ~9am. Doing customs at 2am between Vietnam and China is quite interesting, indeed.

China is one of those few places in the world I’ve always been interested in visiting. It’s arguably THE economic powerhouse and new fortunes are being built every minute of every day. If you’re a lawyer billing $500 an hour, you still can only work 8-10 hours a day. If you’re in sales for a product with global demand, you can dine on 10 course meals in Brazil with potential clients on their yachts.

If they like the cut of your jib and most importantly your wares, you can make more in one sale with residual implications than such said lawyer can in a year, with a drink in hand, might I add. Any service profession is not scalable, get where I’m going?

As fate would have it, I ran into some gentlemen of the most distinguished order. Lord Chazington III, “King Chode” and King Khong. I took a taxi with LCIII & KC and met KK on the train.

Luckily for us, King Khong who is from Holland is of Malaysian descent and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese, sweet. There are not enough tickets to Guangzhoudong tomorrow so myself and King Chode along with King Khong are going today, at 3:30PM. Lord Chazington III is leaving us towards Kummings. As my alter ego is officialy LLIII, I feel right at home with this most distinguished group. I most certainly do.

Not much to say about Nanning, didn’t get far. Eat at this local place and their pork was just fat, it was delicious but eating straight fat with chop sticks isn’t really my style. If you’ve ever wanted to see what it feels like to be a celebrity, just come here. Tones of girls filming you with their cell phones and random ladies smiling and saying hello whever you go.

We went adventuring until we found an arcade… I know why there are so many gamblers here. There are kids games that get you hooked on gambling. I lost many coins casting my net, I did indeed.

To begin with, there is a fishing game where you cast a net. The more coins you risk, bigger the net. If you miss, goodbye coins, you get a fish, hello coins. Many youngsters here banking serious coin.

The most obvious “spin off” is one of roulette but it’s little cartoon characters, again you risk money and can win it aka gambling. There is a Rambo shoot em up that is broken. After completing most of the game we dropped it due to sheer boredom and are now in this cafe.

Facebook, Twitter, Youtube are all blocked but easily accessible for someone with the right skill set aka knows how to connect to a proxy aka anyone can do it.

I will note there is less honking here but we are not in a major city.

The sleeper train from Hanoi to Nanning was quite nice and I remember remarking how I was somewhat sad to leave it upon arriving in Nanning, I think one of the sheets had bed bugs, that sleeping bag liner I acquired in Hoi An is well worth it’s weight in silk.

All this being said, the night train we are taking to the Guangdong province leaves at 3:30PM and arrives at 6AM the next morning. That equals to a lot of time spent on a train. Then again I have no timeline and no one waiting for me at the end so what is the rush?

We’re going to the SEZ aka Special Economic Zone where there is a different tax structure I’d assume and it’s a shopping mecca within a shopping mecca. People claim “Asia is great for shopping” and “China is the best” well we’re going to the hub of it all. I’m off with King Chode as he wants to go to Beijing, so do I. I reckon it’s safer to go two man and cheaper, no brainer.

King Khong will be leaving for Hong Kong, regrattably.

As always I’m more verbose then I had planned. Time for me to wander the streets while I get tanned through the smog ridden skies. Having no plan and traveling alone is often great and things just “work out” in ways you could never conceive. Remember though, you’ll never know unless you go.

On a totally unrelated note, those AF1′s are kinda trash. Then again they were $14 and it’s not recommend to get a new pair of shoes and then wander the streets aimlessly for ~8 hours before your train leaves. I have a blister, bunion or corn growing on a toe of mine, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll call it a blornion from here in.

I did however run into one of the ladies that I went on the night train with to Sapa, most randomly. It was a fun filled evening of cheap beer, cheer and even cheaper pho. I will note that she’s staying in one of the hostels and guess what!? She had her ipod stolen.

My reasoning is why risk a device worth a few hundred to save a few $!? In defense of hostels, one of the gents I’m with now left a bag there, with ~$125US an ipod everything and came back 5 days later and it had been returned, NOTHING touched.

Therefor one can only concluded that being in a hostel is like being in an ocean. Your stuff are small fish. When small fish number one leaves his home aka the bag nothing happens and it’s all well. When fish number two leaves on the other hand there is a nasty predator swimming by and he is gobbled whole, end of story. That’s life though, isn’t it!?

Opted for the SEZ & Beijing over Kummings and Nepal area for a few reasons. I want to check this stuff out, should be cool and if I do opt to bounce home for golf and fishing until Vegas in October, I can loaded my coiffers and take a direct flight to Van City.

Cordially,

P.S: The country side on the way here reminded me of being in Halong Bay, it was islands of rocks so I guess mountains or big hills coming out of nowhere, only no water. Yeah, something like that.

Greetings and TGIF or something like that,

From this lengthy title you can tell it’s been quite an interesting day, yes?

After passing out at 4am last night I awake at noon too get my visa, still not there. Then found out tomorrow is the soonest I can leave, booked a train. The train was $29US leaving tomorrow night. The bus was $22 leaving tomorrow morning.  I reckon it makes more cents (sic) to sleep on the train and sleep in.

Walk to get some water meet these girls, they want to drink beer. After drinking half a beer I realize they are posh princesses with a plethora of problems. I say good day and get on my way. Try and hit up a Dentist, can’t find it. Find it and it is closed.

Wander around and try again later, also closed. At this point I am walking home and notice a car inside a living room and think to myself “I must say, this is quite odd”.  So odd that I take photos then realize it’s a Dentist, odd.

I walk in and the place looks clean, I’m greeted by an older gent who speaks decent English. He walks me through the sterilization process and it meets my standards. He polishes my teeth for $7.50US.

It’s the 35th Anniversary of Hanoi’s Liberation Day today. As a result the town is extremely busy, mainly the lake area. After a long afternoon nap I walk around and take some photos, enjoy it. I am then walking for some food when I run into a Norwegian or Danish girl, if you’re reading this sorry, I can’t remember. Anyways we chat a bit and then get a bite to eat, then grab a beer and go back to the festivities.

I’m filming this bs on stage and I think to myself “This is where you’d get pick pocketed” there is like 1,000,000 people here and it’s so tight. Anyways I keep looking over at this sweet old lady with a hrmmm type eye. At this point I take my wallet and put it into my side cargo short pockets because I didn’t feel safe but for some reason I kept filming this show I’m almost certainly never going to put on the web. I felt like an old 50 year old man filming his kids friends eating cake or something at a birthday party. It’s probably never going to get watched because it’s nothing special so who cares.

Suffice to say, some lady comes over with little kid, I’m like that kid is close to me. Then go back to doing my thing, then feel slightest touch on my side pocket, notice it open. Figure ok, not sure what this kid is doing and motion to the lady I’m with, let’s go.

As we’re walking I explain to her what happened and how I “almost got pick pocketed”. Check my pockets, he got me. I run back to the area and it’s just a mess of people and they are obviously gone. Luckily, I found my money clip right where I was standing. A standard grab the cash, no evidence. I lost ~$5us. This is why you don’t carry large sums of money on you or passports.

Now I know why Canadians are so liked. There is a joke that you could slap us and we’d apologize. I’m sure many other cultures would have not been so naive when they felt the kid and definitely when they saw the open pocket and that kid would have been “in for it” along with mom.

This is the type of stuff they had going on at the festival. Kinda cool in a “extreme sports meet high risk gymnast type way” but not worth losing a wallet over, yes!?

Tips hat,

P.S: Kinda glad to be leaving this hotel, it’s nice but it’s 90 steps to my door, kinda intense in the mid day heat.

Hello and good day,

I sit here in a room on the top floor of a hotel in downtown Hanoi. I took a most annoying bus last night. It wasn’t a traditional sleeper by any means, in fact it was a Viet Bus that made frequent stops. Not that I overly care but this thing made so many stops and each time, the lights came on, disturbing my attempts at a prolonged slumber. Let’s not talk about the speaker over my head just PUMPING Vietnamese music. I don’t know why the drivers don’t just wear headphones or something. I will say that 80% of the time, I much prefer taking local transport over some “tourist mini bus”.

One day, when I stop traveling and am bored at home, I’ll write thoughts on sleeper buses vs sleeper trains vs whatever. However, that is not what this blog is about. It’s the daily account of a somewhat distinguished gent circumventing the globe to avoid a life of boredom. Life of boredom includes but is not limited to a job that steals your soul or making lifetime commitments before you’re really on a roll. I’d rather walk over many bridges then live underneath one like a troll, if that makes any sense to you?!

Anyways, got into town at like 6am and caught a moto taxi to my area. Almost settled for a dorm, never been in one but met a bunch of cool people who were praising it. Then I realized I was over tired, not thinking straight and entertaining demented disillusion of enjoying sleeping in a room with total strangers, many of which may or may not wreak of patchouli.

Anyways, I walked around until I found this place, it’s $14US a night, wifi, satellite TV, sick bathroom and 2 beds aka one is like a sofa or if you take a nap during the day, the other is your night bed or vice versa or whatever. I reckon hotels are dirt cheap here so I’ll buy their services in abundance.

Took care of some business and crashed hard for ~4 hours before awakening and buying exactly what I wanted, a new pair of Black mid cut Airforce 1′s. They wanted ~480,000vdn I offered them 280,000. They said 400, I said 280, they said 350, I said 280, they said 300, I said 280. I got them for 280. When making an opening price it’s key to get into their “acceptable sale zone”. If you go lower you offend them and they don’t care anymore. Also, don’t fold like a cheap suit, gotta know when to hold your ground. Probably could have done 250 but that may of entered the “offensive” zone.

At one point I felt the shopping sensation overpower me. I started getting all “metro” on that place looking at designer shoes that I’d probably ship home and be like “I can’t wear that crap and keep a straight face”. Prada, Gucci, D&G, you name it I was eying it. Needless to say I quickly realized who I was and what I thought was cool before making any ridiculoso(sic) purchases.

After copping the kicks,  I left my old dead ones in the store and went on a really long walk. Some people eat piglet fetus soup or piglet fetus whatever, pretty disgusting in my mind. Fetus!? Really!? Oh, with the moto man today, I saw this dude driving with a full pig on his bike just dead like some luggage. It’s hilarious how self righteous most people are. They will freak if you eat a dog but slaughtering pigs that are smarter 24/7 is totally cool. If I’m old, eccentric and exceedingly wealthy, I’ll have a pet pig named Paula or Paulie, mark my words.

I digress.

I freaked out in this crazed state to get my insurance claim in all to find out it needs to be mailed and not faxed, great. Furthermore, am I the only person who has totally forgotten how to use a pen? I had to fill out the form 3-4 times as I would make most egregious errors. I can barely write, the only writing I’ve done in oh say 15 years is my name and I still butcher that. Luckily I can type as fast as I can think or I’d be some dude spending way too long on his blog. That’s why you see typos and errors, I just don’t care. Some people pride themselves on this stuff, “Cool” but I’ve got better things to do, like nothing.

Obviously my visa isn’t ready so I will probably stay here another night.

China is coming soon, today was just another one of those random days where you don’t do much but putter around and see what’s going on. I did however have this weird moment while enjoying a pint at this pub watching life go by that just “felt right” like I was mean tot be drinking a beer in Hanoi at 2pm in the afternoon. I like Hanoi and love Vietnam.

Tips hat,

Good day,

Took the night train up and it wasn’t so hot, as a result I’ll try my luck on an $11us night bus from Sapa to Hanoi, Vietnam. Been in Sapa about 5 days, I think 2-3 is plenty and if you’re in the area, COME VISIT.

I’ve done a lot up here and to think, I didn’t even know it existed until some people mentioned it to me. The people are are insanely friendly, the accommodation is reasonable. I’ve heard prices as low as $5us a room. Split it and well, do the math. There is a plethora of fine dining opportunities, tones of hippy garb for you hipsters and cheap winter jackets of decent quality.

Yesterday was pretty cool, hung out with some of my new local friends and even went back to one of their places for dinner. I’ve never had pig intestines or shaved pig ear salad before. I won’t be having it again but it was “ok”. The intestines weren’t as bad as you’d assume. I went back several times until I got overzealous and eat a really big cartilage filled one, tough to swallow.

Later we hit up karaoke and then I went back to that bar I hit up on Saturday to say farewell to the owner. There was a large private party and he introduced me to the crew, we all hung out for a while it was a sick time.

If you have more time, don’t book your ticket home before you get here. The weather is nuts and can go from intense sunshine to monsoon like rain. It rained so hard today that the streets were flooding and staircases looked like waterfalls.

I’m going to hang out in Hanoi for a day or so, pick up some black Air Force 1′s and head to China, if my visa worked out alright. You are aware that Nike used to have a factory here, yes? Regarding the visa,  I recommend you put a rush on it before you go to Halong bay so you can pick it up when you return and come to Sapa. From Sapa you can get to China very easily, now I have to go back to Hanoi then back up, egh.

The Chinese visa is ~$45US for a Canadian. If you put a rush it’s an extra ~$30-35. What’s weird is most of the visas for foreigners are done out of Saigon aka HCMC and not Hanoi, weird, yes?

If you’re going from Vietnam into China, Nanning is a logical first step and you can get a bus direct from Hanoi there. I have no clue how much it will cost. China is huge so doing SOME planning is necessary. I’ve heard stories of ~5 day buses to cross ~600km due to the rugged terrain.

I’m excited about China as I’ve been in Vietnam now for ~2 months and SE Asia for ~6+. I’m kinda done with these places. They are wonderful but hey, it’s a massive world out there, lots to see, lots to do. China should be a trip in itself, if you’ve been let me know some places to check.

In true SHABL style, I haven’t done any research but know I’d like to visit the “Special Economic Zone” for obvious reasons.  Frankly, the less you know and expect the better it is. Expectations often lead to dissatisfaction, a gregarious demeanor and a fist full of fiat currency is usually all you need.

My bus leaves in 30 minuets, I need to hustle.

Tips hat,

I sit here totally exhausted but with a huge smile. Today I went trekking in Sapa, Vietnam with a local guide. It was a rare clear day and couldn’t of possibly had a better opportunity to venture into a world somewhat unfamiliar to myself. It was one of those cool experiences you won’t forget.

My buddies left today, alarm went at 7am, they shook my hand while I was in bed. Then like any true gentleman, I got out of bed and enjoyed coffee with them before they left, only proper thing to do. Drank a few more and did some web work before rolling out on yet another “solo adventure”.

Hit up the local market, eat some pho with some village people and begin wandering while wondering what to do with myself. I decided “Phuket, I’m going to go visit that village”. About 20 steps later, I ask these local ladies what way it is, suddenly they are all following me and offering to come with me. I give this one lady a pinky swear that I’ll go with her and buy something, I had a cool $5us burning a hole in my pocket anyways. Slowly but surely the other 6 women taper off until it’s just “T” and myself.

We cruise down the road and off the beaten trail, I keep thinking “ok, she must live somewhere near here, soon”. .. How mistaken I was, turns out she lives 12KM of harsh terrain away. There are a few villages in the big valley near Sapa. One is 7km, one is 10km and one is 12km. She lives on the outskirts of the 12km one, up the steepest and most erosion ridden paths one could imagine. I carried her basket most of the way, these ladies are TOUGH. T is 50 years old and walks 12km up hill to get to Sapa and then 12km back 2-3 times a week. Sometimes she takes a taxi but ONLY if it was a good day in sales and she is insanely tired.

We walk, we walk, we walk. I can’t describe the way there without doing it an injustice. It was truly a spectacular sight and sensational on the senses. We went through all the tourist hot spots and just kept going. By the end I was SERIOUSLY dragging my feet and sweating like a gorilla in full business attire on an local bus in Bali sans a/c during dry season. It is warm here in the sun and I had on my warmest clothes because I didn’t really pay attention to the weather when I left for breakfast.

We arrive and she actually has a pretty sick pad. I mean it’s basic but it’s quite big and she has tones of pigs, chickens and a dog. What is crazy is that 15-20 people live there, wow. She gave me the full tour and then I noticed some plants. Next thing you know I’m sitting on her front stoop high in the mountains near Sapa with massive bags at my feet. I sat there for what felt like an hour or so until my lungs officially refused to stop taking in air.

After that we eat a nice meal with her family and drank a bunch of rice wine. At this point she asks if I want to buy anything, I hand her 100,000vdn and say “I don’t need anything, this is for the experience”.

On the way down to the main road she gave me a purse or a money holder or something a woman would typically use, or a hippy actually, it would go great in a man purse or a murse or whatever the f|#$ you wanna call it. After that I caught a moto taxi up the hill for 40,000vdn.

Feeling fine and fresh, I then bought a North Face jacket that is good for the arctic. Not a liner, not a fleece but both AND MORE. They wanted 900,000vdn or ~$45US, I paid $35US. Proud of copping such a good item at such a discounted price I then went for an ice coffee. I ran into a crew of local dudes who said “come sit here”. I then drank beer with them while teaching a few of the guys how to pronounce English tones. They were thrilled because speaking English here translates directly into making more coin with tourists. One of the gents was a guide. He pulls in decent coin. He gets ~$7 a day but makes the rest in tips, he was very personable and typically caters to older people aka where the cash is at.

When we are done they insist on paying and I resist then just let them. I helped a few of them decipher a few tones and explain multiple meanings of different words they found confusing. What’s messed up is “No Thanks” and “I have no ….” are like almost the same thing up here, haha.

The moment they left I ran into a French friend from Halong Bay. He is going up to China a few days before me and meeting up with his parents. After that he is a free agent. I think we will team up and split rooms. He’s a solid guy and since we both have French and English we basically have a “secret language” we can talk. Having a secret language is great to discuss endless things from “is that too much, do you trust him, are we getting screwed or even wow, that chicks hot”.

I am totally exhausted, obviously as last night was another late one. I’ve been going strong since I left Hoi An and looking forward to just dying tonight. If I want to meet up for dinner, I should leave in ~5 minutes and I think I shall. He is leaving tomorrow morning and realistically if I don’t cram some cheap food into my fragile and fractured face soon, I’ll be out in an hour anyways.

What a totally random, incredibly awesome and unique experience I had to day. This is what I love most and seriously don’t bother with a guided tour when you get to Sapa. Just meet a nice lady and “go from there”, they will all offer to take you home and many sleep the night. I could have but I was like “ok, this was cool but I already have a room.” I’m glad I did it but I’m also glad to hopefully never have to take that trek again, it’s tough.

Considering I typically never add photos because I can’t be bothered, I’m in total shock and awe at the volume I’ve added recently. I don’t know what has become of me or who I even am anymore.

Tips hat,

P.S: I’m too lazy to match them up so I just put them in alphabetical order, don’t like it?!? Don’t come back.

Life is easy in Sapa, Vietnam. I’m loving it here and so glad I made the trek.

Living and hanging out here is quite easy and affordable. Many people pay to go trekking on day hikes, many people can’t wait to be separated from their money. I went on a hike today, for free. I just walked with a friend until we got bored, found a path and followed it. Later we cut through back yards, farming areas all in this most epic valley between the towering peaks of Sapa, Vietnam. Perhaps if you are going trekking for a few days to a week, it would be good to have a guide but for a day!?

There is a village you can visit that is 3KM away and it costs ~$1.50US. I don’t see the point in going as everyone from the village is already in Sapa, trying to sell you stuff.  Considering the festival is over and this place is starting to empty out, you really see how many villagers are here selling locally produced goods. It’s getting that weird vibe of this place isn’t what it once was for me.

Yesterday was pretty cool, after waking up we (myself and 2 Canadians who everyone assumes is a couple but they are just friends) eat a really nice 4 or 5 course meal for less than $5US. I have had many  but this was arguably one of the best I’ve had in my travels. The service was impeccable, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was outstanding. It was cold out and we eat by an open fire, even tipped the people, they deserved it.

After we got lost and ended up at this bar because it had a sick drink special on the door. When I go inside, I see an old friend who I haven’t seen in near a decade. I even took her out on a few dates in oh I don’t know, let us say 1997!?!? This was a great surprise and really random, incredibly random and a very pleasant surprise. It’s been a long time since I talked about “back home” with someone from back home. I was quickly reminded that I’m missing NOTHING. We also ran into the ladies we shared the train with, drinking ensued, obviously.

After the place we met we all headed to another bar and kinda closed it, slowly but surely people retired until yours truly and one other was left. After walking her home like a gentleman, I took the owner up on his invitation for another drink. At this point it was just myself and 3 local guys, the owner, bartender and someone who I assume also worked there. They gave me a really big glass of scotch and I downed it then sipped a beer while talking about life with them. We all agreed that everyone is the same, regardless of culture or creed, you’re cool or your not.

When I left at around ~4-5am it was so foggy you couldn’t see. I made my way home and that was that until I woke up with what felt like a little gnome blacksmith hammering an even smaller anvil inside my cracked head with great fury.

For breakfast, I eat the best chicken pho of my life in the local market for 15,000vdn and chatted with local tribe people. I really enjoy just chilling and eating where local people do, you probably already know that by now though, yes? I sat at the table above.

It’s weird being kinda “done with SE Asia” now. Everyone I see is going to places I’ve already seen. The ladies from the train and my friend from back home both left on night trains today. My Canadian friends I’ve been traveling with leave in the morning and it’s just “solo Rob” once more. I think I’m going to stay in Sapa for a few more days as my visa for China is not ready until the 29th.

One cool thing is that the girls who left today had a free meal for 3 and couldn’t use it, obviously I took them up on it. Myself and my 2 Canadian friends hit it up and made the most of it. They say there is no such thing as a “free lunch” but let me tell you, this was most certainly a “free dinner”. Thanks to the fine lady who so graciously donated the coupon to yours truly.

I have to say that I’m cool being a solo drifter as well, it’s my style. I will also say that when you meet cool people and team up for a while, it’s also really nice. It’s a great change and there are many advantages to it. Sapa isn’t a place where you really meet many people, mainly because most stay here for 1-2 nights MAX. I’d go back to Hanoi but I’m lazy and hate back tracking, so don’t feel like moving just yet.

It’s totally nuts how many people you keep running into. I was sitting in a cafe today, just enjoying life and realizing how spending money doesn’t make me happy when ~3-5 groups of random people I’ve met pass by. We exchanged greetings and I could have been anywhere in the world, but I was in Sapa, Vietnam. It was hot during the day today when the sun was out, once it hides though, it’s cold, quite cold. I may have to break down and buy one of those jackets.

Seriously though, Sapa is out of this world and incredibly beautiful. The people are super hospitable and the scenery is sensational. Today I saw a random horse running down the street with some guy chasing it, it was a “wtf”, I’m not in Canada anymore moment. It was the horse I attached a photo of. Not sure why I bothered adding so many photos to these updates as no one reads blogs on weekends.

I really don’t like this update, for the first time in ages, it kinda feels like work. Then again it’s a Sunday aka the day after a Saturday night, go figure.

Tips hat,

P.S: The photo below is the view from my $8US a night hotel room.

Greetings,

It’s been a while since I updated here, yes?

~shakes head furiously~

Took a sleeper night train from Hanoi to Sapa, Vietnam last night. We booked through an agent and it cost us ~$17US each. The train was a sleeper and it was quite the trip. The room we had was tiny, just large enough for 6 bunks. Quite the adventure having arrived home from Halong bay ~2 hours previously. We were teamed with a group of Vietnamese but previously saw some other tourists or at least I did, 3 women. One of the gents in our room spoke great English and I asked if he was willing to trade with the other tourists, no problem or “Cum co chi” as they say here. We even traded ticket vouchers to make it “official”.

Before arriving to the train we got ripped by a taxi. We loaded up and I told him meter, he said “no” like a little kid refusing to go to bed, high on sugar after Halloween. I said “yes” and he said “no” that went on for a while. Then he asked for 40,000vdn which was ridiculous, I proclaimed “Troi oi makwah!” which means “OMG that’s expensive”. I then said 20,000 he said 30,000, I said “whatever”. When the taxi arrived it had only cost 12,000 and I gave him 25,000 while giving him the “screw you in the nicest way possible” vibe. He wouldn’t budge or even take the money, threw down the last 5,000 and smiled and he just walked away, what a scammer.

The train was ~8-9 hours and we arrived in the dark of night. From there we jumped in a minivan that cost us ~1.5us each and made our way to Sapa. It’s a holiday today and this place is packed, so packed that we had to search endlessly to find a room, luckily, as always, we prevailed through much persistence and perspiration. It was COLD walking around here at ~5-6am, heck it’s freezing while I type this.

The room was not ready so we did what any sensible people would do, cruised the town. You know in Bangkok, those “frog ladies” who come from village tribes and sell beatnik bohemian wares to anyone slightly hippified who’d likes that type of gear? This place is a hotbed with them most often outnumbering tourists, seriously. They are not aggressive though, quite nice actually. It’s more endearing than annoying and don’t be surprised if you have ~15 of them following you around. Most of them speak good English and love to laugh.

The town is picturesque lined with shops, stalls and a market. There is a festival of sorts going and supposedly 5-10,000 people are here. This town is typically much sleepier, we picked a great time to hit it up, indeed. We cruised around for a few hours and my friends bought some stuff. You can get North Face Jackets here with quality zippers for ~$15 a thick fleece, ~$20 a gortex shell or ~$35 for the combo. Sadly, I have not found my style in my color as it’s COLD up here. Feels like Ottawa in late fall or early spring, take your pick.

I am tempted to purchase one but KNOW that I’m going to China soon, I will have all the selection in the world, of every size known to mankind AND MORE. YOU KNOW I’m going to the “Special Economic Zone”, obviously.

We plan on staying here a few days, may do some hiking of sorts or just may chill in the many cafes or stores. There is a market here that is quite authentic by all accounts. By authentic I mean it even sells dog meat. I have a photo attached below of some tasty looking dog skull. If I find one on a spit somewhere, I’ll have to indulge, anything else would simply be boring. A pig is far smarter than a dog, I do believe and we eat them. Should the world have worked out differently, maybe we’d have pigs as pets and dogs would live the gruesome life most pigs must endure. As a result, I refuse to let the label “Man’s best friend” stand in the way of trying new things. If you won’t eat dog, you shouldn’t eat meat, that is my reckoning. Also, this isn’t “your dog back home” so quit envisioning yourself eating your family pet, will ya?

The local people selling their hippy burlap attire are quite nice and of all ages. They range from ~6 year old kids with babies on their backs to 60+ year old ladies with dental hygiene that would make any practitioner rich beyond their wildest dreams. Everyone here seems quite pleasant thus far and I am glad I came here, same with the others I’m with.

The festival was going at 8am, they were blaring house / dance music and people from around the world gathered in the main square to mingle, bust out some moves and just enjoy life. Having done some reflection on my recent accident, I feel lucky to be alive with minimal damage, because I am.

Halong Bay was quite a fun trip, mainly because we had an amazing boat of absolutely absurd and adventurous souls. If we had been on another boat, with some more vanilla flavored individuals, I’d have many bad things to say. The trip itself was a bit of a crap shoot with all sorts of little “issues and annoyances” abound. I didn’t let them get to me but it reinforced my general disdain for group travel. The trip itself was good and I have so many photos my finger is sore so I will save the update for another day. Perhaps in a few days or when I return home and am bored after a round of golf. Long and short however is that Halong Bay is BEAUTIFUL and the definition of a tourist trap.

I will say that when you get to Halong Bay, they want your passports. Mine was at the Embassy and I GUESS I stand out as the guy only asked me where mine was. I had to go to the Police station, sign some crap and pay an “insurance voucher” or something of that nature. Meanwhile half the boat just didn’t give it or “went to lunch” and it was no problem for them, ha. I can’t complain though, we paid $38US each for 3 days, 2 nights while some people we met paid $80us. Do your homework when booking these things, aight?

It’s freezing up here for someone used to tropical climates and this is all I have to type. I will say however that typing with cold hands makes me NEVER want to crack my knuckles again. It hurts and reminds me of coming in from a winter day, sitting on a computer in my old house and experiencing a similar sensation, not so fun.

Slept a while, now we will cruise the town some more and enjoy a variety local cuisine while chatting with the local village ladies donned in burlap in this beautiful remote town / village of Sapa, Vietnam. Oh yeah, if you think that people in Vietnam or anywhere aren’t friendly, get off the guided tour. Those people put up with BS tourists all day, meet someone the way you’d meet someone back home and you’ll realize every country has pleasant people and we truly live in  such a wonderful world that all I can say is “WOW”. Met the dude above at 5am on the boat, we were the only two that were up, we drank strong tea and smoked cigs, good times.

Cordially,

P.S: The internet here is spotty but amazing considering where we are. I have many videos that will have to be shared at a later date.

P.P.S: If you brought an expensive winter jacket from home, then came here, you’d feel most “played”.

P.P.P.S: If you sent me a facebook message, I’m not replying because I can’t get on, probably won’t be able too for a while, especially with China coming. On the topic of Facebook,  join SHABL’s page here.