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Taipei and Asia
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  • Dec 28, 2010 - Back to Taipei
  • Dec 29, 2010 - But wait! There's Hong Kong
  • Dec 30, 2010 - Shifen and Jiufen
  • Dec 31, 2010 - New Year's Eve
  • Jan 01, 2011 - You are now entering Vietnam
  • Jan 02, 2011 - Ha Long Bay is a bay
  • Jan 03, 2011 - Oceans and Caves
  • Jan 04, 2011 - Back in Hanoi again
  • Jan 05, 2011 - Pattaya Awaits
  • Jan 06, 2011 - One night in Bangkok
  • Jan 07, 2011 - One day in Bangkok
  • Jan 08, 2011 - Strike One...you're still in
  • Jan 09, 2011 - Exploring Taipei
  • Jan 10, 2011 - Floral Expo! Exciting? Well, interesting
  • Jan 11, 2011 - Grass Hill and Return of the Hot Pot
  • Jan 12, 2011 - The long road (flight) home

    • Tuesday, Jan 04, 2011

    Having set the alarm to 5:30am, I woke up to check for a possible sunrise. No such luck. The cloud cover was too heavy, so I returned to sleep. Around 7am, we went up for coffee. A small breakfast was served. During this time, I arranged for a group email list to go around for travelers to keep in touch. We then made selections for our final lunch meal and then had a break.

    Up on the top deck, a few passengers were lying on the sun chairs. The only thing missing was the sun and heat. It was cold and windy up there. I suppose they were getting fresh air. I just found I was getting fresh cold, so I descended back into the dining cabin.

    In time, we had our last meal. Following that, we had a final speech from the captain and guide, gave our tips, and headed to the mainland on the motor boat.

    While it took some time, a small bus arrived to take us on the long road back to Hanoi. With fewer passengers on the bus, we had a little more room this time. I listened to music and watched the oncoming traffic--often coming straight at us.

    After about two hours, we reached the halfway point for a welcome break. Enjoying some coffee, Christian had mentioned that he found a WIFI signal during a traffic light (very rare, both the light and free WIFI) and he got a couple emails downloaded on his iPhone. (After that, we scanned for open signals frequently at any stops or slowdowns.) After the break, it was back on the road again. We had a much more cautious driver this time. He swerved across the dividing lines much less frequently. It was a welcome change.

    Once entering the city, traffic slowed to a crawl. Reaching the hotel took another half hour. At long last, we exited the bus and checked back to the same hotel as before.

    Fortunately, two of the tour people that we had become friends with were in a hotel just down the street. We met up with them and walked around the streets looking for dinner. A place that piqued our interest served something called "bun bo." It was quite tasty and made for an excellent alternative to pho. Afterwards, we walked down the busy streets and found a little outdoor beer place. The seats were incredibly tiny--maybe eight inches in height, width, and length. We had some fresh beer and other small snacks. The sausage wrapped in leaves was a fun treat.

    At this place, we met some Americans from New York who were sociable to we chatted them up and toured around with them a bit.

    Needing to obtain some coffee, we walked around until we found a coffee shop. They sold the famous "weasel" coffee, and the price wasn't that bad. Still, judging by the low price and the fact that they had tons of the stuff, we figured it wasn't the real McCoy. No matter. The coffee was delicious anyway. And it was a fun quest.

    Our next stop was another small outdoor place--we were essentially eating as the locals did. This food involved a grill plate over a flame and we would put meat and vegetables on it. The food was dipped into a sauce and eaten. One could also warm his hands over the burner. A pleasant bonus in the cold evening.

    It was only after the meal that someone observed a nearby sign saying "Beef and Goat Udder." We weren't sure if that meant it was beef udder AND goat udder, or just goat udder, but one thing was sure: we were eating at least some udder. I'm guessing it was just the goat udder since the white meat was a lot more rubbery than the darker meat. That said--the taste was still good, just very rubbery.

    At this point, people said goodbye and went their own way. We returned to the hotel.

    Figuring that we had a lot of riding around the next day in the plane, taxi, and buses, we made a quick snack run. We returned to the 24-hour shop with all the snacks and drinks we needed for the next day.

    Before crashing, we lit up a cigar and cigarette (Me partaking in the former) on the balcony. I gazed out on the streets below. (This room overlooked the front of the hotel.) Everything was so peaceful and quiet. It was in stark contrast to the wild frantic excitement during the day. It didn't even seem to be the same town.

    Sleep came fast as always.

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