The Great Grape Crush

As many of you know, I decided to delay my return to the United States a few days because I was having so much fun in Australia. Also, I got invited to experience a real life grape crushing at the home of Heather and Mark Stewart in Milton, New South Wales. Heather and Mark have been making their own wine for several vintages, and each year they host a crushing party. Along with Sheri, Joylene, Chris and Gini - I got to join in the fun and reunite with my friends from the Vietnam bike trip.


Before it all got started, Joylene came to Bondi and braved a couple of days at my surfer pad. Here we are on the Coastal Walk:



We arrived on Friday evening and had a great dinner at the local pub. Saturday, some people swam and others of us walked on the beautiful beack at Mollymock. Sheri realy liked the way the seaweed felt on her feet:

We could not dawdle, because there was the business of grap crushing to attend to. Only women are allowed to crush the grapes, in the spirit of Lucy and Ethel. If a male accidentally forgets this, he has to worship at the shrine Mark designed as penance. First of all, we had to get dressed appropriately:

We were a little worried, but not deterred, when we saw how many grapes there were. Mark has them brought up by horse trailer from the Barossa Valley, where I had just visited a few weeks before:

Grapes defintely exfoliate your feet, but I am not sure if it is on a good or bad way. One tip is do not wear light pink nail polish unless you want it to have a purple tint.
That night, there was a big party. Heather made these cocktails only for the ladies, sort of a secret ritual for the grape crushers. She is a fantastic hostess and fed everyone until we were ready to pop!

Many thanks to our hosts and to everyone who came out to New South Wales for my last weekend in Australia!

Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was the last stop on my southeast Asian adventure. It is a HUGE city that makes Hanoi look small by compare. There is a lot to do in terms of shopping and nightlife, and I only had time to barely sample it.

We ate lunch at Pho 2000, Bill Clinton's favorite restaurant when he is in town, and we shopped the Ben Thanh market. Bargains galore! Then, it was time for some sightseeing.

Here is a statue of Uncle Ho near a former French government building. The statue came after the French left.

We saw the old post office, still in operation. It has maps of Indochina under the French regime which have been preserved as murals.

No visit to Saigon is complete without a trip to the War Remnants Museum, formerly the War Crimes Museum. It is a rather disturbing place. Unfortunately, the balance in how the war is reported is not exactly evident. But humbling all the same.

I saw the Hotel Majestic, where my dad stayed when he covered the Vietnam/American War as a journalist.

The last day, we had our farewell dinner. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially our great guide Mr. Loc. There was also a confession at dinner regarding some hijinks with Nigel's camera. Who would have thought...

All in all, Vietnam and my trip were amazing. I'm at home now after a fairly eventful 30+ hour journey, which included an elderly Chinese man dropping his pants on a flight after some confustion over a seat belt, and a Filipino woman undergoing a panic attack and having to be restrained by 6 flight attendants. Air travel is very overrated :).

July 4 in Nha Trang, Vietnam

The cycling part of my Vietnam trip came to an end this week as we arrived in Nha Trang. We cycled 100k the last day, and even though it was not the hardest terrain on the tour (18k of straight downhill!) it felt like a real accomplishment. The great staff at World Expeditions/Buffalo Tours put on a celebration for us as we arrived in town. Above, you can see me with Mr. Chung, our coach and mechanic on the left, and Mr. Loc, our guide on the right. Mr. Chung is 53 years old and he is one of the top cyclists in Vietnam!

On July 4, we spent the day on the beach in Nha Trang, and took a boat tour around the bay.

Later, some of the girls went for a ride on a banana boat and we did not get thrown off!

I had to go all over town to find sparklers so I could celebrate with my new Australian friends. I finally found them at a wedding cake store. I think everyone liked them.

The next and last post of the trip will be on Saigon, as I am headed home soon.

Happy Fourth of July all!

What Goes up Must Come Down: Biking in Vietnam, Part 2 (Hai)

A couple of people commented that I had gone hard core on the wilderness adventure, when I decided to come on this trip. I now realize, they were not kidding.

The last several days, I have learned how people live in a very poor country in a very real way. I’ve seen some beautiful scenery and historic sites, and I have gained an appreciation for how wonderful and friendly people can be. I’ve been saddened by some of the living conditions, the trash by the side of the road and the prospects for educating some of the folks in the villages we have seen. I had a cathartic experience biking through a rubber plantation in the middle of a driving rainstorm, and feeling like anything was possible if I could do that. Last but not least, I have discovered a definite preference for western indoor plumbing.

Less the plumbing aspect, here are a few scenes from the my first full week on the bike trip, starting from where we last left off in Hue.

We saw the scent of the Mai Lai massacre in March, 1968. Here is the memorial statue to the ~2000 men, women and children who died. This was a horrible tragedy. The only shame about the place is it's too bad it paints such a one-sided view of the war. I think it would be even more impactful on those Americans visiting if it were a bit less biased.

There are rice paddies everywhere, and you can even walk in them.

Even though it is the year of the pig, pork is still popular...these guys are off to farms to be raised.

We came to a part of road that was being redone, our truck and bus got stuck and had to be towed out via bulldozer. Very exciting!

The kids are we meet are adorable. Here are some hanging out on a tractor on Sunday morning.Our tour company seems to like Communist hotels, we've stayed in several. Here is a prime example from Buon Me Thuot.

Here is a Montagnard (hill tribe) hut. These guys do not have cable, but about half the ones we saw had satellite dishes attached.

Joylene is my cycling buddy. She is from Melbourne, Australia. We like to stay in the back with our pro cyclist mechanic, Mr. Chung.

Biking in Vietnam: First Few Days

Lots of people are writing in to ask how the bike trip is going! Right now I am in Hoi An, Vietnam on a layover day. We did a killer ride yesterday in what felt like 100 degree heat and 90% humidity. That said, I'm having a great time and the group is lots of fun. In a few minutes, we are going to Vietnamese cooking school. Here is a photo of our group:

This was taken in front of the Imperial City in Hue. For those Nelson DeMille Up Country fans reading the blog, this is where Paul Brenner has his secret meeting with the contact who tells him what his mission is!

To get to Hue, we had to take the overnight train from Hanoi in a second class sleeper, eek! Thank heavens for Ambien. Here I am getting on the train:

In Hue, we had this dinner where you dress up like 19th c. royals and dine in imperial style. Here I am with Sheri, Joulene and Pele!

The bike ride yesterday was a killer, but the views were worth it! Here are a few shots...

We really did bike up that hill, and those kids really are standing on water buffalo!

More soon, keep checking back!

Halong Bay, Vietnam: Two Days on the Halong Ginger

After my day in Hanoi, it was time to get out into the up country of Vietnam. I chose a two day cruise on the Halong Ginger (yet another Steve and Janet pick!) and had a great time.

The Halong Bay is positively the most beautiful marine area I’ve seen, other than the Galapagos Islands. One thing they have in common is they are both starting to get run over by tourists. The main difference is there are a lot more rock formations in Halong, but a lot less wildlife. In fact, the only animals we saw were bats, a couple of birds and a few fish. The pictures really tell the story here.

The service on the Ginger was great. The boat has been operational for 14 months and they are planning to build another one, the Halong Jasmine, with more cabins, more luxury and so on. I met Sonny, the managing director of the Ginger, and he is a sharp guy. You can check out their website at http://www.cruisehalong.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1.
There were two random things about my cruise. The first was actually a big problem which was the 15 year old kid who drove me from Hanoi to Halong. He drove about 90MPH the whole way and enjoyed passing when there was oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. We arrived a full hour early and he tried to dump me at the dock, which I refused. Instead I asked to be taken to an internet café where I emailed the tour company and demanded a different driver for the return. Miraculously on Saturday I had a new driver and a much nicer car.

The other oddball event was that I was the only person staying on the boat for two days. Most people go for one day. This meant that after breakfast the second day, I was shuttled onto a boat that was not exactly as nice as the Ginger. I don’t think the bathrooms have been cleaned any time recently. She was called the Huong Hai Junk, which I later learned is not to be confused with the Hoang Hai Junk or the Hoong Hai Junk. There was no AC on the Hong Hai, but luckily there was the East China Sea. I was to spend the whole day with 4 Vietnamese guys + me, one of whom spoke a very little English. It all turned out OK if a bit long - I got to swim, kayak and even eat a gourmet lunch of crab caught just that morning!

I met some very nice folks on the Ginger and everyone was hospitable to this crazy American girl traveling alone.

Vietnam Day 1: Hanoi

People keep asking me if I am traveling by myself, and for the first time on the trip the answer is, “Yes!” I arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday and spent my first full day here on Wednesday. Today’s post will chronicle my first solo day which was in Hanoi, Vietnam.
It was clear from the beginning that there was a lot to do. I set out determined to spend the morning on cultural endeavors, before hitting what’s been billed as the “Olympics of Shopping.” My companion for the day, thanks to Lisa, was the Luxe guide to Hanoi (http://www.luxecityguides.com/).

The first thing you have to understand about Hanoi is the traffic is unbelievable. Here is a view of the motor scooters as seen from my hotel, the Zephyr (www.zephyrhotel.com.vn). Before I got here several folks told me that when you want to cross the street, you step into the crosswalk (preferably when the light is green) and walk purposefully ahead. The sea of scooters (which never seems to stop) will part. On my walk to the Temple of Literature, I tested this out many times and it’s true, though nerve racking.
The Temple of Literature is about 1000 years old and was dedicated to training scholars for the nation. It is not in use today, but is considered one of the most important historical landmarks in Vietnam. At the centerpiece is this statue of Confucius, with his four disciples on either side of him.

It’s very hot at the temple and in Hanoi in general, and by this time I’d been trucking for a couple of hours and was ready to get into a building with air conditioning. I visited the Museum of Fine Arts (http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/vietnam/hanoi/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154665443681)

which is close to the temple. This is a museum which chronicles Vietnamese art from prehistoric times to the present. The art was lovely, but what struck me the most is how little of it there is. I got through the whole thing in about 45 minutes. So much of the art has been destroyed over the years and I guess it is lucky any was preserved at all.

By this time, it was lunch hour. I stepped into Pho 24 for my first official Vietnamese meal. Pho is written up in the handy Luxe Guide as a local chain which is clean and consistent. It was yummy!

Fortified, the shopping could officially begin. I had had enough walking and decided to hire a scooter taxi to take me to the next stop, Art Vietnam Gallery. This was all mine for 20,000 dong (~$1.40) which I later learned was about 5,000 dong too high, but I got over it. Art Vietnam (http://www.artvietnamgallery.com/) gets rave reviews from the Luxe guide, and you can see why. Although I did not find anything I could not live without, I met the owner, Suzanne Lecht, who is a native of my hometown, Austin, Texas. What a small world.

From here it was back on the motor scooter, and when that got too scary, into a car taxi and when that got too scary, back on foot. I spent the rest of the afternoon trolling around for art and purses and made purchases of all. I am not sure how I’m getting all this home but I will figure something out. I also got a $5 pedicure (yes Valerie, I brought my own nail kit).

The last event of the day, after a long shower, was dinner at Wild Rice Restaurant, where the food and atmosphere were fantastic. Here I am at dinner, all cleaned up.

There are some days in your life when you have them, you know you will never forget. For me, this was one of those days.

Halfway Around the World

A while back, I decided that a good way to decompress as I start my year off would be to leave the country and go halfway around the world for two months. As I've spoken to many friends and family members in the last couple of weeks, a lot of the questions overlap. Therefore, today's post will take the form of a PR Q&A.

Q. Why did you decide to go to southeast Asia, and why are you going at one of the hottest times of the year?
A. The large number of Dell expats currently inhabiting Singapore makes it a great base for Asian travel. Hopefully no one will get sick of me. Regarding the weather, it's summer in Texas so it's not like I'm missing anything.

Q. Are you going by yourself?
A. I will only really be by myself for about 2 days when I travel into Vietnam. My mom, Carolyn, is traveling over with me and will be there for two weeks. Then I'll meet Lisa Howe in Cambodia and Sharon Francia will meet us in Bangkok, Thailand. Sharon and I will spend about a week checking out some spas for quality control. Then it's back to Singapore where I have a couple of weeks of down time. The last frontier is a two week bike trip through Vietnam.

Q. Where are you taking your mom?
A. We will be visiting Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. Here is a sample of some of the places we are staying (wicked!):
http://www.lhotelcausewaybayhv.com/intro.php
http://www.puripunn.com/
http://www.lebua.com/
In Singapore, Jae Borgard was nice enough to invite us to stay with her, which will be loads of fun!

Q. That sounds cool. What's next?
A. Lisa and I are going to visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I'm sure there is going to be some eating and drinking too. This place was recommended by Steve and Janet Gluskoter:
http://www.hoteldelapaixangkor.com/
We'll fly back to Bangkok and meet Sharon at the Four Seasons for a couple of days of much needed R&R. We will hear the best four words in the English language, "Welcome to Four Seasons!" Thanks to Randy Huey for suggesting this spot.
http://www.fourseasons.com/bangkok/

Q. We really want to hear about the spas. Where are you going with Sharon, and are there metrics to evaluate the quality of each?
A. We have decided to focus on the Phuket, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia areas because of their status as Spa Capitals of the Universe. We have not developed our metrics yet, but you can be sure we are all over that action item and the results will be the topic of a future post.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1847
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=277&back=-1

Q. Then you go back to Singapore. What are you going to do for almost two weeks?
A. Luckily, Singapore's national pastimes are shopping and eating, which are two of my favorite things to do. I will catch up with friends and generally do what I do here in Austin - be very busy doing almost nothing.

Q. What about this bike trip? Who's running it and where does it go?
A. The trip is run by World Expeditions, an Aussie outfit. Apparently if you are Australian, you can run a bike trip for about a third as much as if you are an American company. Wicked. I've always wanted to see Vietnam and traveling the country by bike gets rave reviews. We meet in Hanoi (I'll be there for a whole day on my own first, ooooh) and end up on Ho Chi Minh City. To see the detail you can go to http://www.worldexpeditions.com/index.php?section=trips&id=68.

Q. Have you been reading anything in preparation for your visit to Vietnam?
A. I reread Up Country by Nelson DeMille. Great read and well worth all 700 pages, it has some good maps too.

Q. Are you flying business class?
A. Are you crazy? I am not getting a paycheck anymore. This trip is all about coach and budget carriers, which lucky for me are plentiful in southeast Asia.

Q. When do you leave and when will you be back?
A. Wheels up is Monday morning, May 14 and wheels down is late late on July 7.

Adios friends! Please visit the blog often!