Good Night Vietnam

I'm in Thailand - Samui to be precise. I've decided to end my trip to Asia (give or take a couple of extra days in Hong Kong next week) with a week in one place. No need to pack and unpack the bags more than once and nothing more strenuous to do than pick up a book or a pen and reflect on a fantastic year.

Once I've returned I'll still have more month to go before the Sabbatical is over but that's going to be spent at home; getting ready for Christmas; catching up with family and friends; editing the photographs (heavily); and - ultimately - mentally preparing myself for work.

While I get my thoughts together - here are a few snaps from Vietnam:

Missed Saigon

I've just spent an hour writing a post all about my Vietnam experiences so far....then the hotel had a short powercut (prelude to another evening's thunder and lightning storm, I expect. With no rain if it's like last night). Again - I'm being beaten by technology (or the lack of it) - my mobile phone appears to have been set to send and receive only every 5th message and, yet again, a number of websites are blocked (including blogspot). I know - it's really not a bad thing, but it's very rare that I actually find time to sit and write anything (Helen was having a nap).

Still - too late now, we've got birthday* drinks, dinner and CAKE (one of Hoi An's specialties is its patisseries) waiting so the stories will, yet again, have to be put on ice.


*did I mention it was....? Oh? Right.

N...n..n.. nineteen

Free internet isn't all it's cracked up to be y'know.

There's generally a time limit and a queue of anxious people watching your every move. Not the best conditions in which to organise flights and hotels for a country which does not yet use convenient online booking systems (how quickly we get used to technology) - and is, this weekend, hosting a huge APEC gathering (including one Mr George W, I believe); which means that our original plan of starting in Hanoi was scuppered by unavailability of hotels (or reluctance by hotels to book in anyone not involved in the conference). I swear these world leaders are following me around the globe - there was a China/Africa summit going on in Beijing whilst we were there.

Anyway - the above is also a preamble to another excuse/apology for the lack of information about our trip to China. Every minute I've spent on the internet this week has been used to book/negotiate/plead with hoteliers in Vietnam - and, ahem, a following trip to Thailand for which I've changed my homecoming date (now the 7th Dec).

We're leaving for Vietnam this afternoon - starting in Ho Chi Minh then travelling up the coast through Mui Ne, Hoi An and Hue with a final night in Hanoi before we return next Sunday - then back over to Koh Samui on the Monday!

nb - for anyone who is interested (and concerned about my relative silence on the subject...) - I'll be spending my birthday in Hoi An. That's next Wednesday, the 22nd - for anyone who doesn't know/has conveniently forgotten/has tried to ignore my hints.

Censorship?

I'm sitting at a computer terminal in Beijing airport, waiting for my flight to Xi'an.

Thanks for the comments on the previous post - I'd respond beneath them but 'blogspot' appears to be a sensitive site (at least - that's the assumption I'm making as any attempt to access mine - or other people's blogs ends with a page full of Chinese characters and 'blogspot' highlighted in the centre of the page).

We'll be boarding our flight soon so no time to go into detail about our trips to see the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Hutongs and, of course 'The Wall' (it's Great!). Nor can I give justice to how entertaining it is to try and take a taxi across the city (which is absolutely huge) when the driver understands neither English, written Chinese nor our pathetic attempts at spoken Chinese. How we made it to see Chinese acrobats in action, I'll never know - I'm pretty certain my hand gestures looked more like a dying elephant than a graceful gymnast.