The Hill(s) around Sapa

Yesterday I spent the day trying to avoid people who were trying to sell me stuff. Today I figured the best way to do that was to get out of town on a motorbike.

US$3 and a borrowed helmet later, I was on the road out of Sapa on a brand new Honda 110 scooter, to a place called Silver Waterfall, further up the mountain.

This is beautiful country! Green, lush, rice fields, rural families driving oxen, as I wind my way up the mountain.

Both Lee and Lisa will love hearing that I rode past a snake crossing the road at one point - I didn't realise what it was until I was pretty much next to it - passing within about 2 metres of my foot. I have no idea what sort it was, but it's head was the wrong shape for a python. Sorry I wasn't able to get a photo for you...

I could see the waterfall before I got there, falling down a sheer mountainside next to the road. The scenery was beautiful. The roadside hawkers and sellers were everywhere, and I even had to pay 10,000 dong to park my bike on the side of the road. Presumably, this was protection money, as everyone was trying to flag me into their spot. Not sure what would have happened to my bike if I didn't pay the 50 cents...

After walking halfway up the waterfall on a set of concrete stairs with a handrail that was falling apart in places, I went further up the road to see Tram Ton Pass, or "The Gateway to Heaven". Described as breath-taking in the guide book, I didn't want to miss it. Instead I almost ride straight into it.

As I headed on from the falls, it had started to rain - just drizzle really - but as I got to the top of the pass, there was so much fog and cloud that I could only see about 10-12 metres in front of me. When you're scuba diving, that's annoying. When you're riding a motor scooter on a wet and windy mountain road in North Vietnam, it's just plain scary!

Knowing the regard truck drivers took for sticking to the right side of the road, I decided no view - if there was a view in this fog - was worth the risk, so I turned around and went back.

Instead, I rode to the other side of Sapa and saw more rice fields, planting, and glorious views down the valley.

If you can put up with being hassled to buy things every 5 metres, Sapa is a beautiful place.

D.

Tonight is my last in Bangkok. I knew three months would go fast, but it really does seem as though I've just settled in and now it's time to go.

People keep asking if I'm coming back — I hope so. At least for a holiday if not to take that job that Expedia offered me — oops! [backspace]

Of course, I still have a whole month of travelling to do through Vietnam and Cambodia! But I have been weighing up the things I'll miss about Bangkok, and the things I have begun to miss about home.

Brisbane — things I miss

1. My family (including Roxy, the dog), and especially my boys. We raised our kids to be independent, but that doesn't mean I don't miss having them around!
2. My friends at the Brisbane office. This is the first time in seven years that I've worked anywhere apart from the Brisbane Wotif office.
3. Being able to give someone a hug. I never know what the protocol is here, so I just resist the urge.
4. Being able to drink water from the tap.
5. Being able to hold a conversation with strangers that consists of more than "hello", "how are you", and "goodbye" (which is the same as hello).
6. Being able to order a meal in English, and know what I'm getting.
7. Blue sky.
8. Footpaths.
9. Being able to cross at a pedestrian crossing without checking for traffic.
10. Rubbish bins.

Brisbane — things I don't miss

1. Roxy's hair on every surface of my house.
2. Taxi fares.
3. The lousy public transport.
4. Boring food.
5. The Valley.
6. Shops that close at 9pm, or even 5.30pm!
7. Actually having your bag checked when you go through customs.
8. No daylight savings.
9. Not having my own pool and gym.
10. Today Tonight.

Bangkok — things I won't miss

1. The heat.
2. The smell of khlongs and drains.
3. Worrying that I don't have enough money on me to bribe a policeman if I need to.
4. Wondering which part of the animal that crunchy bit in my mouth was.
5. Dog poo down every soi.
6. Begging.
7. Saying "not want" to every second person as I walk down a street full of tuk-tuks and bars.
8. Dividing every price I see by 30.
9. Copping an eye- and throat-full of chilli vapour as you walk past a street vendor.
10. Having to go to Starbucks to get a decent coffee.

Bangkok — things I will miss

1. My new friends. Wherever I go in this company, I meet warm, welcoming, and generous individuals.
2. Being able to smile at almost anyone without starting a fight. A beautiful country with (mostly) beautiful, friendly people.
3. Being able to fly to the other end of the country, or even overseas, for $50.
4. Eating lunch for a dollar.
5. Catching a moto-taxi to work every day.
6. Living five minutes' walk from anything you need.
7. Shopping at 7 Elevens.
8. Soi dogs.
9. Markets.
10. Cool bars and restaurants.

Sawasdee khup, Krung Thep. Thanks for having me.

D.

Cheaper than chips

If you've never been to Thailand before, but have heard stories about how cheap it is, I'd like to try to convey something of the reality of this for you. Allow me to use two common scenarios to illustrate.

Think about the last time you caught a taxi to the airport in a major Australian city - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - take your pick (my apologies to our West Coast readers - I'm not being deliberately Coastist, I just have no recent experience of catching taxis in Perth).

Say you're in the Harbour City, staying with friends around the Eastern Suburbs, or Northern beaches (hi Anthony! Hi Lisa!); or you're at West End or Coorparoo in Bris Vegas (hi Nikki, howdy Burgo); or you're holidaying in charming St Kilda (no friends there yet, but I'm working on it). Now imagine you arrive at the airport, and you hand the cabbie a $50 note.

If you're in Brisbane, you may get away with it, depending on what the traffic and roadworks were like on the day. If you're in Sydney or Melbourne, you'd be lucky to get out of the cab alive.

Now take that same 30-45 minute ride in Bangkok, from Sukhumvit or Siarm. You hand the driver a 1,000 Baht note (about AU$35) and you'll get an objection just as vigorous, albeit less violent, though for the opposite reason.

He can't possibly give you change from a 1,000 for the 2-300 Baht fare (about AU$7-10). You better come up with something smaller or you'll be giving him a very large tip (snaps to Kirsty by the way, who told me to make sure I had some small change in Baht for the taxi when I arrived in Bangkok - thanks pet!).

My second scenario was lunch on Friday. Five of us from the office went to a local food market. Picture the food court in your local shopping centre on a busy Saturday, but replace all the Maccas, greasy fish and chips, and over-priced Chinese buffets with local vendors, all making fresh Thai dishes from scratch. Woks, charcoal grills, clay pots and freshly chopped fruit everywhere.

It cost the five of us $11, including drinks. Total, not each. And there was food left on the plate because we were all full.

I kind of feel sad for everyone in the Brisbane office today deciding whether to save money by getting a $7 subway special.

Kind of...

D.