The Pain Train – Hour 22 of 27

Moon shot in Nui Chua

5 days later and I’m headed north again on the train of death. This time it is just me and one of my classmates. We are now starting our independent research projects which will last for the next month. I will be starting in Hanoi, meeting a friend for a week and traveling around the north and then meeting my guide and traveling to four karst locations to study cave management in Vietnam. I couldn’t resist after National Geographic’s Jan ’11 issue noted that Vietnam now has the world’s largest cave: Phong Nha-Ke Bang after a British exploration team mapped the previously unknown passageways. After the caves I head back south to meet some classmates and relax at the beach while I write up my project. So that is the plan at least. We’ll see what reality brings…in Vietnam you just never know. That is one of the biggest personal lessons I’ve learned so far – just go with the flow and take life as it comes.

           

  So back to the train. This time knowing what I was in for I came much more prepared. This included buying a ticket for the 4 person cabin with a power outlet versus the 6 person cabin with no outlet (amazing what $10 difference can equal). Lots of movies, a stop at the grocery store to prevent the train stomach revolt from last time and a positive mindset. Riding the train has a lot to do with the mental preparation. So the first hour was actually glorious. I could sit up in my bed. We had one roommate and for come reason the train actually seemed clean (ish). Next stop, the train slows, people shuffle on and off and surprise we have 6 roommates with a crazy amount of luggage. This makes 8 people in a four person room. This is where I have to remind myself this isn’t America and what is rude in America isn’t rude here. Sometimes this is a really hard concept for me here especially when it comes to personal space. There are now 4 people sitting on my bed with me. Their luggage is on top of my feet. They brought two birds and a giant box of durian. Now, in the event you don’t know just what durian is its claim to fame is being one of the world’s smelliest fruits. Its an odor quite unlike anything you’ve ever smelled – half rotten, a forth puke and forth unknown awful. And I am sitting on my bed and all I can do is smile and laugh until I cry. Meanwhile the Vietnamese are giving me strange looks and I want to talk to them and ask them why they are traveling with birds and where they come from/what they do but unfortunately my Vietnamese skills don’t allow that. The most I get is that they are headed to Hanoi also. Eventually the room cleared out a bit and I fell asleep only to awake to all the lights being turned on and a bunch of people standing in my room having an impromptu dining party at midnight. I try to just roll over and block out the loud slurping and bury my head in the lice blankets trying to let the jerking train movements rocks me to sleep. This morning I woke up and it was sunny and the scenery was glorious and I made myself a big cup of coffee and peeled my mango (yes, I did think bring coffee and a fresh mango with me – survival is about the little things). My roommates are actually this cute old couple with a lot of friends that come in and out =). I also met a couple of Vietnamese whose English is much better than my Vietnamese and we had a great conversation. What can I say life is an adventure…

            

View from the resort

            Pre-train I spent my time at Nui Chua National Park and Marine Protected Areas. Absolutely gorgeous! We stayed in an amazing resort right on the ocean (in this program we seem to frequent the extremes of the accommodation spectrum – either real bad or real great). We had a rare free day to enjoy the beach which started with a fabulous run along the break waves watching fishermen pull in their catch. 

Campsite

Day two was a hike up the mountain and camping overnight along a river. Lots of swimming in water holes and trekking to overlooks. 

Overlook

Nighttime was fireflies and frogs croaking while I was rocking to sleep in a hammock. Sounds amazing and it was but hammocks are actually really hard to sleep in. My guide tied  it up to a tree running an 8 lane red ant highway. Upon putting my ropes up there ants started utilizing the new exit and marched across my mosquito net. I was a little skeptical this would work but I think only one got into my hammock tent. Despite that I only slept about an hour. I just haven’t mastered the hammock angle yet. I am open to suggestions =p. 

Puddle in the rocks at the campsite

Dusk Falling

Sunrise

B-fast =)

Day 3 was hiking up to a remote steep slope farm belonging to an ethnic minority family. We dug for roots for lunch and enjoyed watching an endangered languors swing in the nearby trees.

Raglay villagers making money my handicrafts from seeds they gather in the forest.

Gathering the root.

Trek down the mountain with the owner of the farm.

Day 4 was a trip out onto the water and snorkeling on a reef. So awesome! I saw some butterfly fish, parrot fish, a trumpet fish, lion fish, spiny urchin, sea cucumber and numerous species of coral. Loved it! Then as the sun set we hiked up to an overlook and discussed a turtle conservation beach that lay below. This is where I will be returning at the end of my caving venture.  

Family I met waiting for the snorkel boat.

Bay the boat left from - all the fishermen here have these round boats to empty their traps into.

Life in the bay

Reef Location

            So that is life right now. I am loving it and excited to venture off on my personal research escapade. I am sure there will be some good stories to come!

Toad I accidentally stepped on joining the ranks of the frog I accidentally flushed down the toilet 

Flowers along the mountainside.

Sidewalk

Resort Entrance

Big Dipper in Vietnam

Moth I found and am currently attempting to preserve.

Doing Laundry

 …and my head itches and I just looked up flights to Hanoi …they were cheaper than the train…what was I thinking?

=P

It's Time for a Pizza

 Today is officially two months abroad =P. Let me see where we left off…Cambodia.

            After the Tonle Sap Lake excursion we headed North to the border of Laos and Cambodia to begin a three day river excursion in search of freshwater dolphins (need I remind you this counts as class…). 

Best dolphin shot I could get.

The expedition included my class, an upper level Cambodian government official (Tenaw) and his river guide crew (group of “coast guard”-like people trained to enforce conservation rules along the river). 

Tenaw and a classmate

We traveled by boat to our first village. Here we spent the day swimming in a waterfall. Khone Falls actually has some amazing geology – vertical interbedded beds of metamorphosed sandstones and lava flows. Amazing!I also got to chill quite literally on the border of Laos and Cambodia…things are a little more lax here than in the US.

Khone Falls

Structural Indicator at the Falls =)

After the waterfall swim in the morning the afternoon was spent swimming around looking for dolphins – saw a couple. 

River Marker from the French Colony.

That night the village prepared a calf. Very generous and a daunting amount of meat! The following day was journeying down the river to a second village. We stopped at a potential dam site that would block the migratory route of the dolphins. This night we stayed with another village. Here there was a large 300+ person party. The village had prepared several dance routines. In return we had to sing some American songs on a large stage with sound equipment. It was…ridiculous. I must admit I am getting quite use to embarrassing myself in front of lots of people here. 

            From the Cambodian village we took the “jaw bus” back to the capitol and flew to Hanoi.

Ran like a champ and smelled like an onion.

I wasn’t certain this bus was road worthy but be arrived no problems =). After a couple of days exploring Hanoi we headed south to Cuc Phuong National Park. 

Cuc Phuong Entrance

This was Vietnam’s first national park and a world renowned butterfly area. Gorgeous limestone peaks covered in lush tropical forest. Probably one of the most beautiful locations I have seen here. This is where I will be returned to conduct my research on karst =). 

Turtle and Primate Rescue Centers at Cuc Phuong...actually funded in part by the Columbus Zoo...a little slice of home

            From Cuc Phuong we traveled by bus to the northern edge of the park to learn about the Muong ethnic minority. 

Muong Village

What better way to accomplish this than stay with a household. Probably one of my favorite nights on the program. We stayed in a stilt house. In the evening we went with homestay mother to collect her cows from the forest. Along the way we gathered various plants for dinner. So amazing to observe a way of life so dependent on the natural resources.

Edible Plants

Hauling back the harvest

Homestay Mama...she was amazing

Along the trek we would stop frequently and she would point out various barks, leaves, etc and talk about how this plant cured stomach aches or this stopped bleeding.  That night the villagers preformed some dances and songs and naturally we had to do another performance as well. Luckily there are some good musicians in this group. 

Village performances

The following morning we helped weed the rice paddy and thin out the corn field. 

Eating lunch at the homestay house.

            From the Muong Village we traveled to Ha Long Bay to observe the effects of coal mining on this World Heritage sights. The bay itself was a surreal landscape of limestone peaks poking up through the water.

The Bay

All the boats are this style

Inside a cave at Halong Bay - My research begins!

Caves in Vietnam are displayed quite differently. This is an artifical pool stopping up the water flow within the cave and ruining the hydrology of the cave...=(

However, pollution effects from the coal mines are killing the reefs and coating the surrounding in a thick dirty black dust. Kind of ironic.

Coal Mine Near Halong Bay. The runoff from this mine enters the bay.

Community near the coal mine - everything is coated in grey dust from the mine.

            Currently, I am on hour 28 of a 30 hour train ride from Hanoi down the coast of Vietnam to a coastal town in southern Vietnam. Riding a train in Vietnam has to be one of the most interesting, adventurous means of travel available. The train is cramped and dirty of course but that is just a little flavor of life. I am in a six bunk room about 6 ft by 5ft.

Life on the Rails

I am on the top bunk and have about 2.5 feet of headroom.

My bunk

The sheets are scary and I think I might get lice. Getting in and out is a real trip. The toilet is a hole that looks straight down onto the racing train tracks below. The scenery is beautiful and I feel like I time traveled back to the 1800s. I should get use to this though because I  am riding back north in 5 days and then back south again in a few weeks. What an adventure! Overall, I am loving life here. Every day is a new surprise. =)

PS Two months marked a serious craving for some western food. Particularly burritos and pizza. No luck getting those yet. However, I found a cheeseburger. It was amazing. I also found a western foods store and bought little box of granola for $5. Also amazing… 

OTHER RANDOM SHOTS: 

I don't know...this was a restaurant

Fish Traps

Trip up the River to the Perfume Pagoda outside Hanoi

Market outside the Pagoda 

Inside the pagoda - literally a temple inside a cave at the top of a mountain. Here monks live for about 3 mo at a time. 

Took the cable cars back down the mountain

Boatride back 

Hanoi at Night

Shoe Street in Hanoi

It's Vietnam...sometimes you don't really know why there is a stuffed ostrich in the window

Water puppet theater in Hanoi