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Costa Rica – The land of pure living

ByThor

Welcome to Costa Rica

Soon after you enter Costa Rica you will see and experience the unofficial law of the land, “Pura Vida”.

Pura Vida means pure living and it oozes through everything in life.

From the capital of San Jose to the surf city of Tamarindo you will see Pura Vida imprinted on almost every imaginable thing. It is used for expressing anything good. In everyday speech it means excellent or great or whatever similar expression you prefer.

Describing an atmosphere or painting a picture using only words can be quite challenging. The feeling you get from walking down an unfamiliar street, different from everything you know, or the sensation you get from overcoming an obstacle, be that climbing a mountain or taking your first successful turn on a snowboard, is hard to describe and can only be successfully relayed if the recipient has had similar experiences. Regardless of this, I’ll still try.

Drugs

The most obvious result of the Pura Vida mentality is the abundant amount of drugs. Within hours of arriving to Costa Rica the distinct smell of weed hit our noses (me, my brother, niece and nephew), the first day, a guy clearly drugged up on heroin, started talking to us (very friendly) and within 24 hours we were offered free cocaine by a staff member at the hotel we were staying at. Getting drugs in this country is not a problem.

Pura Vida – take it easy and relax

Another very pleasant aspect is the way everyone talks to you. People walking the street greeting you with “”Ey mon, welcome to Tamarindo – come by tonight – its reggae night at the mermaid”, leaves you with a feeling that somehow, every night is reggae night at the mermaid. You can easily talk to someone if you want to, there’s always someone on the streets and you won’t be left alone for long.

A good example is when we were taking some surf lessons. When learning something new it can be quite hard to remember the instructions you were told and the result is you get angry or confused and forget all of them altogether. My brother experienced this and the result was that the instructor just told him to “relax man – pura vida. You’re confused, amigo. Just take it easy and be patient, you’ll learn my friend, don’t worry.”

How to relax the Costa Rican way

In many western countries, the way you really relax is at your home, either with some good friends, your family or alone. Preferably with some good wine, a blanket, some Netflix or a movie. It obviously varies from person to person but generally speaking, relaxing doesn’t involve physical activity or talking to people you don’t know. Talking to strangers requires preparation and a mind set for socializing.

In Costa Rica relaxing means hanging around your favourite spot talking to everyone who passes by.

View from a shaded room through an open door to a sunny garden in Costa Rica

You’ve got the surfer who spends his whole life at the beach doing nothing but surfing at day and partying at night. The way he survives financially is by teaching other people how to surf and as such he is set for life. Maybe when he is older he opens a surf shop and hires younger surfers as teacher. Surfing is his life and he enjoys every day of it. No need for excessive materialism.

On the other end you’ve got the street vendor. He spends most of his days on a street corner talking to people while selling his goods. He is not like a cashier in a western supermarket who does his or her job at $8 an hour and just wants to be done with it, so the actual part of life enjoyed by the cashier can begin in the evenings and weekends. No, this guy likes what he is doing and when he feels like he’s sold enough for the day he goes home and probably enjoys some divinely tasty food made from fresh vegetables. Naturally, it’s homemade.

Poverty

Costa Rica is a poor country and it sets its limits. You can’t get an expensive car and you can’t travel to the other side of the world on a trip like the one we’re on now. Many things that we westerners consider necessities are not available to the average Costa Rican and for that reason alone many people wouldn’t want this life.

On the other hand, though, from my limited experience, they don’t need it. The focus of Costa Ricans lies on something completely different. The things that make them happy is much more basic. Good food on the table, a family that loves you and a roof over your head is a good start – combine that with some good waves or similar and you’ve got what you need.

Denmark, where I’m from, often prides itself on being the happiest country in the world – and on many lists, we are. But Costa Rica also scores high and even ranks #1 on this link for example. The one that ranks Denmark #1 is the world happiness report and in my personal opinion it is the more thorough list.

Nature

Nature alone Costa Rica worth a visit. Without trying to sound too much like a Wikipedia page, I’ll list a few of the things that make this country remarkable.

Although a small country, it contains more than 5% of the worlds biodiversity and 25% of the country is protected as national parks and similar protected areas. It has volcanoes, rain forests, beaches, mountains, rivers and everything in between making it a haven for adventurers and nature lovers alike. Alligators, pumas, sharks, sloths and nose bears can be found here along with a myriad of bird species. The 10.000 colones note even has a sloth on it!

Bottle of Imperial beer next to a 10.000 colones note with a sloth on it

In conclusion. I’m sure you’ll like it!

Thor Winther is an engineer by profession but has been travelling the world full time since late 2015. He is the author of www.worldwidewinther.com, a blog focused on budget/backpacking solo round-the-world travelling.

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    Koh Ta Kiev – Where the boat leaves from

    ByThor

    This is post 10 of 12 in the series “South East Asia”

    1. Applying for a Myanmar (Burma) visa in Bangkok
    2. One night in Bangkok
    3. Visiting Rural Thailand – enjoy the silence
    4. Sleeping in a monastery on a mountain top in Hpa-An, Myanmar
    5. Overview of tourist hotspots in Myanmar (Burma)
    6. Naypyitaw – The official capital of Myanmar
    7. Being sick on the road
    8. The End of an Era – I’ve Sold My Motorbike and Left Vietnam
    9. Cambodia – First Impressions
    10. Koh Ta Kiev – Where the boat leaves from
    11. The Future of Sihanoukville, Cambodia and the Surrounding Areas
    12. What Were We Thinking (and other ramblings)

    Update: I’ve written a post about the future of this area. Have a read: The Future of Sihanoukville, Cambodia and the Surrounding Areas

    As I’m writing this I’m listening to “Zac Brown Band – Where the Boat Leaves From” and it couldn’t be more spot on. It’s uncanny how this song just is this place.

    Koh Ta Kiev is a small remote island off the southern coast of Cambodia near Sihanoukville. It’s a small island and currently has about 50 people on it, including staff. My and I lodged ourselves in a jungalow at the last point on the southern bay.

    View from a thatched jungalow over a wooden fence to the beach on Koh Ta Kiev

    View from the Bungalow

    On the other side of the island, about 45 minutes of walking through dense jungle path, you have the treehouse which literally has treehouse like bungalows. Except for a fishing “village” which has no permanent shops, those are the only two places open on the island now and with no permanent residents it’s not a busy place. The boat arrives once a day IF there are any people coming in and IF the weather permits. Not a given these days as we are in low-season / rainy season. We were 3 coming in with the boat and that’s a lot apparently. The next day, 4 left and none came, leaving us with a grand total of 4 guests including us.

    Empty sandy beach on Koh Ta Kiev under a cloudy sky

    Untold unstirred beaches ripe for exploration

    There is no WiFI *gasp* and the only place to charge your electronics is in the bar in the evening. They turn on the generator to get some lights but only in the bar. If you want lights in your bungalow they’ll provide you with some candles. But then again what do you need your phone for? It’s truly one of those islands you just go to, to get away from it all – “you can take your worries and dump ’em in the blue ocean”. During the day they have solar panels which are used to power the gently playing stereo.

    Thatched beach bar with a hand-painted sign on Koh Ta Kiev

    Ossi aka Monkey Boy aka Green Boy sitting in the bar

    Ice is shipped in to Koh Ta Kiev every day with the passenger boat – about 30kg’s for the kitchen and 20kg’s for the bar. Tough luck if there’s no boat. However, if the boat stays away for too long, there’s coconuts a plenty if you know how to pick them from the trees.

    So the bar, the jungle, the ocean, the bathroom and the bungalows is really all there is but that’s all you need. If that’s not enough, the bar sells spliffs and condoms for $2 each and any item can be made “happy” for $3. You can snorkel anywhere on the island and when the sun goes down you can see bioluminescent plankton anywhere in the water – a very unique experience. Sun -rise/-set isn’t too shabby either.

    Selfie of Thor and My on the beach on Koh Ta Kiev

    “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted” – Unknown

    If you’ve read this far, I thank you and if you ever have the time to visit Koh Ta Kiev – please do!

    It’s time for me to get back to my beer but I’ll leave you with “Where the Boat Leaves From” as Zac Brown Band explains it better than I do. Take a listen!

    ZAC BROWN BAND

    “Where The Boat Leaves From”

    There’s a place, where the boat leaves from
    It takes away all of your big problems
    You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean
    But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from

    Take one part sand, and one part sea, one part shade of banana tree
    The drinks they’re cold and the raggae is hot
    And I know this is the place for me

    So get away to where the boat leaves from
    It takes away all of your big problems
    You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean
    But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from

    See the problem is that you’re right there
    And there’s a perfectly good island somewhere
    Where a ride that floats and don’t grab your coats
    You won’t need it where we are going

    Get away to where the boat leaves from
    It takes away all of your big problems
    You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean
    But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from

    Pick me up
    Pick me up
    Pick me up

    Put me down
    Down on the sand where its cool
    Put me down
    When I fall off my stool
    Put me down
    I’ll just sleep there til morning comes around

    With sunshine tanned ladies and piña colodas
    And Bob Marley songs that are playing
    There’s a song in my ear that I want you to hear
    Soft tropical lips that are singin

    Get away to where the boat leaves from
    It takes away all of your big problems
    You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean
    But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from

    So get away to where the boat leaves from
    it takes away all of your big problems
    You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean
    but you got to get away to where the boat leaves from

    so get away to where the boat leaves from
    it takes away all of your big problems
    you got worries you could drop them in the blue ocean

    [x4]
    oooooo pick me up
    oooooo pick me up

    i gotta go

    [x4]
    oooooo pick me up
    oooooo pick me up

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    Free camping on the beach on Maui, Hawaii

    ByThor

    We rented a car for a few days, bought a tent in Walmart and went free camping. Free camping is free camping on public land.

    Can you do it on Maui? Absolutely. Is it legal? meeeeeehh. Ish.

    It’s tolerated and if you stick to a few rules, you’ll be fine. Ask me in comments if you want advice.

     

    This is the view when we wake up in the tent – I mean, holy smokes. The night before we actually very seriously feared that the tide would swallow our tent!

    View from inside the tent of a tree and the sea at dawn, beach camping on Maui

    When you wake up, you’re in the middle of the obscenely beautiful landscape that is Maui. You’ll be enjoying this view all day and all the beaches are spectacular!

    So what are you waiting for? Hawaii doesn’t have to be so expensive.

    Contact me on your favourite social media or here in the comments if you want advice or just want to chat

    Red cliffs above a turquoise cove on the coast of Maui

     

    Sunset over the beach on Mauii,

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    Red Reef (or Ganh Do), Part of Xuan Dai Bay

    ByMy Nguyen

    This is post 1 of 2 in the series “Phu Yen Province”

    1. Red Reef (or Ganh Do), Part of Xuan Dai Bay
    2. Nhan Mountain (Núi Nhạn), Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen

    Few people have heard of Song Cau in the Phu Yen province in eastern Vietnam but that’s far from the same as saying the area has nothing to offer. Xuan Dai Bay with its gorgeous sceneries is a must visit.

    So what’s so special about it?

    “The landscape and scenery is outstanding and unlike anything you’ve seen before – unless you’ve been to paradise that is.”

    In the bay, there is a small fishing village called Ganh Đo or “Red Reef”, known for fishing and famous for its fish sauce. In fact, so well-known that the locals are able to lead a comfortable life in an otherwise poor province. However, Ganh Do is so much more than fishing and fish sauce. The landscape and scenery is outstanding and unlike anything you’ve seen before – unless you’ve been to paradise that is.

    aerial photo of red reef in xuan dai bay in phu yen province
    Aerial photo of Red reef, comfortably located in the peaceful Xuan Dai Bay. Photo: Lee Nguyen Tran

    How did Red Reef get its name?

    If you’re wondering how Red Reef got its name it’s due to the many reddish – brown reefs scattered around the area.

    reddish brown reefs that give red reef its name
    The reddish-brown reefs responsible for giving Red Reef its name. Photo: Le Nguyen Tran

    Red Reef Beach

    Aside from it’s unique beauty and quaint atmosphere, another appealing feature is the Red Reef beach. It has very smooth sand and mild waves, it’s flat, clean, and with shallow waters; even at 50 meters from the beach, the water is only waist deep.

    picture of corner of red reef beach in phu yen vietnam
    A picturesque corner of the quiet beach. Photo: Lee Nguyen Tran

    In the morning, the life in Red Reef is tranquil and gentle. The fishermen, out catching squids, paddle slowly along the shore. Early risers are out and about in the relaxing environment, breathing the fresh air and swimming in the cool water.

    sunrise a red reef beach in phu yen province, vietnam
    Red Reef beach at sunrise. Photo: Lee Nguyen Tran

    Meet the friendly fishermen

    “It’s so rare that foreign tourists come to visit their place that being invited in for food and accommodation without even asking for it, is highly likely.”

    Red reef is an accommodating destination for those who’d like to explore Vietnamese life far away from the tourist circuits. The local fishermen are very kind and friendly here – far beyond what you’d expect. It’s so rare that foreign tourists come to visit their place that being invited in for food and accommodation without even asking for it, is highly likely. They have no other reason than wanting to talk to you and because of their extraordinary hospitality.

    fishermen getting ready in the morning at red reef beach, phu yen, vietnam
    Fishermen getting ready for the day. Photo: Lee Nguyen Tran

    Don’t forget the surrounding area

    If you’re not already packing your bags to go see this gem, this should convince you. Red Reef has a special terrain. Not only does it have the before mentioned dream of a beach but mountains and rice fields can be found in the area as well so there are landscapes to please anyone. It’s not often you have so much beauty and variety packed into one place.

    surrounding area of red reef
    The outstanding terrain in the are surrounding Red Reef. Photo: Lee Nguyen Tran

    When you have the chance, set foot on these lands. You will instantly feel the rustic charm of both the landscape and the people here.

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    Return to the Western World

    ByThor

    As I’ve been here in Sydney for a week, I’ve gotten a vague idea of Australia. Obviously, Australia is huge and I’ve only seen one city.

    Similiarities with other cultures

    Australia is, naturally, heavily influenced by England which manifests itself in such things as an abundance of fish’n’chips shops, driving on the left side of the road and cricket fields. However, Australia also has distinct cultural similarities with for example California in the US, like the laid back culture; the flip flops and the board wear.

    bondi beach in sydney with surfer
    Bondi beach, Sydney.

    The language is English but there are a many new words and expressions that I’ve never heard before. The overuse of the word “heaps” is one. It means “a lot” or “many”:

    “There are heaps of people on the beach”.

    Another fun little quirk of the Australian language is exchanging the end of a word (or name) with “o”:

    Bottle-o (bottle shop), arvo (afternoon), servo (service center), David (dave-o).

    Sydney Beaches

    You’ll see several different types here: You’ve got the German tourists out to lick some sun away from the cold winter back in Europe, you see the young surfers with their blond curly hair and billabong shorts and finally you see the ripped people running around topless (the boys, that is) who spend most of their time going to the gym and eating healthy. In all three situations, the goal is the same: to look good on the beach.

    I went to two of the beaches in Sydney so far – Bondi and Bronte. Both extremely nice beaches with white sand and blue water.

    bondi beach in sydney
    Bondi Beach, Sydney from a high vantage point

    You’ll see several different types here: You’ve got the German tourists out to lick some sun away from the cold winter back in Europe, you see the young surfers with their blond curly hair and billabong shorts and finally you see the ripped people running around topless (the boys, that is) who spend most of their time going to the gym and eating healthy. In all three situations, the goal is the same: to look good on the beach.

    There is a definitely a large culture evolving around the beach and life on the beach.

    Biking in Sydney

    One thing, I miss from Denmark, is the bicycle culture. With the amazing weather we’re currently having here in Sydney a bike would be just great. Needless to say I was super stoked when my friend David said that I could borrow his bike. The initial excitement went away though when I learned that bikes are not exactly common in Sydney and people don’t use them as much as a means of transportation but rather recreationally – on racing bikes rather than citybikes.

    There are no bike lanes so you share the road with the cars – and some cars really don’t like that so they get super close to you. Still, there is a functioning train/bus system and actual sidewalks which is a nice change of pace from the craziness that is Saigon (and the rest of South East Asia).

    Sports

    I’ve heard Australians call themselves a very sporty nation many times. They obviously play rugby and cricket but they also play four (!) different types of football, with one of them being the normal style soccer. They have huge stadiums (100.000+ people) and, apparently, the atmosphere in those stadiums is through the roof. Even if I don’t like the sport, I should still go, just for that sensational feeling.

    Conclusion

    Australia Provides a lot of new and interesting things for me to explore. And I’ve only been in one city so far!

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    LIVE JOURNAL WEEK 3: Solo motorbike trip around northern Vietnam

    ByThor

    This is post 3 of 3 in the series “North Vietnam Motorbike Roadtrip”

    1. LIVE JOURNAL WEEK 1: Solo motorbike trip around northern Vietnam
    2. LIVE JOURNAL WEEK 2: Solo motorbike trip around northern Vietnam
    3. LIVE JOURNAL WEEK 3: Solo motorbike trip around northern Vietnam

    Note: this post is alive, meaning I will continuously update it during my trip. Internet permitting, I will try to update on a daily basis

    Total foreigners spotted: Too many to count. After entering Sa Pa, they have just been everywhere.

    Map of the motorbike route around northern Vietnam, week 3

    Day 15: HA GIANG CITY – VINH QUANG

    As I was getting ready I noticed that I couldn’t find my motorbike key and this turned out to be an issue for obvious reasons. However, I knew what to do – I’d been in a similar situation before near Saigon. Basically I just had to steal my own bike. I got another guy from the hostel (JJ from New Zealand) to give me a ride to the nearest mechanic. I would sit on my bike and he would push me using his foot on the back of my bike.

    At the mechanic we explained (using body language) that I lost the key and he promptly switched out the ignition for about 250k ($11). I also made him make two extra keys (which is surprisingly easy) so that I have 3 keys in case this happens again. That’s how easy it is to steal a bike. Basically we could have done this with any bike – not just my own. Crazy.

    After a surprisingly quick speech JJ was convinced to join me towards Sapa although he was originally planning on staying in Ha Giang for another day.

    12:00: We left town on the highway and it felt good to blaze along at 80km/t after all this mountain driving.

    13:00: I noticed that my bike was making a lot of noise and I couldn’t figure out what. I asked a mechanic but he just said he couldn’t fix it and that we could just go on, no problem. Not convinced we pulled in at 2 other mechanics and got the same story. Can’t fix but it’s no problem. The last guy, however, said that there was a specific Yamaha mechanic in the next big town (Vinh Quang) that might be able to help.

    14:00: We found a delicious little waterfall and went for a swim there. Private Jacuzzi. Yes, thank you!Thor sitting in a small waterfall pool near Vinh Quang

    16:00: After 3 hours of roaring noise through small mountain villages with everyone looking at us we finally arrived at the Yamaha mechanic and he showed us the problem. A big hole in the exhaust pipe. That explained why my bike sounded like a jackhammer. He fixed it using some very MacGyver’ish welding tools for about 30k ($1,5) and the bike was as good as new.

    Day 16: VINH QUANG – PHO RANG

    8:00: Wake up.

    9:00: Leave.

    We covered a relatively short distance yesterday due to various problems (JJ had some problems as well) so we were eager to cover some distance. The problem, though, is that we had to stop every 5 minutes to take pictures and the roads were extremely curvy and windy (and windy too as we were on top of a mountain) with drops on one side and mountains on the other so it’s not like you have a grass field on the side should you need to emergency evade. Below I tried to get some of that captured in a picture but it’s hard.

    Green mountain valley on the road from Vinh Quang to Pho Rang

    Since it had finally cleared up I managed to get some decent shots although that mist is still there lingering patiently.

    Lake between forested hills on the road from Vinh Quang to Pho Rang

    We didn’t miss the chance to get some good waterfall action as well. There are some great waterfalls along this route just waiting to be swum in. This one we had all to ourselves for the first 45 minutes until a group of Vietnamese kids showed up. We took a lot of pictures together and let them have it. Coincidentally we met them on the road later as we were pulled over for picture snapping.

    You should be able to see me there at the bottom.

    Tall waterfall falling into a pool on the road from Vinh Quang to Pho Rang

    Another thing worth mentioning is of course the local market we ran in to. As it was a Sunday, everyone was out in their tribal traditional clothes buying and selling various goods. This made for an extremely vibrant and colourful market with many strange trinkets.

    Women in colourful traditional clothes at a roadside market

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    On our way to Pho Rang (our target rest-up for the night) we passed the provincial state line out of Ha Giang into Lai Cai province. As soon as we entered, the road turned from rocky dirty road to fresh paved highway and our crusing speed went up to a pleasant 60km/t. We rolled by a lot of sawmills and wood making camps (in lack of a better word) along the way and my guess would be that this province is considerable more wealthy as wood is a sought after resource. Ha Giang, albeit extremely beautiful, has a hard time growing anything, let alone trees, on their rough lands.

    Stacks of wooden boards drying by a misty road

    18:00: We pulled in to a Nha Nghi in Pho Rang after a long day of driving. This evening we went out for some good pho and draft beer. This city was an interesting city and definitely suited for people watching. You see all kinds of sights that will keep you well entertained while you sip on your beer after a long hard day.

    21:00: Sleeping time.

    DAY 17: PHO RANG – SAPA

    8:00: Wake up

    10:00: Out the door

    JJ had a flat so we had to fix that and meanwhile I took care of some minor things (prepaid phone top-up, a mask for my face). After this we got some Pho at the same place as yesterday. I was feeling a little tired, maybe because of the alcohol, so in either case I wanted a proper breakfast this morning. I also stocked up on water.

    11:00: On the road, our bellies full and gas in our tanks, towards new adventures.

    12:00: Decision time, the route we were following would have us go north in a big de-route towards the Chinese borders and some very mountainous roads while the highway we were on would have us go straight for Sa Pa. JJ is as easy-going as they come so he was up for whatever and personally I still wasn’t feeling 100% and to be honest I’d seen a lot of mountain roads lately. I enjoyed the faster pace of the highway (although still very curvy and mountainous). So we took the short route.

    The road to Sa Pa was gorgeous but, unfortunately, everything just seemed secondary after Ha Giang.

    Panorama of misty hills and fields on the road from Pho Rang to Sa Pa

    16:00: After some coconut drinking and pineapple eating rest stops (10 small pineapples, peeled and ready to eat, for 25k – that’s cheap!) and nice highway we arrived in the mountain resort town of Sa Pa. This place is so different from what we’d been used to the last couple of weeks. Immediately we were greeted by a fellow asking us in perfect English if we need a place to stay and women in traditional clothing come to us and ask if we want to stay in an “authentic homestay”. Tourism has shown its ugly face. On the positive side it now meant that even the guy at the gas station speaks English and you can get hamburgers and western food all you want for a price of 80k-100k ($4 – $5) – about 3 times as much as I’m used to paying.

    We drove around town for a bit looking for a place to stay and ended up at a place where JJ stayed last time as he’d already been to Sa Pa before. Good view in the dorms and breakfast included. Done.

    The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and talking to fellow travellers while I also managed to write two days of this journal as well as taking care of some finances and extending my travel insurance. I already decided to stay two days in Sa Pa to get some well-deserved R&R before moving on.

    DAY 18: SAPA

    7:30: Wake up and hearty breakfast

    10:30 After some lounging around me and JJ ventured out on a trek around Sa Pa. We didn’t want to pay for a guide and the weather looked too bleak for an attempt on the 3143m tall Fansipan mountain. Neither of us had trekking shoes and a rainy muddy ascend that people usually spend two days on was just not a good idea when you wouldn’t get to see anything at the top. I will have to conquer Fanispan, the tallest mountain in Indochina, some other day.. Instead we just went straight out from the hostel towards the “trekking areas” without any further plan than that.

    The road was very nice and we got some surprisingly good shots when the sun occasionally popped out

    Valley with rice terraces and a river near Sa Pa

    After about 6km’s JJ had to turn around as his foot had an injury which turned out to be worse than anticipated – probably a good thing we didn’t go for Fansipan. I continued on as I had a more or less random goal of making it the 10km’s to a homestay that was recommended to me – and I don’t like backing down from goals, no matter how random.

    Thor on a hillside above a valley near Sa Pa

    Eventually I made it. I had some well-deserved waffles. The place (Luckydaisys bamboo and buffalo bar) was alright and seemed like a good place to rest a bit but I was happy with the place we found in Sa Pa town.

    16:00: It was time to head home. The bamboo place was about 2 km’s away from the main road in a small town so there wasn’t much of transportation to get back home so I had to walk back another 2 km’s – this time uphill. When I got close to the main road I stopped a couple of random xe may’s (motorbikes) to get a ride and the with the 3rd one I got lucky. He gave me a ride all the way back home to Sa Pa and he didn’t ask any money for it. A perfect ending to a good day.

    Tonight it will just be further R&R before heading out on the road again.

    DAY 19: SAPA – SON LA

    7:00: Wake up and breakfast

    8:00: JJ was getting antsy – let’s go! Out the door we went.

    It had been raining heavily the day before so we were a little worried about floods, slippery roads and more rainfall during the day. Luckily after a few hours it cleared up and stayed like that all day. We were heading for Son La and highway 6 (now called AH13) which is supposedly a beautiful area – not like we hadn’t heard that before!

    Out of Sa Pa we drove all the way around Fansipan mountain on windy roads with quite significant wind gusts. So strong that you would have to account for it coming around corners as it disturbed your balance quite noticeably.

    The road took us across the highest pass in Vietnam with a road on it, once again taking us into the clouds and much colder weather. All the way along the road you could see water falls both right next to the road and all the way across magnificent valleys.

    All the way on the top we saw this abandoned house straight of “The Shining”, complete with a broken bolted up gate, mist and broken windows.

    Abandoned house behind a broken gate in the mist between Sa Pa and Son La

    On the way there we passed through the largest rice fields of Vietnam which were beautiful but still underwhelming. Maybe it would be more impressive if it wasn’t this time of year – the fields were mostly still in the germination phase meaning that they were either completely hidden in muddy fields or just showing the first tiny shoots. Full grown plants would’ve definitely been a different visual experience.

    Red Yamaha motorbike with luggage in front of young rice fields between Sa Pa and Son La

    Pushing onwards towards highway 6 (AH13) we had a refreshing 25k pho, the sun was shining and the scenery was outstanding.

    13:00: We saw a large dam and decided to climb it (we could drive all the way). Behind it we got the first glimpse of an astoundingly large lake with blue quiet water. A very pretty vision indeed. We later found out that this was one of the largest, if not the largest, hydroelectric power plants in South East Asia (sources vary and there are more than one dam in this area).

    As we continued down the road we hit the main part of the lake and got a glimpse of the full glory of this lake

    Panorama of a lake between hills on the road to Son La

    This lake came out of nowhere as we can’t really see it on google maps or anywhere else and it’s not in JJ’s guidebook. Everything looks brand new as well. This lake is hands-down way prettier than Ba Be Lake and it’s also far more remote. You would think a lake this size had a lot more traffic on it but besides the occasional single lonely boat – nothing. This area was very remote with only a few spread out farmers living in bamboo huts along the lake working these unforgiving steep hills for a bit of crop.

    Motorbike parked on a viewpoint above a lake surrounded by karst mountains

    As we drove all the way around this mysterious unexpected lake we got to take pictures from all sides around it. We also did some exploring and the road you see below is the road we had to take to get here.

    Dirt road and red fields above the lake, with karst mountains behind

    We both agreed that this road which lasted for a couple of hours (with no gas stations) was one of the most spectacular scenic roads we’ve been to – and that says a lot! I’ve got many pictures to prove it!

    After many hours in the sun around this lake we needed a break and we got one in the next town along with an oil change.

    17:00: We’d been on the road for 8 hours so maybe it was time to stop for the night but then again. We were only about 60 km’s from Son La and for some reason it felt appealing to make it there. Like some sort of unwritten goal. It had to be done.

    18:30: Done. We got a banh my and a room in Son La and tucked in for the night.

    This day was one of the better days with some unique extremes (highest road, largest power plant, largest rice field and this “prettiest lake” of Vietnam).

    Day 20: SON LA – MOUNG KHEN

    8:00: Get up

    9:00: Off we go. JJ is an early riser and I don’t think I remember him being up after 9pm. On the other hand, though, he is all fired up and ready to go at 7am every morning. It’s exhausting but we definitely cover some distance quickly.

    Today was highway the entire day. Same road – highway 6 / AH 13 – from Son La going all the way to Hanoi. Compared to the last 3 weeks this wasn’t all that impressive but it had its moments.

    12:00: We were both agreeing that a swim in a waterfall right about now would be the right thing to do so we looked one up and one hour later we did just that. This waterfall was quite public though and we were the only ones swimming. There was lots of picture taking of the dumb white clowns going for a swim but no one stopped us.

    We also found this spot which JJ proclaimed to be “mean” which is the opposite of “stink”. I’m not down with the hip lingo kids use these days but I think he means it looks great. And Indeed it does!

    Wide green valley with a town below limestone peaks on the road from Son La

    19:00: Even though we started early this morning we ended late. I blame JJ.

    The first place we checked was a nha tro binh danh and that roughly translates into working class homestay – I think. Anyway when we got in there It looked like a prison. Concrete walls, ceiling and floor. The doors were large sliding metal doors that made an eerie sound when moved. It was like straight out of a Western movie (you know the type of movies with cowboys) prison with the key warden dangling with a large set of old iron keys. This key warden even came with bad eyesight and trouble finding the key. When she finally got the door open there was nothing in there but a 1½ person wooden bed – no sheets, no pillows, no mattress and nothing else for that matter. Concrete everywhere except for the metal door. Jeepers, this place was one step up from sleeping on the street. However though at 25k each / 50k total this place was very cheap. Staying in a place like this you could survive for about $3/day including food and clothes – $5 if you want a feast. Apparently this whole area had a bunch of these types of accommodation that were, as JJ described them, ghetto as fuck.

    We ended up finding a normal’ish Nha Nhgi for 200k which is pretty standard. It wasn’t your average place though. First of all, it was huge! I mean gigantic. It was connected to a hotel with slightly higher prices as well as a karaoke place. To get there you also had to go through a natural cave over a bridge through a garden and the view from the back of the house was spectacular – a million-dollar view. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that view because for some reason they all came out bad. I got the cave though.

    Cave with tables and plastic stools inside, on the road from Son La to Moung Khen

    Dear reader, you’ve gotta understand the odd feeling we got about this place. First the prison hotel and now a 5-minute walk from the reception through caves and karaoke bars to get to our place. Everything about this city just gave a strange unfamiliar vibe.

    At least it was a place to stay. It had sheets that were sort of clean. Good enough.

    22:00: Sleep

    DAY 21: MOUNG KHEN – HANOI

    Back home to Hanoi. End of the trip. Awful highway, dusty roads, heavy traffic and lots of trucks and busses. Luckily it’s only 100km’s.

    13:00: 3 amazing weeks came full circle and I’m back in Hanoi. The first thing I did when I got there? Getting me some Dominos – Extra cheese! Pizza tasted so good after 3 weeks of pho and com!

    Domino's pepperoni pizza and an orange soda back in Hanoi

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    Arriving in Ushuaia at the End of the world

    ByThor

    This is post 2 of 5 in the series “Antarctica”

    A series of posts describing my expedition to Antarctica, November, 2018

    1. Conquering Antarctica. The 7th continent, the final frontier, the land of the penguins
    2. Arriving in Ushuaia at the End of the world
    3. Crossing the drake passage to Antarctica
    4. Life aboard an Antarctic cruise expedition
    5. A typical “Sea” day aboard an Antarctic cruise Expedition

    30 hours after I left my home in Copenhagen I arrived at Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is placed all the way down at the southern tip of Argentina which has earned it the name of “Fin del Mundo”, or “End of The World”.

    It was a long trip, in fact the longest of my life

    It was a long trip, in fact the longest of my life, but finally I was standing there at the baggage line in the tiny airport hoping dearly that my checked bag had made it too. I had the essentials in my carry-on but there is still a lot of important stuff that I wouldn’t be happy about losing.

    When I came in to Ushuaia I saw towering snow covered mountains in the horizon and it hit me what a vast distance I had travelled. I had gone from the cold north all the way across the hottest part of the earth and continued around until I hit cold again. Just a little bit longer and I would have  gone from pole to pole.

    There’s enough to do here if nature is what you seek

    I went on thinking about Jules Vernes’ legendary book, Around the World in 80 Days, and how it’s now possible in less than 2. The engineer in me was impressed, the adventurer in me felt lucky.

    Another thing I noticed was the people. In Buenos Aires it was busy with business men and women in suits, tourists wearing sneakers and ladies wearing high heels. When I touched down in Ushuaia there was none of that. Here, you didn’t see a lot of locals, the main language you heard in the halls was English and the sneakers and high heels had been switched for trekking boots.

    It was clear that this city was a tourist town and that many adventures and expeditions started here. To the north and west you have Patagonia, a sparsely touched and very remote part of the world. A heaven for bird watchers and trekkers alike. To the south you have the 7th continent and it’s pristine winter wonderland.

    There’s enough to do here if nature is what you seek!

    As I walked out of the airport I noticed something very odd. Something very peculiar that I had never seen before; A line for the taxis!

    I would rather wait 10 minutes for a taxi any day, than being asked if I want a taxi a hundred times before I’m even out of the airport.

    Yes, that’s right. I long line of about 50 people waiting to get a taxi ride. I have never seen this before. Coming from Central America where there are literally hundreds of both official and un-official taxi drivers waiting for you when you come out this was a refreshing change of pace. I would rather wait 10 minutes for a taxi any day, than being asked if I want a taxi a hundred times before I’m even out of the airport.

    So I grabbed a taxi, shared it with 3 other tourists and off I went.

    When I arrived at the hotel I knew that I would fall asleep instantly if I stuck around for too long, so I made a point of just dropping my bags and then hurrying out before getting too comfortable.

    When I walked around town I noticed something strange again. I felt dizzy and confused. I felt fresh but tired at the same time. I noticed that when I had to do something that involved cognitive activity I was at 25% at most. I also noticed that my balance was somewhat off.

    I got myself a burger and a Beagle, a local craft beer, walked around for 1½ hour and went back to the hotel. I instantly fell asleep and slept for 11 hours until I woke up next morning at 7am. And with that my first day in Argentina was over.

    Although I’ve travelled more than most I’m happy that I can still have new experiences and new feelings. There is always something more to do and something more to see.

    This is also the first time in South America and soon I’ll be on Antarctica. That’s 2 continents I’ve never been to before on the same trip and within 2 days.

    Let the exploring begin!

    clear skies over Ushuaia
    Clear skies over Ushuaia, Argentina. The trip is off to a good start

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