Vietnam:sad news,scams,and fond farewells.

Hello we have been out of Vietnam now for 12 days and have left China. China blocks all interactive sites, (facebook, blogs, twitter etc) so could not post you!
You may remember in our post. "Speed bumps in Hanoi" I spoke of an Aussie in room 207 with a brain clot and growing. Anthony advised me from Hanoi he had heard sad news that Martin had died in the hospital. When we received this sad chilling news Pam and I were dumbstruck. Neither of us expected this. We can still see his mobile and personal effects left beside his bed.
I can only think our decision that day to wait and see, had a positive outcome for me. Pam says my nine lives are well and truly used up. Room 207 is not my favorite number.

Scams happen all the time. "We are a moving target"> Some you pass over, some you just get mad. We got scammed again. Taxi 3 times the fare and wrong platform, and a so called porter, not a porter at all. And the rail police cop the back handers.
When we left the Hotel Paramount (where Pam had stayed alone visiting me daily) the staff all said Bye Bye to Pam. She made her mark. They were so kind and caring to her while I was not there, it sort of makes up for the bad vibes and scams.
We expect these things to happen on the "Great train Journey"!

We are in Ulan Batuur the capital of Mongolia.

11 million VND for 2 berths out of Hanoi

2 berths soft sleeper
Depart Hanoi 18.30 Friday 16h Ocotober 09
ETA Beijing West 13.30 Sunday 18th October 09
Approx AUD$700.

Yep! that is us on the train tonight. Express rail to Beijing.
At last we have a clear run North. We will miss some famous landmarks, manmade structures and monuments. But guess what? We are planning our return to see them.
We have lost 21 days out of our schedule due to sickness and other unscheduled stops. Our stay in Vietnam was longer than scheduled but we really did enjoy the people. Vietnam has been hammered during our stay by high temperatures, typhoons, heavy rain and other nasties. (A cruise boat rolled in Ha Long Bay and 5 tourists were lost).
Our concern it is getting late in the season. Cold and snow are not to our liking and it is already 4C to 8C in Mongolia & Russia. Bye Bye Vietnam.



Image 1 Hoam Kiem Lake Central Hanoi Vietnam.
Image 2 Sleeper train from Dong Dang to Beijing (Photo courtesy of Nandakumar Narasimhan)

Communication breakdown at the Barbers Shop

Hello I went in to get my beard trimmed and my hair cut and came out without a beard.

Which just goes to show my communication skills are just not up to it.

Speed Bump Hanoi Style

Hello and Yes we have encountered a speed bump on the rail lines of the “Great Train Journey”.

This city Hanoi Vietnam and its region have given us chronic colds, monkey bites, and last of all a stay in hospital for me with septicemia (Blood infection).
The story -
We had our train ticket for Nanning in Southern China and were all ready to get on the road again. I woke up on the Tuesday morning of our departure with chills and shaking all over. We took a taxi to local hospital and were sent on to Hanoi French Hospital. I was diagnosed with gastro enteritis. Drugs and rest prescribed so back to hotel. It is now 4.00pm in the afternoon. Our train departs at 21.40 and our hotel is booked in Nanning. Do we go or do we stay? …….. Pam says I am too sick so we stay and miss our train and hotel booking is forfeited.
Next morning Wednesday I am no better but we decide to have a day of rest and take stock later in the morning. Later Pam goes and buys another train ticket to Nanning for the next night, Thursday. Later on Wednesday I notice a pain in my groin that was not there earlier. I inspect my leg and it is hot and red. My leg looks like lobster skin and it positively glows. Once again my teeth start to chatter. We blame the drugs. The night is changing shirts and making me cool. Thursday morning we hightail it to the French Hospital again and into a specialist Dermatologist, Dr Deboz, a very stern French lady who ummms a lot. Within 15 minutes of seeing Dr Deboz I am safely tucked up in bed with a canal intravenously receiving penicillin and there I will stay for the next 5 days. Diagnosis aggressive infection (Septicemia).

So here I am in the window bed “A” room 207 French Hospital Hanoi.
Doctor Deboz is very definite that is where I will stay!
Thursday PM 8th October 2009
Pam has to solve our problems.
our Visa is due to expire on Sunday 10th
the Charming Hotel is too small for Pam to stay comfortably
the rail ticket is valid for travel this night
our insurers are not aware of our plight and we are not sure if the hospital was the correct one

Pam leaves on her mission helped by the good Doctor with phone numbers and maps for the Immigration Police. She will address our problems one by one.

Me, I am in bed aware and listening to my surrounds. The room is self sufficient with toilet and bathroom. There are two beds in the room separated by a curtain. The equipment is spartan but sufficient and comfortable for me. It is air conditioned to 25c. I am attached via intravenous drip to a bottle of medicine on the bed head. I am going nowhere.
For the technocrats. a set of numbers. Temp 39c BP 90/50 Pulse 50

So what to do :) ):
Thursday - My first co patient was a Viet who had some sort of nasal infection. During the night he was very restless and had a loud mobile that rang every five minutes. I swear he had it on automation for comfort (people do that you know)! He left next morning but I believe that he can beat The Smith he had the loudest and longest farts I had ever heard and it was always finished off with a loud Pop! How he did it! I suspect it was a vacuum after so long a fart. (it was awesome).
Friday - Next man was a young Viet. I was terrorized as he was all mouthed up and I suspected he had H1N1. He stayed about an hour. I put on my face mask and hid under the sheet.
Then next I think it was a heart victim Viet. The family was all there crying and sobbing. Rather like a Greek opera, only it was in Vietnamese. He was taken away to operating theatre after about an hour of hectic noise and commotion. Poor fellow should have had some peace. I had the night to myself.
Saturday morning a fellow Aussie arrived. This guy had the largest network of friends in Hanoi. I do believe they all called or arrived in the next day or so. But he was only complaining about a stiff leg and being very scathing of the treatment he was getting. They had done an MRI and found a 3cm spot on his brain. It was early Sunday before I got to say hello and find out his story. He had been in Hanoi for a long time and was involved with education. He was a chef. (Jenny you have told me the story of the street kids) I thought with all his benevolent work that he would be looked after by the universe.
By Sunday night Pam told me he was paralyzed on his right side. He could not use his arm or leg or move his shoulder. He could still talk though, believe me. By now he realized it was not funny and he was in deep trouble. It was not until Monday morning that the neurosurgeon appeared and they continued with scans. They showed the spot had increased in size and an operation was necessary. Now I have a question for you the reader? You are an Australian. You are in Hanoi, You need this brain surgery. You have 3 hours to make your mind up. The question is, how would you react and what would you do?
My hero in the next bed did what I suspect we all would do. He talked to his trusted friends and family and made his decision. He left the room Tuesday morning bound for theatre and surgery looking like Kojak or Michael Klim. I shall never know how he is.
Me - By Monday evening the drugs 30 files @ 110ml of Penicillin fed intravenously had done the job helped by penicillin ointment applied 2 times a day to my leg. I had watched BBC and CNN reruns of Mama-Mia and Wall-E. I had a go at sketching and was OK till the nurse stuck a canal in my right hand. Slowed me down a bit. I tried to read but could not concentrate.
Tuesday I got the all clear to leave with some caution from the French Doctor.

For the technocrats Temp 35.7 BP 130/85 Pulse 65.

I was discharged at 11.15am on Tuesday morning from bed “A”, room 207, French Hospital Hanoi Vietnam.
As I closed the door to that empty room I thought about the last 5 days of my life and how I had the fortune to see others handle grief, anxiety, love and the pure will just to be alive.
I thought of the people who shared room 207 and reflected on the saying written on a No Fear T Shirt given to me by Citt so long ago.

“It is not the pace of life that frightens me only the sudden stop at the end.”

For us the Great Train Journey is not about monuments and landmarks. It is about people.

“On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again”. Willie Nelson

Anyone for a good glass of snake wine?

Hello. Just thought you may like to have a glass of snake wine with us?

No!

Not your thing?

You know we said no.

The lizard did not look right.

Monkeys and Monkey bites.

Monkyes are so cute Yeah tell Pam that!

We were on Monkey Island Cat Ba National Park. Minding our own business except we did not quite figure it out that the monkeys reckoned we had food in our back packs.

A team of about 10 rounded us up and attacked us. Pam got bitten on her arm and leg. This is the worst bite (image). The old guy who bit her was an ugly old shit.

Cute monkeys? Yeeaah!!

note: we heard there is a park in China with about 100 monkeys. Not going there!

Medical attention Cat Ba town excellent, so ready to hit the road again.

Halong Bay and road accidents

Hi we are still Hanoi waiting for the National Holiday to finish in China, so we took a side trip to Ha Long Bay which is very cheap.

We went out for three days. The Ha Long Bay area is a bay of Limestone Karsts which are simply spectacular. It is our second visit to the area and we both felt that it was worth revisiting. It is so surreal and peaceful. The bus journey is 4 hours out of Hanoi.

It is part toll highway and part old town stuff. The road is very fast and dangerous. Going up we saw a two bike accident. Coming back we saw the worst site imaginable. A poor man had his head all over the road and the cops did not even give him the respect in death to cover him up. I think the psyche of the people is they have accepted death. Life seems so simple against our values here nothing seems to stop the flow of life. Commerce is king.

Our intinerary: Tuesday 6th October train to Nanning China then to Guilin for the limestone mountains. From there we hope to continue on to the 3 Gorges cruise up the Yangtse after a stop at Zhangjaijie. Then to Xian for the warriors. Past there is Shanghai, and on to Beijing. At Xian we had a tug of hearts to got East or West. East is Tibet, West is Shanghai.

Go West Go West time is wasting and it is -1 in Ulaan Bataar (Mongolia) already and we are going further North than that. The snows are coming soon in Siberia.