Super Cubs

There are the cute and cuddly bear cubs, the fat pawed tiger cubs, the helpless Chicago Cubs and then there are Super Cubs. Any pilot will tell you there is nothing like flying a Super Cub. I have flown a cub once...from the back seat of Trish McKenna's cub while husband John toured me around Ted Turner's massive ranch lands in Montana. They are very cool airplanes....low and slow is the name of the game. These machines won't get you anywhere fast but if you want to feel like Snoopy on his dog house the cub is your ride.

A few years ago Steve called me and asked if I wanted to partner up with him to build Super Cub from the ground up. I wasn't in a position at the time to fork out the cash but Steve pushed ahead and decided to fork out the cash himself. This past weekend we flew down to Yelm, WA to see the progress of the new cub project. We launched out of Boundary Bay in the two Skywagons and I had Flycatcher Graham in my airplane and Captain Riley, First Officer Lane and Flight Attendant Steve were in the other Cessna 185. After clearing customs in Bellingham it was a short 45 minute flight to Yelm which sits just south of Seattle.

Steve recruited aircraft builder (and flyer) Mike Todd who lives in Yelm to take on his cub project. Mike does know a thing or two about cubs and in fact the Cub I flew in Montana was built by Mike. So I can vouch for his ability to paper mache one of these babies together. After about 200 hours of work over the past year you can see the progress Mike has made in the video below. Mike is guessing it will take about 1000 hours total to complete so I am sure a few more visits will happen before we see this cool little machine fly. I did overhear him saying to Graham that it will be another year before the airplane is complete. By my calculations that means that Mike is going to crank out 800 hours of work in the next year. I think his wife Peggy might have something to say about this.

Anyway......This video was a slap together job and I did rip off a few Super Cub shots from the interweb to stick into the middle of the video so that people can actually see what the final product will look like. If one of these pics is yours please don't email claiming copyright infringement. Don't worry...I didn't make a dime from your work as there are only about 7 people that actually read this blog and they are all related to me.

Vietnam - It's a Wrap

We are home!

We made it back on Tuesday at 6:30 pm in Seattle and then we had to drive back to Vancouver. Our flight home was a bit more enjoyable given Heidi pulled the "I am too old for that other shit!" card upon arrival to the airport. Out came the credit card. First class baby, first class. There are cheap people and there are lazy people. Guess what category we fit into? We are pretty tired given the time change and we are both like Zombies today.

Here is a quick summary of thoughts on Vietnam:

1. We really liked Vietnam
2. The people were great. They all seem to be happy and peaceful. Strange given they have been invaded by just about everyone!
3. The scenery was beautiful in spots but I thought it would be more beautiful in certain respects. We did miss the entire centre of the country so we may have missed some really good stuff.
4. We never felt unsafe at all. Day or night.
5. They drive like lunatics but there is some magical flow to the chaos. This alone will be one of the more memorable aspects of visiting Vietnam. It was like being "in" a video game every time we went for a walk or got in a car.
6. Our favorite spot was Sapa. It is a mountain town with very diverse cultures mixed together and beautiful scenery
7. Culturally it is very, very different from the western world. It is a poor country, generally speaking, with the average salary being $100 per month but it is more developed than a country like Nepal (according the Heidi).
8. Heidi didn't bring enough reading material.
9. Our tour guides, drivers and hotel staff were super thorough, always on time and very attentive to our needs. I think this is a cultural thing. North America could learn a few things from them.
10. Would we go back? I think we would go back if we were visiting another country near by(eg. Cambodia). However, there are many other countries out there to visit so why not go somewhere new.
11. Would I recommend Vietnam to someone else? Definitely.
12. Was it a good way to spend my 40th? Absolutely. I loved that I was able to see the country and do some kite surfing all in the same trip. I am big believer in "experience gifts" vs "things." I think people remember experiences forever and forget things quite quickly. So thanks should go to Heidi for creating a memorable 40th experience that I won't forget.

Runnin' Down Children in Vietnam

Our last excursion in Vietnam took us to Ta Cu Mountain which is about a 45 minute drive from Mui Ne Beach. Both Heidi and I were enjoying the down time at the beach so the thought of getting carted around in a car was getting less appealing but luckily both the sand dunes and this outing were only morning trips. Our driver spoke a bit more english than our previous days driver so we had some sense of where we were going and what stops we were going to make. On our way to Ta Cu we stopped at Champa Towers which occupy a hilltop near Mui Ne, with sweeping views of both Mui Ne and Phan Thiet(closest major town to Mui Ne). The towers themselves are 9th century brick like structures that are in marginal shape. On the same site is a war time monument and some old bunkers that appear to have been used as a look out site given the 360 views the hilltop provided.





We continued from there to Ta Cu Mountain. The highlight of Ta Cu is the white reclining Buddha. This large Buddha is 49m long and is the largest in Vietnam. Given Heidi's interest in Buddhism this was a more appealing visit than the sand dunes the day before. Getting to the Buddha was a multi-stage process that began with cable-car ride to the top of Ta Cu mountain. Heidi was a bit skeptical of the cable-car but I reassured her that that the Doppelmeyer engineering team that designed the system would whisk her to the top of the mountain safely. I think she was pretty impressed that I knew the name of the company that built the cable-car but thank god (errr...I mean Buddha) for the large logos posted on every gondola and cable tower clearly saying "Doppelmeyer." I love it when male answer syndrome works in my favour.



The cable car ride is unique in that it goes up to the peak and then down the other side forcing you to walk back up to the reclining Buddha that sits on the hillside above. The hike was a steep set of stairs that passes by a large Pagoda (which was under construction while we were there) and various monuments that Buddhist visitors stopped to pray at. Most of the signage in Vietnam is not written in English so it was difficult to understand the meaning of some of the things we saw. Pictures were the best we could do in many cases.



The pagoda was constructed in 1861 during the Nguyen dynasty, but the Buddha was added in 1972. The destination has become an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists, who stay overnight in the pagoda's dormitory. At a distance the structure is impressive. As I moved closer I was disappointed to see that people have plastered graffiti all over the Buddha and it never ceases to amaze me the stupidity of some people. The second thing that jumps out is the large swastika symbol on the Buddha's chest. As I have learned the swastika is an ancient symbol used as a geometrical motif and religious symbol. It has been widely used in major world religions such as Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, Buddhism and Jainism. The swastika was appropriated as a Nazi symbol and gained further association with the Third Reich as the Reich gained influence. Though once commonly used over much of the world without stigma, over time the symbol has become a controversial motif, especially in the Western world.





For the first time during our trip both Heidi and I felt like rock stars or "white freaks" depending on how we looked at it. We had kids and adults staring out our white legs, wanting to get photos with us and trying to speak english with us. There were very few tourists on Ta Cu so our presence was more unique than in other parts of the country. Some of the kids were quite funny and wanted us to say "hello" to them over and over. They also love to get their pictures taken and they like it even more when I hand them my camera and let them take my picture.





The trip down was harder than going up. The steep, long steps made for a knee jarring experience. The heat of the day was coming and I was glad that the Doppelmeyer was waiting. Our diligent driver was waiting for our return and we departed for our hotel. On the way back to our hotel we had the biggest scare of our trip and we came very close to making a great holiday into a disaster. As we have mentioned several times in my blog, driving in Vietnam is an "experience" that is hard to describe. It is chaotic and dangerous but at the same time there is a strange element of unspoken coordination between pedestrians, motorcycles, animals and cars. For the most part it all seems to "work." In most cases. On our drive back to Mui Ne the road narrowed into a two lane winding road with houses lining both sides of the street. We approached a small incline in the road with a house on the left. I could see a little girl (3-4 years old) standing on the side of the road in front of the house pointing across the street. There were no adults in sight which is quite common in Vietnam. Kids play on the side of the street regularly and cars fly by at speeds that would make most parents from North American cringe. As our driver approached the little girl she suddenly started to run across the road right in front of our car. We were doing at least 80km/h. I think the driver and I noticed the girl running at the same time and just as I started to yell he started to swerve to the right hoping to avoid running this little girl down. I don't think she even noticed the car as she did not break stride. Our driver swerved just enough to miss hitting the girl with the front end of the car but we heard a loud "clunk" on the back end as we passed by her. I was convinced we had run the girl over but as I looked back through the rear window I could see her still running. I am not sure what part of her hit the car but something definitely hit it. It must have been her hands. When she made it to the other side she reached for a plastic bag, picked it up and without hesitation turned and ran back across the road. Both Heidi and I started to yell because there was a motorcycle coming the other way and once again the little girl brushed death just missing the motorcycle. She made it back to the other side and it appeared she was heading for her house. As we slowly drove away I could see our driver was noticeably shaken. He said "sorry" while fumbling for a pack of cigarettes. As much as Heidi and I hate smoking I think he deserved the stress relief.

Maybe our visit to the reclining buddha offered good health and good fortune to this little girl! :-)

Ever Seen a Yellow Sand Dune?

Over the last week in Vietnam we spent all of our time in Mui Ne Beach. For the most part we were lounging around, reading, eating and exercising. Of course, I went kiting every afternoon once the wind came up. However, we did do a few morning excursions, the first of which was the yellow sand dunes. We hired a local guide to give us the tour but upon his arrival we quickly realized that he was nothing more than a driver. He couldn't speak a word of english but it really didn't matter that much as the tour was self explanatory....well for the most part. Most guided tours in Vietnam have a primary objective (i.e. to go to the yellow sand dunes) but they usually like to throw in a few other points of interest along the way. On our way to the dunes our driver suddenly pulled over on the road side and pointed down a narrow alley between two buildings. We thought he was telling us to go buy something from a local shop and our attempt to sign that we had eaten already and we just wanted to continued fail. He finally had to go find a kid that could speak english. Turns out there was a waterfall near by that was worth viewing. So out of the jeep we hopped only to be swarmed by a pack of money hungary kids looking to be our guides to the waterfall. Within the first minute the pack of kids had magically self-selected two to be our guides for the remaining portion of the tour. Apparently the waterfalls were at the end of a small river canyon which, in the end, turned out to be a very beautiful walk. The canyon was filled with yellow, red and white sand sediment and a lightly running river. Our young guides told us that we needed to remove our flip flops so we could walk in the river without flipping sand and water all over us. Heidi was not excited about this and her first question was "are there snakes in this river?" Of course, the little buggers responded with exactly what I had anticipated...."yes there are snakes!" Clearly these kids were not aware of the code when it comes to dealing with women! It was the wrong answer.

I quickly said to Heidi that it would be fine and we pushed on but there were some tentative steps in the deeper sections of the river. The sun was still rising which provided some great light. Here is a shot of Heidi and our little guides.



We finally arrived at the end of the canyon only to find out that the walk was the most beautiful and the falls really didn't exist. Turns out the dry season doesn't offer up much in the way of waterfall photo opps. I along with 2 other french tourists tried to snap a few pics of the trickling waterfalls while Heidi became the ring leader of the "boy gang"



On our return trip our guides seemed very intent on getting ahead of the other group but I continued to slow things down with photo requests.



As we neared the end of our journey we were diverted from the river to a small trail with some tree coverage. One of the little guides stopped me and asked if we were going to give them money. I said we were going to pay them money and that we would give them a tip upon arriving back at our jeep. Well...that didn't work. The negotiation began and both Heidi and I were confused as to why they wanted their money before finishing up the walk. Turns out that back at base camp there is a "boy" that is the ring leader and he collects all the money and then pays the little gaffers only a small cut. Our guys were wise to this extortion and developed a plan of their own. Once figuring this out Heidi and I gave them the standard $6(each) tip on the sly thinking we were helping the poor little guys out. This created more negotiation and we ended up giving them another $6 just to shut them up. The language barrier was a bit of a problem and we really couldn't be bothered trying to figure out what the issue was. Once we handed over the additional $6 the light bulb came on.....each of them took $6 and stuffed it in their jeans as their tip keeping the final $6 out in plain view for the ring leader back at base camp.

Next stop...the Mui Ne fishing village. We stopped for a photo opp of the harbour filled with hundreds of wooden fishing boats. It was quite the spectacle to see. The boats are cool because they are made from wood but the trim is painted in bright reds, yellows and blues.



While I ran around taking photos Heidi made friends with a young girl that chatted her ear off. Turns out the kids can speak better english than the adults.

We finally made it out to the sand dunes which was only mildly interesting. The sun was high in the sky so the photo opportunities were limited to say the least. It was also very hard to take anything worthwhile given the shear number of people that were walking all over the dunes. Every direction you looked were tourists and young kids with "plastic super sliders" in their hands. Apparently Turns super sliders have a use on the sand dunes but based on our assessment it didn't look like that much fun. Tourists were only making it 50 feet or so before tumbling in the sand. We opted to stick with the snow.



After returning to our jeep I thought we were going to head out to the white sand dunes but it ended up to be 130km drive. Here is a pic(which I did not take):


Originally uploaded by MikeRussia

We were back to our hotel by 11am just in time for the wind to kick in. Next stop...the lounging buddha

Mui Ne Beach, Vietnam - Be One With the Swell

I thought I would add a post to my blog for the kiters in the crowd. After touring through Vietnam for 2 weeks doing non-kiting activities I was excited to get to the beach for some sun, surf and wind. We started our journey to Mui Ne from Saigon(HoChiMihn City) via a car service provided by our tour company. Driving in Vietnam is like doing Death Race 2000. I would NOT recommend trying to rent your own car. If you are on a budget take a bus($6 one way) but based on the way I saw the bus drivers act on the road I would NEVER set foot in a Vietnamese bus. They are insane and they love to play chicken with every other car and motorcycle on the road. I think they have some sense of entitlement to the road given they are bigger than most of the other cars. It seems that dump trucks are the only vehicles that run a bus into the weeds on the side of the road. All others give way to the buses. My recommendation is that you take a car service. We had a driver and 4 door car with a fold down seat for the kite bag. If you are traveling as a group I believe you can hire a driver with Sprinter van (or the like). Our service was $30 return. That is cheap if you value your life.

Mui Ne sits on the South China Sea approximately 200km to the East of Saigon. Driving in Vietnam is nothing you have ever seen so the 100 km/h rule on the freeway just doesn't apply here. It actually takes 4.5 hours to make the trip if you leave during rush hour in Saigon. Phan Thiet is about 20km to the west of Mui Ne and is the largest "town" before hitting the beach. If you need to shop, hit the bank, find a pharmacy this is your place. They do have ATMs in Mui Ne but no actual banks. The best time to come to Mui Ne for kiting is October - April. This is their dry season and windiest window. During our visit the temperature averaged about 30 degrees celsius and I did not need a wetsuit.



My view of Mui Ne is that there is the "strip" and then the fishing village. The strip is where all the kiting and tourist action happens. As you enter Mui Ne Beach you will immediately notice the resorts built up along the ocean front (south side) and the restaurants and shops on the North side of the strip. You can take a look at this map to get a sense of where the various resorts and shops are located. There are many places to stay on the strip depending on your budget but I would recommend you select one west of Jibes. The beach front really starts at Jibes and works its way west. Jibes has very little launch area and I would not recommend staying that far down. Here is a shot in front of Jibes. You can't see it that well but my feet were in the water when I snapped this pic.



We ended up staying at the Sunny Beach Resort which is a prime location. I found out about this place from Brian Hewson who was here recently as well. We both agree this is the best location if you can afford it. Coco Beach Resort is another place similar to Sunny Beach and it is right next door. Both of these places have private bungalows that sit directly on the beach. It doesn't get much better. The price however is a bit steep ($180 USD/night) which is high for Vietnam hotels. Our bungalow was the larger version which can sleep 6 people so it was a bit overkill. It was all they had for our stay so we grabbed it. Most of the larger resort hotels have a kite school connected to them. The big benefit of these places is that they have an army of young vietnamese kids that assist teachers and provide launching / landing to guests. I tipped these kids every day and they took care of me well. Keep in mind the average salary in Vietnam is $100 USD / month. Giving these kids $5 / day tip is huge for them. Many of them are kiters as well so they know the drill. By the end of my stay the kids got to know me and were keen to help out in any way they could.

There are a number of kite schools here which does make the beach a bit busy at times. I personally don't think it is the best place to learn. I am a fan of the jet ski or boat approach which takes students away from the beach and the prime riding areas. They don't do that here. They teach you to fly right on the beach and then the instructors get in the water with the students and body drag along with them. There is a shore break and I did see a few students getting hammered a bit. Not ideal but it is definitely doable. The other issue that I see with this "on beach" learning is that it creates conflict with the non-kiting tourists. Students are launching and landing very close to people taking walks along the beach or swimming. Heidi, my better half, went out for a walk one day and came back raging about the inconsiderate kiters landing their kites and tangling their lines around her. I see this as a growing issue as kiting continues to grows. Generally speaking kiters and non-kiters don't really mix that well which means we all need to be more aware of our surroundings when kiting.





If you are staying anywhere west of Sunny Beach Resort there is plenty of beach space to rig and launch. If you are staying at one of the resorts many of them have compressed air to pump your kite that is free for anyone to use. If I had known this I probably would not have jammed my pump in the bag. However, if you use your pump to vacuum pack your kites upon departure or you are going to travel to some of the other kiting areas in Vietnam you will need your pump. Here is a shot in front of the Sunny Beach Hotel. C2Sky is the kite school attached to the hotel. They provided air, first aid, rentals and instruction. It was also about 20 meters from a restaurant / bar.



Riding in Vietnam is all about the swell and the chop. At first it drove me nuts. I was craving some flat water but after a few days I started to become "one with the swell." Some of the days the swell and chop were huge and once I got a read on the patterns I was able to time my jumps and transitions with a bit more finesse. The wind starts at around 11 am but it is light. You could ride a larger kite but it is better to just wait until noon. I am 150 lbs. and I have been riding my 9M Slingshot REV every day except for one where I pulled out my 13M. The day I arrived I went out at 3:30 p.m. and it was 7M wind. The rule of thumb I have worked out is that if the sand is lifting then I pull out my 7M. The best wind is noon to 4 p.m.. Later in the day it picks up but it also gets gusty. Earlier is smoother and more consistent. Wind direction is out of the east / south east with a side onshore wind. For my size the best quiver to bring is 7, 9, 11 or 7, 9, 13 depending on what you got. If you are going to ride a surf board and you are lighter you "may" need a 5M but the wind never got anywhere near that strong for me. Here is a shot of me on my 9M:



There is a small shore break but it is very close to shore. You can work it down the line a bit but you will be zig zagging around swimmers and student kiters. I did see some guys on surf boards but most are riding twin tips. The waves are just not enticing enough to really get worked up about riding a surf board. There are places that rent surf boards if you feel the need. No need to drag your own board all the way over. Just bring your favourite twin tip and you will be set.

Down winders are possible. A group did one yesterday from Mui Ne down to Phan Thiet. It is a 10 km down winder and you can grab a cab back up to the strip. Not a bad way to break things up and you will get out of the crowds. There are a few other places to ride but I did not venture to them. There is a flat water location about 2.5 hours away from Mui Ne and a wave spot not too far east of Mui Ne. The wave spot is a bit a of secret spot but I was told the big issue with that spot is the fishermen have nets and lines laid out that you have to be really careful of. Vietnam Kitesurfing Tours offers packages to some of the other more remote destinations but you need a group of 6.

The sun is very intense here. I was using SPF 50 waterproof sunscreen and I still got fried. My lips are the worst. I had to resort to running to the local kite stop to buy a long sleeve rashy and a bucket hat. From that point on I have worn long pants, long rashy and hat while kiting. Many people do the same and some even wear face masks to protect their lower face and lips. One small detail that I have learned is that they don't sell waterproof sunscreen here and the stuff they do have is only SPF 30. They also don't sell zinc so bring your own sunscreen, lip balm and zinc.

There are plenty of good restaurants along the strip that are all within walking distance. Mango (Vietnamese), Good Morning Vietnam (Italian), Hoang Vu - aka Double Wheels (Vietnamese) and an Indian joint beside Good Morning Vietnam which was really good too. We did not have a car or motorcycle but you can rent a motorcycle if you want to go a bit further. We went on a few morning tours that we booked with some local guides and they provided the transportation.

The small negative I see with Mui Ne is the "vibe." I find the kiter etiquette here to be lacking. Nobody winds their lines on the beach and I find many of the kiters to "hold their line" on the water at all costs. I had a number of guys almost take out my kite while I was body dragging for my board. There is huge beach space to utilize but they insisted on holding their line and getting past. In the end I was the guy that moved my kite to "help them out with their mental break down." After a while I got a bit pissed and stopped moving my kite and guess what...these clowns would just run their kite into mine. I couldn't believe it. My theory is that because Mui Ne is a tourist location there is not a big sense of "community" which creates less accountability and a little more self-centered riding. If you don't like riding with tourists you can simply move down wind from the common riding corridors.

Overall I liked Mui Ne and I would definitely recommend it as a place to visit for kiting. Vietnam in general was a fantastic vacation so if you can link the two aspects together as we did you will have a great time. We saved the kiting for the end as it was a great way to "wind down" before returning home.

If you have any specific questions about Mui Ne or Vietnam post in the comments below and I will do my best to answer your questions. You can also check out the Mui Ne Beach website

Mark Cunningham

Four Oh!

Turning 40 was a breeze. I mean really, I didn't feel any different the entire day. I didn't have any urges to buy a red corvette nor did I have any desire to learn about wine and cigars. Not once...the entire day. I guess I am one of the lucky ones that missed out on the midlife melt down. Coming to Vietnam was a great way to spend my 40th. I told Heidi last year that I wanted to be somewhere sunny and warm with wind and waves. Looks like my wish came true. You can't help but want to be active in a place like this. I spent my entire birthday outside running and kite surfing. We hit the beach by 7am for a quick run down to the end of the bay and back followed by breakfast on the patio of our bungalow which looks right onto the beach. While the trip to Vietnam was my birthday gift from Heidi she insisted on buying even more stuff for me to open. Peanut Butter and Jam from a shop in Saigon, a few t-shirts, a book and a sexy robe. The robe says it all. You know what I am talkin' about.....once I do my sexy dance in this bad boy...well....you know....it's business time.





I was on the water by 11:30 am and I stayed out there most of the day. I stopped for a quick break but only long enough to scarf back a bag of Kettle chips and some pineapple. Believe it or not this picture is of me. Don't you love my Brazilian Flag kite. I think it is very hip.



Kiting gives you alot time to think and I couldn't help but ponder and reflect. So what golden nuggets of wisdom did I gather in my first 40 years?

1. My sexy dance has improved with age.

2. I have learned that it is ok to let someone else drive from time to time. For those of you that spend most of your time watching the sports channel and drinking beer, look up metaphor in the dictionary.

3. Nose hair and the little white crud that forms in the corner of your mouth is just part of getting older. Deal with it.

4. As I get older I am more curious to look around the next corner.

5. It's still not ok to take a magazine or book to the bathroom

6. Soft eyes...it works you will see.

7. I hum the song "let it be" after attempting to apply the soft eyes technique. If that fails I revert to point #1 above.

8. Talking before 9am is over-rated

9. Gravity always wins - my ass may be sagging but it helps when I fall from 50 feet up after forgetting which direction to send the kite.

10. It's always business time

11. You can't buy your health

12. I can still have sex 4 times per day but don't tell Heidi I said that.

13. Oh...and did I tell you about my sexy dance?


I know, I know...that was too deep.

We wrapped the day with a dinner at the Victoria Resort where I was able to eat a steak and have the warm chocolate cake for dessert. We thought it was best not to ask for a candle otherwise we would have had 18 vietnamese waiters attempting to sing happy birthday in English.

I Forgot to Pack My Burka

Posted by Heidi

We have arrived in Mui Ne, a beach town where we will spend 7 days. For mark, this is dessert! He gets to kite board all day. Mui Ne is about a 4.5 hour car trip from Saigon. Yes, 4.5 hours of playing chicken with very large buses. There are lots of buses around here and they easily hold their line in all matters. You do not get in the way of a bus and you hope that while avoiding one, you don't take out a few mopeds along the way. Mui Ne consists of a 5 km strip with hotels and guest houses along the beachfront and restaurants and stores on the other side of a busy street.



We were booked into the Full Moon resort but when we arrived, hot, sweaty and vaguely traumatized from our 4.5 hour car trip, we were a little disappointed (see previous blog - "I am too old for this sh*t). The place was clean but dark and lacking in any lounging areas (ie pool, beach chairs etc), which is critical when you are at the beach. More importantly, our room and the bathroom were one and the same - the toilet was right beside the bed. Which makes it very convenient but not particularly romantic. Even though I have known Mark for 14 years, there are some things we want to keep separate. Church and State. I fell asleep on the bed and Mark promptly marched down the beach and secured a better spot. So now we are at the Sunny Beach Resort in a beach front bungalow. Fortunately, our beach is prime Kite Board real estate and there is a local kite board operation with "beach boys" who help launch and land kites. The beach boys mean I don't have to risk divorce trying to help mark launch his kite. It is a nice property with two (count em) infinity pools. They have people go around the grounds during the day and sweep the grass. I am not kidding. Every place we have been to in Mui Ne does the same thing. Its a bit like Disney Land, only no misogynistic cartoon characters. The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable and intensely guilty.







So far, we haven't done much except Kite (mark), read (me), and lounge around. There are lots of Europeans here, which is exciting because every one of them is wearing a banana hammock bathing suit (for those of you who are neophytes, that is a speedo). This is not a look very many men can pull-off. Hairy, with beer bellies and chicken legs. Oh geez a little bit of my lunch just came back up thinking about it...Here is the biggest thing we have learned about Mui Ne - the sun is Super Nova. Its on steroids. I ran from our bungalow to the beach and I was burned. I swear, its like being near an A-Bomb. Even in the shade I burn! Mark is out kiting right now, wearing a long sleeved rashie, and a pair of my long (very masculine) pants. If I had a burka, I'd wear it. Maybe Al Gore is right....

Fly Your Banana Flag

Posted by Heidi

After a night in Can Tho, we got up early to hit the local market. We boarded a boat to cruise up the Mekong River to a floating market.



The “market” was full of all kinds of boats selling various products. Mostly fruit and veg but also raw meat, because where would you be without a little raw meat in the morning? Each boat has a ten-foot bamboo pole at the bow and attached to the top of the pole are examples of the products they sell. If you are selling Jackfruit, you attach an enormous, 30-pound, bumpy, pear-like object to the top of your pole and hope it doesn’t sink your boat. That way, everybody knows what you are selling and they can high-tail it over to your location, taking out a few other boats along the way. A lot of these people live and work on their boats and this is the only way they get fresh produce.



Mark got a lot of great pictures. I was preoccupied with the chocolate croissants they served as part of our breakfast. You’d think in a country that had to physically boot out the French Imperialists they would ban any reminders. Mais No! They seem to love all things French and in some cases (chocolate croissants), do it even better than the French. But then again, I guess that might be the ultimate revenge. I am flying a chocolate croissant on my bamboo pole.



After our breakfast cruise to the floating market, we boarded (another) boat for an overnight trip. We shared the boat with a family from Denmark and two couples from the USA (thank god they were democrats or it might have been Mutiny on the Bounty). The Danish family was on a two month trip because the Danish government will allow you to take a sabbatical and pay you to do it!!! Yes, we have socialized medicine but they have paid sabbaticals!!!! And a 62% tax rate.

The couples from the USA were “birders” and their entire trip to Vietnam was about spotting exotic birds. We had a nice, lazy cruise up the river. It wasn’t quite as scenic as Ha Long bay, but was very pleasant. We stopped at a very small fishing village and cruised around the town for a while. We had tea and fruit with a local family. Everywhere we have been, we have been invited for tea with local families. I know they all get paid to do it but I have to say that every single family is very welcoming and warm.




Mark was taking pictures as we walked around the island and he came across a few kids playing with kites. He stopped to talk to the kids and eventually got the little boy to take a picture of Mark and his sister.





Eventually we headed back to the boat for more food and a night onboard. The next morning, we hit the local rice factory (this is not a nice job), and rice paper making outlet. We also got to see a guy make puffed rice. He uses a giant wok full of sand (yes it is true) and drops rice kernels into it. After a few minutes of stirring, the rice begins to pop like popcorn. Eventually he strains out the sand and voila! puffed rice.

After the puffed rice, it was back in the car for another 2.5 ride back to Saigon. I must keep my eyes closed on all car rides because I can’t drink enough gin to witness the driver ride the middle line, squeezing between two lanes of traffic and 14 mopeds.

Once back in Saigon, we decided to hit the reunification palace. Formerly the Presidential Palace, this is the spot the Viet Cong stormed and transferred power from the South Vietnamese Government in 1975. At the same time, the remaining US forces were busy trying to evacuate by helicopter any remaining Americans. You may have seen footage of Vietnamese people desperately trying to get on US helicopters, only to be booted off by the US army. Many of these people would later try to escape communist rule as “boat people,” embarking on tragic attempts to escape Vietnam by sea.

The Reunification Palace is an homage to early seventies architecture. So retro it is “nowtro.” (this is Mark’s favorite saying and he wanted me to remind everyone that this is “his” line). By presidential standards it is positively modest, movie theatre, gambling room, and Huey landing pad not withstanding. Here is the gambling room:



The most interesting part about the palace was our tour guide, who put us through the paces with quizzes at every stop. Who was the president in 1969? What was the first lady’s favorite food? What was the name of the architect that built the palace? How long was the last South Vietnamese President in Power? I actually got this one right – 46 hours. I said two days. Eventually, we decided to make a run for it while in the ballroom overlooking the Huey helicopter pad. For all I know, the tour group is still there undergoing 20 questions. The guide looked all sweet and demure (and incredibly fresh given the 35 degree heat and 45% humidity) but make no mistake, she was employed by the communist government (gee I hope I don’t get censored).

Here is a shot of the el presidento's most prized room for greeting guests:



Oh and we can't forget about the huey helicopter:

In Praise of the Kick Flush

Posted by Heidi

I have very few criticisms of this trip so far. The food is a little hard for a vegetarian, and I am officially on an “all-carbohydrate” diet, but for the most part it is fine. The only thing I haven’t liked is all the driving we have been doing. Or more specifically, all the driving in the aforementioned lunatic traffic. We took a 2.5 hour car trip from Saigon to Myo Tho, a small city on the Mekong Delta. Along the way, we stopped at a rest stop which was owned by the family of the Vietnamese President. Apparently, government workers aren’t paid enough and they often supplement their income through various endeveours which are easy to procure, because they can pull strings. As rest stops go, this one was pretty kick ass, even by North American standards. The bathroom was positively palatial. Generally speaking, the bathrooms have been quite passable and I am afraid of very few bathrooms largely because my friend Kristina taught me the greatest practical trick: the kick flush. Any woman worth her weight in Manolos knows the kick flush, a hands-free toilet flushing maneuver which requires some flexibility. The kick flush has been my ticket through Vietnam washrooms but at the Presidential Rest Stop, it was quite unnecessary. We did pay the price for the lovely surroundings though: $5.00 USD for a pack of gum! The President knows his value. Here is a dorky, posed shot of Mark with his communist shirt on:



After our 2.5 hour car ride, we got on a sampan to tour some islands. One contained the Coconut Temple, a structure that resembled a miniature golf course and was built by a monk who lost his mind and decided the way to enlightenment was to only eat coconuts. He eventually succumbed to his diet and his followers disbanded. The government decided to keep the temple intact to “warn people against coconuts.” Don’t try this at home kids.



Our tour of the islands also included a visit to a coconut candy-making factory. This is no Lucy and Ethel set up. This, like a lot of things in Vietnam, is fraught with danger. They boil coconut and sugar in this giant wok until it is roughly the equivalent of molten lava. Then they pour it onto stone slabs, let it cool for about five seconds, and then use their hands to put it into long, thin molds which are then cut into square pieces. Lots of sampling at the coconut candy factory and we were serenaded over a bull-horn by a Cambodian tour guide, so it was all good.



We also stopped to have lunch on one of the islands. The reason Vietnamese people are so skinny is they are over-feeding the tourists. Every meal consists of about 10 courses. Which is a lot of carbohydrates for me. At our island lunch, they brought out a whole deep-fried fish for Mark. A nice lady picked chunks (mmmmmm fish eyes) off of the fish and wrapped in rice paper with some veg for mark. As you know, he is a “vegefauxian” for this trip: a carnivore masquerading as a vegetarian. The doggy-bike put him off meat but he has been partaking in some seafood. As a side note, cases of the bird flu have been discovered again in central Vietnam. Hopefully, we will still be allowed back into the USA….
After lunch, we had a nice sampan ride down a small canal. Our lady sampan oarswoman makes about $2.00 USD per day - $1.00 per trip. There are quite a few of them so they only get to do about 2 trips per day.



Enough fun on the islands, it was time to return to the favorite Vietnamese past-time: death race 2000 in the car. Another 1.5 hours and a quick ferry ride to Can Tho, where we were staying for the night. You can buy anything in the ferry line-up. Live chicken? No problem. Kids a little puckish? Just hang your head out of the car window and a version of Vietnamese White Spot shows up.

The US Cannot Overcome the Patience of Communism

We arrived in HoChiMihn City(aka Saigon) yesterday afternoon after a short flight from Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines. Hot and sticky is the only way to describe the weather - 34 and no wind. We have been dragging our butts around after getting most of our energy sapped out of us. We were whining about wearing our jackets up north and now we can whine about the heat.

Culturally this city is very different. The people here are bit more "aggressive" than up North. Line ups are meaningless. Men approach the urinals three at a time with their pants unzipped...can you say "swords"....my childhood memories came rushing back. After avoiding getting peed on I felt I would be safe washing my hands in peace. But no...I had two guys on each side of me decide that that water that was running over my hands should be running on theirs. Hmmm....doesn't that make my hands dirty again?

The city is far more cosmo than Hanoi. They have designer, jewelry, department and book stores. Heidi even blew the bundle on some faux diamonds our first night here! A bracelet dad, a bracelet. our hotel is an old French colonial building that has been renovated - Majestic Hotel. Ornate but nice. It has a gym and wireless so we are happy.

Our first day in the city had us venture 70 km to the Northwest to the Cu Chi tunnels that were made famous during the American / Vietnam war. It was an interesting look into how the Viet Cong (VC) fought against the American war machine. They are very industrious and willful people that came up with some innovative defense mechanisms. The most significant was the tunnel structure they built underneath the ground that sometimes had three levels. In total the tunnels system was about 250 km and it interconnected various bunkers, weapon factories, kitchens, hospitals hideouts and living areas. Amazing that a country's strategic fighting advantage was the size of the soldier and his tenacity. The American soldiers had a hard time getting into these tunnels which made life very difficult for them. The Viet Cong would use the tunnels as a means to move between factions right under the American land and air troops. They also used the tunnels as a way to launch surprise attacks on the Americans and then disappear into these invisible trap doors. The access to these tunnels was small. You can see the picture below of me crawling into one of the tunnels with the hatch in my hand. They actually made the hatch slightly bigger than the original ones for the tourists.

Once the american troops learned of this network they hit it hard with air bombing, napalm and agent orange to the extent that experts say it is the most bombed and decimated area in warfare history. We saw a few craters left behind by B52 bombs that were at least 20 feet deep. The VC were quite creative in their ability to develop nasty traps using basic materials like steel and wood. They had a demo of these traps which are in the video below:



The Cu Chi historical site had a number typical tourist gift shops where you could buy airplanes and tanks made from bullets and beer cans but the most disturbing was the massive firing range which was manned by the Vietnamese army. You can buy a bullet for 50 cents a pop and head down to the range where you could blast away with your gun of choice. They had everything up to the full fledged machine gun. It was VERY noisy and a bit twisted. I was tempted to give it a try but I just couldn't bring myself to do it considering where I was. I did get some video of a few clowns blasting away:



At the end of the tour they take you to the small screening room with a map of the tunnels, a model of the tunnels and a TV playing a short Vietnamese propaganda video. The premise was how the VC demolished the American soldiers with their exceptional war tactics and strategies. One line that jumped out was the title of this blog: "The US Cannot Overcome the Patience of Communism." The Vietnamese believe the war was a noble sacrifice and it seems that their commitment, will and resourcefulness caught the American's slightly off guard. Any way you slice it the US shouldn't have been there. Just like they shouldn't be in Iraq. So there you go...my political weigh in. Here is a pic of the propaganda room.

I (Heidi here now) was having none of the guns and overall, while I thought the site was interesting, I can't help feeling like there was a lot of bad karma happening there. The villagers around the area all have statues of german shepards on their front gates because they are afraid of the spirits of all the dead american and vietnamese soliders.

After departing Cu Chi, we headed back to HCMC to lunch (causing a big fury at the restaurant when we told them we were "an chay" (vegetarian)) and a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post Office. Both are very lovely structures, if you are into imperialistic neo-colonial french architecture. After that, we visited a HCMC book store so I could stock up. I brought 5 books and only have one left so I am panicking. If you are looking for english books in vietnam, you have to be a harry potter fan as that is about all they have!

Ok Mark is back...shower and dinner are finished. We leave Saigon tomorrow for Can Tho and the Me Kong Delta. I will update the blog in a few days.

Why don't the French Get Fat?

Heidi and I have been doing as much walking as possible in Vietnam. We even walk the stairs to our hotel room. But I have to admit we have been carted around in a car quite a bit too. We figure we can sad clown it with an hour in the gym and some walking. We got back from our first day in HoChiMinh City and I found this article in my email. It caught my attention mainly because we are surrounded by French people down here and none of them are over weight. So what is the secret? Read on....

Why don't The French Get Fat?

I Am Too Old For That Other Shit!

That was the quote I just heard Heidi say about 10 minutes ago after we boarded our night train that returns to Hanoi. Turns out this train is the posh version called the Victoria Express which is connected to the Victoria Hotel in Sapa. It is the swanky joint and apparently it has the swanky train. We actually have sheets on our beds, pillows and toiletry bags. But is it any quieter?

Sapa was a pretty cool area. It is a mountain town in Northern Vietnam right on the boarder of China / Vietnam. It sits about a mile high(5280 feet) with 20 000 people. The interesting part about this area is that it highlights that many different ethnics groups that exist in Vietnam. Apparently there are more than 50 different ethnic groups in Vietnam. Who knew? In Sapa there are a number of different groups represented in surrounding villages. Red Dao, Thai, Black Hmong and a bunch of others. Most of the minority groups where very unique clothing that gives you more of an african tribal feel. I never imagined this type of ethnic group in Vietnam.

We arrived into the Sapa area after a looooong night on crappy train at around 5:30am. Our young Sapa guide met us with an enthusiastic fist pump to the sky. We like to believe he thought we looked "cool" in comparison to the loud American's he normally gets. After a quick breakfast we headed out for a day of serious adventure. Bac Ha was our first destination that took us almost 2 hours to get too on the windiest bumpiest road you can imagine. Lucky for us we had a 4X4 land cruiser. Bac Ha has a weekly market where all of the minority groups come together to buy and sell goods. It was quite the spectacle. What I learned from this part of the adventure is that Vietnamese people eat anything that moves. Each area of the market focuses on different "goods" and many of them are meats like cow, pig, horse, bird, cat etc. Our guide paraded us through these areas with such pride not realizing that Heidi was a vegetarian that was about the puke. I had a great time taking pictures of the diverse people in the area.



After a quick lunch we were back in the car and headed for a hike to a Thai village - Thai people are a vietnamese minority group. Our guide took us into the home of a local family where we sat and had tea in their stilted house with dirt floors and bamboo construction. We snapped a few pics of the family and continued hiking to a near by river where we boarded a sampan for a 30 minute ride down the river where our driver met us for our trip to Sapa.



Yet another 2 hour drive on a seriously windy road. By the time we arrived at our hotel we were cracked. Thankfully the joint was nice.

Our second day in Sapa was the activity day. We got up early and did our run around the town for 45 minutes. Exercise is hard to come by in this country but this town is a bit smaller so we decided to take advantage of it. Our guide met us at 10 am and took us on a 15 km hike that passed through three different minority group villages. This was a hike on a remote trail along the hillsides of the Sapa Valley. It was a cool way to see the area and learn how these people. I can't really describe it but this is a whole other world over here. We picked up a few friends along the way too. Two Black Hmong ladies ended up walking with us for quite a ways and they were very nice. They knew a few words in english but mostly our guide had to translate for us. The women in most of these minority groups pride themselves on the things they make and their ability to then sell these things to tourists(that would us). The best part is the various sales tactics they use. These Black Hmong ladies walked with us for almost 2 hours before pulling out their goods. Some of the people are more direct and just hit you the moment they see you with "hello, you buy, you buy..." It was great day. We got in some exercise and we learned more about the local minority groups.





Our last day was a highlight for Heidi. We traveled to a local Red Dao minority group village where we were met by a swarm of ladies dressed in their full traditional outfits. They somehow self select who would get to "keep" Heidi and I and then we walked their entire village. I had four ladies and Heidi had four that surrounded each of us. We were like village.....ummm...rock stars not idiots. This was a relationship building process as well and they could speak English quite well. Heidi had a great chat with her group of four as we strolled through the village. I spent most of my time chatting with the guide with my four ladies quietly tailing us. After a visit to a family house and a quick glimpse of an old Viet Cong cave we headed back for the car where the hard sell happened. After dishing out about $6 to each of our ladies they gave Heidi a bunch of hand made bags and a traditional Red Dao head scarf which they put on for her before our departure.



We spent the afternoon walking to the top of the local Dragon Mountain near our hotel to watch a traditional dance performance which was less than stellar. it was a bunch of kids that reminded me of watching an elementary school play. Ya know those ones where you go to support your son, daughter, niece or nephew. The whole time you are there you are thinking..."wow this REALLY sucks but....oh aren't they cute...."

Dinner in the hotel for the 3rd night in a row....the food was quite good....and a one hour drive back to the train. The best part about our drive back was our discussion with our guide about driving in Vietnam. He is 28 years old and he cannot drive. This is common for many vietnamese people. We asked our guide why he didn't have his license and he proceeded to tell us that it takes five months to learn to drive in this country. At first I thought he was kidding but I soon realized he was serious. It turns out that driving school can only be taken in one city in Vietnam and if you want to learn to drive you have to move there for the five month duration. The first month and half is "theory" where you study the car, driving rules, laws. Eventually you get to sit in the car and hold the steering wheel, learn where the pedals are. Then you progress to actually driving the car. I was speechless and Heidi and I were laughing hysterically. I finally announced to him that I first drove a car when I was nine years old and he almost jumped out the window he was so shocked. I then told him that I learned to ride a motorcycling at the age of five. Once again he was floored. If you could only see how these guys drive here you would be laughing hysterically too. They are absolutely nuts when they drive. It took them five months of training to get them to this level.



Anyway, we had a good laugh before getting back on the night train for our ride home

Next up....5:30 am arrival where we will be greeted by our driver. He will take us to our Hanoi hotel for breakfast before we head to the airport for our flight south to HoChiMihn City (Saigon). This will begin our Southern Vietnam tour. It is 34 degrees down there. Quite a change from the 10 - 15 degree weather we have had up north.

The Night Train to Nowhere

It is 9pm and we just pulled out of the Hanoi train station on the Sapa night train. Heidi and I are sitting on our cots staring at each other and wondering what we just got ourselves in to. More on this in a minute. Backing up a bit....we finished up our Halong Bay boat cruise at noon today which was most relaxing. We were picked up by our driver and whisked back to Hanoi. Well not quite...it took 3.5 hours after getting jammed up behind a major traffic jam due to an overturned truck. Son, our driver, managed to find a small access dyke off the freeway to divert down and with a little jig jagging we were back in action. We arrived back at our home base hotel for a brief visit before departing for our train at 8pm. Of course, the gym rat herself coaxed me into hitting the treadmill which was not something I was really up for considering that I have been feeling like crap all day. But...Heidi is sick and she was going so I didn't have much choice! We finished up a sub-par performance on the mill and hit the lobby restaurant for dinner.

Where do the train fit into all of this? Our hotel visit was only temporary and we left Hanoi tonight heading for a Northern Vietnamese town named Sapa via the night train. Yes we are sleeping on a train. We departed at 9:15pm and it arrives in Sapa at 6am. We arrived at the station early and made a beeline for our train. Platform 6, car 11 it says on the ticket. Upon arrival at our car we find a conductor who can't speak a word of english but we are the first ones to the train. One problem...the thing is pitch black inside. He points us onto our car and we feel our way down the narrow hallway to our cabin. The light on my blackberry came in handy. We located the only room with 2 cots(all of the others had 4) and after sitting around for 15 minutes thinking we might not be in the right place the train jerks hard once, then again and we are rolling. There isn't anyone on the train but Heidi and I and the thing is black. It is only 8:30pm. The ticket says we depart at 9:15pm. I like VIP treatment but this is a bit rediculous. I would prefer to the share the train and have a few lights and some assurance we were not heading for China! I made it to the door of our car just as the train was leaving the station to find our conductor standing on the step of the car. I yell to him "what the hell is going on?" but he cannot speak a word of english. Thankfully my charades expertise came in handy and after a few hand signals I got the gist that they were disconnecting and reconnecting some cars. We eventually stopped and returned to the station...in reverse of course. Shortly after jerking to a stop back at the station our car was filled with French tourists that took up the remainder of the 4 bunk cabins. Within minutes the lights were on and the AC was blasting.

This train is a real top shelf unit! Single cots, smelly comforters, shared washrooms and it makes more noise than Terry's P51 at full power. So here we sit....on the train to nowhere. I am blogging, Heidi is reading(as usual).



Looks like we are in for a long night. Lucky for me I have a package of sleeping pills and some ear plugs. Somehow I don't think either will work. The upside is that we are supposed to be staying in the swankiest hotel in Sapa. We shall see.

The adventure continues in Nam!



PS....can someone get this photo to mom