Cataract Gorge and the spooky lodge

Interestingly Tasmania has got lots of seasonal work to offer. Mostly at apple and wine plantations but also all kinds of skilled workers are needed - mechanics, engineers etc. Sadly, walking in the center, quite a few window shops were shut, I guess you can be going out of the business like anywhere else... I looked through adds in the hostel and at the supermarket and the wages are very inviting, even for simple jobs like apple picking one could earn 6-10$ per hour. Two weeks of that and you could get yourself a cheap second hand car and hit the road to cruise around Tasmanian beautiful coast. Unfortunately I did not have the time to do that, I was very tempted though! Launceston made me feel home like and I really would love to stay around for longer. But instead I had just one more day to spend.

Having spent most of the time strolling around the center and the suburbs I decided to give a go one of the local attractions - The Cataract Gorge.

Tasmania, settling in around Launceston

Tasmania was the real unknown for me. Carte Blanche, no knowing what to expect and what to look for..other than the Tasmanian devil, obviously. Some people were saying it is not worth the travel, it is not so "wild" and not so "unique". I even heard opinions that it is "like Europe". Surprised?

Well, if you compare it with some parts of Australia, surely it is not the craziest place. And the climate? Surely it does not go to such extremes like Australian Outback. But I have never regretted for a minute my decision to spend the next 10 days exploring Tassie.  

walking around Launceston, I liked the little streets and the houses 

Beautiful ornaments on most of private houses, the colours are stunning

I arrived in my hostel before the noon...

Lądowanie na Tasmanii

Na drugi dzien po przylocie juz bylam na Tasmanii. Temperatura bardziej znosna, po Sydnej gdzie bylo 30 stopni plus wieczorna burza, na wyspie przywitalo mnie mile 15 stopni i slonce. Wylatkowo mily kierowca busa oraz rewelacyjne zakwaterowanie w ArtHouse hostel - cos za niespodziewanie wspanialy poczatek przygody. Zwlaszcza po niefortunnym poczatku w Sydney, z Funk House, gdzie jakos pokoi i czystosc pozostawiala wiele do zyczenia (znow te karaluchy!).

Inside Sydney

Sydney reminded me of London so much that I had to remind myself on occasions that I actually flew from another continent, with two stops on the way, with knee injury, with mistaken reservation for hostel booking...My first day in Australia... and I ended up in London?? WTF??
Maybe not exactly, weatherwise..:)
It started off sunny, but by the time the afternoon approached it was clear that the strom was coming... This could not stop me from browsing through the Rocks, King Cross, Sydney North...there is no better way of exploring places than by foot.

The Sydney Opera and City view

Queen Elisabeth ;)

Australia - początek

Australia jest jak otwarte drzwi, za którymi majaczy błękit. Wychodzimy ze świata i wkraczamy w Australię. DH Lawrence (1922)

Vietnam - the summary

OK guys let's try and make a short summary here. What were my likes and dislikes. Where would I come back if I could. Where not? What will I remember best from all Vietnam?

But first a short foreword :).
Vietnam is not for everyone. If you are used to travelling in comfort, if you are a control freak always in a hurry, if you want to see fancy places and have fancy people around you... Vietnam is NOT FOR YOU.
Going to Vietnam should be well thought of. If you are not comfortable with basic standards in service, with occasional rip-offs, with indifference to tourists' needs... better choose another place. No point in complaining or shedding tears in a hotel room over a lost pair of clothing that never came back from a laundry... You will not change the Vietnamese people and you will not warm up to the place. Better leave and spend your time somewhere more..."western".

On the other hand,
If you are a free spirit and want to experience something different... if you don't mind unexpected things happening and people behaving unexpectedly. If you are curious of foreign customs and culture, so different to our dear European/Western comfort. Finally if you are up for an adventure and want to step out of your comfort zone... Vietnam IS THE PLACE for you.

I felt safe, never threaten by anyone or anything. Even with unexpected situations, I was always lucky and smart enough to come out with a smile on my face. Keep smiling yourself and people in Vietnam will smile back. This is a general rule that seems to be running in this country. People are happy and smiling to everyone. I have not come across a single child crying or adult not smiling. Funny, isn't it? You could think that they will be miserable at times and generally unhappy with the way they get to live their lives. But it is quite the opposite. Even with life being tough on them they find a new angle and keep going with a big smile on their faces. And this is what I will remember most...

Here we go, my places in Vietnam. Read on :)

Hanoi, big Hanoi

Last days were dedicated to Hanoi. After having travelled South to North, there were no more expectations left; rather curious time for how much relax can one get in busy Hanoi. See the central map below? Some reference points marked in green, including History Museum and Geology Museum. Geology Museum was really far out and I think I just didn't have the energy to go through the motion of changing buses and relying on the local advice. I decided no to do it and instead wander around the city to get the feel for it.

Hanoi City Map with points of interest.

Museum of Vietnamese History admission

In order to compensate for not going to the Museum of Geology I went to see the Museum of History, looking for some cultural experience after weeks of bush walking and wilderness. I did not take a tour guide and I think it was a mistake. If you are ever going to be there, spent the 10$ to get a comprehensive overview of the place. It is definitely worth it. Even without a guided tour it took a good couple of hours to see things and try to understand the historical value. Most transcriptions were translated but I left the place hungry for more knowledge. Besides it is much better absorbed listening to the story than reading a scientific explanation of the same story.

At the end of my tour a surprise - a questionnaire for tourists conducted by students. Wanting to be helpful I took a pen and started going through pages of questions. You could think they will be asking for historical value of the place from tourist perspective and such things. They did of course in first few questions, together with asking for reference points to the region in questions like: which of the following capital cities would you consider visiting for cultural experience? And there was like 15 cities named, but of course as I have not travelled Asia extensively before, it did not mean much to me, whether it is Hanoi, Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or something else...I know little about cultural experiences in those places. No worries, I have time! I will get my own opinion on it once I have visited all of them!
Afterward the questions changed direction. Suddenly they were asking me for my occupation, place of work, annual salary, amount of money spent on holidays... Unbelievable, isn't it?

Nevertheless I finished my questionnaire, leaving some blanks, and left the place. Just as I was leaving the front gate I bumped into a bunch of gymnasium girls with a request to interview me. It was so funny to be seen as "a rare occasion" to get the opportunity to speak in English and ask a tourist some questions. This time it was much more reasonable asking though.
They asked me what I have seen in Vietnam, what cuisine I tasted, was it enjoyable etc... One girl was interviewing, the other was shooting me with her camera, the third one was making notes. Then they changed and the other girls started asking me similar questions. They were very polite and shy, and only after a while they got more comfortable to start smiling and giggling like girls do. It was all very funny experience to be perceived as an interview object :-).

Busy morning I had!

Around lunch time it was the time to relax. And the relaxing spot was Temple of Literature, a place to be in!

Temple of Literature admission

A little bit on the right to the History Museum there is  the Temple of Literature - a very pleasant place, full of open space, gardens, courtyards and nice little benches to sit on and admire the place. If not the sudden rain, it would have been a rather lazy afternoon. But with the rain approaching fast, I decided not to hang around for too long and instead try and get back to the hotel while still dry.





Fourth Courtyard - Temple of Literature

 

Beautiful tree in front of the gate to the Altars



I love trees..beautiful example this one.

The Temple of Literature - Confucius Altar

Cleaning Lady - Hanoi was much cleaner than HCMC, at least that was my feeling. But the number of cleaners on the streets seemed to be aligned by subjective judgement.

Third Courtyard of the temple with the Well of Heavenly Clarity and the red Constellation of Literature pavilion (by Wikipedia)

Home stay with minority people

Going down from Sa Pa to the minority village. The view is one of my favourites.

Mountains, here I come!!!

I have been waiting to this all the 2 weeks, I left the best part for the last. Without talking much, my favourite photos were taken there. I enjoyed it the most and I had fun all the three days non stop.

On the way to the minority village

A day at Lan Ha Bay - Vietnam rock climbing

Have you ever done the rock climbing? And deep water soloing?
Well, never have I. But Cat Ba island seems to be the place to do it. With a great advertising from the SLOPONY guys I did not stand a chance to refuse them. I stayed at Noble House hotel, which was as far from being noble as one can imagine ;). Anyway the good point was that on the second floor the Slo Pony guys had their office and whole floor was occupied with adventurers, backpackers and tourists looking to have active time at Cat Ba.

 

Vietnam rock climbing with Slopony



There were 5 of us on the boat plus the driver and one Slo Pony guide.