2 week Asian finale in Vietnam

I'm back in NYC now, but here are my pictures from my cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam, my stay in Hanoi, and my 10 day motorbike tour of NW Vietnam.

Link to pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jdorrian2334

Most Likely my last blog post from China... actually from Asia for the summer of '08

So, it's been 7-10 days since the last blog post. I had an amazing 3 day trip to Hong Kong starting on the evening of July 15 and ending on the afternoon of the 18th. I met up with some "friends of friends" that live over there. I re-connected with my buddy Matt from Villanova who lives over there now with his wife Shannon and their less than 1 month old baby. Finally, I met with some people who were nice enough to share their professional experiences with me and tell me a little more about their work lives, etc... I wouldn't exactly call them job interviews, but I wouldn't not exactly call them job interviews either. Sorry, no pics from HK... really just didn't have the time. I had at least 1 meeting everyday and I wasn't going to be toting my camera around with me all the time.

Nothing much exciting planned for my last days in China. I leave on July 29 and fly to Hanoi, Vietnam for I guess what could be considered the finale for my Asian experience. So on July 28 I turn in the keys to my apartment and collect my security deposit. That night I will crash at my buddy Daryl's place, and the next day it's off to Vietnam.

I get into Vietnam late on the 29th. On the 30th I will have a quick motorbike lesson to ensure that I don't crash and burn somewhere along the Mekong Delta... then on the 31st I will go on a 3 day/2night cruise of Halong Bay. Here are some details: http://www.handspan.com/?opt=tour&cId=47&tId=236

I get back to Hanoi late on August 2nd, and the next day our 5 member squad leaves Hanoi riding some Honda motorbikes along with 2 guides. It's myself, Jon from Fordham, two Brits, and one Dane. Should be a blast. Here are some details on that: http://www.offroadvietnam.com/eng/2-1.php

If anyone from this blog's readerbase would like to join last minute feel free (that's one of the reasons I am sharing the details). I believe there is room on both the cruise and motorbike tour.

I'm looking forward to the Vietnam trip as I believe it can probably be considered a once in a lifetime experience. That being said, I am missing loved ones, family, and friends more than ever and it will be wonderful to see all those people soon and nice to assimilate back into Western culture/comforts come August 14 or 15.

Starting on the afternoon of July 29 I will most likely not have any email or internet access for the remainder of my trip. My 917 cell phone # should work in Vietnam, so if there are any emergencies call me and hopefully I'll be able to hear/feel my phone ringing over the buzz of my bike's engine. It's been nice to stay in touch with people via this blog and hopefully the masses found it humorous, informative, entertaining, or at least more fun to consume than a spreadsheet, sales report, a children's book that you have read aloud 9,863 times in the past 7 months, or anything similar... you get the drift.

Final Note: John Dorrian's literal and ultra-literal human footprint will be left in Beijing, China for eternity. I have consumed many things here and produced waste just like the rest of the population, so that's the literal part. The ultra-literal part is that my running shoes smell so God awful (not exactly sure why because I really don't have a chronic foot odor problem) that I am going to toss them into one of the construction sites that I pass on my last day here... those puppies aren't coming with me to Vietnam. So even if I never return, there will always be some tangible remnants of my existence here. And in all likelihood those remnants will be on the feet of a rural Chinese migrant construction worker about 24 minutes after I toss them into his workspace. Wear them with pride my friend.... wear them with pride.

Zaidjian!

p.s. Check my public photo gallery on Google in the middle of August or late August for what will probably at least 800 pictures of Vietnam. I just bought extra memory for my camera today, so I plan on snapping away quite liberally! In case you misplaced the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jdorrian2334

Great Wall Excursion in a little more detail

http://picasaweb.google.com/jdorrian2334/TrekkingTheGreatWallOffTheBeatenPath

Yasmin and I thought that it would be more fun and adventurous to tackle the Great Wall with our own 2 feet rather than take a car to one of the more touristy sites and simply get out, walk around for awhile, then head back to Beijing. That said, I borrowed some gear from my friend Daryl, packed up a couple of bags and off we went!

After a 2 hour ride from Beijing we were dropped at the base of a mountain where a small hostel was present to host the random traveler like us. We were about a 40 minute drive from the nearest popular tourist Great Wall site called Mutianyu (feel free to "google" to get info and maps). By this time it was late afternoon and I wanted to get going in order to take advantage of what little daylight we had left.

The man that ran the hostel as well as the driver who dropped us were quite concerned that we would get lost on the mountain if we went up alone (we discovered what they were saying after I called my friend to translate because I had no idea), so they said that they would give us a tour guide. Ok, fine that's no problem... so where is he/she? All of a sudden a chubby little 11 year old kid whizzes around the corner. Enter Wei: tour guide extraordinaire.

"That's our tour guide?", I said and just started laughing. "OK, let's get going." And off we went. So here is this 11 year old kid with a busted pair of sneakers and who appears to have eaten a few too many dumplings and he is absolutely blazing up this mountain. Now granted, this mountain is his backyard and full time playground, but still it was pretty impressive to see him move and weave through the terrain as there were ZERO manicured paths and the grade of the incline was quite steep.

About every 15 or 20 minutes he would amble 20 or 25 yards ahead of us, then turn around and yell "Quick-leeeeeeeee!". Wei is part motivator, part tour guide, and part little kid that probably didn't realize the weight of the packs that Yasmin and I had on our backs. It was cute and annoying at the same time.

There was another moment probably a little over an hour into the trek where Wei commanded us to, "Stop!". Yasmin and I stopped, looked at each other in confusion because up until this point Wei had been so intent on us moving "quick-leeeeeee". Then he stared at both of us, turned 90 degrees, pointed up, and said, "Look". And in between a break in the trees we could clearly see the Great Wall. And it wasn't too far in terms of distance, but it was still a ways above us in terms of altitude. Seeing the Wall there gave us a feeling of progress and accomplishment and there was no turning back. So we kept on chugging our water and followed our 11 year old Billy Goat to the peak.

We got to the top 30-40 minutes later and that was quite magical. There were amazing vistas of the mountain range. and excellent views of other parts of the Great Wall in the distance. Hopefully some of the pictures that we took captured the scenery well.

One little thing that Wei liked to do was send me up or down a much more difficult or overgrown part of the trail and take Yasmin on an easier, alternative route. He got a real kick out of this. "You" and he would point me in some direction and off I would go. He would then lead Yasmin on a different path (easier, but by no means "easy") and be belly laughing the whole way as I struggled to keep my footing, etc.... Oh Wei, you sure are one wiley little bastard.

There were some trips and falls along the way and we each finished the day with some scratches, sore joints, and bruises, but this was much more rewarding than taking a tour bus to a flight of stairs to climb. I'd opt for the more difficult and more satisfying mountain approach every time.

Scaling a mountain to get to the Great Wall

Here are 97 pics of our hike (see the most recent album): http://picasaweb.google.com/jdorrian2334

I wanted to share these pictures ASAP. I just got to Hong Kong and am hungry and tired, so I will wait until the morning to script a recap of the expedition to, up, and on the Great Wall. Enjoy the photos.

Summer Palace Shenanigans

Another cultural difference.... Adults here strike the most incredibly silly poses for photos, but they are absolutely dead serious when they do so. It is hard to explain, but I guess they either have no shame or actually think the photos are true pieces of art. I tend to favor the latter, which makes it even funnier. A few times yesterday whenever Yaz and I saw some adults striking these poses we immediately mirrored them. Yaz mirrored the women, and I the men. We even doctored some of the pics up with soft focuses and other effects with my photo software to make them extra awesome.

Caveat: I am imitating what another grown male did in order to make whomever is reading this privy to the situation over here. I am sacrficing what little reputation I have to ensure that some people back stateside can get a chuckle.

Beijing Baby Fashions

http://picasaweb.google.com/jdorrian2334

So Chinese families in Beijing must save a TON of money due to their choice not to buy diapers and instead invest in what Yasmin and I have termed "poopypants".

I noticed these items of clothing the first couple of days I was here, and I thought they were silly and goofy and sort of gross considering what they allow the little tots to accomplish... But Yasmin has gotten a ridiculous kick out of them. I guess we view them now as a combination of adorable, disgusting, and hilarious. So we've made it a point to be paparazzis to the toddlers that don these threads... I felt creepy at first stalking these 2 year olds and snapping pics of their bare behinds, but the more pics I took I felt that more people back home could appreciate what in fact they've been missing.

See the album titled "Beijing Baby Fashion".

Preview shot:

Yasmin arrives in China!!

300 new pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jdorrian2334

Not a lot of time to write as we've been busy sightseeing and travelling. Yasmin got here on July 4th and we've been doing some Beijing stuff and we also went to Shanghai for 3 days. Lots of pics above.

We're off to the Great Wall either later today or on Sunday afternoon.... they'll be plenty of pics of that too.