Time Lapse

I'd say that I finally got around to putting together a video featuring all the time lapse we shot on the trip, but that isn't really true for two reasons. 1. I have been working on it for months now and 2. It is only maybe a third of the footage we shot. I may do a part 2 at some point. But for now, I hope you enjoy this.

Hué to Hoi An, Vietnam

Inside the train from Hué to Danang.

The train traveled though some of the more beautiful landscape we've seen in Vietnam.

The rocky coast into the South China Sea.

The elevator up to the Marble Mountains.

A pagoda built on top of one of the mountains.

Many of the caves in the Marble Mountains are Buddhist shrines.

The view from the highest peak of the Marble Mountains, China Beach stretches down from the right.

As opposed to the last train we took, this one rocked. It was only about 3 hours long but passed through some of the prettiest scenery. I maybe sat in my chair a total of 15 minutes. The rest of the time I spend in an empty train car that had open windows on both sides. I took some video (which I will try and post at some point), and took photos the whole time. There were tunnels, train bridges, mountains, secluded beaches, waterfalls, overgrown military outposts, and small hillside villages. This stretch of Vietnam's coast really packs it in. 

After the train we got a taxi to take us from Danang to Hoi An with a stop at the Marble Mountains. Which, as you can probably guess are several rocky outcroppings made of marble. We trekked up to the top to see the view, peaking in some of the naturally formed caves along the way. It was really hot and by the top we were both pretty drenched in sweat. We happily jumped back into the air-conditioned taxi for the remained of the trip down to Hoi An.

- Matt

Hué, Vietnam

Our train from Ninh Binh to Hué.

Matt deciding what to do.

Hué's iconic citadel.

Inner walls and moat of the citadel.

Much of the citadel was destroyed during the Tet offensive in 1968. Some buildings remain and some are being restored.

Some sort of shelter within the citadel.

Thien Mu Pagoda, the tallest in Vietnam.

The car that the Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc was riding in Saigon before setting himself on fire. As seen in this pulitzer-prize winning photo. And the cover of Rage Against The Machine's album.

Our dragon boat.

Bree sips sugarcane juice on the side of the road.

Children actually reading in the bookstore.

If you know Matt, you know how excited he was when he saw this.

Assorted vegetarian versions of Vietnamese dishes for lunch.

We boarded the train in Ninh Binh, bound for Hué. Soft sleeper was unavailable so we went with hard sleeper, which is six berths per compartment as opposed to four. It would have been fine but the guy who had the bottom bunk (where people are supposed to sit during the day) decided he wanted to lay down for most of the journey. So that meant that our only option was to lay down in our upper bunks.  So the trip was mostly uncomfortable, but we've done worse. By around 6pm we arrived in Hué (pronounced hway).

Hué was the capitol city of the Nguyen dynasty until the end of WWII. It was also the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, which eventually left about 80% of the city destroyed. If you've ever seen Full Metal Jacket, the battle of Hué is where most of the fighting in that film takes place.

With the exception of the crumbled remains of most of the buildings within the citadel walls, you don't really get any sense if that turbulent history now. Hué is a major tourist stop but we never really felt overrun with tourists. And even the more touristy restaurants and bars have a good deal of locals mixing the crowd up.

We really liked Hué. It was easily walkable, had a laid-back vibe, and had really good food. The culinary history in Hué included several lords that were very picky eaters. And because of the strong Buddhist contingent, there are a lot of restaurants that are vegetarian or have vegetarian options.

As we left, I mentally put Hué on the list of places I'd like to spend more time in.

- Matt

So Long and Thanks for All the Trains

Leaving India felt like when a really good friend moves thousands of miles away (I'm looking at you Erin and Petra, and Karen and Monica… hmm, maybe there's a pattern…). Kind of empty, excited for future adventures and aware that the friend is always there, just farther away. But still sad and maybe a little lonely. We are excited about coming back to India, and knowing we can stay for a shorter period and see less, now that we've done the sweeping 2.5 month overview. There were parts of India that were hard and tiring. But all real travel is tiring, thats why not everyone does it, and it doesn't count as a "vacation". In fact, travelers we talked to expressed appreciation for any vacation from their vacation they could get.

I read a lot of newspapers in India and can't even begin to understand the political and social workings. I'm not sure that all Indians understand how everything works. But I'm actually OK with that. I read recently a quote by an India writer that said something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing): India is in no way a "developing" nation, there are years of advanced civilization there, it's just currently in an advanced state of decay. I love that sentiment. Of course there is shiny newness coating the decay, sometimes built soundly on top, but other times just thinly masking what's underneath.

You see all of humanity on Indian railways (I'm sure someone famous also said that). When we set out on this big train journey through Siberia and China and Tibet I always knew that India was our penultimate goal. It more than lived up to the hype. Last time I took the train from North to South with a few dozen Canadian and Indian youths, riding the whole time in sleeper class. We were too young and enamored with our journey to notice any discomfort (including the 20 hour diversion due to flooding). This time we travelled AC 2nd and 3rd class (usually whichever had the shortest wait list). I told myself that 16 years later we had earned cushier travels. We shared the AC classes with more upwardly mobile Indians, those more likely to speak English and less likely to spend the night staring at us. We met lots of European (but few American or Canadian) tourists and traded plans and tips. We watched as young Indian men shoved their way into the unreserved second class, hanging 3 deep out of the door (hopefully they were not headed for any tunnels). It took a couple trips but I was soon brave enough to start buying the dishwater chai that sells for 18 cents again. I've heard Indians deplore its quality but agree that it is a quintessential train experience. One of my most lasting memories of the last trip is waking up to "chai, chai, chai, kapi,kapi kapi, chai, chai, chai"

In all, we traversed the entire length - north to south - of the subcontinent. As well as many side trips, diversions and indirect traveling. Some of the trains were late. Many hours late. But aside from that, we always felt safe, the trips were fun and they got us where we wanted to go. So, thanks India Railways. See you again soon. That goes for India as a whole.

- Bree

Indians waiting for our train to pass.

Cholera vaccinations at the train station. Today was a school day, but yesterday they vaccinated 200 kids.

The easy-to-understand India Railway system.

Matt poses in the jail-cell of our cabin, a poster in the train station, and Bree gets comfortable in another of our cabins.

The train waitlists in India are so game-like that there is a website that allows people to predict whether you'll bet a seat or not.

Kollam, Kerala, India

Water buffalo seen from the train.

Our beach front guest house.

Local kids having a dramatic photoshoot.

 We headed back North, into Kerala, this time to the backwater town of Kollam. We knew our hotel was a little out of the center of town,  but were a little confused when the auto rickshaw dropped us at a temple with young guys swimming in a big step well behind it. We wandered a bit, with no sign of a guest house, and finally asked a shop keeper for directions to "Summer House Holiday Home". She pointed us down a lane, where we found a house with a sign that said Summer House, but it was padlocked and shuttered. We wandered back to ask again, and this time we were directed to another lane that led right to the water, with only one gate. We were ready to give up and stay in whatever crummy place we could find in town, but went through the gate just in case.

We are glad we did, as the guesthouse turned out to be exactly what we were looking for. The rooms were quintessential beach shacks, put together with an assortment of boards and latticework. There were curtains made out of saris blowing in the sea breeze, a bug net over the bed, and one of the cleanest bathrooms we have seen. As we got settled the kid who let us in (the only staff person, he was bell boy/waiter/sometimes cook/cleaner/gardner/caretaker) set up a table for us, and restocked the refreshment fridge outside our room. Free bottled water and big beers for 100rupees whenever we wanted them. The other guests, a family from Germany, came back from their backwater cruise, and we all enjoyed a delicious South Indian dinner while the sun set.

The next day we really needed to use the internet to plan our next week or so, but there was a strike. In the rest of India it was just the auto rickshaw drivers, striking because of increased harassment from authorities or high petrol prices (depending on who we asked). In Kerala any strike is a general strike, as in everything is shut down. All transportation, all shops, all offices. The guest house owner and his son obviously had the day off from work, and so were doing some maintenance on the grounds. They graciously offered to let us use the internet at their house, where the owner's wife even made us fresh lime juice with biscuits. Another afternoon of looking for crabs on the rocky beach, playing cards listening to the waves, drinking beer in the sea breeze and we knew we had to move on or we would spend the rest of the trip there. 

After all my gushing about the upma the kid had made us for breakfast the first morning (after requesting Kerala breakfast please!) we were treated with appam, made specially by the owner's wife on the second morning. I love Keralan food, but I think that the breakfasts are my favorite. I generally want savory breakfasts anyway, and have found that an egg curry or spicy sambar in the morning is perfect. We have managed to re-try all my favorites, idlies and dosa made by Mini, puttu made by Mini's mom, idiappam made by Ammachi and now upma and appam. I know that I will not find most of these dishes at south indian restaurants in New York, and I am afraid that the preparation is a little involved (overnight fermentation of a rice flour batter) so I will have to make a concerted effort to get these dishes back home (maybe I'll have to start sucking up to Keralan nurses to get care packages).

The guest house owner told us we would have to take a train to Alleppey, since the ferries and busses were also on strike, but his son could drop us off at the station. We are especially appreciative, as we later heard about violence against people giving rides to travelers during the strike. All in all, the guest house ended up being one of our favorites of the whole trip, we are glad we gave it a shot. 

- Bree

Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India

The end of the line. After riding through some of the most beautiful scenery we've seen in India, we arrived at the southern end of the Indian sub-continent. Kanyakumari. The last stop on the train. Having traveled the from the Nepal/India border in the north all the way down to the southern tip there was a sense of accomplishment. While there isn't all that much to do in town, the vibe is that of a nice seaside town with fishermen found in any shady area during the high heat of the day. A unique feature of Kanyakumari's geography is that you can watch the sun rise and set over the ocean. Normally I find sunset is the more spectacular, but not this time.

- Matt