Travel is a fickle mistress.

Well, this was unexpected.

One day you're going about your business doing things in Cambodia, the next you've changed plans and decide to go to Sri Lanka - somewhere you never considered going. Ever.

Its not quite South East Asia (more like, South East of India) which is where I wanted to focus this trip, but it looks like I'm about to wongder a bit further than envisaged. But I'm not really one to pass up an opportunity like this.

For the past three-ish months I'd had a pretty solid plan, though lacking in finer details (dates, budgets etc) - northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia then (maybe) home (depending on how poor I was). I was actually really looking forward to going to Myanmar in the next few weeks and I've got a tourist visa which is valid for three months. (I'm still going to Myanmar, but I've just put the trip off for another month.)

But every so often things change. Ok, things change all the time. Always. Stay with me, ok? (I even changed this sentence a few times.)

Best laid plans, as they say.  

You may recall from my last post about travelling with a group of about six people into Cambodia from Laos and our little motorcycle gang. It was cool. We all split up after Kampong Cham - four of us went to Phnom Penh, the rest to Siem Reap. But even in Phnom Penh we split up again. I have a feeling that, little did I know, the decision I made that day of which way to head after departing the bus would set off the chain of events that led to me agreeing to go to Sri Lanka.

One of our group had booked a place to stay where she would meet a friend who was on a short vacation. I, along with two others, a couple, decided to go together toward the riverside. I'd read about a decent backpackers near there and their hotel was close by too. It so happened we had roughly the same itinerary and amount of time that we wanted to spend in Cambodia. Naturally (as attested to in another post) we ended up travelling together all up for about two weeks. (Incidentally the longest I've ever travelled with the same people.)

Together we had left Phnom Penh for southern Cambodia - Kep, Kampot and the beach town of Sihanoukville. (Then I was to go back to Phnom Penh then Battambang in the northwest then Siem Reap, while they eventually decided to go to the Thai islands and then to Bangkok.) Throughout our travels, the couple had been chopping and changing their plans and budgets on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis on which country to go to next. Thailand? Vietnam? The Philippines?

I chortled quietly at their indecision *chortle, chortle, chortle*. "I'm pretty sorted", I thought to myself, "Myanmar, Myanmar, Myanmar - yeah!" *Chortle*

"Sri Lanka?" he suggested based on a website which charts which countries have good weather in any given month.  
   
"You could come with us."

After a little (and I mean a little) research, I had no conceivable reason not to.

I had more than enough time, (arguably) enough money, flights were cheapish and I could get a 30 day visa on arrival (according to my research).

And so here we are. Tickets booked to a country I have no idea about and had no idea I'd be going to two weeks ago.

Let the fun continue!

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No such thing as goodbye

Sunset in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Maybe its because there’s only one main route through Vietnam. Perhaps its because it’s the low season for tourists. Or it could be both, but during this discovery of Vietnam it seems inevitable that you cross paths with people multiple times in different cities and on different tours without knowing each other would be on it.

It began at the start of our Vietnam odyssey on a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City. Five strangers (among others) got on the bus and exchanged pleasantries as travellers do.

“Hi, how are you going? What’s your name and where are you from? How long have you been in Vietnam and what have you done so far? What are your plans?”

You start chatting through the day and you get along fine, knowing that, if their plans aren’t necessarily the same as yours you might not see them again.

The tour ends and everyone goes their separate ways.

Until the next night. 

A Dutch girl from the tour and a friend of hers get on a night bus a friend and I were on as we headed to our second stop Nha Trang. Small world.

They’re heading to Mu Nei which is only a few hours from Ho Chi Minh and well before our stop. Again we say goodbye and joke that we’ll probably see them again somewhere.

In Hoi An we see an Australian guy who was also on that Cu Chi tunnel tour. We didn’t really get talking to him and his English girlfriend on the bus, but we acknowledged each other when exchanged glances again. We find out later too that our Dutch friend saw me and my friend on a scooter in Hoi An.

In Hue, we met again when our Dutch friend and her travelling buddy were staying at a hotel across the allyway from us. The hotels themselves were down a long alley which, as a traveller you would be hesitant to go down if you didn’t know what was down there.

And now here we are, the six of us on a two day, one night trip in Ha Long Bay. No planning involved, just a bit of luck (there are a lot of different tour groups which go out into the bay every day) and a growing realisation of the inevitable re-connection with other backpackers.

In Vietnam there really is one well-trodden path which is quite linear (because the country itself is not very wide) and travellers are either heading south or going north. Each trip either starts in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi with major stops in Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Mu Nei and Dalat – and each of these places only have a couple of different tours the surrounding areas.

It’s a good feeling meeting people you’re already familiar with because you’ve already dealt with all the formalities of the first meeting and you can just get down to enjoying yourselves.

The Ha Long Bay tour itself is a bit hit and miss. It looks like Milford Sound or the Marlborough Sounds, but dirtier. Firstly, the rain is not ideal, but it does bring the temperature down. Most of the morning is also taken up with the 3 -4 hour trip from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay itself and you don’t actually get on the boat until about 1pm. 


The first stop at the Heaven Cave is impressive at first – a wide expanse of stalagmites and stalactites which were discovered by a group of fisherman in 1993 – but the coloured lights which illuminate the rock features give the place a set-like, unnatural and man-made feel. The second stop – kayaking around Ha Long Bay has been the highlight so far though. Getting up close to the large rock formations jutting out of the water makes you feel so small and insignificant as they tower above you. If those rocks could talk they would have amazing stories to tell about Vietnam’s history. 


The night is deathly still. Only the distant chugging of a nearby boat, karaoke and the bark of a few dogs pierce the silence. 


No moon and the stars are concealed by cloud. A cool breeze - possibly cool enough for a light jacket.


The towering islands now towering silhouettes and only the lights from neighbouring boats cut through the darkness. 


A restful sleep in a small cabin shared with small cockroaches later and morning has broken. A meager breakfast of bread, butter and jam and we're spending the rest of the day slowly making our way back to Hanoi (by boat and bus).


And there we are. Standing on a busy Hanoi street corner. The goodbyes are fleeting. We know we'll probably see each other again.


Its just a matter of when and where.    

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