Posts
Hi,
We thought that when we put some photos of the Vietnam trip on the blogsite that the titles would appear as well, but not to be. All these things are very frustrating for us Dinosaurs........
Top to bottom:
1) French era public buildings Ho Chi Minh City - many beautiful examples
2) The gates to the Reunification Palace HCMC where north Vietnamese tanks crashed through in 1975 at the end of the American War
3) The boudoir - s.v. Tiare Taporo III - our Hephelant pillow covers!!
4) The Crazy House - Dalat
5) As above with You Know Who at the Crazy House. YKW wants one - the grandchildren would never go home!
6) American war materiel left in Vietnam in 1975
7) As above
8) Art Deco Summer Palace of the Bao Dai - Dalat, Vietnam
9) So-called sleeper bus with semi-reclining seats and YKW seated there!
10) More American war materiel left behind
Hope this helps in your deciphering of our muddled blogs!
Cheers and love from us.....
Jean and Jim
----------
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Wednesday, 30 December 2015
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
Fwd: Phuket to Krabi and almost Christmas
----- Original Message -----
To: "Alec" <adonald@abdonaldltd.co.nz>
Subject: Phuket to Krabi and almost Christmas
Date: 23 Dec 2015 13:28:08 -0000
From: ZMQ5985
Hi to all,
We arrived at Krabi early in December after a 3 day crossing of Phang Nga Bay which was uneventful, except that our windlass refused to pull up the anchor at our last anchorage and we were worried that something else had happened to it but it turned out that the engine start battery which powers it was on its last legs after 3 years and we have now replaced that so all is well again.
Phang Nga Bay is of course where the greatest concentration of limestome karst islands can be found and it is truly very spectacular. Some amazing sights and often you get the impression that a whole island is going to topple into the sea, but of course they have been there a long time. However, one day..........! so we don't get too close to in case a cliff breaks off or the whole thing does fall over. There are some fairly recent scars where bits have fallen off in recent times. The Krabi side of Phang Nga is much more attractive than the Phuket side simply because it's cleaner. The water is not totally clear but is a nice deep green colour near Krabi, whereas on the other side the water is just dirty. Such a shame and is largely due to pollution from runoff from the low lying land to the north. Navigation is a bit tricky as most of the area is quite shallow and it is necessary to stay in channels (such as they are) which can get a bit hair raising.
We had been looking forward to returning to Krabi Boat Lagoon again but were shocked to be told almost as we tied up that our friend Garn, who has been running a great restaurant here, had been given 7 days notice to quit her premises. Just like that and after spending a great amount of money equipping the kitchen, fridges, furniture etc. She has managed to get the time extended to the end of December, but it is a shocking breach of normal business ethics and is a very good example of why anyone and foreigners in particular (Farangs) should never contemplate a business venture in Thailand. Normal ethics and fairplay as we understand them are often flouted. There doesn't seem to be any such thing as security of tenure via a commercial lease for instance. It seems that Garn's husband who is an Australian and who works in the oil industry in the Middle East, complained in fairly strong terms about power charges from the marina in a marina apartment THAT THEY OWN!! Apparently the marina owner took exception to that and as a result ordered Garn out of her restaurant. The restaurant has been a focal point for people in the marina and now that focus won't exist. Thais get offended very easily and you may not even know that it had happened. They tend to withdraw without confronting the issues head on and then can behave in a completely unreasonable and unexpected way.
We have a similar situation with engineering work. After the endless saga earlier this year with our prop shaft and cutlass bearings, we said that we did not want the particular engineer on the boat again. We have been told that if we won't have him we can't have anyone, in spite of the fact that there is at least one other qualified engineer available. So, that almost certainly means we won't be hauling out at Krabi Boat Lagoon again which is indeed sad. We just cannot understand the attitude. Again it seems that they don't want to offend the guy who has been with them a long time, but they don't worry about our feelings or the inconvenience caused. The Thai mentality is very hard to follow and as we've said in the past, the words "Thai" and "logic" are very often oxymorons!!
Another thing which has recently happened is that the previous manager was given sums of money on behalf of boats on the hard to go to Customs and pay for extensions of time for the boats. This is normally quite easy to do and we have done it ourselves at least once. However, this guy never went near Customs and instead as we understand it, just pocketed 4,000 Baht per boat (10 boats). That's a total of around NZD1600. Now the owners not only have to pay again, but they also have to pay a fine of 10,000 Baht per boat. In addition some of them may have had to return to Thailand prematurely to sort out the mess if they were away in Europe or the States working or visiting families, etc. These events are unconnected as far as we know but the result is that the atmosphere around here, which used to be happy and totally pleasant is now totally changed. Everyone is looking over their shoulders as the manager has been sacked and they are wondering who might be next. It's no longer a pleasant place to be. Hopefully it will settle down in the future, but that's how it is right now.
In the meantime the swimming pool has not been clean and the marina is a cesspit as most people living on yachts are using the on board toilet facilities on their boats because the onshore toilets are too far to go to and if you have any sort of stomach upset which is not uncommon here, you'd never make it! We used to use toilets attached to the condominium buildings and they are relatively close, but some idiot evidently complained with the result that they are locked and NO-ONE uses them!! Another example of Thai logic. And we sit on the bottom at low tide with no sign of any dredging activity on the horizon.
There is another marina, Port Takola, being built nearer to Krabi Town with all tide access and when that opens later in 2016, it will give this this place a real run for their money, so they really do need to lift their game.
In the meantime we have had plastic boards shaped and inserted in our soft bottom dinghy which should finally mean we can use it with gay abandon! Well, not quite but it will be a great improvement over the original Zodiac design - 3 yrs old now.
Popeye's carpenter, Don built the dinghy boards and also rectified some issues we had with deck caulking that had been done last year here at KBL. He had also raised our cockpit sole by 120 mm last year when we were away in India getting Jean's new hips and he did an exemplary job then too. He is an artisan of the first order and he also had rebuilt the 6 metre class ("Selma" built in Norway in 1926) which easily won the classic division of the King's Cup in Phuket a fortnight ago. We might enter next year - with a huge handicap!!! We'll give "Selma" a run for their money as Gauntlets were designed in 1934 as ocean racers!! But they were were designed with winds in excess of 25 knots across the English Channel so we might be out of luck. "Tiare Taporo III", originally named "Reflections of Wellington" and built in Wellington, NZ, apparently won a Royal Port Nicholson race across Cook Strait by 7 seconds in the 1980's!
Ian from the Australian yacht "Jayden" gave us some assistance with attaching the rated shackle to our anchor Jim bought in NZ (Green Pin). After a scolding from the Marina Police about cluttering up the walkway (which we were definitely NOT doing) we managed to get all our 100 metres of chain back in the chain locker and even the dinghy on deck!!!
Since then Jean and Jim are definitely in the cruising mode where getting to the other end easily surpasses any competitive urges!! But we can still give as good as we take.
On the health front, Jean has noticed a great improvement in her ligaments/knees with her stringent exercise regime. For those who know her, that would be no surprise. Jim on the other hand is nowhere near as stringent but there has been some improvement to his knees with swimming. Then there is always the Dutch Bakery in Krabi Town where one can get meat pies almost as good as Tommy Jones's Pies in Wellsford - 45 years ago!!!!!! How time passes. Jim used to pass by Tommy's early in the early mornings (6 am.) with his Dad at the age of 17 or thereabouts on the way to the Bay of Islands with a load of fresh bread in the old Pontiac (mid 1960'sh)!! Jim wishes he had met Jean in those days - who knows what might have been?
Nostalgia - it's always to be lauded but it should not be looked back on on. The main thing is to pick up whatever remains to pick up and get on with life. That's what we are doing with sailing through the Andaman Sea.
Lots of love from us
Jim and Jean and with all best wishes to all ............
----- End of Original Message -----
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
To: "Alec" <adonald@abdonaldltd.co.nz>
Subject: Phuket to Krabi and almost Christmas
Date: 23 Dec 2015 13:28:08 -0000
From: ZMQ5985
Hi to all,
We arrived at Krabi early in December after a 3 day crossing of Phang Nga Bay which was uneventful, except that our windlass refused to pull up the anchor at our last anchorage and we were worried that something else had happened to it but it turned out that the engine start battery which powers it was on its last legs after 3 years and we have now replaced that so all is well again.
Phang Nga Bay is of course where the greatest concentration of limestome karst islands can be found and it is truly very spectacular. Some amazing sights and often you get the impression that a whole island is going to topple into the sea, but of course they have been there a long time. However, one day..........! so we don't get too close to in case a cliff breaks off or the whole thing does fall over. There are some fairly recent scars where bits have fallen off in recent times. The Krabi side of Phang Nga is much more attractive than the Phuket side simply because it's cleaner. The water is not totally clear but is a nice deep green colour near Krabi, whereas on the other side the water is just dirty. Such a shame and is largely due to pollution from runoff from the low lying land to the north. Navigation is a bit tricky as most of the area is quite shallow and it is necessary to stay in channels (such as they are) which can get a bit hair raising.
We had been looking forward to returning to Krabi Boat Lagoon again but were shocked to be told almost as we tied up that our friend Garn, who has been running a great restaurant here, had been given 7 days notice to quit her premises. Just like that and after spending a great amount of money equipping the kitchen, fridges, furniture etc. She has managed to get the time extended to the end of December, but it is a shocking breach of normal business ethics and is a very good example of why anyone and foreigners in particular (Farangs) should never contemplate a business venture in Thailand. Normal ethics and fairplay as we understand them are often flouted. There doesn't seem to be any such thing as security of tenure via a commercial lease for instance. It seems that Garn's husband who is an Australian and who works in the oil industry in the Middle East, complained in fairly strong terms about power charges from the marina in a marina apartment THAT THEY OWN!! Apparently the marina owner took exception to that and as a result ordered Garn out of her restaurant. The restaurant has been a focal point for people in the marina and now that focus won't exist. Thais get offended very easily and you may not even know that it had happened. They tend to withdraw without confronting the issues head on and then can behave in a completely unreasonable and unexpected way.
We have a similar situation with engineering work. After the endless saga earlier this year with our prop shaft and cutlass bearings, we said that we did not want the particular engineer on the boat again. We have been told that if we won't have him we can't have anyone, in spite of the fact that there is at least one other qualified engineer available. So, that almost certainly means we won't be hauling out at Krabi Boat Lagoon again which is indeed sad. We just cannot understand the attitude. Again it seems that they don't want to offend the guy who has been with them a long time, but they don't worry about our feelings or the inconvenience caused. The Thai mentality is very hard to follow and as we've said in the past, the words "Thai" and "logic" are very often oxymorons!!
Another thing which has recently happened is that the previous manager was given sums of money on behalf of boats on the hard to go to Customs and pay for extensions of time for the boats. This is normally quite easy to do and we have done it ourselves at least once. However, this guy never went near Customs and instead as we understand it, just pocketed 4,000 Baht per boat (10 boats). That's a total of around NZD1600. Now the owners not only have to pay again, but they also have to pay a fine of 10,000 Baht per boat. In addition some of them may have had to return to Thailand prematurely to sort out the mess if they were away in Europe or the States working or visiting families, etc. These events are unconnected as far as we know but the result is that the atmosphere around here, which used to be happy and totally pleasant is now totally changed. Everyone is looking over their shoulders as the manager has been sacked and they are wondering who might be next. It's no longer a pleasant place to be. Hopefully it will settle down in the future, but that's how it is right now.
In the meantime the swimming pool has not been clean and the marina is a cesspit as most people living on yachts are using the on board toilet facilities on their boats because the onshore toilets are too far to go to and if you have any sort of stomach upset which is not uncommon here, you'd never make it! We used to use toilets attached to the condominium buildings and they are relatively close, but some idiot evidently complained with the result that they are locked and NO-ONE uses them!! Another example of Thai logic. And we sit on the bottom at low tide with no sign of any dredging activity on the horizon.
There is another marina, Port Takola, being built nearer to Krabi Town with all tide access and when that opens later in 2016, it will give this this place a real run for their money, so they really do need to lift their game.
In the meantime we have had plastic boards shaped and inserted in our soft bottom dinghy which should finally mean we can use it with gay abandon! Well, not quite but it will be a great improvement over the original Zodiac design - 3 yrs old now.
Popeye's carpenter, Don built the dinghy boards and also rectified some issues we had with deck caulking that had been done last year here at KBL. He had also raised our cockpit sole by 120 mm last year when we were away in India getting Jean's new hips and he did an exemplary job then too. He is an artisan of the first order and he also had rebuilt the 6 metre class ("Selma" built in Norway in 1926) which easily won the classic division of the King's Cup in Phuket a fortnight ago. We might enter next year - with a huge handicap!!! We'll give "Selma" a run for their money as Gauntlets were designed in 1934 as ocean racers!! But they were were designed with winds in excess of 25 knots across the English Channel so we might be out of luck. "Tiare Taporo III", originally named "Reflections of Wellington" and built in Wellington, NZ, apparently won a Royal Port Nicholson race across Cook Strait by 7 seconds in the 1980's!
Ian from the Australian yacht "Jayden" gave us some assistance with attaching the rated shackle to our anchor Jim bought in NZ (Green Pin). After a scolding from the Marina Police about cluttering up the walkway (which we were definitely NOT doing) we managed to get all our 100 metres of chain back in the chain locker and even the dinghy on deck!!!
Since then Jean and Jim are definitely in the cruising mode where getting to the other end easily surpasses any competitive urges!! But we can still give as good as we take.
On the health front, Jean has noticed a great improvement in her ligaments/knees with her stringent exercise regime. For those who know her, that would be no surprise. Jim on the other hand is nowhere near as stringent but there has been some improvement to his knees with swimming. Then there is always the Dutch Bakery in Krabi Town where one can get meat pies almost as good as Tommy Jones's Pies in Wellsford - 45 years ago!!!!!! How time passes. Jim used to pass by Tommy's early in the early mornings (6 am.) with his Dad at the age of 17 or thereabouts on the way to the Bay of Islands with a load of fresh bread in the old Pontiac (mid 1960'sh)!! Jim wishes he had met Jean in those days - who knows what might have been?
Nostalgia - it's always to be lauded but it should not be looked back on on. The main thing is to pick up whatever remains to pick up and get on with life. That's what we are doing with sailing through the Andaman Sea.
Lots of love from us
Jim and Jean and with all best wishes to all ............
----- End of Original Message -----
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Sunday, 20 December 2015
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Phuket
Hi again to all,
Once back in Krabi we carried on with the twice daily antibiotic IV's for Jim at Krabi International Hospital. Krabi had no initiative - they simply carried on the treatment started in Hanoi which we must say in the end proved to be effective. This involved a 60 km. round trip twice a day which was a right pain - not to mention expensive with hiring a car at 1000 Baht per day. Plus the hospital costs which in Thailand are generally more expensive than other SE Asian countries - especially India!! You could be forgiven for assuming we are biased in favour of India! The IV's continued for about a week. Then with one day to go Jim had enough. He was on his own this time which was unusual; Jean was back on the boat catching up with chores. He was hooked up to the IV and then left in a room with freezing aircon and no way of calling a nurse. No-one looked in to check on progress. Because diuretics had also been prescribed in an effort to reduce the leg and foot swelling (at least partially caused by the antibiotic itself), there was a concurrent need for frequent toilet visits! Things were getting somewhat fraught with this pressing need and no-one to deal with the IV. So, it was necessary to get off the bed and fortunately the power lead together with the dripline was just long enough to open the door and yell at the 6 nurses at the nurse station who were mainly concerned with chattering and playing with their smartphones. They looked suitably abashed and one came over and disconnected the power so that the necessary visit could be made. The second time it happened Jim disconnected himself and wheeled the IV trolley past the nurse station. No-one offered to help. That was it.
They wanted payment for the morning IV plus the evening one as usual but Jim refused. This caused a furore but that didn't matter. All they seem to care about is getting paid. You can't get out of the place without being led very firmly to the cashier. The doctor who was useless and clueless about side effects of Vancomycin until we informed him, was in the end, after trying a severe lecture, only interested in getting Jim to sign an indemnity letting him off the hook! They had a plentiful supply of such forms which suggested that this was not an isolated occurrence.
Last year with Jim's Sciatica and Jean's hips (pre-op) we had had a reasonable time with Krabi International Hospital. We had both had MRI scans then and the doctor had correctly diagnosed and treated the Sciatica. Then of course we went to India where Jean received state of the art ceramic and titanium hips. Krabi IH has gone downhill since then and we deplore the money emphasis here which is in stark contrast to that of India where they are far more concerned with a patient's welfare.
Anyway, since then and since our arrival in Phuket, the Cellulitis symptoms have gone and a blood test showed that the bacteria was clear. Thank goodness for that. It's a potentially very dangerous infection and once again all thanks to Jean for recognising the problem early enough in Hanoi to enable the treatment to be effective.
While at Krabi we also came to an acceptable compromise with Popeye in regard to the engine alignment issues that we had. Popeye is incredibly busy and the comparison with last year is amazing. They had 37 boats on the go (and some were fairly major jobs) which they were struggling to cope with, but in future they will be restricting the workload that they take on. But it was good to catch up with Des and Ked again. We also were able to enjoy the new swimming pool which gave us some much needed exercise. Jean unfortunately was developing what seemed to be severe pain associated with ligaments and there is no-one capable of treating that in Krabi. What with Jim's Cellulitis and dicky knees as well we are just a couple of old crocks. This is why we do need to pass on the idea of more long ocean passages - particularly ones such as an Indian Ocean crossing. Unfortunately age and time are implacable foes. Although Jim still hankers after the idea of Borneo, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Aleutians (in the northern summer of course!) and the west coast of North America. A bonus would be to get the old girl (the boat!) to Seattle where there is a very strong following for classic timber built boats.
We left Krabi in mid November and had a quick trip to Phuket as it was urgent for Jean to see an Osteopath she had been in touch with. We anchored overnight and then proceeded to Yacht Haven - almost exactly 12 months since we were last here. No boat issues at least! Yacht Haven has changed radically with a totally new marina complex which is very efficient, but we have to say has an imposing appearance reminiscent of Soviet style architecture somewhat like Ho Chi Minh's tomb in Hanoi!! It has always been on a steep hillside with the carparks and services all up top. But they have a (mostly) efficient service of electric golf carts which take one hither and yon. And there is a pool up there as well but nowhere near as good as the Krabi one. You might wonder at all this obsession with pools, but we have lately become aware that there are box jellyfish (a la Australia) here as well and over the recent past few years several visitors have died from their stings. This includes Langkawi. So the thought of swimming in the sea is suddenly not so attractive. The annoying part is that the authorities never tell you about this - presumably because it is not a good look for tourism. But neither is tourists dying on beaches. This definitely is not a common occurrence but nevertheless is sufficient deterrent for us.
Jean had an appointment with Garnett Symonds (a U.K. trained Osteopath who had his own practice in London). He is located near Rawai Beach - about a 2 hour drive from here in the mad Phuket traffic. The treatment certainly alleviated the symptoms and exercise helps but still not sure what to do long term. We had some X-Rays taken at the 7th. Day Adventist Mission Hospital - they sing hymns at 8 every morning - quite soothing, especially in a hospital environment!! We've sent those to Vijay Bose in Chennai for his comments but so far haven't heard back.
Apart from all these medical woes, we've been enjoying our time here and we have found the Living Room restaurant which is far better than the marina restaurant and cheaper. It's just a sand floor under a lean to roof with lots of planting and right on the beach. This missive is being penned right here as we speak. We hire a car once a week to get provisions and any other errands that need doing. Tesco and Makro are our preferred food suppliers! Things like smoked duck and Cumberland herbed sausages are favourites not to mention fresh passion fruit in season now. They are slightly larger than the purple NZ variety. Still purple and full of pulp and so sweet! Then there are Papaya and all sorts of imported fruit as well. Aussie oranges, NZ apples, Kiwifruit and Avocados. And Chinese Nashi pears, carrots and garlic! So, we are well supplied. Norwegian salmon and Vietnamese white fish also.
In a couple of days we are looking after a miniature Schnauzer called "Cuzzie" whose owners (Lee & Richard from an American boat called "Before") have gone to Bangkok for a few days. We have remade the acquaintance of Erica and Nick from the Australian boat "Jepeda IV" and met a number of other people on boats as you do in this cruising life.
We have listed "Tiare Taporo III" with a brokerage here - Boatshed.com They are represented in 50 countries and also in all the wooden boat meccas of the world so hopefully something may eventuate. In the meantime we are enjoying our life and looking forward to exploring Phang Nga Bay on our way back to Krabi.
We will be very sad to sell Tiare but life has to move on. Time as always will tell.
With lotsaluv from us and hoping everyone is in the pink...........
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Yacht Haven Marina
Phuket Thailand
www.tiaretaporo3@blogspot.com
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Once back in Krabi we carried on with the twice daily antibiotic IV's for Jim at Krabi International Hospital. Krabi had no initiative - they simply carried on the treatment started in Hanoi which we must say in the end proved to be effective. This involved a 60 km. round trip twice a day which was a right pain - not to mention expensive with hiring a car at 1000 Baht per day. Plus the hospital costs which in Thailand are generally more expensive than other SE Asian countries - especially India!! You could be forgiven for assuming we are biased in favour of India! The IV's continued for about a week. Then with one day to go Jim had enough. He was on his own this time which was unusual; Jean was back on the boat catching up with chores. He was hooked up to the IV and then left in a room with freezing aircon and no way of calling a nurse. No-one looked in to check on progress. Because diuretics had also been prescribed in an effort to reduce the leg and foot swelling (at least partially caused by the antibiotic itself), there was a concurrent need for frequent toilet visits! Things were getting somewhat fraught with this pressing need and no-one to deal with the IV. So, it was necessary to get off the bed and fortunately the power lead together with the dripline was just long enough to open the door and yell at the 6 nurses at the nurse station who were mainly concerned with chattering and playing with their smartphones. They looked suitably abashed and one came over and disconnected the power so that the necessary visit could be made. The second time it happened Jim disconnected himself and wheeled the IV trolley past the nurse station. No-one offered to help. That was it.
They wanted payment for the morning IV plus the evening one as usual but Jim refused. This caused a furore but that didn't matter. All they seem to care about is getting paid. You can't get out of the place without being led very firmly to the cashier. The doctor who was useless and clueless about side effects of Vancomycin until we informed him, was in the end, after trying a severe lecture, only interested in getting Jim to sign an indemnity letting him off the hook! They had a plentiful supply of such forms which suggested that this was not an isolated occurrence.
Last year with Jim's Sciatica and Jean's hips (pre-op) we had had a reasonable time with Krabi International Hospital. We had both had MRI scans then and the doctor had correctly diagnosed and treated the Sciatica. Then of course we went to India where Jean received state of the art ceramic and titanium hips. Krabi IH has gone downhill since then and we deplore the money emphasis here which is in stark contrast to that of India where they are far more concerned with a patient's welfare.
Anyway, since then and since our arrival in Phuket, the Cellulitis symptoms have gone and a blood test showed that the bacteria was clear. Thank goodness for that. It's a potentially very dangerous infection and once again all thanks to Jean for recognising the problem early enough in Hanoi to enable the treatment to be effective.
While at Krabi we also came to an acceptable compromise with Popeye in regard to the engine alignment issues that we had. Popeye is incredibly busy and the comparison with last year is amazing. They had 37 boats on the go (and some were fairly major jobs) which they were struggling to cope with, but in future they will be restricting the workload that they take on. But it was good to catch up with Des and Ked again. We also were able to enjoy the new swimming pool which gave us some much needed exercise. Jean unfortunately was developing what seemed to be severe pain associated with ligaments and there is no-one capable of treating that in Krabi. What with Jim's Cellulitis and dicky knees as well we are just a couple of old crocks. This is why we do need to pass on the idea of more long ocean passages - particularly ones such as an Indian Ocean crossing. Unfortunately age and time are implacable foes. Although Jim still hankers after the idea of Borneo, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Aleutians (in the northern summer of course!) and the west coast of North America. A bonus would be to get the old girl (the boat!) to Seattle where there is a very strong following for classic timber built boats.
We left Krabi in mid November and had a quick trip to Phuket as it was urgent for Jean to see an Osteopath she had been in touch with. We anchored overnight and then proceeded to Yacht Haven - almost exactly 12 months since we were last here. No boat issues at least! Yacht Haven has changed radically with a totally new marina complex which is very efficient, but we have to say has an imposing appearance reminiscent of Soviet style architecture somewhat like Ho Chi Minh's tomb in Hanoi!! It has always been on a steep hillside with the carparks and services all up top. But they have a (mostly) efficient service of electric golf carts which take one hither and yon. And there is a pool up there as well but nowhere near as good as the Krabi one. You might wonder at all this obsession with pools, but we have lately become aware that there are box jellyfish (a la Australia) here as well and over the recent past few years several visitors have died from their stings. This includes Langkawi. So the thought of swimming in the sea is suddenly not so attractive. The annoying part is that the authorities never tell you about this - presumably because it is not a good look for tourism. But neither is tourists dying on beaches. This definitely is not a common occurrence but nevertheless is sufficient deterrent for us.
Jean had an appointment with Garnett Symonds (a U.K. trained Osteopath who had his own practice in London). He is located near Rawai Beach - about a 2 hour drive from here in the mad Phuket traffic. The treatment certainly alleviated the symptoms and exercise helps but still not sure what to do long term. We had some X-Rays taken at the 7th. Day Adventist Mission Hospital - they sing hymns at 8 every morning - quite soothing, especially in a hospital environment!! We've sent those to Vijay Bose in Chennai for his comments but so far haven't heard back.
Apart from all these medical woes, we've been enjoying our time here and we have found the Living Room restaurant which is far better than the marina restaurant and cheaper. It's just a sand floor under a lean to roof with lots of planting and right on the beach. This missive is being penned right here as we speak. We hire a car once a week to get provisions and any other errands that need doing. Tesco and Makro are our preferred food suppliers! Things like smoked duck and Cumberland herbed sausages are favourites not to mention fresh passion fruit in season now. They are slightly larger than the purple NZ variety. Still purple and full of pulp and so sweet! Then there are Papaya and all sorts of imported fruit as well. Aussie oranges, NZ apples, Kiwifruit and Avocados. And Chinese Nashi pears, carrots and garlic! So, we are well supplied. Norwegian salmon and Vietnamese white fish also.
In a couple of days we are looking after a miniature Schnauzer called "Cuzzie" whose owners (Lee & Richard from an American boat called "Before") have gone to Bangkok for a few days. We have remade the acquaintance of Erica and Nick from the Australian boat "Jepeda IV" and met a number of other people on boats as you do in this cruising life.
We have listed "Tiare Taporo III" with a brokerage here - Boatshed.com They are represented in 50 countries and also in all the wooden boat meccas of the world so hopefully something may eventuate. In the meantime we are enjoying our life and looking forward to exploring Phang Nga Bay on our way back to Krabi.
We will be very sad to sell Tiare but life has to move on. Time as always will tell.
With lotsaluv from us and hoping everyone is in the pink...........
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Yacht Haven Marina
Phuket Thailand
www.tiaretaporo3@blogspot.com
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Hanoi Sojourn plus Cellulitis!!
Day 17 - 19/10 to day 21 - 23/10
Things on the health front are improving all the time but the leg actually looks awful being swollen and reddish/purple!! Still, we're being very diligent as regards taking the antibiotics so hopefully as time progresses things will return to normal.
However, on Day 19 we returned to the hospital as we had been becoming anxious that the leg wasn't healing as it should. A blood test showed that the bacteria count was off the Richter scale which was not welcome news. Very dangerous if not dealt with. So,it was decided that Jim would have further antibiotics by IV every 12 hours. After all tests were done a broad spectrum antibiotic was started. There has been a blood culture taken to try to specifically isolate the actual bacteria but at the time of writing that result is not to hand. Right now Jim is having the evening IV on the 23rd. and the schedule for tomorrow is that we come again to the hospital for another IV at 0430. Then we leave for the airport at 0600 at the latest for our flight to Bangkok. We don't finally arrive at Krabi until 1630 so it will be a very long day. We have already arranged a hire car to go to the Krabi International Hospital for another IV soon after we arrive back.
But to regress - our days have mostly been concerned with Jim's leg and all that. Getting as much bed rest as possible with the leg up was paramount. Not very conducive to sightseeing except from what we could see from a taxi window. However, Hanoi is a very attractive city around 2 major lakes and many parks. Together with some lovely old French buildings. The French were anything but benign colonists however and were ruthless in their supression of resistance.
Jim was feeling a bit better so we made the mistake of going on a "City Tour". This involved a visit to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and also the simple Vietnamese house in which he lived. The Mausoleum is a forbidding looking Soviet inspired square building and normally it is possible to go inside and view Ho lying in state, but every year he gets taken to Russia where he undergoes a makeover and this coincided with our visit. So we didn't get to meet Uncle Ho. However, this visit in particular involved a lot of walking in the heat which did Jim's leg no good at all so we left the tour after the Mausoleum visit and returned to the hotel. The hotel restaurant only served breakfast so our days consisted of bed rest and occasional forays out to local restaurants for meals. Not very exciting but all we could do in the circumstances.
Our other activity was a twice daily visit to the Family Medical Practice at Ba Dinh where Jim had a broad spectrum antibiotic by IV to treat the infection in his leg caused by Cellulitis. This is a very dangerous condition which if untreated, could lead to loss of a limb or even life. Interestingly Cellulitis is very prevalent in Vietnam and this may be a legacy of the American War. Apparently with destruction of infrastructure and explosive excavation of ground more bacteria than normal can be released into the environment. This legacy can exist long after any war has ended. So maybe that was the indirect cause of Jim's infection, which we think started in Hue.
Day 22 - 24/10
A long day indeed. First the arranged wakeup call at 0300 from the hotel reception did not eventuate. Apparently they got the time wrong! Anyway, we were fairly keyed up and after a fitful sleep fortunately woke naturally in plenty of time. When we went downstairs we found Frank and his offsider asleep but they woke as soon as they realised we were there. Frank, Lala, Ana and Rose had been the epitome of friendliness and helpfulness and we were very sad to be leaving. The taxi arrived as ordered at 4 and off we went to the hospital. There they were as usual very efficient and within 10 minutes of arriving Jim was plugged in. When that finished we ordered another taxi for the airport. Arrived in good time and checked into Air Asia for our 0900 flight. We had bulkhead seats booked for the Hanoi-Bangkok leg and also down to Krabi which was a blessing as the Hanoi-Bangkok flight was almost 2 hours and Jim's leg swelled with the altitude. Managed to keep it wedged against the bulkhead in front of us so it remained more or less elevated which alleviated some of the discomfort. 4 hours on the ground at Don Mueang (Bangkok) which was totally unremarkable and then off again to Krabi. Climbing out of Bangkok there were some big thunderhead clouds which the pilot weaved his way around. This was accompanied by a disquieting opening and closing of the throttle as we negotiated these monstrous clouds full of high winds and thunder and lightning! Anyway, we made it to Krabi without incident and landed into a grey overcast.
So, our Vietnam odyssey has come to an end. We enjoyed the country and especially the people. When you think what they have been through at the hands of the Chinese (for 1000 years), then the French for about 100 years and who were anything but benign colonists, and then the American War from around 1960 to 1975 when North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the wrought iron gates of the Reunification Palace in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), you have to have absolute admiration for their resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. The Americans could not fight them conventionally and so the order went out to kill as many Vietnamese as possible as they had come to view the situation as a war of attrition and high body counts were the only measure of military superiority! High body counts were also a guarantee of promotion. Women, children and old men - it didn't matter. A body was a body. And they cut the ears off to prove that the claimed body counts were not fictional. We're reading a book at the moment ("A People's History of the Vietnam War" by Jonathan Neale) which details all the history leading up to the American War and the deeply flawed and sick reasoning which led up to the American invasion. Not to mention horrific accounts of being directly under these bombing assaults. The total amount of ordnance dropped on Vietnam was more than three times that of the entire 2nd. World War by all protaganists in that sorry saga.
Since the war ended 40 years have passed and the country is prospering. Still a military dictatorship and nominally Communist/Socialist, but capitalism flourishes everywhere. However, all major businesses (banks, etc.) are state owned. The population is 90 million and there are 60 million motorcycles! Must be a great business for Honda and Yamaha.
That reminds us - when you are crossing 4 lanes of road in (say) Ho Chi Minh City, you must press on resolutely. Above all you do not stop, even when several hundred motorcycles are bearing down on you. If you keep going they can negotiate around you but if you hesitate or stop mayhem reigns. A word from the wise!!!
It was a pity that our 3 week visit ended as it did but we want to go back and complete our tour of north Vietnam in particular. We would give HCMC a miss but would spend more time in Danang and inland from there as well.
Well, that's it for now. More to come with the still unfinished business of the Cellulitis saga and ongoing yachting adventures. Watch this space!
Cheers and love from us........
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Krabi Boat Lagoon
Krabi
Thailand.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Things on the health front are improving all the time but the leg actually looks awful being swollen and reddish/purple!! Still, we're being very diligent as regards taking the antibiotics so hopefully as time progresses things will return to normal.
However, on Day 19 we returned to the hospital as we had been becoming anxious that the leg wasn't healing as it should. A blood test showed that the bacteria count was off the Richter scale which was not welcome news. Very dangerous if not dealt with. So,it was decided that Jim would have further antibiotics by IV every 12 hours. After all tests were done a broad spectrum antibiotic was started. There has been a blood culture taken to try to specifically isolate the actual bacteria but at the time of writing that result is not to hand. Right now Jim is having the evening IV on the 23rd. and the schedule for tomorrow is that we come again to the hospital for another IV at 0430. Then we leave for the airport at 0600 at the latest for our flight to Bangkok. We don't finally arrive at Krabi until 1630 so it will be a very long day. We have already arranged a hire car to go to the Krabi International Hospital for another IV soon after we arrive back.
But to regress - our days have mostly been concerned with Jim's leg and all that. Getting as much bed rest as possible with the leg up was paramount. Not very conducive to sightseeing except from what we could see from a taxi window. However, Hanoi is a very attractive city around 2 major lakes and many parks. Together with some lovely old French buildings. The French were anything but benign colonists however and were ruthless in their supression of resistance.
Jim was feeling a bit better so we made the mistake of going on a "City Tour". This involved a visit to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and also the simple Vietnamese house in which he lived. The Mausoleum is a forbidding looking Soviet inspired square building and normally it is possible to go inside and view Ho lying in state, but every year he gets taken to Russia where he undergoes a makeover and this coincided with our visit. So we didn't get to meet Uncle Ho. However, this visit in particular involved a lot of walking in the heat which did Jim's leg no good at all so we left the tour after the Mausoleum visit and returned to the hotel. The hotel restaurant only served breakfast so our days consisted of bed rest and occasional forays out to local restaurants for meals. Not very exciting but all we could do in the circumstances.
Our other activity was a twice daily visit to the Family Medical Practice at Ba Dinh where Jim had a broad spectrum antibiotic by IV to treat the infection in his leg caused by Cellulitis. This is a very dangerous condition which if untreated, could lead to loss of a limb or even life. Interestingly Cellulitis is very prevalent in Vietnam and this may be a legacy of the American War. Apparently with destruction of infrastructure and explosive excavation of ground more bacteria than normal can be released into the environment. This legacy can exist long after any war has ended. So maybe that was the indirect cause of Jim's infection, which we think started in Hue.
Day 22 - 24/10
A long day indeed. First the arranged wakeup call at 0300 from the hotel reception did not eventuate. Apparently they got the time wrong! Anyway, we were fairly keyed up and after a fitful sleep fortunately woke naturally in plenty of time. When we went downstairs we found Frank and his offsider asleep but they woke as soon as they realised we were there. Frank, Lala, Ana and Rose had been the epitome of friendliness and helpfulness and we were very sad to be leaving. The taxi arrived as ordered at 4 and off we went to the hospital. There they were as usual very efficient and within 10 minutes of arriving Jim was plugged in. When that finished we ordered another taxi for the airport. Arrived in good time and checked into Air Asia for our 0900 flight. We had bulkhead seats booked for the Hanoi-Bangkok leg and also down to Krabi which was a blessing as the Hanoi-Bangkok flight was almost 2 hours and Jim's leg swelled with the altitude. Managed to keep it wedged against the bulkhead in front of us so it remained more or less elevated which alleviated some of the discomfort. 4 hours on the ground at Don Mueang (Bangkok) which was totally unremarkable and then off again to Krabi. Climbing out of Bangkok there were some big thunderhead clouds which the pilot weaved his way around. This was accompanied by a disquieting opening and closing of the throttle as we negotiated these monstrous clouds full of high winds and thunder and lightning! Anyway, we made it to Krabi without incident and landed into a grey overcast.
So, our Vietnam odyssey has come to an end. We enjoyed the country and especially the people. When you think what they have been through at the hands of the Chinese (for 1000 years), then the French for about 100 years and who were anything but benign colonists, and then the American War from around 1960 to 1975 when North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the wrought iron gates of the Reunification Palace in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), you have to have absolute admiration for their resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. The Americans could not fight them conventionally and so the order went out to kill as many Vietnamese as possible as they had come to view the situation as a war of attrition and high body counts were the only measure of military superiority! High body counts were also a guarantee of promotion. Women, children and old men - it didn't matter. A body was a body. And they cut the ears off to prove that the claimed body counts were not fictional. We're reading a book at the moment ("A People's History of the Vietnam War" by Jonathan Neale) which details all the history leading up to the American War and the deeply flawed and sick reasoning which led up to the American invasion. Not to mention horrific accounts of being directly under these bombing assaults. The total amount of ordnance dropped on Vietnam was more than three times that of the entire 2nd. World War by all protaganists in that sorry saga.
Since the war ended 40 years have passed and the country is prospering. Still a military dictatorship and nominally Communist/Socialist, but capitalism flourishes everywhere. However, all major businesses (banks, etc.) are state owned. The population is 90 million and there are 60 million motorcycles! Must be a great business for Honda and Yamaha.
That reminds us - when you are crossing 4 lanes of road in (say) Ho Chi Minh City, you must press on resolutely. Above all you do not stop, even when several hundred motorcycles are bearing down on you. If you keep going they can negotiate around you but if you hesitate or stop mayhem reigns. A word from the wise!!!
It was a pity that our 3 week visit ended as it did but we want to go back and complete our tour of north Vietnam in particular. We would give HCMC a miss but would spend more time in Danang and inland from there as well.
Well, that's it for now. More to come with the still unfinished business of the Cellulitis saga and ongoing yachting adventures. Watch this space!
Cheers and love from us........
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Krabi Boat Lagoon
Krabi
Thailand.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Hue to Hanoi
Day 13 - 15/10
Hue is a fairly uninteresting city, although it was the home of the Vietnamese royal dynasty and the ancient palaces (although bombed during the American War) have been largely restored. However, we didn't arrive until the early afternoon and by the time we checked into the Thanh Lich Hotel, and found a late lunch at a nearby hotel, it was getting late and we were not a little knackered. Went back to the same hotel for dinner because we didn't particularly like the look of the street side restaurants and there was always the MSG issue. However, it was truly awful and we realised that we should have tried a restaurant that was recommended by our hotel because they only served breakfast.
Day 14 - 16/10
We decided to have a lazy morning after all the recent travelling so stayed in the hotel packing and then had lunch at the Saigon Restaurant which was much better than last night's effort and much cheaper as well. Then our taxi arrived to take us to Hue Airport. About 200,000 Dong and as usual the driver spoke almost no English. Just a note of caution here; if you express an interest in something that looks interesting, it's best not too ask about it because he won't understand and very well may think you want to stop which involves a U-turn which can be hair raising!
However, the flight to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines was very pleasantly and we'd have to say unexpectedly, a great experience. The airline operates a very young fleet and they fly world wide. Our aircraft was an Airbus 321-200 and the legroom was at least 75 mm more than you get with Air Asia. They are definitely not only catering for smaller bodied Asians! However, this is fast becoming a myth as under the increasing influence of the Western diet, average sizes are increasing with all the dubious benefits that that entails. We were most impressed and compared with American Airlines, Air Asia, Singapore Airlines and even Air NZ it was head and shoulders above any of them. They currently fly to Australia so hopefully it may not be too long before NZ is included.
We are not particularly looking forward to our return flights to Bangkok and Krabi although we do have bulkhead seats on the Hanoi-Bangkok leg.
Due to our late change of travel plans with cancelling the Sapa trip, we tried to change the date of our flights. We were technically able to do this but we discovered that it would cost more than USD90 so we decided to leave it. This is how Air Asia and other budget airlines make their money. What a fortuitous decision. We were met at Hanoi Airport by the hotel car. However, as we had tried to change hotel bookings at the last minute, it meant that we had to spend our first night at another hotel which was quite good.
Then the fun started. During the night Jim developed a raging temperature which we initially thought was flu. The next morning Jean bought a thermometer and the temperature was ranging between 37 and 39.5C. There were no other symptoms so we still didn't know what we were dealing with.
Day 15 - 17/10
The move to the Eclipse Legend Hotel was fairly excruciating for Jim as he was feeling absolutely awful. Went straight to bed and Jean was a wonderful nurse exercising her skills from long ago. Insisting on lots of water and cold towels with ice wrapped inside. It worked to a degree in getting the temperature down but always kept bouncing up. Just a burning body with no perspiration. Frightening because around 41-42c you're normally dead. This went on all night and then we had to finally move to our permanent room. We had the air conditioning turned right down as low as possible which also helped but which induced from time to time a severe shaking fit. Still none of the real symptoms at that stage. We had considered a hospital visit, but the temperature appeared to be stabilising around 38C. But then later in the day the bottom of Jim's leg started reddening severely almost up to the knee and became extremely painful. Jean didn't say much - probably to ease the feelings of the patient - but she insisted that we go immediately to the hospital - the Handi Family Medical Practice in Kim Ma Rd., Ba Dinh District. A 300,000 Dong taxi ride. The clinic was first class - very modern and spotlessly clean. We were seen fairly soon by a lady doctor who seemed very worried as she suspected either a thrombosis or cellulitis. There was an ultrasound which thankfully ruled out thrombosis. That left the cellulitis which of course we now realised had been the cause of all the recent high fever - not flu at all. We had arrived prepared for an overnight stay as it may have been considered necessary to have antibiotics by IV, but the doctor we subsequently saw gave us two lots of very strong antibiotics (Avelox and Dalacin) and he said that he was very confident that within 2-3 days there would be a big improvement. However, we have enough for 10 days so hopefully that will be more than enough. Jean has been and is absolutely wonderful. She's been up just about every two hours with the cold compresses (no sympathy for the excruciating cold on a hot body) and she's also been tireless in making sure Jim is nourished. We had bought a tin of Ensure (which is sold everywhere here, probably to combat the effects of MSG!!) and for a time that was all Jim could take. Once the real symptoms began it was really urgent to get appropriate treatment as otherwise the consequences can be very serious indeed. Once again Jim owes Jean a debt of gratitude for immediately suspecting cellulitis and organising the hospital visit accordingly.
Day 16 - 18/10
Not much to record here except that it seems that a slow improvement has started. Jean has been busy organising the hotel with supplies of soap and towels and ice and going out periodically to get food from a restaurant very close to the hotel.
At this stage we haven't seen much of Hanoi, except from taxis, but we have to say we are very impressed. Hanoi is a lively energetic city and very modern in parts with many high end shops and lots of others as well. Beautiful old French era buildings from the days of Indochine and from what we've seen so far impressively restored and maintained. Photos still to come - sorry, not up to it at present.
More to come and as always lostsaluv from us.........
Jim and Jean
Eclipse Legend Hotel
Hanoi
Vietnam
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Hue is a fairly uninteresting city, although it was the home of the Vietnamese royal dynasty and the ancient palaces (although bombed during the American War) have been largely restored. However, we didn't arrive until the early afternoon and by the time we checked into the Thanh Lich Hotel, and found a late lunch at a nearby hotel, it was getting late and we were not a little knackered. Went back to the same hotel for dinner because we didn't particularly like the look of the street side restaurants and there was always the MSG issue. However, it was truly awful and we realised that we should have tried a restaurant that was recommended by our hotel because they only served breakfast.
Day 14 - 16/10
We decided to have a lazy morning after all the recent travelling so stayed in the hotel packing and then had lunch at the Saigon Restaurant which was much better than last night's effort and much cheaper as well. Then our taxi arrived to take us to Hue Airport. About 200,000 Dong and as usual the driver spoke almost no English. Just a note of caution here; if you express an interest in something that looks interesting, it's best not too ask about it because he won't understand and very well may think you want to stop which involves a U-turn which can be hair raising!
However, the flight to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines was very pleasantly and we'd have to say unexpectedly, a great experience. The airline operates a very young fleet and they fly world wide. Our aircraft was an Airbus 321-200 and the legroom was at least 75 mm more than you get with Air Asia. They are definitely not only catering for smaller bodied Asians! However, this is fast becoming a myth as under the increasing influence of the Western diet, average sizes are increasing with all the dubious benefits that that entails. We were most impressed and compared with American Airlines, Air Asia, Singapore Airlines and even Air NZ it was head and shoulders above any of them. They currently fly to Australia so hopefully it may not be too long before NZ is included.
We are not particularly looking forward to our return flights to Bangkok and Krabi although we do have bulkhead seats on the Hanoi-Bangkok leg.
Due to our late change of travel plans with cancelling the Sapa trip, we tried to change the date of our flights. We were technically able to do this but we discovered that it would cost more than USD90 so we decided to leave it. This is how Air Asia and other budget airlines make their money. What a fortuitous decision. We were met at Hanoi Airport by the hotel car. However, as we had tried to change hotel bookings at the last minute, it meant that we had to spend our first night at another hotel which was quite good.
Then the fun started. During the night Jim developed a raging temperature which we initially thought was flu. The next morning Jean bought a thermometer and the temperature was ranging between 37 and 39.5C. There were no other symptoms so we still didn't know what we were dealing with.
Day 15 - 17/10
The move to the Eclipse Legend Hotel was fairly excruciating for Jim as he was feeling absolutely awful. Went straight to bed and Jean was a wonderful nurse exercising her skills from long ago. Insisting on lots of water and cold towels with ice wrapped inside. It worked to a degree in getting the temperature down but always kept bouncing up. Just a burning body with no perspiration. Frightening because around 41-42c you're normally dead. This went on all night and then we had to finally move to our permanent room. We had the air conditioning turned right down as low as possible which also helped but which induced from time to time a severe shaking fit. Still none of the real symptoms at that stage. We had considered a hospital visit, but the temperature appeared to be stabilising around 38C. But then later in the day the bottom of Jim's leg started reddening severely almost up to the knee and became extremely painful. Jean didn't say much - probably to ease the feelings of the patient - but she insisted that we go immediately to the hospital - the Handi Family Medical Practice in Kim Ma Rd., Ba Dinh District. A 300,000 Dong taxi ride. The clinic was first class - very modern and spotlessly clean. We were seen fairly soon by a lady doctor who seemed very worried as she suspected either a thrombosis or cellulitis. There was an ultrasound which thankfully ruled out thrombosis. That left the cellulitis which of course we now realised had been the cause of all the recent high fever - not flu at all. We had arrived prepared for an overnight stay as it may have been considered necessary to have antibiotics by IV, but the doctor we subsequently saw gave us two lots of very strong antibiotics (Avelox and Dalacin) and he said that he was very confident that within 2-3 days there would be a big improvement. However, we have enough for 10 days so hopefully that will be more than enough. Jean has been and is absolutely wonderful. She's been up just about every two hours with the cold compresses (no sympathy for the excruciating cold on a hot body) and she's also been tireless in making sure Jim is nourished. We had bought a tin of Ensure (which is sold everywhere here, probably to combat the effects of MSG!!) and for a time that was all Jim could take. Once the real symptoms began it was really urgent to get appropriate treatment as otherwise the consequences can be very serious indeed. Once again Jim owes Jean a debt of gratitude for immediately suspecting cellulitis and organising the hospital visit accordingly.
Day 16 - 18/10
Not much to record here except that it seems that a slow improvement has started. Jean has been busy organising the hotel with supplies of soap and towels and ice and going out periodically to get food from a restaurant very close to the hotel.
At this stage we haven't seen much of Hanoi, except from taxis, but we have to say we are very impressed. Hanoi is a lively energetic city and very modern in parts with many high end shops and lots of others as well. Beautiful old French era buildings from the days of Indochine and from what we've seen so far impressively restored and maintained. Photos still to come - sorry, not up to it at present.
More to come and as always lostsaluv from us.........
Jim and Jean
Eclipse Legend Hotel
Hanoi
Vietnam
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Sunday, 18 October 2015
Hue to Hanoi
Day 13 - 15/10
Hue is a fairly uninteresting city, although it was the home of the Vietnamese royal dynasty and the ancient palaces (although bombed during the American War) have been largely restored. However, we didn't arrive until the early afternoon and by the time we checked into the Thanh Lich Hotel, and found a late lunch at a nearby hotel, it was getting late and we were not a little knackered. Went back to the same hotel for dinner because we didn't particularly like the look of the street side restaurants and there was always the MSG issue. However, it was truly awful and we realised that we should have tried a restaurant that was recommended by our hotel because they only served breakfast.
Day 14 - 16/10
We decided to have a lazy morning after all the recent travelling so stayed in the hotel packing and then had lunch at the Saigon Restaurant which was much better than last night's effort and much cheaper as well. Then our taxi arrived to take us to Hue Airport. About 200,000 Dong and as usual the driver spoke almost no English. Just a note of caution here; if you express an interest in something that looks interesting, it's best not too ask about it because he won't understand and very well may think you want to stop which involves a U-turn which can be hair raising!
However, the flight to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines was very pleasantly and we'd have to say unexpectedly, a great experience. The airline operates a very young fleet and they fly world wide. Our aircraft was an Airbus 321-200 and the legroom was at least 75 mm more than you get with Air Asia. They are definitely not only catering for smaller bodied Asians! However, this is fast becoming a myth as under the increasing influence of the Western diet, average sizes are increasing with all the dubious benefits that that entails. We were most impressed and compared with American Airlines, Air Asia, Singapore Airlines and even Air NZ it was head and shoulders above any of them. They currently fly to Australia so hopefully it may not be too long before NZ is included.
We are not particularly looking forward to our return flights to Bangkok and Krabi although we do have bulkhead seats on the Hanoi-Bangkok leg.
Due to our late change of travel plans with cancelling the Sapa trip, we tried to change the date of our flights. We were technically able to do this but we discovered that it would cost more than USD90 so we decided to leave it. This is how Air Asia and other budget airlines make their money. What a fortuitous decision. We were met at Hanoi Airport by the hotel car. However, as we had tried to change hotel bookings at the last minute, it meant that we had to spend our first night at another hotel which was quite good.
Then the fun started. During the night Jim developed a raging temperature which we initially thought was flu. The next morning Jean bought a thermometer and the temperature was ranging between 37 and 39.5C. There were no other symptoms so we still didn't know what we were dealing with.
Day 15 - 17/10
The move to the Eclipse Legend Hotel was fairly excruciating for Jim as he was feeling absolutely awful. Went straight to bed and Jean was a wonderful nurse exercising her skills from long ago. Insisting on lots of water and cold towels with ice wrapped inside. It worked to a degree in getting the temperature down but always kept bouncing up. Just a burning body with no perspiration. Frightening because around 41-42c you're normally dead. This went on all night and then we had to finally move to our permanent room. We had the air conditioning turned right down as low as possible which also helped but which induced from time to time a severe shaking fit. Still none of the real symptoms at that stage. We had considered a hospital visit, but the temperature appeared to be stabilising around 38C. But then later in the day the bottom of Jim's leg started reddening severely almost up to the knee and became extremely painful. Jean didn't say much - probably to ease the feelings of the patient - but she insisted that we go immediately to the hospital - the Handi Family Medical Practice in Kim Ma Rd., Ba Dinh District. A 300,000 Dong taxi ride. The clinic was first class - very modern and spotlessly clean. We were seen fairly soon by a lady doctor who seemed very worried as she suspected either a thrombosis or cellulitis. There was an ultrasound which thankfully ruled out thrombosis. That left the cellulitis which of course we now realised had been the cause of all the recent high fever - not flu at all. We had arrived prepared for an overnight stay as it may have been considered necessary to have antibiotics by IV, but the doctor we subsequently saw gave us two lots of very strong antibiotics (Avelox and Dalacin) and he said that he was very confident that within 2-3 days there would be a big improvement. However, we have enough for 10 days so hopefully that will be more than enough. Jean has been and is absolutely wonderful. She's been up just about every two hours with the cold compresses (no sympathy for the excruciating cold on a hot body) and she's also been tireless in making sure Jim is nourished. We had bought a tin of Ensure (which is sold everywhere here, probably to combat the effects of MSG!!) and for a time that was all Jim could take. Once the real symptoms began it was really urgent to get appropriate treatment as otherwise the consequences can be very serious indeed. Once again Jim owes Jean a debt of gratitude for immediately suspecting cellulitis and organising the hospital visit accordingly.
Day 16 - 18/10
Not much to record here except that it seems that a slow improvement has started. Jean has been busy organising the hotel with supplies of soap and towels and ice and going out periodically to get food from a restaurant very close to the hotel.
At this stage we haven't seen much of Hanoi, except from taxis, but we have to say we are very impressed. Hanoi is a lively energetic city and very modern in parts with many high end shops and lots of others as well. Beautiful old French era buildings from the days of Indochine and from what we've seen so far impressively restored and maintained. Photos still to come - sorry, not up to it at present.
More to come and as always lostsaluv from us.........
Jim and Jean
Eclipse Legend Hotel
Hanoi
Vietnam
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Hue is a fairly uninteresting city, although it was the home of the Vietnamese royal dynasty and the ancient palaces (although bombed during the American War) have been largely restored. However, we didn't arrive until the early afternoon and by the time we checked into the Thanh Lich Hotel, and found a late lunch at a nearby hotel, it was getting late and we were not a little knackered. Went back to the same hotel for dinner because we didn't particularly like the look of the street side restaurants and there was always the MSG issue. However, it was truly awful and we realised that we should have tried a restaurant that was recommended by our hotel because they only served breakfast.
Day 14 - 16/10
We decided to have a lazy morning after all the recent travelling so stayed in the hotel packing and then had lunch at the Saigon Restaurant which was much better than last night's effort and much cheaper as well. Then our taxi arrived to take us to Hue Airport. About 200,000 Dong and as usual the driver spoke almost no English. Just a note of caution here; if you express an interest in something that looks interesting, it's best not too ask about it because he won't understand and very well may think you want to stop which involves a U-turn which can be hair raising!
However, the flight to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines was very pleasantly and we'd have to say unexpectedly, a great experience. The airline operates a very young fleet and they fly world wide. Our aircraft was an Airbus 321-200 and the legroom was at least 75 mm more than you get with Air Asia. They are definitely not only catering for smaller bodied Asians! However, this is fast becoming a myth as under the increasing influence of the Western diet, average sizes are increasing with all the dubious benefits that that entails. We were most impressed and compared with American Airlines, Air Asia, Singapore Airlines and even Air NZ it was head and shoulders above any of them. They currently fly to Australia so hopefully it may not be too long before NZ is included.
We are not particularly looking forward to our return flights to Bangkok and Krabi although we do have bulkhead seats on the Hanoi-Bangkok leg.
Due to our late change of travel plans with cancelling the Sapa trip, we tried to change the date of our flights. We were technically able to do this but we discovered that it would cost more than USD90 so we decided to leave it. This is how Air Asia and other budget airlines make their money. What a fortuitous decision. We were met at Hanoi Airport by the hotel car. However, as we had tried to change hotel bookings at the last minute, it meant that we had to spend our first night at another hotel which was quite good.
Then the fun started. During the night Jim developed a raging temperature which we initially thought was flu. The next morning Jean bought a thermometer and the temperature was ranging between 37 and 39.5C. There were no other symptoms so we still didn't know what we were dealing with.
Day 15 - 17/10
The move to the Eclipse Legend Hotel was fairly excruciating for Jim as he was feeling absolutely awful. Went straight to bed and Jean was a wonderful nurse exercising her skills from long ago. Insisting on lots of water and cold towels with ice wrapped inside. It worked to a degree in getting the temperature down but always kept bouncing up. Just a burning body with no perspiration. Frightening because around 41-42c you're normally dead. This went on all night and then we had to finally move to our permanent room. We had the air conditioning turned right down as low as possible which also helped but which induced from time to time a severe shaking fit. Still none of the real symptoms at that stage. We had considered a hospital visit, but the temperature appeared to be stabilising around 38C. But then later in the day the bottom of Jim's leg started reddening severely almost up to the knee and became extremely painful. Jean didn't say much - probably to ease the feelings of the patient - but she insisted that we go immediately to the hospital - the Handi Family Medical Practice in Kim Ma Rd., Ba Dinh District. A 300,000 Dong taxi ride. The clinic was first class - very modern and spotlessly clean. We were seen fairly soon by a lady doctor who seemed very worried as she suspected either a thrombosis or cellulitis. There was an ultrasound which thankfully ruled out thrombosis. That left the cellulitis which of course we now realised had been the cause of all the recent high fever - not flu at all. We had arrived prepared for an overnight stay as it may have been considered necessary to have antibiotics by IV, but the doctor we subsequently saw gave us two lots of very strong antibiotics (Avelox and Dalacin) and he said that he was very confident that within 2-3 days there would be a big improvement. However, we have enough for 10 days so hopefully that will be more than enough. Jean has been and is absolutely wonderful. She's been up just about every two hours with the cold compresses (no sympathy for the excruciating cold on a hot body) and she's also been tireless in making sure Jim is nourished. We had bought a tin of Ensure (which is sold everywhere here, probably to combat the effects of MSG!!) and for a time that was all Jim could take. Once the real symptoms began it was really urgent to get appropriate treatment as otherwise the consequences can be very serious indeed. Once again Jim owes Jean a debt of gratitude for immediately suspecting cellulitis and organising the hospital visit accordingly.
Day 16 - 18/10
Not much to record here except that it seems that a slow improvement has started. Jean has been busy organising the hotel with supplies of soap and towels and ice and going out periodically to get food from a restaurant very close to the hotel.
At this stage we haven't seen much of Hanoi, except from taxis, but we have to say we are very impressed. Hanoi is a lively energetic city and very modern in parts with many high end shops and lots of others as well. Beautiful old French era buildings from the days of Indochine and from what we've seen so far impressively restored and maintained. Photos still to come - sorry, not up to it at present.
More to come and as always lostsaluv from us.........
Jim and Jean
Eclipse Legend Hotel
Hanoi
Vietnam
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