It’s part of our Round-the-World Travelling with Diabetes journey, and essentially what it is is a wee bit of inspiration for all of us… Obviously my chronic condition is diabetes, because that’s what we’ve had to live with, but what we want to say is that no matter what your condition - whether it’s something emotional or mental or physical – no matter what’s holding you back, you can take heart in the fact that it is possible to follow your dreams.
As an illustration of this, we’ve had a handmade heart made in every country we’ve visited. The end of Vietnam was such a whirlwind that I didn’t have a chance to post our Take Heart Vietnam video, but here it is now:
And then here’s the one from Indonesia:
Which do you prefer? (I love them both – you know how I feel about hearts!!)
We’ve been on the road for 3 months already, can you believe it? Crazy… I can’t decide whether that feels like a really long time, or whether it’s gone in a flash. A bit of both, I guess.
And now, today, we’re leaving Vietnam! Off to Indonesia. We arrive at midnight today, and are VERY open to suggestions about where to go and what to see…
First, though, as promised, I wanted to tell you about one of the highlights of our trip so far – a two day one night adventure in Halong Bay. Wow.
Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 3 and a half hours from Hanoi (one of the main cities in Vietnam). There are hundreds of tourist boats that ply the same old route, but we were lucky enough to get on to the Red Dragon, an all-wooden Vietnamese junk, made in the style of a 17th century pirate ship that took us on a unique route with only one other boat! Incredible.
We set sail into the wild blue yonder, and immediately fell in love. It’s just amazing stuff – huge limestone karsts (like islands jutting out of the ocean) as far as the eye can see, hundreds and thousands of them fading into the horizon, accompanied by nothing but aquamarine water. It’s the kind of sight that’s so beautiful you don’t really know what to do with it, so your brain quickly gets used to it.
We stopped mid-afternoon to go kayaking around and through the islands, and we were on the kayaks as the sun set, turning the water from aquamarine to orange and pink and finally silver, as the moon rose just behind the junk.
Then it was time for a feast on board, and much laughter, and finally a cup of tea out on deck with Mark, watching the moon make a silvery path on the water. It was one of those moments that I’ll remember forever.
The next morning we woke up early and headed off on bamboo boats to see a floating village – a group of fishermen who live year-round on the water, on a cross between houses and boats. Fascinating stuff. The Red Dragon company is doing a lot of outreach work in their community (building a school and starting an eco-friendly initiative to remove the rubbish from the area), which was really interesting too. But mostly we lay on deck and soaked up the beauty.
Here’s our Best Moment from that day, you can see I’m a little giddy! It was truly one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done.
Not only an alliteration, but a surprisingly authentic experience.
Mark and I were more than a little sceptical, on our arrival in Sapa (the mountainous town right in the north of Vietnam) to go on a hillside village tour. It just seemed too touristy, too much like going to look at humans in a zoo, you know? Nobody in South Africa can go to a real working village (as far as I know), and the whole thing made me feel a little uncomfortable.
But then we saw a really interesting photographic exhibition, where they gave young girls from the local H’mong (the biggest tribe) cameras for a month, and then published the photos as an exhibition… Fascinating! Scenes from their home, work, friend and family life, and it made us want to find out more. So we signed up for a full-day tour, entirely unsure what to expect.
What we got was a 12km (at least!) hike through some completely unspoilt countryside. We were lucky enough to have booked through the Tourism Office, not a tour company, and as a result our group of six headed off on a different route, far away from the madding crowds. It took us a while to clear the crowds, though, and I could see how a whole day of that would drive me mad.
For the next four hours, we walked up and down narrow rocky paths that led to and through three different villages, over rivers, through rice paddies (literally through – I have the muddy shoes to prove it!) and alongside some truly spectacular views (take a look by checking out our Best Moment of the Day from that day). Extraordinary stuff. Our guide was a local Vietnamese man born and raised in Sapa, and could answer all our questions about the area (we had a whole heap of questions because the day before we’d gone on a shorter – although still strenuous – hike to a different village and a waterfall, and hadn’t been able to answer any of our ‘I wonder why?’ musings). To accompany our guide, six H’mong women tagged along, equipped with large baskets on their backs. Baskets full of things to sell. We were a little wary at first, but our guide assured us they would try to sell to us at lunch and if we weren’t interested it was no big deal.
I believed him.
For the next four hours we chatted to the ladies about everything from marriage to kids to daily life to the surrounding landscape, and they wove us small trinkets from ferns – hearts, horses and a crown of ferns for lucky old me! I felt like a fairy princess. The walk was hectic but fun, it felt like we were really getting into the heart of the stunning scenes we’d been looking at for the past few days.
And then we hit lunch. And a horde of about twenty women started hard selling us their wares. Our formerly friendly, very chilled walking buddies suddenly switched on a flood of guilt tripping, crowding us as we sat down to lunch and pushing their items into our faces. I totally understand that selling is necessary, especially after they’ve spent hours walking with us (we didn’t ask them to, but it was a treat). However, Mark and I have a strict souvenir buying policy (we don’t buy anything. If we’re ever tempted it has to be TINY, and all their goods were pillow cases and shirts and tablecloths. No good). Eventually we ended up ‘tipping’ the lady that had accompanied us, and we all parted ways with a bad taste in our mouths.
The problem, as I see it, is that the situation has been blown out of proportion. Five sellers to six tourists is not good maths. Not at all. I think what happened is that a random seller chanced upon this being a good way to sell (through personal connection) and now far too many people have cottoned on, and shrunk all the potential out of it. It’s a pity, really, because until that point we’d really enjoyed the tour.
After lunch we walked for another hour or so, and then collapsed (quite literally). Five hours is a lot of walking!
Diabetically, I was fine. I took very little insulin at breakfast and went high two hours afterwards (the usual testing time) but seeing as I still had another 2 hours of hardcore hiking to do, I let it slide. I tested again before lunch and I was totally fine, and then took slightly less insulin for the rest of the day, knowing the impact it would have on my blood sugar. I still ended up waking at 5am with low blood sugar (I thought I would), but seeing as we did all of nothing the next day, that was quite all right!
Well, not quite nothing… We looked at some beautiful gardens up in the mountains, had a good old-fashioned sleep in, and left Sapa for Lao Cai, and then the overnight train to Hanoi. And then! One of the ultimate highlights of our trip. I’ll tell you allll about it tomorrow, I promise.
One of the things I love most about travelling is the potential for surprising nuggets of inspiration that pop up out of the blue.
Like this Confucius Cup that we found in the oldest house in Hoi An (our favourite place in Vietnam so far)…
The cup has a hole in the bottom of it, but if it is only filled 80%, you can drink out of it no problem – it doesn’t leak out of the bottom. If it’s filled 100%, however, the liquid drains out of the hole in the bottom. The lesson? Don’t be greedy and take more than you need. Ha!
Wouldn’t you love a cup like this? (Apparently it’s the last one in Vietnam – take a look at it below)…
So if you’ve taken a look at our latest video diary, you’ll know that I was feeling rather stressed about the hectic amount of travelling we had to do this week…
From Hue, in central Vietnam, we took an overnight bus to Hanoi (about 16 hours on a bus with ‘sleepers’ that lay back at a comfortable enough angle, but were created with short Vietnamese in mind, so didn’t let you stretch your legs out. Ouch.) When we arrived at 6am, we dumped our bags and then wandered around the city allll day, a day spent getting our bearings, picknicking by the lake, going to the market to buy scarves and a warm hat for the suddenly cold weather and, oh yes, buying train tickets. Because that night we were heading for Lao Cai, in the North, arriving at 5.30am, and then catching a bus to Sapa, an hour away.
Phew.
Now, before we left, I was rather worried about this whole trek. Not only because it seemed exhausting from the starting point, but because I wasn’t sure where we would get food, and how my diabetes would react to all the moving and lack of sleep, and if it would all piece together smoothly enough. Turns out, it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. Our bus and train both left and arrived on time, and finding food was (obviously) no problem at all. The only problem, in fact, was how exhausted we were, and the resulting sense of humour failure. Walking around a foreign city filled with honking motorbikes and cars and people people people is exhilarating when you’re feeling fresh and energetic (as we were at the beginning of the day, relieved to be out of the bus!), but at the end of a long day of getting lost and found, and not having a place to call ‘home’, it’s simply infuriating. Especially when as you’re trying to navigate the hordes of motor vehicles, people are approaching you on all sides asking you to buy things. Grrrr!
Still, at least this was a once-off for us. We met a couple on the train who have been travelling at this pace for the last month and a half, and another couple last week who spend only ONE NIGHT in each place they visit. Lord Above, if that was us I would be completely exhausted. And they seemed to be, actually. Turns out travelling is a lot less fun when you’re really tired.
I am so grateful we get to take it easy! I think that’s why this trip so far has been such a joy, and why we still have so much energy to keep going – we’re very careful to conserve our energy and sleep enough and eat really well. As soon as we arrived in Sapa, actually, we took straight to our bed (a deliciously warm, electric-blanket-heated wonder with bouncy pillows and a warm duvet. Heaven!) Since then we’ve been wandering around the town and surrounding mountains… But more on that tomorrow!
It happens, I think, when you’re travelling this much.
Here’s our latest video diary to find out what’s raising my blood pressure (but hopefully not my blood sugar!)
I realised today that I usually only blog when things ‘happen’ – not when everything is going smoothly.
So today I would like to say: I am one happy diabetic. I have had pretty much perfect blood sugar for the last couple of days (really, no highs, no lows, just an even keel) and I feel really healthy and well. I’ve got lots of energy, I’m sleeping really well, I’m eating as well as I can (although we’re battling, again, to find another with even a semblance of wholewheat in it!) and I’ve had a couple of days of ‘forgetting’ I’m diabetic. Of course I don’t ever really forget I’m diabetic, but some days it’s so easy that it doesn’t seem like a big deal.
I love these days.
I think part of the reason my blood sugar has been behaving itself so well is because the weather has changed. Does that sound crazy? I don’t think it is… A couple of diabetics I know have said they notice a link between hot weather and topsy-turvy blood sugar readings, and I think I agree with them. Just think about how you feel when it’s hot outside (I mean really hot, midsummer heat wave hot, as it has been the last few weeks). Sweaty, tired, thirsty – it must have an effect on blood sugar.
Midway through our stay in Hoi An the weather shifted from unbearably hot (unable to go out between 11am and 3pm hot) to cool and drizzly. Lovely! And now we’re in Hue, 3 hours further North, and it is COLD. Wintry! Amazing. I didn’t think it was possible. I’m enjoying it today, because I’m indoors and it’s cosy and warm. Yesterday, though, wandering the streets of Hue and trudging over the Perfume River, I was not such a happy chappy…
(I think this is my sarkiest Best Moment of the Day ever!)
PS – If you’re looking for an easy way to look at all of our videos, I’m very happy to say we’re now to be found on ICYOU (Intensive Content for your Health) – a health video website. Check it out here!
So as I mentioned the other day, we’re in Hoi An in Vietnam, city of temptation.
Mark and I have been angelic in our refusal to buy anything (anything at all!) since we left home at the beginning of September, but the combination of extremely reasonable and hand-tailored clothing was too much to resist, so we each bought a coat. And decided to model them for you…
Here’s Mark:
And here’s me:
And then, of course, I couldn’t resist a pair of handmade (extremely cheap) shoes, especially when they were not only GREEN but also with HEARTS! Heavenly.
Did I mention the HEARTS?
So we’re feeling extremely happy and fulfilled by our little shopping spree…. The retail therapy worked!
That’s a little of what our last couple of days in Vietnam have been like…
We’re in Hoi An, or, as I like to call it, Temptation Central. There are tailors everywhere - amazingly talented seamstresses who can whip up any item of clothing your heart desires in a couple of hours, for about an eighth of what you’d pay for it at home… Mark and I haven’t bought anything on this trip so far – one top for me, two shirts for him, that’s about it. But we succumbed to temptation here in Hoi An, and we’ve both had coats tailored. I’ll post photos later, they’re just being finished off at the moment. It is so thrilling to have something made to order! It’s my first time.
Not only is Hoi An full of clothing shops, it’s also full of shoe shops – heavenly meccas where they measure your foot and make you a pair of shoes. As in, handmade! For less than $15. I ask you! How can we resist? Well, girl shoes are that cheap – men’s shoes are more expensive. So I’ve had a whimsical pair made – picking them up this afternoon. I’ll post a pic, don’t you worry!
Hoi An is also the land of incredible food. We have eaten so well here the last couple of days. They have a whole heap of local delicacies, including wonton soup (so tasty), fried wontons (yum), cao lau (a sort of noodle soup, delicious!) and white roses, which are the least tasty but the prettiest of the lot. You can also make your own fresh spring rolls. YUM.
So we’ve been eating, shopping, and wandering around what is without doubt one of the prettiest towns we’ve seen on our travels. Set on the banks of a river, the ancient town is a World Heritage site, so all the old shop houses are in their original condition, and there are loads of lanterns hung all around, and classical music piped into the streets every morning. Lovely!
Which was why it was such a surprise to see these poor dogs dressed up like clowns this morning…
Yip, it had to happen. Two and a half months in, and although I’ve had disheartened days and sad days and bad diabetes days, I hadn’t had a freak out, till this morning.
Let me set the scene…
The last couple of days have been really interesting – we left the chaos and colour of Ho Chi Minh City on a late-night (11pm) overnight train to Danang, which was actually a lot of fun. We chose the soft-sleeper option, a four-bed sleeping compartment which we shared with two older American guys, who left at 5.30am so we had the whole cabin to ourselves for the rest of the day. Lovely! We could have flown for almost the same price, but we wanted to see some of the countryside, and I’m so glad we did…. It was stunning. Loads of rice paddies and local farmers and gorgeous scenery. I loved it (and just realised that I was so busy videoing it that I didn’t take any photos! How foolish of me). We arrived in Danang in the late afternoon, and headed to a beachside hostel that came highly recommended.
Not really our usual cup of tea – very basic accommodation and without doubt the hardest beds and worst water pressure we’ve had in any place so far – but we were won over by all the reviews of the lovely owners and the communal dinners. The dinners were fabulous, everyone heads down to the dining room and the family brings out big plates of food to share – incredible baby spring rolls, fresh grilled fish, tofu, a chicken dish, piles of vegetables, rice and noodles. YUM. What’s even better, though, is that because you’re all sitting at a communal table, it’s impossible not to start chatting, and make friends. It’s funny, most of the time I don’t really notice the absence of friends, but any time I do we meet some lovely people and make new ones – I suppose it’s one of the rhythms of travelling.
Anyway! To cut a long story short – we had a lovely two days in Danang, wandering around the town, swimming in the sea, and eating delicious communal dinners. Our room didn’t have a mini bar fridge (as most of our rooms do), so when we arrived I asked the lady at the front desk to put my bag of insulin in the fridge – and pointed at a fridge in the room. She nodded and said, “Fridge, yes, fridge, no problem,” then took my insulin off to another room – which they often do, to take it to a fridge with more space.
No problem! I thought, and sat down to dinner.
This morning, when we checked out, I asked for my insulin, and she went over to the safe, which was a cupboard, and took out the bag of insulin. So it had been sitting – unrefrigerated! – since we arrived two days before. Not only that, the room it was in wasn’t even air conditioned (as our bedroom was), so it had been sitting at room temperature or higher for two days.
I lost it. For two and a half months I’ve been carrying around this precious bag of medicine, making sure it’s kept safe and cold every time we stop anywhere, and now, because of a miscommunication and me believing that when a word was repeated back at me it meant that word was understood, it had all been put in jeopardy. I burst into tears, and it took me a loooong time to calm down.
I’m feeling better now, obviously, but I have yet to test out the insulin to find out if it’s okay… We’re about to go out for dinner now and I’m going to test it then. Please say many prayers to any god you know that it is, or I’m going to have to stock up from a doctor in town, and there goes any budget we have.
Ironically enough, yesterday was World Diabetes Day (we didn’t have internet, so I couldn’t blog), and this morning – before the drama – I was planning a blog post on why I’m grateful for diabetes. That will come soon, I promise!
