Uninam - Vietnam Unicycle Tour http://www.uninam.net Uninam - Vietnam Unicycle Tour - Nathan Tappin :: Rider Blog en Hanoi - Hoi An http://www.uninam.net/index.php?blog=nathan-tappin&display=68 Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:54:20 -0600 I wrote this entry three days ago while in Hoi An, right now I'm in Qui Nhon and we are just taking a really easy rest day. Here is the entry that I wrote and forgot to publish while in Hoi An. H[...]
I wrote this entry three days ago while in Hoi An, right now I'm in Qui Nhon and we are just taking a really easy rest day. Here is the entry that I wrote and forgot to publish while in Hoi An.
 
Hey all things have been pretty crazy since I last responded to any emails or written here. I arrived in Nam a few days ago and its just been non stop crazy ever since. I will quickly recap my last few days
 
For my last day I had alot of things that I wanted packed in. My list was to go out with the people I was staying with, go to the toilet seat restaurant, buy a DS and a flashcard for free games, and check out Hsimen area of Taipei. Pretty much non of this happened which was a big disapointment to me, but most of the things that were going on that week were pretty sweet so I didn't worry too much about it.
 
We did go to Hsimen but I screwed up the exchange rate when calculating the price and I thought it was too much and decided not to get the DS. Turns out it was a pretty good deal.
 
The amazing thing about the area is that it is the closest thing you can get to combining Akihabara and Shibuya, Tokyo without actualy going there. So it was pretty amazing, young people everywhere and alot of energy.
 
The Toilet restaurant seems to be pretty much impossible to find. We looked for about an hour and a half and we were rediculously tired and ended up giving up. Then the people we were supposed to take out didn't get home until around ten oclock by which time I had already gone to sleep because I was only getting about three to four hours sleep a night.
 
Then I flew to Hanoi. The Airport in Taipei was pretty fun though, crazy duty free places and I ended up picking up a DS and Super Mario World, only problem with it is that its Japanese, but I think that it's not out yet in the US because it said NEW on it, but  it may have just been a marketing ploy. 
 
Hanoi is a pretty cool city the only problem is its full of tourists (a bit hypocritical I know, but I was spoiled by Taipei), also I was staying at a real hostel, and so I was sharing a room with like ten other people and the place was really busy, and I just didn't enjoy it too much. Everyone seemed to have their own groups and didn't socialize too much so I was very happy to leave the next morning.
 
That day I sat by a Lake for a bit, then a couple of Vietnamese students came up and asked if they could talk to me to practice their english. It was pretty cool, and they showed me around for a bit. Actualy one of them has since emailed me twice. I ended up picking up some overpriced Pho and going to sleep at like 8.
 
The next day I went straight to the new hotel to dump my stuff, then I met up with Andy, Tom and Irene with whom I signed up for a cooking class. It was pretty fun but nothing that special, just a good way to get to hang out with some of the other people on the tour.
 
Then later the day we met up with the rest of the crew, hung out in town, had dinner then slept at the hotel and left at five in the morning.
 
We Arrived in Hue and it was raining and muggy but it cleared up and after about two hours of everyone getting their gear together and having issues. Then we did a small 30 KM riding through the city traffic checking out the tourist spots which was alright but we spend too much time walking and not enough riding.
 
Pretty much the same thing as the previous night in terms of chilling and dinner. Then the next day we started on an 80 Km day to Lang Co. The ride had two big hills and went through alot of interesting stuff, lots of grave yards which here are pretty cool places, rice fields and general shitty roads. It was bloody tough and I switched my cranks once to longer ones but I didn't put them on correctly and they fell off twice which put me pretty close to the end of the group which kind of sucked.
 
We ended the day at a resort on the beach, jumped into the ocean swam around and then ate dinner and crashed. A bunch of people also got massages but I was being a cheap and opted not to.
 
The next day we started off with a 10 KM of pure climbing, I forget the exact number but I'm guessing about 1km vertical assent, and that was brutal, then there was 10 km downhill which sounds nice but is really hard without any brakes. After all the hills it was pure flat, for about 55 KM with a lunch break by the beach. The day was rediculously hot and my ears, knees and back calfs are burnt to shit. I now know that sun screen is mad important. We ended off the day with a quick ride through town in small groups because traffic is pretty bad and there are alot of twists and turns so it is easy to get lost.
 
We are now staying in a 4 star resort, its huge, lots of amenities, but lots of tourists which makes bargaining impossible and generaly its less fun.
 
Today I'm spending my time walking through town, I got fitted for a tux last night and I'm picking it up today at three, got my laundry done, getting some custom made shoes for Jesse, picking up some snacks and drinks, then probably have food with people.
 
I'm hoping everyone is doing great, and please keep in touch with me. I read emails every day but I won't respond too much. Please send me emails, I love reading them, and its great for me to hear what people are up to even if its just random stuff.
]]> Toilet Restaurant http://www.uninam.net/index.php?blog=nathan-tappin&display=55 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 12:39:22 -0700 Well today was probably my only disapointing day in Taipei. I was planning this whole time to go to the toilet restaurant, which is a pretty famous toilet themed restaurant. Unfortunately the address [...] address that is posted all over the internet just points towards an exit at a subway station, and after exporing the exit and the surrounding area for over an hour I came up empty handed.

Also due to lack of sleep I didn't have enough energy to go out tonight and I ended up just going to sleep.

A couple good things came of today though. I went to Hsimen, which is a crazy shopping district unlike anything I have ever seen. It is supposed to be the closest you can come to being in Shibuya, Japan. There are young people everywhere, and it was a pretty cool experience, we also went to Longshan temple which was alright, but it really felt like a tourist spot.
We also checked out the general Longshan area which is Taipei's more seedy area. It was pretty neat, and it was something I would recommend to anyone but its not for the faint of heart. We saw turtles getting their heads cut off, snakes drained of blood and generally the area isn't nearly as glitzy and nice as the rest of Taipei.

Even in Yungho where I'm staying which is totally not a tourist or even a great place for locals is much more pretty and has a high class of citizen.

I'm heading out to Hanoi in three hours, and I'm definitely going to miss Taipei, there is still so much to see or do here, I wish I had more time to check things out.
]]> common room http://www.uninam.net/index.php?blog=nathan-tappin&display=51 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:06:04 -0700 I'm really enjoying the common room in my hostel here. It is a great way to get to know other people here and through that we have all gone out a few times to various markets and stuff.Yesterday I wen[...]
Yesterday I went out for a ride alone the bike path near here. It goes through a bunch of parks and follows a big main river that connects to the ocean. It was a really awesome ride and everyone seemed pretty excited to see a unicycle. I did about 22 KM out from the city then back, unfortunately by the time I got back it was rush hour and riding in Taipei traffic is probably the scariest thing I have ever done. For those who have seen Adam Chen's riding in Brooklyn, that is a joke compared to riding here. I'm not saying what he was doing is easy, but this is at a much faster pace, and much higher risk.

One thing that I'm really liking about Taipei is that the locals are very friendly. Everyone is very helpful, even if they don't speak English they are always happy to help out. If you are looking lost on the street people will actually come up and offer advise and help. When we went to the computer market last night, someone stopped their scooter (which are everywhere, there are probably about 5 times the amount of scooters on the streets as there are cars) told us where to go, then while we were there, he showed up again and told us that there are a bunch of other good shops in the area worth checking out.

I have also settled into a bit of a schedule which is nice, although it doesn't have much room for sleep.

I get up around 10-10:30 then, see what people are up to, head out to a market and try and get myself lost in Taipei, then get some breakfast from a street vendor, a drink from the 7-11 (which are amazing little stores here, even better than in Canada). Then I come back to the hostel, do something on my own, then meet up with the others here and figure out what to do with the night.

One of the best parts about Taipei is that no matter what time it is, there is always lots of stuff open somewhere. You can leave the hostel at 3 in the morning and there will be night markets and stuff still open.
]]> TPE http://www.uninam.net/index.php?blog=nathan-tappin&display=48 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:50:36 -0700 I'm finally in Taipei!I arrived in downtown Taipei around 7 o'clock last night. My hostel is pretty cool, nothing that special, but a bunch of cool people staying here from all over, and the area is j[...]
I arrived in downtown Taipei around 7 o'clock last night. My hostel is pretty cool, nothing that special, but a bunch of cool people staying here from all over, and the area is just awesome!

The streets are packed, its pretty ridiculous, so many motor scooters (vespas etc.) that it makes for a pretty hectic situation, although the highways are actually no worse than Ottawa.

The street markets are awesome, really amazing, super packed but not too frantic, everything seems to go at a good pace and you don't feel too pressured.

In a bit I'm going to head out and do a bit of riding, the first ride since I sprained my ankle. There is a bike path not too far from here, and right now the streets aren't too packed. It is comparable to riding in Ottawa rush hour.

It is still technically my first day here and I'm already settling in decently, I've gone out on my own a bit and I'm able to buy stuff and get around.
]]> freezing rain sucks http://www.uninam.net/index.php?blog=nathan-tappin&display=45 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:47:00 -0700 Well Ottawa had mad freezing rain on my way out delaying my flight by two hours, so now I have to wait until 10 AM tomorrow before I can catch the next flight to Hong Kong. I have about 2 hours sle[...] Well Ottawa had mad freezing rain on my way out delaying my flight by two hours, so now I have to wait until 10 AM tomorrow before I can catch the next flight to Hong Kong.

 

I have about 2 hours sleep since saturday and I havn't had a real meal yet...

 

great start to everything.

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