~ NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
~ HOBO TRAVEL QUOTES
How I feel today...
~ HOBO PHOTO GALLERY
This weeks pictures.
~ HOBO DAILY TRAVEL LOG a.k.a. Blog
Travel Blog! A daily web diary of my travels. http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html
~ HOBO MAPS, NOTES AND THOUGHTS...
Map of present location and plans.
~ HOBO STEW (A Dish of Meat and Vegetables)
Location of Hobo and opinions
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM
~ HOBOGUIDE.COM (Go this way) http://www.hoboguide.com
HO CHI MINH TRAIL
~ TODAY’S TRAVEL TIP
SPONGE OR RAG
~ EXTREME HOBO TRAVEL
Scott’s Bike Trip Around World
Africa
~ TODAY’S TIP FROM THE - “Peanut Gallery”
A Joke Tip that is ... hmm sarcastic
~ HOBO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions for Hobo Andy - Take Care.
~ HOBO GOSSIP and/or Jaded Remarks
A jaded remark on world travel.
Thank you, Lord - I'm doing fine
CONTACTING THE EDITOR a.k.a. Andy
~ HOBO TRAVEL QUOTES - Back to top
How I feel today, or a start down
the proverbial travelers path.
In travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him if
he would bring home knowledge.
- Samuel Johnson from Boswell Life of Johnson 1791
~ BACKPACKER JARGON
Two Day and Out City
- A city where there is nothing to do but to look at the tourist
attractions and traveler tend to leave very fast.
Normally there is not a TV in the Hotel.
( Note... I am in Saigon... Vietnam)
~ HOBO STEW (A Dish of Meat and Vegetables) - Back to top
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM
Like any good X Generation person I am thinking in terms of TV,
Movies, and MTV, so like Robin William said,
“Good Morning Vietnam.”
I have crossed the border from Cambodia and am now
in Saigon, Vietnam a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh City.
VIETNAM OBSERVATIONS
What I have observed so far about Vietnam?
1. The Vietnamese language has the same letter characters as English
so I can read the Vietnam words on signs, and should be able to say things,
repeat, or look for places a lot easier.
2. Girls seem to wear clothes similar to Thailand or are more liberated
than Cambodia girls.
3. The building are built on a about a 20 foot or maybe 10 meter separation
mode, everything is packed into the place and all building seem to be about
3-4 stories, just about like Phnom Penh, Cambodia but even more busy,
but a lot cleaner.
4. The colors and painting of building is good.
5. I saw a lot of parks.
6. All the Bars and Restaurants have chairs that look the very noisy and
busy street, sort of like Paris, and too busy here also for me.
7. The television is dubbed, but the dubbing is extremely weird, like one
person saying or telling the listeners what is happening, they will have
English shows and I can hear the words, but I have to try to not listen
to the narrator in the Vietnamese language.
8. This is not a communist country where they share the wealth, this is an
extreme version of free enterprise.
9. On the way into the city a English boy behind me said,
“Look a CD Shop.” I am almost positive that people put this on the list of
countries to enter because of all the knockoff or copies of Music CD,
and I have already seen 3 or 4 shops full of travelers."
10. Phnom Penh was a lot more friendly in a way, the Lakeside area always
was slower and had places for people to sit around and talk here it so far
only a bar type scene.
Prediction: This is a two day and out city, nobody will stay more than two day
unless they just drink and like to sit on a bar stool, I have notice a lot of bar
stools with older people sitting.
11. I have notice a lot of older somethings here, they seem to be looking
around lost like and not sure what they are looking at, I have a feeling there
are lots of people searching for something here.
LEAVING TOMORROW FOR MUI NE BEACH
Ok, I am three days and out, but I had to wait for my Japanese friends to show
up or I would have been out in one. I am going to the beach.
Note that the pajamas clad girls are everywhere in Vietnam, so be read next
week for lots of photos of girls in Pj’s
Life is good.
Andy a HoboTraveler.com in Saigon, Vietnam
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT BY WALLY LLOYD OF IQUITOS, PERU
July 27, 2004
CURE FOR AIDS
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Iquitos Peru - July 27, 2004
My friend Wally Lloyd, a man from England presently living and working
Iquitos, Peru wrote me very excited, he ask me to announce in my
newsletter that he believes there is a man in Iquitos, Peru that has
found a cure for AIDS. (S.I.D.A. in Spanish)
He ask me publish his email address as a person that would answer
questions or help the Spanish Doctor to answer questions.
Wally is very serious about this and has sent me a document in
Spanish showing a person testing positive and now negative.
Please write Wally with questions and how to receive treatment.
wallylloyd AT-CHANGE hotmail.com
Just another day in Paradise!
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE...
Be a Hobo, and leave your mark.
X
Hobotraveler.com was HERE!
Life is good.
The Hobotraveler.com
Article written by Andy the Hobotraveler.com
On year 7 of Hobo trip around the world.
Budget Travel, Jobs, and Adventure, etc
Subscribe to Free Newsletter at: http://www.hobotraveler.com
You may publish this article for Free
on the internet If this box stays attached.
Sounds mystical and wondrous with the musical sounds that Asia
names have to the Western world.
TREK SOUTHEAST ASIA
It could be the name of a famous trek in Southeast Asia, like the
Inca Trail in South America.
ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN LAOS AND CAMBODIA
Maybe we could look at this trail as the first large scale road
developments in eastern Laos and Cambodia?
I first heard and read about the Ho Chi Minh Trail a year or so ago
when I entered Laos, and was working my way slowly across the
mountainous terrain in the back of small pickups toward eastern
Laos, now I am in Cambodia and picked up the scent of the trail again,
but I am still trying to eat the pie, but the pieces are all scattered from the
mouth of the Mekong River in Vietnam up to southern China.
So how can I eat the whole pie, when I cannot find the pie?
There are pieces of the pie missing and there are parts of the puzzle
that are just plain thrown in the trash bin. No one seems to understand
this trail, but everyone persist in talking about it like they know, and they
are leaving me out of the conversation. Funny how travelers can be so
knowledgeable, and I try my best to understand, but am always getting
the impression they are just making it up as they go.
So here goes, I am going to try to feed you the whole pie, but to be sure
you probably need to talk with the CIA or General William Westmoreland
former commander of the American troops in Vietnam.
VIETNAM WAR - From 1959 to 1975
2004 subtract 1959 equals = 45 Years
They started on this trail 45 years ago in Laos and Cambodia and they
haven’ t got far yet, the roads still sucks. The war is over so Laos,
Cambodia and Vietnam are now tourist destinations, so you can go try
and find this trail, I have had the misfortune of traveling over 500 miles
of the Ho Chi Minh Trail either by boat or small pickup truck. If I was lucky
I would have flown by Helicopter and just looked at the river or the road,
because it is not fun to sit in the back of a pick-up for two hundred miles
on a gravel road, but it is better than walking,
or hmm… trekking.
WHAT IS THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL?
It was a way for the North Vietnamese would send troops and supplies
during the Vietnam war or you can also call it the Second Indochina war.
It was named after a leader of North Vietnam by the name of Ho Chi Minh.
SUPPLY LINE
Now this sounds reasonable, if you are going to be in a war then you need
to send in the troops and of course they need weapons and food, so what
is the big deal, it just a supply line or road to the war?
MAP TIME
Take a look at this map and it will make better sense, hard to understand the
Ho Chi Minh Trail when you do not even know where Cambodia, Laos, and
Vietnam are located on the planet. http://www.hobotraveler.com/156hochiminhtrail.shtml
HOW THIS STORY STARTED?
I wanted to go up country in Cambodia to see some mountain people called
the Montagnards so I got on a bus to Snoul, I thought when I was done it would
be nice to try to cross the border at Snoul and go straight down to Saigon.
Looking at the map makes this seem obvious, this is a great way to go from
Snoul, Cambodia to Saigon, Vietnam.
I started with by taking a van overloaded with too much of everything, too
many people and too much junk piled on the top, that went from
Phnom Penh to Snoul, Cambodia. http://www.hobotraveler.com/156traveltocambodia.shtml
A MAP OF MY TRIP TO SNOUL OR SEN MONOROM
My mission in Cambodia or idea was to see if the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees was really doing anything with the mountain
people called the Montagnards, or they was just in Phnom Penh smoking
pot with the rest of the travelers. I did not have enough time on my Visa to
go north and the roads were so bad I could have got stranded between
Sen Monorom and Bong Long in the northern province of Ratanakiri, Cambodia.
I will have to save this muse for later trips. http://www.hobotraveler.com/156mapofcambodia.shtml
SNOUL TO SEN MONOROM
I stayed one night in Snoul and went around the market and the truck stop
that pretends to be a bus stop and made some inquiries with hand language
and very short English sentences about the border between Cambodia and
Vietnam that was only 15 Kilometers away. All of them seem to think the border
was closed, and I did observe any Vietnam people entering this city, so I finally
believed it is closed, but hard to say until you try the border and actually get
turned away, maybe with a few dollars I could have opened the border for me,
but I decided to leave Snoul and go to Sen Monorom and look for Montagnards
or maybe look at waterfalls, and see if the road north was open to the north.
If you look at the map above you will see that Snoul would be a on the path if
you was taking shipments between the Mekong River bend at Kratie and
Saigon by land, and you did not care if the border was closed or open because
you was the North Vietnam Army. During the war Snoul was bombed, and in
my opinion would have been a strategic target.
TRUCK DRIVER
I was in the front, and paid the 5 dollars to my truck driver so I could have leg
room and avoid another primitive experience, I have had lots of primitive
experiences and at this juncture do not think of them as challenging, an
adventure, or fun, but just what they are a pain in the butt… literally.
So I am having this conversation with my driver, I chose him from the
other 5 competing drives because he was a good guy first, and second
because he was so informative about Cambodia. I came to Cambodia to
learn about Cambodia and this guy was action packed and spoke English
ten time better than anyone around, in fact he was the only one that spoke
English, so we talked or I asked lots of small short questions, trying to
learn about Cambodia and the culture.
I started with the basic questions for Cambodia…
Where did you learn English?
Am I going to step on a land mine and get my leg blown off?
Do you like America?
What happened to you when Pol Pot was killing everyone?
Was this place bombed during the Vietnam war?
UNBRO
He learned English from a program called UNBRO near the
Thailand-Cambodia border. It was called as the
United Nations Border Relief Organization.
LAND MINES - CMA
He said that land mine were not a problem, and not to worry the
Cement has removed them all, I thought he meant at first they put
cement on top of them all, but he then explained it was the CMA.
This is another acronym and when he said it sounded like cement
but it really means Cambodia Mine Action. He also said the Canadians
helped clear the mines with a program called the MAC or Mine Action Clearing.
I am pretty sure that most mines were over near the Cambodia-Thailand border
and probably put up by Pol Pot or King Sihanouk to keep the Thai people from
invading and to keep the Cambodia people in the country and leaving for a better life.
AMERICA
He said the politicians do not like the American people,
but the Cambodian people like the Americans.
I forgot to ask him about Pol Pot and I already knew the place was
bombed because of reading my Encyclopedia in my computer,
but those are some of the normal questions you would want to ask.
SEN MONOROM
I stopped there, stayed two nights, walked around in the mountains
for free, could have paid for a trek and walked around in the market,
went to a great market and saw weird foods, then left again for Phnom Penh.
SAME SAME DRIVER
I had only one source of information in Sen Monorom and it was the
same same truck driver as they would say in Asia. So I would go down
to the center of Monorom where he was sitting always trying to get riders
to Snoul for the day and chat, I also was trying to make sure and get a
ride back as they would not leave unless they had enough passengers
to make the trip.
So on the way back I went with the same driver, I continued asking
questions about Cambodia and the area, we discussed things like
whether Sen Monorom looks like Switzerland and he explained that
it is illegal to cut trees down, but the police have a night business of
cutting and selling the trees, all the normal corrupt and fun things of
countries like Cambodia that are not developed.
PM REGIME
The driver was fun, and I was amazed at his use of acronyms, this is
difficult in another language and he was able to use all of them,
like NGO, CIA, USA, and a whole list of others. He even created his
own called PM Regime or Power Money Regime saying that Cambodia
is a PM Regime. I think of these countries as little Mafia countries,
where you have bosses that collect money for themselves by ways
such as toll roads or taxes. These Mafia are normally the
local police or army.
So we had all sort of fun things to discuss, corruptions, police selling
trees, why the police chief that owned the Bou Sra Guesthouse was
rich by corruption etc. I finally in amazement at his understanding of
world politics, Cambodia Politics, history and other assorted world messes said,
“Wow, you really know a lot about history and politics.”
He said,
“I need to, I am the CIA of the CPP.”
He then opens the little box between the seat and points at a pistol,
he said as an AK 54... (I think.)
I asked,
“What is the CPP?”
He said,
“The Cambodia People Party.”
He explained that he was the spy for the CPP and that he had a gun
and a special license plate and if there was any problems in this area
it was his first job to help out and stop the problems, and his second
job was part time a driver.
I started to sing,
“Secret Agent Man,”
“Secret Agent Man,”
From some silly Television Sitcom I remember from being a kid,
I tried to explain the joke here, but he did not understand.
He did go on to explain the three major political parties in Cambodia
and how his was bending and now more democratic than it was communist.
I then proceed to ask a big question and one not on the
normal travel exam for Cambodia.
I asked,
“Why did Cambodia and Laos help North Vietnam during the war?”
This is off the exam, because popular myth in my way of thinking is that
people want to be delusional that Laos and Cambodia was just innocent
bystanders and victims of a the war, so people do not ask the question
because they are also have delusions of adequacy that they already
know the answer.
He answer,
“Pol Pot, King Sihanouk, and Ho Chi Minh studied in France together.”
Some other stuff about China having problems when Ho Chi Minh
committed suicide. All these men worked together to make the
Ho Chi Minh Trail and to make tons of money probably in a
PM Regime sort of way.
Now I am sitting in the front of a truck, with a good guy that has an
AK 54, says he is a spy for the CPP, and all I really want to do is
get back to Phom Penh and eat a Frenchie Baguette because
I am hungry, so we talked and talked and life was good, and I finally
arrived in Snoul in time to jump on a bus, I shook hands with the
spy and went on my way.
My research does show some fun information, although the spy was
a little off on the fact about Ho Chi Minh studying in France, he was
correct about a common relationship that all the leaders of Laos,
North Vietnam, Cambodia went to Paris and had some relationships
with the Communist party there that was founded by Ho Chi Minh.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
PARIS..
KARL MARX & FRIEDRIC ENGELS
The Communist Manifesto was written by these boys in Paris
and is basically about how the poor should attack the rich.
Easier to understand if you think said,
“The factory workers wanted to take over the factory.” or
“The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”
This is my short version of what the Communist Manifesto is about.
PARIS…
SOUPHANOUVANG -
Leader of the Pathet Lao, the Communist nationalist movement in Laos.
Educated in France as an Engineer, part of Royalty.
PARIS…
King Sihanouk, Norodom or leader of Cambodia
Educated in Paris and Saigon.
PARIS…
Pol Pot - Leader of Cambodia
Royal Connections
Studied radio electricity in Paris
Member of French Communist Party
PARIS…
Ho Chi Minh - Leader of North Vietnam
Founding member of the French Communist Party
In 1923 went for training in USSR.
SOUTH VIETNAM LEADER - ON THE SIDE OF THE USA
Nguyen Van Thieu (1923-2001), president of South Vietnam …
Joined Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh after World War II.
WHO CARES ABOUT THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL?
I think all these Mafia bosses posing as leaders of countries
all want to be the big boss, so they need to convinced the workers to
revolt so they could get rid of the Kings and become the boss of their country.
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
Word from Roger Daltrey of the British Rock group,
“The Who.”
So in a PM Regime the person with the power gets the money.
SECRET BOMBING OF CAMBODIA AND LAOS
(It would be possible in a country this far back in the sticks.)
The people who cared about the Ho Chi Minh Trail was the USA
and maybe South Vietnam as most of the war in Vietnam came to the
South Vietnam from Laos and Cambodia on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
So it probably felt like the people of Cambodia and Laos was attacking,
not North Vietnam.
HIDING BEHIND TREATIES
The Cambodia leaders and the Laos leaders seem to hide behind treaties
made between them and the USA claiming some form of neutrality and
then at the same time formed a French Connection in Paris in the
Communist Party so that all the boys could work together. China,
Russia, Laos, Cambodian almost for certain large numbers of
corrupt people in the Army of South Vietnam.
So as the story goes the USA lost 58,000 people in Vietnam.
North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos on the other side lost 5 million.
I am now in Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City and this place has
nothing to do with communisms, but is a supreme example Capitalism.
Now, who won the Vietnam War?
I am confused…
The Ho Chi Minh Trails are now the highway systems in Laos and Cambodia.
Life is good!
Andy HoboTraveler.com
Article written by Andy the Hobotraveler.com
On year 7 of Hobo trip around the world.
Budget Travel, Jobs, and Adventure, etc
Subscribe to Free Newsletter at: http://www.hobotraveler.com
You may publish this article for Free
on the internet If this box stays attached.
I went an purchase a new sponge for this tip,
the one I purchase to test was looking bad.
What is the last thing you want in a bag for
10 to 30 hours?
A wet towel or a wet hand cloth, or in my family
we call it a wash rag. I am talking about the piece of cloth
you would use to scrub your face. This is not supplied
in 95 percent of backpacker type hotels or hostels.
I suppose if you think it is, then you are not a backpacker
your are a tourist.
A wet towel will start to stink and mildew after enough
time in a bag, and under extreme conditions you will
grow some little green mold.
SOLUTON:
A sponge, you can squeeze it hard enough to dry or
make dry enough that you will not have a problem.
You can buy towels that are made of sponge like material
and dry or wring out good, but I do not recommend them unless
you are girl because they are always too small for the beach
or that stroll to the common shower.
Girls are welcome to buy.
Looks a photo of sponge, you probably will not be able to
purchase a normal sponge will need to buy a clean sponge
and tear off the abrasive back. They seem to sell this in almost
all countries on the planet.
Just another day in Paradise!
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE...
Be a Hobo, and leave your mark.
X
Hobotraveler.com was HERE!
Life is good.
The Hobotraveler.com
As always, these are suggestions. Please realize I am
giving guidance, and there are always other opinions.
“One mans paradise, is another mans hell”
This way we do not all go to the same place.
Article written by Andy the Hobotraveler.com
On year 7 of Hobo trip around the world.
Budget Travel, Jobs, and Adventure, etc
Subscribe to Free Newsletter at: http://www.hobotraveler.com
You may publish this article for Free
on the internet If this box stays attached.
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COMMENT OR QUESTION:
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subject line: request
comments:
I have just found your site. I was looking for a way to be a courier.
Can you give me any instruction on how to be an air courier? I am getting
out of a bad relationship (being honest) and need something to get me
out of town frequently so I can gain perspective. I am left with just about
zero money so I was hoping you could tell me good companies that use
couriers, how do I contact them etc. I cannot afford any fees
(that other sites charge) to join a group in order to get information, buy
books or guides. I am just trying to keep myself safe during this time in
my life and I think staying in the air is a good way. I have time but no money.
Thanks for your courtesy.
ANSWER:
Flying is not a great way to fly frequently, in fact I think
September 11 just about killed this, but it does still exist.
-------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENT OR QUESTION:
-------------------------------------------------------------
subject line: NO QUESTION. JUST A COMMENT
comments: Dear Mr. Hobo Traveler:
Just wanted to give many thanks to you and your fantastic creation
of a website. Because of your astuteness and affability I had a GREAT
time in Amsterdam last month. Also reading your newsletter is a high
point in the evening. I and several friends now live vicarious thrills;
THANK YOU! from King Sol in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
ANSWER:
You are welcome, hope all the vicarious is good...
Thrills, hmm never thought about that?
Life is as good as you make it, and you only get out
of it what you bargain for.
Andy HoboTraveler.com
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COMMENT OR QUESTION:
-------------------------------------------------------------
subject line: how did you get into travel?
comments: Great site!!!
ANSWER:
I will blame it on a Norwegian girl.
I was buying and selling real estate in Fort Wayne,
Indiana. I realized there was not business between Thanksgiving
and the 7th of January so I went on a 6 week vacation to
Pie de La Cuesta, Mexico north of Acapulco.
I met a tall Norwegian girl, then went home mulled around
went to Belize to see her again, returned home and closed
up shop and escaped.
I had a dream already of seeing if I could make money from
the internet and it has worked. I started the tips newsletter never
thinking anyone would like to read my writing.
Simple to travel. get a passport, buys some dollars,
get a plane ticket and leave, all will work out fine.
Andy HoboTraveler.com
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COMMENT OR QUESTION:
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subject line: To Andy the Hobo from Sharon
comments:
I am a new subscriber to your site. I am planning to travel
for a few months through Western/Central Europe and am
then planning on joining a volunteer group in Thailand. I was
wondering if you know where it would be the most economical
to get a flight from in Europe to Thailand. Flights from London are
over $1000 and from NYC they are $800. I am a woman of meager
means and need to do this as cheaply as possible. I also plan to
read a lot about your travels both in Europe and Thailand from
your newsletters. Thank you in advance!
(I hope this isn't a travel agent question!)
Sincerely,
Sharon
ANSWER:
Hello Sharon,
For sure this is a travel agent question.... hehehe
Thaifly.com is the cheap way to buy ticket from the USA to Thailand.
From Europe it is difficult to say, as they are like the USA travel agents that
just plain lie or deceive.
But you can probably get the cheapest tickets to Thailand from either
Brussels Belgium or Amsterdam Holland, England is probably the worst now.
Statravel.com is worth trying.
The first questions a travel agent would ask is
one way or round trip?
In the USA a round trip ticket is the cheapest.
This is not true for the rest of the world.
I am not sure where you live, I would presume or come to the idea that it is New York.
My best advice is to go to Thailand first, spend six months talking with travelers.
Get cheated by the Thai people for a dollar on a daily basis, then you will learn
how to not get cheated by the European and Americans for a hundred dollars.
Always start out cheap and work your way into the expensive countries.
I have realized that I can travel to Thailand and make round trips from Thailand to Europe
cheaper than I can base from Europe. Bangkok is my base for attacking Europe.
"Thank you, Lord, for thinkin'
'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."
I’m alive and doing fine.‘
Song by: Five Man Electrical Band - Back to top
MY APOLOGY - If I do not reply quickly or
forget. I am sorry. Please write again. I do reply
to all well mannered e-mails. I try my best and
do want to talk.
NOTICE: Letters to Andy are considered public.
Any letter written to Andy is considered
property of Andy and could be published in
entirety to the internet. http://www.hobotraveler.com/meanmail.shtml