So the last couple of days here have been pretty eventful. Firstly yesterday was my Vietnamese birthday (we're 15 hours ahead of Vancouver)... First thing in the morning all of the volunteers woke me to a chorus of Happy Birthdays!!! During our group breakfast, my first breakfast of my 30's we had Vietnamese Baguettes with Peanut Butter and Nescafe coffee... They presented me with a nice present of a handmade oil diffuser that the Korean girls bought for me a couple days prior in a traditional Vietnamese market in Hanoi.
During the morning session, we were out in the garden again, picking weeds.. Was pretty uneventful until Philippe, Enrico, and Yasuto brushed their arms up against some plants (likely stinging nettles) which gave them all a rash on their arms. A few of the other volunteers rushed off to get some medicine and came back with some sticky rice which the guys had to rub over their rashes...
After dinner, back in the room, Pooseung led the procession of everyone getting together for a birthday 'cake' celebration with me. As we're limited for 'cake' options, it ended up being a stack of Choco Pie's (something I'm very familiar with from my days teaching English in Korea. After our cake, we all went to the bar again to have a few birthday beers, and some Vietnamese "Wine"... Basically 35% rice wine... We had a 2 litre bottle which we played drinking games with... Pretty nasty stuff, but all in all, a pretty cool Vietnamese experience... The owner of the shop insisted that me, and a few of the guys try a traditional Vietnamese smoking pipe (I had already tried it the last time around), pretty strong stuff...
Early this morning, I awoke, and luckily went to check my emails on my phone when I got a few frantic emails from my family back home saying that they had received a call from Foreign Affairs Canada saying that a woman from Calgary had dropped off my passport at the Canadian Embassy in Hanoi and that our passports had been switched when we got off the cruise in Ha Long Bay back on Monday. I hadn't even looked at my passport since, and if I didn't get these emails, would have surely shown up at the airport tomorrow with the wrong passport. After getting a hold of the embassy staff, Kien and I set off for Hanoi to recoup my passport. A 2 hour bus ride into town, and a short 15 minute walk to the embassy and I was all set again. Kien's family lives close by the embassy, so for lunch we set off to his family's house for lunch. It ended up being a restaurant owned by his aunt, and we had a delicious lunch of sticky glass noodles, pork, and nems (Vietnamese Spring Rolls). We also had tea with Kien's 98 year old grandfather too, so the unplanned trip to Hanoi ended up being a great cultural experience. As the Canadian Embassy is just a short walk from Ho Chi Minh's Museum and Mausoleum, we also walked past, however the Mausoleum was already closed, so we just saw it from outside.
The last great adventure of the day was getting off the bus and getting a taxi from the bus stop to the orphanage. Kien asked me if I wanted to take a regular taxi or a moto-taxi (Scooter). Seeing as the Lonely Planet guide said taking a scooter taxi was one of the top 10 things to do in Vietnam, I jumped at the chance... :) I sat in the middle, Kien behind me, and off we went through the streets of Ba Vi on the drivers scooter. It was an amazing experience, driving past flooded rice paddies with farmers in the field, and water buffalo everywhere. Something I will not forget for sure!!!
The only disappointment of the day, was that I missed Breakfast and Lunch for International Day. I was supposed to make everyone Canadian Pancakes and Maple Syrup, but as I had to go to Ha Noi, Philippe ended up making the pancakes for everyone (as the packaging had the cooking instructions in French, being a good Canadian product and all...) Tonight we have a Korean and Italian, and Finnish dinner to round out the day of International foods... (Lunch was Vietnamese)
Tomorrow, we have our last day at the orphanage, and at 2pm, we will all set out to the Airport and the rest who are staying in Asia for more travelling around into Hanoi... I leave Hanoi at 8pm local time (5am dec. 31st in Vancouver) and will finally make it back to Vancouver at 3pm Vancouver time...
See you all in just two days!!!!!!!
Jeremy
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28.12.10
Chuc mung sinh nhat to me!!!
So I'm officially 30 here in Vietnam for 13 and a half hours now, but still 1 and a half hour to go before I'm 30 in Vancouver... :)
At breakfast today, the other volunteers got together and got me a nice handmade oil diffuser, and sang happy birthday to me, while eating our breakfast of peanut butter on Vietnamese baguettes and Nescafe Coffee...
Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes, I can't wait to share with you all when I get back home in just a couple days now... :)
bye for now,
Jeremy
At breakfast today, the other volunteers got together and got me a nice handmade oil diffuser, and sang happy birthday to me, while eating our breakfast of peanut butter on Vietnamese baguettes and Nescafe Coffee...
Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes, I can't wait to share with you all when I get back home in just a couple days now... :)
bye for now,
Jeremy
27.12.10
A Surprise Thit Cho experience
So after spending the last two days talking about the abundance of Thit Cho restaurants along the way to Halong Bay, today after our morning work in the garden, I went across the street from the Orphanage to get a bottle of water. While paying, I noticed that just next door, there were 5 men skinning a dog... I asked to the woman at the corner store if she thought it would be OK for me to take a photo of it.. She said for sure, so I went over and the men were more than happy to have me snap a few pictures of them at work...
I went back to the Orphanage to let the others know, and when I came back they had moved the dog to across the street and had it on an open pit where they placed a bunch of dried up leaves and branches and set forth to 'cook' it by fire..
After the cooking of the dog, they moved to the side of a nearby house where they set forth to slaughter it and take out the organs, cut off the head and prepare the meat. This involved cleaning the intestines, stuffing the organs into the stomach, chopping very finely the lungs and other organs, as well as emptying the head of the brain and cutting off all four feet.
We were invited to taste their achievement, but quite honestly just seeing all this was enough to make me politely pass and go for a nice lunch back at the orphanage of rice, peanuts, potatos and a banana... No meat today!!!
Well for my last full day of my 20's I can say that I was able to experience something that 99.9% of westerners probably never see in their lives up close...
On a brighter note, Ha Long Bay was absolutely stunning. Spending the night on board the Ha Long Dragon Cruise ship was definetly the highlight of my trip so far. We visited an island with an absolutely enourmous cave system, went sea kayaking, tried our luck at squid fishing and spent the night gazing at the stars and constellations in absolute pitch black surroundings. Waking up at 6am yesterday we calmly watched the sunrise with no other boats anywhere near us save for a fishing vessel that dropped its nets and a Vietnamese woman silently rowing her boat off in the distance.
More updates and photos & videos of all explained above to come upon my return to Vancouver.
Only 5 more days left...
Jeremy
I went back to the Orphanage to let the others know, and when I came back they had moved the dog to across the street and had it on an open pit where they placed a bunch of dried up leaves and branches and set forth to 'cook' it by fire..
After the cooking of the dog, they moved to the side of a nearby house where they set forth to slaughter it and take out the organs, cut off the head and prepare the meat. This involved cleaning the intestines, stuffing the organs into the stomach, chopping very finely the lungs and other organs, as well as emptying the head of the brain and cutting off all four feet.
We were invited to taste their achievement, but quite honestly just seeing all this was enough to make me politely pass and go for a nice lunch back at the orphanage of rice, peanuts, potatos and a banana... No meat today!!!
Well for my last full day of my 20's I can say that I was able to experience something that 99.9% of westerners probably never see in their lives up close...
On a brighter note, Ha Long Bay was absolutely stunning. Spending the night on board the Ha Long Dragon Cruise ship was definetly the highlight of my trip so far. We visited an island with an absolutely enourmous cave system, went sea kayaking, tried our luck at squid fishing and spent the night gazing at the stars and constellations in absolute pitch black surroundings. Waking up at 6am yesterday we calmly watched the sunrise with no other boats anywhere near us save for a fishing vessel that dropped its nets and a Vietnamese woman silently rowing her boat off in the distance.
More updates and photos & videos of all explained above to come upon my return to Vancouver.
Only 5 more days left...
Jeremy
25.12.10
Ha Ha Halong Bay
Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the hotel not a creature was stirring not even early morning boxing day shoppers!!!
Well I have to say that the invention of hot water is an absolutely marvelous thing. It's crazy how much you can take something as simple as this for granted!! I had my first hot shower in a week today and wow, it felt GREAT! There weren't any curtains (european style shower) but that didn't matter, just having the ability to control how hot you want the water was good enough!! Oh that, and a proper bed too!!!
Christmas day was very eventful and one that I think I will never forget in my life. We woke up around 7:30am and already the kids had been up for over an hour cleaning the orphanage from top to bottom in preparation for the Christmas party. Quickly I got ready, packed my bags for the weekend and made a few phone calls back home for Christmas. Somehow the key for the breakfast room was lost, so we wasted a lot of time waiting around for someone to open the door for us and by the time it got opened, it was too late to eat. Kids from a nearby orphanage had already made their way our orphanage, and everyone was pretty much ready for the show to begin. We had a few last minute preparations to make, and then the director started things off. We had several groups of kids come up to the stage and perform various different Vietnamese song and dance routines, and there were a few routines done by the kids from the other orphanage. The other orphanage was a 'regular' orphanage in that none of the kids were handicapped. There was one boy, in his early teens who peformed two Vietnamese songs solo, and he was pretty amazing! There were also a few choreographed dance numbers too which were pretty fun to watch. We got up on stage 3 times as well to sing our songs with the kids, and then Enrico made a grand entrance at the end dressed up as Santa Claus and we all went through the crowd handing out cookies and candies to everyone there.
Right after the show, we all headed out into the nearby village for a quick Vietnamese Christmas lunch of Pho Bo (at my request :)!!!!!)
Many of the volunteers weren't too keen, as was I, as we ended up eating at a roadside restaurant, and well, hmm... proper hygiene isn't really a strongpoint at these type of restaurants. Nevertheless, when in Vietnam.... I figure we've been eating pretty sketchy at the orphanage too, and anyways, the Vietnamese volunteers were eating no problem, so I figure my stomach can handle it now that I've gotten acclimatized to the food situation here a la my stomach bug from last week.
It was pretty cool all the same, as the Pho vat's were right next to us, and I was able to see the making of pho from start to finish. First they start off by putting the noodles in the bowl, the place the beef on top. We had combo pre-cooked and raw beef together. Then they put the green onions on top of the beef, and then they take the bowl over to the broth vat and place a couple of big ladels of broth on top and voila, there's your Pho Bo!!!
After we were all done, we climbed into two taxis that took us to the bus station (roadside sign) and we headed into Hanoi. From the Hanoi bus station, we took another taxi to the Hanoi Atlantic Hotel (Hostelling International) where we tried to get a mixed dorm room as we are 5 to stay here.
Philippe from Liege, Ville from Tampere and I are going to Halong Bay together and staying overnight on a Chinese Junk (type of boat) and then coming back to Hanoi Monday afternoon. Jin and Yeon-Soo from Seoul are also coming to Halong Bay but just for the day, they want to spend more time in Hanoi so they are just doing a day trip. Enrico from Milan, Yasuto from Osaka, and Pooseung Seoul are taking an overnight train to the mountain town of Sa Pa this weekend as their weekend excursion.
Back to the hostel, so we tried to book the dorm room the day before, however Jin's internet connection crapped out right when she was trying to pay, so it never went through, so we showed up here yesterday and there weren't any dorm's available for all 5 of us, so we had to split up: the two girls stayed in the dorm room, and us three guys got the private room with 3 beds and private bathroom all to ourselves for an exorbitant $9US a night (breakfast included!!) After we checked in, we went out exploring the city. We walked to the main area around the Lake in the Old Quarter, then decided we were all hungry so upon my recommendation for the restaurant I ate at here last week, returned for a nice Christmas dinner all together. My Christmas meal included Chicken fried rice, Onion Soup - And for those of you at work who know how much of a French Onion Soup connoiseur I am, this soup was not even in the same league!!! It was puree'd onions....
Anyways, for me the best part of our Christmas dinner was dessert.... Since it was a French-Vietnamese restaurant, they had crepes on the menu, and I decided to try a mango chocolate crepe with Vietnamese Iced coffee of course!!!
After our group dinner, Enrico and the guys had to head off to the train station, so we bade them farewell, and the 5 Halong Bayers decided to walk around the Lake and check out the Notre Dame cathedral. (I was happy to do this as I missed it on my day in Hanoi the week previous). When we got to the church, I was impressed at its presence. Very grand in stature, very well kept up, and beautifully decorated for Christmas. There was an amazing Nativity scene in the front area, complete with 2 cascading waterfalls, and at the back of the church behind the Apse, there was another Nativity scene which was one where you could get to up close.
We then headed out to the Night Market for some bargain hunting, which unfortunately didn't arise for me. But Philippe was able to snag up a North Face backpack for the insane price of $5.50 CDN... We did however fill up on some street snacks, Philippe and I getting a Vietnamese style pizza and me also getting a chocolate brownie for about a dollar in total.
Back at the hostel we ended the night watching the tail end of Jurassic Park before dozing off to sleep.
Today we head to Halong Bay in about an hour and will get back to Hanoi Monday afternoon around 4pm.
I hope everyone back home had a great Christmas, and I look forward to catching up with you all in less than a week now!!! I have over 1000 photo's already!!!!!
Take care,
Jeremy
Well I have to say that the invention of hot water is an absolutely marvelous thing. It's crazy how much you can take something as simple as this for granted!! I had my first hot shower in a week today and wow, it felt GREAT! There weren't any curtains (european style shower) but that didn't matter, just having the ability to control how hot you want the water was good enough!! Oh that, and a proper bed too!!!
Christmas day was very eventful and one that I think I will never forget in my life. We woke up around 7:30am and already the kids had been up for over an hour cleaning the orphanage from top to bottom in preparation for the Christmas party. Quickly I got ready, packed my bags for the weekend and made a few phone calls back home for Christmas. Somehow the key for the breakfast room was lost, so we wasted a lot of time waiting around for someone to open the door for us and by the time it got opened, it was too late to eat. Kids from a nearby orphanage had already made their way our orphanage, and everyone was pretty much ready for the show to begin. We had a few last minute preparations to make, and then the director started things off. We had several groups of kids come up to the stage and perform various different Vietnamese song and dance routines, and there were a few routines done by the kids from the other orphanage. The other orphanage was a 'regular' orphanage in that none of the kids were handicapped. There was one boy, in his early teens who peformed two Vietnamese songs solo, and he was pretty amazing! There were also a few choreographed dance numbers too which were pretty fun to watch. We got up on stage 3 times as well to sing our songs with the kids, and then Enrico made a grand entrance at the end dressed up as Santa Claus and we all went through the crowd handing out cookies and candies to everyone there.
Right after the show, we all headed out into the nearby village for a quick Vietnamese Christmas lunch of Pho Bo (at my request :)!!!!!)
Many of the volunteers weren't too keen, as was I, as we ended up eating at a roadside restaurant, and well, hmm... proper hygiene isn't really a strongpoint at these type of restaurants. Nevertheless, when in Vietnam.... I figure we've been eating pretty sketchy at the orphanage too, and anyways, the Vietnamese volunteers were eating no problem, so I figure my stomach can handle it now that I've gotten acclimatized to the food situation here a la my stomach bug from last week.
It was pretty cool all the same, as the Pho vat's were right next to us, and I was able to see the making of pho from start to finish. First they start off by putting the noodles in the bowl, the place the beef on top. We had combo pre-cooked and raw beef together. Then they put the green onions on top of the beef, and then they take the bowl over to the broth vat and place a couple of big ladels of broth on top and voila, there's your Pho Bo!!!
After we were all done, we climbed into two taxis that took us to the bus station (roadside sign) and we headed into Hanoi. From the Hanoi bus station, we took another taxi to the Hanoi Atlantic Hotel (Hostelling International) where we tried to get a mixed dorm room as we are 5 to stay here.
Philippe from Liege, Ville from Tampere and I are going to Halong Bay together and staying overnight on a Chinese Junk (type of boat) and then coming back to Hanoi Monday afternoon. Jin and Yeon-Soo from Seoul are also coming to Halong Bay but just for the day, they want to spend more time in Hanoi so they are just doing a day trip. Enrico from Milan, Yasuto from Osaka, and Pooseung Seoul are taking an overnight train to the mountain town of Sa Pa this weekend as their weekend excursion.
Back to the hostel, so we tried to book the dorm room the day before, however Jin's internet connection crapped out right when she was trying to pay, so it never went through, so we showed up here yesterday and there weren't any dorm's available for all 5 of us, so we had to split up: the two girls stayed in the dorm room, and us three guys got the private room with 3 beds and private bathroom all to ourselves for an exorbitant $9US a night (breakfast included!!) After we checked in, we went out exploring the city. We walked to the main area around the Lake in the Old Quarter, then decided we were all hungry so upon my recommendation for the restaurant I ate at here last week, returned for a nice Christmas dinner all together. My Christmas meal included Chicken fried rice, Onion Soup - And for those of you at work who know how much of a French Onion Soup connoiseur I am, this soup was not even in the same league!!! It was puree'd onions....
Anyways, for me the best part of our Christmas dinner was dessert.... Since it was a French-Vietnamese restaurant, they had crepes on the menu, and I decided to try a mango chocolate crepe with Vietnamese Iced coffee of course!!!
After our group dinner, Enrico and the guys had to head off to the train station, so we bade them farewell, and the 5 Halong Bayers decided to walk around the Lake and check out the Notre Dame cathedral. (I was happy to do this as I missed it on my day in Hanoi the week previous). When we got to the church, I was impressed at its presence. Very grand in stature, very well kept up, and beautifully decorated for Christmas. There was an amazing Nativity scene in the front area, complete with 2 cascading waterfalls, and at the back of the church behind the Apse, there was another Nativity scene which was one where you could get to up close.
We then headed out to the Night Market for some bargain hunting, which unfortunately didn't arise for me. But Philippe was able to snag up a North Face backpack for the insane price of $5.50 CDN... We did however fill up on some street snacks, Philippe and I getting a Vietnamese style pizza and me also getting a chocolate brownie for about a dollar in total.
Back at the hostel we ended the night watching the tail end of Jurassic Park before dozing off to sleep.
Today we head to Halong Bay in about an hour and will get back to Hanoi Monday afternoon around 4pm.
I hope everyone back home had a great Christmas, and I look forward to catching up with you all in less than a week now!!! I have over 1000 photo's already!!!!!
Take care,
Jeremy
24.12.10
Chúa Mừng Giáng Sinh!!
Chúa Mừng Giáng Sinh = Merry Christmas from Vietnam everyone!!
Today is Christmas eve here, and we have spent the whole day preparing for our Christmas party at the Orphanage tomorrow. We will be singing We Wish you a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, as well as two Vietnamese children's songs. We decorated the conference room/auditorium up with Christmas decorations as well!! After the party, we have until Monday off. 5 of us are going to head to Hanoi tomorrow after the party, and organize heading to Halong Bay for an overnight trip.
Exactly one week from now, and I will be on my way to the airport in Hanoi heading back home. It's hard to believe that I am over halfway through this trip!!
I sincerely wish you all a very Merry Christmas this year and remember that we can take things for granted in our daily lives, please cherish what you have and don't be envious or jealous of what you don't.
Bye for now,
Jeremy
Today is Christmas eve here, and we have spent the whole day preparing for our Christmas party at the Orphanage tomorrow. We will be singing We Wish you a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, as well as two Vietnamese children's songs. We decorated the conference room/auditorium up with Christmas decorations as well!! After the party, we have until Monday off. 5 of us are going to head to Hanoi tomorrow after the party, and organize heading to Halong Bay for an overnight trip.
Exactly one week from now, and I will be on my way to the airport in Hanoi heading back home. It's hard to believe that I am over halfway through this trip!!
I sincerely wish you all a very Merry Christmas this year and remember that we can take things for granted in our daily lives, please cherish what you have and don't be envious or jealous of what you don't.
Bye for now,
Jeremy
22.12.10
Day 4 at Thuy An Orphanage
Thursday afternoon here, I have a quick break before working with the children this afternoon. One story to note from yesterday. After our work with the children needing exercise for their atrophied limbs, my team worked to help some children who cannot eat on their own. I worked with one boy, maybe 9 or 10 years old, wheelchair bound. The only movement he could do was open his mouth to accept some food. Trying to keep his spirits up I tried smiling for him, no response, only just a glazed over look. I can't help but feel a great sadness when helping a child like this. I don't know how long he has been at the facility, but he is quite sickly, flies are all over his face, yet he cannot brush them away on his own. He is relegated away from all of the other children and has just the help from the permanent staff as companions.
For Christmas, we are going to prepare a day with the children, sing some songs, and give our books, toys and art supplies as gifts to the children.
There are some boys maybe between 8 and 14 who like to play soccer. We have been playing with them every evening. Some are actually pretty good. There is also a pool table where some kids play, also the adult teachers working at the orphanage.
Today I was walking around with some butterscotch candies to give to the kids. One boy, who likes playing with string (making some designs then you have to try and do another design with the string and so forth) has become my companion during a lot of the free time, we were playing on a see saw and carousel. He is deaf, but very playful and likes to get piggy back rides!!
Take care, and another update to come.
Cheers,
Jeremy
For Christmas, we are going to prepare a day with the children, sing some songs, and give our books, toys and art supplies as gifts to the children.
There are some boys maybe between 8 and 14 who like to play soccer. We have been playing with them every evening. Some are actually pretty good. There is also a pool table where some kids play, also the adult teachers working at the orphanage.
Today I was walking around with some butterscotch candies to give to the kids. One boy, who likes playing with string (making some designs then you have to try and do another design with the string and so forth) has become my companion during a lot of the free time, we were playing on a see saw and carousel. He is deaf, but very playful and likes to get piggy back rides!!
Take care, and another update to come.
Cheers,
Jeremy
21.12.10
Thuy An Orphanage
Very quick note to say that I made it to the orphanage, I am keeping a diary so much more detailed accounts will follow.. I just wanted to say that everything is OK here. I am one of eleven volunteers, the only from North America. There are 3 Vietnamese volunteers from Hanoi, 3 Koreans, all from Seoul (2 girls, 1 guy), 1 Japanese guy from Osaka, 1 Finnish guy from Tampere, an Italian guy from Milano, and a Belgian guy from Liege.
We just finished some gardening today, and have a quick break for lunch. Very interesting interacting with the kids. They are all very excited to see us and to play with us, even though they have varying levels of problems. Some are autistic, some are mute/deaf, many have muscular problems, a lot stems from exposure to Agent Orange (their parents). One child passed away yesterday actually from Lung Cancer due to his mother being exposed to Agent Orange (The Vietnamese call it Dioxin).
For Christmas day we will spend it with the kids, then have the Sunday and Monday off, likely we will go to Halong Bay or to Sapa, we still have to decide as a group...
Bye for now,
Jeremy
We just finished some gardening today, and have a quick break for lunch. Very interesting interacting with the kids. They are all very excited to see us and to play with us, even though they have varying levels of problems. Some are autistic, some are mute/deaf, many have muscular problems, a lot stems from exposure to Agent Orange (their parents). One child passed away yesterday actually from Lung Cancer due to his mother being exposed to Agent Orange (The Vietnamese call it Dioxin).
For Christmas day we will spend it with the kids, then have the Sunday and Monday off, likely we will go to Halong Bay or to Sapa, we still have to decide as a group...
Bye for now,
Jeremy
19.12.10
Hello from Ha Noi!!
A quick recap of yesterday before I get into today's events:
Prior to meeting with my cousin Lee on Friday night, I headed into a travel agency to try and book a day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels for Saturday. Unfortunately the agent who works on tours was gone for the day, but one of her co-workers took my information and said she would call me Saturday morning to organize. Unfortunately, she called after the morning tour had already left, and there was nobody booked for the afternoon tour so I was out of luck. Walking around the city too, travel agency after travel agency said the same thing. So the Cu Chi tunnels were off the table... :( I did manage to head to the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum yesterday though. The Reunification Palace, formerly known as the Independence Palace was where the President of South Vietnam lived until the VC forces overwhelmed the South Vietnamese and US armies in Saigon in 1975. This is the same building where many of you may recall seeing video footage of a tank breaking down the front gates and a VC soldier running up the building to wave a VC flag from the rooftop. The building has been perfectly preserved, and looks pretty much exactly as it did in 1975. English speaking tour guides take you through the official conference rooms, Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and First Lady reception rooms, a Cinema, Games Room, as well as the Presidents bedroom and private restaurant. In the 4th floor, you see where the helicopter launch pad is and in the basement is the war planning area, complete with communications rooms, and an extensive map room.
The War Remnants Museum was very thought provoking, disturbing and saddening. It showcases primarily photographs taken by war journalists during the American War. One gallery room was showing nothing but photo's of children and stillborn fetuses who had birth defects due to Agent Orange. Enlarged craniums, children without eyelids or eyes, children with no limbs at all, or severe skeletal deformations were all here. Quite sad and shocking. Another hall showcased the atrocities committed by the US soldiers during the war. Smiling faced GI's holding pieces of human bodies, captured soldiers being interrogated hung by their feet dangling from a tree, or entire families and villages murdered by American troops. Out front of the building there were several US tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets all well preserved and on display with Vietnamese Agent Orange victims selling books walking around the courtyard. It truly was a sobering experience, and reinforces the thought that was, no matter what its justification is an aberration. I find it amazing how soldiers no matter what side they are fighting for, can become enslaved by their governments propaganda and become mindless killing machines. So sad too it is that some mere 35 years later, we are in the midst of 2 wars and any lessons that could have been learned from Vietnam seem to have been left at the door.
Walking back to the hotel, I have with me several toys to hand out to kids on the street, all of whom are very happy and grateful to receive. I finally track down a store selling SIM cards and airtime for my cell phone here. The shopkeepers (husband and wife team) kindly help me get setup and fill up my phone number with the airtime I bought. They have 2 kids a girl about 8 and a boy about 6 playing some game on the ground. I have exactly two toys left, one hackey sack and a click-clack toy that I decide to give to the kids to thank their parents for helping me out. Although with all the noise the toys make, maybe they regretted me doing so... :)
Well on to today's adventure:
Here I am at the Grand Gia Bao Hotel in the Old Quarter of Ha Noi. I left HCMC this afternoon on a Vietnam Airlines domestic flight using a Boeing 777 airplane which was pretty much completely full. Crazy how for a 2 hour domestic flight, an airline can fill up a 350 passenger plane!!! (Air Canada take note)
A few things I noted about Vietnam Airlines in-flight service: They didn't have any movies or shows playing, even though every seat had an entertainment console. Instead the overhead TV's simulcast a live feed of camera's that were mounted underneath the plane which you could watch live as the plane was taxiing away from the terminal and taking off as well. Pretty cool to watch for sure. Even on a 2 hour domestic flight, they did lunch service. If you are like me and think that the wait for your luggage at YVR is insanely long, it's not!!! I honestly ended up waiting for about 25 to 30 minutes for my luggage to come off the carousel and the baggage pickup was only 300 feet away from the plane!!! When leaving baggage claim, you have to go through a checkpoint where they verify your luggage tags ensuring that nobody has made off with your luggage.
The taxi ride into Ha Noi was a lot different than coming into HCMC. The land around the airport is predominantly agricultural rice paddies. Lots of Water Buffalo, and farmers in traditional coned hats. The weather here is markedly colder. Caro you were right, it is A LOT colder here!!! A good amount of the locals are sporting scarfs and even puffy winter jackets. Although I am still in my shorts and t-shirt.. hehe
I don't know if its the colder climes, thus allowing people more options with their attire, but I have noticed that people here are a lot more fashionable than their southern cousins. Many ladies are sporting nice heels, many of the young people are wearing designer jeans and shirts too, in contrast to the sandals and generic t-shirts of the South.
The Grand Gia Bao Hotel is located in the Old Quarter, pretty much the main tourist area of Ha Noi. My hotel room is pretty basic, although quite trendily decorated. The funny part is that there's a window from the sleeping area into the bathroom. The wierdest part is that the blinds are controlled in the bedroom area!!!
After checking into my room, i went out for a walk to check out the city as this is my only real chance to do so before starting my volunteering tomorrow morning. As is my custom when traveling through SE Asia, I have brought with me a few things that have needed mending since my last trip to SE Asia. Making my way to the Dong Xuan market area where everything from knockoff everything to tacky souvenirs are being hawked, I found a watch store who offered to do a battery replacement for 150,000 Dong, about $7.50 CDN. Knowing this was a ripoff right away, I made it out of there and about 5 minutes later found another store offering the same for 80,000 Dong, about $4.00. The owner was a very friendly man, who gave me directions to the fabric district of the market for the sewing repairs I needed done on some pants and shorts. After finding where he told me to do, unfortunately none of the places would actually do any sewing repairs, they were just vendors of anything sewing related: buttons, needles, string, fabric, etc. Thinking that my luck wasn't with me, I decided to head back to Hoan Kiem lake, pretty much the center of the Old Quarter. Around this area are many restaurants and stores. Looking through my Lonely Planet book, I do a quick search for a good restaurant recommendation before calling it a night. Not being able to decide on anything in the book, I decide to do a walk around and see if I can find anything on the street, after walking for a couple of minutes, I stumble across a silk fabric store that advertises clothing alterations 24 hours a day!!! Inside the store, was a pretty bored lady, so I decided to ask her if she could do the mending jobs of my 2 pants and pair of shorts. She agrees, and says that she won't charge, she will do it for me as a favour!! After about 15 minutes she sorted me out, and did a great job too!! I couldn't let her not charge me, so I insisted she take 50,000 Dong for her troubles. She refused until I literally had to shove the money in her hands!! I really must say, that so far, my impression of Ha Noi is great. The people here seem very friendly and nice...
Walking out of the seamstress shop, just down the block, I find a French named restaurant, so I decide to have a look at the menu. They serve both French and Vietnamese dishes, and with many foreigners inside, I decided it was worth a try. Choosing one of their set menu's I get a beef and noodle with vegetable dish, beer and an iced coffee for 105,000 Dong about $5.25 CDN....
Back at the hotel now, after making my way through the Night Market on Dong Xuan St. I'm going to take the rest of the night off as tomorrow will be a pretty busy day I'm sure...
With just 5 more days now until Christmas eve, it really doesn't seem like Christmas to me. It's been a while I think since I've spent a Christmas in a warm weathered country, and it's also the first Christmas that I will spend away from family and friends. Walking around both HCMC and Ha Noi seeing all the Christmas decorations in the stores, on the streets, people dressed up as Santa Claus, parents dressing their kids up as Santa Claus makes it an almost surreal feeling. It's like you're on the outside, looking in on other people's celebrations without actually taking part yourself. I've been covertly taking pictures of people getting photographed in front of store front Christmas displays or kids who've been dressed up as Santa by their parents as I find it quite comical and amusing to see how the Vietnamese people have taken to this Western holiday.
Prior to meeting with my cousin Lee on Friday night, I headed into a travel agency to try and book a day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels for Saturday. Unfortunately the agent who works on tours was gone for the day, but one of her co-workers took my information and said she would call me Saturday morning to organize. Unfortunately, she called after the morning tour had already left, and there was nobody booked for the afternoon tour so I was out of luck. Walking around the city too, travel agency after travel agency said the same thing. So the Cu Chi tunnels were off the table... :( I did manage to head to the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum yesterday though. The Reunification Palace, formerly known as the Independence Palace was where the President of South Vietnam lived until the VC forces overwhelmed the South Vietnamese and US armies in Saigon in 1975. This is the same building where many of you may recall seeing video footage of a tank breaking down the front gates and a VC soldier running up the building to wave a VC flag from the rooftop. The building has been perfectly preserved, and looks pretty much exactly as it did in 1975. English speaking tour guides take you through the official conference rooms, Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and First Lady reception rooms, a Cinema, Games Room, as well as the Presidents bedroom and private restaurant. In the 4th floor, you see where the helicopter launch pad is and in the basement is the war planning area, complete with communications rooms, and an extensive map room.
The War Remnants Museum was very thought provoking, disturbing and saddening. It showcases primarily photographs taken by war journalists during the American War. One gallery room was showing nothing but photo's of children and stillborn fetuses who had birth defects due to Agent Orange. Enlarged craniums, children without eyelids or eyes, children with no limbs at all, or severe skeletal deformations were all here. Quite sad and shocking. Another hall showcased the atrocities committed by the US soldiers during the war. Smiling faced GI's holding pieces of human bodies, captured soldiers being interrogated hung by their feet dangling from a tree, or entire families and villages murdered by American troops. Out front of the building there were several US tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets all well preserved and on display with Vietnamese Agent Orange victims selling books walking around the courtyard. It truly was a sobering experience, and reinforces the thought that was, no matter what its justification is an aberration. I find it amazing how soldiers no matter what side they are fighting for, can become enslaved by their governments propaganda and become mindless killing machines. So sad too it is that some mere 35 years later, we are in the midst of 2 wars and any lessons that could have been learned from Vietnam seem to have been left at the door.
Walking back to the hotel, I have with me several toys to hand out to kids on the street, all of whom are very happy and grateful to receive. I finally track down a store selling SIM cards and airtime for my cell phone here. The shopkeepers (husband and wife team) kindly help me get setup and fill up my phone number with the airtime I bought. They have 2 kids a girl about 8 and a boy about 6 playing some game on the ground. I have exactly two toys left, one hackey sack and a click-clack toy that I decide to give to the kids to thank their parents for helping me out. Although with all the noise the toys make, maybe they regretted me doing so... :)
Well on to today's adventure:
Here I am at the Grand Gia Bao Hotel in the Old Quarter of Ha Noi. I left HCMC this afternoon on a Vietnam Airlines domestic flight using a Boeing 777 airplane which was pretty much completely full. Crazy how for a 2 hour domestic flight, an airline can fill up a 350 passenger plane!!! (Air Canada take note)
A few things I noted about Vietnam Airlines in-flight service: They didn't have any movies or shows playing, even though every seat had an entertainment console. Instead the overhead TV's simulcast a live feed of camera's that were mounted underneath the plane which you could watch live as the plane was taxiing away from the terminal and taking off as well. Pretty cool to watch for sure. Even on a 2 hour domestic flight, they did lunch service. If you are like me and think that the wait for your luggage at YVR is insanely long, it's not!!! I honestly ended up waiting for about 25 to 30 minutes for my luggage to come off the carousel and the baggage pickup was only 300 feet away from the plane!!! When leaving baggage claim, you have to go through a checkpoint where they verify your luggage tags ensuring that nobody has made off with your luggage.
The taxi ride into Ha Noi was a lot different than coming into HCMC. The land around the airport is predominantly agricultural rice paddies. Lots of Water Buffalo, and farmers in traditional coned hats. The weather here is markedly colder. Caro you were right, it is A LOT colder here!!! A good amount of the locals are sporting scarfs and even puffy winter jackets. Although I am still in my shorts and t-shirt.. hehe
I don't know if its the colder climes, thus allowing people more options with their attire, but I have noticed that people here are a lot more fashionable than their southern cousins. Many ladies are sporting nice heels, many of the young people are wearing designer jeans and shirts too, in contrast to the sandals and generic t-shirts of the South.
The Grand Gia Bao Hotel is located in the Old Quarter, pretty much the main tourist area of Ha Noi. My hotel room is pretty basic, although quite trendily decorated. The funny part is that there's a window from the sleeping area into the bathroom. The wierdest part is that the blinds are controlled in the bedroom area!!!
After checking into my room, i went out for a walk to check out the city as this is my only real chance to do so before starting my volunteering tomorrow morning. As is my custom when traveling through SE Asia, I have brought with me a few things that have needed mending since my last trip to SE Asia. Making my way to the Dong Xuan market area where everything from knockoff everything to tacky souvenirs are being hawked, I found a watch store who offered to do a battery replacement for 150,000 Dong, about $7.50 CDN. Knowing this was a ripoff right away, I made it out of there and about 5 minutes later found another store offering the same for 80,000 Dong, about $4.00. The owner was a very friendly man, who gave me directions to the fabric district of the market for the sewing repairs I needed done on some pants and shorts. After finding where he told me to do, unfortunately none of the places would actually do any sewing repairs, they were just vendors of anything sewing related: buttons, needles, string, fabric, etc. Thinking that my luck wasn't with me, I decided to head back to Hoan Kiem lake, pretty much the center of the Old Quarter. Around this area are many restaurants and stores. Looking through my Lonely Planet book, I do a quick search for a good restaurant recommendation before calling it a night. Not being able to decide on anything in the book, I decide to do a walk around and see if I can find anything on the street, after walking for a couple of minutes, I stumble across a silk fabric store that advertises clothing alterations 24 hours a day!!! Inside the store, was a pretty bored lady, so I decided to ask her if she could do the mending jobs of my 2 pants and pair of shorts. She agrees, and says that she won't charge, she will do it for me as a favour!! After about 15 minutes she sorted me out, and did a great job too!! I couldn't let her not charge me, so I insisted she take 50,000 Dong for her troubles. She refused until I literally had to shove the money in her hands!! I really must say, that so far, my impression of Ha Noi is great. The people here seem very friendly and nice...
Walking out of the seamstress shop, just down the block, I find a French named restaurant, so I decide to have a look at the menu. They serve both French and Vietnamese dishes, and with many foreigners inside, I decided it was worth a try. Choosing one of their set menu's I get a beef and noodle with vegetable dish, beer and an iced coffee for 105,000 Dong about $5.25 CDN....
Back at the hotel now, after making my way through the Night Market on Dong Xuan St. I'm going to take the rest of the night off as tomorrow will be a pretty busy day I'm sure...
With just 5 more days now until Christmas eve, it really doesn't seem like Christmas to me. It's been a while I think since I've spent a Christmas in a warm weathered country, and it's also the first Christmas that I will spend away from family and friends. Walking around both HCMC and Ha Noi seeing all the Christmas decorations in the stores, on the streets, people dressed up as Santa Claus, parents dressing their kids up as Santa Claus makes it an almost surreal feeling. It's like you're on the outside, looking in on other people's celebrations without actually taking part yourself. I've been covertly taking pictures of people getting photographed in front of store front Christmas displays or kids who've been dressed up as Santa by their parents as I find it quite comical and amusing to see how the Vietnamese people have taken to this Western holiday.
17.12.10
Last full day in HCMC
So after spending the better part of yesterday in bed with a nasty stomach flu, I'm out again on the streets of HCMC waiting until the Independence Palace and War Remnants Museum open up after their lunch hour closing time. I was unfortunately unable to goto the Mekong Delta or Cu chi tunnels, pretty disappointing but better than spending the day on a bus with a queasy stomach!!
Tomorrow, I fly up to Hanoi, I have the afternoon to check out the city before meeting up at the meeting point for my volunteer program.
Last night I met up with my cousin Lee for drinks at an expat bar called Phattys then headed across the street for a pseudo Vietnamese dinner at the Temple Bar. We finished off the evening with Lee's favorite dessert at highlands Coffee, a caramel cheesecake!!! Highlands Coffee is Vietnams answer to Starbucks only much larger locations and table service... Much cheaper too obviously..
My posts from now on are likely to be spotty at best as when I start my volunteering I don't know how reliable Internet access is going to be.. Hope to give an update in the next couple of days.
Take care,
J
Tomorrow, I fly up to Hanoi, I have the afternoon to check out the city before meeting up at the meeting point for my volunteer program.
Last night I met up with my cousin Lee for drinks at an expat bar called Phattys then headed across the street for a pseudo Vietnamese dinner at the Temple Bar. We finished off the evening with Lee's favorite dessert at highlands Coffee, a caramel cheesecake!!! Highlands Coffee is Vietnams answer to Starbucks only much larger locations and table service... Much cheaper too obviously..
My posts from now on are likely to be spotty at best as when I start my volunteering I don't know how reliable Internet access is going to be.. Hope to give an update in the next couple of days.
Take care,
J
15.12.10
Day 4 - Misster Saigon
Gooooood morning Vietnam,
Ok I, promise that will be the last time I open a blog entry today with that salutation.. hehe
So it's bright and early here, 7am, I've already been up for about 30 minutes and just about to grab some breakfast at the Hoang Hai Long Hotel's restaurant here.
Got in last night around 8:15pm from Bangkok, the flight was a quick one, just over an hour to get here. First order of business at the airport was to pick up my entry visa for my stay here. I quickly learned that 'line-ups' is a word that definitley doesn't translate well into the Vietnamese language. Luckily it wasn't that long of a line-up, nonetheless the Vietnamese assistants, hired to help brainless foreigners give 3 pieces of paper to someone through a window and wait 15 minutes to have the visa attached to their passport, then pay their fee and be on their merry way, still felt it necessary to flex their line jumping skills to their appreciative patrons.
Next step was going through passport control. Well I guess it paid to have to wait 15 minutes as the main line-up at passport control subsided and I was able to walk up with no delay. The officer I dealt with was a girl probably in her late 20's to early 30's never dropped her cell phone while dealing with me. She seemed to be on a pretty "important" phone call and was laughing away as she stamped me through. Great!!
Her Olive Green uniform with the red shoulder flaps and gold stars signifying her rank was standard issue for the customs officer, and gave it some semblance of officiality, however her "professional" manner, and the throngs of her male colleagues who were huddled around a TV showing a late night soccer match from Europe gave it a very laisser tranquille first impression.
After getting my luggage, I headed out to the taxi ranks to grab a ride into town, only one hawker tried hard for my business originally offering a bargain price of $20 US into town. Having read the going rate into town was only the equivalent of $5 US I brushed him off, even at his final offer of $15!!!
The taxi ride was something else!! Yes, one of the first things anybody has told me about Vietnam was the scooters... "There's scooters everywhere!!" "I want to know how your first time crossing the street is like!"
From my observation it seems like the scooters rule the majority of the road, and for the most part, unless they're turning right, all cars are relegated to the very left of the road. At each red light, the scooter armies all amass as if they're getting ready for a 50cc road race through HCMC. Girls side saddling on the back of their boyfriend's scooters, older generation Viet's with their wares loaded way too high, and yes entire families of four with little baby a hand slip away from some pretty wickeddiaper road rash.
Exiting the taxi, my fare meter read exactly 100,000 VND (Vietnamese Dong is the official currency here)!! I was pretty impressed with the accuracy of the Lonely Planet guide on that one... Usually their price estimates are pretty off... Nonetheless, as enterprising as Vietnamese are known to be, apparently what the meter reads isn't what you're supposed to pay!!! My sweet taxi driver explained to me, that the real fare was 150,000 Dong, an exorbitant $2.50 US more than what the meter said. (The current exchange rate is about 19,400 VND to 1 USD). Knowing that it's not a good idea to get into a bickering match over $2.50 especially after only getting about 6 hours of sleep during the last three previous days, and just craving a shower and a clean bed, I settled for 140,000 Dong and I was on my merry way!!
Checking into the hotel i went up to my room on the 8th floor, and saw that I was assigned a room with 2 single beds. When the receptionist called my room to ask if everything was OK with the room, I politely asked if it would be possible to change to a room with 1 double or queen bed instead. She promptly said she would send someone up to push my two beds together!!! I seriously laughed at this, however she had already hung up, and LITERALLY 30 seconds later a bellboy opened my door to push the beds together. All sorted!!!
Just a side note for the previous paragraph - Personal space in Vietnam, like the rest of Asia, is pretty much non-existant. I've already gone to the WC 3 times since Bangkok having to 'go' in front of cleaning ladies, and according to the Lonely Planet again, as was the case with the bellboy, most hotel staff don't bother knocking before entering a guest room!!
I headed back downstairs shortly after getting my luggage sorted, to use their computers as the WIFI in my room was sketchy and cutting out. I needed to book the rest of my hotel rooms for the next 3 nights here in HCMC as I didn't want to stay the entire time at this hotel without knowing what a 3 star Vietnamese hotel was like. By the way, I'm staying here just one more night, then moving to either the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers or the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon.
So after getting more information about the hotel situation downstairs, it was time to head back up to my room to take a shower and head to bed. No such luck!! My room key all of a sudden stopped working. The light on the door would flash green indicating that the door could be opened, however the handle wouldn't budge. The front desk clerk thought that the key must have just gotten demagnitized (a common problem at hotels in the US with magnetic stripes), however this card didn't have a magnetic stripe, it was a chip-card!!! He reswiped it again, ensuring that it was like new, and back up to the 8th floor I went. Second try, no different. This time around, the front desk clerk recognized with my hand motions that the door wasn't opening even with the green light!! So he summoned me back upstairs to wait for someone to have a look at the door. 2 minutes later a bellboy descended from upstairs to my room and had a go with my key and the master key, again no luck. Time to call in the backup to the backup. A good 10 minutes passed as I waited outside my room when a second fellow, this time not dressed in a hotel uniform had a look at the door-lock and managed to make his way into the room with a super-secret real key that's normally hidden behind a brass nub underneath the main card swiper. Once in the room, the two guys went to work on the lock, while I surreptitiously snapped a photo of them at work on my door. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening...
So now, I was wide awake and couldn't go to sleep even if I wanted to, so I decided to pack up a backpack full of clothes to hand out to the homeless and check out the neighbourhood a bit. Upon exiting the hotel, I did a brisk 30 minute walkabout and was a bit dismayed to only have been propositioned for an hour of fun time three times!!! Albeit two of the three times it was with the same dude, after brushing him off the first time, he took to his scooter to try and drum up business elsewhere, and we crossed paths again 15 minutes later!!! Unfortunately on my walkabout there was some pretty interesting sights: groups of middleaged people sitting outside having a late-night drink, scores of youth off to the side of their scooters on dates, and throngs of night market staff tearing down their stalls and hauling insanely huge and heavy carts down the middle of the roads and not much else.
Back to the hotel to do this update. Time is now about 12:30am. Of the three computers wtih internet access, the far left and right ones are in use by a Russian guy (right) and a French guy (left). So I saddle up in between them and promptly knock out the power to the computer that I'm using. Looking at the sparking power bar below the desk, I gingerly try to push all the plugs back into their sockets, only to knock out the power to the French guys computer!! He wasn't too upset about it, so I went back and fiddled around again, only to knock out the Russian guys power!!! He wasn't pissed, but decided to call it a night all the same... After 3 quick reboots, the French guy and I are back online... No luck... The French guy, wanting to have a conversation with me as we were speaking in French during the whole computer debacle, enticed me into a conversation that lasted til 2am, without me even touching a single key on the keyboard!!!
Funny side note, the Russian guy is sitting next to me right now!!! He's actually pretty nice, and wanted to hear how the computers did last night...
I don't know why I'm up so early. Oh yes I do, the scooters!!! Thinking it was late morning commuters honking their way to work, I thought wow, it must be late, I've slept in the whole morning!!! But no, bright and early, 6:30am, oh well, lots to do here, not much time, so I have to take advantage of the day while I can... Well, that's the updates so far, I made it here safe and sound, yes its humid, even at night, ( i had the AC on at the lowest, 16 degrees celcius all night), and so far, it seems like its going to be a very interesting 4 days here in HCMC (formely Saigon before the communists took the city in 1975 for those of you wondering about the references above).
Hope all is well with you wherever you are reading this from.
Off for my first Vietnamese meal experience!!!
J
Ok I, promise that will be the last time I open a blog entry today with that salutation.. hehe
So it's bright and early here, 7am, I've already been up for about 30 minutes and just about to grab some breakfast at the Hoang Hai Long Hotel's restaurant here.
Got in last night around 8:15pm from Bangkok, the flight was a quick one, just over an hour to get here. First order of business at the airport was to pick up my entry visa for my stay here. I quickly learned that 'line-ups' is a word that definitley doesn't translate well into the Vietnamese language. Luckily it wasn't that long of a line-up, nonetheless the Vietnamese assistants, hired to help brainless foreigners give 3 pieces of paper to someone through a window and wait 15 minutes to have the visa attached to their passport, then pay their fee and be on their merry way, still felt it necessary to flex their line jumping skills to their appreciative patrons.
Next step was going through passport control. Well I guess it paid to have to wait 15 minutes as the main line-up at passport control subsided and I was able to walk up with no delay. The officer I dealt with was a girl probably in her late 20's to early 30's never dropped her cell phone while dealing with me. She seemed to be on a pretty "important" phone call and was laughing away as she stamped me through. Great!!
Her Olive Green uniform with the red shoulder flaps and gold stars signifying her rank was standard issue for the customs officer, and gave it some semblance of officiality, however her "professional" manner, and the throngs of her male colleagues who were huddled around a TV showing a late night soccer match from Europe gave it a very laisser tranquille first impression.
After getting my luggage, I headed out to the taxi ranks to grab a ride into town, only one hawker tried hard for my business originally offering a bargain price of $20 US into town. Having read the going rate into town was only the equivalent of $5 US I brushed him off, even at his final offer of $15!!!
The taxi ride was something else!! Yes, one of the first things anybody has told me about Vietnam was the scooters... "There's scooters everywhere!!" "I want to know how your first time crossing the street is like!"
From my observation it seems like the scooters rule the majority of the road, and for the most part, unless they're turning right, all cars are relegated to the very left of the road. At each red light, the scooter armies all amass as if they're getting ready for a 50cc road race through HCMC. Girls side saddling on the back of their boyfriend's scooters, older generation Viet's with their wares loaded way too high, and yes entire families of four with little baby a hand slip away from some pretty wicked
Exiting the taxi, my fare meter read exactly 100,000 VND (Vietnamese Dong is the official currency here)!! I was pretty impressed with the accuracy of the Lonely Planet guide on that one... Usually their price estimates are pretty off... Nonetheless, as enterprising as Vietnamese are known to be, apparently what the meter reads isn't what you're supposed to pay!!! My sweet taxi driver explained to me, that the real fare was 150,000 Dong, an exorbitant $2.50 US more than what the meter said. (The current exchange rate is about 19,400 VND to 1 USD). Knowing that it's not a good idea to get into a bickering match over $2.50 especially after only getting about 6 hours of sleep during the last three previous days, and just craving a shower and a clean bed, I settled for 140,000 Dong and I was on my merry way!!
Checking into the hotel i went up to my room on the 8th floor, and saw that I was assigned a room with 2 single beds. When the receptionist called my room to ask if everything was OK with the room, I politely asked if it would be possible to change to a room with 1 double or queen bed instead. She promptly said she would send someone up to push my two beds together!!! I seriously laughed at this, however she had already hung up, and LITERALLY 30 seconds later a bellboy opened my door to push the beds together. All sorted!!!
Just a side note for the previous paragraph - Personal space in Vietnam, like the rest of Asia, is pretty much non-existant. I've already gone to the WC 3 times since Bangkok having to 'go' in front of cleaning ladies, and according to the Lonely Planet again, as was the case with the bellboy, most hotel staff don't bother knocking before entering a guest room!!
I headed back downstairs shortly after getting my luggage sorted, to use their computers as the WIFI in my room was sketchy and cutting out. I needed to book the rest of my hotel rooms for the next 3 nights here in HCMC as I didn't want to stay the entire time at this hotel without knowing what a 3 star Vietnamese hotel was like. By the way, I'm staying here just one more night, then moving to either the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers or the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon.
So after getting more information about the hotel situation downstairs, it was time to head back up to my room to take a shower and head to bed. No such luck!! My room key all of a sudden stopped working. The light on the door would flash green indicating that the door could be opened, however the handle wouldn't budge. The front desk clerk thought that the key must have just gotten demagnitized (a common problem at hotels in the US with magnetic stripes), however this card didn't have a magnetic stripe, it was a chip-card!!! He reswiped it again, ensuring that it was like new, and back up to the 8th floor I went. Second try, no different. This time around, the front desk clerk recognized with my hand motions that the door wasn't opening even with the green light!! So he summoned me back upstairs to wait for someone to have a look at the door. 2 minutes later a bellboy descended from upstairs to my room and had a go with my key and the master key, again no luck. Time to call in the backup to the backup. A good 10 minutes passed as I waited outside my room when a second fellow, this time not dressed in a hotel uniform had a look at the door-lock and managed to make his way into the room with a super-secret real key that's normally hidden behind a brass nub underneath the main card swiper. Once in the room, the two guys went to work on the lock, while I surreptitiously snapped a photo of them at work on my door. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening...
So now, I was wide awake and couldn't go to sleep even if I wanted to, so I decided to pack up a backpack full of clothes to hand out to the homeless and check out the neighbourhood a bit. Upon exiting the hotel, I did a brisk 30 minute walkabout and was a bit dismayed to only have been propositioned for an hour of fun time three times!!! Albeit two of the three times it was with the same dude, after brushing him off the first time, he took to his scooter to try and drum up business elsewhere, and we crossed paths again 15 minutes later!!! Unfortunately on my walkabout there was some pretty interesting sights: groups of middleaged people sitting outside having a late-night drink, scores of youth off to the side of their scooters on dates, and throngs of night market staff tearing down their stalls and hauling insanely huge and heavy carts down the middle of the roads and not much else.
Back to the hotel to do this update. Time is now about 12:30am. Of the three computers wtih internet access, the far left and right ones are in use by a Russian guy (right) and a French guy (left). So I saddle up in between them and promptly knock out the power to the computer that I'm using. Looking at the sparking power bar below the desk, I gingerly try to push all the plugs back into their sockets, only to knock out the power to the French guys computer!! He wasn't too upset about it, so I went back and fiddled around again, only to knock out the Russian guys power!!! He wasn't pissed, but decided to call it a night all the same... After 3 quick reboots, the French guy and I are back online... No luck... The French guy, wanting to have a conversation with me as we were speaking in French during the whole computer debacle, enticed me into a conversation that lasted til 2am, without me even touching a single key on the keyboard!!!
Funny side note, the Russian guy is sitting next to me right now!!! He's actually pretty nice, and wanted to hear how the computers did last night...
I don't know why I'm up so early. Oh yes I do, the scooters!!! Thinking it was late morning commuters honking their way to work, I thought wow, it must be late, I've slept in the whole morning!!! But no, bright and early, 6:30am, oh well, lots to do here, not much time, so I have to take advantage of the day while I can... Well, that's the updates so far, I made it here safe and sound, yes its humid, even at night, ( i had the AC on at the lowest, 16 degrees celcius all night), and so far, it seems like its going to be a very interesting 4 days here in HCMC (formely Saigon before the communists took the city in 1975 for those of you wondering about the references above).
Hope all is well with you wherever you are reading this from.
Off for my first Vietnamese meal experience!!!
J
Day 3 - Thai Airways Lounge in Bangkok
Sawatdee-ka!!! I made it to warm and sunny Bangkok, but unfortunately I am going to be stuck inside the airport, as I only have about 4 hours until my connecting flight, not enough time to get a cab downtown and back... :(
My flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok was nice, the Thai Airways plane wasn't the best equipped plane (especially for an Asian transcontinental flight), however the food and service was great. Fairly full flight, with mostly Germans onboard but a decent amount of Thai's coming back home too.
In contrast to their airplanes, Thai Airways' Lounge is amazing!! Great food selection, a whole room with private computers, newspapers and magazines from around the world, and a fully stocked self serve bar!!! Vodka Tonic's to the rescue...
Here are a few photo's from Frankfurt that I was able to upload to my Facebook profile, it's a pretty slow and cumbersome process on this computer, so I only choose a few good shots to share for now...
Something I forgot to mention earlier, if you would like to sign up for automatic updates from me, there are two RSS feed options at the top of the page. One to get updates for new posts, and the other for updates for new comments. Also you can 'follow' this blog too, and that way you'll get auto-updates sent to you.
Next stop Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)!!!
J
My flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok was nice, the Thai Airways plane wasn't the best equipped plane (especially for an Asian transcontinental flight), however the food and service was great. Fairly full flight, with mostly Germans onboard but a decent amount of Thai's coming back home too.
In contrast to their airplanes, Thai Airways' Lounge is amazing!! Great food selection, a whole room with private computers, newspapers and magazines from around the world, and a fully stocked self serve bar!!! Vodka Tonic's to the rescue...
Here are a few photo's from Frankfurt that I was able to upload to my Facebook profile, it's a pretty slow and cumbersome process on this computer, so I only choose a few good shots to share for now...
Something I forgot to mention earlier, if you would like to sign up for automatic updates from me, there are two RSS feed options at the top of the page. One to get updates for new posts, and the other for updates for new comments. Also you can 'follow' this blog too, and that way you'll get auto-updates sent to you.
Next stop Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)!!!
J
14.12.10
Day 2 - Addendum
Alright, so I feel compelled to do an addendum to the previous post because after leaving Coffee Fellows, I kept on walking down Kaiserstrasse, which Eric had mentioned to do, and lo and behold I came across the Zeil Galerie... Holy Smokes, I've never seen a mall with such crazy architecture before. There were actually a couple of maintenance guys working on the outside of the glass, up near the top I was able to snap a couple good shots of them at work..
After the Zeil, I made my way to the Romer (600 year old city hall) and the Paulskirsch, an old church which incidentally was pretty much completely destroyed during the Allied bombing raids during WW2. This church was actually the first parliament of the German Federal State back in 1848. Just outside there is a massive Christmas Market. This was absolutely amazing. I've always heard stories from other travellers and Germans about the Christmas Markets in Germany, and wow this did NOT disappoint. There were food stalls all over, selling anything from popcorn, to handmade candy, even Swiss Raclette, and Flammenkeusch. The most interesting were these stands selling various different sausages. The crazy part though was that the sausages were being cooked on this reverse dome like contraption that was suspended and swinging back and forth over an open fire pit. There was even a massive carousel in the middle of it all, and bands lining along the streets making it a very festive atmosphere. Along in this area where the Christmas market were several buildings in traditional German architecture.
One quick side note that I have to share, since I always seem to run into them in my travels around the world... So since I started travelling extensively about 7 years ago, many of you may already know that I collect badges from each city and each country that I visit. Some people collect post cards, some collect shot glasses, well me, its badges (and maybe Starbucks mugs!!!, oh by the way, the stupid Starbucks at the Frankfurt airport had EVERY single German city, EXCEPT Frankfurt!!! what the heck?????).
So back to my side note... So as I'm walking around the Romer and Christmas Market area, i come across a souvenir shop, so I popped in real quick to see if they had any Frankfurt badges. Yes, yes they did.. The great part was that the store owners were an old Korean couple... hehe... I recognized their Korean right away, and so ensured a good conversation about Korea... I just had to take a photo because they were super shocked that I was able to bust out a few Korean words, I'll make sure to upload it when I can...
So after walking around the city for a few hours, it did start snowing as forecast, and as I didn't dress for winter, nor did I pack any real winter clothes, I decided to head back to the airport, where I have just under 4 hours left before my flight to Bangkok...
I'll leave off here, as a nice warm shower and a bed are calling my name, oh and yes, Herr Becks is calling and so are about 4 of his friends...
Auf Wiedersehen, and the next update will be a Sawatdee from Bangkok!!!
J
After the Zeil, I made my way to the Romer (600 year old city hall) and the Paulskirsch, an old church which incidentally was pretty much completely destroyed during the Allied bombing raids during WW2. This church was actually the first parliament of the German Federal State back in 1848. Just outside there is a massive Christmas Market. This was absolutely amazing. I've always heard stories from other travellers and Germans about the Christmas Markets in Germany, and wow this did NOT disappoint. There were food stalls all over, selling anything from popcorn, to handmade candy, even Swiss Raclette, and Flammenkeusch. The most interesting were these stands selling various different sausages. The crazy part though was that the sausages were being cooked on this reverse dome like contraption that was suspended and swinging back and forth over an open fire pit. There was even a massive carousel in the middle of it all, and bands lining along the streets making it a very festive atmosphere. Along in this area where the Christmas market were several buildings in traditional German architecture.
One quick side note that I have to share, since I always seem to run into them in my travels around the world... So since I started travelling extensively about 7 years ago, many of you may already know that I collect badges from each city and each country that I visit. Some people collect post cards, some collect shot glasses, well me, its badges (and maybe Starbucks mugs!!!, oh by the way, the stupid Starbucks at the Frankfurt airport had EVERY single German city, EXCEPT Frankfurt!!! what the heck?????).
So back to my side note... So as I'm walking around the Romer and Christmas Market area, i come across a souvenir shop, so I popped in real quick to see if they had any Frankfurt badges. Yes, yes they did.. The great part was that the store owners were an old Korean couple... hehe... I recognized their Korean right away, and so ensured a good conversation about Korea... I just had to take a photo because they were super shocked that I was able to bust out a few Korean words, I'll make sure to upload it when I can...
So after walking around the city for a few hours, it did start snowing as forecast, and as I didn't dress for winter, nor did I pack any real winter clothes, I decided to head back to the airport, where I have just under 4 hours left before my flight to Bangkok...
I'll leave off here, as a nice warm shower and a bed are calling my name, oh and yes, Herr Becks is calling and so are about 4 of his friends...
Auf Wiedersehen, and the next update will be a Sawatdee from Bangkok!!!
J
Day 2 - Frankfurt layover
So I made the 10 hour flight to Frankfurt, and am currently sitting in a coffee shop called Coffee Fellows just off of Kirchmerstrabe in downtown Frankfurt. I have a 10 hour layover here and decided to check out the city a bit so on my friend, Eric's advice, I took the s9 train to the Frankfurt hbf to do some quick sightseeing. It's -7 Celsius here and snow on the ground with more expected this afternoon. It's quite an unspectacular city so far although it is more known for being the financial heart of Germany rather than a cultural one. My flight here was uneventful, I was able to catch just a couple of hours of sleep and quickly used the Lufthansa lounge to grab a bite to eat and a quick freshen up before slogging through the passport control line out of the airport.
My next leg has me going to warmer climes, Bangkok where I'll change into my "summer" clothes due to the insane humidity of SE Asia.
Well I'm off to continue exploring around the city before heading back to the airport. Next update from the Thai Airways lounge in BKK.
J
My next leg has me going to warmer climes, Bangkok where I'll change into my "summer" clothes due to the insane humidity of SE Asia.
Well I'm off to continue exploring around the city before heading back to the airport. Next update from the Thai Airways lounge in BKK.
J
13.12.10
Just under 8 hours til takeoff now...
Hello all,
So I've decided to setup this blog to document my upcoming solo trip to the Thuy An Orphanage 70km's West of Ha Noi, Vietnam. I will be spending 12 days at the orphanage working with physically and mentally disabled children who's families could no longer afford to care for them.
Earlier this year, I decided to mark my 30th birthday (Dec.29) by doing something to give back to the world, and to also have a first hand experience seeing how some of the most unfortunate people in the world live. I believe that in our Western culture that we become too consumed in our daily lives, routines and materialism that it becomes too easy to even stay aware of what is happening in other parts of the world. I want to ensure that I do not lose touch with what is happening around is, and to feel again what things in life are really necessary.
My itinerary for the next 20 days is as follows:
I leave this afternoon at 3:40pm PST in the direction of Frankfurt, Germany. (Dec. 13 Lufthansa Flight 493) An 11 hour stopover will let me leave the airport for a good half day to explore Frankfurt before I take another flight to Bangkok, Thailand. (Dec. 14 - Thai Airways Flight 923) There, I'll have a 6 hour stopover, before my last leg will take me to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. (Dec.15 Thai Airways Flight 556) I will spend 4 days in HCMC before taking a domestic flight up to Ha Noi. I'm planning to check out the Cu Chi Tunnels, the War Remnants Museum, as well as hopefully doing a very quick day trip down to the Mekong Delta. My cousin Lee Faulkner, a pilot for Jetstar Airways will have a 2 day layover in HCMC while I'm there, so I plan to meet up with him on the 17th. It's been about 7 years since I've seen him last, when he was living in Galway, Ireland. So I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on!!!
The afternoon of the 19th, I'm taking my flight up to Ha Noi (Vietnam Airlines Flight 220), spend the afternoon exploring the city, then on the 20th head to the meeting point for the Thuy An Orphanage. If you goto the link, the Thuy An Orphanage program is the 4th program down the page.
CADIP (Canadian Alliance for Development Initiatives and Projects) is a Vancouver based not for profit organization that organizes volunteer programs around the world all year long.
I won't have reliable internet access while at the Orphanage, however there is apparently an internet cafe not too far away, so I likely won't be able to update this blog while in the Orphanage, however I will try to if possible, and I will also be keeping a diary which I plan to transcribe onto this blog when I get back in January.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, Happy Birthday to me!!! I look forward to the experience coming up, this is truly an experience I am sure will not be matched again, and I am truly grateful to be able to participate in something like this.
Cheers!
Jeremy
So I've decided to setup this blog to document my upcoming solo trip to the Thuy An Orphanage 70km's West of Ha Noi, Vietnam. I will be spending 12 days at the orphanage working with physically and mentally disabled children who's families could no longer afford to care for them.
Earlier this year, I decided to mark my 30th birthday (Dec.29) by doing something to give back to the world, and to also have a first hand experience seeing how some of the most unfortunate people in the world live. I believe that in our Western culture that we become too consumed in our daily lives, routines and materialism that it becomes too easy to even stay aware of what is happening in other parts of the world. I want to ensure that I do not lose touch with what is happening around is, and to feel again what things in life are really necessary.
My itinerary for the next 20 days is as follows:
I leave this afternoon at 3:40pm PST in the direction of Frankfurt, Germany. (Dec. 13 Lufthansa Flight 493) An 11 hour stopover will let me leave the airport for a good half day to explore Frankfurt before I take another flight to Bangkok, Thailand. (Dec. 14 - Thai Airways Flight 923) There, I'll have a 6 hour stopover, before my last leg will take me to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. (Dec.15 Thai Airways Flight 556) I will spend 4 days in HCMC before taking a domestic flight up to Ha Noi. I'm planning to check out the Cu Chi Tunnels, the War Remnants Museum, as well as hopefully doing a very quick day trip down to the Mekong Delta. My cousin Lee Faulkner, a pilot for Jetstar Airways will have a 2 day layover in HCMC while I'm there, so I plan to meet up with him on the 17th. It's been about 7 years since I've seen him last, when he was living in Galway, Ireland. So I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on!!!
The afternoon of the 19th, I'm taking my flight up to Ha Noi (Vietnam Airlines Flight 220), spend the afternoon exploring the city, then on the 20th head to the meeting point for the Thuy An Orphanage. If you goto the link, the Thuy An Orphanage program is the 4th program down the page.
CADIP (Canadian Alliance for Development Initiatives and Projects) is a Vancouver based not for profit organization that organizes volunteer programs around the world all year long.
I won't have reliable internet access while at the Orphanage, however there is apparently an internet cafe not too far away, so I likely won't be able to update this blog while in the Orphanage, however I will try to if possible, and I will also be keeping a diary which I plan to transcribe onto this blog when I get back in January.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, Happy Birthday to me!!! I look forward to the experience coming up, this is truly an experience I am sure will not be matched again, and I am truly grateful to be able to participate in something like this.
Cheers!
Jeremy
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