PoiGrl

I had orginally planned to stay in Vietnam two extra days after my parents went home on the 21st...changed my mind after two days of being in Vietnam and went to Bangkok on the 21st as well. I am so glad that I did because I really like Bangkok although it's just has hot as Vietnam. I was a little nervous because I will be alone from this point on and really didn't know what to expect...plus I've never traveled alone before much less traveling alone in a foreign country. I should have known Bangkok would be better than HCMC. Thailand is known as the land of smiles and it's true starting off with the flight on Thai airlines. It was so nice to have the attendants smile, fold their hands and bring it to their ... read more

Malaysia... read more

Here are the pictures that I promised:... read more

Cho Dam is the open air market in Nha Tran, unlike the street vendor market that I experienced in HCMC, this market has actual vendor stalls selling everything from fake designer products to the day’s catch from the ocean and fresh produce. We took a bus from our hotel and traveled to the inner city of Nha Tran in order to reach the market. There were a few Du Lich (tourist in Vietnamese), this market is used mainly by the local people. They separate the meat stalls from the fish stalls, produce is spread throughout the market. The art of bargaining…although I myself did not bargain for anything it was kind of funny to watch my mother wheel and deal for the things that she wanted. It was starts off with asking the price, then stating ... read more

Today I got to see an amazing and very old temple in Nha Trang, it wasn’t quite Buddhist and it wasn’t quite East Indian either, it was a combination of both. The name of the temple is Thap Ba Ponargar, very old and very beautiful. Need to do some research on this place because there was no English translation with the signs. Anyone wearing shorts or skirts above the knee was not allowed to enter one of four worship buildings. Fortunately they provided a covering that you could use in order to go in and see the religious idols. After the temple we had lunch at a seafood road side restaurant that was really good. The seafood was fresh from the ocean and cooked to order. I tried a type of sea snail that was pretty ... read more

Yesterday we arrived we took a 45 minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to Nha Tran which is North East of HCMC and also the place where they held the 2008 Miss Universe pageant. Upon landing it wasn’t much to look at, but the sun was shinning unlike the very polluted HCMC. We boarded a bus for another 45 minute ride into the city of Nha Trang. Nha Trang is definitely not as crowded, polluted or dirty as HCMC. We are staying a place that my parents has stayed before, nothing fancy but clean and with air conditioning and free internet access, my room is costing me $10 a night and we are a short walk away from the beach. There is a cool breeze that comes by every once in a while. This ... read more

Continued... Next stop after lunch was a chocolate factory. The main products that come out of Malaysia is rubber, coca beans and palm oil. I tried a tomato flavored chocolate…wouldn’t recommend it but it wasn’t too bad. Last stop was duty free shopping before going home. Wish we had more time because I would have liked to drive another 3 hours to get to Kuala Lampur did get a picture of a sign with the words on it. We returned to Ho Chi Minh City and will leave for Nha Tran which is northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. I am looking forward to it because Ho Chi Minh City is so over populated, congested, polluted and I can smell the sewer everyday. I have changed my flight to leave earlier from Ho Chi Minh so ... read more

On my free day in Singapore I had the opportunity to go to Malaysia. The original plan was to spend a couple of days in Singapore and a couple of days in Malaysia but that tour ran out of room so we booked for Singapore only. Once we got there the guide said that enough people were interested we could to a day trip to Malaysia which is about 30 minutes from Singapore. I decided that I wanted to get on that band wagon and was so very happy that I did. I have to also admit that I wanted another stamp on my passport. Although it took a lot just to cross the broader, we did not need a visa but to officially depart from Singapore through immigration and then enter Malaysia through immigration. Fortunately ... read more

I don’t know why I thought that I would blend in here in Asia, nope, I stick out like a soar thumb in Vietnam and they can’t figure me out in Singapore or Malaysia so they try all the Asian languages they know. In Vietnam on the first day that we went to the market I was taller, whiter, shorter haired, and of course heaver than the majority of the people there at the market. I am happy to say that I did see some that where heavier then me but not many. I felt every single pair of eyes scooping me out and trying to figure where I was from. I would say that I was at least 2-3 inches taller than most of the people in Ho Chi Minh. Can you believe it! I’m ... read more