Stanley
Stanley K Joined: February 20th 2006
Logged in: January 29th 2009
Logged in: January 29th 2009
Bon Voyage!
Less philosophy and more biography:
Burmese-born Canadian. Age 28.
Future plans:
hmmmm... stuck at work for the next 6 months or so. Hopefully take 3 months to go to S. America.
Travel Blog Posts
My Balcony
Before I divulge into the biggest rip off that happened so far in Vietnam, let me tell you where I have been the last 3 days. Vung Tau After spending a day in the hottest province (Tay Ninh), I decided the hustle and bustle of HCMC was not where I want to be so I went to the near-by beach resort town of Vung Tau. It is about 80 min if you travel along the Mekong by Hydrofoil (US$10) but I decided to take the local bus (US$2). I saved 8 bucks and for it I got a cramped seat between a sleeping and drooling old man and a woman who keep giving me weird looks. The beaches in Vung Tau aren't quite as nice as those in other parts of Vietnam but a lot of ... read more
Hidden tunnel
Hi All, I had an eventful day yesterday, grouped up with 3 other people to rent a car (+ driver) to visit some sights in Tay Ninh Province. Tay Ningh is about 100km NW of HCMC and it is appearently the hottest province in the country. We started the day by visiting CuChui tunnels which have been in existance for about 50 years, first being used to thwart French re-colonization attemps after the war and later on as resistance to US-backed Saigon troops. The tunnels were ingenious in resisting various attacks by US which has much greater firepower as well as technology. Moving on, we went to the Co Dai Holy See which is the Vatican of CoDaism. CoDaism is a fusion of religious philosphies of the East and the West including Buddisim, Confucianism, Taoism, Christainity ... read more
Children's Depiction of War
More pics from HCMC, mostly from the War Remanants museum. There were alot of disturbing pictures that capturing them on my digicam won't do them justice so I opted rather remember them in my mind where it is much more alive. So just happy pictures (mostly)... read more
Ferry Ticket
This place is absolutely stunning. Beaches after beautiful beaches. I didn't think anything will be much better than Thai beaches off Ko Samui and Ko Pagnan but this is absoultely amazing. The other half of the charm is the the lack of development (at least for now) of most of the island. Best way to get around the island; motorbiking on the red dirt roads that link the island's several small hamlets. I did a tour of the northen part of the island (130km approx 7hrs incl. swimming and lunch) on a motorbike. There are not much roads so once you get on to the proper one, you don't really get lost. Ofcourse finding the proper road requires some inquiries from the friendly locals along the way. ... read more
Statue
I spent about 20 hours in Rach Gia before catching the hydrofoil to Phou Quoc. The town itself is quite busy perhaps b/c of its proximity to the Cambodian border and the gulf of Thailand (good for fishing) but it is not blessed with much scenerary. ... read more
Long Xuyen
Once again, less words and more pictures. I visted Chau Doc and Sam mountain over the next day. Chau Doc lies close to the Cambodian border and it is a popular stop for those travelling to\from Cambodia. ... read more
Fruit Market at Can Tho
Hi All, I'm currently in the Mekong Delta and here are the pictures from there. I only have 15min before meeting friends for dinner so this entry will be short. Will post more once I have more time (probably in Phou Quoc). ... read more
Traffic at HCMC
I can't believe that I've been in HCMC for 6 days. I haven't been to any museums, attractions, etc. in the city. Most of the days are spent in the AC room avoiding the heat and evening eating and drinking with friends. According to what I have heard, there is nothing really to see in the city perhaps except for War Remenants Museum (which used to be named Museum of Atrocities of War committed by Japanese and Americans). I am pretty squeamish when it come to blood and gore so I don't think I'll enjoy pictures of deformed individuals. Nevertheless, I'll probably steel my nerves and force myself to go there just to see what man is capable of doing to other man. I'm leaving for Mekon Delta tommorow and probably return on Sun before leaving ... read more
Merlion
Spent 11 days in S'pore which went by rather quickly. Most of the times were spent with old friends who were very hospitable (especially Stella). It is quite amazing how I haven't seen these guys in 5 years (some a decade) and yet we all seem to gel back very well. Also it is nice to be in a city that speak English and is run with western efficiency after our brutal bus ride to Krabi from Surat Thani. It took as 8hours (instead of 3hr travel time) thanks to being driven around to bus driver friend's restaurants, tour companies, etc. Also we were forced to share the backseat of a mini van with an caucasion couple which resulted in very cramped 3 hr bus ride. To add insult to injury, because of lack of trunk ... read more
On the speedboat to the island
At the full-moon of each month, about 7-10k people descend Hat Rin beach for one of the biggest beach parties in the world. The clubs on the beaches pump out the beats (Techo, Trance, House, R&B, etc) and people (mostly young forieginers but a sizable number of locals as well) dance (or drink) the night away on the beach. There were fire twilers, break dancers, rappers, a carnival atmosphere and lots of cheap booze which pretty much guranteed a great party. The boat ride (in a speed boat was about 45 min from KoSamui) and we got there around 8pm. I was "napping" by 2am but woke up 3:30am to rejoin the party, after a quick snack of street food. We left back to Ko Samui at dawn around 6am. All in all a memorable night ... read more
