Musings....

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Dear Blog,

I must apologise to you regarding the sign off from my last entry. I must have thought I was emailing Catrina for a moment.

Anyway, am just sat in the hotel in Hanoi getting ready to head off to Laos tonight. I will really miss Viet Nam, it has been just as good as I had hoped it would be. There are so many things about it that I will miss. I love the architechture, the houses are just great because of their land tax they build their houses really tall and skinny which is quite bizzare and not what I imagined at all, and because it was ruled by france for a bit they are quite grand and they paint them all sorts of colours, particularly kermit green. I also love the food, have od'd on rice and noodles, spinach and garlic and fresh spring rolls, and am getting rather nifty with the old chopsticks. I also love the fact that most people are so happy, particularly so in the mountain tribes, always singing (practising for karayoke I think) and shouting hello especially the kids. A typical night out for most teenagers is hiring tandem bikes and cycling around having a laugh. How wholesome! I also love the fact that they have a brand of herbal toothpaste that is brown! Is absolutely hilarious. Think this is a slight oversight as it really was quite unpleasant in every way. Will try and upload a photo later. Also, I love the propaganda posters announcements and songs that play over the streets encouraging the counrtymen to keep their streets clean. Think we should adopt a similar appraoch in blighty but not at 6 am on a saturday morning. Oh yes, above all I love the rice fields especially in the mountain regions that are just so typical of the country, and require so much work and effort by the farmers.

But Vietnam is not perfect, and seeing that I have been staying in room 101, I am putting the following things that I will not miss in there.

1. The constant loud beeping of horns, which in my mind is not a good substitute for driving like a lunatic, and is so annoying especially on long bus journeys.

2. Constantly being harrassed to buy something. This is particularly bad in the mountains where they use the cutest kids with the sadest eyes, and so you end up buying large quantities of presents that cost a fortune to ship home because they are so heavy. I think the first words most kids learn to speak is ...' you buy something from me?' Must get tougher. Dave made a cambodian girl cry because he said he didn't want to buy anything, then felt so guilty he ended up buying something he didn't really want. You see how it works.

3. The ocasional feeling that you are being totally ripped off or conned at every turn. One price for the locals one for the tourists. I suppose its inevitable to some degree but it does get a bit demorlalising at times.

4. Vietnamese coffee, its foul, and lack of good tea has been a major strain.

However, I have survived thus far, so am now off to Laos for a bit of tranquility I hope. Wish me luck.....

Love Fogg x

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Comments

[Catrina]

Charming I am sure! Are you being paid by the Vietnamese tourist board? Looking forward to Laos