Vietnam!

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Vietnam 9 - 28 March 2010

Part I - Hanoi
Ola & I arrived in Hanoi after spending a very warm nite in KL =) to our dismay, the pilot of our Air Asia flight announced that it was 16degs in Hanoi! sick of being cold from Japan we frowned but knew we only had to stick it out a bit longer b4 we're in warm climates again!
We arrived at the airport like important business 'men' with a driver waiting for us holding our names up on cardboard! hehe... lifelong dream #112 ACHIEVED! hehe...
Our lovely host Eva (ozzie expat living/working in Hanoi for 2yrs) was kind nuf to arrange this driver for us & to welcome us into her lovely '7star' apartment just outside the city centre =) this was already looking tres bien! so we settled around our king size bed, huge bathroom with 2showers!! & wonderful view of the lake from our 9th story balcony =)
we didn't waste any time b4 we went out exploring the city with 1st sights including dead fish floating in a not-so-clean lake, limited English of shop owners but we still managed to get our hot choco, & gorgeous streets & houses of the Old Quarter - once ur able to focus ur gaze past the huge electricity lines of course!
we spent the 1st week in Hanoi walking around the Old Quarter, Turtle Lake, drinking Illy cafe from rooftop bar overlooking crazy round-about intersection, hangin' out with Eva & her cool friend Estefania & avoiding all the street hawkers! with the exception of the women who just plonked their fruit baskets over my shoulders & giggled while they forced me to take a foto of myself & buy their fruit! bah!! at least they were cute & friendly!
Ola & I decided to join the tourist game & take a tour of Halong Bay.. it really looked like an unmissable opportunity & it was sooo cheap!!! took a boat around the 1969 limestone formations (or mini-islands) & stalactite caves (nice but Geitta Groto in Leb kicks ass!) ahem... slept in Cat Ba island for a nite & hung out with French guy we met, 2 Canadian girls & an Aussie couple from good ol' Rocky!!! hehe.. we had also met 2 cool German chics on da boat - Johanna & Emanuella.. who we later bumped into again in Saigon!

Stand out moments of 1st week - eating Loubieh & Hommus at Eva's! Gerry (our tour guide in Halong Bay) dancing in the club at nite; Old Quarter streets & houses; sitting at the "four corner" on tiny plastic chairs (seriously tiny!!!) & drinking Hanoi Beer as we watched the world go by; & of course making it out alive despite throwing ourselves in front of the craziest traffic ever!!! (only way to cross the road in Hanoi) those who've been to Vietnam will understand what I mean...

Part II - VFF Regional Conference Hanoi 14-20Mar '10
on the night of 14 March, I packed a little back pack & bid the Eva abode farewell & headed for Thang Loi hotel (which was literally & coincidentally down the road!)... well, I was pleased to note that my new lavish lifestyle didn't have to change yet! hehe... I spent the first nite having a drink with Cam & Shabs who I bumped into in the hotel lobby.. great start with a great convo =)
without going into too much detail, I'll say that overall the conference was a great experience & I felt so privileged to be the only VFF fellow who was ever allowed to go back to the Regional Conference.. & what made this even more special is that it will be the last one of this kind! until new funding can be sourced...
group 15 fellows were superb! so welcoming & friendly, they really accepted me in their group & were generous in sharing stories with me. It was also a great chance for me to reflect on my VFF experience a year later...
The final few days with delegates from around the ASEAN region were the most remarkable. I really loved seeing the same people from last year & meeting new people who are fascinating. Had some wonderful conversations & great ideas came up about the future of the program 😊
another highlight from the week was visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & getting such a strong feel for the way he is venerated by the people of North Vietnam.

Part III South Vietnam & Saigon
whilst I was at the conference Ola managed to attend a few more tours of northern areas - Nimbin & Sapa with Estefania.. I wish I could've seen those but alas...
so on the 21 March, Ola & I packed yet again & took a flight to Saigon (also known as Ho Chi Minh city). The difference between North & South Vietnam struck us immediately on arrival. We found out (& I had been curious about this) that the South Vietnamese do not venerate Uncle Ho as much as the north & hence refuse to refer to their city by his name, therefore still call it Saigon. I learned so much about the history, the war & Viet culture... we stayed at the Saigon Sports Hotel right in the heart of the touristy side of the city centre =) hotel was great & we bumped into Johanna & Emmanuella again there! small world!! we spent the week hanging out with them & Joern (another German we met on a tour of Cuchi tunnels!).. it was great to have a small group of friends to hang out with in this foreign city. My fave part of Saigon was the day we toured the Cao Bai temple & Cuchi tunnels (where the war was fought). Our tour guide that day - Minh - is da coolest tour guide/philosopher/comedian ever!!! he fought in the Nam war for 8yrs & has spent the past 19yrs taking tourists on a tour of the jungle, tunnels & traps used. He's adamant that one should smile thru life - to remain happy & make others happy. I also took the opportunity to shoot an AK47 (just coz) ... Ola & I also did a day tour of the Mekong Delta where we went from one village/island to another & received many cool treats from da locals (of course this generosity was based on an understanding that we would then purchase these products!)...
Finally, the appeal of Viet products got to me & I went a little shopping crazy in Vietnam =) apart from the multiple silk items I had bought in Hanoi, I found an awesome snowboarding outfit (waterproof & all) for a huge US$50!!! I later found out that I could've got it even cheaper! anyhoo... I also bought earrings, tea, coffee (famously grown there - well famous at least in Viet!) and who knows what else...

After Saigon city, Ola & I made our way to the highly recommended Phu Quoc Island (pronounced Fu Wok). We stayed in the dodgiest looking hotel but the price was very cheap so we stuck it out. spent much of our time getting over our tourist-style travel & just relaxing on the beach - Bao Sai beach & Sao beach (awesome white sand & turquoise waters!). We spent 3 nights here & booked our tickets to Cambodia via boat & bus travel...

my Vietnamese intuition = on our way back from Sao Beach I told Ola that my theory was it's called that coz dat's how the Vietnamese would say South beach (coz da beach is in da south of da island)... she thought i was being silly & the word Sao must have a meaning... we later asked a waiter at our hotel.. & he said "yes Sao beets (viet accent).. coz it in d sao of d island" ... hehe... I'm so clever! ;p

Hala's Tan-O-Meter

thanks to a few days on Phu Quoc island, including some private tanning in Sao Beach, I reached a glowing, even, sexy 8! =)

Flight, Bus, Boat count

FLIGHTS
japan - KL
KL - Hanoi
Hanoi - Saigon

BUSES
Hanoi-Halong Bay (return)
jetty - Cat Ba island (return)
Saigon - Cuchi tunnels (return)
Saigon - Mekong Delta (return)

BOATS
Halong Bay
Mekong Delta
Phu Quoc - Ha Tien

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Photos

boat ride to Cambodia border
our refugee/boat ppl experience... this vessel was certainly memorable

Comments

[Gordon]

Vietnam continues to sound incredible
Halaaaaa! Awesome post about awesome times! Not that I'd expect any different, but you seem to be meeting some pretty fantastic local people on your journeys. That tour guide especially sounds like the sort of person I'd like to meet. Getting a few different perspectives on the war must have been fascinating - I never would have thought the South Vietnamese would still call it Saigon! You would have thought the authorities would have clamped down on that pretty fast... I am deeply envious of your Life Goal #112! I've always wanted to be picked up like that! So cool - I hope you made the most of it. Sounds like the convention went well also. I forgot you had that on as well. Must have been strange to have that moment of work/'real world' intrude on your freedom? I know the few times I had to do something work-like in Europe it was a very odd feeling to be all serious and paying attention again. How did you go? Things are rolling along pretty well here. Uni kicks arse and I just got my first assignment back - nearly the highest mark! Woo! The blog is a regular part of my week and I'm gradually starting to do some of mu own writings as well. Scary as hell, but it feels great to finally express some of the thought going on. I'm also running a couple of experiments here at the moment as well. I've gone off alcohol, sweet foods, entertainment and a couple of other things for three months. Only a week in and so far the results have been interesting. Will let you know how it goes! Keep up the posts! It's always great to hear from you! G