So I know I have a lot of news to catch up on, a couple of Vietnamese weddings, some minor flooding during my trip to HCMC etc etc. But here I would like to list the top 5 reasons why I feel I am slowly turning Vietnamese and the 5 reasons why I have a long way to go.
Top 5 reasons why I'm becoming Vietnamese
5. I no longer get angry with people who push into queues in front of me. The Vietnamese just do not wait in line. It's something I have come to accept. So now I just hold my ground. Though this has resulted in some bruises.
4. I choose Vietnamese coffee (and often Vietnamese food) over Western coffee any chance I get. I am well and truly addicted. I tried to quit and lasted less than a week!
3. I choose to get my hair washed using the traditional Vietnamese concoction of special leaves, cooked til they are burnt and lemon juice, over conventional shampoo and conditioner.
2. I wear a full face silver motorbike helmet.. with Hello Kitty stickers on it!
1. I now notice (and often stop to admire) different colours and styles of motorbike helmets and colours and makes of motorbikes.
Top 5 reasons why I have a long way to go
5. The almost complete lack of footpaths still frustrates me as I am someone who enjoys walking a lot. Motorbikes, childre, food stalls etc fill every available space.
4. I'm still not comfortable with the constant noise. The Vietnamese love everything at top volume, which means many a morning I have been woken up with drilling, welding, Celine Dion, Aqua/VengaBoys mega mixes etc.
3. As a rule I do not find Vietnamese men attractive. I feel this makes me less Vietnamese.
2. I cannot seem to refrain from counting the number of people on motorbikes. The most people I've ever seen on the back of the bike was 5 (but that included some children).
1. I still need to learn how to ride a motorbike. I thoroughly enjoy riding on the back now, but it's not enough!
Stay tuned for more visual updates soon.
Showing posts with label motorbikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorbikes. Show all posts
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
HCMC and the Tunnels of Cu Chi
Friday mid-morning I flew from Phu Quoc Island to Ho Chi Minh City. After the other AYADS on the the flight before mine, had to leave some of their luggage for a later flight as the plane was "too heavy", my flight was only delayed 20 minutes. The airport had great iced coffee and free internet so I wasn't too fussed.
Once in HCMC, I checked into the hotel, that Jamie and Samitha (two previous intake AYADS that I had met on Phu Quoc Island) had booked for the three of us and then hit up Ben Thanh Markets for some food and a bit of shopping for belated X-mas presents. As always, it was a little claustrophobic inside and the traffic was out of control as well. Just when I felt like I was getting the hang of crossing the street, HCMC traffic always puts things in perspective!
I continued to wander around into the evening and took some photos of some attractive monuments, the city hall and one of the other government buildings. The Vietnamese love of fairy lights was out again in force.
On Saturday morning Jamie, Samitha and I headed out to meet our bus tour to take us to Cu Chi to look at the tunnels used by the VietCong during what we know as the Vietnam war but what the Vietnamese refer to as the American War.
After that we got to look at some of the self-made weapons and traps that the Vietnamese devised. Insanely painful, but quite ingenious at the same time. We also got to see traditional uniforms as well.
After this, we finally got to walk (I should say crawl!) around in the tunnels. We travelled about 50m underground. It was claustrophobic and pitch black. They were even so narrow I was scared that my hips were going to get stuck and I've lost weight since being over here. And I would have taken a photo except I was using my camera and phone to light the way because the tunnels were pitch black. Here are a couple that I managed to take.
After we returned to HCMC, I went to the War Remnants Museum which was a very distressing but important experience. I likened it to going to Auschwitz-Burkenau concetration camp when I was in Poland. It's not exactly an enjoyable experience but it's something you need to do to understand the people and the country and their history a little better. The war remnant's museum had very graphic example of the effect of Agent Orange. What suprised me was the extent of this effect. A study was done in Australia that found that one quarter of all wives of men that served in Vietnam and who were exposed to Agent Orange had suffered a miscarriage.
Children in rural areas of Vietnam are still being born with serious defects as late as 1998. There were photos of some families who had three of four severely deformed children as a result of Agent Orange.
One of the nicest parts of the museum (and the only place I really felt comfortable taking photos) was the last room which had drawings from the children of Vietnam about the war and their hopes for peace and for the future.
Then it was just time to grab my luggage and a quick bite to eat whilst perusing the crazy traffic, before it was time to grab a cab for the airport. You need to allow 1+ hours to get to the airport due to the traffic.
Up next: A recap of the last few weeks. Includes: Award ceremonies with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese businessman singing "By the Rivers of Babylon" and pre Tet (Lunar New Year) madness.
Once in HCMC, I checked into the hotel, that Jamie and Samitha (two previous intake AYADS that I had met on Phu Quoc Island) had booked for the three of us and then hit up Ben Thanh Markets for some food and a bit of shopping for belated X-mas presents. As always, it was a little claustrophobic inside and the traffic was out of control as well. Just when I felt like I was getting the hang of crossing the street, HCMC traffic always puts things in perspective!
I continued to wander around into the evening and took some photos of some attractive monuments, the city hall and one of the other government buildings. The Vietnamese love of fairy lights was out again in force.
On Saturday morning Jamie, Samitha and I headed out to meet our bus tour to take us to Cu Chi to look at the tunnels used by the VietCong during what we know as the Vietnam war but what the Vietnamese refer to as the American War.
After that we got to look at some of the self-made weapons and traps that the Vietnamese devised. Insanely painful, but quite ingenious at the same time. We also got to see traditional uniforms as well.
After this, we finally got to walk (I should say crawl!) around in the tunnels. We travelled about 50m underground. It was claustrophobic and pitch black. They were even so narrow I was scared that my hips were going to get stuck and I've lost weight since being over here. And I would have taken a photo except I was using my camera and phone to light the way because the tunnels were pitch black. Here are a couple that I managed to take.
After we returned to HCMC, I went to the War Remnants Museum which was a very distressing but important experience. I likened it to going to Auschwitz-Burkenau concetration camp when I was in Poland. It's not exactly an enjoyable experience but it's something you need to do to understand the people and the country and their history a little better. The war remnant's museum had very graphic example of the effect of Agent Orange. What suprised me was the extent of this effect. A study was done in Australia that found that one quarter of all wives of men that served in Vietnam and who were exposed to Agent Orange had suffered a miscarriage.
Children in rural areas of Vietnam are still being born with serious defects as late as 1998. There were photos of some families who had three of four severely deformed children as a result of Agent Orange.
One of the nicest parts of the museum (and the only place I really felt comfortable taking photos) was the last room which had drawings from the children of Vietnam about the war and their hopes for peace and for the future.
Then it was just time to grab my luggage and a quick bite to eat whilst perusing the crazy traffic, before it was time to grab a cab for the airport. You need to allow 1+ hours to get to the airport due to the traffic.
Up next: A recap of the last few weeks. Includes: Award ceremonies with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese businessman singing "By the Rivers of Babylon" and pre Tet (Lunar New Year) madness.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Phu Quoc Island Part 1
After the momentous victory in the previous post, Jordi, Nish and I were up at 6:30am to catch our flight to HCMC. Once in HCMC we met up with about 6 other AYADS and caught our flight to Phu Quoc Island, in the Gulf of Thailand. The plan was to have a bit of a break from the city and ring in the New Year together.
In the air over the Gulf of Thailand (left) and Phu Quoc Coastline by air (right)
The island was just gorgeous. Long beach (the main beach on the island) was a 300 metre walk from our hotel. There were quite a few tourists there (compared with what I'm used to in Da Nang anyway) but it never got annoying which was good.
Monday night we went into town and went to the night markets for some street food. Meals were 20,000 dong each (about $1.80 approx) and delicious. There were a few disasterous attempts by the un-initiated at rolling rice paper spring rolls. There were some interesting shapes taking place, none of which looked like a spring roll should.
Tuesday was our day for exploring. We hired 4 motorbikes for 8 people (they cost about $3.50 AUD each for the whole day) and we explored all over the island. We headed north as we planned to snorkel and boat tour in the south the following day.
Along the ride we came into contact with lots of local kids who were very excited to see us. I think we were taking the back roads. And 8 foreigners on motorbikes probably attracts attention! We also found some gorgeous beaches and stopped for swims along the way.
Then we found another little beach and had lunch. It was here I broke my own self-inflicted rule "Don't eat anything bigger than your own head".
Stay tuned for part 2 - including snorkelling and NYE beach party.
HCMC by air
In the air over the Gulf of Thailand (left) and Phu Quoc Coastline by air (right)
The island was just gorgeous. Long beach (the main beach on the island) was a 300 metre walk from our hotel. There were quite a few tourists there (compared with what I'm used to in Da Nang anyway) but it never got annoying which was good.
Monday night we went into town and went to the night markets for some street food. Meals were 20,000 dong each (about $1.80 approx) and delicious. There were a few disasterous attempts by the un-initiated at rolling rice paper spring rolls. There were some interesting shapes taking place, none of which looked like a spring roll should.
Tuesday was our day for exploring. We hired 4 motorbikes for 8 people (they cost about $3.50 AUD each for the whole day) and we explored all over the island. We headed north as we planned to snorkel and boat tour in the south the following day.
Along the ride we came into contact with lots of local kids who were very excited to see us. I think we were taking the back roads. And 8 foreigners on motorbikes probably attracts attention! We also found some gorgeous beaches and stopped for swims along the way.
Then we found another little beach and had lunch. It was here I broke my own self-inflicted rule "Don't eat anything bigger than your own head".
Stay tuned for part 2 - including snorkelling and NYE beach party.
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