Day 14 and 15 are done. We left it in order, so scroll down...
We also added pictures from Day 17 and Day 18.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
We're home, but we're both sick.
Hello friends.
Yes we are back in the US and still have a few days left to write about, but alas we have brought home with us a nasty bug and have been in bed with fever and head cold and unable to bring ourselves to get out of bed to write or do anything.
As soon as we're back up to snuff we will complete our tales of our excursions.
-Erika ~ Oanh
Yes we are back in the US and still have a few days left to write about, but alas we have brought home with us a nasty bug and have been in bed with fever and head cold and unable to bring ourselves to get out of bed to write or do anything.
As soon as we're back up to snuff we will complete our tales of our excursions.
-Erika ~ Oanh
Monday, April 21, 2008
A little behind
We've been with very limited internet over the past few days, but have been writing our blogs on paper with the plan to transcribe and upload them tonight before we fly out of HCMC tomorrow at 1pm. That was a wonderful idea until we realize our flight was actually at 1am. Oops.
So enjoy the picture from these past four days and know that we will tell you all about our amazing time with our good buddy Chang's wife and daughter, Sibyl and Anatta, and how we almost didn't make it to our Aunt's birthday party because the border police would not allow us back into Vietnam. Yay!
So enjoy the picture from these past four days and know that we will tell you all about our amazing time with our good buddy Chang's wife and daughter, Sibyl and Anatta, and how we almost didn't make it to our Aunt's birthday party because the border police would not allow us back into Vietnam. Yay!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Day 15
Biking Through Bangkok
We overslept a little and had to rush out of our apartment to the sky train station to meet with Sibyl and Anatta without getting breakfast. They lead us to ABC Cycles (Around Bangkok Cycles) run by a Dutch man. We have a 6 hour bike tour planned for the day. We all were very excited and eager to start the trek.
Our group was about 11, (4 from Australia, 2 from New Zealand, 1 from Amsterdam and the four of us) plus our 2 tour guides. After a brief introduction and some safety rules we followed our guides downstairs to choose our bikes. Oanh and I settled for mountain bikes after test driving their darling old fashioned bikes. Let’s just say the basket were cute. Sibyl and Anatta had their own bicycle. Sibyl says it’s much easier taking Anatta to school on bike through the back alley walkways then in their car. A little pro, Anatta sat in the back in her special bike seat (reminds me of the seat my mother used to ride me in) in her darling red dress, matching bandana AND Helmet. She did tell us that she was going to wear her red dress today, but she assured us that is wasn’t too fancy! J
We all settled on our bikes, mine was number 10, I was told to remember that, and we were off! A long snake of foreign folks on bikes putting all of our trust in our guides to make sure we made it safely through the streets of Bangkok. I must say, I never thought I would have driven a bicycle in this kind of traffic, but after seeing Saigon, this looked possible. So… needless to say, though it was a bit unsettling bicycling next to buses and taxis, the comfort of the group made it much more bearable.
After about 15 minutes on the streets we were led into a quieter neighborhood through alleyways and small avenues. Watching the road was a must. There were many divots and holes one could strike out on. Going through these narrow passageways, it reminded me a little of Saigon and our breakfast lady. We stopped under a garage roof so some could take pictures on this little bridge. The sewer odor was overwhelming. So Oanh and I did not spend much time there. While waiting for the others, we noticed 3 men sitting on the ground in front of us with buckets of wire clippings surrounding them. What were they doing? Behind them were mountains of bags of used wire. They were stripping each piece of used electrical wire of its plastic coating to get to the copper. So this is how recycling works. I was amazed by the work conditions, but even more amazed by the resourcefulness and tenacity of the people.
Anyway, back to our ride.
We arrive at a daily market not too far from where we started and stroll through the lanes. It was an incredible sight: every kind of chili you could imagine, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, buckets and buckets of fresh fish still live, cages of live chickens and their unlucky friends cooked next to them on display, birds to release for prayer, and on and on. We bike through it, though we could have easily spent an hour or more here walking the aisles and staring at the wares.
It’s a very hot day, but we are lucky to have scattered clouds overhead and an occasional drop of rain, a good day for riding in the middle of Thai Summer. We stop in front of a playground, Oanh the ever Smart Alec, asks if we are there to ride the merry go round! My hubby. J
Our guide takes his jibes with true professionalism and jibes back. Good Job! She then takes out some fun fruits for us to try---- Mangosteens (Absolutely delectable) and Rambutans (like lychees, very good). Then she gives us all a little pancake and places some “candy floss” inside and has us wrap it up like a burrito. A tasty little morsel, I have a second. Remember this is our breakfast!
After our little snack we hop back onto our bikes towards the “Bangkok Slum” under the freeways. These folks have traveled down from their villages to work in the city, save up and return home. Rows of little shacks made out of miscellaneous wooden boards and tin scraps. These weren’t homeless people, these were a community of people working very hard for very little and comfort was not an option. It was amazing. The smells of the complex were definitely a bit overwhelming at points, but we rode past quite quickly and made our way to the boat dock.
We loaded up our bicycles onto a long tail boat across the river. We were now in what you might call a suburb. It was part jungle, part water village and now our true journey begins. Much of our ride is along a very narrow sidewalk that runs along the river and is raised about 3 yards above the ground. The ground is a series of water ponds, dirt, jungle bushes and who knows what. The sidewalk begins with one railing and has these very short quick turns every few 100 feet or so. Okay…. The guide proceeds to tell us that people fall off of these sidewalks during one of their tours practically every day. Nice! And BOY you DO NOT want to fall! Snakes, massive lizards and lots of bugs live here. As we drive I am sweaty palming it and trying not to imagine myself repeatedly slipping off this path to my death! I have an active imagination.
After about 15 minutes of riding, we hit real land and stop at a temple area to use the facilities. According to the signs on the door, I had my choice of Western or Eastern toilet. Let’s just say I went for what I know best. ;-) There was also a sign that said “monks only”. I wonder if their toilets were Western or Eastern.
Next stop--- the floating market. How exciting! The market is only open on the weekends and lucky us, today is Saturday. We park and walk. As soon as we enter the market we are blessed by a monk. That must be a good sign! And it was. Our guide walked us through aisles and rows of food stalls and handicrafts. Every so often stopping at a food vendor and buying something new and fun for us all to try. She was wonderful, everything we tasted was interesting and tasty: Sticky rice smoked in banana leaves, pork sausage with ginger and cabbage, fried fish cake with herbs, fried quail egg, and then… pig ear. Trying to be all macho I pop one into my mouth… um the first chew wasn’t so bad, but the 3rd or 4th made me want to hurl! I discreetly spit it out into my hand and toss it into the nearest bin. It was foul! Oanh loved it of course! Imagine eating only gristle and there it is. Yuck! Luckily I was able to wash away the grossness with some fresh coconut ice cream! Thank god! I was sad to leave the market, I would like to come back here again to try more of the goodies the natives have to offer.
We hop back onto our bikes and ride to lunch. On the way, our guide points out a VERY LARGE lizard! In the same family as the Gila Monster I believe. We only catch a glimpse of him, and at the time, we were on a very narrow bit of sidewalk, so I couldn’t really appreciate the cool factor of this sighting until it was too late! Sorry, definitely no pictures of that one! But he was as BIG as one of our bicycles, and apparently he was a baby! No, this is not a lizard tail!
A small outdoor shack on a bit of water was where were to have lunch. Westerner styled fried rice. Bland and awful. Take me back to the market where the good food was! Oh well, can’t win them all.
Only a small stretch of sidewalk left. Thank goodness, my knuckles were pretty tired by now! I am constantly amazed by the immense colors of this landscape. Everything is so bright and colorful. The greens are super green, the reds are super red and so on. Even the spiders are super- luckily they were all at VERY SAFE distances, but MAN they were incredible!
We eventually wind our way into a park with grass, ponds, and little pagodas. We stopped to feed the GI-NORMOUS fish. Back on the boat and back to the office. What a ride. Oanh even talked about dusting off our old bikes at home.
Back to their apartment for a little dip in the spa since the pool was being cleaned. Then off to our final dinner in Thailand, one of Sibyl’s favorite places for crispy chicken and afterwards to a much deserved, fancy, hip ice cream shop for dessert. Finally, we were dropped off again at the apartment. It was a full day of bicycling, eating and laughing. Boy were we tired. We stopped off and had an hour long massage: Oanh did a foot massage, while I did a head and hand massage. Then we were out for the count.
Tomorrow will be breakfast with our friends and a back on a plane to Ho Chi Minh City.
We overslept a little and had to rush out of our apartment to the sky train station to meet with Sibyl and Anatta without getting breakfast. They lead us to ABC Cycles (Around Bangkok Cycles) run by a Dutch man. We have a 6 hour bike tour planned for the day. We all were very excited and eager to start the trek.
Our group was about 11, (4 from Australia, 2 from New Zealand, 1 from Amsterdam and the four of us) plus our 2 tour guides. After a brief introduction and some safety rules we followed our guides downstairs to choose our bikes. Oanh and I settled for mountain bikes after test driving their darling old fashioned bikes. Let’s just say the basket were cute. Sibyl and Anatta had their own bicycle. Sibyl says it’s much easier taking Anatta to school on bike through the back alley walkways then in their car. A little pro, Anatta sat in the back in her special bike seat (reminds me of the seat my mother used to ride me in) in her darling red dress, matching bandana AND Helmet. She did tell us that she was going to wear her red dress today, but she assured us that is wasn’t too fancy! J
We all settled on our bikes, mine was number 10, I was told to remember that, and we were off! A long snake of foreign folks on bikes putting all of our trust in our guides to make sure we made it safely through the streets of Bangkok. I must say, I never thought I would have driven a bicycle in this kind of traffic, but after seeing Saigon, this looked possible. So… needless to say, though it was a bit unsettling bicycling next to buses and taxis, the comfort of the group made it much more bearable.
After about 15 minutes on the streets we were led into a quieter neighborhood through alleyways and small avenues. Watching the road was a must. There were many divots and holes one could strike out on. Going through these narrow passageways, it reminded me a little of Saigon and our breakfast lady. We stopped under a garage roof so some could take pictures on this little bridge. The sewer odor was overwhelming. So Oanh and I did not spend much time there. While waiting for the others, we noticed 3 men sitting on the ground in front of us with buckets of wire clippings surrounding them. What were they doing? Behind them were mountains of bags of used wire. They were stripping each piece of used electrical wire of its plastic coating to get to the copper. So this is how recycling works. I was amazed by the work conditions, but even more amazed by the resourcefulness and tenacity of the people.
Anyway, back to our ride.
We arrive at a daily market not too far from where we started and stroll through the lanes. It was an incredible sight: every kind of chili you could imagine, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, buckets and buckets of fresh fish still live, cages of live chickens and their unlucky friends cooked next to them on display, birds to release for prayer, and on and on. We bike through it, though we could have easily spent an hour or more here walking the aisles and staring at the wares.
It’s a very hot day, but we are lucky to have scattered clouds overhead and an occasional drop of rain, a good day for riding in the middle of Thai Summer. We stop in front of a playground, Oanh the ever Smart Alec, asks if we are there to ride the merry go round! My hubby. J
Our guide takes his jibes with true professionalism and jibes back. Good Job! She then takes out some fun fruits for us to try---- Mangosteens (Absolutely delectable) and Rambutans (like lychees, very good). Then she gives us all a little pancake and places some “candy floss” inside and has us wrap it up like a burrito. A tasty little morsel, I have a second. Remember this is our breakfast!
After our little snack we hop back onto our bikes towards the “Bangkok Slum” under the freeways. These folks have traveled down from their villages to work in the city, save up and return home. Rows of little shacks made out of miscellaneous wooden boards and tin scraps. These weren’t homeless people, these were a community of people working very hard for very little and comfort was not an option. It was amazing. The smells of the complex were definitely a bit overwhelming at points, but we rode past quite quickly and made our way to the boat dock.
We loaded up our bicycles onto a long tail boat across the river. We were now in what you might call a suburb. It was part jungle, part water village and now our true journey begins. Much of our ride is along a very narrow sidewalk that runs along the river and is raised about 3 yards above the ground. The ground is a series of water ponds, dirt, jungle bushes and who knows what. The sidewalk begins with one railing and has these very short quick turns every few 100 feet or so. Okay…. The guide proceeds to tell us that people fall off of these sidewalks during one of their tours practically every day. Nice! And BOY you DO NOT want to fall! Snakes, massive lizards and lots of bugs live here. As we drive I am sweaty palming it and trying not to imagine myself repeatedly slipping off this path to my death! I have an active imagination.
After about 15 minutes of riding, we hit real land and stop at a temple area to use the facilities. According to the signs on the door, I had my choice of Western or Eastern toilet. Let’s just say I went for what I know best. ;-) There was also a sign that said “monks only”. I wonder if their toilets were Western or Eastern.
Next stop--- the floating market. How exciting! The market is only open on the weekends and lucky us, today is Saturday. We park and walk. As soon as we enter the market we are blessed by a monk. That must be a good sign! And it was. Our guide walked us through aisles and rows of food stalls and handicrafts. Every so often stopping at a food vendor and buying something new and fun for us all to try. She was wonderful, everything we tasted was interesting and tasty: Sticky rice smoked in banana leaves, pork sausage with ginger and cabbage, fried fish cake with herbs, fried quail egg, and then… pig ear. Trying to be all macho I pop one into my mouth… um the first chew wasn’t so bad, but the 3rd or 4th made me want to hurl! I discreetly spit it out into my hand and toss it into the nearest bin. It was foul! Oanh loved it of course! Imagine eating only gristle and there it is. Yuck! Luckily I was able to wash away the grossness with some fresh coconut ice cream! Thank god! I was sad to leave the market, I would like to come back here again to try more of the goodies the natives have to offer.
We hop back onto our bikes and ride to lunch. On the way, our guide points out a VERY LARGE lizard! In the same family as the Gila Monster I believe. We only catch a glimpse of him, and at the time, we were on a very narrow bit of sidewalk, so I couldn’t really appreciate the cool factor of this sighting until it was too late! Sorry, definitely no pictures of that one! But he was as BIG as one of our bicycles, and apparently he was a baby! No, this is not a lizard tail!
A small outdoor shack on a bit of water was where were to have lunch. Westerner styled fried rice. Bland and awful. Take me back to the market where the good food was! Oh well, can’t win them all.
Only a small stretch of sidewalk left. Thank goodness, my knuckles were pretty tired by now! I am constantly amazed by the immense colors of this landscape. Everything is so bright and colorful. The greens are super green, the reds are super red and so on. Even the spiders are super- luckily they were all at VERY SAFE distances, but MAN they were incredible!
We eventually wind our way into a park with grass, ponds, and little pagodas. We stopped to feed the GI-NORMOUS fish. Back on the boat and back to the office. What a ride. Oanh even talked about dusting off our old bikes at home.
Back to their apartment for a little dip in the spa since the pool was being cleaned. Then off to our final dinner in Thailand, one of Sibyl’s favorite places for crispy chicken and afterwards to a much deserved, fancy, hip ice cream shop for dessert. Finally, we were dropped off again at the apartment. It was a full day of bicycling, eating and laughing. Boy were we tired. We stopped off and had an hour long massage: Oanh did a foot massage, while I did a head and hand massage. Then we were out for the count.
Tomorrow will be breakfast with our friends and a back on a plane to Ho Chi Minh City.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Day 14
Ice Skating and The Oriental
We woke up, crossed the street to get breakfast, paid back our debt, and walked over to Prom Pong Skytrain station to meet Sibyl and Anatta. After a ride on a crowded skytrain and a mildly crowded subway, we arrive at an indoor ice skating rink on the top floor of a giant mall. Side comment: I LOVE public transportation. Aside from a few unscrupulous taxi and tuk-tuk drivers (which we never met), Bangkok is one of the best places to not have a car.
There must have been a 30 degree temperature difference between the outside and the well air-conditioned space. It was exactly what we needed. The rink was huge, with bar tables made of ice for onlookers, a DJ station and a full bar and kitchen. This was Sibyl and Anatta’s 4th time ice skating, but they are very comfortable on the ice. Erika and I have not ice skated for many, many years, though Erika took to the ice like a fish to water. I, on the other hand, had a bumpy start until I realized that one should NOT put all of one’s weight onto one ankle. We had a wonderful few hours of skating round and round to the top 40’s hit of 1994. We finished up just as the crowd and the disco lights began to make their appearance. My favorite moments were when Anatta would stop on the side and plop herself down; get us to make shaved ice with our skates, so she could gather it up to make snowballs and snowmen. She’s never seen snow before. Poor girl.
Afterwards (as a treat), we took the two of them to the Oriental Hotel for an amazing lunch buffet. This is one of the oldest and finest 5 star hotels in Bangkok. (Check out the pics.) They sure know how to make you feel like royalty. We sat at a table overlooking the river and it began to rain. So we took our time and enjoyed the conversation and the atmosphere. This is also the infamous moment when Anatta “broke” my arm. Very strong child.
After lunch (and my armed magically “healed”), they invited us over to their home for a swim in their rooftop infinity pool. They live in a beautiful, three bedroom condo on the eighth floor of a nine floor building in the heart of Bangkok. After a much needed cooling off in the pool and a little time on the internet (this is where I broke Chang’s laptop- payback), they dropped us back off at the apartment.
Erika and I happen to have dinner at what we were later told to be one of the premiere Italian restaurants in town. We picked it out because of the crowd inside and we felt like pizza. We barely stayed awake during our hour and half full body oil massage (only $22) and went to sleep.
Tomorrow’s a big day. We’re meeting Sibyl and Anatta for a 6 hour bicycle tour of Bangkok’s jungles. I didn’t realize Bangkok had jungles.
We woke up, crossed the street to get breakfast, paid back our debt, and walked over to Prom Pong Skytrain station to meet Sibyl and Anatta. After a ride on a crowded skytrain and a mildly crowded subway, we arrive at an indoor ice skating rink on the top floor of a giant mall. Side comment: I LOVE public transportation. Aside from a few unscrupulous taxi and tuk-tuk drivers (which we never met), Bangkok is one of the best places to not have a car.
There must have been a 30 degree temperature difference between the outside and the well air-conditioned space. It was exactly what we needed. The rink was huge, with bar tables made of ice for onlookers, a DJ station and a full bar and kitchen. This was Sibyl and Anatta’s 4th time ice skating, but they are very comfortable on the ice. Erika and I have not ice skated for many, many years, though Erika took to the ice like a fish to water. I, on the other hand, had a bumpy start until I realized that one should NOT put all of one’s weight onto one ankle. We had a wonderful few hours of skating round and round to the top 40’s hit of 1994. We finished up just as the crowd and the disco lights began to make their appearance. My favorite moments were when Anatta would stop on the side and plop herself down; get us to make shaved ice with our skates, so she could gather it up to make snowballs and snowmen. She’s never seen snow before. Poor girl.
Afterwards (as a treat), we took the two of them to the Oriental Hotel for an amazing lunch buffet. This is one of the oldest and finest 5 star hotels in Bangkok. (Check out the pics.) They sure know how to make you feel like royalty. We sat at a table overlooking the river and it began to rain. So we took our time and enjoyed the conversation and the atmosphere. This is also the infamous moment when Anatta “broke” my arm. Very strong child.
After lunch (and my armed magically “healed”), they invited us over to their home for a swim in their rooftop infinity pool. They live in a beautiful, three bedroom condo on the eighth floor of a nine floor building in the heart of Bangkok. After a much needed cooling off in the pool and a little time on the internet (this is where I broke Chang’s laptop- payback), they dropped us back off at the apartment.
Erika and I happen to have dinner at what we were later told to be one of the premiere Italian restaurants in town. We picked it out because of the crowd inside and we felt like pizza. We barely stayed awake during our hour and half full body oil massage (only $22) and went to sleep.
Tomorrow’s a big day. We’re meeting Sibyl and Anatta for a 6 hour bicycle tour of Bangkok’s jungles. I didn’t realize Bangkok had jungles.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Day 13
Chiang Mai to Bangkok
We checked out of our Chiang Mai hotel at 5:30am and boarded an hour flight back to the City of Angels (Bangkok, and yes breakfast was included.) We said goodbye to John and Jen (they had a transfer to Phuket to begin their island hopping) and jumped in a cab toward the Emporium Shopping Center, the designated place to meet Sibyl and Anatta. (The wife and daughter of our old friend Chang, who we’ve only heard about through his emails and photos.)
We met Chang back in 2003. He’s a Thai and a forensic scientist/national diplomat living in Bangkok that was somehow roped into playing the role of a photographer in “Two Brothers”. We became fast friends and wound up spending a week with him in Bangkok and at the beach, Hua Hin, back in 2003. His wife (who’s a German from the Stuttgart area) and baby daughter were visiting family in Germany at the time, so we were truly looking forward to spending a few days with whole family during this trip. But as luck would have it, Chang was unexpectedly pulled away for business to Hawaii while we were in Vietnam. He pointed out that his wife and daughter would still be in the city and to give them a call to meet up and stay at one of their apartments.
Sibyl had us meet at the Emporium because it was a landmark that would be easy for a taxi driver to find. The addresses in Bangkok are apparently a mess. Once there, Oanh and I settled our bags and our behinds in the lobby of the Emporium Suites Hotel.
We were to meet specifically at the Louis Vuitton shop. A very thin, striking lady with a fair complexion that has been tanned by the Bangkok sun and a little 5 year old girl with light brown hair and cute little cheeks greet me. With hugs and thanks we walked over to the hotel lobby to fetch our bags and my husband.
Little Anatta was a tiny bit shy at first, but not more than a moment passed since her mother left her with us to get the car did she start chatting away about school and living in Thailand. She speaks German, English, and some Thai… and she’s only 5 and ¾ years old! An absolute darling, she had us cheered up very quickly from our boredom of sitting in this hotel lobby.
Mom showed up and we were on our way to Chang’s old bachelor pad apartment. We’ve been there before. As we got closer to our destination, the surroundings became less foreign. And then we turned a corner--- there it was… our FAVORITE massage parlor and across the street, Chang’s apartment. We were here!
Sibyl and Anatta lead us to the 7th floor. (It’s a beautiful little studio with a gorgeous view of the city.) We all talked a bit as the air-conditioning kicked in. As we got to know our new friends, the little one was running around, playing hide-and-seek, tickle monster, and continued her little antics that made us smile. The very lovely hostess brought us some water and soda for our little fridge, and bid us farewell as it was time for Anatta’s ballet class. She was in rehearsal for a recital where she gets to be one of the “12 Dancing Princesses”!
We accepted their offer to join them tomorrow morning for ice skating! Neither of us had been on ice for quite some time, but the heat of this side of the world had us jonesing for some COOL activities. We were very much looking forward to it. Yay for moving without sweating!!
Back on our own again, we decided explore the area and get some lunch. No sooner did we step outside, did it begin to rain. So we quickly ran across the street to a little coffee house. Thai iced tea- yummy. Club sandwich—yummy. Spaghetti with shrimp- also yummy. Passion-fruit hot tea and a waffle--- yu-uh-uh-uh-uuuuuuuuummmy. It was a great meal to wait out the monsoon-like downpour outside complete with lighting and thunder! However as we went to pay, we realized we were short, about 60 bahts (a little less than $2) and they did not accept credit cards or US dollars. We were looking at each other and the front door, when the young pregnant Thai girl behind the register smiled and said not to worry about it. Phew! Good thing for Oanh because I run much faster than he does. We promised to repay her once we found an ATM.
The sky was still being lit up, so we went back to the apartment to get a better view. Just as the light show was getting good, a nearby transformer blew up! Then all of our electricity went out! Oh no! Now what? We start to get a little anxious as the room started to warm up and the night sky was creeping in and we didn’t want to pester Sibyl again, but luckily the electricity bounced back on after only a couple of minutes! Ah---- air conditioning and lights. Thank you!
The rain quickly lulled us to sleep and we were out for the next couple of hours.
We awoke to find a quiet and dry sky, so we headed back to the Emporium for some shopping and dinner at a very special place. Oanh looked in awe at all of the incredibly new electronic equipment. I looked in awe at all of the incredible designer labels. We bought a neck strap for my camera. It was the only thing we actually needed and was within our budget.
Next door was a non-descript restaurant with a neon duck in the window. Shanghai Palace. Chang introduced this place to us back in 2003 as the King’s Peking Duck. This was one of the King’s favorite spots, but of course when he wanted Peking Duck, the chef came to him. This was the THE MOST incredible Peking Duck we have ever had and it was good to be back. We devoured a whole bird ourselves. It was just as we had remembered it.
With very full bellies, we slowly walked home and into our favorite massage parlor. It was under new management, so we decided to test it out first with an hour long foot massage, 250 bahts (about $8). It was awesome and the facilities and atmosphere would hold up to any spa at home. Much different than the Teen Love Massage parlor we walked past down the street. Practically falling asleep in our easy chairs, it was difficult to pry us out when it was time to go.
Across the street for another nap. (It’s good to be on vacation.)
And it was nice to be back in Bangkok again.
We checked out of our Chiang Mai hotel at 5:30am and boarded an hour flight back to the City of Angels (Bangkok, and yes breakfast was included.) We said goodbye to John and Jen (they had a transfer to Phuket to begin their island hopping) and jumped in a cab toward the Emporium Shopping Center, the designated place to meet Sibyl and Anatta. (The wife and daughter of our old friend Chang, who we’ve only heard about through his emails and photos.)
We met Chang back in 2003. He’s a Thai and a forensic scientist/national diplomat living in Bangkok that was somehow roped into playing the role of a photographer in “Two Brothers”. We became fast friends and wound up spending a week with him in Bangkok and at the beach, Hua Hin, back in 2003. His wife (who’s a German from the Stuttgart area) and baby daughter were visiting family in Germany at the time, so we were truly looking forward to spending a few days with whole family during this trip. But as luck would have it, Chang was unexpectedly pulled away for business to Hawaii while we were in Vietnam. He pointed out that his wife and daughter would still be in the city and to give them a call to meet up and stay at one of their apartments.
Sibyl had us meet at the Emporium because it was a landmark that would be easy for a taxi driver to find. The addresses in Bangkok are apparently a mess. Once there, Oanh and I settled our bags and our behinds in the lobby of the Emporium Suites Hotel.
We were to meet specifically at the Louis Vuitton shop. A very thin, striking lady with a fair complexion that has been tanned by the Bangkok sun and a little 5 year old girl with light brown hair and cute little cheeks greet me. With hugs and thanks we walked over to the hotel lobby to fetch our bags and my husband.
Little Anatta was a tiny bit shy at first, but not more than a moment passed since her mother left her with us to get the car did she start chatting away about school and living in Thailand. She speaks German, English, and some Thai… and she’s only 5 and ¾ years old! An absolute darling, she had us cheered up very quickly from our boredom of sitting in this hotel lobby.
Mom showed up and we were on our way to Chang’s old bachelor pad apartment. We’ve been there before. As we got closer to our destination, the surroundings became less foreign. And then we turned a corner--- there it was… our FAVORITE massage parlor and across the street, Chang’s apartment. We were here!
Sibyl and Anatta lead us to the 7th floor. (It’s a beautiful little studio with a gorgeous view of the city.) We all talked a bit as the air-conditioning kicked in. As we got to know our new friends, the little one was running around, playing hide-and-seek, tickle monster, and continued her little antics that made us smile. The very lovely hostess brought us some water and soda for our little fridge, and bid us farewell as it was time for Anatta’s ballet class. She was in rehearsal for a recital where she gets to be one of the “12 Dancing Princesses”!
We accepted their offer to join them tomorrow morning for ice skating! Neither of us had been on ice for quite some time, but the heat of this side of the world had us jonesing for some COOL activities. We were very much looking forward to it. Yay for moving without sweating!!
Back on our own again, we decided explore the area and get some lunch. No sooner did we step outside, did it begin to rain. So we quickly ran across the street to a little coffee house. Thai iced tea- yummy. Club sandwich—yummy. Spaghetti with shrimp- also yummy. Passion-fruit hot tea and a waffle--- yu-uh-uh-uh-uuuuuuuuummmy. It was a great meal to wait out the monsoon-like downpour outside complete with lighting and thunder! However as we went to pay, we realized we were short, about 60 bahts (a little less than $2) and they did not accept credit cards or US dollars. We were looking at each other and the front door, when the young pregnant Thai girl behind the register smiled and said not to worry about it. Phew! Good thing for Oanh because I run much faster than he does. We promised to repay her once we found an ATM.
The sky was still being lit up, so we went back to the apartment to get a better view. Just as the light show was getting good, a nearby transformer blew up! Then all of our electricity went out! Oh no! Now what? We start to get a little anxious as the room started to warm up and the night sky was creeping in and we didn’t want to pester Sibyl again, but luckily the electricity bounced back on after only a couple of minutes! Ah---- air conditioning and lights. Thank you!
The rain quickly lulled us to sleep and we were out for the next couple of hours.
We awoke to find a quiet and dry sky, so we headed back to the Emporium for some shopping and dinner at a very special place. Oanh looked in awe at all of the incredibly new electronic equipment. I looked in awe at all of the incredible designer labels. We bought a neck strap for my camera. It was the only thing we actually needed and was within our budget.
Next door was a non-descript restaurant with a neon duck in the window. Shanghai Palace. Chang introduced this place to us back in 2003 as the King’s Peking Duck. This was one of the King’s favorite spots, but of course when he wanted Peking Duck, the chef came to him. This was the THE MOST incredible Peking Duck we have ever had and it was good to be back. We devoured a whole bird ourselves. It was just as we had remembered it.
With very full bellies, we slowly walked home and into our favorite massage parlor. It was under new management, so we decided to test it out first with an hour long foot massage, 250 bahts (about $8). It was awesome and the facilities and atmosphere would hold up to any spa at home. Much different than the Teen Love Massage parlor we walked past down the street. Practically falling asleep in our easy chairs, it was difficult to pry us out when it was time to go.
Across the street for another nap. (It’s good to be on vacation.)
And it was nice to be back in Bangkok again.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day 12
Catch up and relax
With Songkram over, the city of Chiang Mai settles down and we decide to follow suit. It was nice to not have to wake up to an alarm or a wakeup call. We all moseyed out of our rooms and headed towards town on foot in search of breakfast. We found a market that was just getting the day started. They’re on the same schedule as us. Shopkeepers were hosing off and scrubbing their cement slab counters and tile floors, methodically laying out their wares in neat rows and columns. Walking by mounds of curry and dried squid, Lychee and Mango baskets, we came to our first purchase of the day… A thai dessert-like concoction. Oanh, always the adventurous one with sweet drinks, ordered a strange dessert drink with green slimy noodles. Recipe: Green Slimy noodles in a little bag, pour in coconut milk and ice, mix it around and hand it over with a spoon. Outcome: Yummy! Even I liked it! Jen and John purchased a roasted pumpkin concoction very similarly prepared. It was also quite tasty though we preferred the green noodle thing, if only because it was a green noodle thing.
Slurping our treat, we make our way around the corner to a vendor stir frying something that smelled VERY SPICY. For 25 baht (about 70 cents) you could order anything on their menu… too bad it was ENTIRELY in Thai! Oanh and I miraculously order fried rice that came with a soup. The fried rice was light and very tasty. The soup was a simple beef broth with onions. We thanked our very polite host and exited the market. Not without buying a few fresh lychees for later. It is always a challenge trying to buy something when neither party has a single word of the other party’s language. Oanh in the end held up a 10 baht coin and pointed to the fruit. The shopkeeper understood and we were on our way.
John and Jen had a very full day planned to see every Wot in Chiang Mai and more, so we split up and headed back. We stopped in to a larger market next door to our hotel. This was definitely different: A Super Store. Part Department store and part supermarket this was a one-stop-shop. Browsing the aisles and seeing lots of interesting food items, we settled on some incredible looking pastries, water, a couple of cans of beer, a small bottle of White-kiwi juice, a bag of Durian Chips, and some cut mango. Take a look at the photos, some of the aisles had very funny names. Then check out the Hydrophonic lettuce. Don’t ask me what it is because I couldn’t tell you, but it was cool to see.
With bags in hand we walk next door back to our hotel to spend the day catching up on email, our blog, and more sleep. We watched a little international television as well: Some Thai music videos, an interview in English with 2 very well educated Thai women talking about women’s roles in Thai society, and a little bit of Thai soap operas. Can we say dramatic? Telemundo eat your heart out!
Amazing how quickly the day passed and by the time we knew it, it was 6:30pm and we needed to get some dinner. I find out about a restaurant on the riverfront that supposedly has consistently good food and incredible atmosphere. The hotel staff agreed and said it was one of the most popular restaurants in Chiang Mai. Cool, good sign. We get a tuk-tuk and zip over to the place. A wooden structure with lots of windows and many levels, we are hurried in. The hostess leads us through the bar to a very steep staircase taking us to the garden patio overlooking the river. It was FANTASTIC! We sat down and proceeded to have a very nice romantic dinner for two. A solo guitar player serenaded us all night with jazzy renditions of Beatles tunes, the sound of the water splashing ever so slightly and candlelight dimly lighting our food and our faces. It was a great choice.
Since this was our last night here, we wanted to try some specifically Northern Thai dishes. We were in luck. They had an appetizer platter of just the stuff. A large round dish with fresh vegetables, 2 different kinds of sausages, a meatball of sorts and a very spicy noodle dish. Everything was interesting and mostly good, though we were glad we just got samples rather than an entire dish of any of these items. Then the best part--- fried soft shell crab with garlic! Wow! It was incredible and the two of us were in heaven! We topped the meal off with a couple of banana desserts, relaxed for a bit while our tummies digested, and then hopped back on a tuk-tuk to return home.
John and Jen got back a little after us and we all sat in our room talking about each other’s experiences. Sounded like they saw a lot and had a great time…. We’re glad we stayed behind. Though the massage at the Women’s Prison sounded pretty interesting!
Our flight back to Bangkok is at 7am in the morning. Back to the wakeup calls.
Goodnight Chiang Mai.
With Songkram over, the city of Chiang Mai settles down and we decide to follow suit. It was nice to not have to wake up to an alarm or a wakeup call. We all moseyed out of our rooms and headed towards town on foot in search of breakfast. We found a market that was just getting the day started. They’re on the same schedule as us. Shopkeepers were hosing off and scrubbing their cement slab counters and tile floors, methodically laying out their wares in neat rows and columns. Walking by mounds of curry and dried squid, Lychee and Mango baskets, we came to our first purchase of the day… A thai dessert-like concoction. Oanh, always the adventurous one with sweet drinks, ordered a strange dessert drink with green slimy noodles. Recipe: Green Slimy noodles in a little bag, pour in coconut milk and ice, mix it around and hand it over with a spoon. Outcome: Yummy! Even I liked it! Jen and John purchased a roasted pumpkin concoction very similarly prepared. It was also quite tasty though we preferred the green noodle thing, if only because it was a green noodle thing.
Slurping our treat, we make our way around the corner to a vendor stir frying something that smelled VERY SPICY. For 25 baht (about 70 cents) you could order anything on their menu… too bad it was ENTIRELY in Thai! Oanh and I miraculously order fried rice that came with a soup. The fried rice was light and very tasty. The soup was a simple beef broth with onions. We thanked our very polite host and exited the market. Not without buying a few fresh lychees for later. It is always a challenge trying to buy something when neither party has a single word of the other party’s language. Oanh in the end held up a 10 baht coin and pointed to the fruit. The shopkeeper understood and we were on our way.
John and Jen had a very full day planned to see every Wot in Chiang Mai and more, so we split up and headed back. We stopped in to a larger market next door to our hotel. This was definitely different: A Super Store. Part Department store and part supermarket this was a one-stop-shop. Browsing the aisles and seeing lots of interesting food items, we settled on some incredible looking pastries, water, a couple of cans of beer, a small bottle of White-kiwi juice, a bag of Durian Chips, and some cut mango. Take a look at the photos, some of the aisles had very funny names. Then check out the Hydrophonic lettuce. Don’t ask me what it is because I couldn’t tell you, but it was cool to see.
With bags in hand we walk next door back to our hotel to spend the day catching up on email, our blog, and more sleep. We watched a little international television as well: Some Thai music videos, an interview in English with 2 very well educated Thai women talking about women’s roles in Thai society, and a little bit of Thai soap operas. Can we say dramatic? Telemundo eat your heart out!
Amazing how quickly the day passed and by the time we knew it, it was 6:30pm and we needed to get some dinner. I find out about a restaurant on the riverfront that supposedly has consistently good food and incredible atmosphere. The hotel staff agreed and said it was one of the most popular restaurants in Chiang Mai. Cool, good sign. We get a tuk-tuk and zip over to the place. A wooden structure with lots of windows and many levels, we are hurried in. The hostess leads us through the bar to a very steep staircase taking us to the garden patio overlooking the river. It was FANTASTIC! We sat down and proceeded to have a very nice romantic dinner for two. A solo guitar player serenaded us all night with jazzy renditions of Beatles tunes, the sound of the water splashing ever so slightly and candlelight dimly lighting our food and our faces. It was a great choice.
Since this was our last night here, we wanted to try some specifically Northern Thai dishes. We were in luck. They had an appetizer platter of just the stuff. A large round dish with fresh vegetables, 2 different kinds of sausages, a meatball of sorts and a very spicy noodle dish. Everything was interesting and mostly good, though we were glad we just got samples rather than an entire dish of any of these items. Then the best part--- fried soft shell crab with garlic! Wow! It was incredible and the two of us were in heaven! We topped the meal off with a couple of banana desserts, relaxed for a bit while our tummies digested, and then hopped back on a tuk-tuk to return home.
John and Jen got back a little after us and we all sat in our room talking about each other’s experiences. Sounded like they saw a lot and had a great time…. We’re glad we stayed behind. Though the massage at the Women’s Prison sounded pretty interesting!
Our flight back to Bangkok is at 7am in the morning. Back to the wakeup calls.
Goodnight Chiang Mai.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Day 11
Elephants, oxes, and conchs, oh my!
Today we booked tickets to the Elephant Safari. An hour long ride into the jungle, we all mounted, two by two, onto these immense creatures to traipse around the mountain and through small streams. Oanh and I have done this type of thing before the last time we were in this part of the world, so we focused more on the two teeny weeny baby elephants walking alongside our pack (apparently following their parents) and getting into all kind of trouble. They were getting stuck in between branches, burrowing into holes in the dirt that were much too small for them, trying to get the grownups to go the wrong way and a few times, just didn’t want to go any more. They had us in stitches the whole way!
After about an hour, we were dropped off at a shopping station for jewelry and tribal crafts. This is quite normal. Jenn and I each bought an anklet bracelet. Good bargain thanks to Jen, only 50 bahts. (That’s about $1.50) It’s very cute with elephants… how appropriate.
Next: an Ox-cart. Yes, a real honest to goodness Ox-cart. Wooden wheels and all, we bounced and wobbled down a dirt road past little village huts complete with grass roof, bamboo walls and satellite dishes! How else would they watch reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond”?
Then the elephant “show” which was pretty spectacular if for only one thing…. The elephants paint! Yes, there were 3 elephants who actually painted pictures of trees and elephants. One of them even painted her name. We watched it occur in front of our eyes and it was amazing. Although the production was partially upstaged by two baby elephants frolicking, and I mean “frolicking”! Oh yes, lots of mounting and wobbly elephant penis for all to see! And yes, there are pictures!
After a small lunch that included a MOUND of Pad Thai, we headed over to the bamboo rafts. Literally 10 thick bamboo stalks or so, tied together with string or rubber and placed on the water with three small wooden bench seats that were not pleasing to the bum after a spell, and two Thai gondoliers. This was a real “Jungle Cruise”. There was even an elephant taking a bath! He was actually in the exact same position as the one in our favorite Disney ride, but he moved before I could catch a snapshot! The water was nice and cool and at points I almost jumped in, but then I saw a bit of trash floating by and got my wits back.
The final destination on our Safari was an Orchid Farm and butterfly garden. I went crazy with the foliage photos, sorry. Just skip through them. These are for my mom who LOVES gardening and flowers. I thought of her immediately as we arrived. After the farm it was back to the hotel and into the pool to cool off. The Safari was well worth the price of admission and we also got to know a mother and daughter from Chicago. Alisa, the daughter, is in the middle of her two year contract with the Peace Corps stationed in Thailand and mom was spoiling her during her break. Alisa’s teaching English in a small farming village in the mountains living in a hut with no air-conditioning, internet or even protection from the creatures of the jungle for $100 a month. It’s only her and the villagers. She speaks fluent Thai now. A little lonely sometimes she admits, but overall the townspeople have become her surrogate family and she gets on fine. Fascinating. I could never do it, but have much respect for those who can.
A couple of laps in the hotel pool and a few Mai Tai’s later we were all relaxed and cooled down.
That evening we headed back out to the market for more shopping and dinner. We didn’t buy anything since we received our laundry back from the hotel and… you should always check the prices before doing laundry at a hotel. Let’s just say a Peace Corps’ salary for a month would barely cover it. Not happy.
At the market we were introduced to ““Banana Roti”, a Thai style crepe with condensed milk, coconut milk, bananas and a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top. Highly recommend it! We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant that had a live shrimp pond in the center. So… we ordered shrimp… and steamed “morning glories” veggies, oysters, and BBQ Conch! So the shrimp was good, lots of garlic. The vegetables were lovely. The oysters were HUGE! I tried it, but couldn’t do it. Oanh finished mine. And the Conch was five large shells burnt on a plate with no special sauce. They had the consistency of a very chewy squid or octopus and no flavor. I got it down, but let’s just say the mango and sticky rice was a MUST to finish off this meal!
Then into “Let’s Relax” for a foot, head, neck and back massage. Mostly reflexology and Thai style, lots of poking and prodding. Not my favorite kind of style, but the place was clean, the atmosphere was nice, and I did get a good night sleep afterwards!
Nighty night. While visions of elephants and snails danced in my head.
Oh I almost forgot. John MacDonald has written a blog of the day and insists you hear his version. So here it goes. Unedited… It is quite funny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today’s Blog is written by a special guest blogger who is also in the land of curry and elephants, John MacDonald
Wednesday, April 15, 2008
Well, hello everyone! Wow, I can’t tell you how excited I am that Oanh has asked me to write today’s blog relating to he and Erika’s adventures here in Thailand. Although, I am a little apprehensive too, Oanh has informed me that he might edit it for content if necessary. He probably just wants to be sure that I do not write anything inappropriate. No worries, I’m sure.
Yesterday, Oanh, Erika, Jennifer and I went on an elephant safari. Which was an amazing suggestion by Oanh Nugyen. After an hour drive north from our hotel, we arrived at the “safari camp”, a small compound with a few wooden buildings and quite a large number of elephants which were personally trained by Oanh. After a few minutes of milling around with other “safari members” we mounted the pachyderms, two to an elephant with the exception of Oanh’s a truly magnificent animal that supported a jeweled thrown, and were off. The elephant ride lasted approximately two hours and deposited us at an actual native village populated by rural Thais that worshipped Oanh as their god. At the village both Jennifer and Erika bought matching silver elephant ankle rings that were handcrafted by Oanh signifying that both women were beholden to him for life.
After a short time in the village, the four of us “mounted up” in a series of small oxen driven carts that trekked us back to our starting “camp” area where we had a lunch of various local foods (I had fruit and spaghetti – no joke) before we made our way to a flotilla of bamboo rafts located on a small river running by the safari compound area. The four of us and two other members of the group loaded aboard one of the fifteen by five foot rafts which were then guided down the river by two members of the safari staff. Half way along our journey one of our guides was attacked by a giant Asian crocodile which dragged him off the raft and into the water. I was paralyzed with fear, but Oanh nonchalantly thrust a large knife in his teeth and leaped into the water after the reptile. Soon the body of the crocodile floated to the surface of the water, the hilt of the knife protruding from its belly. Nearby, Oanh came to the surface of the river, the still living guard holding onto his back. I was still too frightened to move as the girls helped the guide back onto the raft as Oanh took control of the pole used to guide the craft and started moving us back down river. In all, it was a very relaxing journey on the river for a few miles after which where we joined the organizers of the journey for our ride back into town.
Aside from a quick detour to an orchid farm, we made it back to the hotel in time to head over to the massive shopping area in Chang Mai that is known as “the Night Bazaar” for dinner, which Oanh cooked himself, before returning to the hotel for a well needed rest.
And that is my blog for the day. I’m sure Oanh will not feel the need to changing anything. I mean, what can he possibly add or change? Hope you all enjoyed my little guest appearance here on the Oanh and Erika site, and I’ll catch up to you all when I get back! Oanh rules!
Today we booked tickets to the Elephant Safari. An hour long ride into the jungle, we all mounted, two by two, onto these immense creatures to traipse around the mountain and through small streams. Oanh and I have done this type of thing before the last time we were in this part of the world, so we focused more on the two teeny weeny baby elephants walking alongside our pack (apparently following their parents) and getting into all kind of trouble. They were getting stuck in between branches, burrowing into holes in the dirt that were much too small for them, trying to get the grownups to go the wrong way and a few times, just didn’t want to go any more. They had us in stitches the whole way!
After about an hour, we were dropped off at a shopping station for jewelry and tribal crafts. This is quite normal. Jenn and I each bought an anklet bracelet. Good bargain thanks to Jen, only 50 bahts. (That’s about $1.50) It’s very cute with elephants… how appropriate.
Next: an Ox-cart. Yes, a real honest to goodness Ox-cart. Wooden wheels and all, we bounced and wobbled down a dirt road past little village huts complete with grass roof, bamboo walls and satellite dishes! How else would they watch reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond”?
Then the elephant “show” which was pretty spectacular if for only one thing…. The elephants paint! Yes, there were 3 elephants who actually painted pictures of trees and elephants. One of them even painted her name. We watched it occur in front of our eyes and it was amazing. Although the production was partially upstaged by two baby elephants frolicking, and I mean “frolicking”! Oh yes, lots of mounting and wobbly elephant penis for all to see! And yes, there are pictures!
After a small lunch that included a MOUND of Pad Thai, we headed over to the bamboo rafts. Literally 10 thick bamboo stalks or so, tied together with string or rubber and placed on the water with three small wooden bench seats that were not pleasing to the bum after a spell, and two Thai gondoliers. This was a real “Jungle Cruise”. There was even an elephant taking a bath! He was actually in the exact same position as the one in our favorite Disney ride, but he moved before I could catch a snapshot! The water was nice and cool and at points I almost jumped in, but then I saw a bit of trash floating by and got my wits back.
The final destination on our Safari was an Orchid Farm and butterfly garden. I went crazy with the foliage photos, sorry. Just skip through them. These are for my mom who LOVES gardening and flowers. I thought of her immediately as we arrived. After the farm it was back to the hotel and into the pool to cool off. The Safari was well worth the price of admission and we also got to know a mother and daughter from Chicago. Alisa, the daughter, is in the middle of her two year contract with the Peace Corps stationed in Thailand and mom was spoiling her during her break. Alisa’s teaching English in a small farming village in the mountains living in a hut with no air-conditioning, internet or even protection from the creatures of the jungle for $100 a month. It’s only her and the villagers. She speaks fluent Thai now. A little lonely sometimes she admits, but overall the townspeople have become her surrogate family and she gets on fine. Fascinating. I could never do it, but have much respect for those who can.
A couple of laps in the hotel pool and a few Mai Tai’s later we were all relaxed and cooled down.
That evening we headed back out to the market for more shopping and dinner. We didn’t buy anything since we received our laundry back from the hotel and… you should always check the prices before doing laundry at a hotel. Let’s just say a Peace Corps’ salary for a month would barely cover it. Not happy.
At the market we were introduced to ““Banana Roti”, a Thai style crepe with condensed milk, coconut milk, bananas and a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top. Highly recommend it! We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant that had a live shrimp pond in the center. So… we ordered shrimp… and steamed “morning glories” veggies, oysters, and BBQ Conch! So the shrimp was good, lots of garlic. The vegetables were lovely. The oysters were HUGE! I tried it, but couldn’t do it. Oanh finished mine. And the Conch was five large shells burnt on a plate with no special sauce. They had the consistency of a very chewy squid or octopus and no flavor. I got it down, but let’s just say the mango and sticky rice was a MUST to finish off this meal!
Then into “Let’s Relax” for a foot, head, neck and back massage. Mostly reflexology and Thai style, lots of poking and prodding. Not my favorite kind of style, but the place was clean, the atmosphere was nice, and I did get a good night sleep afterwards!
Nighty night. While visions of elephants and snails danced in my head.
Oh I almost forgot. John MacDonald has written a blog of the day and insists you hear his version. So here it goes. Unedited… It is quite funny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today’s Blog is written by a special guest blogger who is also in the land of curry and elephants, John MacDonald
Wednesday, April 15, 2008
Well, hello everyone! Wow, I can’t tell you how excited I am that Oanh has asked me to write today’s blog relating to he and Erika’s adventures here in Thailand. Although, I am a little apprehensive too, Oanh has informed me that he might edit it for content if necessary. He probably just wants to be sure that I do not write anything inappropriate. No worries, I’m sure.
Yesterday, Oanh, Erika, Jennifer and I went on an elephant safari. Which was an amazing suggestion by Oanh Nugyen. After an hour drive north from our hotel, we arrived at the “safari camp”, a small compound with a few wooden buildings and quite a large number of elephants which were personally trained by Oanh. After a few minutes of milling around with other “safari members” we mounted the pachyderms, two to an elephant with the exception of Oanh’s a truly magnificent animal that supported a jeweled thrown, and were off. The elephant ride lasted approximately two hours and deposited us at an actual native village populated by rural Thais that worshipped Oanh as their god. At the village both Jennifer and Erika bought matching silver elephant ankle rings that were handcrafted by Oanh signifying that both women were beholden to him for life.
After a short time in the village, the four of us “mounted up” in a series of small oxen driven carts that trekked us back to our starting “camp” area where we had a lunch of various local foods (I had fruit and spaghetti – no joke) before we made our way to a flotilla of bamboo rafts located on a small river running by the safari compound area. The four of us and two other members of the group loaded aboard one of the fifteen by five foot rafts which were then guided down the river by two members of the safari staff. Half way along our journey one of our guides was attacked by a giant Asian crocodile which dragged him off the raft and into the water. I was paralyzed with fear, but Oanh nonchalantly thrust a large knife in his teeth and leaped into the water after the reptile. Soon the body of the crocodile floated to the surface of the water, the hilt of the knife protruding from its belly. Nearby, Oanh came to the surface of the river, the still living guard holding onto his back. I was still too frightened to move as the girls helped the guide back onto the raft as Oanh took control of the pole used to guide the craft and started moving us back down river. In all, it was a very relaxing journey on the river for a few miles after which where we joined the organizers of the journey for our ride back into town.
Aside from a quick detour to an orchid farm, we made it back to the hotel in time to head over to the massive shopping area in Chang Mai that is known as “the Night Bazaar” for dinner, which Oanh cooked himself, before returning to the hotel for a well needed rest.
And that is my blog for the day. I’m sure Oanh will not feel the need to changing anything. I mean, what can he possibly add or change? Hope you all enjoyed my little guest appearance here on the Oanh and Erika site, and I’ll catch up to you all when I get back! Oanh rules!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Day 10
Wet and wild
After a leisurely wake up from our most comfortable bed yet, we had a light breakfast and headed out to the airport to meet up with John and Jenn to fly up to Chiang Mai.
Greeting each other after going through security, we quickly gave hugs all around and began to exchange stories about our recent adventures.
Apparently we are in the middle of the Thai New Year festivities called Songkran, and it is a HUGE week-long ordeal. Basically it is a big free for all water fight, and hearing the stories from our friends who had just experienced it in Bangkok, we were getting nervous! Tales of water guns, snipers, ambush, buckets of ice water, and clay mud getting thrown and smeared onto faces --- then they informed us that Chiang Mai is supposed to be WORSE!
Oh no, what are we in for?
After a quick 70 minute flight, we stood in line for a taxi, only to be told they were out. Out? I didn’t know you could run out of taxis. To the rescue, a man approaches us with an offer of a ride in his unmarked Toyota Corolla taxi. We accepted, although Oanh and John had to help the driver solve the jigsaw puzzle that was our bags and his trunk. At one point the driver thought it was a good idea to just leave the trunk open. We were very happy to make it to the Novotel Hotel with all our bags intact! It is a very clean, Western style hotel and we are glad to continue our trend of using a separate shower/toilet/bathroom thingy. J
After a quick pow-wow, we decided to hit the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar (the night market) by way of the street around the moat (where the New Year was being intensely celebrated) and the oldest Wot (Temple) in town. We put on our swim suits, quick dry clothing, and went off to arm ourselves by stopping at the first shop and buying a few multi-colored space age water guns. A bit foolish looking we headed down the street and BAM!! Not even a half a block from our hotel and we were drenched. Just as predicted, people with buckets, hoses, water guns and anything else that could hold water were spraying and throwing water at any passerby. Imagine a pickup truck with a very large bin of ice water driving by with very wet folks screeching with pleasure, laughing wildly and screaming “Happy New Year” as they doused you with buckets and buckets of water. We don’t have to imagine, we saw 40 of them! But it was all in good fun.
After a bit of a walk, we were all drenched from head to toe and realized that we had been walking in the WRONG DIRECTION!! Thanks John! J
So we quickly hopped into the next tuk-tuk (motor bike with attached bench seat for carting tourists around). As we arrived at the moat, we got out and made our way though the festivities. Water flying everywhere, people swimming in the brown cloudy moat and splashing everyone and everything, you could barely move through the street. It was an absolute madhouse. Imagine Times Square but in the middle of summer and with water and you can get a little hint of the people and the craziness. Dancing with music blaring, people having a great time, and the occasional ice cold water dousing, we slowly made our way towards our destination.
Sopping wet from head to toe we arrived at Wot Chiang Man. We ended up walking around the buildings and taking pictures of the exterior and made no attempt to actually go inside. Could you imagine, walking into a sacred temple sloshing water and dripping profusely on the beautifully painted floors and such? Yeah, no. Going through the gardens we came across a monk in a motorized wheelchair. Steering with his joystick and rolling over cobblestone paths in his orange and red robes and shaved head, much like Chiang Mai it was an interesting contrast between the old and the modern.
Another tuk-tuk ride and round of dousing later (it was unavoidable) we arrived at the Night Market. Shopping we went! Once again haggling was the name of the game. I always thought Oanh was the best at this, but you should see Jenn at work. She has a way of getting the prices down to half or more from their original price. The merchants are as surprised as we are of her skills. I wonder how she’d do at South Coast Plaza? J
After collecting our prizes, we got some grub at one of the restaurant stalls in the market: fresh fish, stir-fried veggies with crispy pork and our favorite… mango and sticky rice. No disappointment here.
After we filled our bellies, we stopped at one of the plethora of massage parlors and had our first (of many, I hope) foot massages on this trip! 150 baht for 1 hour. That’s $5. (Over 2 hours have passed and we were STILL wet.)
All relaxed we hopped into another tuk-tuk and asked for the “NO WATER” route back to the hotel. He did well, and we didn’t get any new “wishes” on our way back.
Thank you Mr. Tuk-tuk and Goodnight… for tomorrow we ride elephants!
After a leisurely wake up from our most comfortable bed yet, we had a light breakfast and headed out to the airport to meet up with John and Jenn to fly up to Chiang Mai.
Greeting each other after going through security, we quickly gave hugs all around and began to exchange stories about our recent adventures.
Apparently we are in the middle of the Thai New Year festivities called Songkran, and it is a HUGE week-long ordeal. Basically it is a big free for all water fight, and hearing the stories from our friends who had just experienced it in Bangkok, we were getting nervous! Tales of water guns, snipers, ambush, buckets of ice water, and clay mud getting thrown and smeared onto faces --- then they informed us that Chiang Mai is supposed to be WORSE!
Oh no, what are we in for?
After a quick 70 minute flight, we stood in line for a taxi, only to be told they were out. Out? I didn’t know you could run out of taxis. To the rescue, a man approaches us with an offer of a ride in his unmarked Toyota Corolla taxi. We accepted, although Oanh and John had to help the driver solve the jigsaw puzzle that was our bags and his trunk. At one point the driver thought it was a good idea to just leave the trunk open. We were very happy to make it to the Novotel Hotel with all our bags intact! It is a very clean, Western style hotel and we are glad to continue our trend of using a separate shower/toilet/bathroom thingy. J
After a quick pow-wow, we decided to hit the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar (the night market) by way of the street around the moat (where the New Year was being intensely celebrated) and the oldest Wot (Temple) in town. We put on our swim suits, quick dry clothing, and went off to arm ourselves by stopping at the first shop and buying a few multi-colored space age water guns. A bit foolish looking we headed down the street and BAM!! Not even a half a block from our hotel and we were drenched. Just as predicted, people with buckets, hoses, water guns and anything else that could hold water were spraying and throwing water at any passerby. Imagine a pickup truck with a very large bin of ice water driving by with very wet folks screeching with pleasure, laughing wildly and screaming “Happy New Year” as they doused you with buckets and buckets of water. We don’t have to imagine, we saw 40 of them! But it was all in good fun.
After a bit of a walk, we were all drenched from head to toe and realized that we had been walking in the WRONG DIRECTION!! Thanks John! J
So we quickly hopped into the next tuk-tuk (motor bike with attached bench seat for carting tourists around). As we arrived at the moat, we got out and made our way though the festivities. Water flying everywhere, people swimming in the brown cloudy moat and splashing everyone and everything, you could barely move through the street. It was an absolute madhouse. Imagine Times Square but in the middle of summer and with water and you can get a little hint of the people and the craziness. Dancing with music blaring, people having a great time, and the occasional ice cold water dousing, we slowly made our way towards our destination.
Sopping wet from head to toe we arrived at Wot Chiang Man. We ended up walking around the buildings and taking pictures of the exterior and made no attempt to actually go inside. Could you imagine, walking into a sacred temple sloshing water and dripping profusely on the beautifully painted floors and such? Yeah, no. Going through the gardens we came across a monk in a motorized wheelchair. Steering with his joystick and rolling over cobblestone paths in his orange and red robes and shaved head, much like Chiang Mai it was an interesting contrast between the old and the modern.
Another tuk-tuk ride and round of dousing later (it was unavoidable) we arrived at the Night Market. Shopping we went! Once again haggling was the name of the game. I always thought Oanh was the best at this, but you should see Jenn at work. She has a way of getting the prices down to half or more from their original price. The merchants are as surprised as we are of her skills. I wonder how she’d do at South Coast Plaza? J
After collecting our prizes, we got some grub at one of the restaurant stalls in the market: fresh fish, stir-fried veggies with crispy pork and our favorite… mango and sticky rice. No disappointment here.
After we filled our bellies, we stopped at one of the plethora of massage parlors and had our first (of many, I hope) foot massages on this trip! 150 baht for 1 hour. That’s $5. (Over 2 hours have passed and we were STILL wet.)
All relaxed we hopped into another tuk-tuk and asked for the “NO WATER” route back to the hotel. He did well, and we didn’t get any new “wishes” on our way back.
Thank you Mr. Tuk-tuk and Goodnight… for tomorrow we ride elephants!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Day 9
A few goodbyes and a hello to Thailand
We were awoken by the sound of trumpets and drums at 6am. A little too groggy we did not make it out of bed in time to catch a glimpse of the parade marching past our hotel! The sound of chanting and religious singing continued to fill the air far after the last horn was heard. It was a holy morning. There was no going back to sleep after that, so we started our preparations for the day. We were skipping over to Thailand for a week and saying goodbye to our cousins who are heading back to Florida. We’ll miss them.
Grandfather had setup another Skype chat for 10am this morning knowing we’d have the DSL from the hotel on this final day, but this time it would also include our tour buddies. He arrived 30 minutes early with his youngest son-in-law, Uncle Thong (who’s only a year older than Oanh). He wanted to ensure some quiet time with Oanh’s Mom and Dad. He told them that when he came home from his first call, he felt as if he had just gotten back from visiting them from down the street and not from the other side of the world. It made him very happy to feel so close to them. They felt the same way. At 10am our tour buddies showed up, and the whole family was together in our hotel room talking to Oanh’s parents on a laptop screen. Uncle sat down next to Grandpa and they spent the next couple of hours chatting about how much they missed each other, everything and everyone they know or knew, about our latest visit to Dalat and Nga Trang and how they have been checking our blog site multiple times a day and were beginning to get concerned for our safety. Luckily Uncle was able to convince them that all was fine and we had a lovely time sans internet. J
During this time, our cousins, who have also been reading the blogs, asked me to take them to our little lady in the alley for breakfast. Oanh stayed behind with the grownups while the 4 of us headed out into the street to get some yummies. This was new for me, leading the group. Now what alley was she down? We take a turn… Uh-oh, not this alley, a quick cell phone call out to Oanh and we were back on track. We found her and she’s still making noodles, so we all sat down. Slurping away, we were content. Our cousins wished they had come sooner! It still is one of the best meals we had in Vietnam and it was seriously only one dollar.
On our walk back we headed into a few shops to check out the wares and came across a really cool shop that makes custom Vietnamese Character paintings. We partook. It was going to take a couple of hours for the “architect” (as our translator called him) to do his thing, so we went back to the hotel to find Oanh and Uncle. Grandfather had slipped away without my saying goodbye. But not to worry, we are coming back next week for birthday dinner for an Aunt. We grabbed Oanh and Uncle and took off towards the market for refreshments and final shopping.
We went back to the Ben Thanh market to find more treasures. Uncle had told us to be sure to negotiate a better price. I bought a jade bracelet for $20! (The merchant originally asked for $35. I hope it’s real.) Hanh bought clothes and a set of white gold traditional bangle bracelets. In the end we all were happy with our purchases. We drank grass jelly refreshments at a nearby stall to cool off from all the haggling. I did not partake in the grass jelly. There are some things that just don’t translate. I had iced green tea with lemon instead.
Back to the hotel to pick up our Vietnamese Character paintings, check out and head to the airport. Everyone else’s paintings were gorgeous. As a result of my inability to speak Vietnamese, mine was not so much. My cousins helped me clear it up and the shop lady promised to have it ready for us when we get back next week. Uncle and our cousins accompanied us to the airport and during the 20 minute drive the conversation stayed light, but we all knew it was about to end. We got our bags out of the cab and then the hugging began. I think we all hugged each other twice, said goodbye, hugged again, and thanked them for allowing us to join them on this little adventure. We love them a lot and it was very hard to say goodbye.
On our hour long flight to Bangkok, we met some groovy people. Melinda with the buff arms (she was doing pull ups on the bus ride over to the plane) that worked for the U.S. National Intelligence but was on a bit of a hiatus walking the Earth in search of a higher purpose. We met her when she overheard us speaking to Don, a nice strapping fellow we met at the check-in line that works for Microsoft and lives in Laguna Niguel. It truly is a small world. He convinced us to not switch back to XP and wait for the service pack. And finally Jan (pronounced Yan) the commercial pilot from Sweden on vacation that was sitting next to us on the plane. Apparently there is a shortage of pilots all over the world, so if you’re thinking about a new profession, you might want to consider being a commercial Pilot. Some of the best parts of traveling are the people you meet on the journey.
The flight was quick and easy. Although I should mention that we were served drinks AND dinner for this barely 1 hour flight! Free! Hello American Airliners!
We checked in at a familiar place, the Amari Airport Hotel. We stayed here five years ago when Oanh was shooting the film “Two Brothers”. We thought this would be a convenient place to rest ourselves since it’s connected to the airport and we’d be jumping on a plane tomorrow afternoon to Chiang Mai. The down side to that plan? Five years ago, there was only one airport in Bangkok. As you can tell from my tone, the Amari was not connected to the one we flew into or will be flying out of. Moral of the story, ALWAYS buy the latest version of the Bible “Lonely Planet”! Oh well. It’s a HUGE 4 star room with a feather bed, bathtub, separate shower, balcony, sitting area, two desks, and we got it at a good price. We were thrilled.
Tomorrow we meet up with John and Jenn and head to Chiang Mai. We can’t wait. Can we bring our hotel room with us? ;-)
We were awoken by the sound of trumpets and drums at 6am. A little too groggy we did not make it out of bed in time to catch a glimpse of the parade marching past our hotel! The sound of chanting and religious singing continued to fill the air far after the last horn was heard. It was a holy morning. There was no going back to sleep after that, so we started our preparations for the day. We were skipping over to Thailand for a week and saying goodbye to our cousins who are heading back to Florida. We’ll miss them.
Grandfather had setup another Skype chat for 10am this morning knowing we’d have the DSL from the hotel on this final day, but this time it would also include our tour buddies. He arrived 30 minutes early with his youngest son-in-law, Uncle Thong (who’s only a year older than Oanh). He wanted to ensure some quiet time with Oanh’s Mom and Dad. He told them that when he came home from his first call, he felt as if he had just gotten back from visiting them from down the street and not from the other side of the world. It made him very happy to feel so close to them. They felt the same way. At 10am our tour buddies showed up, and the whole family was together in our hotel room talking to Oanh’s parents on a laptop screen. Uncle sat down next to Grandpa and they spent the next couple of hours chatting about how much they missed each other, everything and everyone they know or knew, about our latest visit to Dalat and Nga Trang and how they have been checking our blog site multiple times a day and were beginning to get concerned for our safety. Luckily Uncle was able to convince them that all was fine and we had a lovely time sans internet. J
During this time, our cousins, who have also been reading the blogs, asked me to take them to our little lady in the alley for breakfast. Oanh stayed behind with the grownups while the 4 of us headed out into the street to get some yummies. This was new for me, leading the group. Now what alley was she down? We take a turn… Uh-oh, not this alley, a quick cell phone call out to Oanh and we were back on track. We found her and she’s still making noodles, so we all sat down. Slurping away, we were content. Our cousins wished they had come sooner! It still is one of the best meals we had in Vietnam and it was seriously only one dollar.
On our walk back we headed into a few shops to check out the wares and came across a really cool shop that makes custom Vietnamese Character paintings. We partook. It was going to take a couple of hours for the “architect” (as our translator called him) to do his thing, so we went back to the hotel to find Oanh and Uncle. Grandfather had slipped away without my saying goodbye. But not to worry, we are coming back next week for birthday dinner for an Aunt. We grabbed Oanh and Uncle and took off towards the market for refreshments and final shopping.
We went back to the Ben Thanh market to find more treasures. Uncle had told us to be sure to negotiate a better price. I bought a jade bracelet for $20! (The merchant originally asked for $35. I hope it’s real.) Hanh bought clothes and a set of white gold traditional bangle bracelets. In the end we all were happy with our purchases. We drank grass jelly refreshments at a nearby stall to cool off from all the haggling. I did not partake in the grass jelly. There are some things that just don’t translate. I had iced green tea with lemon instead.
Back to the hotel to pick up our Vietnamese Character paintings, check out and head to the airport. Everyone else’s paintings were gorgeous. As a result of my inability to speak Vietnamese, mine was not so much. My cousins helped me clear it up and the shop lady promised to have it ready for us when we get back next week. Uncle and our cousins accompanied us to the airport and during the 20 minute drive the conversation stayed light, but we all knew it was about to end. We got our bags out of the cab and then the hugging began. I think we all hugged each other twice, said goodbye, hugged again, and thanked them for allowing us to join them on this little adventure. We love them a lot and it was very hard to say goodbye.
On our hour long flight to Bangkok, we met some groovy people. Melinda with the buff arms (she was doing pull ups on the bus ride over to the plane) that worked for the U.S. National Intelligence but was on a bit of a hiatus walking the Earth in search of a higher purpose. We met her when she overheard us speaking to Don, a nice strapping fellow we met at the check-in line that works for Microsoft and lives in Laguna Niguel. It truly is a small world. He convinced us to not switch back to XP and wait for the service pack. And finally Jan (pronounced Yan) the commercial pilot from Sweden on vacation that was sitting next to us on the plane. Apparently there is a shortage of pilots all over the world, so if you’re thinking about a new profession, you might want to consider being a commercial Pilot. Some of the best parts of traveling are the people you meet on the journey.
The flight was quick and easy. Although I should mention that we were served drinks AND dinner for this barely 1 hour flight! Free! Hello American Airliners!
We checked in at a familiar place, the Amari Airport Hotel. We stayed here five years ago when Oanh was shooting the film “Two Brothers”. We thought this would be a convenient place to rest ourselves since it’s connected to the airport and we’d be jumping on a plane tomorrow afternoon to Chiang Mai. The down side to that plan? Five years ago, there was only one airport in Bangkok. As you can tell from my tone, the Amari was not connected to the one we flew into or will be flying out of. Moral of the story, ALWAYS buy the latest version of the Bible “Lonely Planet”! Oh well. It’s a HUGE 4 star room with a feather bed, bathtub, separate shower, balcony, sitting area, two desks, and we got it at a good price. We were thrilled.
Tomorrow we meet up with John and Jenn and head to Chiang Mai. We can’t wait. Can we bring our hotel room with us? ;-)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Day 8
Back to HCMC and back on the tour’s itinerary
After a traditional breakfast at a nearby 4 star hotel, we headed back to HCMC. We made a quick stop at Pongour Falls. According to our bible, this used to be the largest and tallest falls in the area, but a dam that was completed this year has turned the water flow into a trickle. Uncle was unsure if he was up to the hike down and up the steep walkway under the beating sun to see the rock formations, so Oanh and I stayed with him and chilled in the shade. Okay, so we were not sure if we were up to it either. As we waited by the chicken leg bamboo trees (check out the photo) we came across the mother of all ants. She must have announced us as dinner because that very second we were bombarded with large black ants all wanting a piece of us. A few very itchy bites later and before it was too late we ran screaming like banshees back up to the safety of the van.
After our cousins made it back, it was time to make the long haul back to the city. Once back, Uncle and his family invited us inside to dine on "Chau" (chicken and rice porridge). Sitting on the floor together, we all felt a sense of sadness that our trip had come to a close. Uncle showed us some photos of our family and entertained us with traditional Vietnamese folk songs on his harmonica.
Into a cab and back to the AnAn Hotel for a real shower and bed. AT LAST!
Tomorrow we leave for Thailand.
After a traditional breakfast at a nearby 4 star hotel, we headed back to HCMC. We made a quick stop at Pongour Falls. According to our bible, this used to be the largest and tallest falls in the area, but a dam that was completed this year has turned the water flow into a trickle. Uncle was unsure if he was up to the hike down and up the steep walkway under the beating sun to see the rock formations, so Oanh and I stayed with him and chilled in the shade. Okay, so we were not sure if we were up to it either. As we waited by the chicken leg bamboo trees (check out the photo) we came across the mother of all ants. She must have announced us as dinner because that very second we were bombarded with large black ants all wanting a piece of us. A few very itchy bites later and before it was too late we ran screaming like banshees back up to the safety of the van.
After our cousins made it back, it was time to make the long haul back to the city. Once back, Uncle and his family invited us inside to dine on "Chau" (chicken and rice porridge). Sitting on the floor together, we all felt a sense of sadness that our trip had come to a close. Uncle showed us some photos of our family and entertained us with traditional Vietnamese folk songs on his harmonica.
Into a cab and back to the AnAn Hotel for a real shower and bed. AT LAST!
Tomorrow we leave for Thailand.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Day 7
Taking things into our own hands
We threw out the tour's itinerary, and made our own…
8am – The Sofitel Hotel DALAT PALACE for breakfast
A French Colonial building from the early 1900's fully restored to its splendor. We sat outside on the veranda overlooking beautifully manicured gardens, Xuan Houng Lake and a panoramic view of the city. We took our time eating and listened to the birds. After a week of the scooter crazed HCMC, we appreciated the peace and quiet. Chateau-style buildings and churches dotted the skyline. Pine trees and lavender bushes filled the grounds. Are we in Austria? No wonder this was THE place to vacation during the Colonial Times.
Like walking through a time capsule, the attention to detail was impeccable: Vietnamese phonograph records, gramophones, period artwork, and china vases filled with fresh flowers. A kind receptionist let us in to see the Presidential Suite. Um…. Can we say FANTASTIC! For $500 a night, you too can live like a diplomat. A bargain if you ask me: 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, ample closets, a living room and a balcony. It was gorgeous. All I could think was what a wonderful place this would be to have a destination wedding or event. Dear friends--- think about it is all we ask. :)
It was time to take pictures in the garden. I was being teased that the gardeners wouldn't yell at us for walking on the grass since they were with a white chick. Well we got our payback. We all hit a massive patch of mud and made a big mess of our shoes and feet! Oanh and I got the worst of it. The gardener was luckily nearby and showed us to the hose.
11pm Xuan Houng Lake
A banana shaped manmade lake named after a Vietnamese poet known for her controversial poems about aristocracy and social conventions in the 17th Century. We all rented these little swan boats with dreamy thoughts of peddling the complete length of the lake. 2 per boat we all pedaled off, and pedaled, and pedaled, and pedaled--- the boats were SO SLOW. 1/4 down the lake, we stopped our pumping and sat and chatted for a spell. Watching the butterflies fly by, the warm sun and the sound of the water lulled us to sleep for a brief nap.
12pm Bao Dai Palace (an item we kept from the old schedule)
A 1930's building where the last emperor of Vietnam lived. Check out the funny photos of us in traditional clothing sitting on the throne. That was a dollar well spent.
2pm Shopping at the Central Market.
The market is a huge block long 4 story structure filled with everything from clothing and shoes, to medicines, banking, produce, meats, flowers, and of course knick knacks and kitsch. The prices were higher than HCMC so we quickly left. Next up? Out of the sun and into Dalat’s only heated pool.
3pm Evanson Ana Mandara Villas and Spa
Dalat's newest hotel up on a hill in the middle of a pine forest is a mini-town of restored French Villas. They had a renaissance or medieval look about them with their wooden slat roofs and stucco sides. You won't believe the photos.
It was the off season, so we were offered the use of the pool, our own personal waiter for cocktails and snacks, locker rooms with showers and fresh clean towels, and her and his saunas and steam rooms for only $5 a person. We had the whole place to ourselves. And although it suddenly began to very lightly rain, it only made the sauna and steam rooms all that more effective.
After sweating up an appetite, we dine in their oh-so elegant restaurant. Dining by candlelight, we ate, laughed and told stories. It was the end of a wonderful day!
We threw out the tour's itinerary, and made our own…
8am – The Sofitel Hotel DALAT PALACE for breakfast
A French Colonial building from the early 1900's fully restored to its splendor. We sat outside on the veranda overlooking beautifully manicured gardens, Xuan Houng Lake and a panoramic view of the city. We took our time eating and listened to the birds. After a week of the scooter crazed HCMC, we appreciated the peace and quiet. Chateau-style buildings and churches dotted the skyline. Pine trees and lavender bushes filled the grounds. Are we in Austria? No wonder this was THE place to vacation during the Colonial Times.
Like walking through a time capsule, the attention to detail was impeccable: Vietnamese phonograph records, gramophones, period artwork, and china vases filled with fresh flowers. A kind receptionist let us in to see the Presidential Suite. Um…. Can we say FANTASTIC! For $500 a night, you too can live like a diplomat. A bargain if you ask me: 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, ample closets, a living room and a balcony. It was gorgeous. All I could think was what a wonderful place this would be to have a destination wedding or event. Dear friends--- think about it is all we ask. :)
It was time to take pictures in the garden. I was being teased that the gardeners wouldn't yell at us for walking on the grass since they were with a white chick. Well we got our payback. We all hit a massive patch of mud and made a big mess of our shoes and feet! Oanh and I got the worst of it. The gardener was luckily nearby and showed us to the hose.
11pm Xuan Houng Lake
A banana shaped manmade lake named after a Vietnamese poet known for her controversial poems about aristocracy and social conventions in the 17th Century. We all rented these little swan boats with dreamy thoughts of peddling the complete length of the lake. 2 per boat we all pedaled off, and pedaled, and pedaled, and pedaled--- the boats were SO SLOW. 1/4 down the lake, we stopped our pumping and sat and chatted for a spell. Watching the butterflies fly by, the warm sun and the sound of the water lulled us to sleep for a brief nap.
12pm Bao Dai Palace (an item we kept from the old schedule)
A 1930's building where the last emperor of Vietnam lived. Check out the funny photos of us in traditional clothing sitting on the throne. That was a dollar well spent.
2pm Shopping at the Central Market.
The market is a huge block long 4 story structure filled with everything from clothing and shoes, to medicines, banking, produce, meats, flowers, and of course knick knacks and kitsch. The prices were higher than HCMC so we quickly left. Next up? Out of the sun and into Dalat’s only heated pool.
3pm Evanson Ana Mandara Villas and Spa
Dalat's newest hotel up on a hill in the middle of a pine forest is a mini-town of restored French Villas. They had a renaissance or medieval look about them with their wooden slat roofs and stucco sides. You won't believe the photos.
It was the off season, so we were offered the use of the pool, our own personal waiter for cocktails and snacks, locker rooms with showers and fresh clean towels, and her and his saunas and steam rooms for only $5 a person. We had the whole place to ourselves. And although it suddenly began to very lightly rain, it only made the sauna and steam rooms all that more effective.
After sweating up an appetite, we dine in their oh-so elegant restaurant. Dining by candlelight, we ate, laughed and told stories. It was the end of a wonderful day!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Day 6
Day 6
(It’s been a few days because of our lack of internet access. So we’ll try to catch up… one day at a time.)
Beware of tour guide suggestions
The Dream Hotel evoked the wrong kind of dreams. The mattress and sheets felt…. used, the view was depressing, and the bathroom/shower-room-thingy was…. special (if you like showering over your toilet). We dutifully made it to the lobby by 7am per our tour guides orders to go next door for an awful breakfast that for no apparent reason included croutons, but not in the good way. Off to the pier, on to a boat, and arrive at a… resort? We take a short swim in the cold and dirty water, and ask to leave early. Thanks again to Erika and her Lonely Planet travel book, we end up at an amazing restaurant with a pool right on the beach. We chow down and then hit the waves. Glorious, warm, clean and clear, this beach was heavenly. And just as we were getting to know the beauty of Ngha Trang, our guide rushes us back into the van as we must make our way up the mountain towards Dalat, but of course once we got in the van, he drove to the nearby market for some shopping. We declined. Then to a Pagoda with a couple of giant Buddhas. Admittedly, that was cool. Back into the van. Round and round up the mountain we go. Round and round all our stomachs went. Our cousin Hanh was about to lose her chicken in lemon grass. We arrive at yet another no star hotel, with no windows or internet but a much larger bathroom/shower-room-tatoom-thingy. Our guide cheerfully escorted us to a restaurant where ants seem to be on the menu…. and the table, in our foods, and up our legs. The food taste like our dreamy sheets… used. After we got down what we could of our entrées, we escaped, consulted the travel book and found a little café to end the night with a tasty dessert and a large grin because all and all the company more than made up for the accommodations. Our new found family is full of cheer, wit, and funny stories. So we spent the rest of the evening jesting as we reviewed our day together over ice cream and cake (which does have a way of saving the day) and finding satisfaction that the day was coming to an end... or so we thought. You see we never really escaped dinner, it came back to haunt us both seven or eight times throughout the night. We became quite personal with our bathroom/shower-room-tatoom-thingamajiggy. Uh… excuse me…. My stomach is feeling… gotta GO!
(It’s been a few days because of our lack of internet access. So we’ll try to catch up… one day at a time.)
Beware of tour guide suggestions
The Dream Hotel evoked the wrong kind of dreams. The mattress and sheets felt…. used, the view was depressing, and the bathroom/shower-room-thingy was…. special (if you like showering over your toilet). We dutifully made it to the lobby by 7am per our tour guides orders to go next door for an awful breakfast that for no apparent reason included croutons, but not in the good way. Off to the pier, on to a boat, and arrive at a… resort? We take a short swim in the cold and dirty water, and ask to leave early. Thanks again to Erika and her Lonely Planet travel book, we end up at an amazing restaurant with a pool right on the beach. We chow down and then hit the waves. Glorious, warm, clean and clear, this beach was heavenly. And just as we were getting to know the beauty of Ngha Trang, our guide rushes us back into the van as we must make our way up the mountain towards Dalat, but of course once we got in the van, he drove to the nearby market for some shopping. We declined. Then to a Pagoda with a couple of giant Buddhas. Admittedly, that was cool. Back into the van. Round and round up the mountain we go. Round and round all our stomachs went. Our cousin Hanh was about to lose her chicken in lemon grass. We arrive at yet another no star hotel, with no windows or internet but a much larger bathroom/shower-room-tatoom-thingy. Our guide cheerfully escorted us to a restaurant where ants seem to be on the menu…. and the table, in our foods, and up our legs. The food taste like our dreamy sheets… used. After we got down what we could of our entrées, we escaped, consulted the travel book and found a little café to end the night with a tasty dessert and a large grin because all and all the company more than made up for the accommodations. Our new found family is full of cheer, wit, and funny stories. So we spent the rest of the evening jesting as we reviewed our day together over ice cream and cake (which does have a way of saving the day) and finding satisfaction that the day was coming to an end... or so we thought. You see we never really escaped dinner, it came back to haunt us both seven or eight times throughout the night. We became quite personal with our bathroom/shower-room-tatoom-thingamajiggy. Uh… excuse me…. My stomach is feeling… gotta GO!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Day 5
11 Hours to Nga Trang
Most of the day was spent experiencing the countryside and a different way of life through the windows of a private van with my my great uncle, my three cousins, our driver, and our tour guide (who does not speak any English, our family translated all his interesting facts and ghost stories related to what we were seeing).
When we finally arrived in Nga Trang, a popular beach town, it was almost sundown and Erika and I were exhausted. We did our traditional middle of the day rinsing off, relaxed in our very small hotel room (that has some internet, but not much else), and joined everyone for dinner a couple hours later.
A change of pace tonight, French food at Le Petit Bistro owned by a Frenchman. Over cheese and wine in our own private Air-Conditioned room, we heard tales of Great Uncle studying in France and the United States and his memories of serving in the military, along with my grandfather and father. They were all officers for the South Vietnamese Navy (but of course after the war, this was all taken away from them). Most of his stories centered around the good times- his adventures overseas (something about 2 English Girls in Marseilles, France and how my grandpa was more of dog than he was) and his optimism for the youth and the future of Vietnam. No war stories, no sad times, only hope and fond memories shared among new family.
Tomorrow we're off for more. Stay tuned.
Most of the day was spent experiencing the countryside and a different way of life through the windows of a private van with my my great uncle, my three cousins, our driver, and our tour guide (who does not speak any English, our family translated all his interesting facts and ghost stories related to what we were seeing).
When we finally arrived in Nga Trang, a popular beach town, it was almost sundown and Erika and I were exhausted. We did our traditional middle of the day rinsing off, relaxed in our very small hotel room (that has some internet, but not much else), and joined everyone for dinner a couple hours later.
A change of pace tonight, French food at Le Petit Bistro owned by a Frenchman. Over cheese and wine in our own private Air-Conditioned room, we heard tales of Great Uncle studying in France and the United States and his memories of serving in the military, along with my grandfather and father. They were all officers for the South Vietnamese Navy (but of course after the war, this was all taken away from them). Most of his stories centered around the good times- his adventures overseas (something about 2 English Girls in Marseilles, France and how my grandpa was more of dog than he was) and his optimism for the youth and the future of Vietnam. No war stories, no sad times, only hope and fond memories shared among new family.
Tomorrow we're off for more. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Day 4
It's me again. Oanh's sleeping.
It was a slow start this morning. Skype is a wonderful thing, but we found this morning that it was a little difficult to get rolling as it seemed that everyone wanted to chat today! :) It was nice catching up, and we finally booked our flight to Thailand and Chiang Mai. Relieved to have that taken care of, we called our cousins to plan the day. We were glad to find out that Hue's purse was returned! Someone found it in their trash can and returned it to the Police. Though the cash, ATM card and cell phone were long gone, both IDs and her credit card were returned! Yay! A great start for the day.
It's now 10am and we were hungry! We walk to another food cart we had seen yesterday that was packed and hoped to find it again. We found the cart only to be told they were all out of Bun-uck. Yes, we were looking for another perfect breakfast. With our mouths watering for that tasty bowl, we ventured down a new alleyway hoping that it would lead us to the nice lady and her cart from the day before.
After yesterdays run in with the thief, both of us were a little more on edge as we walked the streets, and going down this alley was definitely testing us.
We walked for what seemed like an eternity. Zig-zagging through the buildings. I walked ahead of Oanh so he could keep an eye on me, and I in turn, stayed close to a mother and her child that said 'hi' to us. I figure we're safer staying close to them. Funny how your mind works while you're a bit out of your comfort zone.
Just as we couldn't take it anymore... Wha la! We were at OUR old alleyway! We did good. We made a right, walked up 3 or 4 houses and saw our vendor. Still sitting were we left her the day before. In the back of our minds we were worried that she may be out of food too, but we were in luck! Meeting us with a smile, she starts to make our food without us even saying a word. It was lovely. She even remembered to make mine less spicy. Slurping our breakfast we didn't care that we weren't trying anything new, we were just happy to have something familiar to enjoy and relax with.
After breakfast it was time to try Reunification Palace once more. We were to meet up with our cousins at 11am there. We arrived a bit early and read the sign at the ticket office informing us that they would stop admissions between 11am and 1pm! We called to warn our cousins to not be late. Apparently, they ran into a bit of a snag with our weekend trip and had not even left their house yet. So we agreed to meet up with them in front of the palace at 1pm.
We went in. The palace is an incredible architectural structure with very high ceilings and modern 60's design. Our guide was charming, and though English was a definite struggle, she did a fine job. I kind of wish we tipped her now. Check out the photos, this place was very interesting and once more it was fascinating to hear the continuing story of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 (a date that is now ingrained in my memory) and the "liberation" of Vietnam.
After our hour tour, sweaty and thirsty, we decide to find a place to hang out until our family could join us. Oanh had remembered a really hip looking restaurant just up the street that looked like the perfect place to relax. Boy were we right! This place looked as if it were transplanted from Westwood or Melrose in Hollywood. Very posh, trendy and WAY COOL. (Normally a place we would not be able to afford, but here, we were living like kings!) It was called "Windows" I think and the whole place was levels upon levels of balconies and glass. Feeling a bit underdressed in our backpackers travel gear, we quickly made our way inside to the air-conditioning--- Even more perfect! After the gust of cold air hits you, the vibrations from the loud dance music follow. The hostess leads us upstairs to the 5th, yes 5th floor, to our table. Sitting there you could overlook the whole place, it was way cool. Check out the photos. We had multi-colored tapioca drinks, Vietnamese style flan and some delicious unidentifiable ice cream. We were set to sit here for the rest of the day, watch all the hip young Vietnamese people hanging out, dose off to Jet Li on the big screen in "Hero" and sip our tea. Our cousins met up with us for a round of refreshing drinks and then they continued over to the palace while we headed to the Ho Chi Minh museum on the waterfront.
We approach the brightly colored French Colonial Building and proceed to go through their many rooms filled with memorabilia and propaganda on "Uncle Ho". By this time we were pretty worn out with the subject, so we took some pictures of the nearby construction and went back to our hotel to relax.
Our cousins met us back at our place to jump on the internet. Afterwards we all headed out to the Ben Thanh Market where Oanh and I had gone the night before. We shopped and with the encouragement of the other ladies- I bought my first item- a traditional Vietnamese dress. It was lovely and under $20. I couldn't resist! After about a half hour or so, it was time to eat. We found the stall that we spotted from the night before and sat down to one of the most exquisite meals ever! For $10 per person we had:
Shrimp and Pork summer rolls
Bun Xeo- Vietnamese Pancake with Shrimp
BBQ Oysters- incredible!
Steamed Vietnamese Crab- TOTALLY different from Dungeoness. Very succulent and sweet.
BBQ Pork- OMG the BEST EVER!!!!
This Crazy Round ball like thing that you eat with Pork sausage and lettuce- see the photo
Roasted snails with curry coconut sauce- absolutely Fantastic
BBQ whole Red Snapper- the skin was to die for and the meat was so tender and light
and Saigon Beer, the large size.
Totally stuffed and extremely satisfied, we all headed home.
Tomorrow is a super early day - we're checking out of the hotel, 7am we get into a private van to take us up on a tour to Central Vietnam. We don't know when we'll have internet again so this is all for a few days. I can't tell you exactly what we'll be doing, but something about beaches, boats, and beautiful sights. Can't wait.
It's very late now and Oanh is in REM snore, so it's time to call it a night.
It was a slow start this morning. Skype is a wonderful thing, but we found this morning that it was a little difficult to get rolling as it seemed that everyone wanted to chat today! :) It was nice catching up, and we finally booked our flight to Thailand and Chiang Mai. Relieved to have that taken care of, we called our cousins to plan the day. We were glad to find out that Hue's purse was returned! Someone found it in their trash can and returned it to the Police. Though the cash, ATM card and cell phone were long gone, both IDs and her credit card were returned! Yay! A great start for the day.
It's now 10am and we were hungry! We walk to another food cart we had seen yesterday that was packed and hoped to find it again. We found the cart only to be told they were all out of Bun-uck. Yes, we were looking for another perfect breakfast. With our mouths watering for that tasty bowl, we ventured down a new alleyway hoping that it would lead us to the nice lady and her cart from the day before.
After yesterdays run in with the thief, both of us were a little more on edge as we walked the streets, and going down this alley was definitely testing us.
We walked for what seemed like an eternity. Zig-zagging through the buildings. I walked ahead of Oanh so he could keep an eye on me, and I in turn, stayed close to a mother and her child that said 'hi' to us. I figure we're safer staying close to them. Funny how your mind works while you're a bit out of your comfort zone.
Just as we couldn't take it anymore... Wha la! We were at OUR old alleyway! We did good. We made a right, walked up 3 or 4 houses and saw our vendor. Still sitting were we left her the day before. In the back of our minds we were worried that she may be out of food too, but we were in luck! Meeting us with a smile, she starts to make our food without us even saying a word. It was lovely. She even remembered to make mine less spicy. Slurping our breakfast we didn't care that we weren't trying anything new, we were just happy to have something familiar to enjoy and relax with.
After breakfast it was time to try Reunification Palace once more. We were to meet up with our cousins at 11am there. We arrived a bit early and read the sign at the ticket office informing us that they would stop admissions between 11am and 1pm! We called to warn our cousins to not be late. Apparently, they ran into a bit of a snag with our weekend trip and had not even left their house yet. So we agreed to meet up with them in front of the palace at 1pm.
We went in. The palace is an incredible architectural structure with very high ceilings and modern 60's design. Our guide was charming, and though English was a definite struggle, she did a fine job. I kind of wish we tipped her now. Check out the photos, this place was very interesting and once more it was fascinating to hear the continuing story of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 (a date that is now ingrained in my memory) and the "liberation" of Vietnam.
After our hour tour, sweaty and thirsty, we decide to find a place to hang out until our family could join us. Oanh had remembered a really hip looking restaurant just up the street that looked like the perfect place to relax. Boy were we right! This place looked as if it were transplanted from Westwood or Melrose in Hollywood. Very posh, trendy and WAY COOL. (Normally a place we would not be able to afford, but here, we were living like kings!) It was called "Windows" I think and the whole place was levels upon levels of balconies and glass. Feeling a bit underdressed in our backpackers travel gear, we quickly made our way inside to the air-conditioning--- Even more perfect! After the gust of cold air hits you, the vibrations from the loud dance music follow. The hostess leads us upstairs to the 5th, yes 5th floor, to our table. Sitting there you could overlook the whole place, it was way cool. Check out the photos. We had multi-colored tapioca drinks, Vietnamese style flan and some delicious unidentifiable ice cream. We were set to sit here for the rest of the day, watch all the hip young Vietnamese people hanging out, dose off to Jet Li on the big screen in "Hero" and sip our tea. Our cousins met up with us for a round of refreshing drinks and then they continued over to the palace while we headed to the Ho Chi Minh museum on the waterfront.
We approach the brightly colored French Colonial Building and proceed to go through their many rooms filled with memorabilia and propaganda on "Uncle Ho". By this time we were pretty worn out with the subject, so we took some pictures of the nearby construction and went back to our hotel to relax.
Our cousins met us back at our place to jump on the internet. Afterwards we all headed out to the Ben Thanh Market where Oanh and I had gone the night before. We shopped and with the encouragement of the other ladies- I bought my first item- a traditional Vietnamese dress. It was lovely and under $20. I couldn't resist! After about a half hour or so, it was time to eat. We found the stall that we spotted from the night before and sat down to one of the most exquisite meals ever! For $10 per person we had:
Shrimp and Pork summer rolls
Bun Xeo- Vietnamese Pancake with Shrimp
BBQ Oysters- incredible!
Steamed Vietnamese Crab- TOTALLY different from Dungeoness. Very succulent and sweet.
BBQ Pork- OMG the BEST EVER!!!!
This Crazy Round ball like thing that you eat with Pork sausage and lettuce- see the photo
Roasted snails with curry coconut sauce- absolutely Fantastic
BBQ whole Red Snapper- the skin was to die for and the meat was so tender and light
and Saigon Beer, the large size.
Totally stuffed and extremely satisfied, we all headed home.
Tomorrow is a super early day - we're checking out of the hotel, 7am we get into a private van to take us up on a tour to Central Vietnam. We don't know when we'll have internet again so this is all for a few days. I can't tell you exactly what we'll be doing, but something about beaches, boats, and beautiful sights. Can't wait.
It's very late now and Oanh is in REM snore, so it's time to call it a night.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Day 3
Cyclos and Stealing
Well, this time it's Erika doing the blog. Oanh thought it best to give you my perspective on this trip, so here goes:
It's been quite a full day indeed.
We got up as usual at the crack of dawn, took our time getting ready, and headed out for breakfast. We were set on finding local food, so we headed down a small alleyway of culinary delights. The locals use the front rooms of their homes to sell food. You have to understand, back home I would NEVER walk down a somewhat dark and dim alleyway into the depths of who knows where, but here, most of the alleyways are dark and dim. And if you want to get a hint of local culture, you just have to make that turn. So we did. We were not disappointed. After receiving little odd but kind looks since we were not their usual clientele, we finally settled with a lady making handmade wonton-like noodles in a bowl with fresh mint and herbs, some kind of pastry, peanuts, and fish sauce. Oanh told me it is called bun-uck. (not true spelling, just what it sounds like to my ear.) The shop keeper made us 2 bowls, fresh. Methodically she laid out a large rice noodle pancake on a round tree trunk looking cutting board, placed her bits of meat and herbs into the noodle, rolled it up and placed it in the bowl ever so quickly yet carefully. (I do not have that skill. I would have made the biggest mess. I can't even roll spring rolls properly at Oanh's family's house.) It was fascinating to watch her. Once everything was placed into the bowl she handed it to us. The smell was rich and fresh and the taste.... OMG it was delectable! I think we will go there again tomorrow! There were 2 other ladies sitting with us. With broken English, one of them asked us if Oanh's mom was Vietnamese. It seems to me that locals can sense returning refugees. He's been asked many times during this trip.
By the way, up to this point I had noticed the absence of pets. No random dogs or cats. I was beginning to think, maybe the rumors were true, but no! It was just that people are smart enough to not let their pets roam the busy streets. In this alleyway, there was a cat lounging in the sun and a dog feeding off of scraps. It made me happy.
OK, back to our day.
After breakfast, we were approached by a couple of Cyclo drivers. The quintessential image of Saigon, a little buggy attached to a bicycle. After a bit of hemming and hawing, we decided to do it. We each hop in one and begin our hour long trek right into the middle of traffic. OK, so I can't upload videos of this excursion (yet), so I will try to describe it for you: imagine yourself getting on a horse drawn carriage and lining up for a NASCAR race. That is the feeling. You are at the mercy of 1000's of mopeds zooming by so close you could grab their helmets. And away you go. Riding in a sea of diesel fumes, gigantic buses, cars and scooters all honking at you to get out of their way. Needless to say you hold your breath, curse a few times, and try not to look too scared. Showing fear is bad. Take it in and hold on tight. And aside from a mishap with a curb that sent Oanh flying (luckily with no bruises), our drivers did get us around safely. We drove by too many sights to mention, but only stopped at one: a pagoda temple. I'm glad I had read earlier that one must remove one's shoes when entering a temple so as not be rude. We were also approached by many vendors to buy their wares as offerings to the gods. We bought incense.
One of our Cyclo drivers lead us to 2 different statues to pay our respects and then into the main pagoda. We removed our shoes and stepped onto the very dirty concrete tiles. Don't they sweep? One dirty step after another we went inside to see a very large sitting Buddha in gold. Surrounding his image were neon flashing bulbs and glitter. It is such a bizarre juxtaposition to see something so ancient and simple surrounded by such glitz and gaudiness. Further into the building was a staircase that lead to a large patio over looking the city. Lining the walls were many sitting Buddhas in yellow clothing. As we headed back downstairs we noticed a small room off to the side that has another sitting Buddha. There is very little light except for the bits of sunlight creeping in from little windows. The smoke from all the incense filled the air with beautiful rays throughout this dimly lit corridor. Lining the walls on either side were many photos. We're not sure who they were or why they were there, but somehow you get a sense that they must have done something great. We pay our respects, drop a donation into the box, and head back out to the sun, the cyclos, and the streets. We're dropped off safely back to our hotel. We shook hands with our drivers and they went on their way to the next set of tourists. Once out of earshot, Oanh informs me that our drivers made a good wage off of us today. Apparently we paid a deal more than the market price for our little adventure. Apparently they didn't know he understood them, so they spent the whole ride boasting to their fellow cyclo driver friends on how much they got from us! We didn't mind since we figured it was worth $10 each to us even if they would normally have done it for $1. And since the government is banning the use of cyclos in June. We felt lucky to be one of the last few to have had the opportunity to see the local sights from this perspective.
Back to the hotel to get ready for grandpa's big Skype call. All sweaty and gross, we first take a quick shower. We video Skype into Oanh's family and everyone is there eagerly awaiting grandpa's arrival. We talk a little about the prior day's adventures until we hear a knock at the door. He's HERE! For real this time. He and our aunt enter our little room and immediately we show him to the computer. He sits down to speak to his daughter digitally face to face after 30+ years. The chat went on for over an hour and although I didn't understand a single word, I could sense the magnitude of the moment. The call ended, we all hugged each other multiple times, we took more photos, and said our goodbyes. Afterwards Oanh told me that everyone was happy, they like me, they want mom to come home and visit, and that they were so glad they could speak this way. What a wonderful and simple thing that brought so much joy to our family! This moment made our trip.
Back to our bellies... starving we take a taxi to a little restaurant listed in our guide book nearby the Reunification Palace. We arrive at the address to find a marketing firm instead. Confused when we opened the door, where a very nice Vietnamese man with impeccable English was kind enough to suggest another option about a 5 minute walk down the street. He was right, we come to this place filled with people. It was a lovely teak wood structure and we were seated almost immediately. Mostly natives with a few experienced travelers inside, we looked at all of the incredible dishes surrounding us. We were ready! We ordered lots of food, I had a strawberry milkshake (I was sure it was safe to have ice here) and then finished our meal off with some AMAZING coconut ice cream. It was a score! Thank you Mr. Marketing Man!
We then headed across the street to the reunification palace only to find out that it was CLOSED. My guidebook does mention the rare instance that it would close for government meetings. And OF COURSE this was one of the rare days! Pretty funny. So we decide to make our way by foot to the War Remnants Museum, which we passed by earlier in our cyclos. So off we go. Finding anything in this city is a bit difficult. The maps are hard to read, there are few street signs, and NOTHING is in English. Anytime we actually get to our destination it feels like a mini-victory. So... yes we found it.
You'll notice that we didn't take many photos of this museum as it feels like walking through a concentration camp. The whole museum is filled with photographs of the atrocities of the war. We didn't speak much during our time there. After seeing a guillotine that was used as recently as the 60's, I had to leave. There are no words to really express how moving and heartbreaking this exhibit was.
After the museum we were spent. It was time to head back to the hotel. We were both emotionally exhausted and jetlagged, so we ended up taking a nap for a couple of hours (after our 2nd shower of the day). We woke up to a phone call from our cousin, Hue. We were to meet them at their hotel around 9pm to have a late snack and plan the rest of our time in Vietnam. It was only 5:30pm, so we decide to hit the nearby Ben Thanh Market for some shopping and a light dinner.
We ventured into Pho 2000 located on the outer edge of the market. Apparently Bill Clinton ate there too. There were 3 very large photos on the wall of his visit. And yes, the Pho was very good. (Not to mention there was a little bit of Air Con, a nice bonus.) Bellies full we headed out to the market and soon realize that eating Pho was a BIG mistake. There were stall after stall of fresh fish, meats and amazing fresh delicacies. See our photos, it was truly an amazing sight and we were a bit bummed we had just eaten. We should have paid attention to our favorite TV travel guide, Anthony Bourdain, and hit the Market first!
Then off to meet Hue. It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones! We meet Hue's Uncle and Aunt and his son and head out to get some food. No more than 5 minutes after walking down the street, Hue gets robbed by a guy on a scooter. He actually rode onto the sidewalk and swiped her purse out of her hands practically knocking her over! It all happened so fast we hardly knew what occurred! She had about $20, her drivers license, a credit card, ATM card and her military ID in her purse. Thank God she didn't have her passport in it! Dinner plans were off. She needed to get to an internet connection to cancel her cards and then to the police station to file a report. We head to her uncle's house around the block, yet another little dark alley, and waited for her to get online. After she finished, we said our goodbyes and told some bad jokes to ease the tension. We had a wonderful time commenting on her aunt's herb bushes. At first glance there is a lovely bush with pretty yellow flowers. As you look closer, you see that each of those little flowers are tied on with green wire and are actually made of silk! Oh the drama.
We hop into the taxi and head home. A little disturbed but more exhausted we collapse into bed (after shower number 3). Tomorrow, Hue's uncles is showing us around Saigon. I can't wait.
So there is my crack at this blogging thing. I was probably a lot more long winded then Oanh, and I apologize for that. It's time for breakfast and the day is getting on.
Well, this time it's Erika doing the blog. Oanh thought it best to give you my perspective on this trip, so here goes:
It's been quite a full day indeed.
We got up as usual at the crack of dawn, took our time getting ready, and headed out for breakfast. We were set on finding local food, so we headed down a small alleyway of culinary delights. The locals use the front rooms of their homes to sell food. You have to understand, back home I would NEVER walk down a somewhat dark and dim alleyway into the depths of who knows where, but here, most of the alleyways are dark and dim. And if you want to get a hint of local culture, you just have to make that turn. So we did. We were not disappointed. After receiving little odd but kind looks since we were not their usual clientele, we finally settled with a lady making handmade wonton-like noodles in a bowl with fresh mint and herbs, some kind of pastry, peanuts, and fish sauce. Oanh told me it is called bun-uck. (not true spelling, just what it sounds like to my ear.) The shop keeper made us 2 bowls, fresh. Methodically she laid out a large rice noodle pancake on a round tree trunk looking cutting board, placed her bits of meat and herbs into the noodle, rolled it up and placed it in the bowl ever so quickly yet carefully. (I do not have that skill. I would have made the biggest mess. I can't even roll spring rolls properly at Oanh's family's house.) It was fascinating to watch her. Once everything was placed into the bowl she handed it to us. The smell was rich and fresh and the taste.... OMG it was delectable! I think we will go there again tomorrow! There were 2 other ladies sitting with us. With broken English, one of them asked us if Oanh's mom was Vietnamese. It seems to me that locals can sense returning refugees. He's been asked many times during this trip.
By the way, up to this point I had noticed the absence of pets. No random dogs or cats. I was beginning to think, maybe the rumors were true, but no! It was just that people are smart enough to not let their pets roam the busy streets. In this alleyway, there was a cat lounging in the sun and a dog feeding off of scraps. It made me happy.
OK, back to our day.
After breakfast, we were approached by a couple of Cyclo drivers. The quintessential image of Saigon, a little buggy attached to a bicycle. After a bit of hemming and hawing, we decided to do it. We each hop in one and begin our hour long trek right into the middle of traffic. OK, so I can't upload videos of this excursion (yet), so I will try to describe it for you: imagine yourself getting on a horse drawn carriage and lining up for a NASCAR race. That is the feeling. You are at the mercy of 1000's of mopeds zooming by so close you could grab their helmets. And away you go. Riding in a sea of diesel fumes, gigantic buses, cars and scooters all honking at you to get out of their way. Needless to say you hold your breath, curse a few times, and try not to look too scared. Showing fear is bad. Take it in and hold on tight. And aside from a mishap with a curb that sent Oanh flying (luckily with no bruises), our drivers did get us around safely. We drove by too many sights to mention, but only stopped at one: a pagoda temple. I'm glad I had read earlier that one must remove one's shoes when entering a temple so as not be rude. We were also approached by many vendors to buy their wares as offerings to the gods. We bought incense.
One of our Cyclo drivers lead us to 2 different statues to pay our respects and then into the main pagoda. We removed our shoes and stepped onto the very dirty concrete tiles. Don't they sweep? One dirty step after another we went inside to see a very large sitting Buddha in gold. Surrounding his image were neon flashing bulbs and glitter. It is such a bizarre juxtaposition to see something so ancient and simple surrounded by such glitz and gaudiness. Further into the building was a staircase that lead to a large patio over looking the city. Lining the walls were many sitting Buddhas in yellow clothing. As we headed back downstairs we noticed a small room off to the side that has another sitting Buddha. There is very little light except for the bits of sunlight creeping in from little windows. The smoke from all the incense filled the air with beautiful rays throughout this dimly lit corridor. Lining the walls on either side were many photos. We're not sure who they were or why they were there, but somehow you get a sense that they must have done something great. We pay our respects, drop a donation into the box, and head back out to the sun, the cyclos, and the streets. We're dropped off safely back to our hotel. We shook hands with our drivers and they went on their way to the next set of tourists. Once out of earshot, Oanh informs me that our drivers made a good wage off of us today. Apparently we paid a deal more than the market price for our little adventure. Apparently they didn't know he understood them, so they spent the whole ride boasting to their fellow cyclo driver friends on how much they got from us! We didn't mind since we figured it was worth $10 each to us even if they would normally have done it for $1. And since the government is banning the use of cyclos in June. We felt lucky to be one of the last few to have had the opportunity to see the local sights from this perspective.
Back to the hotel to get ready for grandpa's big Skype call. All sweaty and gross, we first take a quick shower. We video Skype into Oanh's family and everyone is there eagerly awaiting grandpa's arrival. We talk a little about the prior day's adventures until we hear a knock at the door. He's HERE! For real this time. He and our aunt enter our little room and immediately we show him to the computer. He sits down to speak to his daughter digitally face to face after 30+ years. The chat went on for over an hour and although I didn't understand a single word, I could sense the magnitude of the moment. The call ended, we all hugged each other multiple times, we took more photos, and said our goodbyes. Afterwards Oanh told me that everyone was happy, they like me, they want mom to come home and visit, and that they were so glad they could speak this way. What a wonderful and simple thing that brought so much joy to our family! This moment made our trip.
Back to our bellies... starving we take a taxi to a little restaurant listed in our guide book nearby the Reunification Palace. We arrive at the address to find a marketing firm instead. Confused when we opened the door, where a very nice Vietnamese man with impeccable English was kind enough to suggest another option about a 5 minute walk down the street. He was right, we come to this place filled with people. It was a lovely teak wood structure and we were seated almost immediately. Mostly natives with a few experienced travelers inside, we looked at all of the incredible dishes surrounding us. We were ready! We ordered lots of food, I had a strawberry milkshake (I was sure it was safe to have ice here) and then finished our meal off with some AMAZING coconut ice cream. It was a score! Thank you Mr. Marketing Man!
We then headed across the street to the reunification palace only to find out that it was CLOSED. My guidebook does mention the rare instance that it would close for government meetings. And OF COURSE this was one of the rare days! Pretty funny. So we decide to make our way by foot to the War Remnants Museum, which we passed by earlier in our cyclos. So off we go. Finding anything in this city is a bit difficult. The maps are hard to read, there are few street signs, and NOTHING is in English. Anytime we actually get to our destination it feels like a mini-victory. So... yes we found it.
You'll notice that we didn't take many photos of this museum as it feels like walking through a concentration camp. The whole museum is filled with photographs of the atrocities of the war. We didn't speak much during our time there. After seeing a guillotine that was used as recently as the 60's, I had to leave. There are no words to really express how moving and heartbreaking this exhibit was.
After the museum we were spent. It was time to head back to the hotel. We were both emotionally exhausted and jetlagged, so we ended up taking a nap for a couple of hours (after our 2nd shower of the day). We woke up to a phone call from our cousin, Hue. We were to meet them at their hotel around 9pm to have a late snack and plan the rest of our time in Vietnam. It was only 5:30pm, so we decide to hit the nearby Ben Thanh Market for some shopping and a light dinner.
We ventured into Pho 2000 located on the outer edge of the market. Apparently Bill Clinton ate there too. There were 3 very large photos on the wall of his visit. And yes, the Pho was very good. (Not to mention there was a little bit of Air Con, a nice bonus.) Bellies full we headed out to the market and soon realize that eating Pho was a BIG mistake. There were stall after stall of fresh fish, meats and amazing fresh delicacies. See our photos, it was truly an amazing sight and we were a bit bummed we had just eaten. We should have paid attention to our favorite TV travel guide, Anthony Bourdain, and hit the Market first!
Then off to meet Hue. It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones! We meet Hue's Uncle and Aunt and his son and head out to get some food. No more than 5 minutes after walking down the street, Hue gets robbed by a guy on a scooter. He actually rode onto the sidewalk and swiped her purse out of her hands practically knocking her over! It all happened so fast we hardly knew what occurred! She had about $20, her drivers license, a credit card, ATM card and her military ID in her purse. Thank God she didn't have her passport in it! Dinner plans were off. She needed to get to an internet connection to cancel her cards and then to the police station to file a report. We head to her uncle's house around the block, yet another little dark alley, and waited for her to get online. After she finished, we said our goodbyes and told some bad jokes to ease the tension. We had a wonderful time commenting on her aunt's herb bushes. At first glance there is a lovely bush with pretty yellow flowers. As you look closer, you see that each of those little flowers are tied on with green wire and are actually made of silk! Oh the drama.
We hop into the taxi and head home. A little disturbed but more exhausted we collapse into bed (after shower number 3). Tomorrow, Hue's uncles is showing us around Saigon. I can't wait.
So there is my crack at this blogging thing. I was probably a lot more long winded then Oanh, and I apologize for that. It's time for breakfast and the day is getting on.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Day 2
The day began at 7am, we got ready and ventured outside. After a short walk around the backpackers area by our hotel and buying our Sim card for our cell phone, we decide to eat at the infamous GO2. What was all the fuss about? Cheap beer, a great view of the street, and a legendary BBQ and beer discount after 4pm everyday. That figures. A comment on our breakfast? There's something about being in another country that makes drinking beer in the morning an accepted tradition. Well at least for Erika. ;-)
It was getting close to noon and the big moment. You should know that I have very little knowledge of my family in Vietnam, what my parent's life was like before the war, and that I don't speak the language. The reason for these fact will only be answere over alchohol and little sleep. Back to the story at hand, thanks to the very generous Casey Long, who was kind enough to setup my parents with Skype and a web cam while we were away, our day started with a video call to most of my family: Mom, Dad, brother Thanh, and adopted Casey Long. As much fun as it was to see our two smiling faces on their computer screen, my parents were much more moved when I held the computer up against our window overlooking their once named Saigon city in the morning. The stage was set. You see neither my mother or my grandfather use email and aside from a few phone calls and sporadic photos by snail mail, my mother had not seen and talked to her father for over 30 years. Our plan was to get them together through the magic of high speed Internet. We've been planning for weeks for my grandfather to meet Erika and I at our hotel. We called him this morning and confirmed. He was on his way. He'll be arriving at noon. We have the video call up and running, now we're just waiting for a knock on the door. Erika and I felt like we were on a reality TV show. We get a call from the front desk. They're here. The elevator was taking too long, so I ran down 10 flights of stairs to meet him while Erika kept my family company on the call. A young lady in the lobby introduces her self as my aunt. Through a bit of a language barrier, I came to understand that she had a taxi ready to take me to see my grand father at his home. Whoops. We told the taxi to wait as I brought my new aunt up to our room to explain. When we got to the door and knocked, I could hear the excitement from the other side, "He's here! Oh boy!" They opened the door and found... us. My aunt explained to my parents that because of his age, my grandfather thought it best to bring us there. She thought though that if we were to bring our laptop that we might be able to make the call from his house. So we quickly said goodby, packed everything up and jumped in the cab. The next 20 or so minutes during the drive we spoke with my aunt's husband, who speaks a bit more English. Eventually we pull up to a nondescript alleyway, get out of the cab, and follow Thoum (my Uncle) inside. The alleyway was narrow, concrete with some faded writing on the walls. You could smell incense in the air, lots of children laughing and talking, the odd television set and then we arrived at their home. A very nice, modest flat with a gated entry, which acts as a garage for their 2 scooters and a goldfish pond and then inside to their living room. We are asked to sit down and wait for Grandfather to come down from his room. As we sit we hear little gigles from outside and turn around to see many little children's faces staring at us. I think the combination of Erika's blonde hair and my lack of the language was very interesting to them and the rest of our time spent visiting was periodically interruppeted by little waves, giggles, and the odd "hello"!
The time was here. My aunt comes in from the main part of the house and behind her was grandpa. A man with a very kind face, wrinkled my his many years in the sun and heat, and who still had most of his teeth though the years of tea and coffee have definitely stained them beyond repair. Erika and I both stand and give him hugs. These next few moments were spent taking photos, hugs and introductions. Amazingly, my grandfather has more English than my Aunt and tried very hard to speak with us in a language he hadn't practiced in over 40 years since his brief education in New York and Chicago in the late 60's.
Thoum took me into the next room to show us their computer and to try and set up the internet phone. After many attempts to log in, we had to quit. There was no way to get their system up and running, so we packed everything up and sat back down in the living room. On the table we found two platters of fruit, artfully displayed with leaves and ice. There was mango, and 2 other natvie fruits that no one could translate for us and we hadn't seen or tasted before. Sweet and delicious all of them were and we sat there for the next half hour or so, learning about grandfather and my family. This is where we learned that grandfather had been to the United States. That my aunt has her own business making baby clothing for the local supermarkets, and how my uncle works for an import/export company. It was nice to see they were successful and living comfortably.
My grandfather then asks if we would like to go upstairs to see his room and we gladly obliged. We cross through two room that ar partitioned with curtains, into a small kistchen with a very steep wooden staircase on our left. we head up the stairs that are basically like a steep ladder with a handrail and make our way down the hall back to the front of the house and into grandfather's living room . The smell of incense is very strong up here mixed with a hint of marijuana in the air. As soon as you enter his room your eyes notice a small shrine hanging on the wall facing us with a large photo above. This is my grandmother. A lovely picture that reminded me so much of my mother. You could sense from my grandfather that he missed her very much. She has only been gone for the last 3 years. Grandfather rarely leaves the house now and is waiting to join her in "paradise". Such commitment and love for his wife was most endearing and heartwarming.
It was also very clear how much he misses my mom. I was asked many times how she was, why she hadn't come home, if she missed him. It was difficult to answer these questions. To explain how hard she works and that she only has one day off a week, how my father wasn't even able to take time off for his duaghters wedding, how my mother doesn't want to come until she can spend at least 2 months here. Trying to make excuses so as to help grandfather understand that she misses him too. It was then that he brought out his photo album. And there were photos of me, my mom, my brother and sister growing up over the years. Pictures I hadn't seen in decades. I had forgotton how beautiful my mother was and how ridiculous I looked as a teenager!
After some time upstairs it was decided that we should go back down to the living room to contiue eating our fruit and water. Going down those stairs was a task and I can't imagine my granfather going up and downstairs this way at his age. Just goes to show how well kept he is. He might be a bit frail but at his 75+ he is still quite mobile.
Back to the fruit. In true family tradition, it would have been impolite to not continue eating and drinking while there was still food on the table, and before we left aunt gave us 3 bags of fruit to take home with us!
It was decided that tomorrow grandfather would take the journey outside to come to our hotel and try one last time to hook my mother and him up on the computer. We'll keep our fingers crossed all goes well.
Their hospitality didn't even end there, after they called for a cab, they paid him and gave him directions to ensure that we got back to our hotel safe and sound.
After resting at our hotel for a couple of hours we ventured out to get the "best Bun Xeo in Saigon" Bun Xeo is a Vietnamese style crepe filled with shrimp, bean sprouts and meat. We were determined to have this treat and hopped into a taxi to take us there. Our cab driver spoke no English and we soon found out that he didn't know where the restaurant was and he ended up taking us to a different restaurant with the same name--- instead of Bun Xeo 49 we went to 52. There was a long line of people waiting outside to get in, so we figured it had to be good too, so we tipped the driver and got out. We weren't disappointed. After waiting for about 20 minutes we sat down and had some very good eats! The menu was entirely in Vietnamese and the proprietor was kind enough to take a moment to explain the choices. It was very clear that the tourist trade doesn't come in here much, or at all. Though the food was impeccable, it still didn't compare to my om's Bun Xeo. With very full tummies we head back outside for a walk and quickly realize it was time to get a cab home as we were both about to pass out after this very long day.
We were both out by 8pm.
We then started this blog about 3am this morning--- ah, jetlag!
More tomorrow after Grandfather and mom's phone call.
It was getting close to noon and the big moment. You should know that I have very little knowledge of my family in Vietnam, what my parent's life was like before the war, and that I don't speak the language. The reason for these fact will only be answere over alchohol and little sleep. Back to the story at hand, thanks to the very generous Casey Long, who was kind enough to setup my parents with Skype and a web cam while we were away, our day started with a video call to most of my family: Mom, Dad, brother Thanh, and adopted Casey Long. As much fun as it was to see our two smiling faces on their computer screen, my parents were much more moved when I held the computer up against our window overlooking their once named Saigon city in the morning. The stage was set. You see neither my mother or my grandfather use email and aside from a few phone calls and sporadic photos by snail mail, my mother had not seen and talked to her father for over 30 years. Our plan was to get them together through the magic of high speed Internet. We've been planning for weeks for my grandfather to meet Erika and I at our hotel. We called him this morning and confirmed. He was on his way. He'll be arriving at noon. We have the video call up and running, now we're just waiting for a knock on the door. Erika and I felt like we were on a reality TV show. We get a call from the front desk. They're here. The elevator was taking too long, so I ran down 10 flights of stairs to meet him while Erika kept my family company on the call. A young lady in the lobby introduces her self as my aunt. Through a bit of a language barrier, I came to understand that she had a taxi ready to take me to see my grand father at his home. Whoops. We told the taxi to wait as I brought my new aunt up to our room to explain. When we got to the door and knocked, I could hear the excitement from the other side, "He's here! Oh boy!" They opened the door and found... us. My aunt explained to my parents that because of his age, my grandfather thought it best to bring us there. She thought though that if we were to bring our laptop that we might be able to make the call from his house. So we quickly said goodby, packed everything up and jumped in the cab. The next 20 or so minutes during the drive we spoke with my aunt's husband, who speaks a bit more English. Eventually we pull up to a nondescript alleyway, get out of the cab, and follow Thoum (my Uncle) inside. The alleyway was narrow, concrete with some faded writing on the walls. You could smell incense in the air, lots of children laughing and talking, the odd television set and then we arrived at their home. A very nice, modest flat with a gated entry, which acts as a garage for their 2 scooters and a goldfish pond and then inside to their living room. We are asked to sit down and wait for Grandfather to come down from his room. As we sit we hear little gigles from outside and turn around to see many little children's faces staring at us. I think the combination of Erika's blonde hair and my lack of the language was very interesting to them and the rest of our time spent visiting was periodically interruppeted by little waves, giggles, and the odd "hello"!
The time was here. My aunt comes in from the main part of the house and behind her was grandpa. A man with a very kind face, wrinkled my his many years in the sun and heat, and who still had most of his teeth though the years of tea and coffee have definitely stained them beyond repair. Erika and I both stand and give him hugs. These next few moments were spent taking photos, hugs and introductions. Amazingly, my grandfather has more English than my Aunt and tried very hard to speak with us in a language he hadn't practiced in over 40 years since his brief education in New York and Chicago in the late 60's.
Thoum took me into the next room to show us their computer and to try and set up the internet phone. After many attempts to log in, we had to quit. There was no way to get their system up and running, so we packed everything up and sat back down in the living room. On the table we found two platters of fruit, artfully displayed with leaves and ice. There was mango, and 2 other natvie fruits that no one could translate for us and we hadn't seen or tasted before. Sweet and delicious all of them were and we sat there for the next half hour or so, learning about grandfather and my family. This is where we learned that grandfather had been to the United States. That my aunt has her own business making baby clothing for the local supermarkets, and how my uncle works for an import/export company. It was nice to see they were successful and living comfortably.
My grandfather then asks if we would like to go upstairs to see his room and we gladly obliged. We cross through two room that ar partitioned with curtains, into a small kistchen with a very steep wooden staircase on our left. we head up the stairs that are basically like a steep ladder with a handrail and make our way down the hall back to the front of the house and into grandfather's living room . The smell of incense is very strong up here mixed with a hint of marijuana in the air. As soon as you enter his room your eyes notice a small shrine hanging on the wall facing us with a large photo above. This is my grandmother. A lovely picture that reminded me so much of my mother. You could sense from my grandfather that he missed her very much. She has only been gone for the last 3 years. Grandfather rarely leaves the house now and is waiting to join her in "paradise". Such commitment and love for his wife was most endearing and heartwarming.
It was also very clear how much he misses my mom. I was asked many times how she was, why she hadn't come home, if she missed him. It was difficult to answer these questions. To explain how hard she works and that she only has one day off a week, how my father wasn't even able to take time off for his duaghters wedding, how my mother doesn't want to come until she can spend at least 2 months here. Trying to make excuses so as to help grandfather understand that she misses him too. It was then that he brought out his photo album. And there were photos of me, my mom, my brother and sister growing up over the years. Pictures I hadn't seen in decades. I had forgotton how beautiful my mother was and how ridiculous I looked as a teenager!
After some time upstairs it was decided that we should go back down to the living room to contiue eating our fruit and water. Going down those stairs was a task and I can't imagine my granfather going up and downstairs this way at his age. Just goes to show how well kept he is. He might be a bit frail but at his 75+ he is still quite mobile.
Back to the fruit. In true family tradition, it would have been impolite to not continue eating and drinking while there was still food on the table, and before we left aunt gave us 3 bags of fruit to take home with us!
It was decided that tomorrow grandfather would take the journey outside to come to our hotel and try one last time to hook my mother and him up on the computer. We'll keep our fingers crossed all goes well.
Their hospitality didn't even end there, after they called for a cab, they paid him and gave him directions to ensure that we got back to our hotel safe and sound.
After resting at our hotel for a couple of hours we ventured out to get the "best Bun Xeo in Saigon" Bun Xeo is a Vietnamese style crepe filled with shrimp, bean sprouts and meat. We were determined to have this treat and hopped into a taxi to take us there. Our cab driver spoke no English and we soon found out that he didn't know where the restaurant was and he ended up taking us to a different restaurant with the same name--- instead of Bun Xeo 49 we went to 52. There was a long line of people waiting outside to get in, so we figured it had to be good too, so we tipped the driver and got out. We weren't disappointed. After waiting for about 20 minutes we sat down and had some very good eats! The menu was entirely in Vietnamese and the proprietor was kind enough to take a moment to explain the choices. It was very clear that the tourist trade doesn't come in here much, or at all. Though the food was impeccable, it still didn't compare to my om's Bun Xeo. With very full tummies we head back outside for a walk and quickly realize it was time to get a cab home as we were both about to pass out after this very long day.
We were both out by 8pm.
We then started this blog about 3am this morning--- ah, jetlag!
More tomorrow after Grandfather and mom's phone call.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Day 1
So Erika and I decided to make an effort to share and document more of our travel experiences. So why not start with my first trip back to Vietnam since my parents and I evacuated in 1975. We decided that Erika will lead the efforts on photo documentations and I would lead the efforts with online blogs. So here it goes…
Arcadia, CA
We left for LAX at around 10am this morning courtesy of Marnie (our very own tennis star freshly back from a challenging match in Palm Springs) Our flight was not until 1:30pm, but it was an international flight and we were hoping to switch to the emergency exit seats for the extra leg room. We didn't get the seats. It would seem 50 other people had the same idea. We were very lucky however, we had full use of 3 seats for the first leg to Seoul, Korea(12.5 Hrs) and 4 seats for the second leg to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (5.5 Hrs). We actually sprawled ourselves across the seats for the second leg. How glorious. All and all from the moment we arrived at LAX until we got our bags in Vietnam, it was a total of 24 hours.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
We've just got off the plane for a few minutes and it's only 79 degrees Fahrenheit, but we're already sweating because of the humidity and we're very tired. (See photo) We were greeted at the airport by a smiling face holding a sign with our name from the AnAn Hotel. It's after midnight on a Saturday and the streets are still swarming with young people out enjoying themselves. Clubbers walking and screaming at familiar faces passing by on scooters, the "slightly" intoxicated feeding off of street food carts, lovers on park benches, and the fully initiated drinking beer and watching the night pass by outside the crowded GO2 Bar next door to our hotel. We arrived at an eleven story building about the width of two hotel rooms, a small spiral staircase and a single elevator. The staff consisted of two people in a lobby smaller than the Chance's that also included a tour company and an ATM machine. Maybe the Chance needs an ATM machine. Memories of the terrible place Erika and I stayed in London for our honeymoon started rushing my thoughts. My fears were quickly put to rest, the staff lead us to our spacious and clean room on the 10th floor with a Queen size bed and a separate single bed (I guess they thought Cici was joining us), private bath, free high speed internet, air conditioning and a window overlooking the city. For less than $40 a night, we're cruising in style. We made a few free Skype video calls and cheap Gizmo calls to home, fought the urge to join the world of the GO GO, showered and went to bed.
As for my impressions of the first day back on the soil of my birth, nothing yet. My only real thought of this foreign place is how lucky Erika and I are to be visiting this country and how much I wish my parents were here.
Don't forget to check out the photo links on the right. Unlike this blog, Erika will be updating it regularly.
More tomorrow... We are meeting my grandfather on my mother's side for the first time. (or at least since I was 3. )
Arcadia, CA
We left for LAX at around 10am this morning courtesy of Marnie (our very own tennis star freshly back from a challenging match in Palm Springs) Our flight was not until 1:30pm, but it was an international flight and we were hoping to switch to the emergency exit seats for the extra leg room. We didn't get the seats. It would seem 50 other people had the same idea. We were very lucky however, we had full use of 3 seats for the first leg to Seoul, Korea(12.5 Hrs) and 4 seats for the second leg to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (5.5 Hrs). We actually sprawled ourselves across the seats for the second leg. How glorious. All and all from the moment we arrived at LAX until we got our bags in Vietnam, it was a total of 24 hours.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
We've just got off the plane for a few minutes and it's only 79 degrees Fahrenheit, but we're already sweating because of the humidity and we're very tired. (See photo) We were greeted at the airport by a smiling face holding a sign with our name from the AnAn Hotel. It's after midnight on a Saturday and the streets are still swarming with young people out enjoying themselves. Clubbers walking and screaming at familiar faces passing by on scooters, the "slightly" intoxicated feeding off of street food carts, lovers on park benches, and the fully initiated drinking beer and watching the night pass by outside the crowded GO2 Bar next door to our hotel. We arrived at an eleven story building about the width of two hotel rooms, a small spiral staircase and a single elevator. The staff consisted of two people in a lobby smaller than the Chance's that also included a tour company and an ATM machine. Maybe the Chance needs an ATM machine. Memories of the terrible place Erika and I stayed in London for our honeymoon started rushing my thoughts. My fears were quickly put to rest, the staff lead us to our spacious and clean room on the 10th floor with a Queen size bed and a separate single bed (I guess they thought Cici was joining us), private bath, free high speed internet, air conditioning and a window overlooking the city. For less than $40 a night, we're cruising in style. We made a few free Skype video calls and cheap Gizmo calls to home, fought the urge to join the world of the GO GO, showered and went to bed.
As for my impressions of the first day back on the soil of my birth, nothing yet. My only real thought of this foreign place is how lucky Erika and I are to be visiting this country and how much I wish my parents were here.
Don't forget to check out the photo links on the right. Unlike this blog, Erika will be updating it regularly.
More tomorrow... We are meeting my grandfather on my mother's side for the first time. (or at least since I was 3. )
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