Saigon

I have to say, I like Saigon the most of all the places I've been. Architecturally different. From my understanding, the government allows only a certain amount of square footage to a family so all the houses essentially like alike...narrow structures that go deep, like SF Victorian houses (without the character). However, in Saigon, there is a little differentiation, not huge but some. I think it has to do with the European influence. Today, we went to Vaun Tang.....very unimpressive. It is the nearest beach to Saigon and it was a generic beach. I wonder why it was part of the itinerary. Came back and ate at Pho Pasteur...it has a good reputation for pho and my father remembered it fondly. It was good...not fantastic but good. Meat is a little tough. In general, I've found beef to be very tough in Vietnam. Pork = good, fish = good, chicken = good, beef = no good, fruits = can be deadly but good.

After dinner, went to visit my aunt. She's the oldest on my father's side. Itty bitty woman who's pretty old. My maternal grandmother has more spring to her step. Also went to visit my grandmother who is also in Vietnam for Tet and the family on that side. It ends up that I'll be staying with them until I leave Saigon. Cancelling that Sheraton reservation...although it would have been cool to stay. Have heard nice things about the Sheraton Saigon..... Next time.

Nha Trang

Am continuing my battle with food sickness. Had a brief spell of lucidity in Hoi An and was able to order an ao doi, traditional vietnamese dress. Was kind of cool to be able to order something at 10 pm and get it the next day handmade. My youngest brother also ordered a suit and my sister ordered a two piece skirt outfit. Them's some nimble fingers.

Got to Nha Trang a couple of days ago and found it unappealing. It is Vientam's answer to South Beach in Miami or Gold Coast in Brisbane. Either way, not really up to my tastes. On our first night we were shuttled to the wrong hotel and ended up staying at a 2 star hotel for a night. Not a big deal, right? Well, the hotel was also a pimp hotel and I saw alot of guests with "companions" that night. The next day we moved to the right hotel and I promptly became sick again the next morning. I think it was bad karma to move....


The picture is the outside of the cheesy and equally inadequate facilities of an aquarium. The whole experience was saddening as the facilities were left to be desired. The guide talked about how to cook and eat each individual fish we saw.

Took off for Saigon today and saw a little bit of the city. We went to some wood making factory where they make those inlaid wood stuff and an embroidery place. Got a picture from the embrodiery place, the pictures they have are amazing as they stitch a picture onto fabric and the picture looks almost flawless. My younger brother purchased a rather large piece and he said he was going to put it up in his new place.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I can recover sufficientely overnight. Tomorrow, we're suppose to go to Vung Tao, famous beach outside of Saigon.

My first impression of Saigon is that it is THE city in Vietnam. Much more cosmopolitan, traffis is somewhat orderly compared to the rest of the country, and we're in a Best Western all suite hotel with FREE wireless access. Since it is a US based company, the internet service here is the best I've seen since entering Vietnam. No trouble opening up US websites, etc.

Siblings took off after dinner to wander around the city while I try to keep from yakking in the hotel room.

Words of advice when coming to Vietnam (could be applied to rest of Asia):
1) Bring penciliin for all potential food bourne illnesses.
2) Bring toilet tissue as you never know when you'll need to go in public places.
3) Bring sanitzer as you never know when soap is available in those public places.
4) Bring $100 or $2 new US bills....They bring in the most value when exchanging money as locals find them luckiest. I've been able to get 500 dong more per dollar because of a $100 bill versus $20. $2 are rare and is a very popular novelty. In any case, exchanging cash for cash is the most economical way of trading currency. Withdrawals from ATMs are the worst form of getting local currency. Local jewelers are the best source for changing cash.

Middle of Vietnam

Ever since leaving Hanoi, I've come down with a bad case of food poisoning. We leave tomorrow for Saigon. Hopefully, I will have recovered enough to leave my hotel room. If you ever want to lose weight, food poisoning is the way to go...haven't really eaten in the past four days and haven't stayed awake much either. Today's hotel is one of the nicest we've stayed at....it also has one of the hardest beds I've ever slept in.

Hue

I'm currently in Hue, the Middle Kingdom. This is where the capital was located when Vietnam was ruled by royalty. Saw a couple of temples today...men were hella short as evidenced by the actual size statues. Visited the tomb of the last king. Pretty ornate stuff, man had an ego. My mom has a theory about the king. She thinks he was gay. The reason being that he was known to have several hundred wives but no children and his demeanor was flamboyant. :)

Sort of died on the plane and am slowly recovering.

Before I continue, I am going to regress a little. Came back from Ha Long Bay and it was quite lovely. We were able to have a huge ferry boat to ourselves and the people were very nice on the boat. There are villages floating in Ha Long Bay (land is too expensive) and we bought some seafood to cook on the boat for lunch. Pretty cool. Also, there are some natural caves in the area and we were able to walk in. Conservationists would cringe at the Asian take of displays. Very well lit with variuos colored lights to show off the natural grotto. However, I think that it somewhat erodes the natural beauty of the caves. It was a very different experience than the caves I visited in Tennessee where we weren't allowed to take pictures, lighting was low, etc.

We came back to Hanoi and did a couple of things. Some sightseeing, some souvenir shopping with our guide, Giang. Pretty cool dude. We got into a conversation about accents. Apparently, because our parents are from Hanoi and Saigon, they have "city" accents. Since it is old school, most of the locals can identify that my parents are Viet Kieu, overseas vietnamese. Our vietnamese confuses people because we interchange dialects of the Northern and Southern accents and people assume we are foreign born. Suprisingly, we received alot of compliments on our speaking skills...alot of Viet Kieu have come back and brought their kids. The norm is that the kids cannot speak the language at all. Such a shame to lose a generation....

We also visited my father's home town and the gravesites of my grandparents. In addition, we visited a smaller version of Ha Long Bay, Dinh rivers?? Instead of a bay in the sea, it is a small lake with similar rock formations. Very nice to canoe in the lake; however, the constant peddling detracted from the experience. I understand people need to make money selling these trinkets but it can be very irritating when you've repeatedly say no and trapped on the boat with them.

Ha Long Bay

Made it to Ha Long Bay after a 3 hour drive. It was a pleasant enough drive. The one thing that caught my eye was a motorcycle (the biggest engine possible in Vietnam is 150 cc) with four LIVE pigs strapped onto the back. Amazing what people will do to transport things.

The city itself is pretty small. A lot of contsruction. Apparently, the area is trying to develop itself as a resort town given the number of hotel construction and a "pier" area. The closest thing I can think of is that the city is trying to create a Santa Monica pier feel. Sigh, the progression of capitalism. Tomorrow, we're suppose to go on the boat and see more of the bay. Hopefully, the natural landscape will be more appealing.

We're staying a relatively new hotel with views of the bay. My parents have the pimped out room while us children are relegated to normal size rooms. Considering how empty this place is, I think we should ALL get pimped out rooms. The one good thing I can say is that I've found a wireless network to tap into. Fast as dial up but free is free. Yay.

Other curious thoughts:
1) Vietnamese women are prettier than the average Thai, Korean, and Japanese women I've seen so far. I'm not trying to be bias though....

2) How is everyone NOT dying from lung cancer given the level of pollution?

3) The customer service level is unbelievable. Always around, they also like to hang about and watch us. Kinda creepy.

4) People love their horns around here. I thought New Yorkers were bad. At least no cussing....

Hanoi

Met up with the parents and siblings in Hanoi. My uncle and grandma also came over a week or two ago. After dumping our stuff at the hotel, went to vist a cousin where grandma/uncle were staying with and met my other uncle and his kids. (Mom's side) Afterwards, went to the hotel and met up with an uncle (father's side) and his kids before going to dinner.


The second day we went to my father's hometown two hours outside of Hanoi. Visited the family grave sites where great great great grandparents to grandmother was buried. Also met a bunch of cousins and uncles. Was pretty cool to see the little town where everyone lived before the war scattered everyone. I also saw my family tree for the first time. There are some incomplete parts where recent marriages and births weren't documented. I'm going to bring a copy home and fill out the missing holes. My particular branch needs a correction as well....as I've been named "Petit" Vu. Even my own family doesn't understand the enunciation of "Betty". Argh....

The third day in Hanoi was spent sightseeing the city. Since it required a bit of walking, my father bowed out and it was just us kids and mom. Suprisingly, the highlight of the day was seeing Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Spooky. I'm not sure why but alot of the sights were off limits to cameras/videotaping. Hope my memory keeps. The most memorable restaurant so far is Com Pho. All the other restuarants on this tour has kinda blown chunks.

Today, we're taking off to Ha Long Bay. It is a 3 hour trip one way and we're going to stay overnight.

Final day in Bangkok

I went to Chatachuk (sp?) weekend market. The place, like the rest of Bangkok, is intense. I want to say it is the "South Coast Plaza" of swapmeets. Anything you can think of to buy, it is available. From puppies to candles to furniture, all can be had in one place. The place is so large that vendors are categorized into certain areas. Even with the map, I was still lost. The weekend market was more impressive than the Melbourne miles of stores.



Afterwards, I went back to the hotel for one last massage appointment. There was a 20% discount for all massages in the midday. I am not suprised that most people aren't in the hotel during those times and a good way to drum up some business. Had the best aromatherapy massage....or maybe I was just that tired. :)

Bangkok seems to be a city of commerce. Everyone is always trying to sell something and I was determined to see what other variation the city can conjure. My final foray was to the Sualum (sp?) Night Bazaar. I took a wrong turn from the subway station and had a slight 30 minute detour. On the verge of turning back, I finally found the place and wasn't disappointed.

The Bazaar was similar to the Markets in the morning. However, the Bazaar is more upscale than Chatachuk. There were galleries, trendy clothing, and ALOT more space to manuever. There was a food court with huge sitting area and a stage for entertainers. It seems the Bazaar combined eating, shopping, and hanging out in one place.

I did a quick look through but was tired and had a 7:50 am flight to catch. As I contemplated how and when to get to the airport, I was able to snare a free ride to the airport when checking out of the hotel the next morning. A fellow American (from Seattle) was on his way to the airport and offered a free ride. He was on a corporate trip from Monster.com. In hindsight, I should have tried to see if I could get a job!! He was even nice enough to offer me his cellphone to call home. Corporate America rocks. Although I declined, we talked about his condo in Molokai and his partner overseeing the construction of a home in Seattle. Nice guy. He even offered me tips on my trip as he had backpacked throughout Asia several times.

Mass transit in Bangkok

I realized I had forgotten a package at the airport and decided to take mass transit. Word to the wise, do not get distracted by all the taxi drivers hanging around the airport trying to get you into their taxis.

The BTS Skytrain is fairly easy and quick. Faster and nicer than the L in Chicago. Unfortunately, they haven't completed the connection to the airport (2008 according to the literature). There are several airport buses at certain Skytrain terminals and I took one. Oddest thing, they give you little bus tickets but you can't transfer. I think it is for a return trip but I haven't figured it out yet.

By the time my airport errand was over, I was back at the hotel around midday and decided to chill at the pool. Hotel is pretty nice as it sits along the river (Chayra River -sp?).

My plans for going to the night bazaar was waylayed by my laziness. Wanted to take a nap and ended up falling asleep and waking up at 5 am the next day. There goes my plans for the night bazaar.

Bangkok

I feel like I've walked at least 10 miles today. Left the hotel at 9 am and didn't return until 7 pm. I only felt lost a handful of times. I consider that a good thing considering I had only a 'tourist' map and going by my Fodor's descriptions from memory. I've learned a couple of things today while sightseeing Bangkok.

1) The internet access at the hotel seems arbitrary. I can access most websites but I can't access my webmail or yahoo messenger. Is this censorship?

2) Hustlers are everywhere in Bangkok.

3) The amount of traffic congestion in Bangkok can be attributed to 3 groups - tuk tuk drivers, taxis, and buses. Half the time the tuk tuks and taxis seem empty. Makes you wonder why there is so much traffic if no one really needs to get anywhere? There are also ALOT of scooters.

4) Asian drivers developed their bad driving habits at home and bring it to other countries. No one pays attention to lights nor possesses any driving etiquettes.

5) Food handling concepts are uniquely American. I don't think any of the street vendors would ever make it in the States. Surprisingly, I have not been sick eating random stuff all day long. :)

6) I am officially hooked on sticky rice with mango.

7) McDonald's outside of continental North America fries the apple pies!! I like the asian take in Bangkok - vanilla custard with some type of fruit.

8) Mangos in Asia rock.

9) Conservation is not a priority in Thailand....at least in the way they do business.

Bangkok

So I made it finally.....Although I've heard about Suvarnabuam (sp?) airport is new, I find the new Bangkok Airport fairly cold and uninviting. Maybe they'll work on it some more..... I also fell for the lamest scam ever. In my confusion of getting out of the airport and looking for public transportation, I fell prey to the taxi drivers who wait outside the arrival terminal. After seeing a sign for a private limo for 900 baht, the offer of 700 baht seemed like a decent deal. Afterwards, I found out that most taxi rides cost around 400 to 500 baht including the tolls and airport surcharges. There are airport shuttle buses that will run 150 baht or you can take mass transit for 70 baht (combination of BMTA and Skytrain/subway).

I've officially crashed. Made a quickie massage appt and am going to bed at 10 pm. :) Royal Orchid Sheraton is very cool. Apparently, this hotel is one of the nicest in the city.
The US Dollar travels far. Used to travel farther pre-Bush. Republicans, bah. Currently, the exchange is about 35 Baht to US Dollar...I've heard it used to be 50 baht to US Dollar. The only people making a killing is the Brits....I think it is 70-ish baht to the Pound.

Back in Changi Airport

Finally made it to Singapore and only one more leg to go. Had a stop in Taipei but it only lasted an hour. Enough time to walk off the plane, go through security, and get back on the plane. I guess someone could have snucked something into the airplane again??

Grabbed a quick shower in the Singapore Airlines lounge. A good thing - I probably stink to high heaven after sitting in a plane for 20 hours....

International travels

It has been a whirlwind of activity these past few weeks. Blazed through Hawaii after Thanksgiving and am now preparing to leave for Bangkok today. I'm going to totally butcher Thai words.....