.. off to the beaches and sand dunes

.. well, i am off to the beaches and huge sand dunes for almost 2 weeks, or earlier, if i could finish off my tasks there. The place i am headed to is about 4 hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City, to a province named Phan Thiet. I might not be able to update my blog in this period of time, depending on the availability of a connection there.

.. in the meantime, provided here is a link to where i would be staying. Check out the pictures within the website on the natural scenery of the province.

.. i would of course provide photos of my own as well in my next update. This trip would be my first "unofficial" (officially, i am there for work!!) trip out of town as a tourist to one of Vietnam's natural beauties, and i am sure there is much to see and amuse myself with.

.. my day out as a tourist in Saigon

.. well, i walked 7 kilometers yesterday and here are some pictures taken, just like a typical tourist, most of it, you can find through search engines, but i still put it up for those who are lazy.





.. notre dame cathedral, no vietnamese version of the hunchback spotted because the church was not open, had to try on a Sunday. It was built between 1877 and 1883, with two 40 meter towers topped with iron spires, in neo-Romanesque form, red bricks and colored glass windows all imported from France.






.. Saigon Post Office .. a very old post office, built between 1886 and 1891, it has a glass canopy, ceiling fans, and two gargantuan wall maps of "Saigon et Ses Environs". At the very far end of the arched building .. is Uncle Ho Chi Minh. I was held in awe when i walked in, stood right in the middle of the huge entrance and stared, pissing some French tourist who wanted to take a picture .. and i can almost swear Uncle Ho was smirking at my foolishness.




.. The Saigon Opera House or Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater, the building was originally built by the French to host Opera shows. In 1955 it was transformed into the South Vietnam's Assembly House. After the nation's reunification the building remained unused. Not long ago it was refurbished. It currently hosts vietnamese theatre and traditional music shows. Would definitely go in one day .. well .. once i can understand Vietnamese.


.. one of the many statues scattered all over the city, i took a picture of it, because it was just too tiring for me after 3 kilometers, and i was seated on a bench with some ladies from Vietnam Airlines nearby, trying to communicate with them using sign language, on how to go to Ben Thanh market, i failed miserably, leaving them giggling and me sweating in shame.


.. well, i made my way there, to Ben Thanh market, which was built in 1913, and is the largest market in the city, French-styled of course, with a distinctive clock tower right at its entrance. I turned away immediately, because it was too humid and cramped, and the peddlers would run at you and grab your arm trying to get you to buy. Look at how the girl is dashing towards me ..


.. i walked back to Diamond Plaza, sat down at a coffee shop of Starbuck equivalent, aptly named Higlands coffee under a canopy shading me from the hot sun, just watching people and time past. The heat became unbearable, and just so happen, Narnia premiered, with Prince Caspian's poster staring right down at me from a huge cylindrical billboard next to the coffee shop.


.. with the tickets bought, i strut into the cinema guided by someone with a torch light, with the movie already started for 5 minutes, found my seat, and muttered "SHIT" so loud almost everyone could hear me. I bought the wrong tickets !! It was the dubbed Vietnamese version, with only a single female voice for all characters. How much more awkward could it be !!?? Good thing they let me change the ticket into the English version which was shown later.

.. i ended the day, tracking my journey on a virtual map on my phone, which came to a count of 7.3 kilometers walked. There is still a lot to be explored, and a lot more landmarks to visit .. the tunnels (you get to fire AK47's and M16's !!), the Mekong delta, temples .. and all this is in Saigon, there is still Hue (central Vietnam) .. and also not to forget a promise i made in one of my earlier posts .. Ha Long Bay.

.. back

.. it was a crazy trip to Saigon, and from it, i had much stronger determination to learn Vietnamese now. Though most people i see does not require me to speak english that much, i realized i would have major difficulties with the taxi drivers, since they are going to be my main method of transportation soon.

.. visitors to Vietnam, beware !! These taxi drivers, young or old, even though they drive with the meter, they would figure out ways of increasing the fare. One lesson is more than enough for me, which ended up in an argument by the roadside between me and the taxi driver at a busy junction.

.. I asked to be sent to Saigon's Chinatown, of which i have already located on a virtual map on my phone. Fare would be at max 40,000 Dongs, but somehow, he took me for a round trip around District 5 (where Chinatown is), which ended up me having a fare of 135,000 Dongs. The building which i was headed to was within sight all the time .. on my left side to me precise (Vietnam is left hand drive, and i think the driver has all intention of hiding that building from my sight), i queried him, and he said he wanted to send me to the building front cause we're on a one way street .. OK !! Fine !! .. when he stopped, i refused to pay him the full amount, and we started arguing .. @#*&%$!@, to cut long story short .. in the end i halved it.

.. that really shows that these taxi drivers prey on tourists and expats alone, knowing we have cash, and no knowledge of their streets and language. You would never never get lost in the main cities, the whole city is laid out like a checker board, and the whole stretch, from top to bottom, is one street name, with premises having odds numbers on on side, and even numbers on the other. These taxi drivers understand the checkered maze well enough, they will go round and round .. instead of a straight line which would definitely get you to your destination faster at much lower costs.

.. more updates soon enough, i am just too tired to continue with anything, it has been a hectic two days, with lots of appointment and very little sleep. My journey back to Hanoi was unpleasant as well because some Korean mother left her 5 year old kid running all over the plane, which in the end, that kid emptied his in flight meal of rice, soya chicken stew, vegetables, red bean pudding and coke, spewing forth every thing in such glory it would look like as if it is a scene from Poltergeist, leaving that poor chap right next to him covered with samples of food.

.. it happened 3 feet away from me, leaving a stench so unbearable i had to leave my seat and go disturb the gorgeous air hostess ( .. wink wink) for the remaining 40 minutes of my flight.

.. good night all.

.. away, again

.. i will be flying off to Saigon again tomorrow for a few appointments scheduled over 2 days alone. So expect a huge update on Saturday, hopefully, if i can finish everything and come back by Friday night. Looks like my plans of visiting Ha Long Bay this weekend can be flushed down the drain.

.. next time "dragons", i promise i will visit you .. next time ..

.. go on sleeping

.. goodbye malaysia, Chao Anh(hullo) Vietnam !!

.. this would probably be my last post in Malaysia, i would be leaving Malaysian soil in a few hours, to be in Vietnam as an expatriate. I would definitely be back for my vacation, but i would not know when. This would probably the first time i would be writing this in this manner and tone, not like my previous posts. I feel excited about my trip, but at the same time, in great misery because i would be leaving a country i grew up in, and of course those who are dear to me.

.. I am very sorry to those whom i cannot see within my short 3 weeks of decision and preparation to leave the country. There is just too many too meet and too little time to do so. I promise, for my home trips you will see me. Check out this blog for updates on my schedules (just hoping really badly that i have proper Internet connection there).

.. this would be my very first time leaving the country, in such a drastic and sudden move, that i think would leave many baffled. I have left home before to work in other states in Malaysia for short stints, furthest would be a period of six months in Sabah, but those will not compare to the feelings i have for the "home" i'll be leaving behind now. Many would question why such decision is made, in such short period of time (those who knew the reason, i really appreciate your support as a friend, thank you !!), but to those does not know, think of this as a great opportunity for me to further my career.

.. would like to take this chance to document my appreciation and gratitude to a friend who had hosted me for the past three weeks. I would definitely repay you in kindness of same and even more when i see you in Vietnam after i have settled down in Ho Chi Minh. I take your statement of coming over seriously, and i await the day i have to wait for you in the airport and become your guide and translator around Vietnam. Of course i will not forget those i had dinner with, thank you for turning up and create sweet memories for me, every single one of those i know, is more than welcome to visit me. Do please "ta pao" roti canai for me when you come over ok ..!

.. i would not want to end this post in such a way that it seems that i will not be coming back to Malaysia again .. ever. This post might just sound so monotonous to everyone, but this would be the only place i could document and express my thoughts. This blog would be my window to my friends .. load this space up, and you would have glimpses of my life with Vietnam. I promise, it will be filled with pictures on your next visit, now that i have my own laptop and have more control on what i can store in my harddrive.

.. wish me luck and godspeed everyone, and i shall serve Vietnamese coffee to everyone from this private little window soon enough !

.. i'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when i'll be back again ♫♪

.. its confirmed, i would be leaving Malaysia on the 4th of May 2008. Anxiety is creeping up onto me, and not to forget excitement as well. Vietnam, a place which feels and look much like my hometown(or used to, not now with all the hotels being built), perhaps much more congested. I think i would like it there, cause i don't like fancy and big shopping complexes, night spots blablabla .. it would be .. hmnn .. a raw kind of experience. Everything to its roots and entirety, back to nature.

.. well, i think that is for me to judge once i reach Hanoi. I'm just assuming and using my imagination at this moment. Irregardless, i am sure it would be an interesting journey for me, and due time to start a new chapter in my life..

.. do check out this space again soon for updates

.. currently away

I am sorry for the long hiatus, currently i am so tied up with work that i do not have time for my regular meals .. promise i'll be back next week ..