Ho Chi Minh

I went to one of the big markets on Saturday and bargained my way into buying a dry-fit shirt. I used it that evening to play some ultimate - and as Christina can attest, dry fit is amazing! And it feels even better at a discount price. I threw around with Tuyet, who did an excellent job at catching and improved her forehand. We then played a game of hot box as we waited for our field to free up. We did 6 on 6 hot box which was probably the largest I've ever played. It was a lot of fun and shocking when Tuyet and I collided as we each went for the disc. It all happened in a flash but I basically ended up on the ground and felt like Tuyet somersaulted over me. At another point I ended up marking Aaron (sp?) who is quite tall. As much as I can play smart and cut or keep up defensively, when a 6 ft tall guy stands in the box with his hands up to receive there isn't much I can do about it. It's like a midget guarding Yao Ming. After a while we got onto the field and played 9 on 9 ultimate. This was a lot of fun, but a reminder to how out of shape I am as I tried to run a full field length. Tiring. The Saigon Ultimate team has come a long way since I saw them last December - there were a lot of friendly folks and I'm hoping I can meet up with them for tomorrow's practice.

Afterwards, Tuyet and I had dinner and then met a bunch of ex-pats at Le Pub. I enjoyed some mango juice and pina coladas before everyone decided to go (gasp) dancing! Not my favorite activity, but I went along anyways and ended up having a good time. It's not the same without Fred, my favorite dance partner. He has a habit of letting loose and dancing without being self conscious that it rubs off on me. Plus combined with good music. We were on a floor devoted to hip hop but only about half the songs sounded good. Later another Wellesley alum showed up. We took a picture of us 3 sitting together and are wondering if it will make it into the alum magazine (imagine a non-wedding photo!).

We stayed up quite late doing travel research, which is why we ended up incredibly tired on Sunday for our day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai temple. We slept every leg of the bus ride. Our guide displayed his first signs of oddity as he introduced himself and highlighted the importance of peeing at the available stops. He told a 5 minute story about a previous customer who had to make multiple emergency stops, delaying the trip home, and having to fight off local children who were in awe of seeing a foreigner and not letting her pee. Luckily he returned to normalcy and told us some history about the Cao Dai religion. Before seeing the colorful temple laiden with left eyes and animal symbols, we stopped at a handicapped handicraft center, where the process of mother of pearl lacquerware and egg shell designs was explained and displayed in process. There was table after table of workers each doing their part in creating the art pieces. At the end there was a shop with additional items for sale. I noted the price of one carved wooden box at 176000 dong, which I had seen the previous day for 32000 dong at a high priced market. One would hope the extra money would go directly to the handicapped (victims of the war) but being a jaded tourist, I could only think it went mostly to the business owner. We left empty handed.

Lunch was highly disappointing. I complained enough to Tuyet that I won't repeat it here - suffice it to say you should pack your own lunch if you take a bus tour, considering how delicious most vietnamese food is. The highlight was seeing a local standing just outside the restaurant wearing a bright red sweatshirt with some english on it. You often wonder whether people know what their clothing says.

Afterwards we got to the Cu Chi tunnels, where communist fighters and townspeople had hid during war time. Before entering the wooded area we watched a video about the history - which felt awkward as the narrator continuously blasted Americans fas heartless killers. (This article has some of the more memorable quotes.) I first thought it ridiculous that the tunnels had been doubled in size for tourism's sake. After making my way through, I thought less so, as it was quite a struggle as it was (and even more so for the larger in our company) and gave an idea of just how amazing it all must have been at just half the size. There were displays on different traps and weaponry, as well as a sample kitchen and dining area (where they fed us tapioca with a peanut dipping sauce). There was one entrance into the tunnels left at original size. When we got there, there was a large man stuck in it who needed help out. Tuyet and I fit in easily though. We also fired a rifle - my first time shooting a gun. It was incredibly loud, and Tuyet hurt her shoulder from the recoil. I shot 2 bullets at once mistakenly (supposedly 3, but I think someone else must have done the same).

On the bus ride back, our tour guide gave us a historical count of Vietnam's time in war since the 1400's, including his own time fighting with the Americans, and then later going through re-education camp once the Communists had won. He had a good half hour's worth of information. Unfortunately he stepped back into strangeness when he shared that Vietnamese also watch "movies his boss wouldn't let him describe to us" and then proceeded to pant heavily into the microphone.

Tuyet and I were happy to get off the bus and to a Vietnamese BBQ restaurant (the best in town). We enjoyed a salad on shrimp chips, some beef with cheese, and then I cringed as they brought a plate of live skewered shrimp - the legs were still moving. I am 3 steps closer to becoming vegetarian. I watched them cook alive in front of me and probably overcooked a few because it always looked like they were still twitching. I tried 2 but made Tuyet eat the rest. Besides fish, I prefer my meat to look unrecognizable and not alive or skinned in front of me. Now that I like tofu and have learned some indian cooking, I think I will start leaning heavily towards vegetarianism whenever I get back to normal life (while traveling I like to open myself to all foods).

Today I slept in later than Tuyet (previously I had been waking up with the sun before 6 am) and got breakfast with her in the market around the corner. We also grabbed another dish I hadn't tried yet, and then she went to work (RMIT) for the last time (having quit and just needing to submit grades and clean out her desk). While she was there, I spent my time cleaning up and then walking through town (from district 3 to district 1) and then researching more for our future travel.

Once Tuyet met up with me, we grabbed lunch - I got some heavenly tasting fresh spring rolls and a surprisingly delicious mango salad (I was expecting ripe but it came green) and tried one of Tuyet's lotus flower appetizers. She enjoyed her comfort food on her own, eggs with rice.

We continued our travel planning and bought our ticket to Da Nang. We leave tomorrow night, so I will probably be out of contact until getting to Bangkok (Fri, Feb 9). I've decided to play in a hat tournament and am looking forward to seeing Angie and Tucker.

Need Thailand/Cambodia advice

Hey all - need your help! Tuyet and I are planning the rest of our travels through Cambodia (Angkor for sure, debating the capital) and Thailand. We're researching ways to get from Hanoi to BKK to Cambodia. Looks like Bangkok Air has a monopoly on the BKK-REP route. We're taking any and all suggestions for travel options - air, ferry, bus, train, as well as travel activities and advice on places to stay - the cheaper the better! We can also go to Cambodia first and then Thailand.

Our ideas for activities in Thailand are trekking, shopping, rock climbing, sea kayaking, eating & massages. No underwater activities since Tuyet is recovering from ear surgery. Possible locations are Chiang Dao (trek), Phuket area (Phang Nga bay=kayak, Railay=rock climb), ko samui. Bangkok is already a definite. I've already been to Chiang Mai so would like to try some place different this time.

Comment away or email me! Places to see/avoid, agencies to use, hostels to stay in, etc. Thank you!

Note: websites for research. I've been using travelindependent.info and wikitravel.org and a thailand travel guide. Any other good ones?

Back to black

When Tuyet's motorbike taxi guy picked us up yesterday, we recognized each other and smiled and nodded (he speaks no english, I speak no vietnamese). But apparently his first comment to Tuyet was "She's black!" On our Great Barrier Reef trip, Christina and I both tanned a lot (unwantingly), so I am about 3 shades darker than I have been the whole rest of the trip. The funny thing is that in South India, kids would point at me on the street and say in Tamil "white skin, white skin!" It was such an odd feeling being a whitey when I've usually been the darkest one around. In Malaysia and Singapore I blended in, as well as in Australia. Now I'm back to being a darkie as people here are more particular about being pale.

Tuyet and I had lunch at RMIT - some rice with pork-bamboo and bean sprouts - and a most delicious banana cake. We came home and napped and missed an evening run - Tuyet started running a few weeks ago and I was going to join her. I didn't realize I was tired until I laid down. So instead we went out for a big dinner with some friends at a really tasty Vietnamese place. We ordered loads of appetizers - mostly rice noodly things with yummy toppings - either as flat pancakes or spring rolls, and some dumplings. For the meal I had a delicious noodle dish. I can't remember the names of any of the dishes - maybe Tuyet can fill in details. I met some of her ultimate friends (she doesn't play but hangs out with them), Tino and Anne, who are trying to convince me to join them in Bali in April for a tournament. I'm considering. I also met Kevin and his gf Minh, and there happened to be another guy named Minh who just moved here a week ago.

Afterwards we went to a cafe, where they had live music playing. I enjoyed a banana-coconut-peanut smoothie, and Tuyet had a coconut ice cream (vanilla ice cream served in a coconut shell). The music was really nice and the atmosphere was relaxing - it seemed the type of place I would enjoy frequenting near retirement.

Today Tuyet is off to her consulting job and we have plans to practice with the Saigon Ultimate team - or at least I have plans to practice and Tuyet has plans to be nearby. Apparently, last year when I visited was her first and last time playing. I'll see if I can convince her to give it a go again.

Instant Pictures...not really

Tuyet and I grabbed breakfast this morning - just around the block. A yummy bowl of noodles with meat (fishballs, beef) and veggies (banana, greens, sprouts) and an iced soy drink. This was just one of many street shops available. Further down the road there were people selling fruit and veggies and meats. We went into a compact market area where we got 2 kilos of mangosteens (the seller spoke vietnamese the whole time
and seemed to want to give us his whole stash, which looked to be 3 kilos - I made a comment, and Tuyet seemed to work out that we wanted a little less than everything) and a few mangos. We passed on the asian pears until next time.

Across from Tuyet's place (different from where I visited her last year - her roomate, Patricia, just moved to Thailand to work in a refugee camp near the border to Myanmar), there is a temple. It has a nice garden area around it. She's got a really large room inside a house shared with 4 other people. And her guest bed is better than any bed I slept in in Australia! Sweet comfort.

I'm at RMIT now where I have access to Windows but can't download anything on to the computer from the net, nor can I log into read gmail. Sad. Oh, and apparently I can't upload the pictures from my camera. Grrr. Well, there are 2 lovely pictures to go along with the above paragraphs that I'll have to post later.

We each took a motorbike taxi (20,000 dong) to school. The ride was pleasant and I noticed a few people balancing some really large items - I'll have to video or take pictures next time, as it's quite amazing what people can transport. In a few days, I probably won't even do a double take if I see someone balancing a grand piano on the back.

Arrived in Vietnam

I got to Vietnam safely last night. This time immigration went quite smoothly (thanks to Tuyet for getting me a visa-on-arrival) and I was out of the airport in half an hour. Tuyet and I enjoyed a yummy korean dinner and talked about the lack of solidity in our plans - both for immediate travel and post-travel. She is considering moving back to the states in addition to getting another job here (she's part time consultant and part time college professor). We're considering adding Laos to the itinerary (on top of Cambodia and Thailand) and wondering what else to do in Vietnam as it seems a bit cold up in Hanoi and Sapa.

OK, I think she needs the puter for grading. More later!

p.s. I'm re-uploading all the photos, but I don't think I like the picasa uploader on a mac, so will probably redo them all over again once I get to a windows machine.

Last Stop: Cairns

We got to Cairns last night - the final major city destination in our eastern coast journey through New South Wales and Queensland. We went as far north as Daintree Village - but decided not to cross the river to get to Cape Tribulation. Instead we tried a climb up Walsh's pyramid (not realizing it would be a hike straight up the mountain) and enjoyed a nice thai dinner in the city. Thus far it's been mostly car snacks and bread - so it was nice to feel like we were getting a real meal. The best meal so far was at the Sanctuary Retreat near Mission Beach - where we slept overnight in the rainforest (in a hut). This place was a splurge and completely relaxing - highly recommended for anyone needing a rest.


Today we took a day tour to the Great Barrier Reef - and Christina tried her hand (fins?) at snorkeling for the first time - and apparently also her first time in the ocean or in that deep water. In as much as she tells me nearly every day that she can't swim despite years of swimming lessons, I just don't really believe her. Luckily the person waving her arms in desperation and trying to scream 'help' but couldn't b/c of so much water in her mouth was NOT Christina (and fyi this other asian girl was quickly spotted and rescued). Christina did quite well for the first time out and an ill fitting mask. We saw a few fish and coral - but enjoyed our time in the shade and looking through the glass bottom boat at giant clams and extremely large and dark blue sea stars. The images of Christina being crashed over by shallow waves on the Cay are priceless - and unfortunately only in my head as my camera was left on the boat.

I am off to Vietnam day after tomorrow - further pictures from me will hopefully be available in the next month if Tuyet's computer is available for me to use. In the mean time, check out Christina's blog/web albums to get more details about my 2 weeks here in sunny Oz.

Heading out of Sydney soon

So far in Sydney, we've done a lot of walking around - seeing the Opera House, walking across the Harbour Bridge (but not the hike up it - too expensive), lunching in Darling Harbour, wandering through chinatown, pitt st shopping, darlinghurst, and doing the Bondi to Bronte beach walk. Today we're hitting up the Powerhouse Museum and some day markets. I just have to wait for Christina to wake up : ) (I'd go see the special Walking with Dinosaurs show, but it's too expensive!)

Tomorrow we pick up the car and head off to the Blue Mountains - so email access will be limited. Hope everyone in Seattle survived the storm - and thanks to Karla for sharing local news and Happy Bday to Jeff and Gmul!

[post editing]

Oz: Country #5

Got to Sydney - but short on time. Just checking in!

Christina's pictures

I know this blog has been seriously devoid of pictures - luckily Christina went home last week and has since uploaded highlights of Singapore and Malaysia (I joined for the second part of her trip - starting at the KL Tower pictures). More will come eventually!

Addendum
Wow, I never really blogged about anything in Singapore. We were only there a short time. Enough to see some of the fireworks. But my view of the prep in the water was better than that of them in the air going off. Christina and I probably spent more time preparing for Australia than we did seeing Singapore.

We also went to the zoo and saw lots of cute animals...



You could buy ice cream from street carts with options for wafer sheets or sandwich bread!

Penang Hill

Last night, two of Laly's college mates picked me up for dinner. We drove down Gurney and went to a huge seafood restaurant and sat by the water. The dinner was delicious and their company was wonderful. They have both traveled around the area and were giving me lots of advice on Cambodia, China, as well as living abroad (everyone seems to recommend Singapore).


Afterwards, we got some dessert (rojak) and sugar cane juice. I was too full to finish either, but shared the dessert with my hostel mates on return. We also drove over to Batu Feringhi, where I couldn't see the beach b/c it was so late out, but the night life was hopping with plenty of street vendors and restaurants still serving people.

This morning I walked through one of the morning street markets and picked up breakfast at a bunch of different stalls - with varying degrees of difficulty. The chinese man who sold me the bing do jyong spoke to me in chinese and a little bit of english, and I got across that I was from America and only knew yi-dian-dian (very little) Chinese. The woman who sold me the yummy dumplings - I'm not sure that either one of us understood anything the other person said. I guess she was Malay. The other shop keepers spoke more English and I just pointed out what I wanted.

I caught a local bus for $1.20 RM to Penang Hill, and the tram round trip for $4RM up the hill. I walked over to the Canopy Walk (which is closed) just to get some exercise. I had considered walking up the hill (5.5 km) but in this heat and humidity I thought it better just to walk around at top. There are quite a few trails where I'll have to explore next time I go back.

I'm now printing out my tickets for travel and will be spending the last 6 hours here spending the rest of my ringgits and packing for the long journey ahead.

ps I have 20 pictures left on my 512 MB card - and yet to upload any! Maybe in Australia I'll be able to find a good computer/connection. Otherwise it's onwards to the spare 1GB card.

Addendum

I have since lost my original SD card in Cambodia, losing all the audio that I recorded. Up on Penang Hill was incredibly loud - far from being in a peaceful quiet forest. I couldn't tell what was going on around me, but it certainly was alive with life. These insects made the strangest loudest noises - take my word from it since I don't have the clip : (


These plants had an interesting geometric pattern that caught my eye.

Penang

I arrived in Penang last night - falling in and out of sleep during the 8 hour trip from Melaka by express bus. We crossed the 13 km bridge from Butterworth onto the island to the new bus station where I was met by Laly's cousin and his girlfriend. They took me out of the rain and to a hawker area where we were served at tables. I had some malaysian ho fen (seafood) with an orange juice. It was enough to satisfy me, but then an onslaught of food came - I wish I could remember the names - one was a plate of fried goodies (fish, sausage, tofu) with cucumber and 2 dipping sauces. Another was a really tasty fish - the sauce was delicious. Another was of cuttlefish and octopus - also with an amazing sauce. And then there was a plate of small oysters (out of shell) that came with its own dipping sauce. I was quite full by the end! I was trying to think about how to make all of these dishes once I get back home - one is just getting quality seafood/meat. The other problem is figuring out the sauces - there is a complexity and balance to each that I doubt I can replicate.

I stayed at 100 Cintra Street, which is an antique shop on the bottom, a museum on the third floor, and recently converted hostel on the second floor. I made the mistake of choosing the dorm section (the attendant gave me a mosquito coil, but it didn't last long enough and I was thoroughly eaten all night long - perhaps losing weight in blood what I've gained in fat from eating), which is the closest one to a neighboring disco that pumps until 3 or 4 am. I hardly got any sleep, and left the place to walk around town once it got light out. I happened on a quite a few morning markets, where Chinese were selling fresh made fish balls, tofu drinks, bamboo wrapped goodies, baked breads, and lots of meat and seafood. I had breakfast at a yummy dim sum place with a bottle of xian-dou-jiang (sweet soy milk), chilled. I also hit the Penang Museum ($1RM = 0.25 $USD) - and learned a lot about the history of Penang and the different make up of the Malaysian people - Malay, Chinese, Tamils, Sikhs, Javanese, British/Dutch/Portuguese, Thai, etc. I walked along the eastern side of Georgetown for a while along the piers - not a very interesting area, then came back to the hostel to switch my room to a single (which comes with a mosquito net I look forward to testing out tonight).

I'm now in the Komtar mall - which is huge. The Singapore and KL malls were also huge, but the stores were big. This place seems big because there are so many little shops all crammed into one place. I think there are 2 malls adjoining each other and there's something like 900 shops. I found a yummy Chinese waffle cart - like the ones you can get in New York City, but bigger and filled with a bit of custard. So good. Next to it was a Japanese cart, but they hadn't got going yet, so I didn't get any.

Tonight I'm meeting Laly's college mates for dinner. Tomorrow will be my last day here before catching an overnight bus to Singapore to catch my flight to Sydney on Qantas. Christina and I will be exploring the Sydney to Cairns route - hopefully hitting up the Blue Mountains and Atherton Tablelands.

First Times

Yesterday I went to my first Chinese Malaysian wedding dinner. It was one of my cousin's wife's eldest brothers getting married. There was a 7 course meal that lasted 2 hours. There were probably 20 tables of 10 people each, a front stage where guests could go up and sing a song to the couple, and otherwise blasting Chinese music. The couple wore western clothing (tuxedo and white dress), popped a champagne bottle and cut the cake together. The more ceremonial parts had happened earlier in the day - with them serving tea to their elders and them being served tea by their 'youngers'.

I also had my first Malaysian facial. My previous facial was in Thailand around the same time last year (with Angie, Frenchy, and Amanda). But this one was quite different, lasting 2 hours long and me not being able to communicate (in Chinese) to my facialist. It started out very relaxing with rubbing of my face, neck and upper chest area and lotions being rubbed into my skin. They used some machine to peel off a layer of skin. But when she proceeded to poke my skin (at least I'm guessing, my eyes were closed the whole time) with a sharp needle and pinch out my pores - OUCH! Luckily it didn't last too long and then it was back to the soothing rubbing and an oxygenation machine. Then it felt like I was under ice for half an hour as I think she put an icy mud pack on my face. In the end, my skin was left incredibly soft and cool.

Nearby there was a shop that sold satay only. We ordered the chicken and pork satays (yes, Chewy, finally!) - and then I noticed the liver and intestine options - so we got one stick of each to try. The dish came with cucumbers, a packed rice (rice is packed in bamboo and cooked in a compressed way), and the most delicious spicy peanut sauce (that had chunks of pineapple in it). Next door there was a bakery that sold "Mille Crepe" cakes - we ordered a slice to take home. Everything is handmade in the store, and I believe each cake has 50 layers, and they can only make 9 cakes in a day. Incredibly delicious.


My cousin also had some snow jelly in the freezer and prepared it in the afternoon - it takes 6 hours to soak before you combine it with other ingredients (rock sugar, red dates, other items we couldn't translate into english) and make a dessert soup. Apparently my mom should know where to find it.

Lunch was home made and I helped to prepare the noodles - which was a simple flour-water mixture that is spread very thin and then torn into a clay pot, that has water, veggies and meat (fishballs, fish wrapped veggies, etc) - very little salt is added because the flavor comes primarily from these very small fish that I forget the name of - but I should have a picture. My cousins weren't sure if I could find it in the US, but I'm hoping Uwajimaya will pull through.


So delicious!

Breakfast was roti chennai (not sure of the spelling), which to me seems a Malaysian twist on an Indian bread. The roti is cooked either 'plain' with sugar, or wrapped around sliced banana or egg, and then served with different sauces. I had the banana and it was delicious - a sort of malaysian crepe. I also had a cup of tea, which tasted like chai but a little different and came in a more American size than Indian.

My cousins also served me tea from a traditional chinese set - having never been a tea drinker until this trip, this was yet another first. This made me think of Yoko and how I could ever get her one from China - perhaps another trip.

Those are all of the firsts I can think of, but there may have been more. It's 8:30 am now and I am off to see family for the last time for breakfast before catching a bus to Penang (an island off the northwest coast).


My Aunt and her first grandson (and first granddaughter in the corner)


Pineapple! I've never seen it growing before. Imagine that.


An interesting way to decorate your plant. Reminds me of a xmas decoration.


Bananas - another first


My first traditional Muslim house, and first time in a Muslim scarf.

Little Buddha Belly

...is building up from more incredible food. Crispy peanut pancake, rice dumplings in peanut sauce, steamboat dinner, durian, mangosteens, fried bananas and sweet potatos, soy milk, black milk, etc. I need to post pictures of the baba nonya house, the night market, and most importantly my family - cousins, aunt, uncle and extended family. Laly's 2 daughters are adorable, but I haven't been able to break the ice with them since I can't speak Mandarin. One more reason for me to learn chinese!

The mix of 3 cultures and religions in one country is quite amazing and gives its people such a different experience and outlook on life than what I consider the typical American's experience - with the US being so secluded and homogeneous (in parts). There are the Muslim Malays, the Buddhist Chinese, and the Hindu Tamils. Despite the mix, it seems like school classes can still be quite segregated once you split by level. Even at work, Laly finds she is still mostly among chinese people.


Last night I got my chinese name engraved in a stamp (a goat stamp to represent my birth year) - the name turned out differently from normal because they translated it to the Qing dynasty style of writing. Laly also got a model boat for the house - and was sure to get the one that had good feng shui - no pointy sterns allowed! This limited the choice but I really like the red sails and it looks nice in the entrance.

It turns out Laly was a physics major, like my parents. My aunt is a mathematics teacher (!) and my uncle was in the oil palm industry. Laly's youngest brother went to the same school my mom got her master's at in the US (and during dinner I realized he must have suffered without the Malaysian food - but he learned to cook to make up for it).

ok, enough rambling - off to breakfast.

Old Town Melaka

I saw more of old town Melaka today with my cousin, Laly. She has been the best hostess - showing me around town (taking time off of work), translating chinese to english for me, pointing out historically interesting sites, telling me about what it was like growing up for her (and differences between Malay vs Chinese descendants). It's been extremely interesting and filling for my belly. I will have to fill in more details later. But before I forget - baba nonya house, nonya asam laksa, chendol, hong kong dim sum, museums, churches, buddhist temples, mosques, etc.



Baba Nonya House - the owner has used the money earned from visitor entrance fees to travel around the world. He is 82 years old and advised me to get out of Malaysia, where the opportunities are so poor, given the low pay and the advantages given to Malay people. He is the descendant of a famous Chinese man-Malaysian woman (baba-nonya) couple and owned a very wealthy house in the old town. Pictures normally are not allowed, but since he was the owner he encouraged us to take a picture.


Also inside the Baba Nonya house. I am standing with my wonderful cousin, Laly. Behind us you can see some of the furniture - slabs of marble were chosen for their natural swirls that looked like mountains and mounted in the back of furniture. They looked like paintings!


This man biked both Laly and I around old town. I think I alone weighed twice as much as him. It felt awkward to have him wheeling us around, especially in such an elaborate trishaw. Especially awkward when he couldn't make it up the hill and got off to push us! Aye ya. I think I would have liked to try biking it myself and giving him the ride! I could have done with some exercise.