this was my post in the past....   see how i will feel this summer....

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

     ...trip to vietnam...



8 days were gone. the trip simply marked a transition, or a turnaround. days had once been filled with excel spreadsheets and never-ended meetings. suddenly, i was in the midst of a motorbike-paradise, getting a buzz at markets and chilling out with fresh fruit juices outdoors...    i am still indulged in a developing tropical country...  motorbikes, uncle ho's money, conical hat, fresh fruit juice..... (and kind gals)

it's a place full of culture, ppl enjoying life in a less rich way. it's hot. but so what?! they simply drive motorbike freely (or a less disciplined way, whatever u say) to wherever they want. drinking a glass of coffee amid dusts all night, or having a bowl of 'pho bo' (rice noodles with beef), spring rolls, half-vietnamese-half-french baquette... food means art. low-end food stalls are their museums....    

meeting lots of travellers. these backpackers go around asian countries for weeks or even months, enjoying every moment there at their own pace.... i wish i could be one of them. but i know i won't.

day 1 - the first taste of saigon (ho chi minh city) - 'lovely noises!'




bought 'time' at hong kong airport. it was the edition couldn't be missed - hk, 10 years after 97.   
an early flight. the airport of ho chi minh was quiet, a significant contrary with the rest of the city!
bargaining and hassling with taxi drivers. we made concession soon amid humid and hot weather.
checking in the hotel. walking along pham ngu lao, a budget tourists' district.
hanging around ben thanh market. a bit like chinese market except there're quite a number of coffee-bean stores. surrounding is a bit like nice in france.
enjoying my first coconut in vietnam. it's less sweet than thai one, cut in a more rounded-shape.
lunch @ ben thanh market. soft noodles with meat rolls, rice papers rolling shrimps...  the kind of lunch that i expected.
reunification palace. nth really special. i think it should be the least remembered 'landmark' in the city.
notre dame and post office. nice environment, nice buildings.
diamond plaza. a high-end shopping mall. should not be too impressive for hong kongers.
chilling out on the bank of river. finding somewhere to eat.
enjoying the first dinner at ngon~ fantastic.
in contrast to the weather forecast of bbc. no rains and no thunderstorms on day 1.

day 2 - cao dai temple and cu chi tunnels. live classes of religion and history.




walking around pham ngu lao and nearby. booking a tour at sinh cafe. packed with travellers.
the group of tour was about 10 ppl in size. 2 korean gals, 2 american taiwanese and westerners.
taking a coach to a workshop that sells hand-made crafts.
cao dai temple. nice architecture. we watched the noon-praying.
cu chi tunnels - networks of tunnels where vietnamese stayed underground during war! with lots of traps .... there's also a place where we could try machine guns. i played AK47. sounds a bit scary for me though.
back to saigon at night. dinner at a chain-restaurant called 'pho 24'.
sitting down at a cafe called hoa mai coffee. very nice staff. feeling good.

day 3-4  nam cat tien national park. two days' escape from busy hcmc




a private tour to nam cat tien. few hours' drive from busy ho chi minh city.
cycling around the country park. clouds were getting thicker and we quickly went back amid rains..
we awaited rains to stop such that we could go night-spotting!!! we could finally get off but there're only a few tiny deers... should have been much better if there's dry weather....

hiked though a jungle. lovely environment. but there're too many leeches that i hated!
we arrived at a wetland. a nice place.
going back to hcmc and finding a hotel. we finally booked a room at USD 16 with a nice toilet and balcony!
taking a cyclo to a high-end restaurant and walking back to pham ngu lao....

day 5-7 mekong delta. next door to cambodia...





breakfast @ loretta. my first try of vietnamese iced coffee. black coffee with lots of sugar. strong and sweet.
taking the coach to my tho. visiting a coconut-sweet workshop at ben tre. then trying honey bee tea and wine, as well as taking a pic with a snake.
taking a rowing boat through narrow canals. lunch. europeans were showing off their long holidays...
tasting fresh tropical fruits with traditional music (not very nice, to be honest)
off to can tho, where we took a ferry with lots of motorbikes surrounding us!
motorbike-ride to a quiet village where we had a home-stay.

awaken up by noises made by chickens and radio/ tv sounds somewhere in the village ... 
a boat-trip to floating markets. quite quiet though.
visiting to rice noodles workshop and then a crocodile farm..
SAM mountain. just next to cambodia. beautiful scenary.
a small but busy town of chau doc. hving dinner at food stalls. trying my first half-vietnamese-half-french baquette.

another boat-trip in early morning. visiting a small village and a small mosque. somebody were playing volleyball in a very rustic court... pretty much like what we see in nike ad.
a long traffic back to saigon...
enjoying a very full meal at ngon again. 2 ppl ordering 6 drinks, 4 main dishes, 3 desserts.... nice environment, nice food, great price and beautiful and kind waitress serving us!
sitting somewhere in pham ngu lao again .... the last night....

day 8  the last day....




enjoying a bowl of pho bo in the morning...
taking a motorbike to cholon, the china town.... the market isn't really special....
taking a local bus!!! no one in the bus could even speak a word of english.... we're like animal being watched .^0^
going to ngon again!! having coconut drink... then off to another restaurant nearby for another bowl of noodles...
buying souvenirs at ben thanh market. then taking cyclo back to pham ngu lao where we enjoyed the final hours for fresh juices and shakes....

too many moments to be remembered....