November 26, 2001
If you have an online log or website, click on Link & Think which is dedicated to World AIDS Day (December 1) and connect your site!
I have been back at the office only one day though it feels like an eternity. I heard from the bike tour company today that they will be sending applications at the end of December so it is still hopeful that I can be a bike tour guide in Europe. Of course, that all depends on how the tour season might turn out this coming summer. I'll keep hoping and we'll see.
I ran into my aunt's fortune teller at Dong Du Cafe today and she wanted to tell me my fortune. Since I was in a hurry and on my way out the door, I told her my fortune to save her the trouble - that I'll only encounter happiness and ease and luck in my life. The others around her asked if that was true and she said "you can see it in her face" so I guess that's a good thing, huh? I didn't have time to tell her the rest of my future - that I'll never be rich in dollars but I'm rich in family and friends, and that I'll be happier working with people outdoors or in schools or other meaningful places, and not in 9-5 office buildings. I'll especially be happy if I could be a bike tour guide in Italy and France next year. We'll see how lucky I really am.
h.
November 26, 2001
November 24, 2001
Sai Gon, November 24, 2001
Jeff has just headed back yesterday and stopped in Singapore. We had a very full trip that began in Hanoi with beautiful weather. We took a day trip out to the Perfume Pagoda outside of Hanoi and hiked two hours to the cave pagoda. The highlight of the trip is the boat ride to get to the Pagoda path. I'll send pictures, as I can't really begin to describe it to you.
A couple of days spent in Hanoi, and I also met with some friends in the north. I saw a surprisingly well performed play in Vietnamese while Jeff got caught up on jet lag his first day in Hanoi. Another evening, we went to see the water puppetry, a traditional and ancient Vietnamese entertainment.
We headed to Halong Bay on Monday for a day trip. There are over 1500 islands that dot the landscape and small grottoes and caves worth exploring. The Vietnamese tourism has done some work to assist tourists, but they've only managed to make the caves look a little bit like the It's a Small World ride at Disney World.
Sapa Valley is a wonderful cultural exhibit and we went with a small tour (seven people total) where we had the opportunity to sit with some of the local ethnic minority families of the H'mong and Dzay tribes. It was like a field trip to the Museum of Natural History, only real and contemporary. We hiked three hours our first chilly day there, and five hours on our second day, which happened to be sunny and beautiful. Jeff and I took the overnight train back to Hanoi and I froze for the 10 hour trip in my bunk as it was only 12 degrees Celsius on the train and I hadn't a blanket.
In Saigon, Di 10 treated us royally and had wonderful meals prepared for us, as I had expected she would. All vegetarian / seafood dishes and lots of Nelly Natural Italian Ice Cream. Jeff and I spent a day going to Cho Lon (Sai Gon's Chinatown) where we rented cyclo drivers who took us around the city to seven different pagodas.
Mr. Ngoc & Mr. Thuong, directors of Saigon Mui Ne Resort paid same kindness and VIP treatment to us in Phan Thiet. They invited us for drinks at the bar, then dined with us, and Jeff was given all the free Nelly ice cream he could consume. They also gave us a sauna & massage treatment on the house, and a souvenir t-shirt to each of us. We again were met with great weather, and were able to take side trips to the Cham temple, the red sand dunes, and the Mui Ne bay.
After rest and relaxation on the beach in Mui Ne, Jeff and I headed back to Saigon and home where we had a very beautiful Thanksgiving seafood lunch ("like eating at a gourmet restaurant," Jeff says). We then headed back to the city to run our last errands, go on a final shopping spree, and eat auntie's great pizza and gnocchi at her restaurant for our Thanksgiving dinner before getting home to get packed.
Friday morning we were off to the airport, and although I had hoped to get to Dalat to meet up with Chuong in the afternoon, flights were full and so I said goodbye to Jeff at Tan Son Nhat International and played hookey from work for the day. Our trip really seemed to fly by, and in some ways, it's hard to believe that Jeff was really here in Vietnam! It was wonderful to hear my native English and to be able to really go around Vietnam like a tourist with Jeff. I have lots of pictures to show for it!
Anyone else interested in visiting? I'm running out of time here (and mom and aunt 5 and aunt 8 are all coming in January)
Jeff has just headed back yesterday and stopped in Singapore. We had a very full trip that began in Hanoi with beautiful weather. We took a day trip out to the Perfume Pagoda outside of Hanoi and hiked two hours to the cave pagoda. The highlight of the trip is the boat ride to get to the Pagoda path. I'll send pictures, as I can't really begin to describe it to you.
A couple of days spent in Hanoi, and I also met with some friends in the north. I saw a surprisingly well performed play in Vietnamese while Jeff got caught up on jet lag his first day in Hanoi. Another evening, we went to see the water puppetry, a traditional and ancient Vietnamese entertainment.
We headed to Halong Bay on Monday for a day trip. There are over 1500 islands that dot the landscape and small grottoes and caves worth exploring. The Vietnamese tourism has done some work to assist tourists, but they've only managed to make the caves look a little bit like the It's a Small World ride at Disney World.
Sapa Valley is a wonderful cultural exhibit and we went with a small tour (seven people total) where we had the opportunity to sit with some of the local ethnic minority families of the H'mong and Dzay tribes. It was like a field trip to the Museum of Natural History, only real and contemporary. We hiked three hours our first chilly day there, and five hours on our second day, which happened to be sunny and beautiful. Jeff and I took the overnight train back to Hanoi and I froze for the 10 hour trip in my bunk as it was only 12 degrees Celsius on the train and I hadn't a blanket.
In Saigon, Di 10 treated us royally and had wonderful meals prepared for us, as I had expected she would. All vegetarian / seafood dishes and lots of Nelly Natural Italian Ice Cream. Jeff and I spent a day going to Cho Lon (Sai Gon's Chinatown) where we rented cyclo drivers who took us around the city to seven different pagodas.
Mr. Ngoc & Mr. Thuong, directors of Saigon Mui Ne Resort paid same kindness and VIP treatment to us in Phan Thiet. They invited us for drinks at the bar, then dined with us, and Jeff was given all the free Nelly ice cream he could consume. They also gave us a sauna & massage treatment on the house, and a souvenir t-shirt to each of us. We again were met with great weather, and were able to take side trips to the Cham temple, the red sand dunes, and the Mui Ne bay.
After rest and relaxation on the beach in Mui Ne, Jeff and I headed back to Saigon and home where we had a very beautiful Thanksgiving seafood lunch ("like eating at a gourmet restaurant," Jeff says). We then headed back to the city to run our last errands, go on a final shopping spree, and eat auntie's great pizza and gnocchi at her restaurant for our Thanksgiving dinner before getting home to get packed.
Friday morning we were off to the airport, and although I had hoped to get to Dalat to meet up with Chuong in the afternoon, flights were full and so I said goodbye to Jeff at Tan Son Nhat International and played hookey from work for the day. Our trip really seemed to fly by, and in some ways, it's hard to believe that Jeff was really here in Vietnam! It was wonderful to hear my native English and to be able to really go around Vietnam like a tourist with Jeff. I have lots of pictures to show for it!
Anyone else interested in visiting? I'm running out of time here (and mom and aunt 5 and aunt 8 are all coming in January)
November 18, 2001
Sai Gon, November 19, 2001
I'm back in Saigon with Jeff and we wandered about a little bit today. We spend another day in Saigon and then on Tuesday head for Phan Thiet / Mui Ne to the beach. It's late and everyone in the house is asleep but I can't rest, though tired. However, I am too lazy to really write much except to say that Jeff and I have been able to visit Sapa Valley, Halong Bay, and the Perfume Pagoda in northern Vietnam. Much to report that I'll send later.
h.
I'm back in Saigon with Jeff and we wandered about a little bit today. We spend another day in Saigon and then on Tuesday head for Phan Thiet / Mui Ne to the beach. It's late and everyone in the house is asleep but I can't rest, though tired. However, I am too lazy to really write much except to say that Jeff and I have been able to visit Sapa Valley, Halong Bay, and the Perfume Pagoda in northern Vietnam. Much to report that I'll send later.
h.
November 13, 2001
Hanoi. November 13, 2001
Jeff and I are okay and traveling well. We leave for Sapa Valley tonight by night train and arrive there early in the a.m. tomorrow. We had a relaxing day today since it rained (our first day of rain as we've had beautiful and perfect weather these last few days) and each had a massage. Yesterday we were at the renowned Halong Bay and got beautiful landscape shots of the countless limestone structures jutting out from the sea.
We heard the bad news today and it's sombering, but we are moving forward with our travel plans despite how depressing the news is.
On Friday we return to Hanoi and will head southward. Till then, H.
Jeff and I are okay and traveling well. We leave for Sapa Valley tonight by night train and arrive there early in the a.m. tomorrow. We had a relaxing day today since it rained (our first day of rain as we've had beautiful and perfect weather these last few days) and each had a massage. Yesterday we were at the renowned Halong Bay and got beautiful landscape shots of the countless limestone structures jutting out from the sea.
We heard the bad news today and it's sombering, but we are moving forward with our travel plans despite how depressing the news is.
On Friday we return to Hanoi and will head southward. Till then, H.
November 07, 2001
Belated posting
Saigon. November 5, 2001
Just back from a long weekend in Nha Trang, one of Vietnam’s coastal towns, with Chuong. I left the office at 2 on Friday and was sitting on the beach in Nha Trang by 4. The flight is less than an hour, and the airport is about 200 meters from the coast. Chuong picked me up from the airport and took me straight out to the Café Lousiane where we hung out on the beach chairs in the unseasonable sunny weather we were lucky to have. We then dropped by some friends’ where we were staying, and later in the evening went back out around town. Chuong also took me to the Ana Mandara resort – one of Vietnam’s nicest – where we sat at a private table on a dock and shared Grand Marnier’s with the full moon and its glorious reflection.
Our weekend in Nha Trang met us with perfect weather – it rained only at night or while we were indoors – and we managed to take a little motor boat along the Cai River, where Chuong owns some property. He also drove me all around the small town by motorbike along the main roadway where kids play soccer in the middle of the street. Nha Trang is really sweet, but unfortunately, it’s undergoing a lot of construction. Chuong and I have decided that what each town in Vietnam needs is an Aesthetics Director. The Vietnamese have supremely bad taste in quite a lot of things, and the construction of a WATER PARK along BEACH FRONT property is typical of their inanity.
Chuong was raised in Nha Trang, and half the town still knows his father. We had a jellyfish noodle soup at a place he frequented for 40 years. I also got to go to Hon Chong, a rocky overlook near a small bayside area of the ocean (I’ll send a few photos later) and had snails, cuttlefish, and clams by the shore. Sunday afternoon we spent outside of the city at Anh’s house, a friend of Chuong’s, where we had a local dish called “Goi Ca.” It’s a salad dish with fresh fish and endives that you roll in rice paper and dip in a special soupy egg-drop sauce. By late afternoon, he and I were back on the plane to head for Saigon and I was ready again for western cooking (this time, I’m craving good salsa and enchiladas).
I’m back in the office with a book to layout by Thursday and a flight to catch on Friday. It looks like Jeff is coming for REAL and we’re gonna visit the north by week’s end.
H.
Saigon. November 5, 2001
Just back from a long weekend in Nha Trang, one of Vietnam’s coastal towns, with Chuong. I left the office at 2 on Friday and was sitting on the beach in Nha Trang by 4. The flight is less than an hour, and the airport is about 200 meters from the coast. Chuong picked me up from the airport and took me straight out to the Café Lousiane where we hung out on the beach chairs in the unseasonable sunny weather we were lucky to have. We then dropped by some friends’ where we were staying, and later in the evening went back out around town. Chuong also took me to the Ana Mandara resort – one of Vietnam’s nicest – where we sat at a private table on a dock and shared Grand Marnier’s with the full moon and its glorious reflection.
Our weekend in Nha Trang met us with perfect weather – it rained only at night or while we were indoors – and we managed to take a little motor boat along the Cai River, where Chuong owns some property. He also drove me all around the small town by motorbike along the main roadway where kids play soccer in the middle of the street. Nha Trang is really sweet, but unfortunately, it’s undergoing a lot of construction. Chuong and I have decided that what each town in Vietnam needs is an Aesthetics Director. The Vietnamese have supremely bad taste in quite a lot of things, and the construction of a WATER PARK along BEACH FRONT property is typical of their inanity.
Chuong was raised in Nha Trang, and half the town still knows his father. We had a jellyfish noodle soup at a place he frequented for 40 years. I also got to go to Hon Chong, a rocky overlook near a small bayside area of the ocean (I’ll send a few photos later) and had snails, cuttlefish, and clams by the shore. Sunday afternoon we spent outside of the city at Anh’s house, a friend of Chuong’s, where we had a local dish called “Goi Ca.” It’s a salad dish with fresh fish and endives that you roll in rice paper and dip in a special soupy egg-drop sauce. By late afternoon, he and I were back on the plane to head for Saigon and I was ready again for western cooking (this time, I’m craving good salsa and enchiladas).
I’m back in the office with a book to layout by Thursday and a flight to catch on Friday. It looks like Jeff is coming for REAL and we’re gonna visit the north by week’s end.
H.
