Part 12: Vietnam - days 75-78
This is my last blog from Asia!!! I'm going to miss keeping a blog. I really like writing. Maybe I'll have to find another topic at home to write about on a weekly basis. I'm writing this from the plane home; only about an hour and a half out of Vancouver.
DAY 75: so we arrived in Hanoi early from the overnight train. There was an organized breakfast at a really good restaurant. The restaurant is a program for street teens; if accepted they live and train at the centre for 2 years, learning English and service industry skills. By the end of the program, most get jobs in 5 star hotels and such. The breakfast was probably the best one I've had on my trip.
A bunch of the group went to some "local village" for the day.....but neither Kelly nor I could be bothered. Instead we went to the "Hanoi Hilton" which is where US pilots shot down during the war were held as POWs. Before that, it was used as a prison by the French for communists. I think what made it so interesting was the manner in which the museum was presented. Firstly, when discussing the French rule, all of the inmates were discussed as poor innocent victims. These people were of course political prisoners. There was even an area upstairs where the names of all Vietnamese imprisoned there were honored on marble slabs while really patriotic music played.
As for the American part......it's a well know fact that the American POWs were tortured there. John McCain (the most famous person imprisoned there) apparently can't raise his arms above his head as a result of the torture sustained there. So do you think there was any mention of what really went on there? Instead, there were pictures of the American POWs decorating a Christmas tree, playing soccer, and having a fab life there in prison. I find it so strange that they still want to cover up the truth, even when its well publicized and everyone knows it's a lie. It was sure a contrast to the museum in HCMC where the American POW prison for the Vietnamese was made out to be absolute hell.
After that, we went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. His wish was to be cremated, so what did they do? Embalmed him, and put him in a glass sarcophagus. The whole trip to the Mausoleum was retarded. First, in front of the building there is a grassy area with paths leading through it. There was a sign saying "keep off the grass" so we stuck to the path. We got half way up the path and a guard (armed with a whistle) went crazy, yelling at us and telling us to go back. Meanwhile Asian people seemed to be permitted to walk where we had gone not problem. It appears the sign should have read "white people, please stay off the grass and path."
So we were forced to walk a huge lap around the building to come at it at a different direction. Why we couldn't just go straight up the front is beyond me. Anyway, it's about 11am at this point and we find out thAt the stupid place is closed. It's only open from 8am to 11am everyday. How stupid is that? So we didn't get to see the body of HCM
After that we went to a market. While there two women got in a physical fight right in front of us. I obviously have no idea what it was over. It started as yelling and escalated to people holding them back while they threw chairs and market products at each other violently. It was pretty funny.
I was feeling very run down after the train ride, so I slept most of the afternoon. We had a really crappy dinner and i went to bed early.
DAY 76: I quite enjoyed this day, as we did a 24 hour trip to Halong Bay and spent the night on a junk boat. While the scenery was very similar to what I've seen in Krabi and Yangshou, it was still very stunning and cruising around all day was a nice way to see it. The boat itself was nicer than expected. The rooms were fine, with hot water and were clean. My only complaint was the food.....while a large portion of the group seemed to find the poorly prepared seafood "delicious" I was not impressed.
Anyway, we stopped at one point to go in a cave. It was interesting, but way to many people. We entertained ourselves in the evening by drinking.
DAY 77: We got back to Hanoi around lunch time. I went for lunch with a small group. I am sooooo sick of the service in restaurants. I do not understand how people can be so clueless. Simple requests are the hugest deal and after 3 months it's become exhausting.
I went off by myself and looked in some shops before going back to the hotel. We went for dinner at the place we had breakfast I discussed above and it was very good.
DAY 78: so that brings us to today. As mentioned, I'm on the plane. My layover In hong kong was sooooo long, but the flight has gone very quickly. Its an 11 hour flight. I watched inception (finally!) and then slept for 6 hours.
Unlike when I left Australia, I am excited to be going home. That's not to say I didn't have an amazing 3 months, it's just that I have been away from home for so long now this year that I'm really missing my friends and family. In Australia it was also easier to be away because I had a really good group of friends and a home base/apartment. I was in a routine there, so it was easier. Here in Asia, the last 3 months have been so unbelievably busy; going to a new city or town every 3 or 4 nights is exhausting.
So here are some of my favourite and least favourite places I visited
Favourite city/town: Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
Least Favourite city/town: Kuta, Bali
Favourite day(s): the day on the great wall of china and the day with the elephants.
Favourite big city: Singapore
Least favourite big city: Shanghai
Most interesting country: Cambodia
Country I would most recommend to others: China
Biggest disappointments: Vietnam
Other than my friends and family, what I'm missing most about home is the food. I've been keeping a list of the meals that i am dying to have.
1. Chriezo Eggs Benny and OJ, from the Zen cafe
2. Grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of road 14 chenin blank from the salt tasting room
3. Cheese and sun dried tomato quesadilla and Naam fries, from the Naam
4. Spaghetti and Kobe meatballs from Trattoria
5. Chicken sandwich with cheese from the galleria
So I guess that is it. We should be landing in under an hour. I'll probably miss Asia and my backpack after a few days at home, but for now I'm excited to see everyone and enjoy western luxuries.
Cheers
Siobhan
DAY 75: so we arrived in Hanoi early from the overnight train. There was an organized breakfast at a really good restaurant. The restaurant is a program for street teens; if accepted they live and train at the centre for 2 years, learning English and service industry skills. By the end of the program, most get jobs in 5 star hotels and such. The breakfast was probably the best one I've had on my trip.
A bunch of the group went to some "local village" for the day.....but neither Kelly nor I could be bothered. Instead we went to the "Hanoi Hilton" which is where US pilots shot down during the war were held as POWs. Before that, it was used as a prison by the French for communists. I think what made it so interesting was the manner in which the museum was presented. Firstly, when discussing the French rule, all of the inmates were discussed as poor innocent victims. These people were of course political prisoners. There was even an area upstairs where the names of all Vietnamese imprisoned there were honored on marble slabs while really patriotic music played.
As for the American part......it's a well know fact that the American POWs were tortured there. John McCain (the most famous person imprisoned there) apparently can't raise his arms above his head as a result of the torture sustained there. So do you think there was any mention of what really went on there? Instead, there were pictures of the American POWs decorating a Christmas tree, playing soccer, and having a fab life there in prison. I find it so strange that they still want to cover up the truth, even when its well publicized and everyone knows it's a lie. It was sure a contrast to the museum in HCMC where the American POW prison for the Vietnamese was made out to be absolute hell.
After that, we went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. His wish was to be cremated, so what did they do? Embalmed him, and put him in a glass sarcophagus. The whole trip to the Mausoleum was retarded. First, in front of the building there is a grassy area with paths leading through it. There was a sign saying "keep off the grass" so we stuck to the path. We got half way up the path and a guard (armed with a whistle) went crazy, yelling at us and telling us to go back. Meanwhile Asian people seemed to be permitted to walk where we had gone not problem. It appears the sign should have read "white people, please stay off the grass and path."
So we were forced to walk a huge lap around the building to come at it at a different direction. Why we couldn't just go straight up the front is beyond me. Anyway, it's about 11am at this point and we find out thAt the stupid place is closed. It's only open from 8am to 11am everyday. How stupid is that? So we didn't get to see the body of HCM
After that we went to a market. While there two women got in a physical fight right in front of us. I obviously have no idea what it was over. It started as yelling and escalated to people holding them back while they threw chairs and market products at each other violently. It was pretty funny.
I was feeling very run down after the train ride, so I slept most of the afternoon. We had a really crappy dinner and i went to bed early.
DAY 76: I quite enjoyed this day, as we did a 24 hour trip to Halong Bay and spent the night on a junk boat. While the scenery was very similar to what I've seen in Krabi and Yangshou, it was still very stunning and cruising around all day was a nice way to see it. The boat itself was nicer than expected. The rooms were fine, with hot water and were clean. My only complaint was the food.....while a large portion of the group seemed to find the poorly prepared seafood "delicious" I was not impressed.
Anyway, we stopped at one point to go in a cave. It was interesting, but way to many people. We entertained ourselves in the evening by drinking.
DAY 77: We got back to Hanoi around lunch time. I went for lunch with a small group. I am sooooo sick of the service in restaurants. I do not understand how people can be so clueless. Simple requests are the hugest deal and after 3 months it's become exhausting.
I went off by myself and looked in some shops before going back to the hotel. We went for dinner at the place we had breakfast I discussed above and it was very good.
DAY 78: so that brings us to today. As mentioned, I'm on the plane. My layover In hong kong was sooooo long, but the flight has gone very quickly. Its an 11 hour flight. I watched inception (finally!) and then slept for 6 hours.
Unlike when I left Australia, I am excited to be going home. That's not to say I didn't have an amazing 3 months, it's just that I have been away from home for so long now this year that I'm really missing my friends and family. In Australia it was also easier to be away because I had a really good group of friends and a home base/apartment. I was in a routine there, so it was easier. Here in Asia, the last 3 months have been so unbelievably busy; going to a new city or town every 3 or 4 nights is exhausting.
So here are some of my favourite and least favourite places I visited
Favourite city/town: Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
Least Favourite city/town: Kuta, Bali
Favourite day(s): the day on the great wall of china and the day with the elephants.
Favourite big city: Singapore
Least favourite big city: Shanghai
Most interesting country: Cambodia
Country I would most recommend to others: China
Biggest disappointments: Vietnam
Other than my friends and family, what I'm missing most about home is the food. I've been keeping a list of the meals that i am dying to have.
1. Chriezo Eggs Benny and OJ, from the Zen cafe
2. Grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of road 14 chenin blank from the salt tasting room
3. Cheese and sun dried tomato quesadilla and Naam fries, from the Naam
4. Spaghetti and Kobe meatballs from Trattoria
5. Chicken sandwich with cheese from the galleria
So I guess that is it. We should be landing in under an hour. I'll probably miss Asia and my backpack after a few days at home, but for now I'm excited to see everyone and enjoy western luxuries.
Cheers
Siobhan
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