Travel Blog Chapter 5: Leaving Saigon

Left Cuchi early the next morning and headed back to Ho Chi Minh City. That day I got to talk to Nam's very old grandfather whose dad migrated from China and had lived through the Vietnam war. To my pleasant surprise he was able to speak mandarin. We chatted for awhile and I asked him how it was like to live through the Vietnam war. It was amazing to talk to someone with such experiences. I left him to have his afternoon nap after that. Vietnam is an amazing country. Despite the pollution, the not so polished culture, the people were very warm and friendly. I could learn to live in Vietnam. I would find out later that the culture varies as you travel between South and North Vietnam.

Dinner at a Jap restaurant

The hot topic was beautiful Vietnamese women

năm giác

I went to book my train ticket to Hanoi in the afternoon and conveniently purchased a few postcards. I did not know it at that time but that would be the most agonizing train ride I would have. That night I met up with Nam's friends again and we had our dinner at a Japanese restaurant. We had a great time laughing and talking about everything under the sun. As usual, the hot topic was women. And by this time I agreed with them whole heartedly that Vietnamese women are gorgeous. After that we went back to Nam's house and we had năm giác. Fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo. I had to psyched myself up to eat that. Looks disgusting abut taste awesome. It is banned in Singapore by the way. It was bitter sweet as we spent the last night together. I was ready to move on from Saigon to Hanoi and I was sad to say goodbye.

My last breakfast in Saigon

Saying goodbye to the meathouse

Sending off by the motorcycle gang

Packing my backpack, saying goodbyes to my hosts was a bitter sweet affair. I have grown to love my hosts and the culture in Saigon. The crazy roads where crossing the streets required skills. You had to continue moving the moment you stepped out on the road and motorbikes would just weave their way around you as you make your way to the other side. The warmth, the openness of the people in Saigon.We had a breakfast with Nam's friends and I was ready to go. I was told that Hanoi was going to be very different. I said goodbye to Nam's mum, his aunts, grandparents and all the relatives. I still can't get over how warm they are. His mum wished me good luck in Vietnamese and I hopped on to Nam's bike and took off to the train station. My train was supposedly going to leave at 12.30pm but I was there almost 2 hours earlier as Nam and the rest were going to a water themed park that day. To my pleasant surprise, I was met by Nam's friends who sent me off at the train station. We made a point to continue to keep in touch. My friend would meet me in Hanoi but he would leave 1 day later and would be flying. I chose train because it was cheaper and I wanted to see the scenery from Saigon to Hanoi. It was going to be an experience I would never forget.

Travel Blog Chapter 4: Roadtrip to Cuchi

Very early in the morning, Nam and I prepared for a road trip to Cuchi which was just outside of Ho Chi Minh City. We were going to the countryside! I was a bit tired of the city life. To me the city was monotonous with routine processes that occur everyday. Being in the city too long makes a person boring.

After having a very oily breakfast near our house, we loaded up our stuff and prepared for our 3 hour motor bike ride out of Saigon. In the time that I have been in Saigon I have not had diahorrhea, nor any stomach upset or cough which was great. I read that you shouldn't drink any ice water in Vietnam due to the lack of processing in their tap water as ice water was essentially just frozen water from the tap. I made a pact to myself to refrain from doing that before I came but you just can't drink hot water in Vietnam due to the weather. And the best thing was that I did not get any dihorrhea or fall ill during the time I was there after drinking all the ice water and eating all the streetside vendors.

Anyway, let's get back to the story. We loaded up our stuff and in my halting Vietnamese I went around the meat shop saying goodbye to Nam's family members. And off we went. My first road trip in Vietnam.

Topping up fuel before continuing the journey. They still have 92.

On the way to Cuchi

Reached Cuchi 3 hours later. Did I mention it was his dad's house we were staying in? After a long weary ride out of the city I was hungry and very thirsty. The family was very hospitable and it was the beginning of endless stuffing of food in the stomach. In the day time we went to Cuchi Tunnels with Nam's brother who just got married. This was where the Vietnamese fought the American Forces. They dug miles nd miles of underground tunnels to get away from as well as to use them as a means to trap the Americans. I had mixed feelings when I was told about the war. You see...according to South Vietnamese, they enjoyed the American Occupation because with the Americans' presence, there was prosperity. But the communist North Vietnamese was anti-american. As such they recruited the South-Vietnamese in their efforts against the Americans. What you get was Cuchi, the desecendants from the soldiers who fought the Vietnam War.

Mansion that I stayed in. Swimming pool to cool off the body

In front of a temple in Cuchi with my Nam's brother

In the forest where the guerrilla war was fought with Nam

The tunnels were very small and that was the point; to stop the oversized Americans from entering. I managed to squeeze myself into the tunnels and I must say that it was seriously claustrophobic. We had a tour guide and he led us through the tunnels. After the tunnels we walked around the vicinity of the forest where guerrilla warfare was fought. I saw the impact of the bombs on the landscape and it was sad to see the ravages of the war that had caused Vietnam to be what she is today.

Squeezing into the tunnel the Vietcongs dug

Deep indent in the landscape caused by a bomb

Spikes in the Cuchi tunnels to trap and kill unsuspecting American Soldiers

The communist nature, the propaganda machine that was Vietnam was still not felt that strongly in Saigon as compared to Hanoi as I would later go. Anyway, after that trip to Cuchi Tunnels I had a good evening with my Nam's family and met all the relatives. He has a 3brothers and everyone was married. I must really admit that the women look ravishing. So my hypothesis from my discussion still stands that the majority of Vietnamese women are really really good looking. According to a Singaporean I met later on in Laos who commented that the Vietnamese who crossed the ocean to Singapore kind of lost their good looks. The Vietnamese in NUS according to him could not compare to what we saw in Vietnam. I chuckled at that and through this journey that hypothesis was proven again and again.

Travel Blog Chapter 3: Life in the old capital

I woke up at 7.40am. The sky was already very bright when I woke up. The sun rose at around 5am in Vietnam when I was there. Things are really slow moving in Vietnam and the people there spend the day taking breaks at different intervals such as afternoon naps. Nam's family owns a slaughter business and that was by the side of the house I was staying in. Essentially I was staying in a shop house and directly below the room I was staying in, outside the living room was a compact dental clinic. It was just a small room for dental surgery. The arrangement was kind of strange I thought.

That day set me thinking since I had nothing much to do. Went out for breakfast in the morning and experienced the poverty first hand with beggars and old men and women selling lottery tickets in which they only earn a few cents from each ticket sold.

The motocycle gang

Vietnamese steamboat

The gathering

That night I met the rest of Nam's friends whom I eventually added to facebook. We designated who will ride pillion on whose motor bikes and went to eat steamboat Viet style at this reputable seafood restaurant. It was interesting finding out more about the Viet culture. One thing they were very enthusiastic about was how beautiful their local women were and this led to a discussion or comparison of women between different countries. I must agree that the Vietnamese women do look very exotic. It must be some of the french blood or something. Many of them look almost Eurasian.  Anyway we had a great night and ended off the night early after the steamboat.

Travel Blog Chapter 2: Saigon Love

The flight took 2 hours. Vietnam is an hour behind Singapore so I gained 1 hour when I reached Ho Chi Minh City. The airplane touched down and it was the bumpiest landing that I have ever encountered. The plane shook violently as it slowed to a stop.  Saigon Airport was no Changi Airport definitely but the overgrown grass and hedges around the runway just amplify all the more the questions I have in my mind about Vietnam.

I was supposed to meet a friend's friend at the airport who was supposed to settle me down before he arrived in Vietnam later at night as I would be staying in his house for a few days. The person I was supposed to meet was "Nuet" whom I got to enjoy the friendship in the short time that I was in Ho Chi Minh also fondly known as Saigon by the older inhabitants. I checked out of the Saigon Airport with ease. The beauty of hand carry luggage. In my mind there was a nagging concern about the communication barrier.

The heat hit me in my face as I left the airport. I was wearing contact lenses and my eyes were beginning to feel irritated. I saw a person carrying a placard with my name on it. I almost chuckled to myself. My friend who had made the arrangement was really hospitable. I approached Nuet and introduced myself. And there began my first attempt to communicate with a Vietnamese. He was a University undergraduate and he was able to speak English. The wonders of globalization. He beckoned me to follow and told me we were going to take a bus. Or at least that was what I thought I heard. I waited outside a parking lot and out he came on his motor bike. I almost choke. "Bus" was in fact "bike". The pronunciation or maybe the heat was getting to me. And here began the most terrifying motorbike ride I ever had. With my backpack on my back I hopped on to his bike and we entered the city.

Vietnam is not called a motorbike city for nothing. There is no exaggeration to that association because as we weaved through the city on the roads I understood why. There was almost no cars and everywhere you turned you see motorbikes. Bikes coming at you, beside you, behind you.... Did I say coming at you? Yup.... Traffic rules were almost non-existent here. Anyway the air was excruciatingly smoky.

We stopped at a famous cafe or maybe I should say restaurant and had the famous "pho", the Vietnamese beef noodle. I caught a lot of curious stares as I walked into the restaurant. I would learn later that I was abit too muscular and oversized for a Vietnamese. Or perhaps it was the beard. I grew that...I am embarrassed to say to look more mature during this trip.

Anyway the "pho"was awesome. After that we visited the King's palace which cost me 40000 dong which was around 2 US dollars. Handling cash was an inconvenience which I experienced throughout my trip.

King's Palace from a distance

Walking around with my backpack

Eventually after walking around and doing abit of exploration round the city for a few hours we decided to go to my friend, Nam's place. I met his mum who was very friendly and got settled into my room. Took an afternoon nap. Was feeling very sleepy after a lack of sleep the previous night and spent the rest of the night reading and waiting for my friend Nam to arrive in Saigon from Singapore. Tried a few Vietnamese dishes before that in the evening such as tiny fried fishballs, coffee cake and "ice kachang" Viet style. Nam's mum prepared the most delicious dinner...chicken chop fried rice. The whole day of walking around made me very tired and sleepy. After eating...I settled into my bed and suddenly felt very alone. Occupied my time by reading a book from Jon Krakauer. Did I say I brought 3 books along? I would find out later that that was really insufficient and I would start reading Oscar Wilde's De Profundis like a bible because I had nothing else to read.

View from my bedroom

My room for the night

Blackout that night. The karaoke lights were still on though.

That night a blackout occurred between 9pm and 11.30pm. I lighted a candle and waited for my friend who eventually arrived home and I fell asleep quite soundly after the electricity came back and with that the air conditioner. I wondered what the next day would be like.

Travel Blog Chapter 1 : Leaving the Sunny, Claustrophobic Island

Almost 2 months before 26 May 2010, I went online and booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On 26 May 2010, early in the morning on a Wednesday, my dad drove me to Changi Airport with my luggage that basically consisted only of a backpack stuffed full with 1 month's worth of possession. A budget backpack that was only 30 litres to serve its purpose; that is to be able to fit into the handcarry cabin of Jetstar Asia's Airbus. 

I didn't sleep that much because I was feeling very excited to at last do a trip on my own to Indochina. The plan was to start in Ho Chi Minh City as the first stop and eventually work myself to Laos. It was 6.30am when I checked in. The queue at the check-in counter was already very long at that time. To my surprise, I actually met a friend from NUS at the departure hall who was going to Thailand with his girlfriend.

Feeling very much awake by this time as I waited in my queue. Was feeling abit nervous as I only booked a ticket for handcarry and hoping anxiously that there would not be excess baggage. This mode of travel in which I have subscribed myself to would in fact turn out to be really advantageous later on in the journey.

Once I checked in without any hitch, with a sense of restlessness in my heart and excitement in my soul I hurried to the departure gate with a last glance at the airport, before proceeding to my waiting lounge to wait for my flight.

There is this sense of lethargy in Singapore that I wanted to get away from. Before this, there had been people who thought it was abit weird to go to Vietnam and Laos. Why? Well...Singaporeans if ever they go for holidays...usually go in groups and go to places like Bali, Bangkok etc if they were traveling within SEA. Vietnam and Laos...kindda ambiguous...which was precisely the point why I chose these destinations. Not really a lot of people I know have been to these places. And that was the exciting part. I didn't know what to expect.

"Happiness is only real when shared"

It's resurrection Sunday! Slept quite early last night...but resurrected at around 6am. haha.. Attended my cousin's wedding last night in Orchard. Felt very happy for her that she has at last found her life partner and settle down. When I watched her walked down the aisle I was thinking how fast time has passed. It was a beautiful moment and she looked serene and pretty as she walked hand in hand with her husband.

What's the meaning of resurrection? I think maybe to me it means joy, a breath of freshness, being with your loved ones and sharing this joy. We are not meant to be alone no matter how much we want to get away sometimes because towards the end of the day happiness is only real when you share it.

One of the best movies of all time I have watched is "Into the wild" which is based on the real experiences of Christopher McCandless, who after graduating in 1990 from Emory University, gave away his savings of approximately $24,000 and went on a long journey backpacking from California to Alaska. He ceased communicating with his family during this time. The movie was based on the book Into the Wild (1996) by Jon Krakauer. He went under the name Alex Supertramp when he was in the wild. It's an inspirational movie yet a very sad one when he starved to death in the wilderness of Alaska. His process of self-discovery was a response of his disappointment in humanity, society; having experienced a dysfunctional family himself.

But this whole process of understanding who he was, was really heart moving. One of his contemplations when he was alone in the wild.... "the sea's only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head..." His last words before he died was the self actualization that happiness is only real when shared.

Amazing movie, amazing story and genius depiction of a young man's search for his place in the world.

Nâcham Elohim ra'

It's been quite a few days since I blogged. Just felt like sharing a few thoughts that I have. I think this season of my life have has been a time when I'm questioning a lot of issues and areas which I used to hold true in the past.

Seeing that Easter is coming...tomorrow, just wanna share abit about a sermon I have heard recently. The sermon titled "When God repents" by Shane Hipps from Mars Hill Church. When I first heard it I was abit disturbed....how could God repent? This sovereign God, this Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end...how could this creator that created the very concept of creation repent? Essentially the bible read nâcham Elohim ra' in Jonah 3:10, in the original Hebrew. Nâcham Elohim ra' means God repented of evil. This was in context to how God reacted in the face of the Ninevites repentance. He explained that it seemed to be that it was a mirroring effect so that the Ninevites know that they were not alone as they went through the process of repentance.

It is akin to how a baby would smile at the mother and the mother would smile back, establishing trust with the baby. It is liken to how when your friend smiles at you, you smile back to acknowledge trust. And it is a prophetic statement that was made available to those who could see a relation between the phenomenon and Jesus humbling himself...in a sense, in repentance for us, when He was crucified. Essentially God was humbling Himself, going against His nature to make us feel comfortable and having the assurance that He is with us as we go through life's battles

I was thinking seriously about my personal reaction of why I would react that way when I heard that God repented in the bible. Well...how should I put this? I think very often we think that God is a mechanical, principled organic holy entity. Yes he's a person, we can have a relationship with Him but at the same time...we ignore or we discredit Him as someone who can have a whole range or spectrum of behavior in a contextual situation. Could God have repented? That idea sounds blasphemous...but really when you think about it, why not? If God is a person as we always say He is, and he's humble as we like to praise him for, I don't think it is beyond God to acknowledge that hey..."I wanted to really bring judgment upon you guys but now I know..I should have been more gracious..hey I was quite angry...I'm sorry..it would have been horrible if I did what I did when you guys didn't really know the extent of your sin." Its liken to perhaps a couple quarreling...and the husband apologized that he was in the wrong. The wife also apologized and said that she shouldn't have been too quick to judge. I think that is not beyond God. Have we become so fixated on a certain idea of God that we dare not explore new grounds of what God can be?

To me Easter is about understanding the humanity of God, the flexibility, the all encompassing grace and love of God. Grace is Jesus personified. Grace is never a balance, because you cannot preach a balanced gospel. The very concept of grace is overriding, overwhelming and overflowing. When we talk about grace I think it becomes an oxymoron when you say that we need a balanced grace gospel.