My Travels

I have to say, I like Saigon the most of all the places I've been. Architecturally different. From my understanding, the government allows only a certain amount of square footage to a family so all the houses essentially like alike...narrow structures that go deep, like SF Victorian houses (without the character). However, in Saigon, there is a little differentiation, not huge but some. I think it has to do with the European influence. Today, we went to Vaun Tang.....very unimpressive. It is the nearest beach to Saigon and it was a generic beach. I wonder why it was part of the itinerary. Came back and ate at Pho Pasteur...it has a good reputation for pho and my father remembered it fondly. It was good...not fantastic but good. Meat is a little tough. In general, I've found beef to be very tough in Vietnam. Pork = good, fish = good, chicken = good, beef = no good, fruits = can be deadly but good. After dinner, went to visit my aunt. She's the oldest on my fathe...

Am continuing my battle with food sickness. Had a brief spell of lucidity in Hoi An and was able to order an ao doi, traditional vietnamese dress. Was kind of cool to be able to order something at 10 pm and get it the next day handmade. My youngest brother also ordered a suit and my sister ordered a two piece skirt outfit. Them's some nimble fingers. Got to Nha Trang a couple of days ago and found it unappealing. It is Vientam's answer to South Beach in Miami or Gold Coast in Brisbane. Either way, not really up to my tastes. On our first night we were shuttled to the wrong hotel and ended up staying at a 2 star hotel for a night. Not a big deal, right? Well, the hotel was also a pimp hotel and I saw alot of guests with "companions" that night. The next day we moved to the right hotel and I promptly became sick again the next morning. I think it was bad karma to move.... The picture is the outside of the cheesy and equally inadequate facilities of an aquarium. The whol...

Ever since leaving Hanoi, I've come down with a bad case of food poisoning. We leave tomorrow for Saigon. Hopefully, I will have recovered enough to leave my hotel room. If you ever want to lose weight, food poisoning is the way to go...haven't really eaten in the past four days and haven't stayed awake much either. Today's hotel is one of the nicest we've stayed at....it also has one of the hardest beds I've ever slept in.

I'm currently in Hue, the Middle Kingdom. This is where the capital was located when Vietnam was ruled by royalty. Saw a couple of temples today...men were hella short as evidenced by the actual size statues. Visited the tomb of the last king. Pretty ornate stuff, man had an ego. My mom has a theory about the king. She thinks he was gay. The reason being that he was known to have several hundred wives but no children and his demeanor was flamboyant. :) Sort of died on the plane and am slowly recovering. Before I continue, I am going to regress a little. Came back from Ha Long Bay and it was quite lovely. We were able to have a huge ferry boat to ourselves and the people were very nice on the boat. There are villages floating in Ha Long Bay (land is too expensive) and we bought some seafood to cook on the boat for lunch. Pretty cool. Also, there are some natural caves in the area and we were able to walk in. Conservationists would cringe at the Asian take of displays....

Made it to Ha Long Bay after a 3 hour drive. It was a pleasant enough drive. The one thing that caught my eye was a motorcycle (the biggest engine possible in Vietnam is 150 cc) with four LIVE pigs strapped onto the back. Amazing what people will do to transport things. The city itself is pretty small. A lot of contsruction. Apparently, the area is trying to develop itself as a resort town given the number of hotel construction and a "pier" area. The closest thing I can think of is that the city is trying to create a Santa Monica pier feel. Sigh, the progression of capitalism. Tomorrow, we're suppose to go on the boat and see more of the bay. Hopefully, the natural landscape will be more appealing. We're staying a relatively new hotel with views of the bay. My parents have the pimped out room while us children are relegated to normal size rooms. Considering how empty this place is, I think we should ALL get pimped out rooms. The one good thing I can say is ...

Met up with the parents and siblings in Hanoi. My uncle and grandma also came over a week or two ago. After dumping our stuff at the hotel, went to vist a cousin where grandma/uncle were staying with and met my other uncle and his kids. (Mom's side) Afterwards, went to the hotel and met up with an uncle (father's side) and his kids before going to dinner. The second day we went to my father's hometown two hours outside of Hanoi. Visited the family grave sites where great great great grandparents to grandmother was buried. Also met a bunch of cousins and uncles. Was pretty cool to see the little town where everyone lived before the war scattered everyone. I also saw my family tree for the first time. There are some incomplete parts where recent marriages and births weren't documented. I'm going to bring a copy home and fill out the missing holes. My particular branch needs a correction as well....as I've been named "Petit" Vu. Even my own fa...

I went to Chatachuk (sp?) weekend market. The place, like the rest of Bangkok, is intense. I want to say it is the "South Coast Plaza" of swapmeets. Anything you can think of to buy, it is available. From puppies to candles to furniture, all can be had in one place. The place is so large that vendors are categorized into certain areas. Even with the map, I was still lost. The weekend market was more impressive than the Melbourne miles of stores. Afterwards, I went back to the hotel for one last massage appointment. There was a 20% discount for all massages in the midday. I am not suprised that most people aren't in the hotel during those times and a good way to drum up some business. Had the best aromatherapy massage....or maybe I was just that tired. :) Bangkok seems to be a city of commerce. Everyone is always trying to sell something and I was determined to see what other variation the city can conjure. My final foray was to the Sualum (sp?) Night Bazaar. ...

I realized I had forgotten a package at the airport and decided to take mass transit. Word to the wise, do not get distracted by all the taxi drivers hanging around the airport trying to get you into their taxis. The BTS Skytrain is fairly easy and quick. Faster and nicer than the L in Chicago. Unfortunately, they haven't completed the connection to the airport (2008 according to the literature). There are several airport buses at certain Skytrain terminals and I took one. Oddest thing, they give you little bus tickets but you can't transfer. I think it is for a return trip but I haven't figured it out yet. By the time my airport errand was over, I was back at the hotel around midday and decided to chill at the pool. Hotel is pretty nice as it sits along the river (Chayra River -sp?). My plans for going to the night bazaar was waylayed by my laziness. Wanted to take a nap and ended up falling asleep and waking up at 5 am the next day. There goes my plans for the night bazaa...

I feel like I've walked at least 10 miles today. Left the hotel at 9 am and didn't return until 7 pm. I only felt lost a handful of times. I consider that a good thing considering I had only a 'tourist' map and going by my Fodor's descriptions from memory. I've learned a couple of things today while sightseeing Bangkok. 1) The internet access at the hotel seems arbitrary. I can access most websites but I can't access my webmail or yahoo messenger. Is this censorship? 2) Hustlers are everywhere in Bangkok. 3) The amount of traffic congestion in Bangkok can be attributed to 3 groups - tuk tuk drivers, taxis, and buses. Half the time the tuk tuks and taxis seem empty. Makes you wonder why there is so much traffic if no one really needs to get anywhere? There are also ALOT of scooters. 4) Asian drivers developed their bad driving habits at home and bring it to other countries. No one pays attention to lights nor possesses any driving etiquettes. 5) Food handling...

So I made it finally.....Although I've heard about Suvarnabuam (sp?) airport is new, I find the new Bangkok Airport fairly cold and uninviting. Maybe they'll work on it some more..... I also fell for the lamest scam ever. In my confusion of getting out of the airport and looking for public transportation, I fell prey to the taxi drivers who wait outside the arrival terminal. After seeing a sign for a private limo for 900 baht, the offer of 700 baht seemed like a decent deal. Afterwards, I found out that most taxi rides cost around 400 to 500 baht including the tolls and airport surcharges. There are airport shuttle buses that will run 150 baht or you can take mass transit for 70 baht (combination of BMTA and Skytrain/subway). I've officially crashed. Made a quickie massage appt and am going to bed at 10 pm. :) Royal Orchid Sheraton is very cool. Apparently, this hotel is one of the nicest in the city. The US Dollar travels far. Used to travel farther pre-Bush. R...

Finally made it to Singapore and only one more leg to go. Had a stop in Taipei but it only lasted an hour. Enough time to walk off the plane, go through security, and get back on the plane. I guess someone could have snucked something into the airplane again?? Grabbed a quick shower in the Singapore Airlines lounge. A good thing - I probably stink to high heaven after sitting in a plane for 20 hours....

It has been a whirlwind of activity these past few weeks. Blazed through Hawaii after Thanksgiving and am now preparing to leave for Bangkok today. I'm going to totally butcher Thai words.....