Day 3 - Hanoi

Well, our first full day in Vietnam began bright and early with my alarm clock that seemed to find a way to turn itself on even without power at 5:30am. Must be time for tai chi down by the lake =] After several failed attempts to get back to sleep, we finally gave in and got up to face the day. Definitely a wise decision - what a beautiful day! After a delicious breakfast here at the hotel, we headed out into the bright sunshine to park ourselves lakeside and watch the world go by. After a few false starts caused by the wandering "shopper's eye" (a common ailment to both Tracey and I) we made it to the Ngoc Son Temple, a gorgeous temple in the middle of the Hoan Kiem Lake, connected to land by a long red bridge (which we later found out lights up at night - beautiful!)


Tracey and Milla outside the temple


The bridge at night

After the temple (which was gorgeous inside but somewhat overwhelming with so many golden statues, tucked away shrines, and strong incense) we headed back to the mainland for, what else? more shopping! It's not that I want to be a rabid consumer, it's just hard to resist when, for the first time in my life, I can actually afford the things I really like. But even more than that is the culture that takes place all around you while you shop, people chatting, little children playing, merchants hawking their wares, it's just so busy and alive, it's a joy to watch! So this time out, we found ourselves in the bag district (after having stumbled across the shoe district, the jewellery district, the clothes district, and the plastic toys imported from China district) which suited both Tracey and myself just fine.


Milla enjoying the shoe district

Finally, after copious amounts of $$ had somehow made their way very definitely out of my wallet, we headed towards Vietnam Airlines to wade into the world of Vietnamese bureaucracy, which we were surprisingly adept at - three tickets to the beach region of Nha Trang are now securely in my possession. Sadly, we're no longer going to Hoi An (no flights available) but hey, more days in Hanoi can only be a good thing!

On our way back to the hotel, we happily stumbled across some "official" culture - a statue of someone who lived from 974-1028 (or some ridiculously long time ago like that). Admittedly, the cultural aspects would probably have more effect if we know who the statue was, but still a statue's a statue right?



Upon arriving back at the hotel we were taken up to our new room which they're allowing us to have for two extra days as well - thank you Salute Hotel! - and our second winds suddenly blew in like gale-force hurricanes. The room was gorgeous! Two large rooms, a balcony, a separate living area and a spa. We could have died happy then and there. I have yet to try the spa but so far it definitely has Milla's seal of approval.

After a scrub up and a distracted game of cards (rummy when you're tired is never a good idea) we headed out to see the water puppets - a puppet show which tells the story of life in rural Vietnam - it absolutely blew me away! I understood none of the words but somehow the visual image of figurines attached to long sticks moving about on the water while a small band and choir perform live music is something that goes beyond language. We went primarily for Milla but I enjoyed the show so much I wanted to go in again directly after. Sadly, it was sold out... ah well, next time we're in town right?

Day 2 - Hanoi

Our first day in Vietnam! What an overwhelming experience! We were up bright and early thanks to the time zone difference and set off for the airport with a man I'm convinced had tuberculosis - poor guy, he just kept coughing and coughing the whole way there - then onto the plane and suddenly, we were here! The trip into Hanoi was the first jolt of reality - it was amazing - passing 3 and 4 people on a tiny motorcycle, cars going through red lights, everyone travelling on whatever side of the road they felt like - I'd never seen anything like it. And the building were spectacular - a jumbled mix of high rise-type 1 room dwellings interspersed with shacks and shanties of every description. And people everywhere!

Sadly our first chance to haggle went awry, with us trying to convince the taxi driver that $20 was too much (the guidebook says $10 at the most) to no success sadly. We'll just have to get tougher I guess (or just enjoy the fact that we're helping people who really need it without breaking the bank). Then, laden down with bags, we made our way into the gorgeous Salute Hotel. The staff were very friendly and our room is bright and clean so I'm a happy girl!


Tracey in the Salute Hotel lobby

After a few minutes of unpacking and settling in, we set out into the bright brave world of the Old Quarter - what an experience! There were people absolutely everywhere, packed into tiny streets of shops and stalls and passing motorcycles, with honking and yelling raining down from every direction. It's almost impossible to describe this place, it's a feast for all the senses where you can't help but be a glutton.


Tracey on the streets of Hanoi

We had some great experiences while journeying along - bartering prices (we're determined to go lower and lower today!), deciding on goods (curse the 20kg weight limit!), and testing the waters of food choice (it's a great opportunity for weight loss). After walking up and down a few side streets and seeing the types of fare on offer we decided on the small, clean-ish Chuc Link, where sadly, it turned out spaghetti is nothing like we know it at home (I'm pretty sure I ate some dog tonight... *shudder*)

After dinner, we decided to set off home, exhausted from the lovely combination of sleep deprivation and culture shock, the second of which we had in spades! Tracey and I both fancied ourselves quite cosmopolitan-ready for anything the world could throw at us-type individuals, so when the fear set in that we might be in over our heads in a place where we didn't speak the language, couldn't eat the food, and couldn't even stop to catch our breath without being run over by large crowds, motorcycles, buses, or any combination of all three, we both decided not to say anything to each other about our fears and just hope for a better day the next time out (since then we have both revealed how we were feeling and had a good laugh because after all, the next day out was fantastic and all ended well, but for awhile there, it was a bit touch and go... should we just get back in a taxi and head to the airport? VERY glad we toughed it out).

So, back to our room, via perhaps the longest route known to man (I think we dipped into China at one point) since we got a bit lost but the good news, it was one more welcome chance for shopping (Milla got the most beautiful ao dai - These long flowing dresses worn over loose-fitting trousers that are considered to be the national dress of Vietnamese women).



And now, after some very dazed card playing it's off to sleep! Chuc ngu ngon (good night).

Day 1 - Travelling

And we're off! After weeks of planning, saving and extreme excitement, we finally left for Vietnam today! Tracey, Milla and I met up at the airport this afternoon, bouncing our way to each other like three excited children while Marc (Milla's Dad) looked on...not sure he was quite so into the excitement but he and Martyn smiled on indulgently and all was well. After standing in what was sure to be the first of many long lines, we finally got our seat allocations and we were off! (Tracey says "off like a bucket of prawns in the midday sun" - nice)

Flying, as always, was a bit of a mixed bag. We were with Singapore Airlines so the service was great and we each had our own video screens (Pirates of the Caribbean 2...mmmm, Johnny Depp!) but taking off and landing are always a bit yuck no matter how many times I do it. Still, the landing in Singapore was smooth and the weather is warm so roll on holidays!

Our first foray into Singapore was to the bus that would drop us off at our hotel. Thanks to it, we got a beautiful scenic tour of Singapore, which is, most strikingly, very very clean. There are hundreds of high rise buildings, many of them gleaming white, and the whole place has a slightly surreal feeling to it, as if the manufacturers might come back at any moment and pack the whole place up in a large briefcase.

Once we got to our hotel, we decided some supper would be in order so after looking over the (somewhat dubious) menu we landed on the Asian classic of spaghetti and admittedly, the more traditional dish of chicken rice. Yumm! And having room service was a delightful treat (even when the poor bellboy had to move some undies to set down the tray). Then, off to bed! One drawback, despite spending hundreds and hundreds to construct the most comprehensive first aid kit ever seen outside a hospital, we did come up against the wiley-est of foes without any proper armour - the common cold. Poor Tracey is now sniffling away and sadly, all our band-aids, misquito repellant, motion sickness tablets and laxatives aren't helping in the slightest. Can't wait til tomorrow when we fly out - Vietnam here we come!

Milla and Tracey waiting in line at Singapore airport

Spirit of Adventure

Tonight I watched The Long Way Round, a documentary about Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's trip around the world on motorcycles. Clearly, my excitement for travel does not limit itself to only my own adventures, but is equally abundant when watching other people be excited about their journeys as I practically broke my face smiling so much with each of their experiences. These two men, heading out into the predominantly unknown just to see the world...it's brilliant, and there's so much out there just waiting to be seen! And it reminded me yet again that the world is always so full of possibility...almost anything can be done if you are passionate about making it happen. So, if you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend The Long Way Round, consider it a top-up for your own spirit of adventure.

And in that vein, if you have some time, I invite you to come on a journey with me. About seven months ago, I went to Vietnam with a very good friend and her daughter, and as always, I kept a journal and although that trip has passed now, I think about it so often, and fell so deeply in love with Vietnam and her people, that I want to post my journal entries here, one each day with photographs so that you may experience, at least vicariously, that journey as well. So, until tomorrow, when we leave for Vietnam, sleep well... (or for those of you on the Northern side of the world, enjoy your day). =]

Note to Australia: You need central heating!! It's now officially 7C in my house, soon I'll be able to climb into my fridge for warmth. If anyone has any spare mittens lying around, please feel free to send them my way, my fingers are about to snap off from cold. Brrrrr....

Everything must go!

This past weekend I helped a friend out with a yard sale and boy, was it an eye opener. I've always thought of yard sales as pretty low key, people who happen to be driving by stop in, have a quick glance over all the unwanted junk (aka their soon-to-be treasures) you've accumulated needlessly over the years, and fork over 25 whole cents (negotiated down from 50 cents mind you) for that broken coffee mug/annoyingly noisy child's toy/unidentified object that supposedly does something in the kitchen and may or may not work depending on the day of the week and the weather. Simple enough hmm?

But not so! Apparently the whole process starts with the media, putting an ad in the newspaper the week before (whatever happened to barely legible homemade signs at the end of the street?) so that those who are organised wake up at 5am on Saturday morning and know that something exciting in happening in your suburb. Then, while you're still struggling to get everything out onto the water logged lawn without collapsing a vertebrae, the dealers (scary, scary people!) arrive, an hour before you've planned to start, demanding to know prices. Unbelievably, at one point we actually had to shoo them out of the house as they tried to tag every family heirloom between them and the door .

The good news, once these mercenary individuals were gone, the yard sale settled into a comforting routine, with twenty people showing up at once to goodnaturedly haggle about the overpriced Wiggles video, then everyone disappearing, bag of pre-loved purchases in tow, to give us a few minutes breather before the next crowd arrived. Of course, as the Saturday morning faded into afternoon, even these crowds thinned out, and suddenly we found ourselves out with the black marker, re-pricing everything to about a tenth of its original price in the desperate hope that we wouldn't end up making too many trips to goodwill at the end of the day.

The wisdom I gained from the day? When it seems there are no more customers to be had, the best course of action is to have one of your crew fake looking around - it works a treat! The logic seems to be "If someone else is looking, there must be something worthwhile in there somewhere." Clearly, by three o'clock, this is a lie, as all the good stuff has gone hours before, but it's amazing how people can trick themselves into believing a cracked rice steamer or a scratched "Swamp Tigers" DVD is the very thing missing from their hitherto incomplete lives.

Fun hmm? =] But hey, I made $80 so I'm not complaining (ahhh, how far I've come from the days of selling barbie doll clothes for 10cents each and being happy with a $3 taking). Now to figure out how I'm going to spend it...

Courage under fire

Today was an interesting one, I had to present my work to everyone in my faculty at the 'ideas and drinks' session we hold fortnightly. Luckily, with everything being so busy lately, I didn't have time to get to my normal level of crazy nervous and fret about what I would present for hours (read: days) on end. Instead, I decided to simply discuss what I've been grappling with lately in relation to my thesis (place vs space), and as always does when you finally let go and just let it happen, everything went very well. I had some really great feedback and a lot of interesting questions that have still got my brain buzzing. I love those moments, the occasional assurances that despite any lingering feelings of fear that I may have completely derailed my life by leaving a guaranteed opportunity for gainful employment in psychology to pursue a PhD in something so obscure as 'sense of place' the decision was, without a doubt, the right one. Somehow, this whole writing thing, it just fits, and everything else, well, I believe it will look after itself. Because, even with all of my newly accquired critical thinking skills, I still believe in destiny. We're all here for a reason, and if we're brave, the life we're meant to lead will unfold before us. So, this is me being brave (alternately with being scared...but then brave again...for a little *smile*) Okay, that's definitely enough philosophy for tonight. But I will leave you with this speech by Nelson Mandela which I find absolutely inspiring and read whenever I'm feeling unsure...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."