We were up and out of the apartment at around 1030am to a VERY muggy Port Douglas. While it wasn’t rainy, the air was heavy and the sky was cloudy. We went down to reception to find out about some possible tours and then headed to the grocery store which is conveniently right across the street!
After picking up some groceries we headed back to put everything away. Our apartment is really in a GREAT location and it is smack dab in the center of town. We had lunch at a restaurant down the street (pizza) and then spent the afternoon wandering around and exploring the different shops. We are here during their non-tourist season (mostly because it is the wet season) so we saw a lot of signs for things that were opening up in March (had been closed since January). Think Hampton Beach after Labor Day. It is a bit nice as there aren’t crowds of people AND important things (like gelato shops) are still open! It started to rain in the afternoon so we got in the car to drive around a little bit.
Port Douglas is really small (there is really only one main street) but we did make the drive down to the marina and up to the lookout point. I bet the lookout point is really pretty, but we weren’t able to see anything!
At this point I had the WORST headache I have had in a while and I figured it was from the heat (or more so humidity) so we came back so I could lay down for a bit, which turned into a little nap. We also spent the day coming back and forth to the room (yay for a great location!) so we could do laundry! It is SO SO SO very nice to have clean clothes and we have a washer and dryer right in the unit which is awesome!
After my cat nap we needed to get some dinner but it was POURING out, so we picked the restaurant right next door. We only had to be in the rain for a few seconds so we figured it was a good pick! The food was actually very good (as is most of the food we have had in Australia) and after making it back without being completely soaked we are getting our things ready for our big day on the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow!
Hugs and kisses from a lazy day!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Rainy Australia!
The plan was to wake up around 9am and see what the weather was like. If it was nice we would go pick up Erin and spend the morning lounging by the pool. We hadn’t really talked about an alternative as we were trying to stay positive. But, 9am rolled around and the sky was filled with clouds and it was VERY windy. Mom and I went back to sleep for about another hour and then woke up to start packing.
We check out of the hotel and started the hour drive to the Brisbane airport, although it did take a bit longer because of construction. It was pretty hot today (the sun was sort of out) and we were blasting the AC but something wasn’t right as it was just blowing warm (not hot) air. At one point I felt my heart start racing..I felt like I was trapped in an oven..it was awful! I quickly looked through the manual and felt like it was a race against time. I realized we had to push in the button for it to become AC! We were so thankful when it started working because mom said she was at the point of pulling over it was so bad!
We were VERY hungry when we arrived (apparently Australia doesn’t put food signs on the highway..this is NOT our type of country!) and we found an area near the airport that had restaurants. We headed that way and the place was happening..we still aren’t sure why. It would be kind of weird to come to this mall(ish) type place unless you were at the airport, but there were a ton of cars and not a lot of people had carry-on luggage..so who knows! We stopped for a delicious lunch (or we might have been very hungry) before heading back to the airport.
When we originally arrived in Brisbane the car the man told us we had to drop the car off at the international terminal. When driving back to the airport the “car return” signs all pointed to the international terminal, so that’s where we went! Unlike other airports where we have returned cars, at Brisbane you park your car and then go inside to return the keys. We did this and the woman said we could have returned it to domestic and now we had to either take a bus or a train (both costing $5 per person) to the domestic gate! Booooo!! That was annoying. We opted for the bus and in about 10 minutes (and $10 later) we were ready to check in! When checking in we had to weigh our carry-on luggage (which I have never had to do before) and put the excess in our checked luggage (mine was overweight..surprise surprise) so then we had to pay more money for excess weight. Ugh. It was an annoying airport!
Surprisingly we managed to make it through security without being detained, so I guess all in all it was a good day! Our flight was short (only a couple of hours) and I don’t know WHAT it is with planes but all I wanted to do is sleep! I took out my laptop to blog (since I am SO far behind, I know I know..and yes I have received threatening emails) but I could barely keep my eyes open. I don’t know if I have trained my body to fall asleep (I usually take pills) or if it is just the motion, but I passed out!
We arrived in a very rainy Cairns. We rented a car (the same car we had before, just a different color) and headed out (this time with AC)! We were about 15 minutes into the ride and very surprised about how there was nothing around. We did see a sign for McDonald’s (which honestly neither of us really like) but decided we should stop for dinner because we didn’t know if we would see anything else! And it was a GOOD thing we did. We took the SCARIEST road to get to Port Douglas! It was SO windy, every turn was a hairpin turn (I felt like I was going to be sick) it was SO dark (no street lights) and it was DOWNPOURING (we legit couldn’t see anything). Good thing mom is the best driver in the world because I had a headache trying to keep my eyes on the road as well! I really thought we were in a scary movie..it was the PERFECT setting! Port Douglas is a tourist town, so maybe in the daylight it really won’t be as scary, but this road put me in a really weird mood!
FINALLY we saw civilization (and signs for Port Douglas) and when we turned on the main road we saw..PEOPLE! It was very comforting. We are staying in an apartment and on our first trip down the road we missed it because there is retail on the first floor. However, once we turned around we were able to find it! The location is PERFECT (well…we think..it’s dark) and it is SO nice to have some space! Mom booked the two bedroom because she knew at this point we have been together for over a week (including in the very small hostel in Vietnam)..and while we love each other..space is nice! We each have our own bedroom and bathroom, and a kitchen/living room/dining room! It really is nice to have some space to move around! It is supposed to rain all week (boo) but as long as there isn’t lightning (which means I can go diving) I will still be happy!
Hugs and kisses from a rainy Australia!
We check out of the hotel and started the hour drive to the Brisbane airport, although it did take a bit longer because of construction. It was pretty hot today (the sun was sort of out) and we were blasting the AC but something wasn’t right as it was just blowing warm (not hot) air. At one point I felt my heart start racing..I felt like I was trapped in an oven..it was awful! I quickly looked through the manual and felt like it was a race against time. I realized we had to push in the button for it to become AC! We were so thankful when it started working because mom said she was at the point of pulling over it was so bad!
We were VERY hungry when we arrived (apparently Australia doesn’t put food signs on the highway..this is NOT our type of country!) and we found an area near the airport that had restaurants. We headed that way and the place was happening..we still aren’t sure why. It would be kind of weird to come to this mall(ish) type place unless you were at the airport, but there were a ton of cars and not a lot of people had carry-on luggage..so who knows! We stopped for a delicious lunch (or we might have been very hungry) before heading back to the airport.
When we originally arrived in Brisbane the car the man told us we had to drop the car off at the international terminal. When driving back to the airport the “car return” signs all pointed to the international terminal, so that’s where we went! Unlike other airports where we have returned cars, at Brisbane you park your car and then go inside to return the keys. We did this and the woman said we could have returned it to domestic and now we had to either take a bus or a train (both costing $5 per person) to the domestic gate! Booooo!! That was annoying. We opted for the bus and in about 10 minutes (and $10 later) we were ready to check in! When checking in we had to weigh our carry-on luggage (which I have never had to do before) and put the excess in our checked luggage (mine was overweight..surprise surprise) so then we had to pay more money for excess weight. Ugh. It was an annoying airport!
Surprisingly we managed to make it through security without being detained, so I guess all in all it was a good day! Our flight was short (only a couple of hours) and I don’t know WHAT it is with planes but all I wanted to do is sleep! I took out my laptop to blog (since I am SO far behind, I know I know..and yes I have received threatening emails) but I could barely keep my eyes open. I don’t know if I have trained my body to fall asleep (I usually take pills) or if it is just the motion, but I passed out!
We arrived in a very rainy Cairns. We rented a car (the same car we had before, just a different color) and headed out (this time with AC)! We were about 15 minutes into the ride and very surprised about how there was nothing around. We did see a sign for McDonald’s (which honestly neither of us really like) but decided we should stop for dinner because we didn’t know if we would see anything else! And it was a GOOD thing we did. We took the SCARIEST road to get to Port Douglas! It was SO windy, every turn was a hairpin turn (I felt like I was going to be sick) it was SO dark (no street lights) and it was DOWNPOURING (we legit couldn’t see anything). Good thing mom is the best driver in the world because I had a headache trying to keep my eyes on the road as well! I really thought we were in a scary movie..it was the PERFECT setting! Port Douglas is a tourist town, so maybe in the daylight it really won’t be as scary, but this road put me in a really weird mood!
FINALLY we saw civilization (and signs for Port Douglas) and when we turned on the main road we saw..PEOPLE! It was very comforting. We are staying in an apartment and on our first trip down the road we missed it because there is retail on the first floor. However, once we turned around we were able to find it! The location is PERFECT (well…we think..it’s dark) and it is SO nice to have some space! Mom booked the two bedroom because she knew at this point we have been together for over a week (including in the very small hostel in Vietnam)..and while we love each other..space is nice! We each have our own bedroom and bathroom, and a kitchen/living room/dining room! It really is nice to have some space to move around! It is supposed to rain all week (boo) but as long as there isn’t lightning (which means I can go diving) I will still be happy!
Hugs and kisses from a rainy Australia!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Isn’t this called the GOLD Coast?
Since I had a rough night last night I slept in till about 1030am (a good 12 hours) and did feel better when I woke up! We headed out to Bond to pick up Erin and our plan was to go to Byron Bay for the day. We had all heard it was beautiful and since we had a car and Erin hadn’t been it seemed like the perfect time to go!
We took the coastal route for the first part of the trip as we wanted to see some of the beaches. Our first stop was Burleigh Heads which was nice and we could see the Gold Coast skyline (where our hotel is). But since it was cloudy it definitely wasn’t beach weather so we continued on. We ended up at a Hog’s Breathe restaurant and Erin said at the last one she was at she saw a NH license plate, yay! Unfortunately this one didn’t have it, but we all had chicken tenders and they were so yummy!
Mom had read that the Quicksilver Pro (which is the world championship of surfing) was taking place. Erin wasn’t sure if it was actually still happening. I guess they book 2 weeks for the event and then pick the best days for waves. So if the best days were at the beginning of the 2 weeks the event might be over. However, we made it to the beach Mom had read about and saw huge Quicksilver signs so decided to venture over. First, we were surprised we could even find parking within walking distance (for free!) and secondly that we weren’t charged to get into the event. As we were approaching the beach, the skies opened up and it DOWNPOURED! We were soaked! Isn’t this the GOLD COAST!? Erin was so bummed because she said it really never rains here, but we still had fun! The surfing competition was really cool! We don’t know anything about surfing or the surfers, but it was still cool to say we were at the surfing world championship. It would downpour, then stop, then downpour, then stop, so after watching a couple of the women surfers we decided to move on.
We made the hour drive to Byron Bay and at some points on the highway it was raining so hard we couldn’t see anything! Mom did a great job driving (on the left) and in the rain because I fell asleep for a bit! As we were nearing Byron Bay we saw signs for the local hospital that said to be quiet! We had never seen signs like this before and it became our joke for the rest of the trip that whenever we passed a hospital we needed to be quiet.
We decided to make our way to the lighthouse as everyone said it was beautiful. The rain seemed to have stopped as well so this seemed like a good time to spend some time outdoors. The lighthouse was beautiful and overlooked Byron Bay, but we could NOT believe how windy it was! The parking attendant said it was gale force winds and it was actually a little scary! Luckily the lighthouse blocked the wind on one side so we took most of our pictures from there!
We made the drive back down to the town area and were on the hunt for an ATM and a coffee for me (I don’t know why I was so tired). Westpac is the name of the bank in Australia that works with Bank of America so we get less fees when we use their ATM. We asked a convenient store where a Westpac ATM was located and the women told us, but it got me thinking if I would know where ATMs where and what bank they belonged to. It was a little after 4pm and now that we had money to was time to find some coffee..but NOTHING was open! It was so sad. I guess a lot of those type of places (that would serve coffee) close in the afternoon to prepare for dinner, but I was definitely missing Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. We did manage to find a gelato shop so I guess that was an ok coffee substitute.
Since all the shops closed at 5pm (like most things in Australia) we decided to head back as there really wasn’t much to do! Since it was still a little rainy, we were able to get a driving tour of Erin’s campus before heading back to her room to use some wifi! We then made our way to Broad Beach (which is next to Surfers Paradise) for some dinner! Erin knows the area pretty well which was nice because she was able to give us a little tour.
It was VERY windy and I was actually a little cold in shorts and a sweatshirt! But we had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant. I asked about where the restroom was located and our waiter pointed around the corner and then gave me a combination. When I followed his directions I ended up in a maintenance area. One door said “men” and the other said “mothers room” both with key pads in front. I just stood there staring for a few minutes until a guy behind me pointed at “mothers room” and said that one was mine. I entered the password I was given and I was in! It was very very strange, although the bathroom was very nice!
After dinner we walked around a bit to people watch and WOW I could not get over the “young girls” dressed up to go out. I felt like a guy as I was ogling them and could not stop staring. They all had the tightest shortest black dresses I had EVER seen! It looked like they were going out in Miami Beach. Erin said you can’t get into a club with flip flops on (you have to wear nice shoes). I felt so frumpy and couldn’t believe I didn’t even OWN the appropriate clothes to get into a club here!
I guess I was ok with it as I was ready to go to bed anyway, and Erin made me feel better saying in an hour she could have me ready to get into a club, but I really had just never seen anything like it. I guess I live a sheltered life in good old New Hampshire!
We headed back to Bond to drop off Erin before returning to our hotel to pack. It seems like that’s all we do, pack, unpack, repack, repeat!
Hugs and kisses from the not so gold Gold Coast!
We took the coastal route for the first part of the trip as we wanted to see some of the beaches. Our first stop was Burleigh Heads which was nice and we could see the Gold Coast skyline (where our hotel is). But since it was cloudy it definitely wasn’t beach weather so we continued on. We ended up at a Hog’s Breathe restaurant and Erin said at the last one she was at she saw a NH license plate, yay! Unfortunately this one didn’t have it, but we all had chicken tenders and they were so yummy!
Mom had read that the Quicksilver Pro (which is the world championship of surfing) was taking place. Erin wasn’t sure if it was actually still happening. I guess they book 2 weeks for the event and then pick the best days for waves. So if the best days were at the beginning of the 2 weeks the event might be over. However, we made it to the beach Mom had read about and saw huge Quicksilver signs so decided to venture over. First, we were surprised we could even find parking within walking distance (for free!) and secondly that we weren’t charged to get into the event. As we were approaching the beach, the skies opened up and it DOWNPOURED! We were soaked! Isn’t this the GOLD COAST!? Erin was so bummed because she said it really never rains here, but we still had fun! The surfing competition was really cool! We don’t know anything about surfing or the surfers, but it was still cool to say we were at the surfing world championship. It would downpour, then stop, then downpour, then stop, so after watching a couple of the women surfers we decided to move on.
We made the hour drive to Byron Bay and at some points on the highway it was raining so hard we couldn’t see anything! Mom did a great job driving (on the left) and in the rain because I fell asleep for a bit! As we were nearing Byron Bay we saw signs for the local hospital that said to be quiet! We had never seen signs like this before and it became our joke for the rest of the trip that whenever we passed a hospital we needed to be quiet.
We decided to make our way to the lighthouse as everyone said it was beautiful. The rain seemed to have stopped as well so this seemed like a good time to spend some time outdoors. The lighthouse was beautiful and overlooked Byron Bay, but we could NOT believe how windy it was! The parking attendant said it was gale force winds and it was actually a little scary! Luckily the lighthouse blocked the wind on one side so we took most of our pictures from there!
We made the drive back down to the town area and were on the hunt for an ATM and a coffee for me (I don’t know why I was so tired). Westpac is the name of the bank in Australia that works with Bank of America so we get less fees when we use their ATM. We asked a convenient store where a Westpac ATM was located and the women told us, but it got me thinking if I would know where ATMs where and what bank they belonged to. It was a little after 4pm and now that we had money to was time to find some coffee..but NOTHING was open! It was so sad. I guess a lot of those type of places (that would serve coffee) close in the afternoon to prepare for dinner, but I was definitely missing Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. We did manage to find a gelato shop so I guess that was an ok coffee substitute.
Since all the shops closed at 5pm (like most things in Australia) we decided to head back as there really wasn’t much to do! Since it was still a little rainy, we were able to get a driving tour of Erin’s campus before heading back to her room to use some wifi! We then made our way to Broad Beach (which is next to Surfers Paradise) for some dinner! Erin knows the area pretty well which was nice because she was able to give us a little tour.
It was VERY windy and I was actually a little cold in shorts and a sweatshirt! But we had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant. I asked about where the restroom was located and our waiter pointed around the corner and then gave me a combination. When I followed his directions I ended up in a maintenance area. One door said “men” and the other said “mothers room” both with key pads in front. I just stood there staring for a few minutes until a guy behind me pointed at “mothers room” and said that one was mine. I entered the password I was given and I was in! It was very very strange, although the bathroom was very nice!
After dinner we walked around a bit to people watch and WOW I could not get over the “young girls” dressed up to go out. I felt like a guy as I was ogling them and could not stop staring. They all had the tightest shortest black dresses I had EVER seen! It looked like they were going out in Miami Beach. Erin said you can’t get into a club with flip flops on (you have to wear nice shoes). I felt so frumpy and couldn’t believe I didn’t even OWN the appropriate clothes to get into a club here!
I guess I was ok with it as I was ready to go to bed anyway, and Erin made me feel better saying in an hour she could have me ready to get into a club, but I really had just never seen anything like it. I guess I live a sheltered life in good old New Hampshire!
We headed back to Bond to drop off Erin before returning to our hotel to pack. It seems like that’s all we do, pack, unpack, repack, repeat!
Hugs and kisses from the not so gold Gold Coast!
Friday, March 4, 2011
G’day Mate
Last night, we checked out of the hotel and got into the cab (well, the hotel’s car) to go to the airport. While I am not pro on how to get to the airport, I quickly noticed the man was NOT going the way I have always gone. We were hitting all the red lights and there was a lot of traffic so eventually he ended up pulling a u-turn. We then ended up in the slums of Vietnam on a VERY rundown road with a LOT of traffic. We had left early enough, but it did take about an hour (I have gotten there in 20 minutes before) so I am not sure what the problem was!
We checked in for our flight (and knew our bags were overweight..like person like luggage? Hmmm..) but were VERY confused when the woman started explaining we had to pay a LARGE fee. She was saying the limit was 20kg (which we knew) and one of our bags was 23kg and one was 24kg. She said she would give us 25 kg each, but she was saying how we were 22kg over! We were very confused until we realized that when she asked how many bags we were checking we said 2 and she thought 2 each instead of 2 total! You are only allowed 20kg regardless of how many bags you check, so once we got that situated we were ready to go! We had no problems getting through passport control (unlike last year). Vietnam use to work off a paper system and last year when trying to leave the country I didn’t have this paper they supposedly gave me. I was really nervous because I heard from another volunteer (an American born in Saigon) that even when she has her right papers they give her a hard time and don’t let her through until she gives them money. Luckily the guy eventually let me go after I was scared out of my mind. SO this year they have it all on the computer..YAY! We were able to get some dinner (roast beef sandwiches, yum) before boarding our plan to Singapore. As I was walking down the jet way to get on the plane I heard someone say, “Excuse me miss, excuse me!” I somehow thought that maybe if I pretended I didn’t hear and walked a bit faster she would give up on me, but she didn’t! She said it was a very full flight and since I had a carry on and backpack I would need to check one. At first I was NOT a happy camper. Just because they booked a full flight doesn’t mean I should have to check my bag. But THEN I quickly realized this was a blessing in disguise. Now I wouldn’t have to lug this baby around, fighting others that are 20 rows back for my overhead bin space! I would have checked it if I could, but since I was only allowed 20kg, blah blah blah! And this way they check it for free! Wahooooo!! I was probably the last one on the plane and mom and I were in the same row but she had an aisle and I had a window (just the way we like it). There was a Vietnamese woman in between us (living in Texas) who was all upset because she was told she had an aisle but didn’t. When we finally got going, she was able to sit Indian style in her seat and fall asleep!! We were amazed!
The flight was short and sweet and we had about 1 hour and 20 minutes to connect in Singapore. Turns out, we needed every second! The airport is huge..and BEAUTIFUL! There were so many times I wanted to stop (at the movie theater, the showers, the spa) but we kept trudging along! There was a beautiful mall area in the middle, but once we got to our gate (I am not kidding when I say we were power walking for 45 minutes) there was nothing around!!! It was so boring! It was also very weird because each gate has their own security!!
This was our longer flight (8 hours) but once we had boarded we realized the flight was not full. We asked the flight attendant and she said it was not a full flight so we quickly moved ourselves to the middle rows with four..yes FOUR seats! It was heeeeaaaavvvveeeen!!!! We were on a night flight (12am to 10am with the time change) so I really should have slept, but I was so excited that they had about 6 episodes of *Modern Family* (one of my new favorite TV shows) that I stayed up WAY too long watching them! I was able to fall asleep for a bit (and was actually pretty comfy) before arriving in Brisbane.
After collecting our luggage we headed to customs where mom and I were in separate lines. I picked up my bags, but saw the man starting to go through hers. Turns out she was getting nabbed for bringing bags of popcorn into the country. Apparently they are considered “nuts” which is a big no-no here! Somehow I managed to get through with popcorn AND bags of almonds..guess I am a sneaky packer! The guy let her go with a “warning” but this was a written warning and will go on her “file”. Little did I know my mom was such a rebel!
After making it on to Australian grounds without a trip to the jail, we headed over to pick up our car. Strangely, they did not have any maps available, so after a trip to the info desk and to get some snacks we got our car and hit the road..in..RAIN! boooo!! Luckily it was really just spitting. We were on our way to our hotel on the Gold Coast (about an hour away from Brisbane). I think I spent the entire ride saying, “STAY LEFT STAY LEFT!” but mom did a GREAT job as we made it to the hotel in one piece!
Our hotel is beautiful with the SOFTEST beds and GREAT bathroom and I realized, I was born to be a princess! After well needed showers and a little unpacking, we headed to Bond University which is where Erin, Scott’s girlfriend, is spending the semester abroad. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there and we were off to find food. Our first stop was a place about 15 minutes away from her, but we quickly learned that pretty much EVERYTHING in Australia closes at 5pm!!! Weird! It was a big mall with restaurants and it still closed at 5pm! We ended up back by her school at a pizza place and food never tasted so good..I was STARVING!
After stealing the wifi at her school (its $30 a day at this hotel..booo) we headed back to our hotel for the night as we were exhausted. The last couple of days in Vietnam were SO busy during the day and were only sleeping about 5 hours a night and we spent the night on the plane so needless to say we were tired! When we were in the car trying to find dinner I got really car sick (which I do a lot) but felt better after I ate. However, driving back from Erin’s I was not feeling good again! To spare the details, I threw up everything when we got back to the hotel! Not ok! How did I make it 2 weeks in Vietnam without getting sick and in Australia get sick!? I was actually surprised when I was in Vietnam I hadn’t gotten sick so I thought I was a seasoned traveler, but I guess not! I decided to go right to sleep and woke up about 12 hours later! Now we are off for our first REAL day in Australia!
Hugs and kisses from “G’day Mate!”
We checked in for our flight (and knew our bags were overweight..like person like luggage? Hmmm..) but were VERY confused when the woman started explaining we had to pay a LARGE fee. She was saying the limit was 20kg (which we knew) and one of our bags was 23kg and one was 24kg. She said she would give us 25 kg each, but she was saying how we were 22kg over! We were very confused until we realized that when she asked how many bags we were checking we said 2 and she thought 2 each instead of 2 total! You are only allowed 20kg regardless of how many bags you check, so once we got that situated we were ready to go! We had no problems getting through passport control (unlike last year). Vietnam use to work off a paper system and last year when trying to leave the country I didn’t have this paper they supposedly gave me. I was really nervous because I heard from another volunteer (an American born in Saigon) that even when she has her right papers they give her a hard time and don’t let her through until she gives them money. Luckily the guy eventually let me go after I was scared out of my mind. SO this year they have it all on the computer..YAY! We were able to get some dinner (roast beef sandwiches, yum) before boarding our plan to Singapore. As I was walking down the jet way to get on the plane I heard someone say, “Excuse me miss, excuse me!” I somehow thought that maybe if I pretended I didn’t hear and walked a bit faster she would give up on me, but she didn’t! She said it was a very full flight and since I had a carry on and backpack I would need to check one. At first I was NOT a happy camper. Just because they booked a full flight doesn’t mean I should have to check my bag. But THEN I quickly realized this was a blessing in disguise. Now I wouldn’t have to lug this baby around, fighting others that are 20 rows back for my overhead bin space! I would have checked it if I could, but since I was only allowed 20kg, blah blah blah! And this way they check it for free! Wahooooo!! I was probably the last one on the plane and mom and I were in the same row but she had an aisle and I had a window (just the way we like it). There was a Vietnamese woman in between us (living in Texas) who was all upset because she was told she had an aisle but didn’t. When we finally got going, she was able to sit Indian style in her seat and fall asleep!! We were amazed!
The flight was short and sweet and we had about 1 hour and 20 minutes to connect in Singapore. Turns out, we needed every second! The airport is huge..and BEAUTIFUL! There were so many times I wanted to stop (at the movie theater, the showers, the spa) but we kept trudging along! There was a beautiful mall area in the middle, but once we got to our gate (I am not kidding when I say we were power walking for 45 minutes) there was nothing around!!! It was so boring! It was also very weird because each gate has their own security!!
This was our longer flight (8 hours) but once we had boarded we realized the flight was not full. We asked the flight attendant and she said it was not a full flight so we quickly moved ourselves to the middle rows with four..yes FOUR seats! It was heeeeaaaavvvveeeen!!!! We were on a night flight (12am to 10am with the time change) so I really should have slept, but I was so excited that they had about 6 episodes of *Modern Family* (one of my new favorite TV shows) that I stayed up WAY too long watching them! I was able to fall asleep for a bit (and was actually pretty comfy) before arriving in Brisbane.
After collecting our luggage we headed to customs where mom and I were in separate lines. I picked up my bags, but saw the man starting to go through hers. Turns out she was getting nabbed for bringing bags of popcorn into the country. Apparently they are considered “nuts” which is a big no-no here! Somehow I managed to get through with popcorn AND bags of almonds..guess I am a sneaky packer! The guy let her go with a “warning” but this was a written warning and will go on her “file”. Little did I know my mom was such a rebel!
After making it on to Australian grounds without a trip to the jail, we headed over to pick up our car. Strangely, they did not have any maps available, so after a trip to the info desk and to get some snacks we got our car and hit the road..in..RAIN! boooo!! Luckily it was really just spitting. We were on our way to our hotel on the Gold Coast (about an hour away from Brisbane). I think I spent the entire ride saying, “STAY LEFT STAY LEFT!” but mom did a GREAT job as we made it to the hotel in one piece!
Our hotel is beautiful with the SOFTEST beds and GREAT bathroom and I realized, I was born to be a princess! After well needed showers and a little unpacking, we headed to Bond University which is where Erin, Scott’s girlfriend, is spending the semester abroad. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there and we were off to find food. Our first stop was a place about 15 minutes away from her, but we quickly learned that pretty much EVERYTHING in Australia closes at 5pm!!! Weird! It was a big mall with restaurants and it still closed at 5pm! We ended up back by her school at a pizza place and food never tasted so good..I was STARVING!
After stealing the wifi at her school (its $30 a day at this hotel..booo) we headed back to our hotel for the night as we were exhausted. The last couple of days in Vietnam were SO busy during the day and were only sleeping about 5 hours a night and we spent the night on the plane so needless to say we were tired! When we were in the car trying to find dinner I got really car sick (which I do a lot) but felt better after I ate. However, driving back from Erin’s I was not feeling good again! To spare the details, I threw up everything when we got back to the hotel! Not ok! How did I make it 2 weeks in Vietnam without getting sick and in Australia get sick!? I was actually surprised when I was in Vietnam I hadn’t gotten sick so I thought I was a seasoned traveler, but I guess not! I decided to go right to sleep and woke up about 12 hours later! Now we are off for our first REAL day in Australia!
Hugs and kisses from “G’day Mate!”
Thursday, March 3, 2011
It’s not goodbye, it's see you later!
Mom and I were both tired when we woke up this morning as we didn’t sleep much. We were off to breakfast (where they did NOT have my rice dish..and on my last day?? Not acceptable!) and then to the bus station! We realized how good we have got at crossing the road because we saw a 3 bus as we were getting close and did NOT want to have to wait for another one, so we booked it across! We realized it is so hot today because the sun is out! I did think it was much hotter last year (but thought it might be the time of year) but realized today I really think it is because the sun hasn’t been out this trip (and it’s been great!!!) Anyway we were able to QUICKLY cross the street and get the 3 bus.
When we got to the orphanage we didn’t see any of our kids, but heard there were a new group of volunteers so figured they might be outside. We walked half way around the Pagoda and then found Thoung’s shoes so figured he was inside. It was so cute because mom was in front of me and all of a sudden I heard him laugh and he started running towards us! He was out for a walk with a guy from Japan, and while he spoke a bit of English, we weren’t able to explain to him that Thoung was “our” child and it was our last day so we were saying goodbye, etc. I felt bad, like I was stealing him away. But our new Japanese friend hung out with us too which was good because I think we were able to show him the things we do with Thoung. It is nice to know someone else can love him once we leave!
After some time playing outside we needed to head back in for lunch. I fed a child I have never interacted with before. His muscles were very tight and he couldn’t keep his body flat (when he laid down he was deformed). He was a great eater (he ate everything) but he was very slow and he had his head turned (I’m not sure if that was natural for him or if he was being difficult) but it made the meal a little messy. Afterwards the kids go down for a nap, so once everyone is situated we leave. Thoung had his camera and was playing with another kid and his camera so we snuck out. To be honest, I know I will be back within a year (get pumped for more blogs) so I wasn’t saying goodbye to them, simply see you later.
We got the 3 bus to the Big C to look for cereal and snacks to bring with us for our long flight to Australia, but didn’t have much success. We did, however, stop at Tutti Frutti for some ice cream (no sunglass man, yay!) and then headed back to the hotel to start packing up! After we felt pretty well situated, we headed to Bobby Brewers for a late lunch and some wifi! Oh how I have missed decent wifi! It was SO nice because I was able to upload pictures and videos while eating a bowl of spaghetti!
And now, we are leaving Vietnam..until next year of course!
Hugs and kisses from Vietnam!
When we got to the orphanage we didn’t see any of our kids, but heard there were a new group of volunteers so figured they might be outside. We walked half way around the Pagoda and then found Thoung’s shoes so figured he was inside. It was so cute because mom was in front of me and all of a sudden I heard him laugh and he started running towards us! He was out for a walk with a guy from Japan, and while he spoke a bit of English, we weren’t able to explain to him that Thoung was “our” child and it was our last day so we were saying goodbye, etc. I felt bad, like I was stealing him away. But our new Japanese friend hung out with us too which was good because I think we were able to show him the things we do with Thoung. It is nice to know someone else can love him once we leave!
After some time playing outside we needed to head back in for lunch. I fed a child I have never interacted with before. His muscles were very tight and he couldn’t keep his body flat (when he laid down he was deformed). He was a great eater (he ate everything) but he was very slow and he had his head turned (I’m not sure if that was natural for him or if he was being difficult) but it made the meal a little messy. Afterwards the kids go down for a nap, so once everyone is situated we leave. Thoung had his camera and was playing with another kid and his camera so we snuck out. To be honest, I know I will be back within a year (get pumped for more blogs) so I wasn’t saying goodbye to them, simply see you later.
We got the 3 bus to the Big C to look for cereal and snacks to bring with us for our long flight to Australia, but didn’t have much success. We did, however, stop at Tutti Frutti for some ice cream (no sunglass man, yay!) and then headed back to the hotel to start packing up! After we felt pretty well situated, we headed to Bobby Brewers for a late lunch and some wifi! Oh how I have missed decent wifi! It was SO nice because I was able to upload pictures and videos while eating a bowl of spaghetti!
And now, we are leaving Vietnam..until next year of course!
Hugs and kisses from Vietnam!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Last FULL day in Vietnam :(
Mom and I were both tired when we woke up this morning. Just “being” is tiring here. Between the heat, the noise, the language, etc. daily living becomes exhausting! We headed out to breakfast and then to drop off our last things of laundry. It was about 7:45 when we got to the laundry place that opens at 7:00 and he literally just pulled in and was opening up shop! Oh to own your own business!
We then found a motorbike man. If you are in Vietnam, you have to experience riding a motorbike. Last year I had the oh-so-fun experience of taking a motorbike when there was a traffic accident in Hanoi. Kahly and I had gone for the weekend and there was a huge accident on the highway and we were going to miss our plane. However, our driver from our hotel got us some motorbikes to weave through to get us to the airport. But, we had a couple of bags (that don’t fit easily on a motorbike) and I didn’t really understand what was going on. My driver literally took me down a mountain (ok, ok maybe a hill) but still we ended up tipping over (not cool). I very quickly lost sight of Khaly and had no idea where my man was taking me as he did not speak English. I was more than relieved when I heard airplanes and I made it there alive (and eventually caught up with Kahly). So anyway we hired two drives to take us to the war museum and made it there in one piece. I think I have become a little too confident because on the bike I realized I needed to take some pictures of mom. In order to do this, I had to take off my backpack, unhook my water bottle, unlock the pocket with my valuables, take out my camera and put everything else back. I think my legs and core will be sore tomorrow since those muscles were working overtime to keep me from falling off!!!
We made it to the war museum safely and it was nice because nobody else was there! I suggested we go in the morning to avoid the crowds and beat the heat so I was impressed with my tour guide skills! The war museum is very interesting and I think an important thing to see while in Vietnam. Mom and I were talking about how people just believe what they are taught and told. It made me think about how Long was saying it wasn’t until he started meeting tourist and learning about different ways of life that he began questioning his own beliefs and what he was taught, another reason why education is so important. The museum consists of a lot of pictures (many of which are hard to look at) but again, very important to see.
When then walked a few blocks to the Reunification Palace (where the South set up camp and where the war ended). Since I had already been (and wasn’t overly impressed) I sat in the park to write postcards and mom went in. We made our way to the cathedral and to the post office, where we saw the cutest Vietnamese kids on a class fieldtrip! They all had matching outfits and more tourists were taking pictures of them then of the post office!
We had to make a stop by Liberty Mutual (where my mom used to work) because a few days ago on the bus she spotted their sign (apparently she can find those signs anywhere!!) We also did some “hotel hopping” on the way back since we were in the area of the nice hotels. I found it interesting because those are the type of hotels we would usually stay at (we are very blessed when we travel to be able to stay at those type of hotels) but to be honest I felt uncomfortable in these hotels. I felt like they were too fancy and everything seemed wasteful. But I know if I was in another country (Australia) I would feel like it was a great hotel and very comfortable. I don’t know if it is because I know that 45 minutes away “my” kids are in the orphanage with nothing, or what it is, but I have never felt that way in a “nice” hotel.
We stopped at a western grocery store to “stock” up on some snacks since they are reasonably priced here and very expensive in Australia. My mom asked if I was ready to leave and I said no, but wondered why. Last year I was here for a month and this year only 2 weeks, so wondered if maybe I didn’t have enough time. I came to the conclusion that I feel like I was “jipped” last week as I spent 3 days in bed and about a whole week just not feeling well, so I think that’s why I feel like the time has gone by so fast!
After a quick lunch and a little AC to cool down, we met Long at the park to head to an appliance store to get some fans. There is a room in the orphanage for older blind boys (12 boys in a room on the 3rd floor) so needless to say they need some fans!
We were able to get 5 fans and a taxi to take us to the orphanage since taking the bus was out of the question. The man/monk who works with the boys speaks a little English (before this year I had not been upstairs) and said how thankful they were. It was very nice to hear thanks in English!
We then went back to the main room to spend the afternoon with the kids and as we walked into the room, I noticed a face I hadn’t seen before..Cho Con! Cho Con is the boy I spent a lot of time with last year. He is about 4 years old and blind, but he loves to sing (in English). My mom fell in love with him from the videos and I felt awful because he hadn’t been at the orphanage. He is a day students..which means he has a family but they are too poor to take care of him so they send him for the day. We brought a lot of kids outside to play and Thoung (I haven’t said this, but it is pronounced Tung) loved his new golf club. He was so funny because he was seeking out rocks and stones that looked like tees so he could tee off! Watch out Tiger Woods! Cho Con (which is his nickname and means little dog) was in a stroller, and he would yell mot, hai, bat (one, two, three) and then someone would push him really fast and he would start laughing. Lisa (from Nantucket) had one boy with her that is very hot and cold. One minute he is hugging and cuddling and the next he punches and kicks. It is sort of sad to witness and makes it seem like he is bipolar. It was really cool to see Long talk to Cho Con (in Vietnamese). Long said some of the times he really wasn’t making any sense, but I remember Khaly saying the same thing last year. At one point Long started laughing and said Cho Con told him he needed to go to the bathroom. So Long put him in the stroller and said he would take him inside. But, a second later Long and Cho Con were back and Long told us that Cho Con said he wanted to go play with his friends and he would go the bathroom tomorrow. We all laughed at that! Needless to say it was a pretty crazy time outside and we were all ready for dinner time!
There were enough volunteers to feed the kids which was nice because I was able to take some pictures and scope out the scene. Mom ended up feeding the bipolar kid and she said he was great until he got upset, threw rice at her and punched her in the face (her glasses went flying). I am sad to report I did not witness this event.
It was another crazy, but, great day at the orphanage and after dropping off our stuff at the hotel we headed out to dinner. Since it was our last night in Saigon we also treated ourselves to a massage! I don’t think I have mentioned this but massages are $6 per person for an hour..which is a splurge in Vietnam but is NOTHING compared to at home!!!
When we finally made it back to the hotel room I was ready for bed, but I wasn’t so lucky! I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about my gym fiasco yet! Here is the story. I wanted to work out while in Saigon (I have a tendency to eat A LOT while traveling so I needed something to counter this..). I found a western gym and signed up so I could use it for the two weeks. They charged my credit card and we were good to go. However, (I check my credit card daily to make sure I don’t have any problems) I logged on last week and it said the gym charged me my fee (no problem) but they charged me a second time for $1,146. Yes, that’s US dollars, NOT OK! So I went to the gym and tried explaining it to the woman (who DID speak English) but she really did not seem to understand and kept saying, “You signed it, you know I didn’t charge you $1,146!” I explained that I know it was an accident but it needed to be taken off my credit card. The problem was it was the weekend (banks were closed) so she took my phone number and said she would take care of it. And that’s when it all began. In the course of the week this woman must have called me 60 times and I am NOT exaggerating. It is SO hard to understand her over the phone, but at first she would call to tell me she would take care of it (great!) Then she would call and say she was talking to the bank, etc. Then when I stopped by the gym to ask she talked about giving it to me in cash, but I said I didn’t want it in cash I just wanted it refunded. On Tuesday she called when I was with Long so I asked him if he would mind talking to her. He said that she said she couldn’t give it to me in cash (apparently she thought I wanted it in cash) but said the bank would refund it..perfect! I thought I was all set, until she called me Wednesday morning saying she had no idea I was so worried (yeah because $1,146 is chump change). Since all this was going on I contacted capital one to put in a formal dispute claim. They said they would mail something to my home address and I would need to mail it back or the claim would be dropped and considered closed. I emailed them back saying I was out of the country, to which they responded “call this number”..great! Wednesday night my gym lady had called me a bazillion times (I might be exaggerating on this one) and I honestly just didn’t feel like talking to her so she finally texted me and I thought that would be good because I could understand her. She said she had contacted the bank and gotten me the money. Now I did not want it in cash, but just wanted to be DONE with it, so we talked about meeting at the gym tomorrow to pick it up. Then I realized I had no idea if she meant USD or VND and when I asked she responded VND. This is when I started to get frustrated. I appreciated her trying, but we both knew I would be losing money if I got it in VND. I told her if she wanted to give me cash then she would have to do it in USD because that’s what I was charged. She said this wasn’t possible and then said we could go to the bank together to exchange it but I might lose money through the exchange (which I already knew). She said it would cost money to have it credited on my credit card. At this point I called capital one and went through about 4 different people trying to explain the situation and explain I wasn’t in the country to be able to check my mail (I did email to my dad to keep his eyes open, but they needed copies of my receipt that obviously isn’t at home). After what seemed like forever, I finally got a woman who said they would extend my deadline (I would have to fill out paperwork when I got home). I texted my gym lady to say I was going to deal with it with my credit card and they would credit it back, to which she responded, “goodnight”. Oh well, I just hate wasting this time dealing with something that isn’t my fault!!!
On that note, I am sad tomorrow is my last day in Vietnam, BUT I am excited because I know I will be back!
Hugs and kisses from our last full day in Vietnam!
We then found a motorbike man. If you are in Vietnam, you have to experience riding a motorbike. Last year I had the oh-so-fun experience of taking a motorbike when there was a traffic accident in Hanoi. Kahly and I had gone for the weekend and there was a huge accident on the highway and we were going to miss our plane. However, our driver from our hotel got us some motorbikes to weave through to get us to the airport. But, we had a couple of bags (that don’t fit easily on a motorbike) and I didn’t really understand what was going on. My driver literally took me down a mountain (ok, ok maybe a hill) but still we ended up tipping over (not cool). I very quickly lost sight of Khaly and had no idea where my man was taking me as he did not speak English. I was more than relieved when I heard airplanes and I made it there alive (and eventually caught up with Kahly). So anyway we hired two drives to take us to the war museum and made it there in one piece. I think I have become a little too confident because on the bike I realized I needed to take some pictures of mom. In order to do this, I had to take off my backpack, unhook my water bottle, unlock the pocket with my valuables, take out my camera and put everything else back. I think my legs and core will be sore tomorrow since those muscles were working overtime to keep me from falling off!!!
We made it to the war museum safely and it was nice because nobody else was there! I suggested we go in the morning to avoid the crowds and beat the heat so I was impressed with my tour guide skills! The war museum is very interesting and I think an important thing to see while in Vietnam. Mom and I were talking about how people just believe what they are taught and told. It made me think about how Long was saying it wasn’t until he started meeting tourist and learning about different ways of life that he began questioning his own beliefs and what he was taught, another reason why education is so important. The museum consists of a lot of pictures (many of which are hard to look at) but again, very important to see.
When then walked a few blocks to the Reunification Palace (where the South set up camp and where the war ended). Since I had already been (and wasn’t overly impressed) I sat in the park to write postcards and mom went in. We made our way to the cathedral and to the post office, where we saw the cutest Vietnamese kids on a class fieldtrip! They all had matching outfits and more tourists were taking pictures of them then of the post office!
We had to make a stop by Liberty Mutual (where my mom used to work) because a few days ago on the bus she spotted their sign (apparently she can find those signs anywhere!!) We also did some “hotel hopping” on the way back since we were in the area of the nice hotels. I found it interesting because those are the type of hotels we would usually stay at (we are very blessed when we travel to be able to stay at those type of hotels) but to be honest I felt uncomfortable in these hotels. I felt like they were too fancy and everything seemed wasteful. But I know if I was in another country (Australia) I would feel like it was a great hotel and very comfortable. I don’t know if it is because I know that 45 minutes away “my” kids are in the orphanage with nothing, or what it is, but I have never felt that way in a “nice” hotel.
We stopped at a western grocery store to “stock” up on some snacks since they are reasonably priced here and very expensive in Australia. My mom asked if I was ready to leave and I said no, but wondered why. Last year I was here for a month and this year only 2 weeks, so wondered if maybe I didn’t have enough time. I came to the conclusion that I feel like I was “jipped” last week as I spent 3 days in bed and about a whole week just not feeling well, so I think that’s why I feel like the time has gone by so fast!
After a quick lunch and a little AC to cool down, we met Long at the park to head to an appliance store to get some fans. There is a room in the orphanage for older blind boys (12 boys in a room on the 3rd floor) so needless to say they need some fans!
We were able to get 5 fans and a taxi to take us to the orphanage since taking the bus was out of the question. The man/monk who works with the boys speaks a little English (before this year I had not been upstairs) and said how thankful they were. It was very nice to hear thanks in English!
We then went back to the main room to spend the afternoon with the kids and as we walked into the room, I noticed a face I hadn’t seen before..Cho Con! Cho Con is the boy I spent a lot of time with last year. He is about 4 years old and blind, but he loves to sing (in English). My mom fell in love with him from the videos and I felt awful because he hadn’t been at the orphanage. He is a day students..which means he has a family but they are too poor to take care of him so they send him for the day. We brought a lot of kids outside to play and Thoung (I haven’t said this, but it is pronounced Tung) loved his new golf club. He was so funny because he was seeking out rocks and stones that looked like tees so he could tee off! Watch out Tiger Woods! Cho Con (which is his nickname and means little dog) was in a stroller, and he would yell mot, hai, bat (one, two, three) and then someone would push him really fast and he would start laughing. Lisa (from Nantucket) had one boy with her that is very hot and cold. One minute he is hugging and cuddling and the next he punches and kicks. It is sort of sad to witness and makes it seem like he is bipolar. It was really cool to see Long talk to Cho Con (in Vietnamese). Long said some of the times he really wasn’t making any sense, but I remember Khaly saying the same thing last year. At one point Long started laughing and said Cho Con told him he needed to go to the bathroom. So Long put him in the stroller and said he would take him inside. But, a second later Long and Cho Con were back and Long told us that Cho Con said he wanted to go play with his friends and he would go the bathroom tomorrow. We all laughed at that! Needless to say it was a pretty crazy time outside and we were all ready for dinner time!
There were enough volunteers to feed the kids which was nice because I was able to take some pictures and scope out the scene. Mom ended up feeding the bipolar kid and she said he was great until he got upset, threw rice at her and punched her in the face (her glasses went flying). I am sad to report I did not witness this event.
It was another crazy, but, great day at the orphanage and after dropping off our stuff at the hotel we headed out to dinner. Since it was our last night in Saigon we also treated ourselves to a massage! I don’t think I have mentioned this but massages are $6 per person for an hour..which is a splurge in Vietnam but is NOTHING compared to at home!!!
When we finally made it back to the hotel room I was ready for bed, but I wasn’t so lucky! I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about my gym fiasco yet! Here is the story. I wanted to work out while in Saigon (I have a tendency to eat A LOT while traveling so I needed something to counter this..). I found a western gym and signed up so I could use it for the two weeks. They charged my credit card and we were good to go. However, (I check my credit card daily to make sure I don’t have any problems) I logged on last week and it said the gym charged me my fee (no problem) but they charged me a second time for $1,146. Yes, that’s US dollars, NOT OK! So I went to the gym and tried explaining it to the woman (who DID speak English) but she really did not seem to understand and kept saying, “You signed it, you know I didn’t charge you $1,146!” I explained that I know it was an accident but it needed to be taken off my credit card. The problem was it was the weekend (banks were closed) so she took my phone number and said she would take care of it. And that’s when it all began. In the course of the week this woman must have called me 60 times and I am NOT exaggerating. It is SO hard to understand her over the phone, but at first she would call to tell me she would take care of it (great!) Then she would call and say she was talking to the bank, etc. Then when I stopped by the gym to ask she talked about giving it to me in cash, but I said I didn’t want it in cash I just wanted it refunded. On Tuesday she called when I was with Long so I asked him if he would mind talking to her. He said that she said she couldn’t give it to me in cash (apparently she thought I wanted it in cash) but said the bank would refund it..perfect! I thought I was all set, until she called me Wednesday morning saying she had no idea I was so worried (yeah because $1,146 is chump change). Since all this was going on I contacted capital one to put in a formal dispute claim. They said they would mail something to my home address and I would need to mail it back or the claim would be dropped and considered closed. I emailed them back saying I was out of the country, to which they responded “call this number”..great! Wednesday night my gym lady had called me a bazillion times (I might be exaggerating on this one) and I honestly just didn’t feel like talking to her so she finally texted me and I thought that would be good because I could understand her. She said she had contacted the bank and gotten me the money. Now I did not want it in cash, but just wanted to be DONE with it, so we talked about meeting at the gym tomorrow to pick it up. Then I realized I had no idea if she meant USD or VND and when I asked she responded VND. This is when I started to get frustrated. I appreciated her trying, but we both knew I would be losing money if I got it in VND. I told her if she wanted to give me cash then she would have to do it in USD because that’s what I was charged. She said this wasn’t possible and then said we could go to the bank together to exchange it but I might lose money through the exchange (which I already knew). She said it would cost money to have it credited on my credit card. At this point I called capital one and went through about 4 different people trying to explain the situation and explain I wasn’t in the country to be able to check my mail (I did email to my dad to keep his eyes open, but they needed copies of my receipt that obviously isn’t at home). After what seemed like forever, I finally got a woman who said they would extend my deadline (I would have to fill out paperwork when I got home). I texted my gym lady to say I was going to deal with it with my credit card and they would credit it back, to which she responded, “goodnight”. Oh well, I just hate wasting this time dealing with something that isn’t my fault!!!
On that note, I am sad tomorrow is my last day in Vietnam, BUT I am excited because I know I will be back!
Hugs and kisses from our last full day in Vietnam!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Mekong Delta!
We woke up excited for our trip to the Mekong Delta today! After breakfast we were greeted by Long and a massive 12 seater passenger van. He said they didn’t have any smaller cars available so that would be it! We started the hour and a half drive to My Tho and actually spent a lot of the ride talking. It was very interesting to talk about Long’s views on the war and of Americans in general. It’s great because at this point we have a great relationship and can be very honest. We were commenting that we think Americans often come off arrogant, because, as a whole, we are (yes, we included ourselves in this) and he agreed, until he started giving tours. He said spending more time with tourists has helped him see that not everyone is like the “typical” American.
Our talk about the war was interesting as well. Long’s father is from North Vietnam (was in the army after the war) so his viewpoint comes from that of a northern Vietnamese. But he basically said he thought while the US said it wanted to help southern Vietnam, he believes it was very political. It still amazes me that they have no hard feelings towards Americans.
Another interesting thing we learned on the ride was how people are buried in the rice patties so the land will stay in the family. Mom commented how maybe she would be buried in the back yard so we’d never sell the house..we shall see about that!
We arrived and met up with a friend of Long’s (who is a local and gives tours). Long said he knows the information to give tours but really thinks it better to have a local. We took a beautiful, QUIET boat ride and it was so nice to be on the water and feel the breeze and not hear the sound of busses. We went to a coconut area, where they build a million things out of coconut, it was great! They can use every part of the coconut for something different and they use coconuts (and the tree) to build houses which is cool. We had some honey tea, which was just A LOT of honey and tea, but it was yummy.
We then took a local taxi (horse and carriage) which was exciting, although we felt bad for the poor horse that was obviously not use to Western woman. We had Long tell the horse (in Vietnamese) we were sorry for being so much bigger. It was funny because as we were experience the “old” life, the horse driver’s cell phone rang. So we had a bit of old and new. Our taxi dropped us off at a place where we had fresh fruit and listened to traditional music. The fruit was delicious, MUCH better than in the US!
We were then brought to a rowing boat, where a man rowed us down the river. We got to wear the hats Vietnamese women wear. Long’s family was saying we were so beautiful because our skin was so fair. Women are often covered up because they strive to have fair skin. Anyway our boat brought us to a place where they make coconut candy and Long fell in love with the coconut candy maker. We had to practically drag him away from her!
After watching how coconut candy is made (it’s like taffy) we went to lunch. It was interesting because they had it set up for just me and Mom, but we asked that Long and our guide (Duyen) join us! They did but said they were going to give us our privacy. I guess if you didn’t know your guide well it could have been awkward, but we consider them friends! I guess the waiter was asking Long where we were from and how he knew us and he said we were his friends. We had a MASSIVE lunch; they just kept bringing us MORE food. We felt awful because there was no way we could have eaten it all (even if it was American food). I made Long be honest with me and he did say they are upset (maybe that’s not the right word) when you don’t eat what they have prepared for you (basically when we didn’t eat much at his house). But, it was fun to sit down and talk as both Long and Duyen have a great sense of humor and I felt like I was talking to friends at home.
We then took our final boat road back to the dock where we said goodbye to Duyen (who invited us to her house for dinner, even though she has seen how little we eat). We got back in the car and Long gave us a quick Vietnamese lesson. He was teaching us the word “hoa” (flower) and depending on where you put the accent and say the word it can mean 5 different things (although all the words sounded the same to me)! I think the three of us were asleep within 5 minutes after our lesson.
We said goodbye to Long (until tomorrow) and after a quick rest stop, mom and I headed out to the market (which she hadn’t seen). However, neither of us are really “market” people (we don’t like hot, stinky aggressive vendors) so after a quick tour through we found a “western” ice cream shop and decided to stop in to cool down. We passed a sunglass vendor and I have wanted another pair, so I stopped to see what he had. I found a pair I liked and he got out his calculator (to start the negotiating) but I was shocked when he wrote down 2,200,000 VND which is about $100 dollars. I then realized he had designer sunglasses (I was holding a pair of Gucci) but they obviously aren’t real so I still don’t know why he started so high. Once I realized what I was dealing with I quickly put them back and said I was all set. Normally this would be the start of negotiating, but I really was NOT interested. I felt bad because the rule of thumb is if you’re not interested don’t start looking, but I didn’t know!
We went into the ice cream shop which was a “make your own sundae” and the ice cream was SO cold and yummy, I loved it! We sat down at a table and when I looked up the sunglass man was outside the window! I felt like I was being stalked! Again I felt bad because I really wasn’t interested at all in buying them but he kept standing there waving them at me. I felt trapped in the ice cream shop (worse places to be trapped I guess..) and when I saw him look the other way I told my mom to run and we were off! I did hear him yelling some number as we crossed the street. Oh well!
On our walk back we were fascinated with the traffic. There was a 12 seater passenger van going straight and there were a bunch of motorbikes coming perpendicular (it was an intersection) and NOBODY could move (I am still not sure why the van wasn’t moving). Anyway the whole thing was a mess (more than normal) and people were hitting their horns, etc. Finally we saw a cop in green (dark green, and its night out) with a baton (that barely lit up) trying to direct the traffic, although he did NOT seem to help at all! The big van managed to make it through, although everyone behind him had to wait through that round of their light. We couldn’t leave the scene JUST yet and it’s a good thing we didn’t because the SAME thing happened the next time, although this time it was a taxi van. We started wondering WHAT on earth the man in green was going to do to help this situation and THEN we saw he had backup! Not only was this traffic director in TAN but he had a HELMET! He came ready for battle! His baton still could have used some help, but I think his helmet showed he wasn’t messing around. Now not only was he faced with the traffic jam, he also had two kids trying to cross the street. I will admit, I was nervous for this guy, until I saw HE brought a friend, another tan man with a helmet! Now I KNEW everything was going to be ok! The tan men definitely took over to show the green guy how it was done and before we knew it traffic was flowing and the kids were on the other side of the street! AMAZING!
We then decided to go to Pizza Hut..I know, I know, but my mom will take full responsibility for this one in saying that it really was her idea as she wanted to know what to expect for dinner. They also have great wifi (the hotel’s is so spotty) so we were off to dinner at Pizza Hut! We both wanted cheese pizza (easy right?) but it seems like all they have is a cheese lover’s pizza (two kinds of cheese) but we just wanted regular cheese. This was much easier said than done because she didn’t seem to understand. Finally we had to explain to her we wanted the cheese lovers but with one tomato and one cheese. We ended up with cheese pizza so I guess it worked! She was so cute because she was running around all night trying so hard to make everyone happy! Although they kept running out of everything, so we kept hearing her say, “I’m so sorry, we are out of ____”. We figured they wouldn’t run out of cheese since they had extra cheese from both our pizzas!
We were tired when we came back and after well needed showers we crawled into bed!
Hugs and kisses from the Mekong Delta!
Our talk about the war was interesting as well. Long’s father is from North Vietnam (was in the army after the war) so his viewpoint comes from that of a northern Vietnamese. But he basically said he thought while the US said it wanted to help southern Vietnam, he believes it was very political. It still amazes me that they have no hard feelings towards Americans.
Another interesting thing we learned on the ride was how people are buried in the rice patties so the land will stay in the family. Mom commented how maybe she would be buried in the back yard so we’d never sell the house..we shall see about that!
We arrived and met up with a friend of Long’s (who is a local and gives tours). Long said he knows the information to give tours but really thinks it better to have a local. We took a beautiful, QUIET boat ride and it was so nice to be on the water and feel the breeze and not hear the sound of busses. We went to a coconut area, where they build a million things out of coconut, it was great! They can use every part of the coconut for something different and they use coconuts (and the tree) to build houses which is cool. We had some honey tea, which was just A LOT of honey and tea, but it was yummy.
We then took a local taxi (horse and carriage) which was exciting, although we felt bad for the poor horse that was obviously not use to Western woman. We had Long tell the horse (in Vietnamese) we were sorry for being so much bigger. It was funny because as we were experience the “old” life, the horse driver’s cell phone rang. So we had a bit of old and new. Our taxi dropped us off at a place where we had fresh fruit and listened to traditional music. The fruit was delicious, MUCH better than in the US!
We were then brought to a rowing boat, where a man rowed us down the river. We got to wear the hats Vietnamese women wear. Long’s family was saying we were so beautiful because our skin was so fair. Women are often covered up because they strive to have fair skin. Anyway our boat brought us to a place where they make coconut candy and Long fell in love with the coconut candy maker. We had to practically drag him away from her!
After watching how coconut candy is made (it’s like taffy) we went to lunch. It was interesting because they had it set up for just me and Mom, but we asked that Long and our guide (Duyen) join us! They did but said they were going to give us our privacy. I guess if you didn’t know your guide well it could have been awkward, but we consider them friends! I guess the waiter was asking Long where we were from and how he knew us and he said we were his friends. We had a MASSIVE lunch; they just kept bringing us MORE food. We felt awful because there was no way we could have eaten it all (even if it was American food). I made Long be honest with me and he did say they are upset (maybe that’s not the right word) when you don’t eat what they have prepared for you (basically when we didn’t eat much at his house). But, it was fun to sit down and talk as both Long and Duyen have a great sense of humor and I felt like I was talking to friends at home.
We then took our final boat road back to the dock where we said goodbye to Duyen (who invited us to her house for dinner, even though she has seen how little we eat). We got back in the car and Long gave us a quick Vietnamese lesson. He was teaching us the word “hoa” (flower) and depending on where you put the accent and say the word it can mean 5 different things (although all the words sounded the same to me)! I think the three of us were asleep within 5 minutes after our lesson.
We said goodbye to Long (until tomorrow) and after a quick rest stop, mom and I headed out to the market (which she hadn’t seen). However, neither of us are really “market” people (we don’t like hot, stinky aggressive vendors) so after a quick tour through we found a “western” ice cream shop and decided to stop in to cool down. We passed a sunglass vendor and I have wanted another pair, so I stopped to see what he had. I found a pair I liked and he got out his calculator (to start the negotiating) but I was shocked when he wrote down 2,200,000 VND which is about $100 dollars. I then realized he had designer sunglasses (I was holding a pair of Gucci) but they obviously aren’t real so I still don’t know why he started so high. Once I realized what I was dealing with I quickly put them back and said I was all set. Normally this would be the start of negotiating, but I really was NOT interested. I felt bad because the rule of thumb is if you’re not interested don’t start looking, but I didn’t know!
We went into the ice cream shop which was a “make your own sundae” and the ice cream was SO cold and yummy, I loved it! We sat down at a table and when I looked up the sunglass man was outside the window! I felt like I was being stalked! Again I felt bad because I really wasn’t interested at all in buying them but he kept standing there waving them at me. I felt trapped in the ice cream shop (worse places to be trapped I guess..) and when I saw him look the other way I told my mom to run and we were off! I did hear him yelling some number as we crossed the street. Oh well!
On our walk back we were fascinated with the traffic. There was a 12 seater passenger van going straight and there were a bunch of motorbikes coming perpendicular (it was an intersection) and NOBODY could move (I am still not sure why the van wasn’t moving). Anyway the whole thing was a mess (more than normal) and people were hitting their horns, etc. Finally we saw a cop in green (dark green, and its night out) with a baton (that barely lit up) trying to direct the traffic, although he did NOT seem to help at all! The big van managed to make it through, although everyone behind him had to wait through that round of their light. We couldn’t leave the scene JUST yet and it’s a good thing we didn’t because the SAME thing happened the next time, although this time it was a taxi van. We started wondering WHAT on earth the man in green was going to do to help this situation and THEN we saw he had backup! Not only was this traffic director in TAN but he had a HELMET! He came ready for battle! His baton still could have used some help, but I think his helmet showed he wasn’t messing around. Now not only was he faced with the traffic jam, he also had two kids trying to cross the street. I will admit, I was nervous for this guy, until I saw HE brought a friend, another tan man with a helmet! Now I KNEW everything was going to be ok! The tan men definitely took over to show the green guy how it was done and before we knew it traffic was flowing and the kids were on the other side of the street! AMAZING!
We then decided to go to Pizza Hut..I know, I know, but my mom will take full responsibility for this one in saying that it really was her idea as she wanted to know what to expect for dinner. They also have great wifi (the hotel’s is so spotty) so we were off to dinner at Pizza Hut! We both wanted cheese pizza (easy right?) but it seems like all they have is a cheese lover’s pizza (two kinds of cheese) but we just wanted regular cheese. This was much easier said than done because she didn’t seem to understand. Finally we had to explain to her we wanted the cheese lovers but with one tomato and one cheese. We ended up with cheese pizza so I guess it worked! She was so cute because she was running around all night trying so hard to make everyone happy! Although they kept running out of everything, so we kept hearing her say, “I’m so sorry, we are out of ____”. We figured they wouldn’t run out of cheese since they had extra cheese from both our pizzas!
We were tired when we came back and after well needed showers we crawled into bed!
Hugs and kisses from the Mekong Delta!
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