Monday, December 12, 2005
7th Dec - Journey to An Giang Province
I came to Vietnam on the 7th of December,2005. After arriving at the Ho Chi Minh (also known as Saigon) airport at 5.00pm, we took the 7pm bus to An Giang (pronounced 'An' as in 'un' in the 'bun', Giang=Ziang) province. The bus we took looked very much like a van. It could accomodate about 14 people. 2 in front , beside the driver, and the rest behind.
This bus is more expensive than the normal express bus. However,the rate is still cheaper than M'sia's.
The first thing I noticed in Vietnam was that the roads were designed for left hand drive. It took quite some time for me to get used to it. The road was also flooded with motorcycles. There are some sources that state that the population in Ho Chi Minh city alone is more than the population in the whole of Malaysia. Woah! So you can imagine the number of motorbikes on the road! It is definitely more than the bicycles in China!
Malaysian roads are relatively quiet compared to the roads in Vietnam. Drivers here love to use the horn. Thus, roads here are very noisy. People horn when they want to turn, when they meet slower vehicles, when they meet padestrians. All drivers want other vehicles to make way for them. So, the horn is used throughout the journey. Fortunately, the horn here is quite musical! It has many interesting sounds! Unlike the horn in M'sia's vehicles which produces only one musical note.
People here are also very patriotic. The flag of Vietnam is hung on almost all the shops in the city throughout the year, not only on Independence day. Along with the Vietnam Flag, the communist flag is also hung on the electricity and telephone poles by the roadside.
After about 3 hrs of sittin in the bus, we finally stopped to have dinner. I was introduced to the bitter gourd soup, in which there were fish , meat, mushroom and fungus stuffings in it. Barbequed pork was also served with rice. The best thing was, the whole meal cost only RM3.00! Woah! Real cheap!
As we ventured further and further from the city, rivers, wooden houses, and bridges began to emerge. The water level of the rivers here are really high. I was told that during monsoon seasons, the rivers would flood the whole region. and residents would have to shift to other higher areas. Most would have to rebuild their houses when the water subsides.
Finally , at exactly 12.a.m., we reached Nhung's house! Yeah!!!!!
7th Dec - Bananas
On the first day I arrived, I noticed these bunches of unripe bananas in the house. I didn't know what it was for. until later, I saw Ban wai (Grandma) pressing it flat and drying it under the sun.
Later, Nhung told me that it was to be put into the rice wine. It is drunk especially to cure back aches.
Pressed, dried, flat Bananas. after about 3 days of drying under the hot sun.
Later, Nhung told me that it was to be put into the rice wine. It is drunk especially to cure back aches.
Pressed, dried, flat Bananas. after about 3 days of drying under the hot sun.
10th Dec - Breakfast
Before the journey... we went for breakfast with Thu, Nhung's best friend.
For breakfast, we had steamed rice noodle (ban kung), like Chee cheong Fan.. but with taugeh, lots of vegetables, basil leaves, all raw, and pork. ham, and ehem.. ehem... raw pork.
This raw pork is wrapped in banana leaf. made with pork meat and pig skin! eeeew!!! oh! n i forgot.. pepper seed too!
A lot of Vietnamese food contains pepper. the Pepper here is especially fragrant! The smell of black peppper is much stronger than M'sia's. and the taste is stronger too! oh yes! the brown sauce in a bowl is fish sauce. It is sweet and eaten with everything here. just like the soya sauce. Very delicious! An Giang province is famous for the fish sauce too!
For breakfast, we had steamed rice noodle (ban kung), like Chee cheong Fan.. but with taugeh, lots of vegetables, basil leaves, all raw, and pork. ham, and ehem.. ehem... raw pork.
This raw pork is wrapped in banana leaf. made with pork meat and pig skin! eeeew!!! oh! n i forgot.. pepper seed too!
A lot of Vietnamese food contains pepper. the Pepper here is especially fragrant! The smell of black peppper is much stronger than M'sia's. and the taste is stronger too! oh yes! the brown sauce in a bowl is fish sauce. It is sweet and eaten with everything here. just like the soya sauce. Very delicious! An Giang province is famous for the fish sauce too!
10th Dec - Journey to the Mountains
While travelling from the city to the countryside, we stopped by for a drink. The country side we were at is near the Cambodian border. Thus, there are lots of Cambodians here. All of them can speak Vietnamese and Cambodian language. But, only a handful of the Vietnamese can understand the Cambodian language. ehhehe!
At this shop, i noticed that the people here still use wood as fuel !
Opposite the shop, was a temple.
and across the shop, I could take in all the mountains and fields! Woah!!!
Little did I know that this was the mountain that we were going to climb.
At this shop, i noticed that the people here still use wood as fuel !
Opposite the shop, was a temple.
and across the shop, I could take in all the mountains and fields! Woah!!!
Little did I know that this was the mountain that we were going to climb.
10th Dec - Oh!!!!No!!! Mountain Climbing!!!
On this day, Nhung proposed that we climb the mountain. She told me that it would take only an hour or so to reach the top. My athletic cells count being zero I was quite reluctant. The thought of all the sweat pouring down my body and all the energy i would need to muster up just to scale the mountain.. detered me from agreeing. But, when I thought of the amount of food htat I had consumed within the past 3 days, and how I have been eating and sleeping right after every meal, I just had to agree to her proposal, just to burn some of the fats I had accumulated. So, I jumped into the fire without knowing what I was getting into.
Initially, the climb was still OK. I could still cope with it. At the beginning, the foot of the hill was less steep. after about 15 minutes of climbing, we stopped to rest and enjoyed the view. We also had oranges, ham, bread... just like a picnic. Ahh..! This is fun! I thought!
Just look at the view from the mountain! the paddy fields, some green, growing with strong, healthy paddy, while some fields are flooded with the river water.. does look like the ocean, doens't it?
After resting, we resumed our climbing. hoh! Then we began to scale rocks, big , huge rocks! and tree trunks.. and muddy earth. huhuhu! all of them climbed so fast. (they must be seasoned climbers, or must love climbing a lot!) and i began panting... ohhh! my lungs were going to burst! I really felt like crying and regretted every inch of my decision to agree with Nhung. huhuhuhu! "What have I gotten myself into, this time?" I thought. I could neither go up, nor go down.
Nhung kept asking me, "are you still alive, Jean?"
My Initial answer was, "yup! absolutel!"
Then came the tired, "huh? yes, i can still continue!"
Until i could not cope anymore, i just had to use my hand to wave it at her.. indicating.. no ! no! am gonna die soon! somebody, help me out here!
Then, after about half an hr.. while we were resting on some big gigantic rocks, some people on motorbikes came. Pressing the accelerator ( do bikes have acelerators?).. burning fuel in their engines, they kept producing this "Broom! Broom! " sounds,, like they were going to race. and all of them stopped near the rocks. I was curious. So, I asked Nhung, "what are they doing? Why are they loitering around here? bring ing this bikes up in the mountains, are they crazy? we had to scale those rocks to climb up here, and here they come, using motorbikes! " in the mountains! Can you imagine?
Nhung replied with an amused tone, "These bikes are meant for people like you!hahahha! " and she laughed and laughed. "Do you want to ride one to reach the top?"
oh no! the thought of riding a motorbike up these roads? was even scarier! and I thought it would be much safer to walk than to ride on one of thse monstrous vehicles. Besides, I would be saving the environment, less polluted air, less smoke contributed.
Finally, after bout 2 hours of climbing, we finally reached the top! I thought it would be a peak, like the tip of the ice-berg, where one would see the full view of the countryside. But, it turned out to b a flat peak, with lots of flat land to build houses, dig trenches etc. just like in the town. ahh.. this is one weird peak. There were lots of construction going on. and i thought.. Hmm.. this had better be good.
Suddenly, as we walked.. i noticed there were more developed shops and houses ! Yeah!!! back to civilization! A chinese proverb suddenly struck me, "liu an hua ming you yi chun".. meanin.. after going through one village, then u come to another village. a more beautiful village.
I was so taken in with the view and I walked happily along the road. laughing all the way...
Suddenly, Nhung pointed out to my right and said, "Jean!Look! "
Wow! Impressive!
Looks like there is a Buddha floating in the midst of the trees! woah!!!!
Never in my life would I imagine being able to see this!I thought it could happen only in movies! Where the Buddha comes or the Goddes of Mercy comes, sitting on a cloud, talking the the Monkey God. Wow!!!
Fascinating!
Nhung and me!
Up Close!
Initially, the climb was still OK. I could still cope with it. At the beginning, the foot of the hill was less steep. after about 15 minutes of climbing, we stopped to rest and enjoyed the view. We also had oranges, ham, bread... just like a picnic. Ahh..! This is fun! I thought!
Just look at the view from the mountain! the paddy fields, some green, growing with strong, healthy paddy, while some fields are flooded with the river water.. does look like the ocean, doens't it?
After resting, we resumed our climbing. hoh! Then we began to scale rocks, big , huge rocks! and tree trunks.. and muddy earth. huhuhu! all of them climbed so fast. (they must be seasoned climbers, or must love climbing a lot!) and i began panting... ohhh! my lungs were going to burst! I really felt like crying and regretted every inch of my decision to agree with Nhung. huhuhuhu! "What have I gotten myself into, this time?" I thought. I could neither go up, nor go down.
Nhung kept asking me, "are you still alive, Jean?"
My Initial answer was, "yup! absolutel!"
Then came the tired, "huh? yes, i can still continue!"
Until i could not cope anymore, i just had to use my hand to wave it at her.. indicating.. no ! no! am gonna die soon! somebody, help me out here!
Then, after about half an hr.. while we were resting on some big gigantic rocks, some people on motorbikes came. Pressing the accelerator ( do bikes have acelerators?).. burning fuel in their engines, they kept producing this "Broom! Broom! " sounds,, like they were going to race. and all of them stopped near the rocks. I was curious. So, I asked Nhung, "what are they doing? Why are they loitering around here? bring ing this bikes up in the mountains, are they crazy? we had to scale those rocks to climb up here, and here they come, using motorbikes! " in the mountains! Can you imagine?
Nhung replied with an amused tone, "These bikes are meant for people like you!hahahha! " and she laughed and laughed. "Do you want to ride one to reach the top?"
oh no! the thought of riding a motorbike up these roads? was even scarier! and I thought it would be much safer to walk than to ride on one of thse monstrous vehicles. Besides, I would be saving the environment, less polluted air, less smoke contributed.
Finally, after bout 2 hours of climbing, we finally reached the top! I thought it would be a peak, like the tip of the ice-berg, where one would see the full view of the countryside. But, it turned out to b a flat peak, with lots of flat land to build houses, dig trenches etc. just like in the town. ahh.. this is one weird peak. There were lots of construction going on. and i thought.. Hmm.. this had better be good.
Suddenly, as we walked.. i noticed there were more developed shops and houses ! Yeah!!! back to civilization! A chinese proverb suddenly struck me, "liu an hua ming you yi chun".. meanin.. after going through one village, then u come to another village. a more beautiful village.
I was so taken in with the view and I walked happily along the road. laughing all the way...
Suddenly, Nhung pointed out to my right and said, "Jean!Look! "
Wow! Impressive!
Looks like there is a Buddha floating in the midst of the trees! woah!!!!
Never in my life would I imagine being able to see this!I thought it could happen only in movies! Where the Buddha comes or the Goddes of Mercy comes, sitting on a cloud, talking the the Monkey God. Wow!!!
Fascinating!
Nhung and me!
Up Close!
10th Dec - If you search hard enough, You will be rewarded
As I complained to Nhung, how tough the journey up the mountain was, Nhung explained to me, "the tougher the climb is for you, the more it shows how faithful you are in going to the temple just to pray to the Buddha. " Ahhh.. I finally understood.
In Vietnam, a lot of pagodas and temples are built on the hills and mountains by devotees just to show their faith and their earnest yearning to worship Buddha.
A monk cleaning the bannister of the pagoda.
The temple.
Flowers in the compounds of the temple.
In Vietnam, a lot of pagodas and temples are built on the hills and mountains by devotees just to show their faith and their earnest yearning to worship Buddha.
A monk cleaning the bannister of the pagoda.
The temple.
Flowers in the compounds of the temple.
10th Dec - Why are Sea Coconuts thus named ?
11th Dec - Oh!! I'm gonna miss the countryside~!
Water lilies are a common sight in d rivers in Vietnam. In the village, people like to plant water lilies on the water too. and in the lake.. there will be lots of fishes swimming happily in it. gold fish, river fish.. watever fish u ca n name.
This is a tangerine. or in m'sia, known as asam.there are 2 kinds.sweet and sour. This is d sweet kind. The sour variety is soaked in sugar and dried and eaten. or sometimes it is dried and it is put into soup, boiled to produce its sour taste.
in the countryside, i got d opportunity to see pigs! real live pigs!! pigs are really dirty creatures. they ahve to be cleaned every single day. otherwise, they will smell terribly. The people who own pigs often go around from house to house collecting burnt rice or unwanted food and feed it to d pigs.
Females and males are often reared separately by different owners. Male pigs have a high sex drive. Thus, they are usually brought around by their owners to the owners who rear only the female pig,the sow, to mate. people make a living by rearing either only d female or the male.
This is a garden in the countryside, in one of the villages. behind me is a bamboo tree. since young, i have been fascinated with bamboo trees. When studying mandarin proverbs, we always learn about bamboo. When watching kung fu movies, we always see the bamboo as the background too! so naturally, when I saw the bamboo, i was so fascinated with it.
Bamboo is often identified with the Vietnamese. According to Quynh, it is because even though the bamboo is soft, and bends easily, but it does not break easily. it is strong and stands up straight, signifying the Vietnamese spirit .
This is 1 of the rare flowers i found growin in d garden.
Vietnam is divided into the South and the North region. People from these 2 regions differ greatly. The South people prefer their things sweet, while the North people prefer their food with more salt. In the North, the eldest son is considered the first and carries the responsibility of looking after the family. But in the South, the eldest son is considered as the second child. His brothers and sisters will call him 'anh hai' (anh means brother, hai means second). and the youngest child is given the responsibility of looking after the whole family.
11th Dec - Fruits and Vegetables! Just in Vietnam!
An Giang province is famous for agrigulture. (further information can be obtained here(1)
and here (2)). Its fruits and crops are abundant here. Vegetables here are sold in a bunch for only RM0.50. Really cheap.
This is a persimmon . It looks like a tomato but it doesn't taste like one. It is sweet . the skin is hard, and the inside of the fruit is dividedinto 2 layers. the outer layer is really soft, as soft as jelly, while the inner layer is hard. Once you bite onto the seed, the inner layer.. you will always yearn for another bite. In M'sia, we always get the hard, orange version. the exact opposite.
This is another fruit which can only be found in Vietnam. ItsVietnamese name is 'Ve She' (Breast Milk). According to Quynh, this fruit has a legend to it. Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was playing in his house. one day, he got really bored, so he decided to venture outside the compounds of his house. His mother searched for him everywhere within the compounds and din't know that he had ventured out, but failed to find him. Finally, she died and turned into a tree.After a long time, they boy came back,searching for his mother.Tired, he laid under the tree to rest and the fruit just dropped down onto his knees. When he opened it, it was just like his mother's milk.
In Vietnam, at any cafe, wherever you go, each time you order a drink, another tea pot will always be present on the table to enable you to refill your cup after you've finished your drink.
The night scene in An Giang province i s just beautiful! Even the church is lighted up the in the night!
(***interesting note: the traffic light's stop sign is also a symbol of cross)
(***and the traffic light's green sign has an animation of a truck with its wheels rolling)
The picture below... is another common sight in An Giang province. rivers, boats and houses along the river. one thing that amazes me most is the length and width of these rivers! woah!!! They are super long and super wide!
and here (2)). Its fruits and crops are abundant here. Vegetables here are sold in a bunch for only RM0.50. Really cheap.
This is a persimmon . It looks like a tomato but it doesn't taste like one. It is sweet . the skin is hard, and the inside of the fruit is dividedinto 2 layers. the outer layer is really soft, as soft as jelly, while the inner layer is hard. Once you bite onto the seed, the inner layer.. you will always yearn for another bite. In M'sia, we always get the hard, orange version. the exact opposite.
This is another fruit which can only be found in Vietnam. ItsVietnamese name is 'Ve She' (Breast Milk). According to Quynh, this fruit has a legend to it. Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was playing in his house. one day, he got really bored, so he decided to venture outside the compounds of his house. His mother searched for him everywhere within the compounds and din't know that he had ventured out, but failed to find him. Finally, she died and turned into a tree.After a long time, they boy came back,searching for his mother.Tired, he laid under the tree to rest and the fruit just dropped down onto his knees. When he opened it, it was just like his mother's milk.
In Vietnam, at any cafe, wherever you go, each time you order a drink, another tea pot will always be present on the table to enable you to refill your cup after you've finished your drink.
The night scene in An Giang province i s just beautiful! Even the church is lighted up the in the night!
(***interesting note: the traffic light's stop sign is also a symbol of cross)
(***and the traffic light's green sign has an animation of a truck with its wheels rolling)
The picture below... is another common sight in An Giang province. rivers, boats and houses along the river. one thing that amazes me most is the length and width of these rivers! woah!!! They are super long and super wide!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
12th Dec - An Giang, Good bye!!!!!
Today, Nhung sent me off at the bus stop. Before we left, her dad , brothers and mother sent their regards to me. Her mom even gave me 3 Vietnamese jagung and 2 oranges to fill my stomach on d long journey later (6 hrs on d bus).
Along the way.. I knew i would be going to the city, leaving this peaceful, serene and picturesque city. It feels so untouched by the outside world. An Giang is still a clean city. People here are really friendly and makes me feel very welcomed. The neighbourhood knows each other and greet each other every morning. This makes our day even brighter and merrier.
Oh!!! I am going to miss the vast , green paddy fields. This can only be found in the countryside.
I'm gonna miss all the rivers and bridges too!
This 'food' hanging from the bicycle is a sort of rice dumpling. Made from glutinous rice, it contains pork too!
Guess what? The green packets of things u see hanging in the shop.. is wrapped like a ketupat. But inside, it contains raw, fermented pork. Wrapped in banana leaf. Square shaped. The fermented pork is pink and is also made from the skin of a pig!
This is a traditional bridge across the river. There are many kinds of traditional bridges. Some are built just like a platform . no bars by the side for support. Some are built with gates across it, just like this one. While some, consist of just a single pole for walking and two poles by the side for support. hoh!
Along the way.. I knew i would be going to the city, leaving this peaceful, serene and picturesque city. It feels so untouched by the outside world. An Giang is still a clean city. People here are really friendly and makes me feel very welcomed. The neighbourhood knows each other and greet each other every morning. This makes our day even brighter and merrier.
Oh!!! I am going to miss the vast , green paddy fields. This can only be found in the countryside.
I'm gonna miss all the rivers and bridges too!
This 'food' hanging from the bicycle is a sort of rice dumpling. Made from glutinous rice, it contains pork too!
Guess what? The green packets of things u see hanging in the shop.. is wrapped like a ketupat. But inside, it contains raw, fermented pork. Wrapped in banana leaf. Square shaped. The fermented pork is pink and is also made from the skin of a pig!
This is a traditional bridge across the river. There are many kinds of traditional bridges. Some are built just like a platform . no bars by the side for support. Some are built with gates across it, just like this one. While some, consist of just a single pole for walking and two poles by the side for support. hoh!
12th Dec - 'Age of Empires'
Along the way, from An Giang to Ho Chi Minh.. I was impressed and amazed by what I saw from the windows of the bus. I felt as if I was living in one of the games my brothers and my friend, Kai San used to play. The "Age of Empires". People here who widen the roads still use charcoal to heat up the tar in big, cyclindrical tanks. And they still use spades and shovels and their own bare hands to cover the roads with stones as a base.
This scene reminded me of the little huts that villagers lived in, in the game. Ah! Surprise! Surprise! It turned out to be a brick factory. : )
This is charcoal, made from wood. ;) To me, from the window of the van, it looked like fishing nets. oh yes.. Some of the people here still use charcoal as fuel.
This scene reminded me of the little huts that villagers lived in, in the game. Ah! Surprise! Surprise! It turned out to be a brick factory. : )
This is charcoal, made from wood. ;) To me, from the window of the van, it looked like fishing nets. oh yes.. Some of the people here still use charcoal as fuel.
This is the famous hanging bridge in An Giang province. Ahh.. looks like the Penang Bridge, doesn't it?
View from the bridge..
In Ho ChiMinh city, it is impossible to travel without a trusty vehicle-motorbike. People from all places often carry their motorbikes on the bus, like this picture, to the city and use it as their main transport. A bike made in Vietnam costs only about RM2000, while a bike made in Japan costs about RM 6000.
14th Dec - I'm going to the Beach (x3) !!
Yeah! Yeah!! After staying in the house in HCM City for 2 days, I'm so happy i'm going to the beach!!! Finally! yea yea h yeah!!! at 10.30am, we left for the bus station. Sitting on a motorbike, I began to wonder how the beach would look like. Would it be like Pulau Redang? Or just like Teluk Batik? Or. like Pangkor Island? ahhaha.... Really looking forward to going to the beach...
at about 2.00pm, we finall reach Vung Tau.. a town near the beach. This town contains oil terminals. Many petroleum companies invest in this area, for example Haliburton and Schluberger. There is even a platform offshore of this town. Ahh ahh.. it reminds me very much of Bintulu. (though I haven't been there before either).
At about 2.30 pm.. we reached the Juniour's house. While we waited for her to prepare the food, I began looking at her garden. There was a mango tree, vegetable garden.. and a swing within her house compound. Wah! In her neighbour's house, there was this tree full of mangoes! All of them looked ripe for plucking to me. (though they told me it wasn't ripe yet) haha! It looked so juicy, and plump! All of them were like shouting to me, "pluck me ! Pluck me!" ahhahahah.... Another friend commented, "Hey! Hey.. this is not the kampung ya! you just cannot simply pluck fruits from the tree of others!" eheheh.... (sheepish laughter followed after)
In the night, we went out to the beach for a walk.. saw dancing fountains.. water display.. fishing boats on the sea...
We also went to the Vietnamese cafe for a drink. I heard that Vietnam was famous for its coffee. So, I decided to try it out. Actually, I dislike coffee. It is bitter, dilute, and reminds me of the suffering in this world. Besides, each time after I drink coffee, I have a tendency to develop sore-throat. But, I just tried it out anyway. Just for the sake of tryin.
and My! I never regret that decision! The moment I put the coffee to my lips, I could feel the coffee melting in my mouth! Oooooooh!!!! This is better than hot chocolate! Imagine the thick, creamy, bitter-sweet feeling lingering in your mouth.. flowing down your throat... oooooh!!! Such a heavenly feeling!! For the very first time, I fell in love with coffee. Now,, I'll be a true coffee lover forever ! and Nescafe? ! It can't even be termed as 'coffee'. What is it but water and 1ppm of coffee powder? No match for the pure, coffee beans, I must say!
That day, I went to bed, feeling such bliss and joy! Like a child who found her favourite toy, I finally found my 'calling' to love coffee! I was so excited! Wah wah! Where else in this world can one find such a delicious drink? Ahhh... In many more places , I suppose. This is only the beginning of a quest to taste all the coffee in this world, to see which is the best. But, believe me! I will never forget my first taste of pure coffee beans.
at about 2.00pm, we finall reach Vung Tau.. a town near the beach. This town contains oil terminals. Many petroleum companies invest in this area, for example Haliburton and Schluberger. There is even a platform offshore of this town. Ahh ahh.. it reminds me very much of Bintulu. (though I haven't been there before either).
At about 2.30 pm.. we reached the Juniour's house. While we waited for her to prepare the food, I began looking at her garden. There was a mango tree, vegetable garden.. and a swing within her house compound. Wah! In her neighbour's house, there was this tree full of mangoes! All of them looked ripe for plucking to me. (though they told me it wasn't ripe yet) haha! It looked so juicy, and plump! All of them were like shouting to me, "pluck me ! Pluck me!" ahhahahah.... Another friend commented, "Hey! Hey.. this is not the kampung ya! you just cannot simply pluck fruits from the tree of others!" eheheh.... (sheepish laughter followed after)
In the night, we went out to the beach for a walk.. saw dancing fountains.. water display.. fishing boats on the sea...
We also went to the Vietnamese cafe for a drink. I heard that Vietnam was famous for its coffee. So, I decided to try it out. Actually, I dislike coffee. It is bitter, dilute, and reminds me of the suffering in this world. Besides, each time after I drink coffee, I have a tendency to develop sore-throat. But, I just tried it out anyway. Just for the sake of tryin.
and My! I never regret that decision! The moment I put the coffee to my lips, I could feel the coffee melting in my mouth! Oooooooh!!!! This is better than hot chocolate! Imagine the thick, creamy, bitter-sweet feeling lingering in your mouth.. flowing down your throat... oooooh!!! Such a heavenly feeling!! For the very first time, I fell in love with coffee. Now,, I'll be a true coffee lover forever ! and Nescafe? ! It can't even be termed as 'coffee'. What is it but water and 1ppm of coffee powder? No match for the pure, coffee beans, I must say!
That day, I went to bed, feeling such bliss and joy! Like a child who found her favourite toy, I finally found my 'calling' to love coffee! I was so excited! Wah wah! Where else in this world can one find such a delicious drink? Ahhh... In many more places , I suppose. This is only the beginning of a quest to taste all the coffee in this world, to see which is the best. But, believe me! I will never forget my first taste of pure coffee beans.
15th Dec - Yeah! Sight seeing! Finally!
This mornin, when I woke up, the weather was just beautiful!Weather was not too hot, and not too cold. When I awoke, everybody was still asleep, except for the family members of the host. All of them had already left the house for school and work by 7am. And so,,, I just walked around the compound of the house, enjoying the fresh air and the crowing of chickens.
Suddenly, the juniour (the host) invited me out for a walk around the residential area. Then we came across her high school. Female students aged 16-18 wore their traditional costume 'ao yai' to school. Ohhh.. all of them looked so attractive in their silky 'ao yai'.
At about 10am, we went sight seeing around the island. The first place we visited was the Statue of Jesus on top of a mountain. Again, we had to climb for half an hour to reach the foot of the statue. "Ahh.! This is not so bad! " , I thought. (The last time I climbed, I had to climb for 3 hours just to reach the peak. )
Then, we climbed into the statue of a height of 36metres. and reached its shoulder. The wind was so strong, that we could almost feel the statue vibrating a little.
This is the view from the shoulder of the statue of Jesus.
The figure on the left depicts the 'stength' of the wind. Even this tree had to bend 10 degrees... As we stood on the shoulder of the statue, we felt as if the wind would blow us away. We fought hard to stand firm on the ground.
At 3pm, we visited the pagoda, near the fishing villages. The flowers there were especially bright! Take this flower for example. In Malaysia, though we have this kind of flower, but its colour is not as bright as this. I swear! This place is like Genting Highlands!
The grounds of the pagoda were big! There were so many places for Buddhists to worship!
This is the magnificent view of the fishing boats at one of the pagodas.
A rare, red insect I spotted on a rock.
One of the Pagodas.
In the night, we went to karaoke to celebrate our last night at Vung Tau. Ahhh.. In Vietnam, the karaoke outlets serve all the sour fruits (eg. grapes, apples,small sour cherries, guava, etc) to the 'singers'.
***Sour fruits are supposed to make you sing better and make you sound sweeter, so you won't croak like a frog. heheheh!
I absolutely enjoyed myself that night! I have never enjoyed singing so much! That was the day I decided that "Hey! Singing is fun after all!" .. I went to bed that night, amazed by the fact that I had indeed loved singing ...
Suddenly, the juniour (the host) invited me out for a walk around the residential area. Then we came across her high school. Female students aged 16-18 wore their traditional costume 'ao yai' to school. Ohhh.. all of them looked so attractive in their silky 'ao yai'.
At about 10am, we went sight seeing around the island. The first place we visited was the Statue of Jesus on top of a mountain. Again, we had to climb for half an hour to reach the foot of the statue. "Ahh.! This is not so bad! " , I thought. (The last time I climbed, I had to climb for 3 hours just to reach the peak. )
Then, we climbed into the statue of a height of 36metres. and reached its shoulder. The wind was so strong, that we could almost feel the statue vibrating a little.
This is the view from the shoulder of the statue of Jesus.
The figure on the left depicts the 'stength' of the wind. Even this tree had to bend 10 degrees... As we stood on the shoulder of the statue, we felt as if the wind would blow us away. We fought hard to stand firm on the ground.
At 3pm, we visited the pagoda, near the fishing villages. The flowers there were especially bright! Take this flower for example. In Malaysia, though we have this kind of flower, but its colour is not as bright as this. I swear! This place is like Genting Highlands!
The grounds of the pagoda were big! There were so many places for Buddhists to worship!
This is the magnificent view of the fishing boats at one of the pagodas.
A rare, red insect I spotted on a rock.
One of the Pagodas.
In the night, we went to karaoke to celebrate our last night at Vung Tau. Ahhh.. In Vietnam, the karaoke outlets serve all the sour fruits (eg. grapes, apples,small sour cherries, guava, etc) to the 'singers'.
***Sour fruits are supposed to make you sing better and make you sound sweeter, so you won't croak like a frog. heheheh!
I absolutely enjoyed myself that night! I have never enjoyed singing so much! That was the day I decided that "Hey! Singing is fun after all!" .. I went to bed that night, amazed by the fact that I had indeed loved singing ...
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