Dalat

Mon coup de coeur!

I arrived in Dalat just as the sun was setting. It is a small town by Vietnamese standards (population is about 350 000!), set amid mountains, at a very high altitude, which means that it's cold there! Ok, cold is a bit of an over-exaggeration since it's about 20 degrees, but to me it was a breath of fresh air. On top of the milder temperatures, the oppressing humidity has disappeared. I spent the better part of my first evening here just walking around, enjoying my ability to be outside without sweating. Delighting in wearing a light sweater. Realizing that I miss seeing mountains everyday; oh Vancouver, you spoil me so!

Equally refreshing is the attitude of the locals in Dalat. There doesn't seem to be a "tourist price" to everything. I don't spend most of my time avoiding scams and street vendors. It is possible to just sit in a coffee shop, enjoy a fruit shake, in blessed solitude. Plus, the fruit shake is made with local, as in from the farm 5 minutes away, fruit which is another perk. The weather around Dalat is such that the whole countryside is farm land interspersed with green houses growing flowers.

 Though this might not look all that picturesque, once you realize what the inside of these greenhouses look like, you become much more understanding!

 The best way to explore the highlands around Dalat is by motorbike, with a local guide called an Easy Rider. These locals know people all over the countryside and know pretty everything you might want to know. I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Sao, who I called Mr. Monkey-Man since he was simply hilarious. His English was impeccable and his knowledge of his country and agriculture was astounding. With him I visited a silk factory, noddle factory, coffee plantation, flower plantations, rice wine factory, a real pho restaurant, pagodas, waterfalls, vegetable farms, and the list goes on. At each of these spots he explained to me the process the farmers go through from seed to harvest, to how things are sold and distributed across Vietnam.

With his guidance I also go to try a variety of wines: rice wine (65% alcohol -- this was no sake!), snake wine (from a really disgusting looking fermenting plastic container), honey wine (very strong and weird smelling concoction), and strawberry wince (actually quite tasty, a relief that!). We also stopped at a fruit vendor where I got to sample everything she had to offer, a real treat for my sweet tooth! I had such a good time with Mr. Sao that I decided to splurge and go on a three day trip with him through the central highlands on the back of his bike. Can't wait!

Nha Trang

Short and sweet: I've moved on to another beach town: Nha Trang, and this one is full of life! Last night, on a whim I decided to go snorkeling today. What a treat! There was about 15 of us, on a big steady boat. The water was warm and a deep clear blue. The coral was shaky, but still clinging to life. The fish were abundant, varied, and very colorful. To top it all off, there was an Aussie sharing my boat who had an underwater camera! We all participated in a photoshoot, here's my under-water debut:

 

Two other tidbits: (1) seems I wasn't as thorough as I should have been... I found my camera! Now I have two. Hopefully I'll be able to return one. (2) There's Facebook on the hostel computer here! According to other travelers, most hostels have a secret way to get online... need to learn it for my netbook. Thoughts anyone?

Mui Ne

Beach time!! HCMC was busy and humid, so I decided to hop on a bus and head up the coast to Mui Ne. (As a side note: Vietnamese buses are amazing!! I will try to get a picture on my next bus trip. Comfort. Cheap. Roomy. Simply wow.)

I don't know how I feel about Mui Ne. It has the feeling of a ghost town. The beach is about 10 kms long and lovely, yet the strip of hotels and restaurants on it's side were completely empty. I was alone in my hotel for the first night, a very strange feeling. Eating alone is one of the most difficult things of traveling alone. Being the only customer makes things even harder. You feel like a lonely goldfish in it's bowl. I noticed that I wasn't the only one feeling this way. I would tend to go eat in a restaurant that had another tourist in it. Then, as the meal progressed, more and more groups would arrive. You'd feel like there was life in Mui Ne after all! However, at the end of the meal, you'd step out into an empty street and walk by empty restaurants all the way home. I know it's the low-season, but this was simply bizarre.

On a more cheerful note, I bought myself a new camera! (I forgot mine in Montreal.) A very friendly and helpful hotel employee directed me to what she called a supermarket called CoopMart. I took a local bus to get there and was surprised to see a three floor shopping center! New camera means pictures for you all -- finally! Here are some of Mui Ne beach, Fairy Stream (surrounded by red canyons and rhinestone), red sand dunes, and a couple typical Vietnamese fishing boats. The final picture is of a local fishing catch that happened right in from of my beachside bungalow!

 

 

Goodbye to Facebook!?

Being part of the "Facebook generation" I looked forward to changing my current location to Ho Chi Minh City first thing in the morning. To my utter surprise, that won't be possible. Why? Well apparently in Vietnam one cannot access Facebook! My next move was to sign into my blog and write about it, then comes my second big surprise: blogspot is also blocked! It's strange to be in a place where Internet is widely available yet restricted in this way. After pocking around for a couple days I finally figured out that I can in fact log into my blogger account, write a post and publish it, but I can't view my actual blog!? Strange world. I haven't been able to find a way to access Facebook though, so I might be forced into letting go of that particular addiction, at least for the next 3 months or so.

Meanwhile, I'm surviving the craziness of HCMC. There's a beautiful madness to the chaos really. Most streets have four marked lanes, two in each direction, one of which is for scooters and the other for cars and buses. It's organized, the traffic flow is impressive when compared to the Philippines. Yet, I've never been as scared to cross a street than here... And I remember getting my first lessons in extreme-street-crossing-techniques from my father when I was in Rome at the age of 10: "Look straight ahead, choose a speed, don't speed up, don't slow down, and never ever stop." During that same trip a car ran over my dad's toes. Scary business, but Rome's got nothing to HCMC. Still, I follow the advice and hold my breath.

Now, the account that you've all been expecting (and, admit it, waiting for): the food! In a word: amazing. I got my first taste of real Pho and Vietnamese subs, complete with my regular favorites of payaya shakes and lemonades. And croissants... real, buttery, melt in your mouth croissants... and those of you who know me, know that I am a croissant-snob, but I was blown away with the offerings here! Living up to it's reputation, Vietnamese food is above and beyond!

Off again!

It's been 14 months since I arrived at YVR, back from South-East Asia. As those who talked to me during those first few days back can attest, all I could talk about was going back. To Vietnam, and soon! Well here we are, back at YVR, one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City in hand, with that I'm-so-excited-and-nervous-that-I-may-throw-up feeling.

As I sit here waiting for my flight, I feel overwhelmed. I feel like I haven't stopped since I've been back. Eight months fundraising at Public Outreach, a Dathun, a semester of Mukpo Institute, three months back at Camp Ouareau. It's been quite the ride and I have to wonder if I'm ready to take on another challenge so fast. At the same time I feel as if every project I've undertaken in the last year has in some way help to prepare me for what's ahead. This trip is much bigger than the last, the projects I have will be taking much more of my time and will be much more challenging.More responsibility. It's a daunting thought. It's an exciting thought!

A bird's eye view of my plans:
2-3 weeks to get over jet lag, learn more Vietnamese (it's HARD!), and relax on a beach
2 months at an orphanage near HCMC/Saigon
5-6 weeks off to visit Cambodia and Laos
3-4 months helping to lead a Rose Vietnam project near Hue

But before any of that can happen, I have a 12 hour flight to Shanghai to survive! See you on the other side of the Pacific!