South again

Vietnam National Day (2 September) was on Friday this year, giving us a chance to take another short trip. Bảo had been thinking recently about his great-uncle, who is a great favourite with his family and the only sibling of his mother's mother still living. That settled it - we were heading south again, to Sóc Trang province.

The only difficulty with this idea? I was teaching on Thursday evening, which limited our choices in departure times and bus operators . In the end we opted for Hòa Hiệp company, leaving Vũng Tàu at 3.00am the next day. Sadly, this was not such a good choice. Knowing already that it would not be air-conditioned, we turned up at the bus station at 2.30am to discover it was a rather small vehicle that would become vastly overcrowded once we set out. Oh well, it served the purpose and delivered us to Sóc Trang city by 11.00am. And at least we had real seats instead of plastic stools.

There we ate lunch while waiting to meet one of Bảo's numerous cousins, who helped to engage two xe ôm drivers to take us to our real destination of Kế Sách district and the village home of great-uncle, his wife, sons and daughters and grand-children. (In the picture on the left Bảo is the same generation as the young girl - the woman is her mother.) It took a bit of asking to find the house, but it seems most people know great-uncle. Later we were to discover this is in at least part due to his skills/reputation as a traditional healer. I soon discovered why great-uncle is such a favourite with his family. His personality is so expansive and engaging, and at 85 he is still lively and active. I feel honoured to have been received into his home.

After dinner that night one of the uncles took us to drink coffee and then to eat bánh xeo miền tây. Walking back home he also pointed out some of the features of the village which sits at the junction of a river and one of the branches of the Mekong. The next morning we had breakfast of bún mắm in the market with uncle and great-uncle, who then took us on a walking tour of the village centre and the pagoda. Here we met the monk and found out about the work being done to renovate rooms behind the pagoda where old people with no family can come to live. The big community room behind the pagoda has many brightly coloured pictures of the various Buddhist hells.

Then uncle took us across the river (Mekong) to the island where he is a teacher. Here we visited many houses of colleagues and friends, drinking a huge assortment of beverages ranging from coconut juice to beer and coconut wine to iced coffee and nước ngọt. It reached the stage where we could hear the ice being chopped up at the next house and had to request "no more, sorry!".

Back at great-uncle's house we ate lunch and then met more family members, this time including the son of another deceased great-uncle, who of course Bảo should properly call "uncle" even though he is 7 years younger. They did do this when they were boys, but now the uncle calls Bảo "anh". While everyone talked I looked around the grounds of the house more, discovering the range of fruit trees, and learning that the tidal patterns of the Mekong are the reason that most houses in the delta stand on tiny islands surrounded by ponds. This had always been a mystery to me. By the way the scullery of the house is outside over one of the ponds and this is also where we brushed our teeth.

That evening we returned to stay at Sóc Trang, before venturing on the next day to Bạc Liêu, where (you guessed it) there was another cousin to meet and take us around. The idea was to hire him and his friend (they are both xe ôm drivers) to take us around but at the end of the day the cousin steadfastly refused to accept payment. Thank you so much for welcoming us!

Our first destination was a town half way to Cà Mau, the southern-most province/city of Vietnam. Here there is a huge - I mean gi-normous - church as well as a museum and chapel dedicated to the most famous priest of the area. From there we turned back towards Bạc Liêu before leaving the highway and travelling several kilometres through farmland to reach a large temple complex dedicated to Quan Am. At this point we were now almost at the sea, although I didn't realise it. Bảo relayed to me that in the living past the land where the temple now is was on the coast, yet all we could see in front of us was more land and then mangroves. It wasn't until we crossed a small river just to the north of the temple that I understood and truly appreciated the extent to which Vietnam is visibly growing each year as the Mekong deposits more and more silt into the ocean.
On the way back into the city we had time to visit the Bird Sanctuary. Looking at my road map book for Vietnam I now know there are a number of bird reserves in these southern-most provinces, established in mangrove areas and providing sanctuary for an abundance of water-birds, including herons and cormorants. Really the birds are free to come and go, but there is also a large netted area to give them safe haven, along with ground-dwellers, and we were in time to see some of the birds being fed.

Our final destinations were 1) the tomb of a very famous cai lương song-writer and singer. This style of music is the traditional one for the south but is not to everyone's taste! 2) the mansion of a man reputed (still) as the richest man in Bạc Liêu. A good place to read about both of these tourist features of the city is here.

Then all too soon our time was up, and it was time to travel 10 hours back to Vũng Tàu. Again not without its surprises. The manager of the hotel we stayed at in Bạc Liêu recommended using her friend's private transport service to get back to Hồ Chí Minh City. No problems there and it was a smooth trip using the new freeway alternative to highway one. However, we were dropped off a long distance from Bến Xe Miên Đông, and had to take a local bus - a new experience for me - from outside Đam Sen water park to reach the bus station.

Weekend Trip

After close to 3 years, I no longer work on weekends! And that gives a chance to take weekend trips away on the motorbike + Monday if Bảo can have the day off. Our first destination: Phan Thiết, about 170 kilometres up the coast from Vũng Tàu. Mũi Né,- fishing village cum major tourist destination, is just a bit further from there (went there with David back at the beginning of 2009).

We worked out from looking at the map and advice from colleagues (Bảo's and mine) that we would not have to venture onto national highway 1 at all for the trip - a great bonus to stay away from the traffic. The route took us from Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province, via Long Hải and Bình Châu into neighbouring Bình Thuận province, travelling parallel to the coastline to La Gi where there is an option to turn inland to highway 1. Instead we took the lesser road sticking with the coastline and travelling past what appear to be volcanic mountains and through the thanh long (dragon fruit) fields to the village of Kê Gà. Here we stopped - literally on the beach - to take a (still distant) look at the lighthouse, before continuing on in the southern approach to Phan Thiết city. This road in is also in the throes of resort development but hopefully will remain much more restrained than Hàm Tiên/Mũi Né.

As regular readers know already, Bảo has contacts everywhere! Phan Thiết is no different where one of his former colleagues from Kinh Đô company (Tây Ninh days) now lives with his young family. He helped us find a reasonably priced hotel in the city, next door to Co-opMart, and we met a couple of times more during the weekend for coffee, etc.

In the afternoon we tackled highway 1 so as to drive back out of the city to one of the biggest mountains in the area, Núi Tà Cũ. Bảo's previous visit was on pilgrimage when he climbed up the mountain at night so as to reach the pagoda by midnight. This time we had the cable car available to us - it leaves Vũng Tàu's in shame incidentally for length and price and it took us up one high slope and then partly down the next one to reach the pagoda complex. From here we could also look back to the coastline along which we had ridden earlier in the day. The photo shows clear weather, but this is rainy season and it set in with a heavy downpour on the ride back to Phan Thiết.

The next day we decided to head north to Mũi Né. Properly speaking all the development is in Hàm Tiên village rather than Mũi Né, but for some reason it's the second name that has stuck. I thought it was getting over-developed last time I was here; now it's just kilometres of resorts and hotels, with the beach getting eroded by the sea and the water itself polluted by the thrill-seekers on sea-doos. Very disappointing and we would have been better to stick to Phan Thiết beach ...

On the way back we stopped to take a look at Po Shanu Cham towers, a simple vestige of three Cham-era towers on a headland. Compared to other sites in the central-south of Vietnam, or at My Sơn, the towers are nothing much but the setting is still peaceful and beautiful.

Monday came it and was time to retrace our steps home.

Phu Quoc

Phú Quốc is a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing island in the very south of Vietnam, almost closer to Cambodia than it is to mainland Vietnam. You can reach it by high-speed or slower boats or plane, and many people in Vietnam and from abroad do choose to come here. Yet despite it's popularity it remains relatively quiet and it is not (yet) over-developed as a travel destination. Perhaps one reason is that the airstrip is small, only Turbo-props and the like can land/take-off from here.

Last year, Bảo and I were almost within striking distance of Phú Quốc when we trekked south to Rạch Gía and Hà Tiên on the April/May national holidays. This year, together with An, and aided by the decision of Vietnam Airlines to put on additional flights, we took the extra step ...

... staying in a small, beachside resort along Long Beach. It wasn't plush and wide like it's neighbours but it was comfortable and clean and the right price for our collective budget. It was also just a couple of kilometres south of the main town, Dương Đông, a walkable distance.

On our first afternoon/evening we tried out the beach, encountering the first of many jellyfish that would be part of our visit. Then we walked into town to take a look at what is translated to English as Cau Castle, but which is in fact a tiny lighthouse combined with a temple dedicated to the goddess of the sea, and standing at the entrance to Dương Đông port. It is also adjacent to the town beach, which was crowded with swimmers, walkers and young guys jumping from the rocks into the sea. Finally, we had dinner in the night market - very hungrily as we had missed out on lunch :(

The next morning we rented two motorbikes so that we could explore the island further afield. Our intended destination was Bãi Sao (not to be confused with Vung Tau's Bãi Sau!) but with a visit to the pearl producers along the way. Pearls, along with fish sauce and pepper, appear to be the main products of Phú Quốc, and there are very many "factories" set up around the southern areas of the island. We spent a few hours beside and in the beautifully clear water - again in the company of many jellyfish, although I discovered if I swam slowly enough they were aware of me and would move away. Unfortunately I acquired a rather red skin as well (sunburn).

In the mid-afternoon we sought out the prison near An Thới town. Like many islands around the world, Phú Quốc was used as a political prison in the past - by both the French and the Americans. While the Lonely Planet website says otherwise, there is actually a museum here recording the crimes inflicted on the Việt Công and Việt Minh by the foreign nations and the South Vietnam government. We didn't linger because Bảo and An overheard some remarks directed towards me ...! Finally, we completed a round trip of the southern part of the island by stopping off at the national park, and then a pepper farm. An enjoyable ride, without a lot of traffic, but with a lot of red dust. There is also some massive road-building going on, leaving me wondering about expectations for the future population of the island.

Phú Quốc is actually famous for its fish sauce, and Bảo wanted to try and find the factory for the brand that his family prefers. After some driving around we tracked it down, and although really the factory was closed for the holiday, the owner gave us a look inside and told us a bit about production. This factory is different from many because they continue to use wooden casks for brewing? fermenting? the fish sauce in. Actually the smell was not too bad and it was interesting to see the process.

Afterwards Bảo and I rode north to Bãi Dài, another long, beautiful and only sparsely frequented beach. One of the lovely things about much of the coastline on Phú Quốc is that it is lined by pine trees that leave a blanket of needles on the sand almost down to the sea. Everywhere the water is clear and clean. Out this way there are a few resorts - imagine how it might be to stay in this tranquility.

And then ... the trip was over. Back to work.

Family visits

Mum and Dad visit
In March Mum and Dad arrived in Vietnam on their first trip to Asia. They booked on a Macleay Valley Tour to take them from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang/Hoi An and Ha Noi/Ha Long Bay, but arranged to come a few days early so that they could also come to visit Vung Tau.

Bao and I met them at the airport on Saturday evening, after some delays caused by late connections and storms in Singapore, and took them into the city to the hotel and a brief orientation to the area. They seemed still very awake although their body clocks would have told them it was the wee hours of the morning, and they had been on the go since early morning Australian time.

The next morning we made use of Bao's past training as a tour guide to take them on a longer walking tour along Dong Khoi street up to the General Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, across to Reunification Palace and back into the city centre. Then we visited Ben Thanh market, before taking a taxi to Bao's family home for lunch. After that we returned to the hotel for them to check out and then embarked on the ferry to Vung Tau.

The weather stayed fine throughout their visit with us, but it was also quite warm. Notwithstanding this they never wilted! On Monday morning we had breakfast at Garden Cafe then I took them to the orphanage to meet the children, visit the babies and see the various facilities. While we were there we arranged to take Bi, Hoa and Phuong out in the afternoon for a trip up Big Mountain on the cable car. (In the months since then Phuong has left the orphanage because he wanted to find his father again. We have had no word about him, but hope that he is safe.)

On Tuesday morning we walked down to Back Beach and along the road to Imperial shopping centre. My brilliant plan was to treat Mum and Dad to cappucino at Highlands Coffee, otherwise I wouldn't have taken us so far. But when we got there it was suspiciously deserted and turned out to be closed! :( So after a quick look around the shopping centre we took a taxi to Coopmart, where Mum bought a bigger hat and we had Lotteria for lunch.

In the afternoon we visited the White Palace and then came back home for them to rest, while I went off to teach a class. The next morning we had coffee with Anne (My Huong), went to the ferry terminal to book seats for the afternoon trip back to Ho Chi Minh City and took a walk along the seafront to visit a pagoda.

That night Mum and Dad joined the group of fellow tourists who had just arrived from Australia, and then embarked on a heavy schedule of visits to Tay Ninh, Cu Chi, My Tho, and Ben Tre in the south; Da Nang, Hoi An, My Son temples and Hue in the centre; and Ha Long Bay, Ha Noi, Tam Coc and Hoa Lu citadel in the north. I am looking forward to seeing their photos!

I asked Mum if they would consider coming back. Her answer: yes, they would, but they want to see fewer temples and museums and more about how people live. That can be arranged!

David's visit
A month later David arrived to spend some days in Vietnam and then take a trip to Siem Reap. His arrival coincided with the Hung Kings Anniversary national holiday which meant that Bao and I were able to go up to Ho Chi Minh City to meet him, stay overnight and then return with him to Vung Tau. Our friend An joined us in Ho Chi Minh City and provided an extra set of wheels for us to get around and visit different districts. David enjoyed the time a lot, especially the food!

Again, I had a work commitment during his visit in Vung Tau, but Bao took David on our usual walking route up Big Mountain, and then we met later for dinner. The next morning I took David to meet some of the children, and he also took the chance to have a chat with the Director of the centre, Ms Trang Dai. Actually, oral health is a real problem for the children at the centre and in the community, so I hope that we can set up some initiative to assist them with this with David's help!

What to write about?

... after 4 months of 'silence'?

Spring (brings Tết and holidays)
I am watching a change of seasons move through the south of Vietnam. Longer days, warmer temperatures, slow springing of plants and trees back into green, the barren brown hillsides gradually covering over in foliage.

Two months ago we marked the arrival of spring (Xuân) by celebrating Tết for the year of the cat (the rest of the world knows it as the year of the rabbit). Bảo and I (along with another friend) flew out to Singapore on the afternoon of 1st day of the new year, but before leaving we spent a few days in Saigon.

We visited the flower festival in Nguyễn Huệ street by day and by night, but this year decided not to watch the fireworks there at midnight on the last night. Instead we went to another flower festival in one of the city parks, wandering through displays of flower and fruit sculptures, a variety of orchids, amazing bonsai landscapes, and many, many more flower beds.

On 1st day we joined the family on the annual round of pagodas in the morning before heading off to the airport for the evening flight down to Singapore. Our visit coincided with Anne's - as she does always, we were looked after admirably, starting with the honour of joining Anne, Serena and Steve for lunch on 2nd day. After lunch, Anne took us on a walking tour of Chinatown, telling us some of the history of the area, giving us an idea of how much the old town has changed over the centuries, and showing us some of her favourite places. She also inducted Bảo and Hiệp into the art of hotel foyer and toilet usage and threw in a quick tour of Orchard Road, before delivering us into the hands of Frankie and Jeffrey for the evening.

I counted that this was my fifth visit to Singapore and my sixth to Malaysia. For me, the plusses of coming to Singapore revolve around food and friends, and enjoying the reliability and access provided by the MRT; but travelling with first time visitors allows me to see the sights in a new way. Plus Singapore changes constantly. For example, Bảo expressed an interest in visiting the boat on top of the building. I had no idea what he meant, and strongly wondered whether he knew what he was talking about! But of course he was talking about the amazing construction at Marina Esplanade. We also had the chance to visit the Hongbao festival that takes place at the Esplanade, plus take all the usual cheesy shots at the Merlion Park.

To get to Malaysia (destination Penang) I had booked with Konsortium Bus company to travel on the Sunday after Lunar New Year. Then I found out the roads were likely to be busy with everyone travelling between Malaysia and Singapore to get home ready for work on Monday. I had estimated 8 hours travel time; the bus was 1 hour late reaching Singapore in the morning because of traffic, and in the end it was almost 12 hours before we finally checked in to the hotel in Penang :(

We had a very good time in Georgetown, walking around to see the different cultural and historic features of the city, and taking in buildings of all religious persuasions, from Islam to Buddhism to Confucianism and Christianity. We enjoyed the visit Khoo Khongsi Clan house and the Peranakan Mansion very much, for the insights they gave to different ways of life from the past.

Penang Hill has eluded me yet again, this time because the funicular railway system is closed down and the road entrance is on the other side of the island from where we were. But instead we followed a sign to the intriguingly named Bat Temple, which seemed in the end to possess nary a bat but a huge fish in a distressingly undersized pond. Further up the road we came across a ceremony to dedicate a Buddhist pagoda, and finally we climbed up to another pagoda that had great views back across Georgetown.

We also trekked up to Kek Lok Si pagoda complex. This mammoth edifice continues to expand, funded by wealthy patrons from around the globe. The latest addition is a huge statue of the Goddess of Mercy, sheltered by an even more immense canopy.

So this visit to Georgetown (my third!) brought a mix of new and already-experienced sights. One evening Bảo and I also came across a clan house from which a procession incorporating drums, marchers and a branch of a tree was starting. Bảo has a great video taken as we chased the procession down the road and onto a bus!

After 3 nights in Penang, we started the journey back south via KL. Since the utter confusion I experienced on my first visit to KL, I have gained a very rough idea of how the areas of the central city are laid out and connect, but the cardinal directions for travelling to the outer areas continue to bewilder me! KL's transport system is a little chaotic and woefully undersized for the demand but it works well enough when combined with foot. Of course, we booked in and visited the skybridge at Petronas twin towers - a bit of a coup for Bảo as a colleague had tried to convince him that it was not possible to visit any more.

Leaving Hiệp to his computer on the final day in KL, Bảo and I also set out to visit the Istana (Royal Palace). Having never been here but in possession of a map, I figured it would be relatively easy to walk there from Chinatown. It was up to a point: we discovered that the multi-lane highway adjacent to the palace gates had no place to cross. We braved running across - with our hearts in our mouths - but the thought of it was too much for trying to get back. Fortunately we were able to walk alongside the highway down the hill to a monorail station!

At Anne's suggestion we took the overnight bus back to Singapore. Puduraya Bus Station has now closed and most of the south-bound buses have supposed to relocate to a spanking-brand new bus terminal outside KL. Most have not, but ours had. It took the taxi driver (who learned in a kamikaze school of driving) three attempts to get us into the place because he kept missing the correct entrance, but eventually we were checked in. The staff have little to do here and so the individual attention to service is high. Wish the same could be said of buses in KL. The VIP standards of the past are declining, particularly in cleanliness, although leg room remains luxurious. We arrived back in Singapore early, took a taxi to Tanjong Pagar and drank coffee at an all-night shop while we waited for a decent hour to knock-on Anne and Serena's door. Little did we know they were already awake and waiting for us. But thank you again to them both for looking after us for the morning.

where have u been?

Trời ơi! It's been three months since the last post. A period punctuated with the usual lackadaisical intentions to bring another view of life in Vietnam ... A quarter of a year.

So here are some of the highlights.

October ...
... brought a long-anticipated visit to Australia and Bảo's introduction to life, family, friends and -scapes of Sydney, Newcastle, Tamworth and the Blue Mountains. I spent two weeks before our trip monitoring Australia Network weather forecasts daily, hoping, hoping for an indication that we would arrive to balmy October days, but it was not to be ... The weather was variously cool, warm, cold, foggy but seldom wet.

What did we see? What did we do?

We stayed with David at Potts Point and did a lot of walking from this point. To the Domain, the Botanic Gardens and Circular Quay. To the city and through the Rocks. To Glebe and Newtown!

We ate well, but far too much, marvelling at the immense bowls of phở and hửu tiêu with which we were served, enjoying feasts at the homes of family and friends.

We were Sydney tourists, (re)discovering the Opera House, the Bridge, Sydney Tower, Wildlife World/Sydney Aquarium, the harbour and the ferries ...

We twice borrowed David's car (yes, it seems I do still know how to drive after 2 years absence from behind the wheel, and 2 years travelling on the other side of the road!). Our first trip was to Newcastle and the Lower Hunter, to visit Karen and her family, as well as friends and the vineyars. The second trip was to the Blue Mountains which sadly and determinedly remained shrouded in dense fog for two days. No vistas of the Three Sisters or the Megalong and Jamieson Valley's were ours to behold this time.

We flew to Tamworth to visit Mum and Dad and enjoyed the greenest scenery I can ever remember, courtesy of the rains that have since continued well past their welcome, and saturation, point.

Three weeks were like a life in another world. Time seemed to be our friend, marked out measuredly from a bottomless cup. Then all too soon the day of our departure loomed ...

(if you are a Facebook user please try going to Bảo's profile for his pictorial perspective on our visit)

November ...
Edwin (fellow teacher) and I took up a housewarming invitation to celebrate the extension of the family home of one of our most lovely teaching assistants, Kiều. This entailed a motorbike trip of approximately 50km to the town of Ngãi Giao in Châu Đức district.


We were very warmly welcomed by her family and neighbours and enjoyed some fantastic food prepared by Kiều's aunt. As I write we are still waiting to hear which of us her aunt has selected as her potential husband!

No party in Vietnam is properly formed without singing and dancing. In this we were very ably managed by MC Hải.





After the party Edwin and I took a detour via Long Hải so that we could go and visit the Centre for Social Protection of Children. We arrived in time for a karate lesson but also had personal escorts around the grounds. I was told many things about the plants - a few of which I understood!

The teachers at ILA in Vung Tau support the centre each month by giving food to assist the lunch/dinner prepared for the 110 children who attend school at the centre. Which brings me to ...

December ...
and Christmas. In November, the teachers and staff at ILA collected enough money to buy each student at the Long Hải centre a basic pair of shoes. We also put the December food collection towards making a Christmas treat for each of the students and on 20 December a group of us (teachers and teaching assistants) made a trip to Long Hải to present the shoes.












We met with the morning contingent of students (approximately 50) to share a little bit of Christmas culture - via singing a round of the chorus "We wish you a merry Christmas!" - and some good old-fashioned TPR (for you teacher-types in the know!) with the Vietnamese version of Simon Says (Tôi bảo). There were also several lucky number prizes to give, followed by the presentation of the shoes.

Assisting Anne (Mỹ Hương) and her cousin Mỹ, the orphanage volunteers joined in on the Christmas festivities for the 50+ children (this number doesn't include the babies or severely disabled children) living at P and N centres on Christmas Eve. We took advantage of fine weather and the space at N centre to have an outdoor party with races and games followed by some scrumptious food and the climax of Santa's visit (you will see who that was in a moment!) and two immense cakes.

Click here for all the pics.