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+--- Thread: Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) (/Thread-Happy-New-Year-from-Ho-Chi-Minh-City-Saigon)
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Paddy - 27-02-2008
Here's a copy of an e-mail, sent to family and friends and I thought I should share it here.
We should have suspected something out of the ordinary awaited us when in 30 degrees of humid heat in Kuala Lumpur our fellow Vietnamese passengers were clutching jackets and hats, ready for the other end. Hanoi was in the grips of it's coldest winter on record and Fiona and I were as unprepared as the German army advancing on the Russian front. To appreciate anything in Hanoi we were going to have to hit the world's largest clothing factory that is Vietnam, fast, very fast. Trying to haggle a Vietnamese hawker down in price for a cosy "Nike" jacket while decked out in shorts and T-shirt, trying to prevent the enamel in one's mouth from escaping, was never going to yield much success. The romance of a 3-wheel cyclo was lost on us, when the old fellow, using what seemed to be the last of his waining strength, coughing and spluttering, weaved us through the most maniacal traffic one will ever experience. We half expected him to collapse in a heap on top of us until Fiona nudged me into submission and we handed over the agreed money and walked the rest of the way to the Green Tangerine, a fantastic restaurant, by the way.
Why we ever thought Halong Bay would be warmer, being further north than Hanoi, defies logic but Paddy being the eternal optimist proceeded to haggle for beach towels and sunscreen (Baz Luhrmann, you let me down) while the rest of Hanoi was haggling for blankets and heaters.
Halong Bay is beautiful, so beautiful that despite the cold and the rain we still took to sea kayaks in our quest to prove that when on holiday, nothing will get you down.......and we succeeded.
Like a pair of migrating birds, we couldn't wait to head south in search of some summer with Vietnam State Railways. In Hue, the old imperial capital, we finally found it. We also found an elderly Taiwanese man ready to start a revolution on the Perfume River. He had paid 130000 Vietnamese Dong for the day trip and he wasn't going to pay a Dong more for lunch, for the bike rides to the tombs , nor for the entrance fees. He almost got his way.
Vietnamese are seriously industrious, floor space that isn't used for cooking is used to churn out some item for sale, these guys are natural capitalists, how communism has managed to survive as long as it has is bewildering. The other evening we saw the greatest paradox ever, a yellow ferari passing beneath a red banner bearing the hammer and sickle.
Vietnamese also seem to have taken Confucianism to heart, "Smile and the world smiles with you".
We now find ourselves in Saigon for the Lunar New Year, we're still two days away and you'd think they were preparing for the Millenium celebrations. This is going to be one hell of a party.
Now it's time for a Tiger Beer.
Paddy
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - TheDuck - 27-02-2008
Paddy .. you write absolutely superbly
the only Ho Chi Minh I know was that trail
this made for great reading
definite writing ability
ok:
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Pronkertjie - 27-02-2008
[COLOR="Purple"]Paddy... I have a clear picture in my mind. I have never lived in Vietnam but lived at the Thai Cambodian boarder. Be aware that you will not sleep the night of the party.... it is going to be VERY noisy!
:tourist:[/COLOR]
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - TheDuck - 27-02-2008
dang I am a dufus
I forgot it is the Chinese New Year
here I thought he was slow to report
:duh:
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Pronkertjie - 27-02-2008
They usually put up a screen about 100m from my bedroom window at an intersection! Oh boy - they were so hospitable with the sound for three nights in a row until 3 in the morning! The last morning of the celebrations they delivered gifts to the people and someone walked with a big drum making a LOUD noise when they stop at the honoured door. I honestly almost fell out of my bed of shock when they banged the drums at our neighbour's door, which was just next to my window. I thought the Vietnamese were upon us - slept with an evacuation kit under my bed that time!
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Paddy - 04-03-2008
Thanks Duck, I'm really flattered! SE Asia definately lends itself to inspiration.
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Paddy - 04-03-2008
Pronkertjie Wrote:[COLOR="Purple"]Paddy... I have a clear picture in my mind. I have never lived in Vietnam but lived at the Thai Cambodian boarder. Be aware that you will not sleep the night of the party.... it is going to be VERY noisy!
:tourist:[/COLOR]
Hi Pronkertjie
I'm very curious as to what work you were doing on the Thai/Cambodian border? I didn't meet any foreigners in Vietnam or Cambodia who were working there, let alone living there. I was contemplating teaching English in Vietnam, through TEFL. I imagine Thailand is very different. They say the world is small, I say life is too short.
Paddy
Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Pronkertjie - 04-03-2008
Paddy Wrote:Hi Pronkertjie
I'm very curious as to what work you were doing on the Thai/Cambodian border? I didn't meet any foreigners in Vietnam or Cambodia who were working there, let alone living there. I was contemplating teaching English in Vietnam, through TEFL. I imagine Thailand is very different. They say the world is small, I say life is too short.
Paddy
Hi Paddy
I worked as a relief organization that went into the refugee camps every day. Mainly medical staff - doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Another team worked in a camp that where they taught the refugees practical skills. The camps are now closed as many refugees went either back into Cambodia or moved to countries around the world. It was an amazing 3 years!
There are many places where you can work if you are a qualified to teach English as a foreign language.
Tell us more about your time there - are you back now?