Anne's blog travel 06-07

It's been nice to slowly see friends day by day. I went to the gym today ( a different gym to the one I used to train at but most of the gym members have moved there too). So saw a lot of familiar faces and some very good friends. More catching up to do in the next little bit.

Weather is lovely. Warm and indeed still hot in the days but not overly so. Evenings and mornings are lovely.

Bye for now

Tuesday February 27th 2007 Byron Bay

Well, eventually I slept at Kim's down the road in Lennox. I rented a room from Kim for about 9 months in the last couple of years and she was nice enough to offer me a roof for the night. Tonight I'm back at Suz and Avigdor and I hope that by tomorrow I may have found something a bit more stabble. I eventually found a woman who told me her brother and wife have a garden unit they rent out for Easter holidays (when Byron becomes swamped by tourists coming to the Blues and Roots Festival) and Christmas time (which is always the busiest period of the year) and might be able to rent me the unit for a short term. I am due to visit in less than a hour and cross my fingers it may work. It's not cheap but it's not overly expensive either at $250/wk and a few weeks there should give me a bit of breathing space and give me time to figure out what I'm doing. Again, the casualness and friendliness of Australian people is so apparent to me since my return.

Looking forward to find a more permanent temporary arrangement. Then I can really start enjoying being here. I am still battling the stomach bug I picked up in Vietnam so have been consulting doctors and other forms of therapist to find the problem and then find a cure. Otherwise I feel fine.

Yesterday, stupidly trying to eat a meal at the Cardamon Pod (a little indian vegetarian cafe) I realise that even if the food is not really spicy, it's way to spicy for my unsettled stomach. All I've been able to eat has been yogourt, fruit, toast with honey, biscuits so I was hoping to be able to try something else. Anyway, while eating, I overhead the conversation a couple are having at the table next to me. The man is saying something like: " Well, through that though I'm really getting to know more who I am. I feel so much more aware and awake...." and I can't help smiling because it is very obvious from that conversation that I'm back in Byron Bay.

Byron Bay was a healing place for Aboriginals. Today it's very much a healing and alternative place. Here you can get a psychic reading, tarot reading, astrology reading, any sort of massage, energy healing, accupuncture, naturopathy, osteopathy and the list goes on. I've lived in the area for almost four year and there are still things I haven't ever heard of before. People live here or travel here for the relaxed lifestyle. Some people quit their busy life and do the "Sea Change" and move to Byron or the area for quality of life. Jobs are not plentiful here. Many people are unemployed and possibly enjoy being so. Living off the unemployment benifits of the Australian system.

I reflect back that I've always chosen alternative places to live in like the on and off five years in Cairns, almost four years here and about 3.5 years in Fremantle, Western Australia. Only work has taken me to big cities, work or else of course circumstances.

In any case, when back from overseas you suddently see those things that blend in normally. Because coming back, brings the contrast into light.

It's nice to be back

Thursday, February 22nd 2007

I'm about to leave the hotel in less than 30 minutes. I had a lovely evening last night with Marc, Donna, Ray and Bruce. Bruce is another friend of Marc and Donna's who lives in Hawaii and has just arrived for two weeks. We met at Central Chitlom and had diner at a very nice and upmarket food court. It was a lovely place and it was nice to catch up before I left.

All too quickly it's time to leave already which seems strange and I'm enjoying the comfort of having a bit of time up my sleeve before I arrive. I'll be changing planes in Singapore and arriving early morning Friday in Brisbane. But won't arrive at destination before about 2pm.

I'm sure I'll log on in Australia to update my blog at least once after arrival.
Bye for now
Love
Anne

Wednesday, February 21st 2007 Bangkok

Well, time certainly does fly. A few people commented that "Wow, I was already on my return trip to Australia" when in fact I've been away for close to 4 months. 16 and a half weeks. That's a third of a year. The photo on the left was taken by Michele maybe only a week or so after arriving in Doha, before we got volunteers and certainly before the centre opened. I'd only been gone for a very short time then.
So what has it been...5 countries... Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Vietnam with the obligatory stops in Singapore. And yet I do feel that there is more to come this year.

What strikes me most in looking back is that we are amazingly adaptable people. All of us to various degrees. Some of us choose to forget. We like our stability and hence we often feel what we give up more than what we gain in the balance. In leaving Vietnam, I was so conscious of what I was leaving behind just as I was when I left Africa in 1998. And I wasn't looking forward to coming to Bangkok and yet, since I've been here, I've enjoyed being here. Life is often balanced. We lose something, we gain something and yet because we know what we are losing and not yet what we are gaining, the former seems bigger. I was sad to leave Qatar and yet I knew that my experience there with the Games was over. We have no way of hanging on to these situations.

Reality is that the only constant thing in life is change. The only certainty is that nothing stays the same. And so we gain at being adaptable, receptive and even to welcome change. We all have occasionnally stayed on a path too long and suddently realised that we forgot why. I have anyway.

I may sound a bit philosophical today but I often am on the eve of a New Year of the end of a phase or period. It seems important to reflect back and see what has changed within me. What have I learnt? Before I get caught up in another whirlwind of things to attend to.

I guess what I feel most is that my trip has shown me where I've changed over the years but also that anything is possible. It saddens me that we don't all have the same opportunities. I can sit here and say that we can create our own reality and do whatever we want in life and yet, there are some people in Vietnam or in Africa and many other places that wouldn't quite see it that way. Yet, I still believe that we can be victims or creators, bitter or enthusiastic.

I have no real idea of what comes next for me but I'm ready for it whatever it is. I'll write before I leave tomorrow but want to thank all of you who have been following me throughout my trip. It's been like traveling with my friends and family. Thank you.

Love
Anne

Tuesday, February 20th 2007 - Bangkok

Sunday, February 18th 2007 Bangkok

Well, Happy New Year of the Fire Pig. I hope it's a great one for you.

Had brunch late morning with Donna and Marc at their lovely home on Sukhumvit Soi 30. While I'm waiting for the door to open on the 10th floor of their building which is their floor, I check out all the artifacts decorating the area outside their door leading to the elevator. They have accumulated so many lovely things since moving here. Their house is beautifully decorated. If they indeed manage to leave this year for a transfer to North America, their move will be a big one.

It was lovely to catch up with them and we spent a leisurely few hours together. Donna prepared lovely food and it's nice to just spend a few hours talking about life. Ray, Marc's older brother is arriving tonight at 10pm so we'll meet up a bit later this week to do something together.

Bangkok is still remarkably quiet. Donna tells me that because of the Chinese New Year many Thais have gone outside of Bangkok. However, Chinese New Year is not big out here. If you go to Chinatown of course you will see a lot of festivities. But right out here at Sukhumvit 24 it's rather quiet.

Bye for now

Saturday, February 17th 2007 ....Back in Bangkok

Thursday night I ambled over to the lake and walked around the perimeter. I sat for a moment on the South end looking up the still Lake. I'd rarely seen anything more beautiful than the lake that night with the lights of the decorated trees and buildings reflecting in the glassy water. Or rather I wondered if there could be a more beautiful sight knowing full well that I'd had similar thoughts before about other places and I'd have them again about new places in the future. Just sitting there in awe of the beauty and the peace.
I ran around the lake for about 4 laps in the morning (not back to usual form yet) enough to say goodbye and check out the preparations for the night's TET celebrations with stages up in a few locations around the lake, barricades in other areas, amazing decors around Ly Thai To's statue as if there would be a play of some sort. After a shower and packing a taxi picked me up just before 9:30am. I saw Lien there sitting on the sidewalk and rushed up to her. "Chuc Mung Nam Muoi" (happy New Year) I said and she replied "Chuc Nam Muoi". She said something else I couldn't understand but her hand gestures seemed to ask if I was leaving so I just nodded my head. "Hen Gap Lai" I said (see you later). "Hen gap lai" she said. And off I was. The forty minute trip to the airport took me past places I'd not seen by day.

The Hanoi airport seemed like something out of another century, rather small, more like a hospital then an airport. But by the time I board the plane at 12:50, it seems like I've already left the country.

I hadn't been looking forward to returning to Bangkok. But, the arrival in Bangkok seems easy and familiar. I walk past the crowds trying to get me to taxi to the city with them and head down to the metered taxi stands. On the way I see a bus to the city and decide that I could just as well take it since I know my way around. I do so. It leaves me maybe an hour later near Emporium shopping centre, Sukhumvit Soi 24. I'm definately feeling better because I walk the 1.5 km or so with my big tote bag on my shoulder pulling my hand luggage.

Bangkok seems so quiet...no beeping, honking sounds, noises, solicitations. For all the traffic Bangkok is known for I wonder where all the people are when I arrive on Friday afternoon. Streets seem clean, cars and motorcycles seem shinny and expensive and mostly drive on the right side of the road. Bangkok seems so luxurious, opulent, rich, clean, quiet. And no evidence of the upcoming new year. It's only then I realise where I've come from. The garbage in the street, the noise, the constant attention seeking calls, looks, the dirt. And yet...

I remember the Vietnamese woman who said Thailand was 50 years ahead of Vietnam regarding tourism and I realise that I really do feel like I've moved ahead 50 years in modernisation. The constrast is startling. I tell one Thai woman I talked to today that there are no "Mc Donalds" in Vietnam. "And no KFC?" she asks almost disbelieving me. None of that. Although I feel sure that one day in the not so distant future Mc Donalds will show it's rather ugly little head in Vietnam.

So I'm back at the President Park Serviced apartments. And it's actually nice to be here. A perfect stopover before heading back to Australia. I did a bit of food shopping yesterday afternoon and stopped at the DVD shop thinking of renting a movie. A movie in English...and when I ask the staff member how the system works, he understands me and explains in English. It's been so long since I've been able to talk to someone like that in a shop and been understood and replied to.

Vietnamese New Year was last night/today. Chinese New Year here is tonight/tomorrow. I can't see much happening here in Bangkok. There will be some isolated celebrations in areas for the Chinese population but no outward evidence at this stage.

Bye for now

Monday, February 12th 2007


Last night on my way back from the night markets I once again hear my name called out. I always think I must be hearing things but no, I turn to see Huong I'd met just that afternoon. She's just pulled up with her scooter to call out to me. I quickly cross the busy street and she tells me she's on her way to the night markets where she sells in a stall there. I find out she sells hair product and as I need some conditioner I vow to go back and find her. I'd told her that afternoon that I couldn't tell the difference between Shampoo and Conditioner in the shops because I didn't know the name for each. I walk up and down the stalls along this very long street but I cannot find her and give up in the end.


I'm about 30 or so minutes earlier around the lake this morning and it's still very busy. More so perhaps with more classes being held on the East side of the Lake not far from the impressive statue of Ly Thai To (974- 1028) a Vietnamese emperor. As previously arranged, Ton comes to my hotel to pick me up at 8:30am and we set out on his scooter/motorbike (125cc) to find a place to have breakfast. Pho Bo it will be (Beef Noodle soup) in a busy Pho Vietnamese restaurant. I've tasted Pho Ga (chicken Noodle soup) before but I must say that despite everything and my usually vegetarian tendencies the Pho Bo is even nicer. After a stop in a cafe for a Vietnamese coffee, we head out of Hanoi on the motorbike.


First stop, about 40 km south-west of Hanoi is Tay Phuong Pagoda in Ha Tay province. The name means Pagoda of the West and was built in the 8th Century. 76 figurines carved from Jackfruit wood are the pagoda's most well known features but most of these were built in the 18th Century. This is our first fitness test as there are many steps to the top; Ton will have to quit smoking. We visit the pagoda's and the shrines inside lit with candles. Many figurines here look to have Mandarin traits and Chinese rather than Vietnamese features. "Of course" Ton tells me "the Chinese occupied Vietnam for a thousand years". Then later it was the French for about a hundred years and the Japanese for about four months. Seems like everyone wanted a piece of it. We sit up there for a while talking while ladies come and try to sell me all manners of knick knacks. There are no tourists there and indeed no one at all but us and those lady's at that time. Ton tells me that Vietnamese come to the Pagodas to pray about twice a year and just after Tet the place will be full of people.


Later, it's off to Thay Pagoda which is the Master's Pagoda dedicated to Thich Ca Buddha and 18 archat (monks who have attained Nirvana...lucky them). In front of the Pagoda is a small stage (see photo at the top) built on stilts in the middle of the pond where water puppet shows are staged during festivals. The Pagoda's annual festival is held from the fifth to the seventh days of the third lunal month. Inside the Pagoda are again many figurines. One has bronzed figurines and another building has wodden figurines ressembling those of the Thay Phuong Pagoda. Then it's up the steep stairs built in the rock to catch the view and other figurines at the top. From here you can see vast rice paddies in one direction and buildings in another. "When you come back here in ten years Anne, there may not be any agricultural land left.." says Ton and I know he's right. Again we are almost all alone there. A few kids who have just finished school for the TET holidays have climbed up the stairs and laugh as they greet me "Hello".


Back down we have a lunch of Com which is rice and a few dishes (about 4-5) and sit for a while talking about different things. I've heard of corruption in Vietnam and that the last party in power (communist of course) was very corrupt. It was replaced last year by a new president and party (communist again) but it seems life for the common man is not easy while others have all the riches in the world. Yet, I see more hope for a country like Vietnam somehow because people are intelligent here, people have spirit here and the place has not yet been spoilt by development. Communism has slowed this process of course. But I hope that as it happens (and it will) and hopefully increases opportunities and life standards for Vietnamese, that the essence of this country is preserved where other nations have sold their own for the benefit of money.


It's interesting to get on the road out of Hanoi today and see the fields and what happens outside although I haven't gone really far either. On the way back we stop at Silk village where the origin of Vietnamese Silk lies. We stop in one home to see a silk treading machine with wodden patterns determining the layout of the colors. And then it's back to Hanoi arriving with heavy traffic. How the traffic flows in this totally chaotic way...I do not know. In a three lane road you'll often have two cars and about 7-10 scooters. All narrowly missing each other. People riding 2-3-4 on the same scooter, scooters going on the sidewalk when the traffic gets too dense and police even riding like this. And by the time I'm back at the hotel I feel like I need a shower from the dust and a break from the noise.


Bye for now

Sunday, February 11th 2007

Sunday is a lovely day in Hanoi. People seem more relaxed. Many Vietnamese work 6 days a week from Monday to Saturday so Sunday is the day to catch up with friends and family. At the gym today, the lovely young woman (staff) I've been talking too (forgot her name) tells me that she thinks we (foreigners) work very hard. I tell her that I noticed that in Vietnam most people work 6 to 7 days per week which is not normally the case in Australia, Canada, USA, Europe etc. "Ahhh but" she whispers almost " I don't think Vietnamese have a very good attitude towards work." She goes on to explain that what she has learned from the foreigners she has met is that most foreigners try their best when they work; Vietnamese rarely do she tells me. This reminds me somewhat of comments made of the Japanese who work very long hours with very few holidays but are somewhat unproductive and uncreative.

She tells me that she gets one and a half day off a week but usually they don't take the half day and just cumulate it towards their annual leave. Annual leave is 12 days per year (two weeks), but with the accumulated half-days this can be made up to about 18-20 days. From the very first time I met this young woman (21 years of age) she strikes me for her attention. She remembered small details of what I've told her before and this also is something I've noticed of many Vietnamese. I can tell a person my name in the street and many days later, they will shout it out to me and then go on to ask me how something I was doing the last time ended up. And when you get pestered to buy something...it's much better to say no than to say: "Maybe tomorrow" because one thing you can be sure of, is that they will find you tomorrow and remind you. Even today, as I walk in the street, Nam calls my name out and crosses the street to come and say hello. I'm sure I haven't seen him in almost three weeks. So we exchange a few words before he goes back to his Cyclo on the other side.

And on my way back to the hotel, the women are sitting outside and ask me to join them. Tam who normally sells the Bahn Khut (but has sold out) brings me green tea and I just hang out with them which is always a laugh. Lien , the other woman is a real character. She shows me a man who comes and sits next to me and I assume it's her husband. When I find the word for husband, she tells me no and after a bit more searching I learn it's the younger brother. Later a young woman called Huong who is the niece of Tam joins the group and we talk together as she can speak English. She is an accountant and now lives with the family of her husband about 7 km away. But, she says she comes to visit often. Tam's sister is also there and it seems that the whole family lives in that building. Through Huong, Lien asks whether I'll still be here for Tet and if I want to spend it with them but I'll be gone already.

Last night at dusk I find myself around the Lake. I realise I haven't seen it at this hour and just sit on a bench staring out over the water. It's still about 22C at that time and the lake is lovely. A few trees around the lake have been decorated with lights. Some in small white lights decending in single strands from the top a bit like the leaves of a Willow tree (saule pleureur in French). The other trees bear red, yellow and blue lights. The monuments in the centre of the lake are lit, the lights of the surrounding buildings reflect in the water and although the horns are still going and traffic is still zooming around the lake- it's amazingly peaceful. I wonder what it is about expanses of water which convey this tranquility. Even as it is in the middle of such a busy area. And there is a mysterious quality to this lake...something that cannot easily be explained in words.

Tomorrow I'm off for a bit of an excursion out of Hanoi with Ton. Should be interesting.
Bye for now

Tuesday February 6th 2007

Last night I go to the Sheraton to meet with Andreas after his work. I take a motorbike/taxi to get there. Might as well get the full experience. The guy down at reception makes sure we've agreed to a price before we leave and that the driver (who speak little to no English) knows exactly where I'm going. I have to say that the staff at this hotel are simply lovely and always helpful. In fact he's negociated the price for me knowing full well what it should be. So off we go on this motorbike which must only be a 125 cc. Streets lights when they exists are merely suggestions...when it's red and you still want to go through...sound your horn many times...a stop sign is certainly not an indication to actually stop the vehicle...perhaps it acts more like a give way sign...and anytime you pass a vehicle from the right or the left side, just sound your horn so they know you are there especially if you are in the same lane with them. Needless to say it's an experience but we get there of course after the driver mistakingly takes me to the Sofitel Plaza hotel.

The Sheraton Hanoi is probably the newest of the big 5 star hotels in Hanoi. It's in the Tay Ho District (West Lakes)which is a little away from the Old Quarters. Seems like any other lovely big hotels with beautifully groomed staff and ambiance music played in the lounges. I meet with Andreas there and after a drink we just have diner at the buffet style restaurant there. We share about our experiences and also about the people we share in common. I give him news about Lorraine and Reg who were working with him in Sydney. If you met Andreas, you'd think he was just like any other manager working in a big hotel. "When I finished working for the peace corp in Gaza..." is not what you'd expect coming from someone like him but yet that really is his story. He also worked for three years in Ho Chi Minh city as an executive chef before returning to Australia (he's got citizenship) and eventually being offered a job for the Sydney games. Never thought he'd be back in Vietnam having worked many years in KL where he started to work for Sheraton. He's been in Hanoi 16 months now but would love to return to KL.

After diner he takes me over to a restaurant bar close by called the Vines. "I have a friend you must meet" he says "we call him the connector." So, we are taken next door to a wine tasting and I meet Donald (owner of the Vines) a Montrealer who has been living in Hanoi for 6.5 years. Of course his eyes light up at the mention that I'm from Montreal. He's a character. In fact all French Canadians and now I realise all Montrealers (he's english Canadian) I've met overseas have been real characters. He's a chef and you will find at Vines (amongs International cuisine) Pizza like Pendellis, Bagels and Lox, smoked meat imported from Lesters and of course "poutine" (an upmarket version) the typical french canadian snack (I'm almost embarassed but it's french fries, gravy and cheese mixed in the most undigestable way). It actually says a lot about Montreal's multi ethnicity and cosmopolitan status that Pizza, Bagels from the Jewish area, smoked meat from the "mafia side" and Poutine are typically Montreal food. Of course you'll find everything in Montreal but these things you probably would never find elsewhere. Donald and I have a argument with an Jewish American last night telling him the best bagels in the world are from Montreal. He maintains New York has the best bagels but he's never had Montreal Bagels. It's a well known fact indeed that Montreal Bagels are the best. People line up 30-40 deep to buy a dozen and eat two of them on the way to their cars as they melt in your mouth when they are still warm.

There is an eclectic and interesting mix of people. Miguel a big and somewhat loud American, born in the Virgin Islands and working for the US Embassy here for the last three years, tells me he's impressed by the young women he's met there last night. He said we were all independant, doing our own thing, seeing the world and adds that not so long ago that was only the domain of men.

He says that it's indeed an exciting time to be here in Vietnam and that Vietnam may just get it right and be an amazing place in 10-15 years. Another American woman there shares his excitement. She's been here six months and probably for another three working for the Clinton Foundation. Before that she says she was in Ghana. Another man there also works for the foundation. And it goes on with many interesting people and little time to talk to all of them.

So it was an interesting night to find such amazing and different people here in Hanoi and it seemed you would find an amazing group of expatriates here if you stayed long enough.

bye for now