Hellooooo :)
Some of you may know, some may not, but i will be coming home to Melbourne on Friday morning. Don't fret! My holiday is not over, it is just on hold until the 9th of March when i will go to Thailand with Andy and then Nae Nae will joing me in Malaysia and Thailand and then Kate in Laos and Cambodia! So I still have 5 or 6 weeks of traveling ahead of me!
So I will start with why I'm coming home, and then about my last few days in phu quoc!
On Tuesday afternoon, I returned to Saigon (Ho chi minh) for one night and booked myself into a Mekong Delta 2 day tour. I didn't want to come back, I think you all gathered that it wasnt somewhere I liked, but flights only went to Saigon. At about 7.30, I went out to get a few things (some antiseptic, phone credit) and some dinner. Unfortunately it gets pretty dark by 6.30pm here. After dinner, as I was walking back to my hotel, A Vietnamese guy grabbed me from behind, and tried to steal my purse. Luckily he didn't get it and I didn't get hurt. I was holding my purse against my chest with two hands, because I knew that theft is a massive problem in this city. And it is very bad to have a bag just dangling off your shoulder When he went to grab it, he must have grabbed my hair as well that was dangling over it, he was pulling and pulling, and im surprised my hair didn't come out, but i wouldn't let go. I just screamed and screamed and screamed. It only lasted maybe 5 or so seconds, before he gave up and ran away. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was absolutely terrified. People came running to help me, but the asshole got away. As I turned around I saw him stop at a corner to take one last look at me before he just disappeared. I couldn't believe this happened in a busy street, with lots of people, street lights and just outside a hotel.
Something I remembered today, which I found extremely ironic, was as I was walking back, and just as he grabbed me, I was thinking about my blog and what I would put in it. I was going to write about how much I still didn't like Saigon and couldn't wait to go on the Mekong tour (which i canceled by the way) I was thinking of a girl Laura who I had met in Phu Quoc, who had had her bag cut off her by a thief on a motorcycle. She didn't even know it was happening, it all happens so quick. I was thinking about how I would write about her to warn my friends if they ever went to Vietnam to be very very careful with a bag. I thought they just ripped handbags off shoulders. I hadn't heard of bags being cut off your body. Pretty ironic huh? Moral of the story is, do not carry anything that they can see. Leave all expensive items you own at home, including necklaces, which they will just rip off your neck. I was lucky, one of the guys who came to help me had just had his laptop stolen. He was prob just sitting in a cafe or restaurant and someone prob swiped it in front of his eyes. These people are professionals. They are poor and will do anything for money. I believe most of the time they don't want to hurt you, but sometimes its not the physical hurt that is the worst part.
I am coming home, because I don't feel safe, and if I don't feel safe, then I won't have much fun. I fear that if it happened to me in such public circumstances, then there is not a lot that I can do to stop it happening again. I know this city is notorious for theft, and the rest of the country is not so bad, so I will come back to Vietnam one day. It is a beautiful country, with mostly very lovely people. Its just not somewhere I feel safe being on my own anymore. I know I could go somewhere else. But I think I just need a hug. I need to feel safe leaving my hotel room. I felt so much more at ease once I booked my flights home, so I know I have made the right choice for me.
I know its not a very nice story to post on a blog, but its not something I want to repeat to people over and over again. I just want the thoughts and bad memories to go away. So lets finish on a positive note :)
Phu Quoc island was everything I needed it to be! I will take amazing memories home of Vietnam, just from this one island itself. Its unlike anywhere I have been. It is so quiet and relaxed. You can just lie around in the sun all day with just the sound of the ocean. I met some fantastic people, all just within a few days! After my last blog, i bumped into some Aussies who asked me to play a game of pool with them. I love finding Aussies :D I think the two games of pool must of lasted like an hour each! Too much bad playing and chatting going on. The next day on my snorkeling tour, I met a gorgeous girl, Laura, also from Melbourne, and Paul from Belgium. We hung out for most of the day, and then ended up going out for dinner later with a guy from the US and another from London! I had started feeling like I was okay, and that I was ready to tackle the rest of the country!
On Sunday, I just had another lazy day by the ocean, writing my blog while eating mango and banana :) i went out for a swim and as I was coming back to shore i felt something really sharp in my foot! I looked down and saw a small black prickly ball. I hobbled into shore and texted andy who googled stuff for me and told me i had prob stepped on a sea urchin! I googled it myself and yup, i did :S I tried to get the spines out myself, but that didnt work. :( I was a little sad cos i didn't have anyone to help me. But I thought, why not go and get a massage and pedicure! So I went off to the ladies and asked for a pedicure, and pointed to my toe and said it was sore. She looked at it and called another lady over. I had one lady giving me a pedicure on my left foot and and the other lady removing the spines from my right! She managed to get them all except one, which was just too painful for her to touch anymore. Afterwards she tried to tell me how to help with the stinging (but i didnt really have any) I couldn't understand her (they speak very little english --- masssaaa miss? -- is about what they can handle) So she went into demonstration mode! She squatted over a bowl, made a peeing sound and then put her toe in the bowl. She wanted me to pee on my toe!! We were all laughing so hard from her demonstration. They only charged me for my pedicure, so I paid them double for being so lovely and getting out my spines. Im glad they did, because today its feeling alot better. I just need to mayke sure it doesnt get infected.
That night i had dinner on my own, and then headed to the bar where I met some lovely Aussies! I got my ass kicked in pool, but had a good night, and was so glad to have met them, esp Paul who looked after me today in Saigon and took me out to lunch :) Thankyouuuu! I can't tell you how much I needed to get out of my hotel room for a couple of hours!
The next day, I went on a snorkling tour in the south of Phu Quoc to some little islands, about an hours boat ride away. What an amazing experience! First off, i missed my bus. Oooops, but a guy was waiting for me to take me to the bus on a motorbike! That was fun :) I straight away met another girl from Melbourne, Laura, and another Paul, but from Belgium. Both travelling on their own. So we kinda hung out together for the day. We got to fish at one spot (i just watched - im pretty sure everyone knows im not into fish, well not catching or eating them) Only 2 fish were caught out of the 25 of us on the boat! We then moved to 2 different snorking spots. We got to jump off the side of the boat and into this beautiful aquamarine crystal clear water. It was like out of a movie. I got to see coral and stripey fish and huge huge sea urchins (evil) a huge school of tiny fish swam right past me! We then had lunch on the boat and then back to land. On the way back we just laid on the top deck of the boat and snoozed and sunbaked the afternoon away :) The ride back was alot less bumpy than the ride in. One thing that amazed me, was that about half an hour off the coast, I had full phone reception and was sending texts to Andy! How can it be that I can have reception in the middle of nowhere in a developing country, but I cant make bloody phone calls at my own house!?
Next we went to a beach called Sao beach (I think) in the south, on the eastern side of the island (im staying in the west, about in the middle, of the coast) It was so different on this side. The sand was white, and beautifully soft underfoot. There were hammocks in the trees and a few cafe type places on the beach. It was quite busy though, so we went for a walk to escape the crowds, but what we found was typical of most asian countries, Rubbish. Rubbish just lined the beach. It was such a shame, because it would have once been an amazing area. On the resorts side of the island, the hotels clean up their beaches before anyone wakes up.
When I got home I jumped on skype as fast as I could! I was an hour late for my valentines day Skype date! It was such a beautiful way to spend Valentines Day though, i wish I could have shared it with Andy, but our time will come in just a few weeks!
After Andy went to bed, I went out for dinner with the friends I had met during the day. The 5 of us ventured into town to the night market, but it was closed! So instead we just found a place that looked alright to eat at. Well this place showed Vietnamese service at its best! The other 4 were all sharing very interesting dishes, including little fishes on sticks, frogs and a couple of other things. They didnt mind that I ordered my own, because I wouldn't have eaten anything else they had. First a noodle dish came out, after 20 mins or so the fish came out, and then another 20-30 mins the frog legs came out, then we just sat and waited, and waited, and waited. We asked about three times if our food was coming, but because of communication difficulties, i think they would just say yes, without knowing what was asked. Then we noticed that they were packing up their kitchen. By this time we had been there for 2 hours. I was starving, but I didnt mind, because I know mistakes happen when you dont speak their language. However there was 5 of us, we ordered 5 dishes, we each pointed to what we wanted on the menu, so im not sure how they stuffed it up really? Anyways what really got us was we had to ask to pay 5 times. They kept saying yes, we would rub our fingers like how you say money, or we would do the universal thing for cheque please. We even asked in vietnamese! But after half an hour, they still hadnt given us our cheque! The guy from the UK had to get up and raise his voice and threaten that we would walk off and not pay if they didnt give us the bill. About a minute later, a lady comes over and goes, 'yes, how can i help you?' They still hadnt understood! LOL Finally we could pay, and I could go eat some food. It was 10.30 and unfortunately not much is open at that time. We found a vegetarian restaurant open, which sold chicken rice. (Fake chicken LOL) Next morning i nearly had the same ordeal with breakfast! Its all apart of it though! I'd suggest not ordering food on phu quoc if you are in a hurry. Not sure about the rest of vietnam, but everything is at snails pace on the island. Which is actually a good thing!
Next morning I had to pack up everything, collect my clothes that I had washed (for $1) and then just go lie on the beach for hours and read my book until i had to leave for the airport. Then the fun really stops.
But I will mention that the hotel I am staying in at Saigon is wonderful. $20 a night gets me breakfast and a big clean room with everything i could need. The best part about this place though is the lady who works on reception. She is so lovely and caring. She helped me find a tour to the Mekong straight away, she offered to give me a call in the morning to wake me up because my bus left at 7.45. This morning when she found out what happened last night she just wanted to do anything for me, she called and cancelled my tour and convinved them to let me just pay half for the tour (i did cancel half an hour before pick up - so couldnt expect to not pay anything) She made sure my room was available in case I wanted to stay another night, she called me to see what time I would leave in the morning, to make sure that I would get a taxi, and even made sure that breakfast would be ready for me 15 mins before it is meant to start. And finally she called me at the end of her shift just to say goodbye and say sorry about what happened, but wanted me to come back again. My favourite part was that she called me Juneeee. Hello juneee? Are you okay Juneee? Such a wonderful lady. The Hotel is called Xuan Mai and is just fantastic for the price!
So I am off to Singapore in the morning and arrive at lunchtime, I then have a horrible 12 hour wait until my flight to Melbourne. I arrive in Melb at about 8.45am on Friday. I then plan to see my Family and snuggle up to my beautiful boy who has been so fantastic through all of this. I know how worried he was about me when I left, my hysterical phone call at 2am would have been a pretty stressful and upsetting time for him too. My Mum, Dad, Sister and her boyfriend Andy have been so fantastic today. I felt so alone when I woke up, but I had constant phone calls and messages all day just making sure I was okay. I am very fortunate to have such a caring family (incl u pandilion) and a boyfriend who loves me as much as he does. I just wish I had one of you with me right now.
So I will resume this blog when Im in Thailand, soaking up the rays with by gorgeous boy :D
Until then, I might see you round in the next few weeks!
Love you all very much
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Phu Quoc Paradise
After two nights in Ho Chi Minh, I had had enough of the big city life! So I booked a flight to the island of Phu Quoc which is west of vietnam and just south of Cambodia. It is considered an Island of vietnam, even though I think its closer to Cambodia. When I got to the airport, they took us by bus to a little plane with propeller engines! Eeeeeeek! Im not a bad flyer, not great, but seeing this plane worried me! I sat next to a Canadian guy who chatted to me the whole way to try keep my mind off the flight. I think he could tell I was a little scared :P Luckily the flight was only for 55 minutes! Easy money!
I arrived at the airport expecting to just jump straight in a taxi. not the case! Unlike everywhere else in asia where everyone fights for your attention and $$$ there was only 1 taxi! and like 30 people! So we waited around for about 20 minutes till one came. Some sweedish girls were nice enough to offer for me to jump in a taxi with them.
The place I am staying at is right on the beach, its called the Moon Resort. Its far from a resort though ;) But for $20 a night, Im happy :)
Straight away I went down to the beach where I found a cute little bar and lots of chairs for us to lounge around on in the sun. I spent my afternoon sunbaking :)
On my first night, I made some friends :) Yipppeee! Two very lovely french boys, Pierre Antoine and Gael. They invited me to go to the night market with them for dinner. We ended up going to the market together for dinner on thursday friday and saturday night. They could speak in English fairly well. But they loved the fact that they were learning more from me. They laughed when I taught them Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi! Sometimes we would have a conversation and we were just staring at each other blanky because we really didnt know what each other was saying. But most of the time it was all good :) It was really nice to have some people to hang out with at night. Because its hard for me to go anywhere at night on my own.
Phu Quoc was exactly what I needed, its paradise here! At the moment I am just lying back in a sun chair updating my blog :) I have free wifi here because of the bar behind me. I can go and order a yummy cocktail if I want, or a freshly squeezed watermelon juice and drink it on the beach :) There are ladies that come around carrying fruit that they cut up in front of you. On my second day here while I was lazing around soaking up the sun, a lady came up and offered to pluck my legs with some thread. I thought why not! About an hour later and some slight pain :P I have hair free legs! LOL
Yesterday I treated myself to an hour massage and manicure on the beach :) cost me a whole $6 for the both. Sweeeeeet! Today Im going back for a massage and pedicure :)
The water is beautifully warm, however it is slightly cloudy today, the sun comes and goes, but it is still very warm. About 30C.
I really am in paradise here, but I really do miss home. I miss Andy like crazy, and I think that Im at that time where its been too long apart and not close enough till I see him. It hasn't been easy at all. But I think from here each day will get a little bit easier! I hope so at least.
The island is very quiet, the people are very lovely. And there is just a sense of peace here. When I walk down the street, people just want to say hello! They don't want something out of me which is nice!!
Im here on Phu Quoc until tuesday afternoon. It was longer than I had thought I would stay, but all the flights back to Ho Chi Minh were sold out till then! So I had to ask to stay a little longer at this place, which meant I had to move rooms. The rooms are not fantastic. Its not a luxury resort by any means. It's very similar to a place I stayed at in langkawi, so its not an unknown experience for me to have uncomfortable beds, cold showers and just a sense of ickyness in the room! LOL But my first room had AC. This one just fans, and a mosquito net and the bathroom smelllls ewwww! LOL
My frenchie friends left for Cambodia thismorning. They are off on a 15 epic journey to the temples in Siem Reap (which I will do in April) Yesterday they went on a snorkling trip to some islands in the south, I plan to go on this tommorow (must go book tickets!) Unfortunately, after only about half an hour of snorkling, a man was found dead floating in the water. He was from the UK and in his 50's. He was travelling alone. They were not sure if he had swallowed water and drowned or perhaps had a heart attack or something. They spent the rest of the day at the police station giving details on what they knew. It was such a horrible experience for them, I'm so glad I didn't go yesterday. I feel so sorry for the man's family and friends back home :(
That brings me onto some other sad news I received yesterday. Penny, a beautiful lady who I occasionally have worked with at David Jones, died on Friday. She worked in the Jewellery and Sunglasses area, which falls under the same manager with shoes. We are all a big family at David Jones, and it is so sad to hear of the passing of Penny. She will be greatly missed by all. All my love to her family and friends and to all my friends at David Jones, I'm sending you big hugs. Esp to Prue and Deloros and the rest of the ladies in Jewellery, please pass on a big hug to them for me if anyone from DJs is reading. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo
Anyways back to a more positive note!! The sun is shining and I have had to move to the bar because my laptop battery was dying :( so im going back to the beach for a dip and improve on my tan! I'm already pretty bronzed ;) You've got some competition Wendy!!! LOL
Photos later... I promise!! Tee Hee
tiếng chào nhau!!!
(Goodbye!)
I arrived at the airport expecting to just jump straight in a taxi. not the case! Unlike everywhere else in asia where everyone fights for your attention and $$$ there was only 1 taxi! and like 30 people! So we waited around for about 20 minutes till one came. Some sweedish girls were nice enough to offer for me to jump in a taxi with them.
The place I am staying at is right on the beach, its called the Moon Resort. Its far from a resort though ;) But for $20 a night, Im happy :)
Straight away I went down to the beach where I found a cute little bar and lots of chairs for us to lounge around on in the sun. I spent my afternoon sunbaking :)
On my first night, I made some friends :) Yipppeee! Two very lovely french boys, Pierre Antoine and Gael. They invited me to go to the night market with them for dinner. We ended up going to the market together for dinner on thursday friday and saturday night. They could speak in English fairly well. But they loved the fact that they were learning more from me. They laughed when I taught them Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi! Sometimes we would have a conversation and we were just staring at each other blanky because we really didnt know what each other was saying. But most of the time it was all good :) It was really nice to have some people to hang out with at night. Because its hard for me to go anywhere at night on my own.
Phu Quoc was exactly what I needed, its paradise here! At the moment I am just lying back in a sun chair updating my blog :) I have free wifi here because of the bar behind me. I can go and order a yummy cocktail if I want, or a freshly squeezed watermelon juice and drink it on the beach :) There are ladies that come around carrying fruit that they cut up in front of you. On my second day here while I was lazing around soaking up the sun, a lady came up and offered to pluck my legs with some thread. I thought why not! About an hour later and some slight pain :P I have hair free legs! LOL
Yesterday I treated myself to an hour massage and manicure on the beach :) cost me a whole $6 for the both. Sweeeeeet! Today Im going back for a massage and pedicure :)
The water is beautifully warm, however it is slightly cloudy today, the sun comes and goes, but it is still very warm. About 30C.
I really am in paradise here, but I really do miss home. I miss Andy like crazy, and I think that Im at that time where its been too long apart and not close enough till I see him. It hasn't been easy at all. But I think from here each day will get a little bit easier! I hope so at least.
The island is very quiet, the people are very lovely. And there is just a sense of peace here. When I walk down the street, people just want to say hello! They don't want something out of me which is nice!!
Im here on Phu Quoc until tuesday afternoon. It was longer than I had thought I would stay, but all the flights back to Ho Chi Minh were sold out till then! So I had to ask to stay a little longer at this place, which meant I had to move rooms. The rooms are not fantastic. Its not a luxury resort by any means. It's very similar to a place I stayed at in langkawi, so its not an unknown experience for me to have uncomfortable beds, cold showers and just a sense of ickyness in the room! LOL But my first room had AC. This one just fans, and a mosquito net and the bathroom smelllls ewwww! LOL
My frenchie friends left for Cambodia thismorning. They are off on a 15 epic journey to the temples in Siem Reap (which I will do in April) Yesterday they went on a snorkling trip to some islands in the south, I plan to go on this tommorow (must go book tickets!) Unfortunately, after only about half an hour of snorkling, a man was found dead floating in the water. He was from the UK and in his 50's. He was travelling alone. They were not sure if he had swallowed water and drowned or perhaps had a heart attack or something. They spent the rest of the day at the police station giving details on what they knew. It was such a horrible experience for them, I'm so glad I didn't go yesterday. I feel so sorry for the man's family and friends back home :(
That brings me onto some other sad news I received yesterday. Penny, a beautiful lady who I occasionally have worked with at David Jones, died on Friday. She worked in the Jewellery and Sunglasses area, which falls under the same manager with shoes. We are all a big family at David Jones, and it is so sad to hear of the passing of Penny. She will be greatly missed by all. All my love to her family and friends and to all my friends at David Jones, I'm sending you big hugs. Esp to Prue and Deloros and the rest of the ladies in Jewellery, please pass on a big hug to them for me if anyone from DJs is reading. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo
Anyways back to a more positive note!! The sun is shining and I have had to move to the bar because my laptop battery was dying :( so im going back to the beach for a dip and improve on my tan! I'm already pretty bronzed ;) You've got some competition Wendy!!! LOL
Photos later... I promise!! Tee Hee
tiếng chào nhau!!!
(Goodbye!)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
My adventure begins in the not so sleepy town of Ho chi Minh!
I will start my blog in Vietnam, where I guess my real adventure has begun! After a few days in Kuala lumpur, just shopping and mooching around, I jumped on a plane to Ho Chi Minh, which if I had to choose one word to describe it, would be HECTIC!
The hotel I am staying at organised a driver to pick me up from the airport which was lovely, because I would never have found the place myself! Its on a little alley way off a little alley way of the main backpackers street!
The ride to the hotel was terrifying, I thought, why was I worrying about flying, I should just be worried about being on the roads here! There are motorbikes galore! I had been told that the traffic was scary. But nothing can prepare you for it! No one drives in a lane, no one indicates, in fact alot of people dont even drive on the right side of the road. It seems perfectly acceptable to drive down the street the wrong way if it means you get to where you are going faster. It is a constant stream of honking. You dont honk to say OI look where you are going...you honk to say 'Hey im about to do something stupid like turn infront of 50 motor bikes coming my way!' It seems to work for the people of HCMC. I dont know how I haven't witnessed an accident yet, but I guess they are alot more aware of what is going on around them. Im sure we could actually learn a thing or two from them!
When I arrive at my hotel, The Bich Duyen, Im greeted by two lovely girls who gave me yummy watermelon juice and carried my bags upstairs for me. My room is basic but for $18 a night, Im happy to have my own bed and a hot shower :) I'd definitely recommend staying here if you were in Ho chi minh! The girls speak english and are very helpful.
After I had put my stuff down, I went for a walk through the city. Culture shock to the max. I have been to Malaysia before, but that was nothing compared to this. Maybe I need some time to get used to it? But right now Ho Chi Minh isnt for me. Although i've read that alot of people feel the same.
Miss Miss Miss Miss Miss.....If i've been walking for 5 minutes down the street, I will have been asked at least 15 if I want to hire a motorbike, another 5 times to ride on a cyclo (where you get cycled around the city, but quite often they scam you out of alot of money) and been handed 3 brochures on getting some beauty therapy treatment. Not to mention people trying to get you into their restaurants, sell you water, coconut juice, sunglesses, etc etc etc. Basically, i spend the whole time either ignoring people or saying no thankyou! I feel so rude! Its not a nice feeling. Especially because these people are so poor.
After 5 minutes of walking down the street, its now time to cross the road! And I thought being in the car on the roads was scary! There are no pedestrian crossings, not too many traffic lights (even when there are, they are ignored by many) and there is a constant stream of traffic. Today it took me 15 mins to cross one road, it was so busy I just had to cross in tiny little bits. The best way to do it, is just walk! They go around you. But its terrifying at the start! Much easier when a local is crossing the road too, you kinda just hang out next to them and follow what they do!
I have had a few people approach me and ask where I am from, when I say Australia, they start asking questions and then tell me that their sister is a nurse in melbourne. I know its a scam. I dont know what they want, or where the conversation is going. But it cant be possible that all these people have sisters that are nurses at a melbourne hospital! One guy even tried to get me to speak to his sister on the phone. I just walked away.
Its not nice being alone in a city where you trust no one. I dont feel like I can even ask for directions. I wouldn't even know who the police are here. There are so many people dressed up in official looking uniforms, they are all different. My sister once had one help her find a train or something and they asked for money. So I can't even trust the ones who look official!
I've said alot of bad things :S So i better mention some of the good stuff! Cos it hasn't been all bad!
I went to visit the war museum, which was so intense. It is basically just very gruesome pictures and descriptions of what happened during the vietnam war. It was really heart wrenching. But a must-see if you go to Ho Chi Minh.
I also went to the Ben Thanh Market which was full of nick nacks, fakes and delicious food!! I've mostly just spent the days wandering around the streets and just taking it all in.
The food is delicious! I just had pho (noodles) for dinner. YUM!!! And I had something interesting for lunch yesterday. Not sure what, but the lady just sat me down and i pointed LOL! Lucky it was chicken :) So far so good on not getting sick from the food and water :)
I'm sure I won't go the whole 3 months without getting sick at some point though!
Im just hanging out in my hotel room tonight. Watching some tv. Cable with 100 channels :) prob like 80 of them vietnamese! LOL
Tomorrow I am off to the island of phu quoc. I cannot wait! I think it will be more my pace :) I think I need some time to just relax and get my mind off the fact that this is a little scary! LOL
I have a vietnamese mobile number, so if you would like it, just send me a facebook message. I can access facebook by going through a different website, but there are limitations to it. So i can see who is online to chat to. But I cannot chat to anyone. Msn was working yesterday, but I cant log in today! So if you want to chat and have a skype account, add joey_la_joey :) that seems to be working the best. Or just send me a facebook message or an email to jo_silva99@hotmail.com.
Big hugs to everyone!
Missing you all alot
Love Joey xoxoxoxoxoxox
The hotel I am staying at organised a driver to pick me up from the airport which was lovely, because I would never have found the place myself! Its on a little alley way off a little alley way of the main backpackers street!
The ride to the hotel was terrifying, I thought, why was I worrying about flying, I should just be worried about being on the roads here! There are motorbikes galore! I had been told that the traffic was scary. But nothing can prepare you for it! No one drives in a lane, no one indicates, in fact alot of people dont even drive on the right side of the road. It seems perfectly acceptable to drive down the street the wrong way if it means you get to where you are going faster. It is a constant stream of honking. You dont honk to say OI look where you are going...you honk to say 'Hey im about to do something stupid like turn infront of 50 motor bikes coming my way!' It seems to work for the people of HCMC. I dont know how I haven't witnessed an accident yet, but I guess they are alot more aware of what is going on around them. Im sure we could actually learn a thing or two from them!
When I arrive at my hotel, The Bich Duyen, Im greeted by two lovely girls who gave me yummy watermelon juice and carried my bags upstairs for me. My room is basic but for $18 a night, Im happy to have my own bed and a hot shower :) I'd definitely recommend staying here if you were in Ho chi minh! The girls speak english and are very helpful.
After I had put my stuff down, I went for a walk through the city. Culture shock to the max. I have been to Malaysia before, but that was nothing compared to this. Maybe I need some time to get used to it? But right now Ho Chi Minh isnt for me. Although i've read that alot of people feel the same.
Miss Miss Miss Miss Miss.....If i've been walking for 5 minutes down the street, I will have been asked at least 15 if I want to hire a motorbike, another 5 times to ride on a cyclo (where you get cycled around the city, but quite often they scam you out of alot of money) and been handed 3 brochures on getting some beauty therapy treatment. Not to mention people trying to get you into their restaurants, sell you water, coconut juice, sunglesses, etc etc etc. Basically, i spend the whole time either ignoring people or saying no thankyou! I feel so rude! Its not a nice feeling. Especially because these people are so poor.
After 5 minutes of walking down the street, its now time to cross the road! And I thought being in the car on the roads was scary! There are no pedestrian crossings, not too many traffic lights (even when there are, they are ignored by many) and there is a constant stream of traffic. Today it took me 15 mins to cross one road, it was so busy I just had to cross in tiny little bits. The best way to do it, is just walk! They go around you. But its terrifying at the start! Much easier when a local is crossing the road too, you kinda just hang out next to them and follow what they do!
I have had a few people approach me and ask where I am from, when I say Australia, they start asking questions and then tell me that their sister is a nurse in melbourne. I know its a scam. I dont know what they want, or where the conversation is going. But it cant be possible that all these people have sisters that are nurses at a melbourne hospital! One guy even tried to get me to speak to his sister on the phone. I just walked away.
Its not nice being alone in a city where you trust no one. I dont feel like I can even ask for directions. I wouldn't even know who the police are here. There are so many people dressed up in official looking uniforms, they are all different. My sister once had one help her find a train or something and they asked for money. So I can't even trust the ones who look official!
I've said alot of bad things :S So i better mention some of the good stuff! Cos it hasn't been all bad!
I went to visit the war museum, which was so intense. It is basically just very gruesome pictures and descriptions of what happened during the vietnam war. It was really heart wrenching. But a must-see if you go to Ho Chi Minh.
I also went to the Ben Thanh Market which was full of nick nacks, fakes and delicious food!! I've mostly just spent the days wandering around the streets and just taking it all in.
The food is delicious! I just had pho (noodles) for dinner. YUM!!! And I had something interesting for lunch yesterday. Not sure what, but the lady just sat me down and i pointed LOL! Lucky it was chicken :) So far so good on not getting sick from the food and water :)
I'm sure I won't go the whole 3 months without getting sick at some point though!
Im just hanging out in my hotel room tonight. Watching some tv. Cable with 100 channels :) prob like 80 of them vietnamese! LOL
Tomorrow I am off to the island of phu quoc. I cannot wait! I think it will be more my pace :) I think I need some time to just relax and get my mind off the fact that this is a little scary! LOL
I have a vietnamese mobile number, so if you would like it, just send me a facebook message. I can access facebook by going through a different website, but there are limitations to it. So i can see who is online to chat to. But I cannot chat to anyone. Msn was working yesterday, but I cant log in today! So if you want to chat and have a skype account, add joey_la_joey :) that seems to be working the best. Or just send me a facebook message or an email to jo_silva99@hotmail.com.
Big hugs to everyone!
Missing you all alot
Love Joey xoxoxoxoxoxox
Sunday, January 30, 2011
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