... a wedding invitation! My former landlady's (now that I'm back in Hue, I'm living with friends and not at the Hue Help homestay)son is getting married on Monday. I have been hoping for almost 4 months now that I would experience a Vietnamese wedding and here's my chance!
Of course, I'm just happy I get to buy a new dress and shoes!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
What's "Urgh, I'm so stupid" in Vietnamese?
I write this from the lobby of the guesthouse I'm staying at in Phnom Penh. That's right, I'm in Cambodia.
It started off intentional, as I spent a week in Siem Reap visiting all the temples, which I'll get back to in a sec. I then got a bus from Siem Reap via Phnom Penh, which was supposed to take me to Ho Chi Minh City back in Vietnam. Unfortunately, my extended visa (which I thought was valid until the end of July) expired as soon as I left the country for Cambodia last week. Oops. I burst into tears at the border, and fortunately one of the immigration staff was nice and helped me get a bus back to Phnom Penh. So I spent 17 hours on a bus and ended up here....
Here, being Phnom Penh, isn't actually that bad. It's a big, bustling city, but after a week in Hanoi before Cambodia I don't really mind the traffic anymore. The strangest thing about being here is that this is the first time in three and a half months that I only have myself for company. This is something I am not really used to, having grown up with a boisterous brother who constantly invades my privacy and generally I'm always surrounded by people who are just as, if not more, bubbly and talkative than me.
So upon arriving yesterday I locked myself in my room, devoured the rest of my "bus picknick", consisting of crips and biscuits and watched TV. Yes, TV! I haven't watched TV in such a long time! When I woke up this morning I was lucky enough to find 2 'good' children's films on (101 Dalmatians and Night at the Museum 2), so I didn't venture outside of the room until 11.
After some actual food I headed to the S-21 Khmer Rouge prison. Over the course of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime almost 20,000 people were imprisoned here. Only 7 survived. Cambodia has been through some horrible horrible times, first french colonial rule, then civil war, then Pol Pot's genocide. I have kind of always known a bit about this, but only by actually being here am I beginning to fully piece it all together. Tomorrow I'm going to visit the killing fields. I'm not sure I want to go, but I think it's an important part of recent history that I shouldn't miss out on.
But first I'll have to convince the Vietnamese embassy to extend my visa/give me a new one, and fast, because I miss Hue!!!
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
It started off intentional, as I spent a week in Siem Reap visiting all the temples, which I'll get back to in a sec. I then got a bus from Siem Reap via Phnom Penh, which was supposed to take me to Ho Chi Minh City back in Vietnam. Unfortunately, my extended visa (which I thought was valid until the end of July) expired as soon as I left the country for Cambodia last week. Oops. I burst into tears at the border, and fortunately one of the immigration staff was nice and helped me get a bus back to Phnom Penh. So I spent 17 hours on a bus and ended up here....
Here, being Phnom Penh, isn't actually that bad. It's a big, bustling city, but after a week in Hanoi before Cambodia I don't really mind the traffic anymore. The strangest thing about being here is that this is the first time in three and a half months that I only have myself for company. This is something I am not really used to, having grown up with a boisterous brother who constantly invades my privacy and generally I'm always surrounded by people who are just as, if not more, bubbly and talkative than me.
So upon arriving yesterday I locked myself in my room, devoured the rest of my "bus picknick", consisting of crips and biscuits and watched TV. Yes, TV! I haven't watched TV in such a long time! When I woke up this morning I was lucky enough to find 2 'good' children's films on (101 Dalmatians and Night at the Museum 2), so I didn't venture outside of the room until 11.
After some actual food I headed to the S-21 Khmer Rouge prison. Over the course of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime almost 20,000 people were imprisoned here. Only 7 survived. Cambodia has been through some horrible horrible times, first french colonial rule, then civil war, then Pol Pot's genocide. I have kind of always known a bit about this, but only by actually being here am I beginning to fully piece it all together. Tomorrow I'm going to visit the killing fields. I'm not sure I want to go, but I think it's an important part of recent history that I shouldn't miss out on.
But first I'll have to convince the Vietnamese embassy to extend my visa/give me a new one, and fast, because I miss Hue!!!
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Patrick Rolfe, 1987-2011
Rest in Peace, Pat. You were a true inspiration to us all and will be greatly missed.
"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes, into the midst of a peaceful family - without any warning of gathered storm above or lightest tremble of earthquake beneath - will fall a terrible fact, and from that moment everything is changed. The air is thick with cloud, and cannot weep itself clear. There may come a gorgeous sunset though." - George Macdonald
"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes, into the midst of a peaceful family - without any warning of gathered storm above or lightest tremble of earthquake beneath - will fall a terrible fact, and from that moment everything is changed. The air is thick with cloud, and cannot weep itself clear. There may come a gorgeous sunset though." - George Macdonald
Monday, June 6, 2011
Snakes on a Train and other tails
My friend Kim sent me this hilarious yet terrifying article about a recent incident on a train to Hanoi. You can read the whole article here
Basically, the train had to be evacuated because someone found a few bags full of poisonous cobras that luckily had their mouths sewn shut, but they were still alive and wriggling about! The underlying presumption is that they were destined for a restaurant in Hanoi that specialises in snake meat.
In fact, weird meats are quite common throughout Vietnam. They serve dog, monkey, turtle, snake, goat, crocodile and more conventional ones such as pork, duck (today is a day of celebration which means that everyone meets up with their family to enjoy a huge feast of duck)and chicken. They also use these animals to make spirits, all of which are supposed to be 'good for man'. I've tried snake wine and monkey wine, both of which I will not be trying again, as it's not only morally dubious (most of these species are protected) but both of them also taste disgusting.
IN two weeks today my parents arrive and I'll be leaving Hue on the 25th, so I'm coming to the end of my time here. We'll be heading to Hanoi, where I'm attending a conference on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for 2 days. But first, we'll be visiting Halong Bay, which I am incredibly excited about! After Hanoi, we're heading to Ho Chi Minh City for a few days before making our way to Cambodia!!! As amazing as all these places will be, I'm sure to miss Hue which has really made a huge impression on me. All this amazing food, rich history, beautiful surroundings and fascinating people I've met, it'll be hard to leave!
But I've still got so much planned until then: we're taking the kids from the shelter to a spa/waterpark for the day; I've still got 2 weeks of teaching at the five star resort to go; the Hope Shop will finally open; one of my friends is returning to Hue after a month of travelling..... all is good!
PS new pics have gone up on my photoblog!
Basically, the train had to be evacuated because someone found a few bags full of poisonous cobras that luckily had their mouths sewn shut, but they were still alive and wriggling about! The underlying presumption is that they were destined for a restaurant in Hanoi that specialises in snake meat.
In fact, weird meats are quite common throughout Vietnam. They serve dog, monkey, turtle, snake, goat, crocodile and more conventional ones such as pork, duck (today is a day of celebration which means that everyone meets up with their family to enjoy a huge feast of duck)and chicken. They also use these animals to make spirits, all of which are supposed to be 'good for man'. I've tried snake wine and monkey wine, both of which I will not be trying again, as it's not only morally dubious (most of these species are protected) but both of them also taste disgusting.
IN two weeks today my parents arrive and I'll be leaving Hue on the 25th, so I'm coming to the end of my time here. We'll be heading to Hanoi, where I'm attending a conference on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for 2 days. But first, we'll be visiting Halong Bay, which I am incredibly excited about! After Hanoi, we're heading to Ho Chi Minh City for a few days before making our way to Cambodia!!! As amazing as all these places will be, I'm sure to miss Hue which has really made a huge impression on me. All this amazing food, rich history, beautiful surroundings and fascinating people I've met, it'll be hard to leave!
But I've still got so much planned until then: we're taking the kids from the shelter to a spa/waterpark for the day; I've still got 2 weeks of teaching at the five star resort to go; the Hope Shop will finally open; one of my friends is returning to Hue after a month of travelling..... all is good!
PS new pics have gone up on my photoblog!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
back to reality!
After almost 4 weeks off I'm back to my life in Hue.
And so much has happened!
In my last post I talked about my public holiday outing to that beautiful pagoda on a lake and a stunning remote beach. I'll upload pics of that to my tumblr blog as well as all my other pictures.
In Hue itself I visited the citadel again, Thien Mu pagoda again (third time lucky!) and another royal tomb. I travelled to the tomb by boat, so they only gave me an hour to find the tomb (2km by bike in the middle of nowhere), rush round and get back to the boat. Next time I'll try to spend more time there!
So I had a nice few laid back days exploring Hue before setting off on a week long holiday in Hoi An and Da Nang. I also went on a day trip to Lang Co, a beach further down the coast from Hue than the one I went to over the public holiday. I visited a place called Suoi Voi, elephant springs, which are a cascade of mountain springs and pools you can swim in. One of these pools is shaped like an elephant which explains its name.
Hoi An is beautiful, really small, stunning architecture and rammed full of souvenir shops and tailors. I actually had 2 dresses made there, but one of them has already gone a bit funny, the fabric's starting to go bumpy (if that's the right word). The other one I'm keeping for good, as well as a beautful one I had done in Hue for a fraction of the price.
It was great staying in a Hotel for 4 with actual air conditioning and not just a fan blowing hot air at you! Also, breakfast was included in the price, so indulged in some Western breakfast pleasures, too. On Tuesday I went to My Son temples, which were built by the Cham. The Cham around the same time also built Ankhor Wat in Cambodia. In fact, Cambodia I believe got its name from the Cham people who were forced from their land in today's Vietnam and their territory shrunk to what is today known as Cambodia. However, in Vietnam there are still some descendants of the Cham people and they are located around Hoi An and Da Nang.
On Wednesday I went diving at two sites by the Cham Islands. It was breathtakingly beautiful, though diving is quite scary and takes getting used to. The silence under water is quite eery and the only sounds you hear is your heartbeat (mine was hammering in my ears!) and your breathing. Communicating with the dive instructors is done via hand signs, so there really is nothing to get in the way of your thoughts and observing sea life. We all had lunch on a beach on Cham island and spent the afternoon lazing around in the sun. Before dinner on the beach I checked out the fishing village nearby, which was a huge change from the towns I've been to so far. I reckon they don't see many Westerners and everyone was curious to see what I was doing and where I was going. As it started to rain two young guys sitting outside their house offered me some rice wine and wanted me to stay for dinner!
I spent the night in a tent on the beach, and since the sun went down around 7pm I was asleep by 8pm and up at dawn at 6am. I spent the morning dozing, swimming and the locals set up their sea food restaurants for the next rush of daytrippers, who took me back to the mainland after another scrumptious lunch.
So that's pretty much what I've been up to these last few weeks!
Am settling back into my routine here now, and since I only have 4 weeks left in Hue I have a neverending list of projects to finish! I'm also taking on some paid work at a nearby 5 star resort which has its own private beach as well as swimming pools, so I will be living it up large for the next few weeks, keeping busy busy busy! The Hope Center Shop should also be opening soon, and with no proper products yet they pressure is on!
Will try keep in touch more and update my blog more regularly from now on.
Hope you're all doing well!
xxxx
And so much has happened!
In my last post I talked about my public holiday outing to that beautiful pagoda on a lake and a stunning remote beach. I'll upload pics of that to my tumblr blog as well as all my other pictures.
In Hue itself I visited the citadel again, Thien Mu pagoda again (third time lucky!) and another royal tomb. I travelled to the tomb by boat, so they only gave me an hour to find the tomb (2km by bike in the middle of nowhere), rush round and get back to the boat. Next time I'll try to spend more time there!
So I had a nice few laid back days exploring Hue before setting off on a week long holiday in Hoi An and Da Nang. I also went on a day trip to Lang Co, a beach further down the coast from Hue than the one I went to over the public holiday. I visited a place called Suoi Voi, elephant springs, which are a cascade of mountain springs and pools you can swim in. One of these pools is shaped like an elephant which explains its name.
Hoi An is beautiful, really small, stunning architecture and rammed full of souvenir shops and tailors. I actually had 2 dresses made there, but one of them has already gone a bit funny, the fabric's starting to go bumpy (if that's the right word). The other one I'm keeping for good, as well as a beautful one I had done in Hue for a fraction of the price.
It was great staying in a Hotel for 4 with actual air conditioning and not just a fan blowing hot air at you! Also, breakfast was included in the price, so indulged in some Western breakfast pleasures, too. On Tuesday I went to My Son temples, which were built by the Cham. The Cham around the same time also built Ankhor Wat in Cambodia. In fact, Cambodia I believe got its name from the Cham people who were forced from their land in today's Vietnam and their territory shrunk to what is today known as Cambodia. However, in Vietnam there are still some descendants of the Cham people and they are located around Hoi An and Da Nang.
On Wednesday I went diving at two sites by the Cham Islands. It was breathtakingly beautiful, though diving is quite scary and takes getting used to. The silence under water is quite eery and the only sounds you hear is your heartbeat (mine was hammering in my ears!) and your breathing. Communicating with the dive instructors is done via hand signs, so there really is nothing to get in the way of your thoughts and observing sea life. We all had lunch on a beach on Cham island and spent the afternoon lazing around in the sun. Before dinner on the beach I checked out the fishing village nearby, which was a huge change from the towns I've been to so far. I reckon they don't see many Westerners and everyone was curious to see what I was doing and where I was going. As it started to rain two young guys sitting outside their house offered me some rice wine and wanted me to stay for dinner!
I spent the night in a tent on the beach, and since the sun went down around 7pm I was asleep by 8pm and up at dawn at 6am. I spent the morning dozing, swimming and the locals set up their sea food restaurants for the next rush of daytrippers, who took me back to the mainland after another scrumptious lunch.
So that's pretty much what I've been up to these last few weeks!
Am settling back into my routine here now, and since I only have 4 weeks left in Hue I have a neverending list of projects to finish! I'm also taking on some paid work at a nearby 5 star resort which has its own private beach as well as swimming pools, so I will be living it up large for the next few weeks, keeping busy busy busy! The Hope Center Shop should also be opening soon, and with no proper products yet they pressure is on!
Will try keep in touch more and update my blog more regularly from now on.
Hope you're all doing well!
xxxx
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Food, Food and more Food
This weekend was Hue's food festival. It was located just around the corner from my house, so I went every day! On Sunday we took 25 of the kids from the shelter to the festival and had a wander with them. It was unbelievably hot, so we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. The Vietnamese are very protective of their skin, so they cover up wearing hats, gloves and long sleeves. I'm not sure whether it's to protect their skin from burning, or whether it's solely to stay white, as it's seen as a symbol of beauty to be pale.
I get a lot of people touching me and telling me I'm beautiful solely because of my scottish complexion. However, with summer approaching and temperatures due to reach close to 40 this weekend I doubt I will stay this pale for long. I've been wearing factor 50 suncream though and haven't burnt yet.
Monday and Tuesday were public holidays (Vietnamese independence day and workers' day fell on Saturday and Sunday) so on Monday we went on an outing with our landlady's family. 18 of us piled into a small minivan and visited a beautifully peaceful pagoda. From the carpark we travelled to the pagoda by boat and then climbed loads of steps in the morning sun. In the afternoon we went to a beautiful remote little beach and had seafood for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon in the water playing with a bunch of local kids as well as the family's kids.
So I've had a lovely few days. Just now I'm off to the hairdressers as I keep waking up because my head gets so hot at night. Hopefully they can thin it out without losing too much of the length!
Vincent also arrives today so won't be spending that much time blogging over the next few weeks but will try to post some pictures whenever I can.
I get a lot of people touching me and telling me I'm beautiful solely because of my scottish complexion. However, with summer approaching and temperatures due to reach close to 40 this weekend I doubt I will stay this pale for long. I've been wearing factor 50 suncream though and haven't burnt yet.
Monday and Tuesday were public holidays (Vietnamese independence day and workers' day fell on Saturday and Sunday) so on Monday we went on an outing with our landlady's family. 18 of us piled into a small minivan and visited a beautifully peaceful pagoda. From the carpark we travelled to the pagoda by boat and then climbed loads of steps in the morning sun. In the afternoon we went to a beautiful remote little beach and had seafood for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon in the water playing with a bunch of local kids as well as the family's kids.
So I've had a lovely few days. Just now I'm off to the hairdressers as I keep waking up because my head gets so hot at night. Hopefully they can thin it out without losing too much of the length!
Vincent also arrives today so won't be spending that much time blogging over the next few weeks but will try to post some pictures whenever I can.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Finally, some time to explore!
Finally I've settled into my schedule so I found some time to go exploring in Hue. One of the Vietnamese volunteers offered to take me to a few fabulous places around Hue, including Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue's Temple of Literature, the Arena (tigers and elephants were forced to fight against each other as a spectacle for kings) and the Palace of the Crying Elephants, a temple erected in memory of the elephants that died. As the tigers' claws were clipped before battle hardly any of the elephants were killed so they mostly died a natural death. Apparently this 'declawing' was because tigers symbolised barbarism and elephants symbolised the wisdom and eternity of the Vietnamese royal family.
Yesterday I also got to meet up with my aunt and uncle, who are travelling in Vietnam with two friends. I joined in their private tour for the day and we visited the Minh Mang tomb - one of the kings' mausoleums - and the citadel. I also got to revisit the Thien Mu Pagoda, with a qualified tourguide this time! It was built in 1601 and has the highest pagoda tower in all of Vietnam. The pagoda is also famous for a tragic event in the 1960s: one of the buddhist monks borrowed a car, drove to Saigon and set himself on fire in protest of goverment policies on religion, which was regarded as being pro-Christian and anti-buddhist. You can still see the car at the pagoda which was retrieved from Saigon.
After our visits we took one of the fascinating dragon boats back to Hue along the Perfume River.
In the afternoon my visitors came to see me at my two placements, including the children's shelter which was staging the Royal Wedding Party. Sadly it had just finished when we got there due to our taxi driver getting completely lost even though I knew exactly where to go and kept pointing at my map! However, you will all be able to see the footage from our royal wedding party on Monday, 7.10pm UK time on Channel 4. If possible, could one of you record it for me? I think I may be in it for 2 seconds holding a child and avoiding clearing up. Oops.
My visitors have now continued their trip to Hoi An and then on to Ho Chi Minh City, so this morning me and the other volunteers went to one of the 4 star hotels for an all you can eat breakfast buffet for the equivalent of 4 USD. So so good! And I filled up on cheese, so that'll last me until the middle of the week, I hope.
For some reason we all seem to have the day off today, so we went to one of the other children shelters, bought water bombs and had a hilarious water fight as it is absolutely scorching today! We'd planned on going to the beach but I'm actually spending my afternoon in the office, with all the fans on updating my blog and listening to music.
This evening we're checking out Hue food festival, which starts today and there are all sorts of activities planned as well as performances and exhibits. Tomorrow we're taking 20 of the kids from the children's shelter to the festival for a day out, which should be fun!
Will upload some pics from my antics onto tumblr.
xxx
Yesterday I also got to meet up with my aunt and uncle, who are travelling in Vietnam with two friends. I joined in their private tour for the day and we visited the Minh Mang tomb - one of the kings' mausoleums - and the citadel. I also got to revisit the Thien Mu Pagoda, with a qualified tourguide this time! It was built in 1601 and has the highest pagoda tower in all of Vietnam. The pagoda is also famous for a tragic event in the 1960s: one of the buddhist monks borrowed a car, drove to Saigon and set himself on fire in protest of goverment policies on religion, which was regarded as being pro-Christian and anti-buddhist. You can still see the car at the pagoda which was retrieved from Saigon.
After our visits we took one of the fascinating dragon boats back to Hue along the Perfume River.
In the afternoon my visitors came to see me at my two placements, including the children's shelter which was staging the Royal Wedding Party. Sadly it had just finished when we got there due to our taxi driver getting completely lost even though I knew exactly where to go and kept pointing at my map! However, you will all be able to see the footage from our royal wedding party on Monday, 7.10pm UK time on Channel 4. If possible, could one of you record it for me? I think I may be in it for 2 seconds holding a child and avoiding clearing up. Oops.
My visitors have now continued their trip to Hoi An and then on to Ho Chi Minh City, so this morning me and the other volunteers went to one of the 4 star hotels for an all you can eat breakfast buffet for the equivalent of 4 USD. So so good! And I filled up on cheese, so that'll last me until the middle of the week, I hope.
For some reason we all seem to have the day off today, so we went to one of the other children shelters, bought water bombs and had a hilarious water fight as it is absolutely scorching today! We'd planned on going to the beach but I'm actually spending my afternoon in the office, with all the fans on updating my blog and listening to music.
This evening we're checking out Hue food festival, which starts today and there are all sorts of activities planned as well as performances and exhibits. Tomorrow we're taking 20 of the kids from the children's shelter to the festival for a day out, which should be fun!
Will upload some pics from my antics onto tumblr.
xxx
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