Sunday, November 12, 2006
knock...
After having voiced my political and social concerns, it is time to continue on my Vietnamese journey or rather attempt to relive those days. They seem to be quite packed away in a cache in my distant memory. Knowing how forgetful ancient folks get, I must document them before they get forgotten.
After the eventful exchange at the spa, we continued to shop around although all that was on everyone's mind was dinner. They flatly refused to admit their hunger but i swear i could see that Candy was on the verge of leaping for joy when we found lotteria - one of the 2 fastfood joints in HCMC. For once throughout the trip, they were wolving down dinner to the surprise of SC's family members. Thanks to the starvation I subjected them to. We spent the night at a saxophone club and retired after our failure to enjoy jazz music. It wasn't the genre. The musicians really weren't top-notched.
I channel-surfed while waiting before checking out to meet HZ at the airport. The crowd at the airport was an eye-opener considering that it was a weekday. I smsed HZ to tell her that the entire population of HCMC was at the airport awaiting the arrival of their loved ones. But that was only because they absolutely did not have a proper waiting area for the relatives. There was only a single row of seats lining the barricade immediately outside the airport customs. Eveyone either stood around or scattered themselves at the airport exterior. Taxi operators were busy touting, nursing mothers were feeding their children to the full view of others who didn't seemed bothered (maybe only Singaporeans are bothered by breast-feeding mothers) and elated relatives welcomed their loved ones home with emotions bursting through the floodgate of tears. So many faces taut with anticipation and with necks straining to catch a glimpse of their children or parents. It reminded me of another scene of a child running towards his father at the Singapore Changi Airport. Arrival halls at the airports are beautiful places to be in, to learn why having someone to love and care for is such a warm feeling.
HZ and I took the public bus from the airport to the backpacker's area. Soon after we set foot there, we got bombarded with offers from the owners of backpacker's motel. I realised later that all those who approached foreigners with all their heart, soul and strength are situated in hidden corners but their rooms can be better than those along the main streets. We booked for a night bus to Nha Trang and accepted the invitation of a lady who offered a room to house our backpacks for an afternoon. It was along a dirty and cramped alley but the room were very bright and extremely clean. The conditions were far better than the room we paid for later. The place was ran by an earnest family were very honest.
HZ and I tried Pho 24's rice noodles and combed Ben Thanh market, Saigon Square, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. We tried the banana cake that had earned my boss' admiration but I found the lime tart more tantalising. It was at a cafe that functioned as an art gallery so it felt like an artistic outing. This was our last stop before we returned to take the 10-hour bus ride. Well, not exactly our last food outing. We paused at Sinh cafe and experienced service at its homeliest there. It made me relunctant to leave especially since we spent such a fleeting moment there.
The bus ride was nothing exciting. At one of the stops for toilet breaks, i was astounded by the state of the toilet. It was part of a building that was undergoing construction. There was a care-taker at the entrance who ensured everyone took off their footwear and put on bathroom slippers. This was a major first for me. Public toilet with such orderliness and cleanliness. It was the only time in Vietnam that I saw that there was an order in queue as well. I give my utmost respect to the care-taker. He certainly deserves to collect the payment for entry. As a sign at one of the stop read, "The price for hygiene". No complaints would be made for his charge.
The half hour ride to Nha Trang town itself was so much more breath-taking than the beach at Nha Trang itself! We were driven along winding roads overlooking cliffs that stood next to the large blue sea. Against the morning sky, it was refreshing and made the 10-hour long drive worthwhile.
HZ and I had bun - their version of thick vermicelli. It cost a mere 60 cents but was extremely satisfying in the cold morning air. I had fed my craving for baguette but they all couldn't beat the one i had in Hanoi. I shall exhibit the bun and the horrible scene of its devourer.
Unfortunately, we were so burnt out after the meal and the cold morning rain was so conducive to sleep so we went back to the backpacker's motel and slept the morning away. By noon, the rain had cleared and the skies and the sea mirrored one another. We strolled along the clean and deserted beach and fended off peddlers of cooked seafood. Alas, we didn't bump into them again when we were sufficiently hungry for them.
We did scribbling on the beach and snapped away and met a most ungentlemanly Vietnamese guy who used my huge body to protect himself from the searing sun. This is him - the one who is keen to pose.
We managed to find our way to Cho Dam - the market at Nha Trang and had a galore of fruit. We even got the stallholder to cut the mangoes for us. She taught us that "sumo" meant good. But their persimmons tasted horrible. The mangosteens were at a killer-steep price of S$10/kg. I can buy 4kg of mangosteens with that amount in Singapore!
For once, I could really walk no further and we decided to head back to the motel after 3-4 hours of walking and to continue our exploration later in the evening after our fruit spread in the cool breeze of the air-conditioning. We took a cab to the ancient Cham relic and the cab-driver brought us to a hot spring where we merely let our eyes do the soaking. Later that evening, we paid an exhorbitant S$3 for grilled dried cuttlefish by an innocent-looking girl. I was seriously pissed by that. Here's some exposure time for her! Another rip-off was at a petrol kiosk where they sold 200g of M & M's for S$8.
The last few hours in Nha Trang was spent food hunting. We were pleasantly surprised with grilled pork cutlet with rice along the streets. It cost a mere S$1.20 and was smacking good. We had a very delicious bao and tried a combination of glutinous rice. There was also this flour based dish that was similar to what I've tried in Hue.
Nha Trang was the place where I learnt the most of the Vietnamese language especially its numbers. Da Lat is the next destination. I shall resume my literary (aha) diarrhoea when I feel like it.
7:18 PM
++++++
The half hour ride to Nha Trang town itself was so much more breath-taking than the beach at Nha Trang itself! We were driven along winding roads overlooking cliffs that stood next to the large blue sea. Against the morning sky, it was refreshing and made the 10-hour long drive worthwhile.
Unfortunately, we were so burnt out after the meal and the cold morning rain was so conducive to sleep so we went back to the backpacker's motel and slept the morning away. By noon, the rain had cleared and the skies and the sea mirrored one another. We strolled along the clean and deserted beach and fended off peddlers of cooked seafood. Alas, we didn't bump into them again when we were sufficiently hungry for them. 
We managed to find our way to Cho Dam - the market at Nha Trang and had a galore of fruit. We even got the stallholder to cut the mangoes for us. She taught us that "sumo" meant good. But their persimmons tasted horrible. The mangosteens were at a killer-steep price of S$10/kg. I can buy 4kg of mangosteens with that amount in Singapore! 
The last few hours in Nha Trang was spent food hunting. We were pleasantly surprised with grilled pork cutlet with rice along the streets. It cost a mere S$1.20 and was smacking good. We had a very delicious bao and tried a combination of glutinous rice. There was also this flour based dish that was similar to what I've tried in Hue. 
