Perfume Pagoda Feb 2008 Part I

Spring is pagoda season in Vietnam but truly people pay more attention in the north than other parts of Vietnam. Almost every single man knows how to prepare for these special festival occasions and I am really impressed about that. It also means this aspect of our culture will never end. As in the past years, my friend and his colleagues invited me to join their pagoda trip to photograph the day.

We met up in front of the Sofitel Plaza Hotel at 5 am and had some noodles nearby then headed to the Perfume Pagoda in Ha Tay province. The weather was quite bad, damn cold and raining but it improved after 2 hours. The driver was excellent as we didn't have any problems at all. We arrived at the Yen River where we parked the car and picked up the boat. The girls sat in the cafe to fill up the wish lists for everyone then we took a big 35 seat iron boat to the pagoda dock. The boat trip was really pleasant and I love coming back here just to see people doing their own praying, organizing their food on trays and the scenery along the river.

We arrived at Trinh Temple at first for my friends to pray for over half an hour and I took that chance to take photos and look around. It was really crowded even though it was Monday. It was fun to see my friends organizing their food tray, everyone put some money on the tray as well as soft drink, fake money, wish lists, beer, chicken, sticky rice, biscuits, fresh fruit, cigarettes, flowers and incense. It sounds like a lots of things but it looks very nice and very organized. Some other people put even more stuff on their small trays which end up very heavy.

After 30 minutes, we left for Huong Tich Cave which is the most religious place to go. I will tell you more about this in part II. Please take a good look at my flickr website where I saved all of the photos.

Hanoi Winter

Most people imagine Hanoi as a hot climate city, but I'm telling you that recently the weather is really damn cold. 10 degrees in Vietnam sounds like nothing compared to minus 10 or even minus 30 degrees in other countries but it's really different if you ever make it to Hanoi. The humidity makes the colder seem really cold. It gets in your bones.

There have been quite a few old people and livestock who have died in Hanoi. Also lots of people have been sick throughout the north of Vietnam. In Sapa, the weather was minus 5 degrees, freezing and there was snow but people continued to go up to see snow for the first time ever in their lives. I wish I could see snow too as I never ever seen it before. It must be beautiful!

In one magazine, there was a report about one baby who died on the back of a motorbike in Hanoi because his parents forgot to cover his face and they only recognized when they were stopped by the police for not wearing a helmet. I couldn't believe my eyes reading that news. How could they let their children travel on the motorbike in such horrible weather conditions? I wondered. Also, almost ten babies die because of lung disease but the main reason was the cold. Even schools were closed on those days as it was too cold for children. The weather gets warmer but worse in the next two weeks with rain, high humidity and damp.

Now we must wait for the weather to improve and the sun to come out and the time when we can get rid of all the winter clothes. The other day, I had to wear three shirts, three pairs of pants, gloves, a thick jacket, scarf and winter hat but I am sure many people out there were wearing more than me. Another thing I want to mention is all that all of the clothes shops and electrical shops put their prices up unbelievably high at these times. There should be a law against businesses which take advantage of the weather situation.

Pagoda Festivals

Spring in Vietnam, especially in the north, is the time that almost every person visits pagodas wishing for a great lucky year ahead. This is a traditional side of Vietnam's culture.

Most people choose the Perfume Pagoda, Yen Tu Pagoda for destinations outside of Hanoi. Some people choose the most famous pagodas in Hanoi such as the Defence Pagoda, the One Pillar Pagoda and Phu Tay Ho for their city destinations. By going to these places at this time of the year, you can see thousands of people coming to do the same thing - preparing food, incense, drinks and very long wish lists of paper. I joined with my friends the last few years for fun and to take photos even though I don't follow any religion and I'm not a very ceremonial guy. I love to go these pagodas and temple because I like to see people doing their little prayers, talking to them and it's nice to see people maintaining their traditional culture.

I remembered last year seeing my friends spend almost twenty minutes just praying and reading their wish lists. I asked them why they had to spent so much time on these things and God cannot listen to theirs as well as thousands of people's wishes at the same time. They told me that's the way it is and just smiled. Maybe I should do the same thing instead of just lighting a few insence sticks:). It's also not easy to reach the altar as hundreds of people are crowded in with their full trays of fruit, food and a huge cooked chicken on their heads. There is a very special service where people can change big notes to small notes - 500 dong, 1000 dong, 2000 dong and 5000 dong. Most people put the money on their food trays and on the altars or give it to beggars in the hope that some of it comes back during the year.

I will join with my friends again to go to some pagodas on the weekends and hope that I can take some good photos and show you guys some new stories about these pagoda festivals soon.

My good friend's Wedding

Cong, one of my good friends from Hanoi decided to get married 3 weeks ago, just before Tet. My friends and I hired a car and went to his wedding in Thai Binh, a small province near Hanoi. It took us over three hours to get there due to the crazy traffic and the pre spring rain. This weather is pretty good for young married couples - the cold and rain means they will have more time together inside the house :).

Finally, we got to the bride's house in Nam Dinh for the celebration. Everybody was expecting us as my friend had mentioned to them that some of his western friends were coming with me. This maybe was the first time some of these villagers had ever seen westerners before and they were all staring, talking about them and touching my western friend's arms. It was really fun and we didn't expect that many people in the party. They were dancing, drinking tea and eating watermelon seeds. The ceremony included relatives of my friend's wife giving her money, jewellery and making speeches. There were lots of old people in very old traditional dresses who looked really nice and they were very friendly.

We stayed at the bride's house for twenty minutes until the ceremony finished. Then my friend and his family took her to his house in a very nicely decorated car. We all followed that car and headed to Thai Binh for another set of speeches then party time. We lost the group because our driver was driving so slowly and couldn't follow them. We had to make many phone calls and asked people on the street for thirty minutes and eventually Cong had to sent his friend to meet us on the main road. Anyway, we got there and after twenty minutes we started our meal. We were served cat meat, pork, beef, chicken, squid, crab, dear, sticky rice, shrimp and fresh fruit. It was really a treat as all the food was yummy and had been well prepared by his friends and family.

Cong and his wife looked so happy and they smiled the whole time and, especially in their eyes, we could tell it was true love. We all wish them happiness and a great future. Thank you for inviting us to join such a great party. Also thanks to your families and friends who have treated us so sweetly and provided such great food. All the best from Vietnamese God and his friends!!!

Phu Quoc Part V

During my trip to Pho Quoc, I decided to take it easy for one full day just relaxing and walking along the beach. In the evening, I met up with my friends, Anne and Arno, for dinner at the Rainbow Bar which is right on the hotel's beach. We started with some cocktails and beer then we had two bottles of red wine and white wine over the whole evening. We felt a bit drunk afterwards and then we booked a table for Christmas Eve which was the next day. Following the recommendation of the restaurant boss, we pre-ordered 2 big fish (about 2kgs) for grilling which for some reason is much cheaper than ordering on the day. That suited me as I had more money for wine!

We had a great time on that evening and the grilled fish was so good plus in addition to the barbequed crocodile, squid and prawns. I suffered from a really heavy hangover the next morning before having my last look at Phu Quoc before leaving for Saigon at midday. I hired a motorbike to drive to town for a big bowl of noodles for breakfast and to take some final photos plus 2 pills of panadol and a can of red bull. I felt a bit better but I didn't realize that I left my wallet in the taxi to the airport with all my money and my bank cards. Thank god, I called the hotel and Tuan Anh, the receptionist, solved my problem and the driver brought it back to me at the airport.

The last few words I want to say about Phu Quoc are: Peaceful, Beautiful, Sweet people, Great food and Thuan Kieu is such great resort. I want to thank Tuan Anh and Phu Quoc has given me such a memorable trip and I'll be back for more. See you again soon, Phu Quoc!

Nha Trang - Happy New Year 2008!!!

Chinese New Year in Viet Nam is called Tet. All over Vietnam, Tet is the family reunion time where everyone is supposed to return home for a few days. That includes me. I went back home for two weeks to be with my mother and my sisters and brother. Back in Nha Trang for two weeks isn't really enough as I couldn't try as much local food as I would like but at least I had such a great time with family and good friends.

My family and I chose the Sailing Club to welcome the new year. This is a really beautiful bar right on the beach BUT it is a bit of a rip off place as well for beer as it's almost double price compared to other places in town. They have really good music, a great location right on the beach and everyone seemed to come here on New Years Eve for a drink or two and to see the fireworks. They also charged a $4 entrance fee that you can exchange for a small bottle of beer, soft drink or an awful jar of cocktail. Anyway, we had a great new years eve and I was a bit drunk at the end.

My mother was preparing lots of food at home waiting for us to return home. In Vietnam, it's very important that the first person to enter the home after the new year is someone who will bring the family good luck for the coming year. It also depends on that person's year of birth and normally the family choose. With my family, I am usually the first person every year because I always come home earlier than other people but not this year as my brother came home first. I hope we will have the greatest year this year.

Happy New Year everyone and best wishes for the coming year. Welcome to 2008, the year of the Rat!!!

Phu Quoc Part IV

I joined the squid fishing tour for a few hours that evening and this is such a fun thing to do for experience. It cost only $15 including transport. Catching squid is not as easy as I thought and not a single person could catch anything for three and a half hours. There were two young girls working for the tour company who joined the trip with us and they vomited non-stop which made me feel sick as well. Anyway, the tour company prepared some squid porridge and some fresh fruit for everyone and it was really good.

One morning, I hired a motorbike with a driver to discover the north of Phu Quoc, including a fish sauce factory, national park, pepper farm, Nguyen Trung Truc hero temple and the Viet Nam - Cambodia border. Discovering Phu Quoc by motorbike is such a great way as I could stop at any place for photos, coffee or even the toilet. The downside was that my whole body got covered in red mud after travelling over those roads for a few hours.

I was really impressed by the wild beaches along the coastal roads. They all look so clean with white sand and virtually nobody around. I bought quite a few kgs of black and white pepper from the farm for me and my good friends from Hanoi. Phu Quoc's pepper is really famous throughout Viet Nam. The fish sauce factory was interesting as I saw hundreds of huge timber barrells which can hold over 15000 litres each. Fish sauce in Phu Quoc is acclaimed over the world and I eat it almost everyday at home with rice. Some of my friends asked me to bring back some but it's illegal to carry fish sauce on a plane in Vietnam.

To be continued

Phu Quoc Part III

I decided to take it easy, just laying on the hotel beach for the whole day then take a squid fishing trip in the evening for a few hours. The beach is really quiet not because I am the first one on the beach at 8am but that's just the atmostphere on Phu Quoc. There were only a few hotel staff hanging around cleaning and collecting rubbish and organizing chairs for hotel clients.

I saw a few people driving their small fishing boats setting their nets along the beach then they stopped in front of my hotel before starting to pull the net from two different places which were about 2 kms long between each other. They were working so hard but they smiled all the time which is really nice. I saw quite a few kids around both on the boat and on the beach with their families trying to help pick up the fish and put water into the big fishing boxes. I'm sure they should be at school but I suppose their parents need them to help earn the family income.

So, I spent around three hours watching the activity of these people fishing at the beach then I decided to hire a motorbike and drive into town, check out everything and take some photos around the central market. The market was very interesting with a variety of food, mostly seafood with lots of huge fish, prawns and squid. People were posing for me and kept asking me to take more photos of them. They were laughing out loud when I showed them their own faces. This doesn't happen much in Vietnam. Normally people object to me when I want to take their picture.

I also stopped at a fishing village near the market and it reminded me of the fishing villages near Nha Trang but much smaller. The standard of living around these areas seemed not very high as people rely mostly on fishing and working in the market or being a motorbike taxi but they seem very happy with their lives. There are lots of smile in Phu Quoc.

To be continued

Phu Quoc Part II

My trip to the south of Phu Quoc was pretty good as I visited some interesting places such as very famous dog supply, pearl workshop and some souvenir shops. The most disappointing place was Phu Quoc prison which is not what I would call a tourist attraction. The people who take care of this place were eating in the entrance way on the floor when tourists were there, their kids were crying and shouting all over this place. How disappointing! It has quite a lot of potential if it is managed better.

I also went to the old port for some shots before heading to the most beautiful beach in Phu Quoc named Sao - Star beach. This is truly a beautiful long white sandy and wild beach with lots of coconut tress along it. I had a really nice seafood lunch there for only $15 including a cold 333 beer, grilled prawns with salt and black pepper, steamed squid with ginger, stir fried shell fish with lemongrass and black pepper and salad. I felt regret that I didn't swim there as I forgot to bring my swimming shorts. Perhaps I should have gone in my underwear!

On the way back, the driver intended to show us a waterfall but I wasn't in the mood for that as I was a bit too tired to climb up to the waterfall and I decided to go back to the hotel for a cold shower then head to the beach to relax and swim. Finally, we got back hotel and I was so pleased with my room right on the beach with two bathrooms, one inside and one outdoor. I love having a shower outdoors which is nicer and cooler.

After a long morning, I finally made it to the beach and had a swim for 30 minutes. It was so great swimming in the cool blue water that was so refreshing. In the evening, I hired a motorbike to drive down to town for dinner and stopped at the night market that is opened mainly for tourists. There are lots of local restaurants and bars there as well. I chose a shop in the middle of the market, which serves BBQ, hotpot and the specialties of Phu Quoc, meaning lots of seafood. They cooked it really well and people working in the shop were so nice and sweet.

I had two cold beers, a small seafood hotpot, grilled squid, steamed crab and crab with tamarind sauce. The food was so yummy and I could have eaten more even though I had already had too much. Compared to Hanoi, Saigon and even Nha Trang, the seafood here is amazingly cheap.

I went back to the hotel bar named Rainbow for one more drink before I went to sleep. I was surprised about how cheap the drink and wine prices were there - only 180,000Vnd per bottle which is much cheaper than in any bars in Hanoi. I decided to order a bottle of Sailing Colombard Chardonnay from Australia. It was good and after half an hour I had finished the bottle and felt a bit drunk. I asked for the bill then went straight back to the hotel room for a good night's sleep. I slept so well and deeply.

To be continued

Phu Quoc Part I

I woke up at 4 am and took a taxi to the airport to fly to Phu Quoc Island. This is one of the hottest places to go at the moment where tourism is not too developed yet. Most of the beaches here are clean with white sand and blue water and not big waves. Anyway, it was a pleasant flight and I arrived safely after 50 minutes from Saigon. Thanh Kieu Resort sent a member of their staff to pick me up from the airport and I don't think I could have found the hotel without him, because the roads here are confusing and he had to turn down many narrow lanes with just enough space for a car or a couple of motorbikes.

It's really quiet in Phu Quoc at 7 am and everything seemed still sleepy. I went down to the hotel's private beach for breakfast as I had to wait until 11. 30 am for my room. I met a German guy who was also waiting for his room. The receptionist came to the restaurant to meet me to give me some travel tips about Phu Quoc and he reckoned that we should hire a cab for half a day to discover the south of Phu Quoc for $15 each and I think that's not a bad idea. I agreed with that and started the trip with the stranger from Germany who is not really fluent in English but I was sure we would have a good day.

The car came in 20 minutes which was so fast as I thought it would take him at least 45 mintues to prepare. The diver was a really helpful and friendly man as he gave me all the information about Phu Quoc, where to go after the tour, what to eat and where are the best and cheapest places to eat, and any other places of interest.

To be continued

Saigon Dec, 2007 - Part II

While I was in the south, I took a day tour with Sinh Cafe to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai temple. It cost me 80,000Vnd not including lunch. I was really impressed with the professional staff from the ticket sellers to the drivers and the tour guide. They were really helpful and sweet even though this is a cheap big tour group. The tour guide, Mr Truong, who is about 50 years old, is very funny, calm and full of interesting information about our destinations.

We stopped over at a workshop called Workability International for 20 minutes to check out the charity organization that helps people who suffered disabilities during the war( lost arms, eyes..) They made beautiful products such as eggshell paintings and lacquerware. It's an example of a charity doing a good job giving people skills to earn a living.

After a ninety minute bus journey, we arrived at the Cao Dai Temple. This is a really interesting place with a unique structure and interesting history. The building is an interesting mix of Catholic, Buddhist and Hindu architecture.

After the first half day visit Cao Dai Temple, we continued our trip to Cu Chi tunnels where the tour showed us how Vietnamese soldiers lived deep underground during the war. Everyone on the tour tried to go through the 60 metre tunnel but I didn't because I did it last time. There was an old couple from the US on the tour and they were surprised to see all of the very simple guns, narrow tunnels and the man said "That's why we lost". The whole group laughed out loud.

The people on the tour were very friendly, the guide was very helpful and sweet . Thank you very much for a good day.

To be continued

Huong Canh Ceramic Village

I got an invitation from my good friend, Michelle to join her on a trip to Huong Canh village for a weekend trip. We met up and joined a group of about 15 people most of who are housewives and people associated with the group, Friends Of Vietnam Heritage. It sounded like an interesting day, something different. Anyway, we headed by bus to Huong Canh village, one of the oldest ceramic villages which I hadn't heard of before. It used to be really famous for Chum: earthenware or Vai:stoneware, specialising in water jars and cylindrical jars which are used for water and rice.

Nowadays, they have stopped making those famous Chum and Vai products, turning to a craft village like others around to focus on fine arts and decorative roof tiles. Huong Canh village used to have a lot of red brown clay but it started to run out. Then their product prices dropped to almost half price because everyone was making the same stuff in large amounts and demand for the traditional tiles stopped. Making the tiles also caused a lot of pollution with 70% of the villagers having some kind of health problems especially lung diseases.

We went to visit the Thanh Nhan workshop which belongs to Mr Nguyen Thanh. He told us lots of interesting facts about the village and his work. There are so far three generations of his family who have practiced the ceramics craft. They dig clay from under the lake in the village and let it sit for six to eight months then use a mix of 70% green clay and 30% brown clay so that it won't crack or split and also won't shrink when fired. He also told us that there are only four families left doing this kind of craft out of 103 families in the village. Most of the stuff they make now is for export with special orders from foreign companies in places such as Korea, Japan and even from Europe. His family has about 50 clay products to choose from and a certain amount of interaction between the family and some enterprises in Bat Trang Ceramic village.

Also, people living in this area also use their traditional products in strange ways such as using clay coffins to make fences or house walls. For us, these coffins are usually only used for the bones of dead people. The village also contains many old houses with small gardens including lots of fruit trees which reminds me about my hometown. The people in Huong Canh village are really sweet but the streets are a bit smelly because of all the dog poo around.

A small funny story occurred on our trip when we bought a few small ornaments for the house. Some of the couples on the trip bought some big pottery buffalos and they said they were too heavy and they couldn't carry them to the bus. The ceramic family said, no problem, they would bring the buffaloes to the bus. We all walked out of that shop to look at the little pagodas and temples around and as we stood in front of the pagoda, an old lady about 60 years old walked past carrying 5 huge clay buffalos. I said, wasn't it funny that the big strong western men couldn't carry them! They didn't say much of course!!!

Anyway, we had a great day, saw a very interesting new place and bought some nice and good stuff. Thanks to Michelle for inviting me.