Vietnam

"We've realized that we're having a very difficult time finding the enemy. It isn't easy to find a Vietnamese man named "Charlie." They're all named Nguyen, or Tran, or..."

This past weekend I traveled down to Saigon to see the sights and catch up with my cousin who is spending a year in Vietnam teaching english. Four of us flew into Vietnam on Thursday night Andrew, Rodrigo, Josh and myself. We got through customs, showed our visas and headed for a cab into the city. We got into the cab around 11:30 at night and drove through what seemed to a relatively empty wasteland with the occasional motorbike passing us buy or a rare group of people looking up from the lawn chairs they were conversing from. I would later come to realize that this is not some washed up wasteland it is a vibrant city where people just happen to go to bed early. We got to bed at decent time after watching Misery the suspense thriller with Kathy Bates and James Caan. I know this point means little to most readers but I have a hard time resisting the chance to mention a movie.
We got moving Friday morning around 8 and met up with my cousin John who had taken the bus down from Dalat, a city in the hills north of Saigon. We headed out to look for a tailor for some inexpensive Vietnamese clothing, we wandered the streets searching for a good spot but were unable to find anything that fit our needs. It would later become apparent that we just happened to miss the tailors by a block or two. Since the suits were a no go we decided to head outside the city to see the Củ Chi tunnels. For those who don't know these tunnels are just a small part in the vast network that the VC used in their war against us back in the sixties and seventies. If anyone wishes to know more about how these tunnels worked and how they were used feel free to ask me with a comment or an email and would be happy to ramble on about history. Upon seeing these tunnels in person after only seeing them on TV I was amazed. These tunnels are small. I cannot reiterate this enough, if you ever see them for yourself and you climb in be prepared for a tight squeeze. We got to the tunnels and were given a tour of the grounds and given the chance to go into the tunnels for ourselves. I unfortunately was to big to fit into these tunnels, the North Vietnamese Army did not design their tunnels to accommodate a six foot two American. While I did not get into the main tunnel some of my friends did and after hearing their reactions a part is thankful to VC for making them too small for me. Upon entering the tunnel first Andrew was handed a small flashlight and told to just forward and the exit would be straight ahead. Rodrigo and John followed close behind and the lid tot the tunnel was sealed. As the tunnel lid was dropped the worker giving the tour jokingly told them to watch out for bats. As I waited at the exit yells quickly came questioning which way to go, it seems there was not just one easy way out of the tunnel but in fact two diverging paths. After finally emerging from the tunnels Andrew stated that the guide was in fact not joking about the bats and that there was a rather large population of them below the surface. Upon hearing about the bats those in the back of the pack were thankful for the pitch black that prevented them form seeing the winged beasts. After seeing the tunnels, some recreations of a VC camp and some impact craters from American bombers we were taken to the firing range. Now Mom don't be scared but I did fire my first gun, and I am 99% sure it will be the last time I fire a gun. I have never found the desire to go fire a gun strong before but when presented with the opportunity to fire an AK-47 or an M-60 I figured I would take a shot or twenty. I decided to take twenty shots from an AK-47, this being the only place in the world where I believe one can legally fire this gun which has played such a large role in the military history of the past sixty years. Upon hearing how loud a gun shot is, it leaves your ears ringing, I don't think I can imagine how loud a battle field must be with hundreds of these machines being fired. The power that these weapons exert really makes one reflect on their life. We all took our shots and got our adrenaline rush for the day and headed back to central Saigon. We hung out that night and sat at a table in a bar and observed the nightlife passing by in the streets. It was one of the more relaxing, laid back nights I have had since arriving in Asia.
The next we decided to take the self guided walking tour of the city that our Lonely Planet guidebook suggested. The tour hit almost all the major sites of Saigon from the Reunification Palace to Notre Dame Cathedral to the War Remnants Museum. It was interesting to see the view of the War from the North Vietnamese point of view. Now I'm not going to get into my view of who did what to who, that is an answer for an in person conversation. I will however mention that it was a little troubling to see the dog tags of American Soldiers for sale. I'm not sure many Veterans of the war would be thrilled to see these pieces for sale. One thing that I found interesting on the tour was the Notre Dame Cathedral, seeing a massive Gothic building built with bricks of a bright almost pinkish hue was certainly an interesting juxtaposition. The Cathedral is an interesting site in the middle of Asia and churches are not something that standout usually in this part of the world. For more details on the sights and sounds of the tour email me or ask me in person when I get home, sorry to much to share in one blog. John headed back to Dalat that evening and the four of us headed to the Rex, a hotel down the street where during the war the military gave their press briefings and Walter Cronkite reported from at times. The place was now a touristy rooftop bar with a band playing sixties favorites like Tom Jone's "Delilah." After the Rex we went to the backpacker district and hung out at a bar and talked to an Irishman who was traveling through Asia. We ended up bumping into this guy 4 more times in the next day in the half.
The next day we decided to rent motorbikes the next day and test our prowess on the congested streets of Saigon. Within the first half hour all three us had wiped out, mine was the smallest and happened on an empty street with no one else around. The other two each had more hair raising crashes but we all survived no worse for the wear. After one gets the hang of the traffic here everything sort of falls into place and you begin to move around just as the locals do. The four hours spent on the motorbikes were some of the most exciting and interesting four hours of my life. It really lets you experience life. We left Vietnam tired and beat but feeling better than we have in our past few months, it was a great trip. For those curious the quote at the beginning is from "Good Morning Vietnam"

Bangkok

Sorry for the delay in posts, it has been a busy week but I realized I needed to post this before leaving for Saigon. Last Thursday me and four guys from the Hong Kong crowd headed to Bangkok, the city where it is said, anything can be found or done for a price. We got into Bangkok found that it was hot, not surprisingly as we were much closer to the equator, but it was still an annoyance. We crammed into a cab and headed for our hotel about 40 minutes away. A quick note on being the largest of the people you’re traveling with, you always get the front when the situation calls for four in the back seat. It's nice. Upon arriving at the hotel we got settled and explored the surroundings. The hotel was situated on a canal and along the canal was a rather extensive market selling any type of fruit or vegetable imaginable. I have never seen as many pineapples in my life. The market was filled with smells I cannot and should not describe. After leaving the market we headed back to the hotel for some dinner and then got ready for the night. The day before leaving Andrew, one of the four, found out that a DJ named Paul Van Dyke would be playing at a club in Bangkok, now this news meaning nothing to me was explained as being very important. For it seems that PVD has twice been ranked the top DJ in the world and he was currently in the middle of his world tour. DJs go on world tours? So that night we headed to the show and I have to admit the guy puts on a great show, the place was filled and everyone was really into the DJ which made for quite an experience. We got home late that night and quickly headed for bed.
The next morning we got to a later start than might have been preferred but it was expected seeing as we had been out until three. We were going to the Grand Palace and hopefully some other culturally relevant sites today. One thing everyone should if they come to Bangkok is take a ride in a tuk-tuk, I won't go into much detail over what a tuk-tuk is, it has to be seen for itself, but it essentially a covered tricycle that hold three people in the back. We decided to take two of these amazing contraptions to the Palace and we were not sorry. Seeing the city from this point of view provides for a perspective that is as unique as the city itself. Upon arriving at the Palace a massive thunder hit and it preceded to downpour for about half an hour leaving us soaked wearing pants (one has to wear pants at the Palace) in a tropical city. As the sky cleared up we headed into the Palace to take in the way of life for Thai royalty. This Palace is quite the site spires covered in gold paint rise from all sides and statues of Buddha are all around. It is truly a humbling place. We spent a while in the palace exploring the grounds and watching the people pray at the temple on the grounds. After finishing up here we got back on a tuk-tuk and headed for the standing Buddha. The standing Buddha is exactly what it says, a large gold Buddha standing, that’s it, nothing more nothing less. We spent a short period of time there and then headed back to the hotel to clean up and get ready for Muay Thai. Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand and it a form of martial arts that involves the use of hands, feet, knees and elbows. We went to a fight Friday night at Lumpini Stadium, we sat in the upper decks with the locals and that decision seemed to make all the difference. Upstairs with the locals we entered into a world of screaming, shouting and rapid hand signals that only grew louder and faster as the fight went on. The reason for all of this commotion is gambling. Lumpini is one of the few places in Thailand where gambling is allowed and the locals take advantage of it. Since we don't speak Thai and didn't know what the rules were about betting so we decided to just enjoy the atmosphere the gambling brought instead of taking part. This was the first time I had experienced any sort of organized fighting and it was pretty cool to see these people go at it for three rounds. We saw nine fights that night and it was well worth it.
The next morning we woke up early and headed for the Bangkok railway station. Our destination for the day was Bang Pa In, also known as the summer Palace for the royal family. The train station was old school with a large atrium and platforms leading out to old locomotives. We got our tickets and headed for the train, the train was in a word unique, it had no a/c with large open windows and oscillating metal fans on the ceiling. Luckily we got on the train 45 minutes before departure and got seats cause half an hour into to the trip it was standing room only on a hot humid Thai day. The train took about two hours, it would have been much quicker but we seemed to making stops every five or ten minutes. After a long hot train ride we hopped off at the sleepy rural town of Bang Pa In and headed for the Palace. We walked about a mile and half to the Palace rather than taking public transportation and were rewarded with a stunning home fit only for a King. The Palace had exquisitely manicured lawns with a lake in the center. My favorite part of the Palace had to be the observatory tower that gave a view over all the grounds and required you to take your shoes off before entering. After walking through the grounds and enjoying the peace and quiet we headed back to what would be another hot and crowded train. On the way back to Bangkok I was lucky enough to get a spot on the stairs off the train which meant I could hang of the edge and let the wind hit my face, I can't promise it wasn't dangerous because it was but I was careful and should be putting videos of it up soon. After we got back from Bang Pa In we decided to take motorbikes back to the hotel, it was a fast wild ride and mom I have to tell you, a motorcycle might be in my future. That night we headed to the seedier part of town to see firsthand what the famed Bangkok red light district was all about. All I'm going to say about it is that it is not for me and I find a great deal of moral qualms with the whole idea of it.
We headed home early that night and woke up early the next morning to get to Chatuchak market, arguably the largest market in the world with over 35,000 stalls and anything one could need. Products ranged from food to clothing to illegal animal trade where you weren't allowed to take pictures. The whole place is a blur of alleys and maze like hallways that can be difficult to navigate. I would not suggest anyone with claustrophobia go there. We spent the day at the market and I regret to say I could not find anything worth purchasing; tee shirts filled with innuendo are not really my thing. After the market we went back to our hotel and cleaned up, we all felt pretty grimy from spending the day soaked in sweat bumping past other people. That night we decided to splurge a little, $30, and went to a restaurant called Vertigo. Vertigo is on top of the 61st floor of a hotel in Bangkok and claims to be the highest open air restaurant in the world. The View was amazing, off in the distance a storm was going on so we watched as silent lightning flashed in the distance and we enjoyed a great dinner in an incredible atmosphere.

Bangkok is quite the city, fast, hot and willing to give you whatever you want as long as you put in the effort. It was a good experience and I'm glad to say I saw it but I don't have any urgent plans to get back there. For now there are many more places to explore and see before I start doubling up.

Flickr

Just a quick note about photos on the site. I am going to be putting everything on flickr instead of the website for technical reasons. If you have any questions about pics or what they are picture of feel free to ask me. Thanks

I met a man from the future this weekend, what did you do?

This past weekend I went on my first of three major trips outside of the comforts of Hong Kong and had one of the most interesting weekends of my life. We arrived in Taipei on Friday afternoon after on hour and ten minute flight on an empty 747, I know, a waste of fuel and resources but it was my first time on a plane that large. One note on the plane though, it was old, the other than the general look of age on the interior, the plane's TV was a large projector in the front of the seats, it was interesting as I had only seen this in movies. Enough on the plane though, back to Taiwan. After landing and getting through customs Rodrigo, Andrew and I headed for the bus stop where we found about ten different companies yelling at us telling how there bus was the best, upon making the decision of after some light debate we boarded the bus for the hour long ride into Taipei. upon arriving at the equivalent of Grand Central Terminal in Taipei we got on the subway to Guting station and walked to our hostel.
This weekend we decided to stay at a hostel called Eight Elephants in the university area of the city, it was the first time I have stayed in hostel but after this experience I can tell you that it won't be my last. The place was simple a ground floor and a basement with a few bathrooms and showers, a kitchen, some private rooms, two dorm style rooms and a common room. We decided to stay in the dorm style rooms which had four bunk beds, I was on the top bunk and found that I was too big for the bed, I didn't really care, it was a novel idea for me to sleep on a bed that was way too small for me. EE as it is abbreviated is run by a small staff of locals and one guy from the states who seemed to work for free room and board to support his job as an English teacher. The American was a guy named Dan, in the small world that we live in he was from Rochester and had gone to Cornell. He was an interesting character who has been traveling the world studying languages and teaching English. Also in the Hostel we met a rather strange and drunk Australian who did research at university in Singapore. This was crazy to say the least, we met him on our last night in the hostel while we were taking it easy and watching Me, Myself and Irene, we introduced ourselves and started making small talk. As the night grew on and the amount of Bombay left in this bottle got lower he proceeded to get more and more animated. One of the best parts about this semester has been meeting the foreigners and observing how they view the US. This Australian fellow proceeded to bring up all the stereotypical points of interest in the US, he talked about our gun laws, our health care and our views concerning religion. All of his points were blown way out of proportion and had very little evidence behind them but we let talk not wanting to get in a heated argument with a drunk Australian who bigger than us and had access to us while we slept. After some nodding, a little agreement and some counterpoints we headed of to bed for our four a.m. taxi ride to the airport. Adding to small world concept I touched on earlier there was also a girl from New Jersey staying at EE who was travelling around SE Asia, around the city we must have met at least ten people from the greater NY area.
so now that i have talked about the hostel and all its goings on I guess I should get into what we actually did in Taiwan. After getting to the Hostel and putting our stuff down we headed back out and made for the National Palace Museum, this museum on the opposite side of Taipei from where we were staying houses what is widely considered the greatest collection of Chinese artifacts and historical works was amazing. If you are wondering why this collection of Chinese art and history is here in Taiwan and not China I am sorry to tell you I do not have enough time or reader's patience to go through the whole ordeal, feel free to email me or read the article attached to this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Palace_Museum). The museum housed pieces from as far back as 6000 B.C. and they were all amazingly preserved. After the museum we headed to Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world, it was quite a view from the top even with the cloudy weather. After 101 we went out to a dumpling restaurant that was supposed to have the best soup dumpling in the country. The restaurant was so popular that even the Philadelphia Enquirer had written an article on them. We found it from an article on the NY Times that outlined an itinerary for 36 hours in Taipei. The dumplings were some of the best I have had since arriving in Asia and that says a lot because I have had a lot of dumplings. After dinner the three of wandered the neighborhood and found that it was a very cool place filled with small stores and laid back restaurants that had the feel of a very laid back version of the Village in NYC with less bars and noise. We stayed out that night exploring and getting a feel for the city and headed home late.
The next morning we woke up and headed out to the edge of the city for Yangmingshan, a national park between Taipei City and Taipei County, for some hiking. The weather this day was not great, it was rainy and windy but when it came to hiking it made for a rather refreshing mix. We got to the park after a train and a bus ride, the park was about an hour away up in the hills of Taipei. Yangmingshan is home to the tallest peak, Mount Qixing (Seven Star Mountain), has an elevation of 1120 meters (3,674 ft), is peak is the highest point in Taipei City, and we decided to hike to the top. We climbed the mountain through most of what is classified as tropical rainforest and after about an hour, we reached the peak. Now seeing as we were over 3,500 feet above sea level and it was raining we could see very little from this summit but the climb was still worth it. standing at the top of an extinct volcano as the wind blows harder than you have ever felt it, you really feel alive. Something I have been asking myself more and more frequently is how many people in the world will do what I do, none, there is a uniqueness in each life that really can affect how you perceive the world around you. As I stood upon the highest point in Taipei, soaking wet and blinded from wind and rain I though about this and couldn't help but smile. After a break at the top and some peanuts for energy we headed back down Qixing and got the buss back to Taipei Main Station. After relaxing for an hour or so we headed out for what we hoped would be an eventful night, we would not be disappointed.
Saturday night we headed out to the same area we had been to the previous night and went to a Japanese restaurant we had seen called Dozo. The food here was amazing, the three of ate a meal that would have run us over $300 USD for what totalled to be only $30 each. The atmosphere was very modern with great touches of classical Japanese decorum and customs, the only place I can relate it to is a place called Buddakan in Philly. After a great meal we head to a club called Luxy that was hosting a DJ that Andrew had heard of and had played Coachella(Bonnaroo for the west coast) last year. After picking up the tickets we wandered around the streets of Taipei exploring and met a bunch of people who were also going to the show, the most interesting of these people was a German guy named Nick, he had spent the past four years in Taiwan and was now beginning college their. He spoke English, Mandarin, French and German. He was a good guy and we ended up meeting him again at the show while he was in "slightly" more inebriated state. We got to the club a little after midnight the DJ we guessed would come on around one. The house DJ was pretty good and this is the point in my night that brings me to the title of this entry. As we moved to the dance floor we saw something/someone up by the stage in all black dancing alone. As we got closer we could see that it was a Taiwanese guy with sunglasses who was best described as being from the future. During his few hours in our time he did manage to teach us some of his great dance moves, he showed to money man, the futuristic hokey pokey and the invisible drink. All of these moves have been added to my repertoire, a repertoire that only a select few have ever seen or will see for that matter. This guy disappeared eventually, probably back to 3013, but the DJ showed up and put on a great show. We didn't stay for the whole show since we needed to get up relatively early the next morning for the hot springs.
We got up the next morning around ten and headed for Wulai, a town on the outskirts of Taipei. After another train and bus ride of about an hour we ended up in the beautiful mountain town of Wulai. Taipei being a geothermal hotbed means that hot springs are a part of life for those lucky enough to live near them. The town is split by a river, that was flowing a rate too dangerous for us to get in, and grows upwardly towards the top of the hills that surround it. Since sitting in the river was no longer an option we decided to get a room for two hours in a hot springs hotel where spring water was pumped into large tubs for you to enjoy. We got to the room, relaxed for a couple of hours and enjoyed the view of the quiet town around us. We left the hotel and grabbed some bamboo rice and noodles at a local restaurant and then caught the bus back to Taipei. That night we went and got some really good Thai food and explored the bustling market near our hostel. We called it an early night and headed home to relax before getting up at four to catch a ride to the airport.
Taipei was an amazing city and I wanted to make a note about the people of Taipei. The natives of this great city were some of the nicest most outgoing people I have met in this world, they were more than glad to go out of their way to help you find your way and loved trying to speak English you, this didn't always help since we were trying to practice our mandarin but I can't really complain. Taipei is an amazing place and I highly recommend you check it out if you are ever in SE Asia.

It's About To Get A Little Crazy

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine


These next few weeks are going to be quite interesting for me, beginning this week I will embarking on journeys that I know not what I will find. For the next three weekends I will be in Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam respectively. while I do plan on traveling more once my classes have concluded this is what I have for now. The quote I have placed a the start of this entry is one from Saint Augustine, anyone familiar with Villanova knows that he is quite important in our community and this quote was not chosen lightly. As my travels persist I will keep you all updated, but for now I must leave you.

Non sequitur

This post is hopefully the beginning of a recurring series of the same name, I would like this to be my everyday observation. So if you see posts in the future of the same name don't think its a glitch, its just a new update. Thanks

Things I like in Hong Kong:

Chopsticks- they are great, using chopsticks is something that goes extremely underrated in the states. Chopsticks are convenient easy to clean and rather fun. That's all I really have to say concerning chopsticks at the moment.

In Hong Kong, which is one of the most crowded cities in the world, you often find that the side walks are packed. Crowded sidewalks are something that I can deal with, I have spent some time in NYC and am used to a crowd. What I am not used to is a sidewalk full of people who do not walk quickly. People in HK like to move slowly which is something that can get rather frustrating, I don't think it's that I walk abnormally fast, it's just that they meander along at a very slow pace.

Real estate here in Hong Kong is something that does not some cheap, for this reason you find that most apartment buildings do not waste any space and 95% of them spill out to hang over the sidewalk. Since the building hang over the sidewalk so do the air conditioners. With the air conditioners comes a drip that is known in HK as AC rain. As you walk down the streets you always have to keep an eye out for wet spots that indicate the rain. Walking down the street on a sunny day and getting hit with drips of water is something you get used to but never come to enjoy.

Go Ahead and JUMP

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." - Dorothy Thompson


The Friday following National Day me and four other guys headed back to the beach I mentioned in an earlier post, Sai Wan. We headed to the beach under the pretense that we would be cliff jumping and hanging out by some waterfalls. We got to the beach and cut out eight kilometers from our previous journey by grabbing a cab to the start of the final two kilometers. We got to the beach and headed for what the very vague description told us was the start of trail to the waterfall. I'm not going to divulge exactly how we got to this cliff side paradise for the sake of my readers but after some navigating we found our destination and it was amazing. We came upon the scene and took what could have very well been ten minutes just taking it in, no one was really sure how long we stared for. Once we realized that the day would not wait for us we wasted no time getting the fun started. The pool of clear blue fresh water was surrounded by waterfalls and 25 foot cliffs that were primed for jumping. We climbed up to the cliffs and stared at the blue abyss below. There was nothing left to do but jump, after a few hesitant moments I took the metaphorical and literal plunge. What a rush.I have never jumped from such height and it was invigorating. Don't worry Mom, we tested the depth and no one even came close to touching the bottom of the pool all day. We spent a few hours around this new found paradise and decided to head for home. We hoped on a boat and took the trek home, tired and sore we all agreed today had been quite a victory.

National Day

"Finally those capitalist pigs will pay for their crimes, eh? Eh comrades? Eh?"


This past week was National Day, for those who don't know National Day is on October 1st and it celebrates the communist party's rise to power back in 1949. This being the 60th anniversary of communist rule meant especially ornate fireworks and celebrations all across China. In Beijing there was a massive military parade that brought back memories of old Soviet parades. The parade featured all the branches of the Chinese armed forces in full dress and included tanks, fighter jets and missiles, apparently they debuted a brand new missile technology at the parade, having watched news coverage from the streets of Hong Kong I must say that it seemed a bit garish. Back in HK there was no parade but that didn't mean that there was no celebration, the main attraction of the day were the fireworks over the harbor that when set across the famous skyline were breathtaking . We watched the fireworks from the Kowloon side and got there about two hours before the shows scheduled start, it was packed. There were thousands of people there, some got there as early as nine in the morning, we ended up behind some trees and were rather worried that we wouldn't be able to see the show. Seeing that our view might be obstructed I decided I wanted a better vantage point so I decided I would climb a tree. I repeat, in an area with thousands of people clamoring for viewing spots, I did find it odd that I was the only one who attempted to climb a tree. As soon as I got in the tree I was the main attraction before the show, hundreds of people around me suddenly stared up oohhed and ahhhed. I can only imagine them labeling me the vanilla gorilla. Shortly upon getting into the tree I was quickly told to get down by a member of the Hong Kong police force. I jumped down amid a small round of applause and took a bow or two and headed back to my friends. The fireworks started and the show was great, consisting of 39,888 shells of fireworks it might have been the largest show I have seen personally. After the show we headed back with the masses and walked back to Yau Ma Tei and called it an early night. For tomorrow would bring hiking and cliff jumping...