My third time in Vietnam
I'm in Malaysia now and out of Vietnam.
Vietnam was awesome. I did the usual - ate some dog meat, did shots of homebrewed rice wine and sang karaoke in Vietnamese. I savoured my mother's spring rolls. These spring rolls melt in your mouth and are the most delicious things ever created. The dog meat wasn't too bad either. :P
It was Daryl's first time meeting my Vietnamese family and he was welcomed like a son. They really want us to move to Viet Nam and build a house on their land. If only it was that simple! Everyone was sad that I was not staying with them for a month (since I did that last time). My grandfather and grandmother were happy to see us too. they are approaching 90 years old so I hope this is not the last time I will see them.
Things are really getting built up and more technologically advanced in the village. There is actually a taxi now! I couldn't believe it - eight years ago I rarely saw a car in Hanoi. People also wear helmets while driving motorbikes. Well, the adults do at least... kids don't wear them.
A few of my relatives are trying to get work doing hard labour in other countries. They can make much more money leaving for a three to five year contract. My sister Tuyen's husband is currently working in China and she is left to raise their young son all alone.
My nephew Viet is going to Slovakia but he doesn't have a job lineup yet. He has to take out a huge loan (with huge interest) to pay for the flight and work visa through a spefcial company. He won't be able to return to Vietnam until it is paid off. I worry for him.
We went to Halong Bay (one of the natural wonders of the world) and had a seafood feast. My brother Tuan's friend is a driver for the police and he took the day off work just to take us there.
The visit to the village was a whirlwind. Daryl and I had to visit tons of relatives and drink green tea with them all. We went to Chu Van An school for a morning to teach two english classes. Many of the students still remembered me and shouted my name when I came into the room.
Our last night in Vietnam was spent in Hanoi. We visited the "Hanoi Hilton" prison and saw a water puppet show.
Today we flew to Malaysia and decided to take it easy. I was surprised I was able to find the same hostel that I stayed at four years ago without using the map!
We visited some malls, saw "Underworld 3" in IMAX for $3.50 cdn and ate pizza. Chinese new year celebrations are still going on and there are a multitude of festival performers on our street. Tommorrow we are spending a day at the Elephant Sanctuary a few hours outside Kuala Lumpur.
Vietnam was awesome. I did the usual - ate some dog meat, did shots of homebrewed rice wine and sang karaoke in Vietnamese. I savoured my mother's spring rolls. These spring rolls melt in your mouth and are the most delicious things ever created. The dog meat wasn't too bad either. :P
It was Daryl's first time meeting my Vietnamese family and he was welcomed like a son. They really want us to move to Viet Nam and build a house on their land. If only it was that simple! Everyone was sad that I was not staying with them for a month (since I did that last time). My grandfather and grandmother were happy to see us too. they are approaching 90 years old so I hope this is not the last time I will see them.
Things are really getting built up and more technologically advanced in the village. There is actually a taxi now! I couldn't believe it - eight years ago I rarely saw a car in Hanoi. People also wear helmets while driving motorbikes. Well, the adults do at least... kids don't wear them.
A few of my relatives are trying to get work doing hard labour in other countries. They can make much more money leaving for a three to five year contract. My sister Tuyen's husband is currently working in China and she is left to raise their young son all alone.
My nephew Viet is going to Slovakia but he doesn't have a job lineup yet. He has to take out a huge loan (with huge interest) to pay for the flight and work visa through a spefcial company. He won't be able to return to Vietnam until it is paid off. I worry for him.
We went to Halong Bay (one of the natural wonders of the world) and had a seafood feast. My brother Tuan's friend is a driver for the police and he took the day off work just to take us there.
The visit to the village was a whirlwind. Daryl and I had to visit tons of relatives and drink green tea with them all. We went to Chu Van An school for a morning to teach two english classes. Many of the students still remembered me and shouted my name when I came into the room.
Our last night in Vietnam was spent in Hanoi. We visited the "Hanoi Hilton" prison and saw a water puppet show.
Today we flew to Malaysia and decided to take it easy. I was surprised I was able to find the same hostel that I stayed at four years ago without using the map!
We visited some malls, saw "Underworld 3" in IMAX for $3.50 cdn and ate pizza. Chinese new year celebrations are still going on and there are a multitude of festival performers on our street. Tommorrow we are spending a day at the Elephant Sanctuary a few hours outside Kuala Lumpur.