Jump?

"You cannot always wait for the perfect time, sometimes you must dare to jump."

I just saw this quote shared on Facebook. It hit me hard. I have jumped many times so far in my life but now I am hesitating. Is it worth another jump... I am not sure anymore.


Just as I thought I am over my jet lag, I began to get worn out in the late afternoon or early evening, especially right after dinner. It has been almost 3 days, it feels unreal, have I really been to America? It is proven when I touch my new Samsung Galaxy Tab which is not released here till the next quarter. I have so many pictures to sort out, wait for them, it will be exciting.

See you sometime somewhere

Saying goodbye is always one of the hardest things I have to do. I don't like the feeling of being left behind, nor do I like being the one leaving. A friend recently shared on her status,"Change is the only constant in life!" Isn't it? I am numbed. I don't know how leaving should feel like anymore. Even if its just leaving for a holiday, now I do it with fear and reluctance. But once I am really out there, I know I never regretted that decision to leave. If you're not happy, would you choose to leave? If leaving doesn't guarantee you happiness, it promises you the possibility but the certainty of leaving the unhappiness, would you choose to leave? So many of you might not know, leaving takes a lot of courage; staying doesn't, staying just requires more perseverance and tolerance. I am very confident my decision this time is right. Instincts? Gut feeling? Common sense? Foolishness? It might be all of them. The only thing I know is I am the one controlling what lies in my hands. Travelling made me realised the more I see out there the harder and further I am away from that simple happiness I am looking for. There are greed, material wealth, jealousy, envy and most importantly a heart that isn't pure and simple like those we seek. There is none of that willingness to let go of everything and live like the poor happy people, those whom are contented with the simple things in life, surviving to support their loved ones. Sometimes living in one of the top 10 most expensive cities of the world, I only feel disgrace, not a tiny bit of pride. What is there to compete? Who is wealthier? Or maybe they should measure who are happier...

I want to come home

Has anyone ever got sick of travelling? I know people who don't like to travel and people who do... But someone who has grown tired of it, no. Maybe I am the first.

It's probably an age thing or probably due to the time being tied down here in Singapore, I begin to like the feeling of coming home. Singapore, as my home? Not really. But coming home to my family. I leave for USA in approximately 3 and a half days, but my heart is fearing than yearning. My mind wants to stop travelling but my heart doesn't. How contradicting! Just as the chinese idiom describes perfectly: 心有余而力不足。 It means the heart has so much yearning but there is insufficient energy to achieve them.

Perhaps all the travelling is to find the real home...

Hanoi: Goodbye chaos

I wonder if its a joy to be back in Hanoi ;)

The traffic drove me nuts and sometimes I just didn't want to step out of the hostel. May De Ville is perfect, there's a room for pool, another for movie and an affordable restaurant. It kept me in for 4 movies! I was put in the hostel room at the highest level 9th storey, with a few long-termed occupants. One of them, a Singaporean uncle, he was a bit too chatty, a little weird yet harmless but he snored!! A friendly American old man and a New Yorker who was teaching English in Hanoi. I wonder if this Japanese girl stalked me! LOL. Kidding. But she ended up at my hostel, after I told her where I was staying. So she got put in the same room as me, I didn't mind since we could go out together despite the communication barrier. She and the Singaporean uncle seemed to have a mutual dislike for each other as they both were talking bad of each other. What a joke!

That day after check-in, I went for a quick bite at Countryside restuarant recommended by the Belgian couple I met earlier. I didn't manage to get my perfect fresh prawn springrolls, apparently the fried ones are everywhere. Maybe it's not a norm in Northern Vietnam?? They did good cheap crepe with ice cream though. The rest of the day, I just lazed in the hostel watching movies (One Night Stand, parts of Black Swan and most parts of 72 hours) and having dinner at the restaurant. They do really good carbonara pasta :)

The following day, I decided to venture out with the Japanese. She's quiet, polite but has a quirky temper (I saw it when she was cursing the Singaporean uncle), quite a character. We had breakfast, then off to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is open daily till 11am, so get there early. There was tight security and a long queue but it was very smooth and orderly. It was cold, dim and very secure, and there his body laid there peacefully under the glow.

We skipped the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Residential Palace, and went to the One Pillar Pagoda which the Japanese was fascinated with. A wee little temple sitting on a pillar, crowded with tourists. I paid my respects, took some pictures and overheard a guide explaining that people came here to pray for fertility. We stopped for a cake and coffee on our way back. The Japanese being very budget conscious would order only a drink or dessert whenever I ate. Sometimes for dinner, she would just buy a 7000 dong bun. Along the way, we chanced upon the Citadel and Flag Tower of Hanoi. I love the yellow and green of Citadel, and it was very peaceful and tourist-free.

It was a long walk back. Then it was movie time for me... I watched Hunger Game with a Singaporean girl, Hui, who managed to get a DVD off the street. By the time it finished, I was starving. We went out to hunt for the famous Bún chả but failed, so we settled for a nice posh dinner at Little Hanoi near the hostel. After the dinner, I stayed up for another movie, Letters to Juliet! Lovely one. This Russian guy whom had chatted me up a few times joined me, but I rejected his over-friendliness and he left (oops). The next morning, I bumped into Hui again at breakfast, I bid farewell to her as I left for the airport. I decided to try my luck again to find Bún chả , but the infamous shop wasn't opened till 10am... What luck! But on my way to the airport shuttle, I found a stall!! I bought it and had it at the airport but it didn't do my tummy any good :(

My flight back was horrible sitting in front of loud misbehaving Vietnamese kids. Thank God I could change seats and found my peace and quiet. I was really glad to be home, away all the chaos in Hanoi.

p.s: In 2010 the citadel was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi". (Quoted from Wiki)

Sapa: A beautiful drama

I was warned how cold it would get in Sapa... I brought my fleece jacket and scarf, and guess what, they were totally not of much use. I had to take them off bit by bit as the heat got to me!! It was a sunny morning!

After an early breakfast, all of us checked out and waited for the trek to begin. It was alarming to see the number of guides standing outside our hotel waiting to pick us up for the trek. We were separated into groups of 8-9. As the groups slowly trickled away, more and more women or girls in ethnic costumes joined in. I had about 5-7 of them following my group, I trekked with two Canadians, a German family and a Japanese. So if you're wondering why they are following us, you will soon find out. I was not with the French and Danish anymore as they were staying one more night at the homestay and were in another group.

I have to say Sapa is worth every penny and sweat, the sight is simply breathtaking.

I believe everyone had a different route but we got to the same destination. Mine wasn't the easiest, we had some slippery steep slopes to go down and my almost 100 bucks worth of trekking sandals wasn't even up for it. The tribal women were doing a better job in slippers and wellies! But I was fortunate enough a 8 year-old tribal girl seemed to be sticking to me, she was helping me all along and even got me 1-2 more assistants along the way. I found myself a bamboo climbing stick :p That said, I did owe her a big favour after the trek which I have to repay by agreeing to buy souvenirs from her. Like I mentioned, tourism is hitting this place hard, they quoted exorbitant prices for them. I bought from 3 of them after managing to push down the prices, not cheap but I guess something I would agree to for all the help offered during the trek ;)

Guess whose the real guide?? ;) The one with a hat, 3rd from the left.

After the 3-4 hours trek, a tedious one by my standard, we finally settled down for lunch. Before that, we were bugged by these people to buy souvenirs ;) Expect 2-3 times the price from Bac Ha market. After lunch, we continued a stroll down the villages, luckily, nothing down steep slope. It was an easy and relaxing walk, passing by many buffalos, pigs, chicks, stunning rice terraces and some handicraft shops. By then, my travel mates had separated from me, while me and the rest headed back to the hotel before our overnight train.

A shower and then an early dinner at 5pm. I bid farewell to the Japanese trek mate as she left to take an overnight bus. A van took us to the train station and we waited for the guide to retrieve our train tickets. At about 8pm, most of them got theirs and made their way to the station. I was stranded with 2 guys and a paranoid old lady. When it came down to just two of us, me and the German dude named Tobias, we felt something was wrong. The guide kept telling us to wait and could not give us our tickets. We were led to the ticket office but could do nothing except wait. The irresponsible guide then left us there.

Tobias got furious and started swearing at the staff, I actually was very calm. I didn't mind if we had to stay an extra night provided we did not have to sleep at the train station. But I tried to tell them they could give us a VIP cabin if our cabins were overbooked. We met an uncle (who seems Singaporean), he told us the train tickets are controlled by black market meaning the tour agencies whom had reserved a big portion of them and only to let go at the very last minute. Tobias then got impatient and started ringing his hostel and mine, which perhaps worked, and we got our tickets in Orient Express cabin, a much better one than the one I arrived in. We shared with a German couple, both very nice and spoke excellent English too. It was a dramatic night, Tobias illustrated to them. I managed to get some sleep but instead of getting cold, it was very warm in this cabin.

Then the usual, someone came knocking on the door, we had arrived. Tobias left, and I bid farewell to the German couple. I was alone again at 530am, and somehow I managed to bargain for a satisfactory motorbike ride to my new hostel, May De Ville.

Bac Ha: A minority ethnic people market

I am back to tell my stories... Sorry, so much happenings since my return, I haven't got time to really sit down and continue my Vietnam tales.

And yes, I managed to get my train ticket and boarded the train to Lao Cai that Saturday night. I shared the cabin with 2 Koreans whom I mistook for a couple, but the guy who spoke surprisingly excellent English is the boss of the younger girl. We had a brief conversation, the boss has been working in Vietnam for over 10 years (WOW) and this girl just briefly arrived (2 weeks when I met them). By about 10pm, the boss retired to bed, I decided not to disturb them and withdrew to my own space. It was a cosy little bunk, I was lucky to get the lower one as it would save me trouble climbing up and down! The train moved very slowly as I cuddled up under my duvet. Yes, I heard the distance is not that great to Lao Cai but because of how undeveloped the rail system is in Vietnam, that was the speed we could go on. It got really cold at night but I slept really well.

It was still pitch dark when someone came knocking on every door, shouting that we had arrived. The Koreans quickly woke up, got their luggages and bid me farewell. I was on my own. I was handed a card before I boarded, I took it out and read the instructions. Fortunately I did as they were many guides, maybe some bogus ones, going around asking to pick you up.

I was picked up by a young pretty Vietnamese lady, but I was the only one not joining the rest, because I signed up for the Bac Ha market (for USD10 more) which happened every Sunday. I was told to wait at a restaurant for about 2 hours before the pick-up, I joined 4 others whom were already there, a French couple and 2 Danish girls. We shared our time eating breakfast and then wondered around Lao Cai station. When we went back, the Danish girls' bag of snacks was mistakenly taken by the owner and displayed for sale. I am not surprised now I am writing this but I was really taken aback then how some of the Vietnamese took advantage of others.

In Vietnam, I learnt that the tour mini van are usually booked to the very last seat. So it's impossible if you carry an extra big luggage or to add an additional person at the last minute.

It was over an hour journey to Bac Ha market. When we arrived, it was already buzzing with other tourists. I even managed to get WiFi there while sitting at a cafe, so amazed. It was a stretch full of handicraft stalls where most of us would try to bargain 50% off. I sure needed some warming up as the first purchase I got I agreed at 30%, then I got better it was 50% and then almost 66%... I have to say it was the best place for "shopping" in Vietnam, as the rest of the places would rarely give in to low prices. But then again, there isn't really much to buy, except for handicrafts.

We had about 1-2 hours before lunch was served. There were horses, buffalos and even puppies for trade or sale, wet and dry market. Many of the people wore their ethnic costumes, I wondered if it was meant for the tourists or they really do so in the absence of us. It was just unbelievable, I felt like I was in a TV drama. Bac Ha market is indeed an eye-opener.

After the market, we were taken to a local village where we see how they live. At the house, we saw cat, dog, pig, horse, hen and chicks, goose... little children playing. The inside of the house was nothing like what we live in today, they have no stove, no sofa, no television, no electrical appliances or at least I didn't see any. But it was a funny sight when you see one of them with a mobile phone, working on the rice padi field.

This photo reminds me of my childhood. I brought lollipops on the trip and offered them to the kids I chanced upon, it was a simple gesture but it made them happy. It was a shame I didn't have enough as we were taken to a local school later and there were so many cute little children! At some parts, I didn't really like it especially when an old woman or a young kid asked for money when you casually snapped a photo of them. Tourism is ruining the humanity in places like these, places where values, traditions and kindness should be preserved.

After that, we were taken to the most northern point of Vietnam where it is linked to China. We were right in front of a bridge that separates Vietnam and China. I almost wanted to go over for a stamp in my passport but was told there wasn't enough time as I had to get into the building to get the administration done before I can walk over. What a shame!

A long bus ride awaited us. It was past 5pm when we finally checked in at Sapa Summit Hotel, we didn't have time to check out the little Sapa town as most of us were exhausted. The French and Danish booked for massages in their rooms while I chilled in my room, snapped the beautiful sunset before I caught up with the couple of dinner. It was a quiet and easy night before the trek the following day.

Tip: Don't do the Vietnamese massage. From the experience of my travel mates, it was a horrific experience. The Danish girls seemed to have some luck the Vietnamese people went crazy over their snacks. The masseuses were eating their stuff without their permission!!