Day Four (Ho Chi Minh City) Christmas Day

Despite it being Christmas Day we decided to go on a tour of Ho Chi Minh City. We had to get up early (this became a recurring theme) and have a rubbish Christmas breakfast!

Our tour took us to see Giac Lam Pagoda, China Town, Binh Tay Market, Thien Hau Temple, Handicapped Handcrafts (more people who were not handicapped), Reunification Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, the General Post Office and the Remnants in Vietnam Museum. The only interesting place however was the Remnants Museum. It was all about the war and showed lots of interesting photos.

Giac Lam Pagoda

Andy pretended to take a photo of some fish in the pond whilst really snapping the monk picking his nose!

Propaganda - Vietnam is a great place, in fact we should all move there!

The best thing about Reunification Hall was the view!

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This man climbs up to add some wire to the telegraph pole.

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Trouble is he doesn't close the road off and just lets the reel of cable roll into traffic.

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After our hard day of touring we went to a famous restaurant called Pho 2000. Bill Clinton ate here when he came to the city. Although the food was good I woke up the next day with the runs, which is not so good when you have a six hour trip to Cambodia on a bus with NO toilet.

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The food tasted really good!

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But I think it was the chillies that did it!

Day Three (Tay Ninh Temple and the Cu Chi Tunnels)

We got up early to get breakfast. The service is not so good in Vietnam! It takes them 30 minutes to make toast and a glass of orange juice. It doesn’t matter if you are first in the queue if a family member wants feeding at the same time they come first! In Vietnam they work as an extended family unit so there are many people to be fed before you! Well there was in our hotel anyway.

We got to our coach and set off with our guide who addressed us as ladies and men (Andy liked this). First stop was not the temple as advertised but a place named Handicapped Handicrafts. They tempted you off the bus with the lure of a toilet, but once you fell for that line they ushered you over to an area, which contained the so-called handicapped people making handicrafts! Now I say so-called, as apart from 2 people in wheelchairs everyone else was able bodied and appeared to be of sound mind. My own personal theory is that the staff used to be handicapped people but they have died over the years. Their replacements are just normal people who don’t mind being called handicapped. The rubbish, I mean high crafted pieces of work were priced ridiculously high so no one, but the Americans who felt guilty about the whole Agent Orange thing, pulled out their wallets to buy anything.

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The people in blue are supposed to be handicapped!

After our stop at Handicapped Handicrafts we got on to the coach to go to temple in Tay Ninh. The temple is the first temple to be built for the Vietnamese religion Cao Dai. The guy who came up with the Vietnamese religion in my eyes is a sensible guy. He decided to take all of the major religions and put them together to make a new religion. I do agree with what followers believe necessarily, but it would stop some of the craziness in the world if people believe in the same god.

The entrance to the temple

The decorator liked pink.

The temple gardens

The temple, which he has created, is very colourful! The followers dress in white if they are normal followers or women. The monks represent Buddhism, Confucianism or Taoism and wear different coloured robes to show this. I can remember that the monks in yellow represent Buddhism but I can’t remember if the blue or the red represents Confucianism or Taoism.

Let's sit on a hard tiled floor and pray.

His hat was made from paper

Andy likes this picture

We got to watch a service, which was interesting. What was more interesting though was that Andy wouldn’t shut up about the Illuminati. He says that the left eye represents the Illuminati, which is the same as Cao Dai religion (followers believe it is an eye to the soul). He talked about conspiracy theories for a while and then had great fun showing me the pyramid with the eye on the US dollar notes. Sometimes he is a geek! Or maybe he is a budding member, which apparently makes him a Supreme Being and not a geek!

The women getting ready for the service

Beware of the EYE

The EYE can see everything!

After a morning of fun we got to visit the real reason for our trip The Cu Chi Tunnels. After the ladies and men got off the coach our tour guide gave us a talk about the Cu Chi tunnels. His talk was anti-American and we got the feeling that many people in Vietnam still do not like America (sorry I may just be stating the obvious there).

No cakes before trying to climb in here!

Before we got to the tunnels we were shown around the jungle surrounding them. We got to see the traps intended for the Americans and the hidden trapdoors to the tunnels. It was all very interesting. That was until we got to the shooting range and the soldier appeared in Andy. He fired a couple of rounds on an AK47. I almost pooed my pants just from the bang each shot made. I did venture close enough to take a picture of Andy and his gun. I wasn’t allowed to close though (maybe they though he might turn the gun on me!)

Take a closer look

You wouldn't want one of these up your bum!

Soldier Andy Part 1

Soldier Andy Part 2

The tunnels were never meant for western people and have in recent years been made bigger (obviously so they can make a bob or two). Before we got into the tunnel the man told us to go straight, not left or right just straight! I pushed myself into the queue just before a really fat kid. I didn't want to get stuck behind him!

Inside the tunnel it was pitch black you couldn't see a thing. it was also very hot and very claustrophobic. We had to follow a guide and he went pretty quick (obviously the novelty had worn off for him). Anyway we were following a man in our group when we heard "come back your going the wrong way". We both got a bit scared as we thought we had gotten lost. The man in front had disappeared and there was no one behind Andy! Thankfully the people shouting waited for us with their flashlight and we followed them out.

I hated being in the tunnels for 10 minutes so I don't know how the Cu Chi people coped.

The tunnels have been made bigger so that fat westerners can get in.

Me trying to smile and pretend that I am having a good time

Day Two (Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City)

After a horrendous first day we were both glad to wake up somewhere that wasn’t China. Our hotel had allowed us to stay in the expensive room (we had booked a cheaper room for the first night and then the expensive one for Christmas Eve to Boxing Day) so we didn’t have to worry about changing rooms. We instead had a sleep in until 10 and then went exploring.

Our hotel balcony

Our own private jacuzzi

The first thing we noticed about walking around Vietnam is that there are very few cars (too expensive). Everyone instead has a motorbike or a scooter. No one appears to have taken a test, and they don’t understand that red means that you should stop and not drive into oncoming traffic, but who am I to judge?!?! This did make crossing the road quite hazardous. We in fact had to ask another western guy how we were supposed to cross the road, as the traffic never stops. The trick is (and it does work) is to walk slowly out into the flowing traffic. You can show no fear as people beep at you instead you just keep going and watch as bikes veer out of your path. I actually felt safer crossing the road here than I do in England or Japan. Andy on the other hand felt terror as he watched me step into a busy road (he thinks I can’t cross a normal road).

Show no fear and your okay

Easy!!

Next stop was the market and Andy had fun bartering with the ladies in the market. He managed to get us a fake North Face backpack for 20 dollars. The bag is actually good quality and although we weren’t really wanting a fake anything, everything, even if it is good quality, has to have a label sewn into it.

Me and our new bag

We met a cute old man selling postcards in the market. His line was “want to buy some postcards?” when you said no he replied “why not?” and smiled at you to reveal no teeth. It almost made you want to buy his postcards.

After trailing round shopping we decided to go for lunch. This was to set the president for the rest of the holiday. Now the food was just local food, served in a shop doorway and the taste was okay. What set the president was the cost! It cost just 1 pound for us both to eat and for the rest of the holiday I grumbled if any meal cost over that! Andy really wanted to strangle me sometimes because if a meal cost 2 pounds I would say it was too expensive. He also wanted to strangle me because the water next to the tourist bars cost 6,000VND but next to our hotel it was only 5,000VND. He didn’t understand why I was so concerned about 2 pence, but I just kept thinking I don’t want to pay more than I have to!!

Hungry?

Andy's knees came up to his ears as we sat at baby sized tables and stools.

Later on our first day we went for a massage at the blind institute. After our first day we decided we deserved it and at the cost of 2.50 for an hour how can you really refuse?!?! Andy left feeling very relaxed with his ego also massaged. His masseuse (male) told him he was very strong which I guess is some kind of compliment from a blind man!

The Christmas lights were really good.

Andy worried I might get squished under a motorbike!

Before we went to bed we decided to book some trips to keep us occupied for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We booked a trip to a temple and the Cu Chi tunnels for Christmas Eve and a tour around the city for Christmas Day. We also booked our 6:30am coach to Cambodia for Boxing Day.

Holiday Day One (the flights!)

We got up early and finished the last of our packing. We decided to just take 1 medium sized rucksack, my school bag and Andy’s bag. We wanted to travel light and we didn’t want to spend our holiday money on backpacks we could buy cheaper in Vietnam. It did mean though we only had 5 pairs of pants each and I only had 2 pairs of shoes!!!

We got to the airport nice and early and everything seemed to be going very well. After we stepped on to the plane though that all changed!!! We had read reviews about China Air and none of them were complimentary, but the cheap airfare won us round. It never will again! The air hostesses were really quite rude. If you asked for anything they would just stare at you.

The funniest and at the same time the worst thing was their terrible English skills. They could speak English, but everything they said was in one breath, and they left out words they couldn’t say for example one lady wasn’t good with numbers so she would just say it is 10 degrees Celsius, urgh Fahrenheit. It really became a problem when the plane decided to land in a Chinese City that wasn’t Beijing (we had to fly Fukuoka to Beijing, Beijing to Saigon). The airhostess had told us what was happening (I think), but we didn’t understand a word she was saying. They made us all get off the plane.

After getting off the plane they gestured to us to go down some stairs, but they wouldn’t tell us what we were doing or why. We just had to do as we were told. Once we got to the bottom of the stairs and followed some more people pointing (not speaking just pointing) we got to immigration. It was at this point we realised that we had entered China so had to fill in lots of forms etc to enter the country (it didn’t matter we were supposed to be going to Beijing for the sole reason of transferring). This wasn’t too much of a problem, a confusing inconvenience but not a problem. That’s when the fun started though!!

To get into China you need a visa, and I had one but for when I was coming back in January. Try telling this to the immigration women! Before I handed over my passport I told her I was going to Vietnam and was just transferring, but she marked my visa anyway. When I would then not move away from her desk she howled (yes it was a howl), and 2 men came to see what was going on. Thankfully they listened to me and got out the special cancelled stamp, and wrote on my visa to say I could still use it.

You might think that that is enough fun for anyone but not us! After getting back on the same plane and into the same seats we set off for Beijing. Once at Beijing airport though they wouldn’t let us just transfer they instead took us in to the airport and left us to check in again (don’t worry we had a tour of the airport as they shuffled us about for 30 minutes not sure what to do with us!). With an hour and a half to spare I did what I always do and got stressed but Andy remained calm! That was until he realised we had to fill in a form and queue just to get to our check in desk!

With an hour to go we got to our check-in desk (hurrah you may think they have done it, you fools have never been to China!) We handed over our passports to a girl whose name badge said trainee (just what you needed at the time of a crisis!). She calmly told us our visas for Vietnam didn’t start until 23rd December and that today was only the 22nd. She ignored our protests that our plane didn’t arrive in Vietnam until the 23rd. She instead had to get a man and women to call some higher being to see if it was ok to let us fly.

Whilst all this mayhem was happening an Indian man, complete with turban, runs up to our desk and says “I’ve got to get to Deli, I’ve got to get to Deli”. This is when Andy finally lost it. Andy told him to stop pushing in and queue up like the rest of us. He continued with his line of “I’ve got to get to Deli, I’ve got to get to Deli” until the check in man gave him an evil stare and I calmly told him where he should queue.

After that we had to queue in another very long queue to leave China (we never wanted to visit in the first place). We got to boarding with about 10 minutes to spare. After a 6-hour flight we finally got to Vietnam. I have never been so glad to get somewhere!

Christmas Party

Last night we had a Christmas party. It was good fun but today we both have really bad hangovers!!!! Obviously it is not because we drank too much more that we mixed our drinks. A concoction of umeshou (plum liquor), beer, red wine, white wine, shochu and a mixture of different cocktails was what did it. I was awake at 5am (I fell asleep at 00:10 even though the guests were here until 01:30) then Andy woke up at 8 before we both napped until the doorbell rang at 11:30. We are both now dead!!

Girls from Andy's office.

Gatecrashers

A handfull of our 20 guests. Even though I look small I am the second tallest girl!!!

I made the pastry and Andy put this delight together.

Merry Christmas

Christmas season is upon us even here in Japan. I have spent the last 3 weeks teaching children about Christmas and making stuff.

My favourite class

Some cards from my students. They had no help from me!

Cards up close

A yellow Christmas tree?!?!

A pink Santa hat?!?!?

A stripey Santa hat?!?!

I love this card

Another cute card

The devil always fights a reindeer at Christmas, right?

A Christmas present from a friend.

Tokyo

Lee wanted to visit Tokyo so we decided to fly there and have a mini-break. Flying is cheaper and much quicker than the Shinkansen, but it still costs about 150 pounds so it's not really cheap.

Tokyo was a cool place but it really tired us out!! We spent all day walking around and then in the evenings Lee wanted to have a drink and discover the nightlife (Andy and I would have preferred to have a good meal and go to sleep - maybe we are getting old!). It didn't help though that we stayed in a hostel. We opted for a 4 person room thinking that they wouldn't put anyone in with us!! We were wrong!

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A shrine near our hotel.

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The first night we had an Italian guy who, despite us being asleep, came into the room shouting in Italian. He then proceeded to loudly snore, which meant only he slept that night!! We were lucky the other two nights though as our neighbour didn't make a sound!

Hostel are strange things though!! I thought that people used them as a cheap place to stay whilst they explored. The people in our hostel didn't seem to realise they were in Japan! They spent all day on the Internet, had pot noodles in the kitchen at lunch and dinner time and then watched movies in the living room in the evening! They could have done that at home!!

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Lee and Andy at a shrine.

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On our first day in Tokyo we went to the National History Museum. They had a special exhibition of Japanese paintings on canvas and on screens. Lee ran round the exhibition as fast as he could even though it was his idea! We then visited the Science Museum which was cool.

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Lee without his make-up on at the Science Museum!

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This whale missed the sea!

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I was so tired!

Lee wouldn't let the other children play with the exhibitions!

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On the other days we visited Shibuya (it has the 6 way road crossing that is often shown on TV) which is so busy. Crowds of people just come at you! Lee said it was like the crowds you get at a big football match.

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They show this crossing on TV quite a lot.

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On Saturday evening we met one of Andy's students from last year. He has gone from working student hours to getting up at 5.30am and then getting home at 11pm. He brought his sister to meet us (she lived in London for 3 years). They took us to the restaurant in Kill Bill. It was embarrassing though as they insisted on paying for everything (we had drinks, went for dinner, went to a club and then had more food!!). We tried to pay for things but they wouldn't let us!!

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Andy's old student and his sister. Lee liked this girl too!

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Andy

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Before we all got really drunk!

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Ramen at 2:00am

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One day we had sushi for breakfast, which was a first. Andy bought a new camera for his birthday so that's why some of the photos look a bit odd.

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Sushi for breakfast

Yum Yum

Does Andy want to work on the next Bond movie?

Lots of lights

Before we left we visited Akihabara which is the electronics district. Geeks mostly visit this place!

Lee looking at anime (cartoon) porn.

The geeks gather!