Different sights

@ HUE
I encountered some interesting sights.

OLD MAN READING
The weather is so hot & unbearable in the day. However, u will see vietnamese out in the street from 4pm onwards doing variety of activities. It was an awesome to spot this oldman reading by the bridge. He found a perfect spot (shade by the huge metal arms) & sit on his bicycle to read the book. By the way, there is a nice river view in front of him.

NEW TRADE
There is a man on the street who provides handphone lamination service. He will carefully cover the handphone with lamination paper & use a lighter to fine tune all edges. This service cost 10,000Dong = S$1! (slightly less than US$1) Very afforable! i was tempted. but decide not to display too much kiasuism when i'm abroad. And i manage to contained it. I'm proud. :D

Bae Yong Joon Copy

During one of the guided trip i made in Hoian. The guide told us that even the men needs to have fair skin in order to be consider handsome. I spotted a Bae Yong Jun's "白白胖胖" (fair fair & fat fat) poster in a market. Apparently that is their version of "handsome" man. And the stall owner in front of this poster seems to have some resemblance with Mr Bae. He said himself that he is a photocopy of Mr Bae.

My Fair Lady

Vietnamese girls believed that beauty lies with a fair skin tone. All of them will be fully covered when they are out in the sun. Even so when they visit the beach. The market sells gloves that allow the women to cover their arms fully.

I went out with a vietnamese girl, thuy(the dream girl in my earlier blog) when i returned to hanoi during my last 2 days stay. she will run across the pavement whenever there is a unshaded area. They do everything to keep themselves fair. So thuy is indeed a fair lady!

Recap Vietnam

Somehow i was unable to blog during my last week in vietnam. Let me make it up.

Vietnam remains the most exciting destination among the indochina countries (Lao, Cambodia & Vietnam).
My eyes are constantly busy with exploring different sights & sound of the places. Vietnamese have an amazing colour coordination when it comes to painting their house. They seems to love green & blue & yellows.

One of the night in Ho Chi Min. I had insomnia. Surprisingly, i turned on my camera & found the long exposure function. And i see another side of Vietnam when the iris opens wide.

HOME

Dear friends!

i'm now home!!! i couldn't update my blog for the past weeks due to some technical problem with blogger in vietnam.
its ashame. i hv some interesting shots to share about vietnam. will post them later.

like all other backpackers, returning after a long holiday builds up some anxiety. after finishing 2 months journey, there is a longer journey back home awaiting.

1st dirty reality is a huge pile of bills!!! i'm heavily in debt now! gotta spend sometime clearing them.

I will be back to do a roundup for this trip! so keep tuning in. you may see ur photos up here.

blogging can be addictive. i'm considering opening a heavingsingapore blog to keep all my other travellers friends informed about my life here. watch out!

Streets of Ho Chi Min

@ Ho Chi Min City

I was in Ho Chi Min 3 years ago. But i didn't have much time to scout around the city. This time i stayed in a place off the backpackers area along Co Giang Street & this is probably a good choice. When i went out in the morning, Vietnamese street life is playing out in front of me. The most interesting observation- vietnamese women of all ages will come out in the pajamas to do their marketing. You will see a big selection of pajamas parade in the market. Should be an eye candy for the men.

I also sported my favourite dish "chi chiong fun" in vietnamese style. they called it the Banh Cuon. They can have this dish for dinner as well!!The one i had was delicious!!

Still in the middle of somewhere

I have finished my cambodia trip. Will be moving on to Ho Chi Min tomorrow. I will move from south to the northern part of Vietnam for the next 2 weeks before i fly back to singapore on 24 June. Some friends complaint that i seems to be on holiday forever!! This is so not true. Most of the traveller i met are on a 6-12months trip, mine is comparatively short.

I picked up a new skill while travelling alone. I learned how to make flowers with toilet paper. This is an excellent way to keep yourself occupied while riding on long bus trip.

A different perspective

There is a tree outside my bunglow with a hammock hang at the top of it. I managed to climb it but didn't pluck up enough courage to sleep on the hammock.

Being a Singaporean, I have to admit that I'm a low risk taker. :/

play dead

A new lesson learned while staying in nature.

Do you know spiders like to play dead? i spotted this spider at the edge of the ledge in my guest house & thought that it was dead as he was on its back his leg was facing the ceiling. However, when i approached it again the next morning, it was up on its four legs. & when i returned 10 mins later (before i get out) it was back playing dead on its back!!! What an amazing acting skills. (i also wonder why didn't he run away instead???!!!)

After speaking to the owner, i realized that all these wild creatures are probably 10 times more scared than you of them.

Nature Lodge

@ Modulkiri, Sen Monorom

This is the southeastern part of Cambodia. A less beaten track even by the backpackers. I went over on a low season & found myself checking in with only 2 visitors for that day. There is always 2 sides to a coin. During low season, you can easily step into any guest house without advance booking & get a good deal. However, most of the time, you will find yourself having only yourself when going out on certain activities.

The elephant track i did in Sen Monorom was such a disappointment that it wasn't worth mentioning. However, highlight of this trip is the place i stayed in - NATURE LODGE. This lodge is owned & designed by a talented couple (husband-cambodian & wife-israeli/australian). The guest house literally was designed in the nature with lots of natural materials cleverly used. the basin is made of bamboo with water draining at the tip of the snip bamboo. The couple told me that result of all these design is due to limited budget. they simple take things from nature & built into the structure. I was luckily to get this bunglow as it used to be the owners' home. Since its low season, they let me have this 2 storey bunglow at only US$5! That was a luxury!!

Sweet Young Things

Later we went shopping & took some photos together! I'm glad i can blend in with these sweet young things! they don't believe that i'm 12 years older than them!!

initially we planned to go to the disco. unfortunately, the girls couldn't get a car out for the night so the idea was scrapped.

Phnom Pehn is a very modern city. The young people lives pretty much like rest of the world. Eating, shopping & dancing on a weekend night!

Girls Outing!

The girls took me out on their motor bikes & we went to eat their popular cambodia soup (in Singapore version, hot pot). This was utterly delicious! better than any hotpot i had in Singapore. Wander could it be the element of cow's brain that gave much flavour to the soup.

Cambodia Young Thing

I met a group of young girls (21 & 22 yrs) while trying to ask for directions. We get aquainted quickly & the girls asked me to join them for a weekend night out!!