Fun in the Sun

Last week, I took the whole week off of work to celebrate my birthday and the arrival of my friend J from DC. We spent a couple of days in Ho Chi Minh City and then headed further south to Phu Quoc, an island off the coast of Vietnam. Flying into the small airport, we already knew we were in love. The views were gorgeous. The island housed a prison during the Vietnam/American War and after the fall of Saigon, southern sympathizers were sent to the prison by the Vietnamese communists. Today, the island has a large military presence in the north, in part because of a dispute with Cambodia over ownership of the island.

Our stay in Phu Quoc was pretty short, 2 full days, but provided the perfect amount of sun and fun. The first day we took in the sights, played in the ocean, and layed out on the beach. Our hotel, as with most hotels on the island, had beachside service. After several pina coladas, we enjoyed lunch by the beach before heading to the hotel spa for much needed massages. We capped off the fabulous day with a seafood dinner. It was a perfect first day.

Our second day, we got up early for breakfast and then headed out to rent motorbikes for the day. After renting our bikes, stopping for petrol, and mapping out our route, we headed for a tour of the southern part of the island. The roads went from pavement to gravel to dirt and eventually to sand, sometimes proving treacherous for us. We visited Can Dao beach where we had the most fantastic seafood lunch sitting directly on the beach. After motorbiking around for most of the day, we returned the bikes, headed to the pool, and continued our pina colada tradition from the first day. We wrapped up the day with aloe wraps for our toasty bits.

I'm already thinking about when I can get back down to Phu Quoc for a more extended visit. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures below from the trip.

Duong Dong Beach where we stayed.

The beach area right outside of our hotel.

Sunset at Duong Dong Beach.

Me and J having drinks beachside.

Taking a break from motorbiking to take in the sights.

Can Dao Beach. We had lunch right beyond this boat.

Saigon Special

I have been living in Vietnam for about eight months now, and just last week I took my first trip down to Ho Chi Minh City. Everyone who visits HCMC, formerly Saigon (most people in Vietnam still call it that), raves about it. The people who live there think it is better than Hanoi, although they are a little biased. After my first visit, I have to say I was quite impressed. It was sunny, which is a huge plus over Hanoi since we haven't seen too much sun since winter began and it was raining the day we headed down south. HCMC is bigger than Hanoi, but it feels less chaotic. There are tons of motorbikes and more people, but the streets are wider and they even have sidewalks that you can walk on! What a novelty! In Hanoi, I usually find it easier to walk in the street than on the sidewalk because inevitably you will have to move off of the sidewalk several times in each block for a motorbike parking area, a sidewalk restaurant, or a random group of people who have decided to congregate on the narrow sidewalk for the afternoon. There was great Vietnamese food, but also a lot of international food options. They even have Mexican in HCMC! We all crave it in Hanoi, but you might as well make it yourself.

I can see the appeal of HCMC, but it doesn't make me want to relocate. I like that the seasons change in the north as opposed to sweating year round down south. I like the little alleys in Hanoi and the character of the city. In the end, HCMC is a great place to visit and a must on anyone's list if you are visiting Vietnam. I will definitely be making more trips south to explore all of HCMC. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from my trip.

* = Pictures taken by MS, one of my travel partners in HCMC.

Street scene in HCMC.*

Notre Dame of HCMC.*

Night view of HCMC from the rooftop of our hotel.*

People's Committee of HCMC (government building).

War Remnants Museum in HCMC.

The front of our dinner cruise
boat down the Saigon River.

Me and J with Uncle Ho! This one
is going to Clemson World!

Just Another Day

I have a major milestone coming up this month--my 30th birthday. I haven't reached the point where every birthday should be considered a major milestone, but I think starting a new decade is pretty big, hence the "major" categorization. I've been saying all along that I'm looking forward to my 30th birthday. But when I tell people that I'll be 30, they look at me like I'm a sick puppy. I've gotten a lot of, "how are you handling it," "are you sad/depressed/upset/scared," and "it will be okay." It is like I'm announcing that I have a terminal illness. Why are we so scared of turning 30?

I've got a theory. Like I said, a new decade is a big deal, but this decade seems paramount to many people because you're moving from a decade spent mostly in school, living life with few responsibilities, but just enough to make you feel like you're finally out on your own, to the first decade of our "grown-up" lives. For many young people today, that free feeling lasts until 25 or 27, sometimes longer depending on how long you stay in school. I was in school until almost halfway through my 20s. Then, I was a "new professional" struggling like many others to find a job and pay rent in an increasingly expensive world. Thanks to generous support from my family, grace periods for new graduates, and an array of other things, I was still able to enjoy the "good life" for a while longer. Now, 30 is here and the door to that existence seems to be closing.

Society's antiquated picture of official adulthood plagues our dreams. If you are still a renter, you start to think that you need to buy a place because you're too old to rent anymore. Still have that sporty car you drove in high school/college? It is time to upgrade to a more "responsible" vehicle. You start seeing guys not as people to date, but as prospective husbands. After 30, you should be settling down, if you haven't already. If you're already settled down, kids are next on the list because you don't have much more time to put that off. How can we possibly expect people not to panic about turning 30? Mortgages, diapers, minivans, oh my!

A friend of mine who recently turned 30 told me that she was worried about it, but in the end, it was just another day. Ultimately, it is just another day. We aren't going to wake up any different than we were the day before, unless we give the day some magical properties that it doesn't have. Is it a big day? Yes! You are one year older and, hopefully, one year wiser. You are one year closer to knowing who you are and exactly what you want, one year closer to fulfilling your dreams, one year closer to repaying those student loans, and one year further away from the scared, unprepared 20-something flung from the nest out into the big bad world of bills and responsibilities. Your 30s are one of the best decades of your life, or so I've been told by numerous 30-somethings.

If you're approaching your 30th birthday like me, remember the words of Evelyn Couch of Fried Green Tomatoes fame: "Face it, girls, I'm older and I have more insurance."

All Aboard!!

Last weekend, I headed up to Sapa with a friend from DC who was visiting. Almost all of my friends in Hanoi have been to Sapa at least twice each already. Every time someone says, "hey, we're going to Sapa. Want to come?" I'm always working. So when R said she wanted to go to Sapa the last weekend she was in town, I joined in the fun. Friday night, we boarded an overnight train destined for the northern mountain town of Lao Cai, one of the major border crossings into China. We were in a four-person cabin, so we bunked with two strangers. One, a woman from London, was a pretty easy bunkmate. The other, a retired guy from Ohio, was not. After locking himself out of the room the first time he got up during the night to go to the bathroom, you think he would have learned not to let the door shut all the way. Oh no. He got up at least three more times and each time locked himself out. Who let him in every time? That would be me. Then, at 4:00 am, he decided to turn on his light, which seemed four times brighter at 4:00 am than it had at 9:00 pm. Was he reading? No. He turned on his light and proceeded to fall back asleep with his light on! Needless to say, we were glad to get off that train in the morning.

Once we arrived in Lao Cai, we had to take a van to Sapa, up and down a mountain and around curvy roads. The 15-passenger van was packed with 15 people plus luggage. It was a tight fit as you can probably imagine. So, halfway through the trip when the guy beside R began throwing up, we all felt the need to. Not too long after that, the guy in front of him started throwing up. R and I exchanged "please get me off of this van" looks!

We arrived in Sapa around 8:00 am, checked into our hotel, had a quick nap, and then headed out to explore the town. As you'll see from the pictures below, the weather did not cooperate so well with us. It was freezing and rainy the entire first day. The second day was cold, but at least it didn't rain on us. We got to see villages of the ethnic minority Hmong people, which was pretty cool. The scenery was beautiful, even in the mist. I'm sure it is absolutely gorgeous in the summer time, and I plan on returning in a few months to check it out. Hopefully this time, I won't have any inconsiderate train bunkmates, queasy van-mates, or rainy weather. Despite these setbacks, R and I had a great time getting out of Hanoi, hiking around Sapa, buying goods at Bac Ha market, enjoying foot massages, and catching up over many cups of Vietnamese coffee, hot chocolate, and wine.

Train from Hanoi to Lao Cai.

Misty morning in Sapa.

Terraced hillside in Sapa.

Hmong girl in Cat Cat Village trying to walk
without letting the rock fall off of her foot. 

Cat Cat Village in Sapa.

Hmong woman washing in the river.

Hmong woman carrying her
baby through Bac Ha Market.

Hmong woman and her son in Bac Ha Market.