More Malacca

Temple in Chinatown - the oldest one in Malaysia

Dan with the beautifully decorated cyclos, used to transport tourists around town!

Orang-utan House in Chinatown: one of the many stores selling locally made
and decorated t-shirts

On the way out of the tea centre

Dan with some new friends...

...and with some old Datsuns

St Paul's Church, Malacca

Dan inside the ruins of St Paul's Church

The white posts through the window are the remains of a lighthouse the British built out the front of the church

Remains of the old Portuguese fort behind St Paul's Church (though the cannon is a replica!)

Tombstone inside St Paul's

Singapore photos

Dan in front of a new hotel/casino being built. I think it looks like there was a massive storm which caused a cruise ship to become stranded on top of three office blocks... The curved bit in the front is going to resemble a lotus leaf when it is finished, for now it just looks like a massive skate ramp.

A temple in Chinatown

Some of the colourful buildings in Little India

Break out

Take a deep breath because this is going to be one long blog entry! Since I last wrote, Dan and I have been off on holidays, tripping through Singapore, Malaysia and around Ho Chi Minh City. We had a great break away from work and visited some amazing places. Details about where we went and what we saw are below and, because food is such an important topic, I’ve included a paragraph on what we ate and what we drank at the end of each country’s section. I’ll post some more photos and videos later…we took nearly 200 photos in just under 2 weeks, I need some time to go through and delete all the terrible ones Dan took!

Singapore

We flew into Singapore right in the middle of the volcano-ash/closed airports debacle so the place was full of stranded people. The airport was eerily quiet and every hotel in town was booked out. Luckily we had booked a hotel room a few weeks before… unluckily we had booked it using a discount website… I think that, because we had paid less for our room than all the stranded tourists, the hotel decided to put us in their worst room, the room had a most unusual aroma of sweat, dirty feet and wet carpet, every noise made in the hotel seemed to channel directly into our room and the shower had a big, gaping hole in the floor enamel (which was covered with a shower mat, unfortunately the shower mat was clear so we could see the mouldy foam underneath the enamel).

All of that didn’t matter though, Singapore gave us a great opportunity to enjoy some of the small pleasures that we didn’t even realize we had missed in Soc Trang, things like watching the news on TV, reading a newspaper in a café, walking through an air-conditioned shopping mall and eating Western food. Plus I got to go shopping! Singapore is a massive maze of shopping malls, you enter one, take a few turns, go up and down a few stories, pass an entrance to the train system and, without even realizing it, you would have passed through about 3 different shopping malls. It is a very easy place to get lost in (I speak from experience!)

We also got to catch up with my sister and her family – the whole point of our visit. It was lovely to see them all again, especially my little niece who would stare in astonishment at Dan every time he spoke. It was also very handy to be in Singapore with my brother-in-law, he knows his way around the place and was able to take us to some good restaurants (more about the food later!) and guide us through the train stations and shopping areas.

It was actually pretty strange to be in Singapore which is very rich and uber-modern. It’s a whole world away from Soc Trang! I think that our time in Singapore, as well as in Malaysia, really highlighted the disparity in wealth and lifestyles between the different parts of Southeast Asia. Dan and I kept wondering if different cities in Vietnam will develop to the same standard as those in Singapore and Malaysia, but who knows? There are plenty of signs of development here (the cities in particular are booming) but that is bringing about problems (especially in terms of the environment, traffic and, apparently youth crime is surging) and the rural areas are often being left behind.

The food: We treated our holiday as a break away from Vietnamese food and gave pigged out on Western food. The first thing we did on arriving in Singapore was to get some money out of an ATM, the second thing we did was go to a Burger King for a cheeseburger (Dan’s choice! His excuse was that we needed to break a note so we could catch a train to where we were staying). My sister also brought us over a big bag of chocolates, tea and coffee which was fantastic, it didn’t take us long to break open the bag of Easter eggs! Apart from our Western food indulgences we also had a huge Indian meal at Little India (the palak paneer was my favourite, even my 7month old niece liked it!) and some awesome satays at a night food market. We also tried some sting ray there which was quite good, the sauce it came in was great and the sting ray had a slightly firmer texture than fish but not as firm as squid. All up the food was good and the drinks were…expensive. We are too used to Soc Trang prices (80c beer, $2.50 cocktails) so it was a bit of a rude shock to go somewhere that had more expensive drink prices than Australia!

Malaysia

We had planned on making our way up to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia after our stay in Singapore but, because my sister was stranded in Singapore we decided to spend some extra time there (luckily – and strangely – enough we were able to book our hotel room for an extra night! How odd that the hotel hadn’t booked out our room already…). So we changed our plans and ended up catching a bus to Malacca (or Melaka)on the west coast of Malaysia. The bus was actually one of the most comfortable bus rides we have taken in Southeast Asia! Big, soft cushioned seats with heaps of leg room plus well maintained roads equaled a quick and comfy ride.

We spent two nights in Malacca, it was a great place to visit. The town had previously been taken over by the Portuguese, then by the Dutch, then by the British and then by the Japanese. So there is a lot of history there! There is also a lot of old European style buildings there, as well as some ruins of the old Portuguese church and fortresses. It was really interesting to walk around and see the sites, we even visited two museums to learn more about the town’s social and naval history.

We also spent a lot of time in Malacca’s Chinatown which is a historical conservation site. It was full of spectacular old buildings, temples and mosques. And lots of cheap but good-quality clothes shops. I got to go shopping, again. I haven’t found any nice clothes shops in Soc Trang so the shopping beast in me really broke through over my holiday!

Another comfy bus ride and we were in Kuala Lumpur. We only spent one night there so it was hard to get a good idea of the city but it seems a pretty strange place. There are cars and buses everywhere, creating huge, complicated traffic jams. There are also train lines and monorails built over and under roads and sidewalks that lead to nowhere. Bizarre. The centre of town wasn’t that interesting (shopping malls and cafes) but Chinatown was pretty good. They had a massive night market there selling every designer knock-off item imaginable. I must have been asked to look at about a million different ‘designer’ handbags and pairs of sunnies. I wasn’t really interested in any of that stuff but I did manage to buy myself a long black dress for $15, bargain! (So yes, I did go shopping, again!)

The food: Dan and I continued our Western food kick. The first thing we did in Malacca was get some money out of an ATM, the second thing we did was go to a McDonalds for a cheeseburger. However, we did eat some Malaysian food. We had a laksa, tried a few Nonya dishes (which, from memory, is a fusion of Malaysian and Chinese food), tried a few more satays and had a really good, spicy chicken curry with roti bread from a small Indian place in Chinatown in KL.

Beer was much cheaper in Malaysia than Singapore (though still not as cheap as Soc Trang). Dan was particularly impressed by an 8.8% Carlsberg beer he bought in KL for about $3. However, one of my highlights of our trip was a visit to a tea centre in Malacca. There we had a pot of Chinese Oolong tea, which was prepared in a tiny (and expensive) clay teapot then poured into tiny sipping cups. It was great! The woman preparing the tea told us all about the differences and benefits of tea and also told us a bit more about the history of Malacca. The tea centre was in a lovely old building which used to be a temple and is now partly a museum. It was such a great way to spend the afternoon…for me anyway, not too sure if Dan felt the same!

We left Malaysia thinking we had done well with our mixture of Asian and Western food, though there was time for one last visit to the McDonalds at the airport to have one last Maccas burger… who knows when the next one will be? (McDonalds isn’t in Vietnam, I’ve heard rumours that they tried to expand into Vietnam but the government wouldn’t let them.)

Vietnam

Back in HCMC and back to work! We attended a two-day conference on climate change and its impact on the Mekong River. A lot of the speakers were quite interesting (though, as is usual at these things, some weren’t!) and I did learnt a lot about climate change and the challenges faces the Mekong River system. It seems there are a lot of projects and government activities happening in the Mekong but no real co-ordination between them. Hopefully establishing that co-ordination will be one of the accomplishments of the conference because, if sea levels do rise, it could spell disaster for the Mekong River basin. Soc Trang in particular could be largely flooded or have its agricultural land rendered unusable by salinity.

Unfortunately I embarrassed myself at the conference by spilling a whole cup of tea all over myself, the desk and the floor of ballroom 2. Such a klutz! I’m convinced that the tea at the Intercontinental Hotel Saigon hates me – I tried 3 times to have a cup of tea, the first one (made by an attendant) was far too weak and milky and undrinkable, the second one I spilled and the third one I lost. I gave up after that. Luckily I have plenty of tea of my own now - the French Earl Grey my sister brought over, the English Breakfast I bought at a supermarket in Singapore and some Oolong tea I found in a tea store in KL - if only I'd had a thermos full of one of my own teas with me at the conference...

After the conference Dan and I decided to go to Vung Tau, on the east coast of Vietnam, a 90min hydrofoil ride away from HCMC and a very popular seaside destination for HCMC-ers. The side of town we stayed on (the less popular side) was quite nice, there were nicely maintained parks, big, wide open roads with not much traffic, the beach was clean and the water a nice temperature. We hired a motorbike and went around to the more popular beach, it wasn’t so nice. It would have been a nice, big, long stretch of beach but it was covered in shabby umbrellas (which were rented out to tourists) and rubbish. We didn’t spend much time there. So if we do go back to Vung Tau one day we’ll be staying on the less popular side of town again!

Then, back to HCMC for the last few days of our holiday. Last Friday (30^th April) was Liberation Day and the 35^th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam. So there were a lot of decorations and street concerts. On Friday night there was a massive fireworks display and I think the entire population of HCMC (about 8-9million) were out on their motorbikes. The traffic was absolutely crazy! Dan and I decided to walk into town, crossing the road was a huge challenge!

We also decided to visit the Vietnam Quilts store in HCMC, where another Australian volunteer is currently working. The quilts there are really impressive, all hand-sewn by poor women in the Mekong area. I think I will have to buy a nice new quilt as a souvenir from Vietnam before I leave! (If you are interested you can check out the Vietnam Quilts webpage at www.vietnam-quilts.org).

The rest of our time in HCMC was spent shopping (groceries, books and art supplies – all designed to make life in Soc Trang that little bit more enjoyable) and relaxing either by the poolside at the Grand Hotel (not where we were staying, but it was well worth paying the $4 each to go in and use the pool), at our favourite café, Bobby Brewers, or at Dan’s favourite watering hole, Le Pub. Then it was a 5hr bus ride back to Soc Trang, a new time record! The Japanese funded bridge over part of the Mekong near Can Tho opened last weekend, no more 2hr waits for the ferry! We’ve been waiting for that bridge to open ever since we got here, it makes the trip to and from HCMC about 2-3hrs quicker and so much more convenient! It is the Labour Day holiday today but Dan and I are back at work. We have a project review starting this week and a new intern coming in later this month. Interesting times in Soc Trang!

The food: We continued our Western kick in HCMC and Vung Tau. For some reason we seem to crave Italian food most of all, so we had plenty of pizzas, pasta and lasagna. We had the nicest Itlaian we have ever had in Vietnam in Vung Tau at a place called David’s. We also had an Aussie beef pie in Vung Tau – there are a lot of ex-pats working in the oil rigs off the coast of Vung Tau so there are a lot of Aussie pubs and Western restaurants there. We branched out a bit more in HCMC and had Thai and Indian, though, as previously mentioned, we mostly went to Bobby Brewers. Dan likes the coffee there and I always end up ordering the tuna, mayo, tomato and lettuce baguette. On Saturday we left HCMC after grabbing some breakfast from the bakery (croissants, pastries and a muffin – can’t get those in Soc Trang!), said goodbye to Western food and hot showers and made our way back to Soc Trang and back to eating Vietnamese food again. Not that that is a bad thing! Last night we had a huge vegetarian meal with grilled eggplant, yum, and the café lady was so happy to see us again that she has given us free coffees, fruit, biscuits and 7-up, isn’t it nice to be home!

Food, glorious food

Talking incessantly about food is in my genes. Frankly, I am amazed that I have been in Vietnam for three whole months and have managed to refrain from creating a post solely about the food here. Well I shall refrain no more! So I present to you a taste (hah!) of the food and beverages in Soc Trang – all of which were consumed by Dan and I in the past 24 hours...

Breakfast - sticky rice with chicken and pickled vegetables. Iced tea and an iced coffee made with condensed milk

Lunch - grilled pork with rice, salad and a sweet chilli sauce

Dinner - squid with 3(!) types of onion and some sort of eggplant

Dinner - bbq chilli prawns

Vietnamese rum - made with rice

Vietnamese white wine, made in Dalat - 47,000VND/bottle (about $3.50) - note the attractive wine glass!

A moment of reflection

It was the 9th of April last Friday, which isn’t really all that exciting but it does mean that I have been in Vietnam for just over 3 months! At our pre-departure briefing one of the organisers told us that if we can survive the first 3 months, we’ll be able to survive the full duration of our volunteer placement. So I’ve passed that milestone, though not with flying colours, there have been times of homesickness and frustration, but I reckon I’ll be able to survive the rest of the year (I hope...).

Survive maybe, but there are still a few things about Vietnam/Soc Trang that I am not used to, some of which I will probably never get used to. They are:
- Cold showers...brrrr!
- The crazy traffic. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see honking your horn as an expression of right-of-way!
- Vietnamese chocolate and white wine. It is edible/drinkable, but nowhere near as good as a block of Whittakers or Green & Black Organic chocolate or a good Australian or New Zealand sauv blanc.
- Brushing my teeth with bottled water. I always forget and use the tap water, you’d think the terrible taste would be a permanent reminder...
- Public spitting. Need I say more?

So that I don’t sound too much like a negative Nelly (I don’t know who this Nelly is, or why she is so negative, but having a name like Nelly can’t be helping), here are some of the lovely things about this place:
- The people. They are generally very friendly and are always ready to give you a big smile. The little kids in particular are very cute and will run up to you to say “hello, hello!”
- The food (apart from the chocolate that is). Food is very cheap here and there are some awesome dishes at the restaurants. Fried squid, prawns, seafood hotpots, fresh spring rolls, fresh baguettes, beef noodle soup, tropical fruit....I could go on and on.
- The scenery. There are some really beautiful places here, outside of the town and city centres that is. When we have a weekend in Soc Trang we often go out exploring the countryside on motorbike. We’ve ridden past countless rice paddies, water buffalo dragging ploughs through the fields, fruit and vegetable plots, coconut plantations, wooden boats cruising the canals and so many unexpected temples.
- Travelling. Since I arrived in Vietnam, we have been to a lot of different towns in the Mekong Delta, we’ve explored HCMC, we’ve been to Cambodia and, next week, we are off to Singapore then Malaysia. We are also planning on exploring the rest of Vietnam (i.e. everywhere outside the Mekong Delta) and maybe more of South East Asia once our volunteer assignment is over. I’m not used to being able to visit a different country so easily and cheaply but we may as well make the most of it while we are here!

1999

Prior to last week it was all busy, working, busy. So it is only fitting that last week was party, party, party! To say that there was a lot of alcohol drunk last week would be a bit of an understatement, actually there was an awful lot of beer drunk! Why? Because it was a party week! On Tuesday Kiem Lam held their annual staff meeting, this finished at 11am. As soon as it was over we were off to Hung Restaurant for lunch and rounds of beers. Seeing as it was only 11am, and because there are some advantages to being female, I was able to wuss out of this heavy drinking session. Instead I joined in the rounds of nam-moui nam-moui and tram-by-tram with my glass of seven-up. Dan wasn’t so lucky, by 1pm it was all over and we had to head home so Dan could sleep off all the beer he had drunk! Then Thursday rolled around and it was off to Restaurant 36 at 5pm for Dominic’s (the project’s German intern) farewell. Again, an awful amount of beer was drunk! But not only beer, two of the German project workers from Bac Lieu province were very evil (in my opinion!) and bought a pot of rice wine made by ethnic minority groups up near Dalat. The rice wine smelled terrible – much like dirty, sweaty, old feet – and the taste was not much better! Everyone had to take turns to drink the rice wine through long, thin bamboo straws. As soon as the pot was nearing empty it was topped up with beer – this did not do much to improve the taste! After 5 and a half hours at the restaurant it was time to head home. Needless to say, Friday was not the most productive day. And so on to Saturday and another dinner at 36. This was not really a party, more one of the last chances for Dominic to eat at 36. We had bbq prawns, chilli squid and fresh crab. And lots of beer. Dan and Dominic had a grand plan of finishing off a crate of beer between them at 36 – they did this and more on Saturday night (though me and the waitresses did help). Then we went to Restaurant Bung Huu, one of the few places in Soc Trang that stays open after 10pm. There we had raw beef with lime and some kind of very small bird, possibly a pigeon or a sparrow. And more beer. We finally made it home at about 1pm – this is the latest I have stayed out in Soc Trang, and also probably the latest I have stayed out anywhere for quite a while! So now party week is over and it’s back to work for two weeks. Then Dan and I are off to Singapore and Malaysia – I think we need a holiday from all this working and beer drinking!

Drinking rice wine

mmm...doesn't that look tasty!