Kuala Lumpur.

So I spent my real birthday, October 9, on a jet plane flying towards Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A couple of minutes after 12, we landed. Hảo and I, carrying all our luggage onto the plane, immediately went to get a teksi to our hotel, Radius International. The joys of no excess luggage. My head was pounding after the flight, so I came in and out of consciousness on the hour-long ride to our hotel. Thus, just within the hour upon arrival, my birthday consisted of a migrane headache and sleeping on a teksi.

The main reason why Hảo and I even went over to KL was because of the mix-up of our visas. Instead of a student visa, we had a tourist visa. Normally, getting visas and paperwork done through anything Vietnamese is a hassle, but this time around, I was lucky. Within one hour, our paperwork was finished and our student visas were completed. Perhaps it is birthday luck. Not only that, as we were sitting in the embassy, groups of people crowded in as raindrops started pouring down. As I walked out the door, the sun was shining and the rain had halted.

Kuala Lumpur, like Singapore, is very consumer oriented. The only difference is that they have more shopping malls that are much more friendly to the budget shopper. Hảo and I went to some huge mall and walked around for a couple of hours. I purchased some souvenirs, clothes, and other items. Afterwards, we hit up Chinatown for some food and night market window shopping.

The next day we decided to do some touristy things so we went to visit the Petronas Twin Towers and the Menara Tower. Petronas was free, Menara was not. Unfortunately for us, Indonesia each year burns its jungles, causing smog to creep over to the skies of KL. That time of year is now. Thus, the view from atop was quite foggy. But despite this fog, it is quite a sight.

Chinatown for lunch and it was time for us to head back to the budget terminal. 5:00 flight from KL to Hà Nội. On the plane I basically slept. One thing I observed on the plane-ride was that many of the Vietnamese flyers, either due to lack of flying experience or the inability to understand Malaysian peoples’ English, they do not know how to follow rules when on the plane. As we were taking off, the plane on an angle, one Vietnamese man decided to take off his seatbelt and walk to the bathroom. As we were landing with the plane on an angle, three to five individuals decided to take off their seat belts, open the luggage compartment and take out their things. It is good to be back in Hà Nội.
Until next time.

Trần, Qúy-Hạc.

21 cranes.

Earlier yesterday, my friend Ngọc and I decided to roam around Hàng Mã to find some stuff for Têt Trung Thu celebration. She let me drive her motorbike around Old Quarter, which let me tell you, was extremely nerve wrecking. In the Old Quarter I saw Kevin and Angie from EAP. The four of us went to eat phở xào and walked around Hàng Mã to get some stuff. I ended up with a cool turtle toy made from fabric that moves when you pull a string from its shell. Also there was a toy that creates a noise when one spins it. At around 6:00 PM Ngọc drove turbulently through the busy streets of Hà Nội to make it on time for her party. I got ready for my dinner party.

Initially, Julie and I decided to have a joint dinner party, but with my intended twenty something invites, La Place was too small. Julie, if you are reading this, Happy Birthday! I hope you had a fantastic birthday celebration as much as I did. I will be sure to wash that scarf of yours, and by the way, I am not over that crane necklace thing either.

And to continue…

(Happy 22 Danielle! Another October 1-10 bday)

I invited twenty-two people to my 21st birthday party at Quán Ăn Ngon. Out of the bunch, twenty came. The bill surprisingly was under $50. If I were in America, I am positive it would be over 200$. Dinner comprised of Bánh Xèo and a few beers. I cannot forget to mention a few really nice gifts I received from some of my friends. Huỳen and Lan were incredibly creative and presented me with an oragami crane necklace they put together themselves. Also they presented me with a funny Vietnamese story book. It will be useful in my Vietnamese learning process and also allow me to gain some knowledge of what is considered funny when it comes to story-telling in Việt Nam. Sambo and Nara came a little later and presented me with a nice bottle of Johnnie Walker, which I finished later that night with a few folks.

After dinner, Ngọc, Hà, Hảo, Danielle, Katie, and I went to this place called GC Bar for a couple of drinks. I tried to salsa with Ngọc but I fell short of “good.” After a few shots, we took xe ôm to Toilet Pub, which was as usual, crowded. Despite the repetitive hip-hop music and tiny dance floor, it remains one of my favourite places here in Hà Nội. In retrospect, there is not much I can remember from toilet besides dropping my glasses onto the dance floor and thinking I lost them. Luckily right when I stooped down to grab them, they were right there. Also, my bottle of Johnnie Walker, which was 3/5 finished, vanished in mid-air. And as did my beautiful 21 crane necklace which Huỳen and Lan made for me. From what I can recall, the next thing was me laying down at balcony bar, throwing up on the stairs, and laying down in my bed.
(After a horrible display of salsa dancing, Ngọc and I)

Turning 21 years old in the U.S. is something big, but in all honesty, I think that spending my 21st birthday here in Hà Nội goes beyond what I would have experienced back in Chicago. All the people I’ve met here are great and spending it with them made it all the better. It is unfortunate that I was unable to spend it with my family, but the past 20 years makes up for it. Thank you to all who spent their time with me on my birthday, it was one of the best.

Until next time.

Trần, Qúy-Hạc.

P.S.
Also, my friend Kara wanted a paragraph devoted to her in this blog entry, but I’m only giving her a sentence. Or two. Actually, that’s a sentence, a fragment, and another.

familiar surroundings.

The internet here at A2 has been out for the past couple of days, so I was unable to update. On the 22nd of September, CIEE jumped onto a train for a long 12-14 hour ride to Central Vietnam. At first sight, it seemed like the beds on the trains would be extremely uncomfortable, but I was greatly mistaken. In fact, I slept like a baby for most of the 12-14 hours. Hao and my mode of transportation during our backpacking trip in July was by xe buýt, which compared to tầu, or train, is much less comfortable.

Our first stop, Huế. Greeting us as we arrived were raindrops dropping down quickly, profusely from the sky. Despite the rain, we still visited the cultural sites of this ancient city. Last time around, Hao and I just visited the Citadel, but this time, we were able to see the Temple of Literature, a few Kings’ tombs, and other ancient structures. Our time in Huế also included trying all the delicious Bánh. Huế is known for many bánhs. Bánh khoái, bánh bèo, bánh ít, bánh … I cannot remember the names of the others. They were all delicious. I think my favorite would have to be bánh khoái, mainly because it reminds of me a mini bánh xèo, which is one of my favorite dishes of Vietnamese cuisine. I was very khoái to eat bánh khoái, or in other words, I was very excited to eat excited bánh. Coming to Huế for a second time is quite interesting. You see the people you’ve seen before, doing the same exact things. You say you’ve been here a couple months ago, and see if they remember you. Some will, some will not. But what I find most interesting is that coming somewhere again for the second time is a little bit of deja vu of some sort. I am positive though, by going to Huế continuously, this feeling of excitement of remembering the experiences felt would dissolve.

After Huế, our group headed to Hội An. This also was my second time in this city. Out of the main cities I visited back in July, Hội An would have to be one of my favorites. Although it is extremely touristy, filled with foreigners, and having Vietnamese people speak to you first in English, the atmosphere and structures of the city never ceases to amaze me. Hội An is one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites. Chinese and French architecture hug each side of the narrow dirt streets, making you feel as if you are going back in time. As I walked through the streets, the thought of how much history and culture has passed through this city is unbelievable. Hội An, being a port city of the past, brought rich Chinese, Japanese, and French influence to Vietnam. What remains in Hội An still bears resemblance of the influences of the past, but it is somewhat bittersweet because of how this city has transformed into a tourist attraction.

One of the prominent businesses you will see at Hội An is tailor-made clothing. I got 2 jackets, 2 button up shirts, and a cotton shirt tailored. I spent under 100$ USD. After the fact, I began to realize that the clothes I purchased might have been sent to the sweat shops to be sewn. All the clothes I purchased were done within the day, which seemed somewhat sketchy. At the same time, I wonder what clothes I buy in the U.S. is not sewn in a sweat shop, and how much the big companies are paying for each article of clothing compared to how much I am paying them. Of course, it is never good to pick the lesser of two evils, but it is always something to ponder upon.

Looking at the first two days’ weather, we were sure that our trip to Cù Lào Cham would be cancelled. Luckily for us, the sun decided to take off his grey pajamas and get naked, causing everyone to turn their eyes away from the sun. Cù Lào Cham is an island off the coast of Central Vietnam. It is very secluded, and quite peaceful. Surely a nice little break from the mainland. Swimming, lounging, village visiting, and sleeping in tents on the beach, essentially, were the things we did while staying on this beach. Oh yes, I also forgot the bonfire, chess games, and roasting fresh fish. The Việt Kiều and the two Vietnamese local employees mainly stuck together, speaking mostly in Vietnamese with one another, as the others separated themselves. Kara, though, joined us, probably not understanding anything we were speaking in Vietnamese. The following day, we took a little boat tour around the island, and were given the chance to swim/snorkel, and also jump off the top of the boat into the dark blue waters. I took up the offer by jumping in three times. After that, I retreated to the boat to lay down and rest. My rest turned into a deep slumber, which lasted well over an hour. We arrived back on land an hour and a half later.

Hội An, again. CIEE, all together, went to eat at this WWF sponsored restaurant, which was surprisingly good. I had some clothing to pick up so I decided to leave early. Much of nothing followed that night. The next day though, Hảo, Kara, and I decided to go to Mỹ Sơn. Nguyệt backed out like a baby last minute, so it was just the three of us. Mỹ Sơn is one of the main religious sites of the old Cham civilization. Due to war and bombings by the U.S., most of the structures have been destroyed. What remained though was breathtaking. The culture that the Cham civilization held differed so much from that of Vietnamese culture. Indian and Malay influences could be seen through the half standing structures. The Cham people were essentially annihilated by the Vietnamese. The very few Cham people who exist today are so strongly integrated into Vietnamese society that the traditions, customs, and language of the Cham seem alien to these individuals. So much rich culture lost due to the elimination of the Cham. 30 KM later on two motorbikes, the three of us arrived back at Hội An to catch our Sinh Café bus back to Hà Nội.

Pictures will be posted later today.

Quit breathing down my neck.

A couple of weeks back, my politics teacher, at the end of class, mentioned to us about a section of the Vietnamese Government called the PA25, which regulates and does background checks on professors who are teaching foreign students. They basically look and see if the material being taught violates what the government wants the professors to teach; to see if these professors are going against the government.

A couple of weeks after our professor mentioned to us about PA25, it again came up, but not in the context of the class, but rather on a more personal, serious horizon. On one of the Thursday evening classes, she asked us if any of us were in the PA25 and were reporting to the government what was being taught in the class. As all of us are American citizens, we thought she was joking. The following Tuesday, we were supposed to have class, but it was cancelled because she had a meeting with her department. Mostly all of us believed it had to do something with the PA25.

This past Thursday though, she came to class, with a guest speaker. He said many things that we have already heard about from her lectures, many daring things. The lecture the guest speaker gave was, nonetheless, interesting. Class, I imagined, would be back to normal since she came to class on Thursday. I thought that PA25 thing was just glazed over and no big problems amounted from it. I was completely wrong though. Gerard ran class today. We all learned that from amounting pressure from her supervisors, our politics professor would no longer be teaching the course.

I know that politics is a controversial topic to discuss about, especially with foreign students, in this country, but I find it unbelievable that it would result in this manner. The fear of this PA25, and other regulatory agencies in V.N. really do reflect what power the government has, probably just like any other country that exists in this world, besides torn states in Africa. But nonetheless, PA25, probably doing its routine background checks, causes individuals to become perhaps paranoid, where they fear that their futures are at jeopardy for teaching a certain subject matter.

To challenge this would be devastating for one’s career here in Vietnam. It is sad that the professor, who I greatly enjoyed, will no longer be teaching, but at the same time it is fascinating to see Vietnam Politics work right before my eyes. I just wanted to reflect on this. Hopefully PA18 does not get a hold of this blog.

Until next time.

Trần, Qúy-Hạc