Cho Moi & Tuc Dup

Thursday I was down because of the champion’s league final, however by Friday I was eagerly anticipating what Cho Moi town was going to be like. My students from the TC class had arranged for me to visit Cho Moi (Newmarket) with them. Not really knowing anything else I met up with them at about 9 in the morning. We headed out to the ferry to cross the Mekong and still no one would answer my questions.

Once across the river we proceeded along towards Cho Moi however it appeared that they were lost. I thought we knew exactly where we were, though I still didn’t know where we were going. We decide to turn off the main road and head down this dirt track and over the wooden bridges. These bridges always make me scared as they are poorly constructed and high with no or minimal railings. To make it worse the time we crossed was low tide amplifying my fear of heights. Happy to report no problems and after 3 more of these bridges we arrived at our destination, the monitor’s house.

We arrived at his sister’s engagement party and it looked like we were late. Not long after we arrived we tucked into some food and talked about marriage. My students kept asking me about when I would get married. No matter how much I tried to dodge the topic it always came back, like a boomerang. After eating the karaoke started and the guests started singing traditional Delta music. We thought it was time to escape and my students had planned something else to do. Once again I was ignorant as I didn’t hear clearly because of the loud music.

We hopped on the motorbikes again and headed towards Long Xuyen. I was surprised when it looked like we were heading towards Chau Doc (near the border with Cambodia). We came to this big intersection and turned left into Tri Ton district. I was amazed that we had to pay a toll to use this road, as they sure don’t use the money to repair the road. It was narrow and full of pot holes. Travelling on this road often made me afraid that I would fall off the bike.

When we arrived in Tri Ton we waited for our group to catch up. It was here I was enlightened, we were going to Tuc Dup Hill. This is a famous site in An Giang as a symbol of resistance and is locally known as two million dollar hill. It definitely had a very nationalistic feel to the site and a reasonable amount of propaganda. I tried to ignore it, and found that it is an amazing place. We started looking for the crocodiles that were advertised yet all we could find were ostriches and a horse. For some reason I felt overly excited about seeing the horse (or more likely it was a pony) as it is the first one I have seen in VN. I really missed it when I couldn’t see it on the way back, yet a little further on I saw that it was giving rides around the tourist park. I thought it was carrying too much wait with two grown adults on its back.

We started to climb the mountain and after about 75 metres or more (it was hot in the sun as the mountain was facing west and it was about 2 in the afternoon) we decided to follow the track into the mountain. We descended into the caves and it was claustrophobic. Lots of boulders just resting on each other, forming solid caves like the keystone principle in an arch. It was very cool in the caves a welcome relief to the heat outside. We trekked around snaking through the caves for about 30 mins. In some places I thought that I would not be able to pass because of my size. Once we came out we had a relaxing walk down the mountain. The photo can not do justice to the beauty of the view.

We finished the day with a few ice cold soft drinks and dwarf coconuts. No one told me that inside the fruit, which resembled lychees in look and texture, were filled with coconut water and managed to shower myself with it. As we left Tuc Dup hill we passed many Khmer style buildings which are very different from the more traditional VN style we usually see. We headed back home to Long Xuyen at about 4 in the afternoon with the threat of rain not far off.

The big game

Last night I was on a desperate search looking through all the channels in my room to find the Champions League final. I had checked earlier that afternoon to see which channels I had and realised that I might have to go out to watch it. After a few enquiries I was reassured that it would be available, yet at 1:30 this morning my hope was shattered. I went to the VTV network looking for any signs of hope, yet all I found was disappointment when I saw that the stations pregame telecast was already underway.

I remembered one of the staff here saying you could view the VTV telecast from the website so I searched for this option only to find singing. I was confused as what to do when suddenly mid song the telecast started to announce the teams. I was thinking if this is all I got then this will do, these are desperate times. Then suddenly sounds burst out of the other room startling me, and as I looked I saw that the game was being televised by THAG (An Giang TV).

Well the game was underway and I was a mixture of nervous energy and excitement. Liverpool looked good, yet I was concerned that their strike power was inaccurate. I started to drift a bit towards the end of the 1st half, yet was awake to see a terrible thing, a foul just outside the penalty box. My heart sank as I watched Milan score a goal of a deflection. Originally from the replay I saw, I thought the deflection came off his upper arm yet it just must have been the angle as no one else seems to have seen that. Milan were quite lucky to score against the run of play at half time.

Liverpool came out after half time energised. I could feel that they were ready and would score to goals to take the cup back to Anfield. Milan did that boring thing of continuously defending deep making them boring to watch. On the other hand, I felt Liverpool was exciting to watch they were setting themselves up for nice runs, yet to my dismay no luck. I was feeling the pressure of time when the most horrible thing happened in the 82nd minute, Liverpool’s defence slept for a microsecond to allow for a second goal. I felt gutted after this as I was thinking there is no way you for them to come back.

The 89th minute saw Kuyt edge a header into the corner bringing the game to 2-1. I felt the surge of excitement run through my body as I was lost in the moment recounting the 2005 miraculous comeback. However, it was not long to realise that more time was needed. As the final whistle blew I thought Liverpool played better and were more exciting to watch (12 shots @ goal to 5 shots) and just had some bad luck around halftime. As the newspapers say Agony in Athens.

The cirlce

Well today I feel that it is a cycle that has been completed. Tonight (Thursday in Oz and VN) is the final of the UEFA Champions League – Liverpool and AC Milan. I feel very nervous as AC Milan are well rested and hungry for revenge. They are eager to finish what they started in 2005. I only hope that Benitez and the team can overcome the power of Milan and make it two titles in 2 years.

It is hard to believe that it has been two years here in LX already, yet I feel it is time to go. I see this game as a sign from God or the Universe or whatever power out there that controls such things. Regardless of who wins the circle is complete.

The last days of Tyler

Tyler is a volunteer from America working with VIA. He graced our presence about August 2005 and has left to see his family and friends in America yesterday for a short time. In August he will return to Vietnam to work in Hue at an orphanage. I feel that he is the first of our family to go over the next month or so. After a week full of parties (including with his faculty, pictured) he planned a big one up in Ho Chi Minh City to send him off. Saturday was the only day he was available so we made all ourselves available as well.

Upon arrival at the hotel Tyler chose we were greeted by his friend who seemed happy to see him. I was feeling tired and hungry and was just longing to solve these problems. Unfortunately once in the room Discovery channel had different plans, Mythbusters: the pirate special. I was amazed at the damage a canon could do. As Mythbusters tried to disprove common pirate myths I was more and more intrigued by what they would do next. Luckily Hendrik was not so into the Mythbusters and he prodded me to go and find food. We went across the road to Lotteria, a Korean burger chain. When we returned to the room we met Jeff, another VIA volunteer stationed in Long My, deep in the south. He liked the idea of food and proceeded to go and grab some burgers. As I opened my sustenance packages I was shredded by how small the triple beef burger was and after a short debate with myself joined Hendrik yelling at Jeff down the street to bring more food. Once that was all settled we decided just to kickback and wait for the evenings activities.

The restaurant chosen was Mogambos, a kind of American styled menu restaurant with an African theme. As I waited at the table I felt that I was deep in the jungle as Lilian, Tyler, Jeff, Eric and I debated what animals were what. Too bad Wikipedia or Discovery channel were not around now. I ate Cajun chicken for the first time in a long time and it was delicious. The cream coated my mouth in each mouthful while the softness of the chicken was complemented with the capsicums and olives. As I was eating I was wishing that I had not eaten the second burger at lunch, as I was rapidly becoming full. I managed to survive the task and try the Creole rice that was served wit the chicken, yet that was really disappointing as it was dry and hard.

After dinner we were eager to start the night’s entertainment off. We went to Sheridan’s Irish House just around the corner. When we arrived it was quiet because of the FA cup and also it was Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, and National Assembly elections Sunday. Michael, the owner later informed us that it was the feast day of Ivo of Kermartin (the patron Saint of Lawyers). Because of this he was in a singing and partying mood, and I felt his presence made the bar full. He offered a token of loyal attendance by giving us each a shot of feliz with a sparkler.

I was electrified by the atmosphere in the bar and didn’t notice that closing time was upon us until Michael asked us to finish our drinks because it was past closing time. We returned to the hotel and some of us decided to finish ourselves off while others went to sleep. All in all I felt it was a fantastic success.

Ruou Can

Ruou Can is a type of rice wine that is a speciality of the central highlands. In February, Hendrik went to Boun Ma Thout in the Vietnamese central highlands and scored us a jug. The jug was supposed to be for 4 litres worth of wine, enough for 5 people. Wednesday we decided to measure whether 4 litres was enough. The first step in its preparation is to open the jug and fill it with water. The jug itself contains two types of rice ingredients, sticky rice and normal rice. We are unsure how adding water to these ingredients actually produces alcohol, yet Tyler’s early experiences in the highlands assured us that there would be some. During the 20 minutes in which you wait for the wine to ferment you need to check that the bamboo straws have no holes in them. Like most things involving drinking and eating it a communal jug, that is everybody has their own straw in the jug. As all this was happening I was a spectator feeling nervous as I can recall the taste from one attempt previously. The taste can best be described as sour, and no indication that there is any alcohol in the jug.

After about an hour, I felt the mood had really changed from one of drinking to one of talk. Hendrik wanted to milk the jug for all it’s content. He appeared to be disappointed that there was really no alcohol in the jug so he decided to go quick fix and add rice wine. He thought it improved yet Eric didn’t. By this time had opted out of the jug due to the lack of an agreeable taste. I felt the highlight of the night was discussion rather than the drink, yet now I can say that I have tried this type of wine.

Tinh

Tuesday morning I got a message to meet up with him and Tinh at 5 for drinks. Well time flew through the afternoon as it was the first day in a while that I was actually really busy. On the way to TB I ran into Tri, although he says he was chasing me for quite a while he caught me as I decided to let a big truck go in front of me. We arrived and got a table and waited for Eric and Tinh. I still always feel nervous when I go out in LX as wherever you walk everyone stares at you, and feel self conscious, do have something between my teeth, is my fly undone, etc. It weighs on you a bit yet soon enough you forget as enjoy the company you are with.

Well is wasn’t long when the others arrived and we started to enjoy the food and beer. Tinh was telling us about an exhibition he just did in Hanoi, and the upcoming one in Saigon. I am eager to check it out. He is such a great artist, that you see his work come to life in front of your eyes. He drew me a landscape picture which is in Brisbane at the moment yet I remembered being floored by how good it was. I was experiencing being at the floating market in LX. His new exhibition is contemporary art.

Awhile later Nam arrived and we continued to discuss things from the art world, movies, and life. We decided on a venue change, and thought Truyen’s would be a good place. It has a nice atmosphere and as you know the owner is really friendly. We got ourselves a corner table and ordered some food. Eric was looking for Truyen who had disappeared and we guessed he went to buy some special ingredients for a special dish. I was intrigued by this dish and impatiently waited for its arrival. Spaghetti a la Truyen. It was so delicious, the best spaghetti in LX. I would go there every night if that was a regular dish.

Not long after the spaghetti arrived the guitar came out and the singing followed. I was having so much fun trying to remember the words and eating I nearly didn’t notice that every time I went to the bathroom someone always wanted to drink a glass of beer with me. By the end I was afraid to leave the table when the first visitor came to cheers us. He worked at AGU and was quite done. He kept mumbling across English and Vietnamese and I am sure everybody was just as confused as I was. Well the party continued until we realised that it was time for home or we would be locked out the campus.

On the way back we bought a case of beer and let Tinh and Tyler to catch up. Not sure what was going through Tyler’s mind at this time however he appeared to be having lots of fun. We also had two new visitors to the room, Kirsti an Australian volunteer and Vinh. We met Vinh before, although I had forgotten about it. As we all talked, joked, and drank the night away new friendships were forged and old ones strengthened. All in all a great deal of fun for me.

Tyler's farewell week

Saturday night was an unofficial farewell to Tyler. Tyler is a volunteer from America who has been teaching English with the English department of AGU for the last two years. He will return to Vietnam in three months to take up another position in Hue.

As we started to head out is started to rain, and I felt as if Long Xuyen was crying for Tyler’s departure. When we arrived at the restaurant it was quite busy. I guess everybody got trapped at the restaurant and didn’t want to leave. We found a table and settled down as more people arrived for the party. As of yet I was surprised to find that there were no Vietnamese teachers at our party.

Tyler was the master of the table which means he allocates the drinking order for the table and orders the food. He decided on some food and drink and we started the party without the Vietnamese teachers. I was a little cool from the rain and it was nice to have the banana rice wine to warm me up from the inside out. Combined with goat curry and a crowded restaurant it was not long until I started to feel toasty.

The first Vietnamese teacher to arrive was Tyler’s Vietnamese teacher. He told me before that he used to live in or near Richmond in Melbourne, and I was impressed with his English. Next was Lam from International Relations and he has a reputation for enjoying the rice wine. The last to come were Hanh and Ngo. I think they were scared of the rain.

We enjoyed the goat soup and each others chatting about the past, present and the future. Soon the future talk turned to what we would do next, and someone suggested karaoke. I felt timid about such a proposal as I don’t want to inflict audio pain on too many people.

We decided on the place and proceeded to move there. We got ourselves a room and started to sing songs and have a great time. I was shocked to find out some of the words in the English songs were not correct and the selection of English songs was small. We had a new karaoke system which was not English song friendly. We overcame this problem by being stubborn and I watched as everybody sang their hearts out and had an immense amount of fun.

After karaoke we returned home to enjoy more beer and play video baseball and cowboy games until the wee hours of the morning.

KD final exam party

My international trade students on Friday finished all their exams and decided to have a party. They invited me and some other teachers, however most of the other teacher’s had to be present in the school for one reason or another. So once again I was left alone at the mercy of students.

I was quite ashamed that one of the first things I knew about Friday morning was receiving a phone call from students asking where I was. After a hard nights work I was feeling a little under the weather, with that dry mouth feeling. Luckily I had Gatorade, drank some then had a shower, and by the time I met my students I felt much better.

When I arrived at the house I saw an interesting sight: males in the kitchen. It has been my observation that Vietnamese males do not like being in the kitchen much. I went over to see what they were doing and under the instruction of some girls they were cutting away some vegetables for lunch. It all looked interesting to watch yet I was quickly ushered out to another room to play cards. It was good I taught some students 21, and discussed my still unresolved future plans. At least this time I could tell them that I would be in Australia before July 1.

The students asked me if I would like to drink beer or (rice) wine. I said beer with hesitation, as I was afraid of drinking at that point, still feeling under the weather from the previous night’s activities. When they arrived back to my relief they had only bought beer. They bought a beer called Fan Saigon and despite what it says on the label it is not high quality beer. The beer has an unusual aftertaste, which dissipates after you drink a few glasses.

We sat down to eat not long after and as is traditional we had to sit on the floor. It really felt like a long way down when I sat, and not long I was distracted from the pain by a toast.

Then we proceeded to eat the food. I think they should open up a restaurant. The food was good, and produced with a team effort, even if some people’s job was to entertain me. The green mango salad, duck and other eggs, and of course soup. Once again I was floored at the size of the fish, it was a huge fish, which was delicious.

By 2.30 we were all tired from eating and drinking until our bellies burst. It was good way to spend lunch, and a reminder of how much I will miss my students in Australia.

Class is out

Over the last few weeks have finalised my lessons with my students. I felt a little sad as this will be one of the last times that I will see them before I leave. The first class to finish their lessons where the International Trade students. Some of the students invited me to Thoai Son and also to visit a student’s house. The next class to finish was the Accounting class, followed by the Agribusiness class, and lastly the Finance Class.

While finalising the some work the class representative came and asked if I had any plans. As I didn’t she asked me to join the class for (extremely early) dinner. So we went to the restaurant and proceeded to wait for everybody else to arrive. I enjoyed talking with my students on a more personal level, something I miss as in class we often talk about business topics.

Many students seemed eager to find out about my plans, however this left me confused as I still don’t know what I will do in the future. The feeling of uncertainty consumed me for a while until we were distracted with the seafood soup. I felt that everybody was trying to make me have a good time and persuade me to stay here longer. After dinner, we went to a massive photo session across from the restaurant. I was put out by the number of reshots we had to take because people just moved into the way of the camera without any regard for the photographer. Luckily, we finished after about 15 mins and headed out to karaoke.

At karaoke the feeling of being powerless arrived again, as they wouldn’t let me choose songs yet proceeded to find every English song they could and a student would sing it with me. Although, this could have been a risky situation with my bad singing it all turned out great and we had tons of fun. By the end of the night I was tired (as was my voice) and was eager to turn in.

The next day was the exams for the Agribusiness class. As I arrived the students seemed just as nervous as I was. I could not work out why I was nervous, just was. Maybe I was worried for them, alas for no need as most did well. As I finished working I noticed that most of the students were all still around and I suspected something was up, after the previous day.

They all convinced me to go to coffee, which I thought was nice. I also missed a lot of opportunities to talk to the students about non-business topics. We went to this really nice coffee shop on what seemed like the edge town. It was really tranquil and was not expecting the surprise that was waiting for me. Kevin, an old friend was there. I met him from Julie and he is a good Karaoke singer. So unfortunately I spent a lot of time catching up with him, yet felt obliged to attend to my students interjections. The questions posed were similar to the previous day’s, to which I still had no answers.

During the coffee, a number of students were discussing where to take me next. One student slyly asked me if I like rabbit. After I said yes it was agreed to go and eat rabbit. We proceeded to go from one side of town to another through the back streets. I was really lost as I hadn’t been this way before, yet my students continued to reassure me that they new where they were going. And they did, before I knew it I was being toasted while people were choosing dishes from the menu.

Well it was the students turn to become the teacher as they wouldn’t let me speak English and continued to teach me Vn. I learnt some useful phrases and felt good that I could use them on them that day, to great amusement for all. After a large bit of banana rice wine we decided to call it a day, with our bellies full.

I was expecting after the finance class to have some memories with them, however so far I am disappointed. I think it has something to do with the rushing of all their subjects from a variety of teacher’s not giving any time off. I hope I will have an opportunity to see them before I go and learn more about them.

The City

One of the things I wanted to do in Phu Quoc was eat western food. I realised that this would be a wish as I didn’t see many western food outlets. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough. Well the seafood was great and felt extremely satisfied with this part of the trip.

However I still needed my fix for western food and thought I would see some friends in The City. I made the arrangements necessary, hectic as they were, and was on my way with two missions: western food and some games.

These games have been something I wanted for a while. They are the Capcom Classics Collection Vol 1 and Vol 2. They have many of the games I fell in love with as a child and I want to reminisce the feeling of being young again.

After messing around to find a hotel (near the pictured intersection) I was informed that I should go to a birthday party. At arrival I was disappointed as there was no western food. We were at a Mekong Delta restaurant eating Mekong Delta food. It was nice, yet not what I yearned for.

However as everyone had departed a change of air was suggested. We went to a seafood restaurant not far away called Hong Hai. Here we had clams, sea snails, fish, and oysters. This was the first time I had sea snails and they taste much better than the land snails. They are not so chewy and have a better taste.

Also I had never tried oysters. In Australia oysters are a bit smaller than a business card. When I saw them my breath was taken away at how huge they were. We ate them with wasabi and lime juice. That was exquisite once the wasabi nose burn dissipated.

By the time we were finished there it was time to return to the hotel. Just before turning in I saw a bar across the street showing some football and decided to check out who was playing. It was the Manchester and Milan game. I saw the last 30 minutes of the game and felt some deja vu as I saw the score 3 – 0 in Milan’s favour. I felt overjoyed that Liverpool would play Milan again.

Friday was the day that I decided that I would conquer the goals of the mission. I spent the first few hours rummaging through piles of books, looking for the games. I walked up and down the street visiting 4 shops. The first shop I visited I had to wait as they went to another shop and get the game books. After flicking through all the books I could not find what I was looking for yet saw some other games that I might try. Since they are cheap (less than $2) I would buy them. I went to a shop a few doors down and it appeared to me that they had the same books as the previous shop. The next shop also had the same collection. At about this time I was desperate to find the games, yet time and patience were escaping me. I saw one more shop and decided it would be the last.

Now this shop was different from the others as it looked like an official dealer for Sony. It was much cleaner and brighter and filled with amazing looking electronics. I asked the girl if they sold games and they said yes and directed me to a chair and brought out those books. I was saddened that the books started to look like the others that I had seen previously. That was until towards the end of the book I saw volume 1. I was thrilled to have found the game, only hope that they have it. Then I saw a new type of book, and perused through it to find volume 2. When I asked to collect more order the girl was saying that volume 2 would cost more than volume 1 as it is official, that is from Thailand. So I cautiously asked how much and she said 30 000 (about $2.50) will within the range I was willing to pay for the game. I collected the games and paid the girl and left the shop with a feeling of satisfaction.

I walked back to the hotel and proceeded to wait for Eric to arrive from Hanoi. I met him and showed him to the hotel and then he ordered pizza. Pizza Inn is a Korean version of Pizza Hut – practically identical except for a few Korean quirks. I am amazed that Pizza Hut hasn’t done anything yet, especially now that they are in Vietnam (saw my first one later that night). I just enjoyed every mouthful, it had been so long and it was divine.

After that I watched discovery channel learning about tunnels under Kuala Lampur, fast production cars (Bugatti Veyron or the Wiki version here), and rockets. It was really educational, especially about the rockets. I felt like going to get some ingredients and make a rocket myself yet I thought I would probably kill myself with the explosion.

That evening we went to Sheridan’s Irish House. The owner is an expat Irish who looks like he came to retire and enjoy life in his pub. I feel that the cosiness of the place gives it a fantastic feel, and it often frequented by regulars. They have live musicians and tap beer (this is the only place I have seen this combo). We sat down and enjoyed a few brews mostly Fosters as it is cheap and more enjoyable than Larue beer.

The owner, Michael, came over and gave Eric some shots of tequila and kaluha to enjoy. We were both hesitant to drink them yet we did not want to insult. The mixture was a little sweet yet no tequila after taste, which relieved me. We continued to listen to the music and enjoy the atmosphere until closing time. We then moved closer to the hotel at a bar called Alleybooz. Here we met some people from Laos and stayed until it was time to go.

The next morning I didn’t feel so great yet the prospect of playing the Capcom classics made me get ready to go to the bus station. The journey was uneventful and my heart raced as we approached the Van Cong ferry. This is the place where I know I am home as it is a 5 minute trip to the bus station, and I feel 5 minutes is nothing compared to more than 4 hours in the bus. As a feeling of achievement overcame me from successfully completing the mission goals, I realised it was great to be home.

Phu Quoc

As the early hours of the morning approached I could not help feel more and more tired. I tried to stay up until 4.15 am so as I would be able to catch the bus to Rach Gia. I am notorious for sleeping over alarms and if I am going to be awake that early in the morning I like from when I have been up all night. Well not a problem this time as the body clock begrudgingly agreed to wake up at this time. I also noticed that after the shower I had received a kind reminder call from the organiser of the trip. I suspect if I wasn’t so numb from being tired I would be excited about the coming adventure.


We boarded the bus and I could hear the buzz of the members in our troupe, colleagues from the economics faculty and family (12 in all), chatter away as I tried to drift back to sleep hoping to wake up in Rach Gia. The plan was sound except for one variable, the road was so rough. We arrived at the ferry port and had decided to have breakfast. I felt distraught, soup for breakfast – unfortunately that was all the choice besides rice. The soup was not too bad and the coffee that accompanied it was good.

We set sail towards Phu Quoc at 7.45 am. We got into our allocated seats and I tried to go to sleep. After about an hour of travelling I was woken up by what seemed like everybody in the ship yelling my name. It was my friends asking me to show my ticket. Could not go back to sleep for a while and noticed the King Kong movie on the TV. It was the exciting part so I decided to watch it. After the movie finished I followed my friends upstairs to get some fresh air. On the trip to the upper deck I felt like I was in a hospital after a disaster, people looked tired, hot, bothered, and bored all around – the perfect hospital waiting room.

At the harbour, you could hear the hustle and bustle of all the fish farmers and tour guides going about their business. The harbour seemed like any other I have seen in Vietnam. I was expecting something a little more. We departed for the hotel so we would arrive for a late lunch. The first meal was good, fresh seafood and lots of it. By the end of the trip I was having beef withdrawal symptoms.

After lunch I pursued a coffee in a nearby café at the mouth of a creek. It was peaceful and I realised I was fighting to stay awake. I also learnt that we were about 200 to 300 metres from the beach, which is why people go to Phu Quoc I thought.

When I returned we wandered around the town of Duong Dong for the remainder of the afternoon. We were also lucky enough to be caught in a storm and were held up for about an hour or more under a small roof on a muddy floor. Later that night we explored the beach a little, which was about 200 metres away. It sounded so peaceful after the ferocity of the storm and looked magical with the stars and the oyster farms lit up in the distance.

The second day I got out of bed on the wrong side. I was upset that someone asked me to get up at 6am (it was a holiday I thought) and be ready to go to the beach. It was cold and wet. Not good beach weather in my book. Yet, nonetheless we were going to the beach. We all organised to meet downstairs at 6.15 and only I was ready. That left me in a foul mood all day. After a good breakfast, we loaded into the bus at 7.45 and proceeded to travel eastwards.

Having no idea where we going, being tired and grumpy, I really didn’t care. The first step however was a pepper farm. Interesting as I had no ideas about how to produce pepper, something I enjoy so much with eggs. I enjoyed seeing the pepper farm as it was educational.

Next we travelled to a peaceful part of the rain forest. I remember feeling so insignificant there as the trees reached for the sky. It was so cool, and fresh I thought I would like to set up a hammock and stay there all day. The next stop was a small fishing village at the northern tip of the island. It was really rural.

Next, we visited the sea border of Vietnam with Cambodia. Here it started to rain again and we all rushed back to the bus. It was quite beautiful to stand there and watch the boats roll in. The sounds of the waves were quite hypnotic as well.

We proceeded to round the tip of the island head back towards Duong Dong. We stopped to have lunch at an ecotourism restaurant. Wow, the seafood was even better than previous day. They tasted like they were just out of the sea. We had squid, prawns, and fish. We sat around for about an hour just watching the water roll in, chatting and just soaking it all in.

As we started to approach the town again we did the usual Phu Quoc things – visit the tourist places such as an art gallery and a fish sauce factory. Fish sauce is important in Vietnamese diets yet it is simple to make. Just need a bit of time – 1 year in fact. Just mix salt (70%) and ca cop (fish 30%) in a barrel and come back later. When we hopped back into the bus was amazed at how much fish sauce there was. It looked liked we had cleared out that factory. Next we stopped at something closer to my heart – a wine factory. This wine is unique to Phu Quoc Island. This was however not as popular as the fish sauce, except one of the crew bought a 5 litre barrel of the stuff.

We went to meet some people and then decided to return to the hotel. After dinner, with more seafood I wonder if there was any squid and prawns in the sea. We started to play cards and then got kicked out the room by the girls who wanted to sleep. We decided to walk around town to find a bar, café, or restaurant to enjoy a beer. Not a great deal of luck, yet we were able to come through at a little fruit juice place. It was open aired with a tranquil atmosphere. You could see the storm off in the distant creating havoc to the oyster farms off the coast.

This was where I really started to enjoy the holiday. By lunch I was only a little grumpy yet by now I was back to myself. We enjoyed a few beers and discussed what we had seen during the day, and played a joke on one of our friends. As the shop closed and we headed back to the hotel I realised that it was a pleasant if not exhausting day.

The next day I slept through my alarm to realise that I had 5 mins to the scheduled departure time to pack and get ready. Foolish I was I see. No one was ready to go at that time and I could have had breakfast. I really wanted to enjoy the same dish as yesterday.

As we headed out we went to some more tourist places. First up was a Buddhist pagoda on the mountain wedged amongst the rainforest. It was quite a sight. You could feel that this place was a little magical and all the statues made you feel that you were in another country. There were dragons, and statues of Buddas, and lots of Chinese architecture. Some people prayed. I had noticed that the island and Rach Gia had a more Chinese feel to it then any other parts of Vietnam I have visited so far.

A waterfall was the next destination. Lots of little rock pools and creeks running down the mountain. As a few friends and I were enjoying ourselves wading in the water, we realised that the others had not followed us up. When we found one of them searching for us, they were upset that we had wandered off and held up the tour. Yet as we all hopped in the bus all was forgotten.




The last place we had lunch. It was a nice beach, with little surf waves. It was really crowded unlike the beaches from the previous day mostly due to the location and weather. We stopped here for an hour or so and enjoyed the last fruits of the sea for the trip. We had crab, squid, and all sorts of stuff. The smell of the sea, a gentle breeze, and a cold beer made this a most memorable moment.

We boarded the boat and headed home. The boat was overcrowded once again, worse than the first time. 500 people on a 250 capacity boat with rough seas makes you feel afraid. I kept hoping I wouldn’t make the news that day.

Arriving at Rach Gia we had to fight the motorcycle drivers who could offer us everything we needed, to jump on our bus. As I anticipated arriving in Long Xuyen, I thought that there were trying moments yet overall that it was a great experience. I really appreciate the effort the organisers put into the trip and the closeness with experienced. A fantastic way to start the April 30 and Labour Day holidays. I can say now that I have participated in speed tourism, set a record about how much time I spent in a bus on holiday, and have a belly full of seafood.

LFC

This morning I woke up a little groggy from the previous night only to find that it was quite early still. This surprised me as I thought it must have been at least two hours later than it was. Well after getting a refreshing glass of water, I started to watch some DVD’s on my computer.

With hesitancy I decided to visit the UEFA homepage to find out the answer to the most burning question on my mind for the last week:. Did Liverpool do it? Foiled, UEFA was not loading. Searching the favourites again I had two choices: BBC or Liverpoolfc.

Not wanting to wait anymore I opened both windows and Liverpoolfc was the first site to load. After reading some history trivia of past glory I clicked to enter the site. By this time I was indecisive in whether I wanted to know or not. I felt in my heart that Chelsea can not win at Anfield and proceeded to wait for the main page to load. Once loaded I was elated as the first thing I saw was the headline ‘Awesome reds are going to Athens’.

Reading it is one thing, exciting as you imagine all the plays described however watching the game would be divine. One thing I don’t like here is that my house does not have access to the neighbouring province’s TV station. As the local station and the national station don’t carry any football (except when VN play in a tournament) I don’t get to watch the football as much as I like. I can only hope that I can find a TV to watch the final – I might even travel out of my house that night to see a repeat of the glory from 2005.

Trance music

Trance music to most is probably best described as noise and a drum beat. 130 bpms ([drum] beats per minute or more) with background (or foreground) sounds and vocals tweaked only the ways djs know how to do. I guess it is why most people need some kind of artificial influence to enjoy it. I however just enjoy the way two records come together and how the sounds can lift, drop, or turn you around. I have enjoyed this music often drunk or sober.

Today is the first day after a long weekend commemorating the reunification of Viet Nam and Labour Day. I caught up with an old friend and when I got home I thought listening to the newly acquired DJ Tiesto mix and some Tigers would be a good way to finish the day. It was nice to feel the ups and downs, the blend of music merging into the next track on the same key. The music is good (even though the quality of the recording is not) and enjoy it with a beer or two looking at the coconut trees outside my room with Buong (my Eric’s cat) hanging around deciding to jump off the balcony to catch lizards or not.

A great way to end a lazy day (waiting for Liverpool’s victory tonight at Anfield of course).