One for the road…
Today is Monday 4th week, and also the day that ushers in a new set of volunteers for two weeks while mourning the loss of the last pretty-fantastic set. I’m being a bit anti-social this evening and won’t be meeting the new volunteers until tomorrow, partly because I’m so tired from all the emotional/alcoholic farewells from the weekend.
I was feeling particularly sorry for myself on Sunday morning. Having caught an eye infection from one of the kiddies, my eyes have swollen up, are purple, weepy and I am blind. I am currently stumbling around Hanoi looking like a troll that lost a fight. In my pitifully blind state I smacked my head on the metal frame of our bunk beds leaving another purple mark on my forehead and decided this was due cause to sulk; my friends have left me, I bumped my head and I can’t see. Woe is Tamara. But now it is Monday, my eyes are better and my head has stopped reverberating. Hurrah.
Back on that bloody visa trail
I HAVE A PASSPORT!!! When I initially went to the Embassy (close to tears) and explained my predicament, I was told not to worry because the rest would be simple. Well, that was a lie! I finally received a phone call from the Embassy this Thursday informing me that my passport had arrived from Hong Kong (one of the guys on the Halong Bay boat joked that my passport was traveling further than I was) and jumped for joy and relief at the news! Passport in super-secure money belt I skipped on down to the Vietnamese Foreign Office and Immigration department where I was yelled at and eventually informed (after speaking to three different people) that it would quite simply be impossible to issue a tourist visa for the duration of my visit and that I would require a working visa. Not very simple, and further complicated by the language barrier.
My volunteer coordinator put me in touch with a travel agent who said that he could arrange the Vietnamese and Chinese visas for me. Desperately and fretfully praying he wasn’t another con artist, I handed over a tidy 2.5 million VND ($240) and my precious, precious passport, which travel agent magnifique promptly dropped in a muddy puddle. Yes, I yelled at him and I blame my frayed nerves. Fingers tightly crossed everything will be back to me Friday 10th September, the day before I leave Hanoi. Oh, the anxiety!
“Paris is nice this time of year…”
I came to Asia expecting to eat a lot of rice and noodles. I also came to Asia expecting to tire of eating rice and noodles. This week I well & truly hit carbohydrate fatigue and so have been dirty, sweaty volunteer by day and less dirty, still sweaty restaurant tourist by night.
Hanoi by night is a different and spectacular city. Wandering through the warm evening streets with the unconcerned bustle bustling by, is one of my favourite Hanoi experiences. Another of my favourite Hanoi experiences, and I kid you not, are banana fritters and coconut ice cream!
During rice-avoidance week I have been to some amazing restaurants (& some less so) and I’ve also eaten some “amazing” food. The other evening, feeling adventurous at Restaurant a la Legend Beer (haha oh yes) I ordered roast pigeon. Now the pigeon itself was delicious, tender and quite similar to duck. The problem was it looked like a pigeon that had been plucked and put into an oven. Now I appreciate that’s what actually happened here, but it had a head, which I thought was attached to the rest of the bird, but wasn’t, and to my horror, rolled across my plate as I sliced at the wing! The head was a garnish, and I and my dinner companion were silent with shock.
Equally horrifying recent food experiences include the boiled and salted cow’s tongue available on my lunchtime buffet table today, witnessing the weighing of a very small and cute dog at a food market and fried frogs feet. Frogs legs are delicious (and taste nothing like chicken) but again, I was put off a bit by their little toes curled around looking all frog-like and cute. Seeing the meat prepared road-side every morning has nudged me closer to Vietnam-vegetarianism, and this week hasn’t done much to bring me back.
You might be wondering about the Paris reference at the head of this section. Well, during rice-avoidance week I had a day or two where I was just frankly sick to death of Asia. I wanted to sit in a chair, not a 12” high stool, I wanted to use a knife and fork and drink tea and eat cake et cetera. There is a café on the bank of Lake Hoan Kiem called The Little Kitchen which fulfils Tamtrum’s criteria for escape and my lovely roommate, Jess and I frequent this establishment (rather too frequently) for cake and English tea. We have nicknamed it “Europe” so when it all gets a bit too much (passport day) or we decider we need a treat (most other days) we head for the banks of the Seine.
Another treat that we indulged in before we all went our separate ways was a lavish meal at a restaurant called KOTO. KOTO stands for “Know One, Teach One” and is a program which houses, educates, vocationally trains and employs disadvantaged youth in Hanoi and HCMC. Our waitress for the evening was also called “Tam” which she enjoyed greatly, and along with exceptional service (which surpass my waitressing skills) we enjoyed what I think might be the third best meal I have ever eaten. Highly recommended!
Confessions of a ridiculous backpacker
Confession #1. I am writing to you all from an air-conditioned hotel room with a gorgeous bathroom and crisp white sheets. Yes, the STV house got too much. I am well up for roughing it with the best of them, but I’ve had three weeks of no hot water (it’s not even tepid), a bathroom which I refuse to describe to you and a dirty, messy house. So, for two nights only, one to celebrate Jess’ last night in Hanoi (sniff sniff) and one to restore my sanity and because I cant face another ice-cold shower tomorrow, I am staying in a cheapo hotel, which isn’t fancy but is clean and has hot water and is currently the happiest place on earth! I will be back in STV tomorrow – and do enjoy the perspective you get actually living in a Vietnamese house and commuting with the rest of the city, but that’s for tomorrow and civilization is for tonight.
Confession #2. Vietnamese massages are amazing, and only $3.
Confession #3. I’m sure all backpackers design their own tailored handmade silk evening dresses… no? Well I have, and it’s so cheap I’m contemplating having a few suits tailored and shipped back to England in time for starting at White & Case in February. The dress I designed is round necked, low-backed, knee-length and made of emerald green silk! I am so excited and am going for a fitting tomorrow! My dad thinks that I am copying Clarkson and Co from their trip to Vietnam by hiring a motorbike and having suits tailored… when in Rome!
Confession #4. I have developed a taste for antique Vietnamese statuettes. The good news is that I bought two granite dragon/dog bookends for (only!) $10 and the lovely Spanish boys have even taken them home for me in their underweight luggage and are going to post them to my house from Spain!! Amazing! Thank you, boys!! More good news is that I’ve only bought little Vietnamese ornaments for my Mum and Grandma as gifts, so you won’t have to fake excitement over presents (hopefully), unless I get carried away with the shopping that is.
There’s little else to say, really. The motorbike lessons are temporarily on hold due to blindness but I am going to be back on it ASAP and hopefully road tripping to Nihn Binh (about 60 km southwest of Hanoi) on the weekend. This is weather dependent – the “dry season” in Hanoi has seen 3 monsoon thunderstorms in the last week. If truth be told I don’t mind the rain and enjoy the broken heat, but sadly I am that ridiculous tourist in flip-flops and shorts sloshing through road-rivers whilst all the Vietnamese huddle undercover. Remember I have two black eyes, a bruised forehead and can’t really see much. As if the white-white skin wasn’t attracting enough attention!
Monday 30 August 2010
Monday 23 August 2010
The Hanoi Tattoo
I currently live (out of a backpack) in Hanoi City. Hanoi is crazy! There is no other word to describe it; it is crazy. The streets permanently buzz with activity in every direction, and a million distractions in relentless heat. The motorbikes resemble a swarm of wasps, which you have to manouver through, one (slow) step at a time, eyeing down the drivers as they pelt towards you. The busses, although air conditioned, also resemble a swarm of wasps, but this time some cruel ticket man has put all the wasps in a really small tin and decided to shake it, and drive over pot holes. It's pretty fun.
So, I decided to rent a motorbike! I am doing Hanoi, I am doing Vietnam and so I decided to do as the Vietnamese do and learn to ride a motorbike on the streets of Hanoi! Nope, I've never ridden before, I don't drive and the most powerful vehicle I have been in control of during the last 3 years is my bicycle, while racing rowers up St Aldates hill in pretty, pretty Oxford. I am not entirely sure why I thought I'd just be able to hop on and be a veritable Harley queen - but I did, and I'm not! Maybe I am just naively optimistic, or have a deluded sense of self confidence, but a motorbike is nothing like a bicycle, Hanoi is nothing like Oxford and I am nothing like a Harley queen! The first time I tried to drive, I might have, maybe, almost crashed. eh hem. I need a lot of practice! For the time being I am driving up and down the streets outside the Pagoda during my lunch times and when I've learned how to control the machine (and not panic) then I am going to have to tackle the swarm of wasps. somehow.
A mark of a Hanoi biker is a scar on the inside of the right leg, from where you have burned yourself on the exhaust pipe getting off the bike the wrong way. This is referred to as a "Hanoi Tattoo". To my mind it is a very appropriate impression that one can leave Hanoi with - motorbikes and blistering heat. Thus far my legs are motorbike-burn free (sadly they are a little sunburned) and I intend for them to remain that way! (scar free - not sunburned)
For all it's crazy Hanoi is a great city. It has it's oddities, and I'm getting a tiny bit sick of men coming up to me and poking my white-white skin and laughing at freckles or staring down blue eyes. I'm also getting pretty skilled at bartering market tenders down to the local, rather than the white price. On the whole it is great, and it is only when I've had beer (which is the same price as water) that I am nearly killed by a motorbike, and want to punch the person who nearly Hanoi-Tattooed my leg.
The Pagoda
The orphanage I am working in houses children from 3 weeks to about 16 years old. In short: The children are wonderful! I am finding it pretty hard going though. The children are housed in rooms of 6 with fewer than 6 beds, and one nanny. They are bathed once a week and have very few clothes, no possessions and little privacy. The nannies are not warm towards the children, and I have seen then beat them when they misbehave, and physically tie children to the beds if they don't sleep. The part of the orphanage I work in is the kindergarden, where from 0800 - 1500 we provide a place for the children to go (many are not allowed to go to school) and receive some affection, attention and mental stimulation. It's tough, and an almost vertically steep learning curve for me, but the more I relax into it, the more I fall in love with the children and want to go back the next day to see them. A lot of their stories are particularly hard to take in, and hearing them gives quite an insight into the position of women in Vietnamese society, as well as the class structure and attitudes towards family and children. I am finding it a very internal process and the more time I spend with them the more astounded I am by how open and warm and vulnerable they can be with someone who is going to be there for only a few more weeks.
A happy story, to balance this out. There is one boy in particular they I have become very fond of. His name is Nguyen Van Hung (pronounced Ewan Van Huong) and he is 11. The week started with him punching me as he walked past me. Cute huh? We've started having spontaneous one-to-one English lessons in the afternoons. Thursday afternoon was particularly hot, and seeing that I was, erm, suffering, he jumped down from our riverside desk, picked up a big leaf from the floor and started to fan me with it! A few moments later he ran off again, found a local volunteer and asked her to write "wait" in English on a slip of paper which he then handed to me. I nodded and watched him run off again. He returned a couple of minutes later with a bottle of water for me! He's gorgeous!
The novelty of the orphanage did last about one hour of day one, but it is going well. When it gets too much I escape to the nursery and feed the tiny, tiny babies, which I have not yet broken and feel surprisingly at ease with! There is nothing in me that screams "I want one" but they're not scary anymore, and actually pretty darn beautiful.
The Halong Dragon
This weekend myself and my lovely room-mates and fellow volunteers spent the weekend in paradise, literally! On Saturday morning we all crammed into a little mini-bus and drove to Halong Harbour where we boarded our sleeper boat to sail around Halong Bay. Now, if you've watched any of the Poirot in the Orient episodes, the boat was so very similar, but on a much smaller scale to the one the Hercule himself has stayed in. I got a big kick out of this, and was disproportionately excited walking around the lower-deck with all the cabin room doors and the ocean! Anyway, the boat was cool and I am a geek, but Halong Bay is really the most beautiful and peaceful and majestic place I have ever been! It is perfect. The water is so still and calm and eagles soar from cliff top to cliff top. From the top deck of the boat in the sun and the cool breeze there seriously is nothing closer to perfection!
That afternoon we sailed around paradise, walked through some of the massive (!!!!) caves and then we went Kayaking!!! It was amazing!!! The kayaking itself felt great (first bit of exercise since I left London) as did gliding though the smooth waters but you could get so close to the cliffs, so close that I could see the smaller birds and flowers on the rocks. More, more, more subliminal perfection!!! That evening I jumped from the top deck of the boat (with everyone else) into the South Pacific and swam before dinner.
Sunday morning I woke for sunrise. I could gush some more about how wonderful it was but you all hate me already and I've run out of hyperbole. Later that day I found myself laid out beneath the shade of a palm branch parasol on Cat Ba island beach resort. I couldn't have been further away from the crazy "beep beep beep" of Hanoi, or more relaxed. After a nap, a swim and some time with my head in a Vietnamese war novel, I walked along the cliff top to admire the surroundings. That evening we went to the Cat Ba pearl market, where I indulged my inner 60 year old and also bought a super nice present for my sister ;) ...and then we sat out on the sea front drinking cold, cold beer. Jealous?
My birthday was a while ago now, but we (me and my new friends of 24 hours) went to an ice cream parlour called Fanny (?) on the bank of Hoan Kiem lake in central Hanoi to celebrate and had fantastic ice creams! Nicola packed me away with some little treats to unwrap (thank you), one of which was a small monkey with instructions to name him something Vietnamese. I have, however, gone one better. He has a conical hat! My birthday sundae was decorated with a monkey-sized decorative conical hat on a stick which now belongs to my monkey, which I think shall be named "Vietnam Monkey", or "Nicola".
I so wish that I could upload lots of photos to show you all the amazing things that I am seeing and experiencing, but at the moment that's not possible (the keyboard on which I am typing has ants running across it, and no memory stick drive) but if and when it does become possible I'll go photo-crazy. My phone is also on the blink. I think it object to the heat. I'm in the process of getting it sorted, but if you have txt I haven't recieved it yet - DAD! :) Lots and lots of love - I miss you all terribly, but I am having lots of fun for you.
Girls - If you had seen the selection of shell boxes and ANIMALS on offer at Cat Ba Island market, you would have been SO excited. Promise. (miss you xxx)
So, I decided to rent a motorbike! I am doing Hanoi, I am doing Vietnam and so I decided to do as the Vietnamese do and learn to ride a motorbike on the streets of Hanoi! Nope, I've never ridden before, I don't drive and the most powerful vehicle I have been in control of during the last 3 years is my bicycle, while racing rowers up St Aldates hill in pretty, pretty Oxford. I am not entirely sure why I thought I'd just be able to hop on and be a veritable Harley queen - but I did, and I'm not! Maybe I am just naively optimistic, or have a deluded sense of self confidence, but a motorbike is nothing like a bicycle, Hanoi is nothing like Oxford and I am nothing like a Harley queen! The first time I tried to drive, I might have, maybe, almost crashed. eh hem. I need a lot of practice! For the time being I am driving up and down the streets outside the Pagoda during my lunch times and when I've learned how to control the machine (and not panic) then I am going to have to tackle the swarm of wasps. somehow.
A mark of a Hanoi biker is a scar on the inside of the right leg, from where you have burned yourself on the exhaust pipe getting off the bike the wrong way. This is referred to as a "Hanoi Tattoo". To my mind it is a very appropriate impression that one can leave Hanoi with - motorbikes and blistering heat. Thus far my legs are motorbike-burn free (sadly they are a little sunburned) and I intend for them to remain that way! (scar free - not sunburned)
For all it's crazy Hanoi is a great city. It has it's oddities, and I'm getting a tiny bit sick of men coming up to me and poking my white-white skin and laughing at freckles or staring down blue eyes. I'm also getting pretty skilled at bartering market tenders down to the local, rather than the white price. On the whole it is great, and it is only when I've had beer (which is the same price as water) that I am nearly killed by a motorbike, and want to punch the person who nearly Hanoi-Tattooed my leg.
The Pagoda
The orphanage I am working in houses children from 3 weeks to about 16 years old. In short: The children are wonderful! I am finding it pretty hard going though. The children are housed in rooms of 6 with fewer than 6 beds, and one nanny. They are bathed once a week and have very few clothes, no possessions and little privacy. The nannies are not warm towards the children, and I have seen then beat them when they misbehave, and physically tie children to the beds if they don't sleep. The part of the orphanage I work in is the kindergarden, where from 0800 - 1500 we provide a place for the children to go (many are not allowed to go to school) and receive some affection, attention and mental stimulation. It's tough, and an almost vertically steep learning curve for me, but the more I relax into it, the more I fall in love with the children and want to go back the next day to see them. A lot of their stories are particularly hard to take in, and hearing them gives quite an insight into the position of women in Vietnamese society, as well as the class structure and attitudes towards family and children. I am finding it a very internal process and the more time I spend with them the more astounded I am by how open and warm and vulnerable they can be with someone who is going to be there for only a few more weeks.
A happy story, to balance this out. There is one boy in particular they I have become very fond of. His name is Nguyen Van Hung (pronounced Ewan Van Huong) and he is 11. The week started with him punching me as he walked past me. Cute huh? We've started having spontaneous one-to-one English lessons in the afternoons. Thursday afternoon was particularly hot, and seeing that I was, erm, suffering, he jumped down from our riverside desk, picked up a big leaf from the floor and started to fan me with it! A few moments later he ran off again, found a local volunteer and asked her to write "wait" in English on a slip of paper which he then handed to me. I nodded and watched him run off again. He returned a couple of minutes later with a bottle of water for me! He's gorgeous!
The novelty of the orphanage did last about one hour of day one, but it is going well. When it gets too much I escape to the nursery and feed the tiny, tiny babies, which I have not yet broken and feel surprisingly at ease with! There is nothing in me that screams "I want one" but they're not scary anymore, and actually pretty darn beautiful.
The Halong Dragon
This weekend myself and my lovely room-mates and fellow volunteers spent the weekend in paradise, literally! On Saturday morning we all crammed into a little mini-bus and drove to Halong Harbour where we boarded our sleeper boat to sail around Halong Bay. Now, if you've watched any of the Poirot in the Orient episodes, the boat was so very similar, but on a much smaller scale to the one the Hercule himself has stayed in. I got a big kick out of this, and was disproportionately excited walking around the lower-deck with all the cabin room doors and the ocean! Anyway, the boat was cool and I am a geek, but Halong Bay is really the most beautiful and peaceful and majestic place I have ever been! It is perfect. The water is so still and calm and eagles soar from cliff top to cliff top. From the top deck of the boat in the sun and the cool breeze there seriously is nothing closer to perfection!
That afternoon we sailed around paradise, walked through some of the massive (!!!!) caves and then we went Kayaking!!! It was amazing!!! The kayaking itself felt great (first bit of exercise since I left London) as did gliding though the smooth waters but you could get so close to the cliffs, so close that I could see the smaller birds and flowers on the rocks. More, more, more subliminal perfection!!! That evening I jumped from the top deck of the boat (with everyone else) into the South Pacific and swam before dinner.
Sunday morning I woke for sunrise. I could gush some more about how wonderful it was but you all hate me already and I've run out of hyperbole. Later that day I found myself laid out beneath the shade of a palm branch parasol on Cat Ba island beach resort. I couldn't have been further away from the crazy "beep beep beep" of Hanoi, or more relaxed. After a nap, a swim and some time with my head in a Vietnamese war novel, I walked along the cliff top to admire the surroundings. That evening we went to the Cat Ba pearl market, where I indulged my inner 60 year old and also bought a super nice present for my sister ;) ...and then we sat out on the sea front drinking cold, cold beer. Jealous?
My birthday was a while ago now, but we (me and my new friends of 24 hours) went to an ice cream parlour called Fanny (?) on the bank of Hoan Kiem lake in central Hanoi to celebrate and had fantastic ice creams! Nicola packed me away with some little treats to unwrap (thank you), one of which was a small monkey with instructions to name him something Vietnamese. I have, however, gone one better. He has a conical hat! My birthday sundae was decorated with a monkey-sized decorative conical hat on a stick which now belongs to my monkey, which I think shall be named "Vietnam Monkey", or "Nicola".
I so wish that I could upload lots of photos to show you all the amazing things that I am seeing and experiencing, but at the moment that's not possible (the keyboard on which I am typing has ants running across it, and no memory stick drive) but if and when it does become possible I'll go photo-crazy. My phone is also on the blink. I think it object to the heat. I'm in the process of getting it sorted, but if you have txt I haven't recieved it yet - DAD! :) Lots and lots of love - I miss you all terribly, but I am having lots of fun for you.
Girls - If you had seen the selection of shell boxes and ANIMALS on offer at Cat Ba Island market, you would have been SO excited. Promise. (miss you xxx)
Thursday 12 August 2010
Xin Chao!
I think I should start by thanking you for all of your loving thoughts and messages which have made me smile a lot! I'm sorry that it is proving so difficult to post to the blog wall, but Mum seems to be doing a pretty effiicient job of relaying messages, so I'd stop trying if I were you ;)
So, Hanoi. The start, as you can imagine has been pretty tough. Although the hotel was nice, and the staff were friendly, it was pretty lonely and the western feel and TV channels were making me pretty home sick. Logistics wise, I have applied for a new passport which should be with me some time next week, and then I can start applying for various visas all over again - in Vietnamese (?) I have had lots of offers of help from various people and so I am hopeful that the process will be smooth. If not, I'm going to cry pathetically and tell each embassy about my ordeal until they take pity on me, preferably before I find myself at the border. I'm a good feminist.
The last few days have been better and better. On Tuesday I moved into my accommodation (called STV - short term volunteer house) which, although (very) basic, is pretty homely and is apparently always pretty full of volunteers from various programmes. At the moment there are 5 people staying, from Korea and Japan, all English speaking and very friendly and welcoming! On Sunday, they are leaving and 6 new volunteers are moving in, mainly from the UK I think. The Pagoda Orphanage programme has been slow to get off of the ground because the main organiser is not in Hanoi at the moment and no one else really seems to have a clue about what I am supposed to be doing. I have visited the Pagoda once, which was on the first day of the month by the Chinese callendar and so it was full of local people coming to worship and make donations. The buildings are so beautiful and it's right on the river, so very peaceful. I imagine that I will start there full time on Monday with the new volunteers.
This morning I was teaching English to a boy called Fu. It was a really great experience actually, and I enjoyed, and picked it up quicker than I thought I would. He was really enthusiastic and wanted to keep going until he abruptly closed his book and said "Enough. Tired now." The lady who ran this orphanage was so warm and friendly and gave me a huge hug and kiss as I left to say thank you.
Yesterday morning I was also teaching English, less successfully and to younger children, in a school which has been set up for children who live in a nearby river-settlement. I went to visit the settlement to see for myself and felt quite shocked and uncomfortable in seeing and learning that the children I had been teaching that morning lived in, what are essentially, floating rafts with structures erected for shelter, the road to which was litter-strewn.
With all my English "teaching" I thought it would be good to try and learn some Vietnamese. Hard. Very hard! I think (and hope) the few key phrases that I have picked up are being remembered and pronounced correctly, but getting beyond, "how much", "thank you" and "nice to meet you" is proving a challenge. A girl took me through the alphabet this morning - which I had a hard enough time pronouncing most of the time, let alone remembering and utilising. I'm going to keep at it though, and imagine I should have the northern dialect nailed by the time I get to Ho Chi Mihn - which I am told is effectively a different language altogether! Nobody here speaks with, or understands a southern dialect, and so I can't do too much about that now.
I think I have, however, gotten to grips with the currency, and I'm enjoying the food more than anticipated. I haven't come across cooked dog yet (that I know of) but I have seen a few gorgeous strays wandering around, and it's quite hard to not pet them and make friends. Don't worry - Rabies bad, I know, but sooo cuuute!!
Other than that, I have been on quite a few busses (Jenni, Nicola - Barbados has nothing on Hanoi busses!) and have also been whizzing around the city on the back of a moped, which was fantastic!! If you've seen the Top Gear episode, it's a pretty accurate portrayal, but more fun when you're not in an armchair!
Righty, I think I've abused the air-con enough now.
So, Hanoi. The start, as you can imagine has been pretty tough. Although the hotel was nice, and the staff were friendly, it was pretty lonely and the western feel and TV channels were making me pretty home sick. Logistics wise, I have applied for a new passport which should be with me some time next week, and then I can start applying for various visas all over again - in Vietnamese (?) I have had lots of offers of help from various people and so I am hopeful that the process will be smooth. If not, I'm going to cry pathetically and tell each embassy about my ordeal until they take pity on me, preferably before I find myself at the border. I'm a good feminist.
The last few days have been better and better. On Tuesday I moved into my accommodation (called STV - short term volunteer house) which, although (very) basic, is pretty homely and is apparently always pretty full of volunteers from various programmes. At the moment there are 5 people staying, from Korea and Japan, all English speaking and very friendly and welcoming! On Sunday, they are leaving and 6 new volunteers are moving in, mainly from the UK I think. The Pagoda Orphanage programme has been slow to get off of the ground because the main organiser is not in Hanoi at the moment and no one else really seems to have a clue about what I am supposed to be doing. I have visited the Pagoda once, which was on the first day of the month by the Chinese callendar and so it was full of local people coming to worship and make donations. The buildings are so beautiful and it's right on the river, so very peaceful. I imagine that I will start there full time on Monday with the new volunteers.
This morning I was teaching English to a boy called Fu. It was a really great experience actually, and I enjoyed, and picked it up quicker than I thought I would. He was really enthusiastic and wanted to keep going until he abruptly closed his book and said "Enough. Tired now." The lady who ran this orphanage was so warm and friendly and gave me a huge hug and kiss as I left to say thank you.
Yesterday morning I was also teaching English, less successfully and to younger children, in a school which has been set up for children who live in a nearby river-settlement. I went to visit the settlement to see for myself and felt quite shocked and uncomfortable in seeing and learning that the children I had been teaching that morning lived in, what are essentially, floating rafts with structures erected for shelter, the road to which was litter-strewn.
With all my English "teaching" I thought it would be good to try and learn some Vietnamese. Hard. Very hard! I think (and hope) the few key phrases that I have picked up are being remembered and pronounced correctly, but getting beyond, "how much", "thank you" and "nice to meet you" is proving a challenge. A girl took me through the alphabet this morning - which I had a hard enough time pronouncing most of the time, let alone remembering and utilising. I'm going to keep at it though, and imagine I should have the northern dialect nailed by the time I get to Ho Chi Mihn - which I am told is effectively a different language altogether! Nobody here speaks with, or understands a southern dialect, and so I can't do too much about that now.
I think I have, however, gotten to grips with the currency, and I'm enjoying the food more than anticipated. I haven't come across cooked dog yet (that I know of) but I have seen a few gorgeous strays wandering around, and it's quite hard to not pet them and make friends. Don't worry - Rabies bad, I know, but sooo cuuute!!
Other than that, I have been on quite a few busses (Jenni, Nicola - Barbados has nothing on Hanoi busses!) and have also been whizzing around the city on the back of a moped, which was fantastic!! If you've seen the Top Gear episode, it's a pretty accurate portrayal, but more fun when you're not in an armchair!
Righty, I think I've abused the air-con enough now.
Monday 9 August 2010
Home (from home) at last
I have good news! I have arrived at the volunteer guest house, and have been met by a very friendly chap who is also apparently my boss at the pagoda.
I have come from busy, mean scary Hanoi to run-down, basic, but friendly Hanoi and feel much better about the next 4.5 weeks. I also visited the Embassy again this morning, and have ordered a new passport which should arrive in 10 days time - the photo is of make up less-distressed-abandoned tammie, and is not at all flattering (!!) but this there is currently nothing I care less about! I don't have the time to write properly now, but I thought I'd say that all is well again. The rain has also passed and it is very sunny here - time to crack out the factor 50+!
Also, I am having a lot of trouble accessing facebook at the moment, but this page seems to be fine. Will write soon xxx
I have come from busy, mean scary Hanoi to run-down, basic, but friendly Hanoi and feel much better about the next 4.5 weeks. I also visited the Embassy again this morning, and have ordered a new passport which should arrive in 10 days time - the photo is of make up less-distressed-abandoned tammie, and is not at all flattering (!!) but this there is currently nothing I care less about! I don't have the time to write properly now, but I thought I'd say that all is well again. The rain has also passed and it is very sunny here - time to crack out the factor 50+!
Also, I am having a lot of trouble accessing facebook at the moment, but this page seems to be fine. Will write soon xxx
A less than perfect start
My first 24 hours in Hanoi haven't exactly gone according to plan. Instead of a very basic guest house nearby to a Buddhist pagoda, I am writing this from a 4* hotel lobby and have spent the first day orientating myself by taking a lot of taxis around moped-crazy streets, visiting the British Embassy & local Vietnamese police station and phoning home (a lot).
Yep, last night after a very comfortable and smooth 18 hour journey I took a "taxi" to my accommodation. Everything seemed legitimate and airport-taxi-esq, but it couldn't have been less so. A bustle and curfuffle later and I was unceremoniously kicked out of my fake cab in the middle of a busy street and made my way to a hotel to ask for help. The majority of my money and my passport (with all those shiny visas) had been stolen. It was a convincing and clever, clever scam, and by the time I realised it was arealy too late, and it was also a pretty frightening experience, one which replayed in my head many times before sleep came.
I am okay. I am not hurt and the staff at the hotel have gone out of their way to help me. A new passport will be issued within 2 weeks and the visas after that (because getting them the first time wasn't fun enough) and everything is insured. They didn't take my beautiful camera or my ipod with my million audiobooks (which makes me really happy). I have only lost some money, which is just monety, and yesterday was just a day.
Last night I was pretty shaken up, but today is better and I am determined to follow through on the rest of the trip, perhaps spending less time in Mongolia, and probably also less time in 4* hotels.
So whilst I have little "everything's amazing!!" news to report, I thought I'd tell you about my trip to a vietnamese police station. It wasn't particularly funny, but I did appreciate the absurdity, and so I'll share. The police station we had to go to was determined by the location the crime was committed. A very nice man from the hotel accompanied me through the monsoon rain (in a taxi) to be my translator. I wrote out my statement in English, which he then translated and gave to the policeman. The policeman conducted the interview through the translator and set about creating my official crime report letter, from a blank sheet of A4 he later stamped to officially verify. All those hours wasted on LPC Criminal Litigation (and youtube eastenders clips - thanks Terrence) gave me a good benchmark for comparison of procedure, but little else.
The police station itself was a building about the size of a large house, with imposing iron fencing, gates and tall flags surrounding the perimeter, and then a wood and glass front door I'm sure you could easily kick down. The door remained open and the large entrance room, which is where I was interviewed, was furnished with a large dark-wood desk, some military-style metal cupboards, some chairs, oh, and a rail attached to the wall to which two prisoners were handcuffed. I was ushered to a seat about 2ft away from this sturdy lock-up and for well over an hour sat with Uncle Ho (of Ho Chi Mihn City) staring down at me from above the clock.
There was also a side room in which sat 3-4 smoking policemen and a large TV. From time to time they wandered in and (I found out later) discussed whether I had dyed my hair (relevant) and then took a break from being detectives and sat down to have a smoke.
Back in the lap of luxury I got back to phoning insurance companies, banks, etc and with a lot of help from my parents and sister things are back on track. I am moving into my long-term accommodation tomorrow and will start at the orphanage the day after. On Saturday 6 more volunteers move into the house, which I am looking forward to, and tomorrow I am being met by someone who has already been in Hanoi a week.
This was always going to be a challenge, and the last 24 hours have been more challenging than expected. I am still committed to what I want to do during the next 4 months though, and with a few alterations and a new healthily skeptical perspective, I am optimistic about all that I am going to learn and experience.
I am still a bit wobbly, but tomorrow I meet the group of people I am going to be living and working with, and so I hope my next post will be full of joy and excitement.
With lots of love to you all, and gratitude for your support!
P.S. Apologies for the many spelling errors, the internet here is timed so I don't have time to check back through my speedy typing.
P.P.S. I did think about taking a photo of the police station to supplement my description, but it is illegal to photograph military estabilshments and I don't think deportation is the way to round off the last pretty tiring day!
Yep, last night after a very comfortable and smooth 18 hour journey I took a "taxi" to my accommodation. Everything seemed legitimate and airport-taxi-esq, but it couldn't have been less so. A bustle and curfuffle later and I was unceremoniously kicked out of my fake cab in the middle of a busy street and made my way to a hotel to ask for help. The majority of my money and my passport (with all those shiny visas) had been stolen. It was a convincing and clever, clever scam, and by the time I realised it was arealy too late, and it was also a pretty frightening experience, one which replayed in my head many times before sleep came.
I am okay. I am not hurt and the staff at the hotel have gone out of their way to help me. A new passport will be issued within 2 weeks and the visas after that (because getting them the first time wasn't fun enough) and everything is insured. They didn't take my beautiful camera or my ipod with my million audiobooks (which makes me really happy). I have only lost some money, which is just monety, and yesterday was just a day.
Last night I was pretty shaken up, but today is better and I am determined to follow through on the rest of the trip, perhaps spending less time in Mongolia, and probably also less time in 4* hotels.
So whilst I have little "everything's amazing!!" news to report, I thought I'd tell you about my trip to a vietnamese police station. It wasn't particularly funny, but I did appreciate the absurdity, and so I'll share. The police station we had to go to was determined by the location the crime was committed. A very nice man from the hotel accompanied me through the monsoon rain (in a taxi) to be my translator. I wrote out my statement in English, which he then translated and gave to the policeman. The policeman conducted the interview through the translator and set about creating my official crime report letter, from a blank sheet of A4 he later stamped to officially verify. All those hours wasted on LPC Criminal Litigation (and youtube eastenders clips - thanks Terrence) gave me a good benchmark for comparison of procedure, but little else.
The police station itself was a building about the size of a large house, with imposing iron fencing, gates and tall flags surrounding the perimeter, and then a wood and glass front door I'm sure you could easily kick down. The door remained open and the large entrance room, which is where I was interviewed, was furnished with a large dark-wood desk, some military-style metal cupboards, some chairs, oh, and a rail attached to the wall to which two prisoners were handcuffed. I was ushered to a seat about 2ft away from this sturdy lock-up and for well over an hour sat with Uncle Ho (of Ho Chi Mihn City) staring down at me from above the clock.
There was also a side room in which sat 3-4 smoking policemen and a large TV. From time to time they wandered in and (I found out later) discussed whether I had dyed my hair (relevant) and then took a break from being detectives and sat down to have a smoke.
Back in the lap of luxury I got back to phoning insurance companies, banks, etc and with a lot of help from my parents and sister things are back on track. I am moving into my long-term accommodation tomorrow and will start at the orphanage the day after. On Saturday 6 more volunteers move into the house, which I am looking forward to, and tomorrow I am being met by someone who has already been in Hanoi a week.
This was always going to be a challenge, and the last 24 hours have been more challenging than expected. I am still committed to what I want to do during the next 4 months though, and with a few alterations and a new healthily skeptical perspective, I am optimistic about all that I am going to learn and experience.
I am still a bit wobbly, but tomorrow I meet the group of people I am going to be living and working with, and so I hope my next post will be full of joy and excitement.
With lots of love to you all, and gratitude for your support!
P.S. Apologies for the many spelling errors, the internet here is timed so I don't have time to check back through my speedy typing.
P.P.S. I did think about taking a photo of the police station to supplement my description, but it is illegal to photograph military estabilshments and I don't think deportation is the way to round off the last pretty tiring day!
Friday 6 August 2010
Day 10.
Nine days ago nothing was packed, little was bought and nearly everything existed as ink script next to an empty check-box. Tomorrow is day ten, and in approximately 29 hours I’ll be boarding my flight to Hanoi. (I type this inhaling a few long deep breaths!) So before I find myself lotus position in front of a five-inch screen for 18 hours, I thought I would update this with news of the last weeks final prep, contact info and, well, that’s it because I haven’t done anything blog-worthy yet.
But first, a big thank you. I have been so happy and excited to read all of your comments, and good-bye emails and messages. Sadly I don’t think I am going to have time to reply individually as I was hoping to before tomorrow, but your excitement for me has been really wonderful to read and I promise that I will update this regularly, stay safe, I’ll definitely try not to die (thanks for that helpful advice, Rupert) and will be back for Christmas! Thanks also for going along with the blog idea... it seemed a bit self-indulgent at first so I am glad you all got it off the ground.
Miscellaneous updates
I am delighted to say that the preparation has run smoothly and everything is done, packed and ready. I have received the last set of jabs, all the required visas arrived yesterday morning (which was a source of great relief) and some exciting currency has been collected thanks to the atypically efficient post office.
Packing has been a bit of a challenge, however. Not only have I had to be mindful of the three climates I am crossing, ranging from +30 degrees to -4 , there is also a lot of very necessary equipment that I did not contemplate. I think it would be lighter and probably more efficient to just pack Ray Mears and a poncho, but I will be going it alone and will therefore have to carry a variety of sleep, health, mosquito and water-purification equipment, specialist (comedy) thermal clothing and hiking footwear, prepared-for-everything medical kits, loads of factor 50+ and a surprisingly small amount of wash bag essentials (I am embracing bar-shampoo in a tin).Also, 120 pairs of contact lenses are really bulky and have been really annoying to pack. I am looking forward to laser eye surgery day.
I have, however, been rather indulgent in purchasing audio books. I feel both very lucky and grateful to Stephen Fry for the months I imagine he has spent in stuffy studios, because there is quite literally no room left in my backpack. I have only two printed books, which, precious as they are, may end up being traded with other literature starved backpackers along the way.
Whilst all this excitement is bubbling away, I have underestimated how much I am going to miss you all and so I need you to pay close attention to the following information:
Contact Info
- Email, Facebook and Blog. The internet will be my main method of communication for the next few months. Please do send emails and messages as I will be missing you all lots and will love, love, love to read about your news when I log on. I will also endeavour to reply, as an added incentive! Unfortunately Chinese censorship will prevent me from accessing Facebook, and potentially also this blog whilst in China, and so internet communication might be a bit precarious for two weeks.
- Phone. I will not be using the 988 number until December, but have purchased an international sim card, the number for which is: +447924746959. In theory because it is a +44 number, it should cost you the same amount of money to send texts and phone as with other +44 UK phone numbers. I am sceptical about this, and if you would like to use it, you’re very welcome to, but it might be a good idea to phone Orange/Vodafone etc to double check. It is free for me to receive text messages and phone calls when I am in Vietnam (all of August and September) and it will also be free for me to receive text messages in China and Russia (the sim card won’t work in Mongolia) but I will face a pretty hefty $1.34 per min charge to chat. So texts from October onwards only please!
- Skype. I do have an account with Skype and will log on as and when. I’m either registered with TamaraDyer@aol.com or TamaraDyer@Hotmail.co.uk (I know I really should have checked this when I was able to).
So that’s that. It all starts tomorrow and I cannot wait. Thank you again for all your support and lovely good bye messages (and phone calls and BBQ’s and beer). The next time I write will be from Hanoi!
But first, a big thank you. I have been so happy and excited to read all of your comments, and good-bye emails and messages. Sadly I don’t think I am going to have time to reply individually as I was hoping to before tomorrow, but your excitement for me has been really wonderful to read and I promise that I will update this regularly, stay safe, I’ll definitely try not to die (thanks for that helpful advice, Rupert) and will be back for Christmas! Thanks also for going along with the blog idea... it seemed a bit self-indulgent at first so I am glad you all got it off the ground.
Miscellaneous updates
I am delighted to say that the preparation has run smoothly and everything is done, packed and ready. I have received the last set of jabs, all the required visas arrived yesterday morning (which was a source of great relief) and some exciting currency has been collected thanks to the atypically efficient post office.
Packing has been a bit of a challenge, however. Not only have I had to be mindful of the three climates I am crossing, ranging from +30 degrees to -4 , there is also a lot of very necessary equipment that I did not contemplate. I think it would be lighter and probably more efficient to just pack Ray Mears and a poncho, but I will be going it alone and will therefore have to carry a variety of sleep, health, mosquito and water-purification equipment, specialist (comedy) thermal clothing and hiking footwear, prepared-for-everything medical kits, loads of factor 50+ and a surprisingly small amount of wash bag essentials (I am embracing bar-shampoo in a tin).Also, 120 pairs of contact lenses are really bulky and have been really annoying to pack. I am looking forward to laser eye surgery day.
I have, however, been rather indulgent in purchasing audio books. I feel both very lucky and grateful to Stephen Fry for the months I imagine he has spent in stuffy studios, because there is quite literally no room left in my backpack. I have only two printed books, which, precious as they are, may end up being traded with other literature starved backpackers along the way.
Whilst all this excitement is bubbling away, I have underestimated how much I am going to miss you all and so I need you to pay close attention to the following information:
Contact Info
- Email, Facebook and Blog. The internet will be my main method of communication for the next few months. Please do send emails and messages as I will be missing you all lots and will love, love, love to read about your news when I log on. I will also endeavour to reply, as an added incentive! Unfortunately Chinese censorship will prevent me from accessing Facebook, and potentially also this blog whilst in China, and so internet communication might be a bit precarious for two weeks.
- Phone. I will not be using the 988 number until December, but have purchased an international sim card, the number for which is: +447924746959. In theory because it is a +44 number, it should cost you the same amount of money to send texts and phone as with other +44 UK phone numbers. I am sceptical about this, and if you would like to use it, you’re very welcome to, but it might be a good idea to phone Orange/Vodafone etc to double check. It is free for me to receive text messages and phone calls when I am in Vietnam (all of August and September) and it will also be free for me to receive text messages in China and Russia (the sim card won’t work in Mongolia) but I will face a pretty hefty $1.34 per min charge to chat. So texts from October onwards only please!
- Skype. I do have an account with Skype and will log on as and when. I’m either registered with TamaraDyer@aol.com or TamaraDyer@Hotmail.co.uk (I know I really should have checked this when I was able to).
So that’s that. It all starts tomorrow and I cannot wait. Thank you again for all your support and lovely good bye messages (and phone calls and BBQ’s and beer). The next time I write will be from Hanoi!
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