aaronandrews

Hoi An and a Long Bus Ride

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:44:22 +0900

Hoi An: sunny, tropical, beautiful. A relaxing vacation from our whirlwind trip. Shopping, great food, and cheap drinks. Colourful lanterns and floats in the river. A great beach! More drinks. In my quest to swim in every Sean of the world I can now cross off the South China Sea. Score. Sean drove a motorcycle with Heather and myself hanging on in the back. Touristy. Old markets and guild houses. More great food. Chill, chill, chill.

...chill.

Hue

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:16:30 +0900

Welcome back. We left off our narrative in a train heading to the old Imperial city Hue. Join me now as I get off the train and step into a perennially rainy city...

We met some of Heather’s family at the train station. Her uncle, aunt, and adorable little cousin were all very nice - we would be staying with them during our time in Hue. They immediately took us to the family house, a little bit outside of town. This was the first night of Tet after all.

We got there late, and the whole fam was there. I can only imagine what heather felt like, meeting her uncles, aunts, and grandmother for the first time. I know that it was a night I’ll never forget. I hit it off with grandma and she proved that, no matter what background, grandmothers will only be happy if you’re constantly eating.

After celebratory shots an ancient guitar was taken out. In a style not unlike a residence dorm-room or a Long Beach camp-fire we passed around the guitar, everyone singing along. The uncles sang old Vietnamese tunes, while Sean and I offered out best renditions of more contemporary songs. ‘Hey Jude’ - the only song that Koreans all seem to know - was recognized by the fam. More drinks were had, more songs were played, and grandma made me eat what seemed like an endless stream of delicious food.

The next day Sean and I took it upon ourselves to check out the remnants of old imperial splendor. We hired some motorcycles and zipped around from the Imperial Palace to the 7-Level Pagoda, to the tomb of the most pussy king around, King Tu-Duk. After an enjoyable day both Sean and myself agreed that if we inadvertently started a game of Jumanji, it would be in Hue.

The sites were beautiful, there’s no doubt. Just as memorable were the friendly people of Hue. From the bystanders who took it upon themselves to orient us to the drivers who, knowing that time was running out for us to see the last tomb on our proposed list, gunned across the the town and up the river to get us there in time the friendly atmosphere made Hue a highlight of the trip. Oh yeah, I got a chance to practice my French skillz with a friendly Vietnamese dude in a chill eatery.

New topic: poverty. This topic, of course, is a crucial part of understanding Vietnam. For a non-disguisable tourist (white) such as myself, a significant part of the Vietnam experience is a constant barrage of sales-pitches, marked up prices, and haggling. None of these things are particularly enjoyable - aggressive cylo-drivers being the most obnoxious of the bunch. The tourist’s dollar is, alas, a huge incentive, and so the sales pitches are a matter of feeding kids and living comfortably. It’s no wonder English is so commonly used here; there’s an economic incentive of being able to joke around with a (comparably) rich tourist that simply doesn’t exist in Seoul.

When you catch the Vietnamese off the clock, though, it’s a whole different story. Staying with Heather’s family meant that we weren’t marks, and that they weren’t on the hustle - we were guests and they were gracious hosts. I should mention that Heather’s family were far from wealthy, but they gave us everything they had and more. Funny, kind, and genuinely so loving, they invited us into their place at great expense to themselves. I’d like to think we returned the favour with some excellent drinking skills, some willingness to play card games without knowing all the rules, and some guitar playing.

I want you to check out this house, though. To be blunt, it was the poorest place I’ve ever stayed in. Staying for three days and living are two very different things and I don’t know if I would be as fine about heating water to pour over myself for a shower after a year or two. It just shows that I (we) should appreciate everything we have, from the chair we’re sitting on to the running water we have, to the family and neighbours who we share our lives with. I bet you don’t know as many of your neighbours as they do in the alley our place was in. Go introduce yourself! Bring sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves and some vodka and I’m sure you’ll be thick as thieves in no time.

Next up after Hue was Hoi An. Unlike the rainy city Hue, Hoi An (on the other side of a mountain, on the coast) is tropical and beautiful. It’s a beach-side paradise. Let’s check it out..... next time!

HCMC and the Train to Hue

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:12:57 +0900

Sean and I fly into Ho Chi Min City to meet his girlfriend, and my friend, Heather and her brother. It’s the eve of Chinese New Year; so the shifty year of the rat was about to turn into the stately year of the ox. Heather, Canadian, Vietnamese immigrant, was visiting her uncles, aunts, and grandmother for the first time. Intense, eh? So begins the story of a surreal and surprising trip to Vietnam and Laos.

Flying into the southern-most city in Vietnam, HCMC, on the eve of Tet is a big deal. The lunar New Years is officially a three day holiday, but is unofficially a ten day holiday. As we arrived the city was in the process of emptying as residents left their jobs in the city to visit their family homes in the countryside. Heather’s family home was a short ways out of a smaller city up the coast of Vietnam so we would be joining the masses and leaving the city for the Tet celebrations.

Still, before we left HCMC for the festivities, we got a chance to check out Saigon. It’s know to be in the league of Bangkok in terms of the motorcycle to human ratios. There’s not a soul who doesn’t own a motorcycle, a scooter, a vespa, or some rickety combination of two wheeled mayhem. Families ride on vespas, with two or three small children sandwiched between their parents. Traffic moves like water; each two-wheeled vehicle finding the path of least resistance, making the flow of traffic really look strikingly like the flow of a stream over rocks.

How do you walk around in traffic like this? There’s only one way: walk with the flow of traffic, don’t look, don’t stop, and walk straight through with the knowledge that your life is in the hands on literally thousands of Vietnamese motorists. Relying on the people behind you to avoid you is the only way the traffic in HCMC can work, but it’s a lot of trust for a young Canadian lad to freely give. If you’re gonna cross the street you’re gonna have to just go for it, though, so there’s really no choice in the matter.

Even though the streets were crammed with motorists, transporting creates, huge bouquets of tropical flowers, presents and parcels of food the traffic was, evidently, light. Though I have incredulous doubts, I was assured that most of the city had already left for their family homes out in the countryside.

We wouldn’t leave until the following night, giving us a chance to check out the city. Most striking were the coffee shops. Made for the richest people in the city, these lounge/bar/coffee place/hangout/clubs were made obvious by the imported sports cars parked in front. In a city where the vast majority live in very modest circumstances, these coffee shops seemed to be the epitome of decadence.

The next extremely striking part of HCMC was the communism. This was, after all, my first communist country. Communism is, these days, a loose term. Vietnam, like China, is a player in the game The Market, and wants nothing more then life, liberty, and a bigger slice of the pie. Communism occurs in name only - evident quite clearly with the multitude of posters all around the city.

Ho Chi Min City was, in short, a polluted, vibrant, poor, rich, humid, wild and sweaty. The communist posters and the Tet gifts, the monuments and the clubs, the pho and the fried chicken.... all of it a stuffed into a dirty and trash-filled city, between palm trees and telephone poles with hundreds of thick black wires. I’ve never seen anything like it.

One the first night of Tet - the eve of the first day of the first.. I dunno, Ox Day One.. Sean, Heather and I got on a overnight train to Hue. The train, it turned out, was a family affair. Heather can’t help but become best friends with all children and she quickly won the affection of the families who were staying in the sleeping cars with us.

Leaving behind the shouting salesmen of HCMC, we met some genuinely friendly families, all going home for the holidays. We learned a new card game, and played with the young men traveling back to their parents home. We chilled in the hallway with the families and shared a small table in the sleeping car to have strong coffee for breakfast and some greasy soup and rice for lunch. Before we knew it the train ride was over, and we were in Hue.

Winter Hits Up Korea

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 22:37:40 +0900

‘Tis the season to montage my Korean winter experience.

A Quickie

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 15:31:11 +0900

Yup, still running behind on updating. The problem is, new stories always keep coming up, so the old ones just get older and older. So here’s the deal. I know it’s unfair to 2008-Aaron, but I’m going to give him the short shift. 2009 Aaron has great things to tell you! He wants a chance to talk. 2008-Aaron deserves better, I know, but what can you do?

Time Keeps on Slippin

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:00:09 +0900

Wow, we’re falling behind on updates, and when we fall behind we photo-montage a good month or two of life into a fast and easy blog page. Check out the pictures. There were stories that went with all of them, but you’ll have to ask me in person for them.

Trippin over to Sokcho

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:21:48 +0900

So, I’ve been in Korea for a bit, and it’s time for some traveling. Here’s the team of fellow travelers:

Julia - She’s living in Goyang, just like me! She’s from Deep Cove, just like me! She’s traveling to Sokcho, just like me! With me, actually.

Here and There, around Seoul

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:02:25 +0900

Ilsan, where I live, is a good 40 minute subway ride into the middle Seoul. Fortunately, there are tons of things to do in the greater Seoul area. I watched the Suwon Bluewings get their asses handed to them at the World Cup soccer stadium, I climbed a mountain, and - oh yeah - my good friends from Canada, Heather and Sean, arrived!

Check out my hiking buddies. That’s my Vice Principal to the left, ArrBomb (as he is known to his friends) in the centre, and Julia on the right!

Heather visits my neck of the woods! It’s great to have her and Sean here! They’re part of the Terrance 6.

Welcome to Goyang

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:09:03 +0900

Well guys, let me tell ya.. Korea is a very cool and very interesting place. Above the place being crazy, there really is nothing like deciding to live in a different culture to find out about yourself. For example, what hand gestures do you mime to say ‘is this spicy?’ Or, how will you go about teaching English in an elementary school when everyone under the age of 9 giggles and screams ‘hi’ at you when you walk by?

PS, Koreans are very nice, but a little shy of strangers. They also have a piece of technology for everything including: looking out of your door (instead of a peep hole they have a two way video monitor), finding a waiter (‘you mean in Canada they don’t have a doorbell? how do you get your drinks?’), to cool your beer (tables have beer sized refrigerated cup holders, and to clean your bum (I know that bidets are not a Korean exclusive, but mine has at least 4 different options and settings, making it the most high tech bidet I’ve seen yet).

So, to the left is where I live. It’s in Goyang, which is a planned city Norht-West of Seoul. It’s a pretty hip place. That’s a view from Lake Park, which is quite lovely.

Aaron has Adventures VIII Going to Korea

Sun, 7 Sep 2008 18:34:54 +0900

Well, here begins my trip to Korea! It’s pretty exciting, for me at least, and I hope you think it makes a good story. Let me give you a bit of back-story on the whole thing. A few years ago my friend Julia and I were talking about what we wanted to do after university. I don’t know who brought it up, but we both thought teaching english in Asia would be a good option. We decided to do it together. Years later, we’re both teaching in public schools in Korea! In university I lived with Heather and Sean and both of them thought it would be fun to come to Korea too!

So, our story begins in the Vancouver airport. I was hung over and very much tired, having stayed up extra late the night before. My mom and my dad were excited/nervous and the stage was set for drama.....

...not really, we said a heartfelt goodbye and good luck and off I went.