My Life Journey

Vietnam has been involved in many wars in the past, colonised by western powers, and governed by communists. Physical war was terrible at any circumstances for they destroy lives and haunt you for the rest of your days even if you lived to tell the tale. Ask any veteran and he will tell you they hated war – done with pride and bravery, but fearsome and cruel too. During the years of embargo, the people of Vietnam suffered indefinitely. There were no news, information, nothing could go out or come into the country. Vietnam received no help and had no one to rely on but themselves. Left without choice, the people hard-pressed by hunger had to plant their own food, mainly rice, and reared livestock and ate all sorts of animal such as rats, all for survival. There was no business to be done, only hardship and pain to face.

When the embargo was removed, Pepsi-Cola was first to appear, and then Coca-Cola followed by McD, but the Vietnamese refused – thanks but no thanks. They are not fast-food lovers. Fast forward into the 21st century, Vietnam is no longer in hunger. In fact this country now produces rice for export and with the money, rebuilds the country to what we can see today. They have excess rice to be sent to Cuba as aid, for free. Bill Clinton and Gill Gates set up funds to help clean up the city and established platforms for unemployed and handicapped people to earn a living – by making handicrafts, for example. As a result, there weren’t anymore beggars on the streets.

These were related to the visitors on the way to Cuchi tunnel this morning by Mr. Binh. He told us many stories. He told us how Vietnamese disliked burger as they can’t fit into their small Asian mouths. He told about his life. He was an officer, lieutenant rank, served the American side during the wars. He killed not a soul but was shot twice and counted his blessing that he is still alive today. A man, solid despite his age, weathered in emotion telling about the past, one could believe his stories, of things that have happened, without a doubt. He told about the war and timeline of significant events. He told about his people – smart, skilful, resilient, kind and always a smile to offer. He could have an easy life if he had chosen to follow his comrade back to US but Vietnam is his home. He was a playboy in his youthful days, but chose to settled with a local woman, whom he loves very much although not beautiful as he said quite matter-of-factly. The government does not trust him because he served the American during the wars. They wouldn’t offer him job; he tried as an English teacher but rejected. He can fly a chopper, educate, serve the military and many more but none was appreciated. He was refused again and again. He had to smuggle goods at one time to earn money; to survive. Now, for almost two decades he works as a tour guide, just like this, telling stories and showing tourists around. He is now working on a book based on his diaries, and will be published in a few years time with the help of his brother. He once lost contact with all his siblings. They all fled and because of the embargo, he had no idea where they went or how to find them. He’s retiring next year, and we were glad to be on board with Mr. Binh this morning.

Earlier today, the guesthouse served breakfast of toast bread with strawberry jam, and bananas, gulped down with a cup of coffee (or tea). The journey from Saigon to Cuchi tunnel took about 2 hours with a short stop at the handicraft-making place. The place is run by the government to help the poor, and victims of wars, some handicapped by mines or chemical effluents. If you buy things here, it’s like doing a charity to help these people. And they are skilful people, making exceptional products ranging from lacquer ware to traditional shoes. The merchandise here are really really good, as one can see the details of work and effort they put into making any one item, and they are not considered expensive. Quite cheap, really, if you put things into perspective, accounting for the quality and size. We continued our journey, all the while Mr. Binh telling us stories and jokes.

Cuchi tunnels are the complicated underground network covering kilometres in total, hand-dug by the locals and soldiers to fight the enemy. During the wars, this place was rigged with mines, booby traps, hidden doors, escaped ways and many more. The tunnels are very small, just right for the Vietnamese in those days for a great trouble for westerners. If you were in Saigon, Cuchi tunnel is a recommended place to visit. The entrance fee was about RM16 per person and an extra $5 per head for transport with guide. The visit includes a chance to go through a 130m stretch narrow tunnel and firing real gun (you need to buy the bullets, of course). Guide will explain many things along the way – about what they do, military tactics and also something about the role of women in the camp. Mr. Binh said every group of soldier there were 2 women and they had four roles. 1) To cook, 2) To sew, 3) To fight enemies and 4) for ‘honeymoon’ purposes. The tunnels were completed in 3 levels down to 90m deep and in those tunnels were rooms designated for meetings, traps, escaped ways, cook and also to make love. He also accused Vietnamese women of overpopulating Vietnam because they are like baby making machine. Ahem, it is only fair that I report on Vietnamese girls like I did for Cambodian girls. I think I agree with Mr. Binh’s findings, that Vietnamese girls are skilful and also beautiful, in general. They can cook, smart, mostly educated now and attractive. So you see, I don’t mind following Mr. Binh’s footstep. As far as I know, Chunaki agrees too.

We fell asleep most on the way back – thirsty, tired and hungry. When we arrived, it was about 3pm already. We don’t know what to eat so we walked around looking for something simple and we ended up eating bread and it was like the most delicious sandwich we ever tasted. The filling was a variety of ham and meat and plentiful of greens to go with. Other bread weren’t that bad either. The cost was only about RM2 for each type. It was really really delicious.

Feeling more energetic, we proceeded to Benh Than Market by foot. It was a very conducive place to buy things because there are so many choices and best of all, you can bargain. All of us bought some nicely designed Adidas and Nike imitation t-shirts there, only for RM14 each. Since I did not buy the handbag in Cambodia, I was determined to get at least two because mum asked me to, and I did just that for RM12 each.

Quynh, met up with us and joined us for a little shopping spree. Unfortunately we can’t stay long but nevertheless she was still willing to come. We got back to our guesthouse, collect our luggage and took a cab to the airport. Quynh apologised for not being able to take us to more places. We felt bad because we were the ones who didn’t stay long enough in Saigon. We’re sorry Q, and you’ve been so nice to us. Thank you so much! See you again!

No, it wasn’t time to go home yet because our next destination was Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Thanks to Ha (and her cousin that we never met), we flew Vietnam airlines for $100 per person. It was my first time flying in Boeing 777. Everything about it was nice – the seats, the interactive screen, the food, the temperature, and of course the air hostesses. We were flying over 900km/h, with an outside temperature of -50 deg C over thousands of meter above ground, when the food came. It was a simple bread and ham meal but it was great, that we asked for one more each. Being greedy, we also asked for juices, milk and water, and once finished we did that all over again, just because they are free! Wait no, actually we paid for it, so might as well make our money worth.

We touched down at about half past ten at night. Ha and her bf was already waiting for us. I hope Ha’s family won’t be reading this….=P =P. Dear readers, there’s something I should explain and also this beautiful girl named Ha, is an interesting subject. If you want to know more, see the subsequent post. Her bf, Da (or so it sounded), is a very nice guy and he can speak mandarin because he studied business and management in Beijing for 6 years. So we spoke with him in mandarin and Ha, in English. Both of them were very sweet and welcoming, always smiling and looking after us. We went to a café at the airport to have some food but we were afraid that it might be costly so we ordered the cheap selections. We never wanted to go to fancy places but we must be polite, right…?? Da was the one who paid eventually, and we felt bad. It was already very nice of them for their hospitality, and now they paid our bills, not only this time but for many other things.. sigh..paiseh paiseh. They were just too nice to us.

Anyway, we parted ways back in the airport as Da can’t fetch us all back to Ha’s place, for two reasons – one, a car cannot fit us all and luggage, another one was….see next post please. We took a cab and reached Ha’s home about 40 minutes away. Her mother welcomed us into the house and showed us into our rooms. Kelvin and Jesse slept in Ha’s room, and Chunaki and I, in her younger sister, Lynh’s (spelling unsure) room. See next post for more stories. Suffice to say now, Ha and her family was very very nice to us and our stay in Hanoi was truly fantastic, thanks to them.

Breakfasted across the street again, only this time, we asked for bigger bowl (tolal RM17). The guesthouse keeper kept asking us where we were going today but having promised Mr. Ram, we said we will just walk around town. We then walked to the junction of the street hidden from the sight of the guesthouse. There Mr. Ram and his tuk tuk driver friend were already waiting.

Today the weather was fine and all was afresh again after a good night sleep. This morning, we were brought to a boat ride through the Tonle Sap lake, 12km away. The ticket cost RM20 each. The boat ferried just the five of us and as usual Mr. Ram explained things to us.

There were many boat houses along the bank, lake side. Speeding was not allowed because the water way was narrowed, so we cruised at quite a low speed. There were also school, volleyball court and more houses. In those houses, drinking water was accessible in tongs, bought from seller who came regularly. Bathing were often done in the lake. Wastes go straight into the lake as well. One can see canoe where people ply their trade, ferry goods and sometimes selling things to visitors like us. At one point, a girl from such boat jumped into ours. We bought one sprite from her out of courtesy, costing us $1. Most people living there were Vietnamese instead of Cambodian, said Mr. Ram. They lived by the waters rather than on land because they need to pay staying on the land. It’s cheaper that way. We went all the way to the wide open lake. It was really big. The horizon stretched hundreds of kilometres and fishing is the main activities here. Cambodian economy is based on rice, fisheries and tourism, in this order. There were as many as 200 different types of fish in this lake.

We stopped by at one of the place designated for tourists. Took some photos there and look around the shop where variety of things were displayed and sold. About 3 hours later, we departed back. It was a unique experience to observe people living on the lake. One wonder how they manage but of course they live their life simple and within means. The trip back was also slow. We tipped the boat driver and left for another place called Artisan Angkor where we witnessed the process of making sculptures, carvings, lacquer products and weaving. It was a short trip that took only about 20 minutes as we need to catch the bus for Phnom Penh at 1.30pm. We proceeded to an eatery shop for lunch. Bargained a little and chow-ed down our food quickly. We blessed the tuk tuk driver and Mr. Ram and thanked them for making our stay in Siem Reap an interesting one. Lunch cost RM48 for 6 people. We were sent back to the guesthouse, packed quickly and boarded the van that will take us to the bus station.

Other than the four of us, the van ferried a family from France. Both the parents fled to France when the kingdom was at war, and it was the first time for the twins, aged 24 (if not mistaken) to visit the land of their father’s. The van stopped for a drink as we had some time to spare. Everyone got down. Some drank coffee. Jesse and Chunaki joined the people there watching tv(s) on the wall – it looked like some sort of ‘cinema’ for them with many chairs lined up and few televisions with different films showing at once from which you are free to choose from. Kelvin and I on the other hand, chatted with one of the brothers and he showed us some picture taken from the silk farm where we did not have the time to visit. So that kind of made up for it.

Just like before, the bus left at 2pm sharp. This time, the bus was not pack at all, so we got a place each. The bus was moving faster than the one we took when we first came into Siem Reap which was also full. Here, we settled some money we owed each other up to this day and slept but poorly because of the bumpy journey and excessive honking.

Traffic was slow moving in the city. Among the traffic, you can see people taking a walk in the esplanade and parks. Some playing badminton, doing group aerobic and jogging. We finally arrived at Phnom Penh near 8pm. We waited at the bus company office (Malinh Group) for Chieat and his dorm friends to pick us up. Chieat was the eldest among them and the group leader in some ways.

The dorm stays mostly university students, some still schooling. This is a place of friendship and where brother and sister in Christ living together, caring and helping each other. It was a 3-storey building with 7 rooms shared by both guys and girls. We were fortunate to have received their hospitality and got to know them, despite only for one night. It was nice to mingle with the locals whenever you travel. All of them were very friendly.

Chieat brought us to a place he usually frequent for dinner after work. Needless to say, yes they were delicious. We also changed our remaining Riel back into dollar as we were leaving for Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) tomorrow. When we got back, we joined the group for some brief sharing and introduced ourselves. Coincidentally, they were celebrating birthday for June babies that night and I was one of them! They even had fireworks. It was so nice and the thought of getting to eat birthday cake soon evaporated as the celebration turned into a cake war. Everyone involved had got cake smeared on him/her in one way or another. The floor was oily and everyone was dirty at the end of the day but all was in done in the name of fun. After clean up, we grouped back for some photos and a simple game of big-fish-small-fish that was localised into ‘trai-tom-trai-tout’. Losers had to act monkey and piggy.

Everyone adjourned to bed at about midnight. We had a small room but grateful all the same for we not only get to stay the night for free but also made new friends. We learned the way of living from them. Some work to support themselves. They cook to save money. A third year student, Mom, have a dream of helping the children of her people. She wanted to do business and to apply what she will learn from other developed countries like Malaysia, Korea and USA to help her homeland. Such were the wonderful people we met and learned from through our trip. It’s difficult to not love the people of Cambodia.

I woke up flustered thinking that we were late and our friends waiting downstairs because it was already quite bright when my eyelids opened. Lo and behold, it was only around 7am. In Cambodia, sun rises at 6am. We casually washed and dressed for our second-day of visit in the capital of the kingdom. When we get downstairs, our friends hadn’t arrived. That’s when we checked email as Internet was available for guests use.

In the evening we plan to go to Siem Reap, the place where the majestic Angkor Wat sits. So we went first to the bus station to get our tickets for bus that departs at 2.00pm (RM20 each).  As usual the streets were filled with life and crowded. There were stalls nearby selling breads and we bought some for breakfast. They were quite delicious (cost about RM2.50 each). They tasted like French bread, crunchy and a bit hard but the filling of pork floss and slight spread of mayonnaise made all the difference. I ate while riding pillion on the bike on the way to the Royal Palace (entrance RM25 each). The Royal Palace is recommended to visit if you were in Phnom Penh. The architectures were amazing and golden. Chieat, another friend, joined us today. Pictures are allowed in most places, only restricted in areas where there are a lot of precious gems and sacred. That place is quite huge, complete with pagodas, spacious gardens, replicas, statues and relics. To make it more interesting, get the locals to explain things around. The entrance charge for the locals are very much lesser, if not mistaken it was only 5000 Riel (RM 1). I guess it’s a very good way to promote foreign tourism. A lot of things to see and take picture, very nice there.. go see it!

The weather was hot, but not so humid as compared to Malaysia, so we don’t sweat as much too. One can observe that the city lacks of trees. Friends told us that’s what contributed to the hot weather. The previous government did not care much about this and resulted in many mature precious trees being cut down for various purposes including furniture making and firewood. The road was busy and honking was a normal thing and not perceived as rude, rather much like a warning or indication of “I’m coming, watch out!”.  Next destination was the national museum. The architecture wonder was also seen in the building especially the roof. The only picture we were allowed to take was the outside and the entrance with the statue that looked like hippogriff. Inside, pictures were prohibited. A friendly reminder for travellers who do not have much to spare or in other words, stingy – whenever a staff offer you a string of jasmine flowers, refrain from taking it no matter how fragrant or good fortune it may bring because once taken she will point to a bowl just 3meters away where you’ll need to put some money and also place the flower into a container. See.. you pay but you’ll be asked to return the good-luck sweet-smelling jasmine. The museum housed many artefacts, statues of Buddha and Lord Krishna akin. They were taken from the Angkor ruins where they had fallen or destroyed in war. Unfortunately most of them were either without their limbs or head or both because they were dismembered (since the whole statue weighs like an elephant) and sold, for they are also valuable. Museum has lesser things to see as compared to the Royal Palace, and sadly pictures weren’t allowed. It only took about half an hour to walk around. If you hadn’t much time you can skip this part, especially if you’re visiting the Angkor Wat because almost everything is brought from the ancient civilization.

On the way out, there were some university architectural students sitting by the side and sketching the building. We had the opportunity to talked to them a while and took a picture for remembrance. Sweet! For lunch, Chieat brought us to a shop where he usually patronizes. Each person is given a dish and was allowed to eat as much rice as we want. There were seven of us, so there were seven dishes and we shared all of them and all were delicious. In general, Cambodian food looks simple, but they are tasty and reasonably priced. Cambodian plants a lot of rice. On the plane entering into this country, one can see millions of acres of paddy field, practically covering the whole earth. Chieat said his first year in UTP was a nightmare as the food was all too spicy (not to mention oily). Cambodian food is hardly cooked together with chilli. If you want spicy, you can always add the chilli sauce provided on the table. We ate to our hearts content and at the end, banana-sago dessert was served. The meal cost about RM6 per person. Absolutely satisfying.

After meal, we still had some time before departing to Siem Reap. Therefore, we were showed the university where Chieat, Raingsei and Putty studied before entering UTP. It wasn’t as sophisticated and grand like our own universities back home but there were plenty of trees and ponds where students sat on the grass and study, catch a forty wink and chatted. Students were required to wear certain uniform unlike the casual wear in UTP. The lecture rooms weren’t air conditioned and use black boards and chalks. Perhaps there were, but looking at the surrounding, their classrooms looked just like secondary (and primary) school classrooms in Malaysia. However, one can see the content, happy faces of proud universities students. Studying in university cost around $400 per year. That’s considered cheap for us but not for them. Some worked part time to support their education. That’s how resilient and strong they are and these are the reasons I admire the Cambodian and for their hopes in the future despite their country fell into the worst tragedy of human history, only decades ago. If you had time, go visit the genocide museum. I’m glad the new generation does not need to go through the cruelty. This country is slowly rebuilding and I wish them well.

Friends went to pick our luggage and send us off at the bus station. The Cambodians are very on time. So BE WARNED Malaysians. Our bus departed at exactly 2pm and this was not an isolated case; very much applicable to all things. So DO NOT practise the Malaysian culture there. We thank them for all they’ve done for us and bade farewell.

The travel to Siem Reap has improved a lot compared to last time. Only two years ago the road was properly built and it used to take 3 days to go from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap because of land mines. Buses used to follow behind specially designed truck to sniff out land mines. Now it only takes 6 hours, though still a back-aching journey. But it was a cheaper way to travel than to fly. Along the way there were more paddy fields, alternating with small shops, houses, temples and every way of ‘kampung’ lifestyle we had back home.

We arrived long after the sun had set. This time the guesthouse that we booked arranged a tuk tuk to fetch us from the bus station. The room is even more impressive than the one we had back in Phnom Penh, for the same price ($15) because we had a bed each, and the room was quite spacious, clean and the air conditioning was working better too. You have to buy drinking water most of the time as guesthouses do not provide free refill.

We bathed and rested a while before taking a tuk tuk to the night market. To go around Siem Reap area, tuk tuk cost $1 per trip. We had a simple meal but nice nevertheless. You can’t go wrong when it comes to food in Cambodia. Any food stall, no mater how simple it may seem, is able to churn out delicious food. We spent a total of RM23 for dinner. Then we walked across to the night market. The place was clean, well lit and moderately decorated. It was very nice to shop there. This place is frequent by foreigners/tourists so the prices are jacked up for bargaining. The general rule of thumb is to slash the price by 50%. Sometimes you can go up to 75% depending on the items. There are many interesting things to buy such as robes, handbags and various accessories. For instance, handbags are quite special, embroided and sewn silk, so buy if you are at Siem Reap night market. Opening price can go up to $15 but the lowest you could get is $3. Kelvin bargained a lot but did not buy from one particular girl so he got chided “u no good customer”. It was pretty hilarious. You’ll hear a lot of “i gip u good prai”; “only for u sir”; “u handsome, I gip u chip chip, sir”. They are generally good sellers, well behaved and don’t scold you like those in Petaling Street. Even if you were chided like Kelvin, you’ll still get a good laugh. I bought one silk robe on that night for $17 though it could get lower, like $10? It was my first buy there so my bargaining skills were not up to mark yet. Anyway, we left that place slightly past 12am and some stalls were already closing. Kelvin managed to get silk scarf (more like cloths to the rest of us) from a pretty girl named Dali (if I remember correctly). She looked way cuter in reality. Jesse said “ta mei aa” and half way into bargaining, she spoke in mandarin and we was like “ja tau”. From then on we spoke more in Hokkien instead. So we bought from her and the opposite grumpy aunty “beh song” when we left. She overtook us and said we bought it expensive and said she could have given us lower price. Sigh.. poor aunty, she was obviously jealous that we took picture with Dali and not her.

We left the market in jovial mood, still joking about what happened in the night market. Acting macho men, we decided to forgo tuk tuk and walk back to our guesthouse. We weren’t very sure but somehow we managed to string together the places and shops that we saw along the way in and out earlier and manage to get close but still no where to be seen. We always asked people around how to go about King Angkor guesthouse and ended up just wrong. Some point here, some point there and Kelvin almost got bitten by a big-fat-sausage shaped dog. In the end, we were exhausted and decided to call for a tuk tuk. A young driver came up to our ‘rescue’ only to get lost again. He himself doesn’t know the way to the said guesthouse, and after much unplanned midnight sightseeing, he arrived at King Angkor guesthouse of Siem Reap. Our relieve was short-lived as it clearly wasn’t the one we entered earlier. We can tell just by the look of the porch and it was obviously not situated at the main road but the driver insisted it was. Finally after much English-Cambodian and English+Cambodian and sign language debate we finally got it right that our guesthouse was actually named Home Sweet Home!!! One of the King Angkor’s personnel who was earlier in slumber got pissed and scolded us in English, Khmer style. At the end of the day the driver demanded $2. So much for acting macho and wanting to save that $1, we ended up paying an extra $1. Lesson learned and luck was on our side that we remembered the correct name of our guesthouse or outherwise we would have spent the night on the streets. We went upstairs after arranging our trip to Angkor Wat the next day with the house keeper. Exhausted but rested superbly well that night! Home Sweet Home!