Danang Part 1

Till now, it has been almost a month since i entered Vietnam. For a singapore passport, I am granted a free 30 days visa for Vietnam. So it means i have to leave Vietnam already! BOO HOO!! I am just half way through Vietnam!

BUT, they didn't say i cant come back in immediately huh?

So i played a little trick. I went to the Vietnamese border. Exit Vietnam, enter laos, exit laos and enter Vietnam again! Tada! 30 more days in Vietnam! The custom office at both sides were very puzzled gave me a puzzled look when i went from the arrival to departure counter.

Hello Laos! - 5mins later- Bye Bye Laos!

Arrival and departure in a day, neat trick to save additional visa fee and formalities

Land border there isn't like singapore and malaysia causeway in singapore which is very accessible. Over there, many times it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Remember my ordeal at the laos-cambodia border?

I was feeling lucky on that day and i decided to hitch hike my way out of there!

So after a motorcycle who drop me 2km in the middle of no where and a freezer van to a town that is not even listed in my map, i got stranded in Dak Glei, even my Vietnam friend didn't know where it is! I had friends who i am going to meet for the first time in Danang giving me encouragement during my wait.

Somebody pick me up PLEASE!!

Night was creeping close and i didn't want to sleep in a 1000 star hotel(i mean under) so i hop on a bus towards Hanoi(danang is on the way)

I told the person in charge that i wanted to drop in danang and he fell asleep. By the time he realized it, we were 15km away from where i want to be! Normally 15km is really not a big problem, considering a small country like singapore is just 45km. BUT it was 3.30am in the morning! There were so few transport!

Fortunately, i stopped what seem to be 2 friends who just came back from a drinking session and his friend actually got down and waited while the other guy send me into town. Phew!

4AM, the streets were practically empty and i hitch hike once again!

I had a very very long day and i desperately needed a shower. I kept walking to look for a guesthouse. Ironically, a big city like Danang has very little of them. Fortunately i found 1 with a old man inside for a very good price of 60,000VND. When i went down to get my keys, his son(who spoke good english) came to me

"how long are you staying here?", I replied " 7 days maybe?".

"Just you alone?" he asked. "Yeah..."i answered with a puzzled look(thought there is a ghost behind me) " So how much do i have to pay?"

"usually is 80,000VND for 1 night, 1 week i give you 70,000VND"

*i was actually told 60,000VND/night already and i expected a longer stay to be cheaper*

Being extremely puzzled, he further explained.

"My father thought i would be staying just 1 night so he told you it is 60,000VND. In my motel, i usually charge 80,000VND for the day and there are many people who come and go....in 1 hour, you understand?"

"So how many days do you want to stay?"

Feeling dumb, i told him i will tell him tomorrow whether i am still staying. He already knew the answer.

Back in the room, i actually dug out my sleeping bag and lay it across the bed!

Hour based "hotel" disguised as a guest house

Much needed breakfast. Danang speciality Mee Kuang

I met up with some couch surfers from Danang and told them about my adventure the day before and the dodgy motel. Fortunately IVY, one of the couch surfers offered to provide me lodging for my stay! WOO HOO!

Better than a hotel, nice new toilet right beside my room :D

My big comfy and PINK bed

My pretty(she will kill me if i dont say this) host IVY!!!

Ivy brought me to meet 2 of her best longtime friends, kat and Sa. We had dinner and drinks along with conversations and laughter that lasted through the night.

Her 11 years of best friend (but no discount on ivy's blogshop) KAT!

A new way of marketing technique.

Want the terrible singer to go away? Buy candy from his assistant. –_-

The next day, i went to join another couch surfer for her English club session. The activities were very interactive and engaging, as i was the main english speaking person there, everybody came to me to practice their english. I have to say, they were pretty good.

Next, i was invited to join Nha, also a couch surfer in Danang English club (apparently they have a few there) and her family to visit a special exhibition for the city. A very special jade statue was in town and it was the last day. I asked to be the rider for the motorcycle and we zipped away to fetch her family.

Swimming on her motorcycle

Banh Cuon, another Vietnam delight everybody must try. Vietnam's own version of Chee chong fun

The sheer number of people was overwhelming

Many people with disability and handicaps were there selling and asking for money. Nhu's mum deliberately changed a BIG stack of change to give out. A good act of kindness, but are we really helping them?

This is the big WHO HA everybody came for. Apparently it traveled from Thailand, well so did i.. :D

Nhu with her Mum, grandfather, cousins and her couch surfer

I looked kinda silly here! HAH

Later in the day we picked up Aline, Yen's couch surfer from Switzerland and fab (yet another english club member) and went for sightseeing.

Me, Yen, Nha, Aline, Fab

We all know there are many religions on earth. Do you know one of them originated from Vietnam?

Cao Dai is a local religion and has very interesting beliefs. Why? look at this picture and tell me who you see.

From left, Muhammad, Laozi, Jesus, Buddha, Confucious

" 10,000 religion one belief"

So this is kind of like a rojak religion where everything is incorporated. I am not a religious person so google it if you want to know more.

The Cao Dai symbol, the spherical divine eye

Curious minds about the religion

And we were invited to view the prayer session

3rd day in danang is devoted to my host who took special care of me. We went on a foodie tour around danang with me riding and her giving directions.

Note* if you ride her around. She will tap your right shoulder and shout " LEFT,LEFT" and vice versa.

Fish cake noodle. Much better than the ones in singapore,cheaper too

Sink into a coffee house and "Niop" (Gathering and chit chatting session with friends) about everything under the sun with my pretty host IVY

Vietnam's royal rice cake series

Rice cake 1

Rice cake 2

Rice cake 3

Rice cake 4

Rice cake 5

Got to know her a lot better, about her life, her family, her boyfriend, life in Vietnam and the problems and limitations youths face in Vietnam. Singaporean are in fact very lucky, we have the chance and opportunity for good education and chase after our dreams with nothing holding us back. In Vietnam, everything you do is met with adverse obstruction and it really takes a great deal of determination to break through it.

The infamous duck fetus egg! They only set up stalls near dark places and use only candles. No prize for guessing why

Atmospheric sculpture near the river

Ivy and friends and Danang english club buddies!! My greatest assets in danang

Time to head back to Dalat for my wedding invitation!

My home in Chambok

While in cambodia, i found out about this ecotourism project at a national park south of Phnom Penh that i wanted to go. Fortunately for me, there is a head office of the organise in Phnom Penh.
Mlup Baitong

Chambok Eco Tourism Site
www.geocities.com/chambokcbet/

I walked into the office and was greeted by several surprised staffs. They rarely had independent travelers like me turning up at their office just like that. I was attended by lovely sylvie who helped answer all my queries. She told me that some of their staffs are going to the branch office near the national park and she said i could tag along with them! Otherwise going there on my own would be a chore with many change of transport.

My good friend Sylvie email Add
aedmlup@online.com.kh

On the day of departure, i was told we would leave at 2pm. Because of the heavy work load, Rithy, Sunheang and 3 other staff only manage to clear everything at 4.30pm.

Off we go, 5 grown man squeeze into this extremely small car. Since i was the "guest" i got the comfortable front seat. And for the first time in my life, i had 2 drivers!! One person is driving and the other squeezed into the same small seat!

The ride there was very a very pleasant one. I learned alot about the people in cambodia, Mlup Baitong, the way the organisation functions and the many limitations they face while operating.

It was dark and late by the time we arrived at the branch office and for safety reasons, they invited me to stay overnight at their branch office. The people at the office were really very nice, making sure i am well taken care of. The laughter and conversation lasted the whole night, even while lying under the mosquito net. The whole day while being just an ordinary one, exists as a very special experience to me. If you ever do meet these guys, do send my regards to them.

At Chambok, i was introduced to My Phon Thy(pronounced Tee) tel: 017363480, my guide for the stay there. He is a very nice young chap who speaks very good english and really wants to do more for his commune. There are a few activities that you can do there. Waterfall, rivers, lakes, caves etc. However compared to elsewhere in Asia, the experience is rather average. 40m waterfall in the dry season. Measured by Thy personally using a vine!
Bat caves

This commune Chambok is actually very backwards in terms of infrastructure. There is no proper electric or water lines running in the area. For electricity, they depend on fuel generator which can be expensive to maintain and for water, they depend on 1 single pipeline running from the waterfall into the homes in the village. Of course i asked Thy to bring me to see it. This single improvised filter here provides water to the several houses at the foot of the hill. In fact, there are many more villages that do not have proper water supply.1 single important pipeline

In the afternoon, Rebecca a german volunteer from Mlup Baitong comes to the village to teach english and general knowledge to the people here. Students here not only include children but also the village chief as well as my homestay host Cham who is already a father. Spent an afternoon with the kids Tu en(black ass they call him), Ali(shy village girl), Luck(hip dressing 16 year old), Phuck(16 year old sweet girl).

Meals during my stay is had at the Women's restaurant. This is the place where the ladies in the village rotate to work for supplement income. Because for most of the time, i am the only "guest" around, i was always invited to eat with all the people working there. Truly an unique experience. Rice paper in the makingThroughout the 2 days in Chambok, my guide Thy was with me all the time, bringing me to where i want to go Waterfall He told me that there is short cut down the waterfall back to the village and this was it! Slide down a 5m long tree trunk!

On the last day, Thy said he wanted to bring me to do some swimming. Needless to say, i was glad and i merely made a passing remark that it would be great if everyone could go together.

When I arrive at the swimming spot, i was surprised to see EVERYBODY there! From Mlup Baitong, the women's restaurant and even Rebecca gave her class a day off and everybody went to swim with me! The boys from the classEverybody i know was there!Black Ass and PhuckLuck doing our signature chicken dance!Cham my homestay host at the bottomPhuckLady from women restaurant(Also Thy's Aunt)

Singing at the top
Which we have to climb past HUGE red ants infested rocks Chicken dance!
and more chicken dance!

Because it is my last night there, Cham thoughtfully prepared a dinner party for me and what is for dinner? Roast chicken! After so much chicken dance, we ought to have some chick!

After a sad goodbye to all my friends in chambok, i made my way back to the main road with Thy. Thanks to all the people and hospitality i received from the people there. It has made this the highlight of my stay in cambodia. Angkor wat doesnt even come close. I certainly see much hope in the people of this commune.

Total expenses

Homestay: US$3/night
Entrance to Site: US$3
Meals: US$2.5/meal
Guide: US$15/day

Compared to many other villages i have seen in and area cambodia, the price here is actually very inexpensive. And you know that the money will go towards providing a better living environment for the people here. Definitely a MUST DO if you are in the area.

Who says you cant sit in the boot of a car?