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!

BACK BACK BACK!!

Hey people i am back!!

My blog is actually just halfway through my journey and i am already back in singapore. School has started and it is doing everything it can to keep me busy. Nonetheless, this blog is still always in the back of my mind and i want to complete this!! So lets begin!!

I left off my last post when i was in dalat where i met 2 ladies who were going to get married. The wedding was 2 weeks away so i decided to move on to other places first. Next stop. Boun Ma Tout.

Back on the disgusted minibus again! This time round, the driver thought he was a F1 driver. He was going 90km/hour while doing mountain bends!! The rear of the van literally turned into a puke factory!!
Damm you bus!! I swear never to take you again!!Toilet break. Pick your coffee plant.

I was starved by the time i reached Boun Ma Tout and i immediately went in search for food with my backpack still with me! Turns out BMT is a pretty small town and is very unlike the other modern cities i have been before.Nem Ran. "Wrap your own rice paper meal"
Plus i had a bowl of steaming Bun.Pronounced "boon". Like thick beehoon in singapore.

Dropped my bag at a cheap guesthouse and off i go wandering off again armed with nothing but my courage. I knew there was a decent waterfall around the area and i gave myself a challenge to take the public transport there.Hm..Dray Sap waterfall.... Which bus to take?

I went to the "bus stop" and turned to a guy. "Dray Sap??" and he looked at me with a puzzled face. I repeated a few other times and he still didnt get it. Disappointed, i went to take a sit at the "bus stop".

Beside me was a girl who gave me a smile and said "blah blah blah blah dray sap blah blah blah" *blah=unknown vietnamese word.

YES!!! finally!! so she started to talk and motion to me, apparently trying to tell me which bus to take. I told her i did not understand what she said and she ask me to sit down and wait. I patiently did and when a bus came forward, she pulled me up the bus. She is very very chatty. And even though 95% of the time, we didnt understand each other, she still kept talking!! Maybe cause i kept nodding my head in agreement that she took it that i understood her. With my mere knowledge of vietnamese, i managed to got her name. Duyen is a 23 year old student and she is going from school back home in the village. The water fall i wanted to go is near her village. So with her help, she told me where to drop off and where to take the return bus back. Thanks alot!! before she left, she even send me an sms! In VIETNAMESE!! oh well, i will get my friend to translate for me when i get to the next city. Meet Duyen!
The waterfall.Damm good fruits with ice and milk while waiting for my return bus.

I had to wait a longggggg time before my bus finally came. Unlike singapore where we have ezlink and just tap when boarding. Buses over there are manned by a bus attendant. The fare would be based on where you tell the attendant you are going. Thankfully for me, i was on the same bus and the attendant girl recognise me from all the commotion i was causing on the way there!

She flashed me a big wide grin and i slip her my fare for my ticket!

Hired an old man with a bike to ferry me around the city and saw this BEAUTIFUL wooden church.
My rider brought me to visit some natives villages.
Thats me!
House with a huge and tall roof
The villages were cooking something in the pot and trust me, it looked really gross...
My rider took me to meet this old man who plays music with his home made bamboo instrument. Very interesting hobby too!

A fruit called Vu Sau. Literally "Breast Milk" They didnt say whom breast though
After eating, i saw worms... Look on the right side. See a hole? it was crawling out!! EWWW