Living in Hanoi, Vietnam

Man, it really feels like I'm back in L.A., it's cool...but not that cool, but still cool. I'm working in a huge NGO, I have my own xe-om (motorbike taxi) drivers, happy hour after work, attending music/art shows, and then dating?? Been a while, but I still got game, I think it's the tattoos.

Past few weeks I have been designing all the signage for an exhibition campaign in Ho Chi Minh City (South Vietnam, I like calling it Saigon), incase you forgot, I am living in Hanoi (North Vietnam). Flew out of Hanoi with two co-workers to Saigon for five days preparing the campaign. This campaign is to help promote awareness and raise funds for the disabilities in Vietnam. We feature 10 organizations from around Vietnam. We had celebrities, ambassadors, and sponsors coming in, so it was a huge success. The communications team seemed happy with the outcome, and with me. As a result, it was good for me to network on finding volunteer opportunities when I come back. Good hook-ups. These people can give me contacts all over Vietnam.

Face for Handicap International Organization

East Meets West Booth

This helped plan my future in Vietnam but also my career; I had an exhibition class in art college, but never got to do it professionally. So I learned a lot, worked hard, and I got to see my art displayed. I'll admit I wish I could have change the whole art that was already chosen by their old designer, oh well...I think I made it look better than before. All in all, we (Chau, Lan Anh, and I) worked our asses off, little sleep, ate food late in the night, worked so hard to the point where we were talking stupid.

Finishing up Saigon; flight delayed again! Went to the War Museum, ate at the best sushi bar in the city, went to Wrap 'n Roll for the first time, attended an Art Talk featuring Tuan Andrew Nguyen, had a French dinner with French people I didn't speak to, noticed on FB status's that Coachella was this weekend...as a replacement I went to MTV Exit concert featuring our organization, music sucked! Who the hell is this American band The Click 5??

What I learned so far in Hanoi:
-A lot of Vietnamese people here think they're awesome and important than you, and try really hard to show who's a better person in everything (mainly alcohol tolerance and fashion)...sounds like L.A.
-If you have an argument with a local trying to rip you off, it's pretty much a 'who can yell the loudest?' situation. So 'hanoi-ing.' Thanks bro.
-Hanoi is a big city, but small, seems as though all the expats know all the other expats. And those expats know a lot of cool Vietnamese people that are also friends with the other expats. So it's one big circle.
-No one knows English and I'm having a hard time learning it.
-They all eat with their mouths open...do not give a Vietnamese person chewing gum (smacking, sloppy sounds...pet peeve).
-This is the first country where I eat street food everyday and have not been to 1 western restaurant yet.

Soon I will write a blog about volunteering in Vietnam. Because it was so hard to find a legit organization that doesn't rip volunteers off!! For example, I visited a temple that helps raise children with disabilities that have been abandoned by their parents. The organization that funds for this is a huge company with plenty of volunteers all the time. But...the volunteer has to pay $270.00 a month (basic food/dorm accommodation). On my own, I spent $230 this month, and that's including drinking nights, dinners, splurges, transportation, and my own room. Yeah, that's what I mean by rip-off. I'm going to keep helping the world and other people that wants to do the same.

-sigh- I love what I'm doing.

One Year Anniversary

I've fallen in love, with Vietnam. Ha! You thought I meant a man huh? Shaaaaa, like that will ever happen. Anyways, Happy Birthday Daddy!!!!! OK, back to original note, one year...since I left home. It's been a year, and I'm in my 3rd country.

Before I left the US, I told everyone that I would be gone for about a year; 3 months Nepal, 3 months Vietnam, 3 months Laos, 3 months Cambodia=1 year. Look at what happened; 5 months Nepal, 7 months India (India wasn't in the plan!) and I'm lovin' Vietnam. I want to stay here for maybe 6 months, there are a lot of opportunities here, and lots of great food.

When I arrived in Vietnam, it was like culture shock. I mean, I traveled to South East Asia before, and I knew what to expect. But I think being in India/Nepal/Bangladesh for a year, with the same kind of culture and atmosphere, the change was difficult to adjust. I was also extremely tired, I had an early flight to Hanoi from the Bangkok airport so I slept there...in the airport, but the lights were too damn bright to sleep. The first day was raining, hot, foggy, and humid. I had never seen so many mopeds in my life. Oh, and they're Asian; asian asian. I blend.

Currently I'm volunteering for East Meets West Foundation, I am the "Creative Consultant and Graphic Designer" volunteer. This foundation raises money for people with disabilities, 11% of the Vietnamese population are disabled. This is cool because now I get to work on my professional experience, which I haven't done in a while.

Here's my budget plan: $5/room. $3/food. So $8 a day. I live on pho, egg rolls, and kebabs, the cheapest food here, and I'm allowed to splurge one day a week (I found a Pinkberry-ish frozen yogurt shop). However, if I travel to work on a xe om (motorbike taxi) then that's $2/roundtrip. So then I spend less on food, I would eat plain pho, or a pastry. Sounds poor, but I am poor. Not sure how long I can stay here, Hanoi is pretty expensive, compared to India. I think on my second part of Vietnam I will travel to the country side and find an orphanage (I hope there isn't frozen yogurt there). BUT!! I can have a beer in the afternoon, like a snack. It costs $1, it fits in my budget.

Alright kids, my crazy adventure continues. Miss you all. By the way, which one of you unemployed are going to visit me in South East Asia? I have a few hopefuls planning already.

India...Over it.

I'm so happy to leave. I don't think I can handle India for another 4 months. Not happy to leave like...leaving Bangladesh. Bangladesh I pretty much stuck up my middle finger towards the country and shouted "Fuck You Bangladesh, Fuck YOU!" I don't feel that way for India. I had good and bad times, I'm still glad I went to all the places I wanted to visit, met great Indians, and had valuable experiences. But it isn't my country. 6.5 months is enough.

After my family left, I went straight to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. I rode on a camel, a camel! Not a smooth ride though, my butt hurt so much afterwards, I even got blisters on my buttocks. Slept on the sand in the Ganga desert, stared at the countless stars, and saw 3 yellow (very poisonous) scorpions under my pillow.

camel trek

Jodhpur, nice place, didn't stay too long. Udaipur, LOVED IT. There's something relaxing and chill about this city, I like the small streets guiding to different directions and finding yourself on some ghat to the lake. In Bundi now, and I have about 2 days until my flight to Bangkok, and then Hanoi Vietnam.

One of the biggest quirks of India is the sexual and racial harassment I receive. The whole "Hey Japan girl, come here!" "Ooh, sexy Korean" "Hi, I loooooooooove you." "Mushi Mushi!" "Chingo!" Not to mention, the accidental 'boob bumps,' the 'passerby butt grabs' and them staring directly at my tits and ass. Oh my god, I can't stand it. For the longest time I had the patience to ignore them, but the past 2 months I have been either cussing them out (most popular), punching them in the chest (love this one) or lecturing them that to some foreigners it can be offensive. Most of their responses are like "You are all the same, Japan, Korean, same." This pissed me off, but I said in return "Same same, but different." So, first off: I'm Chinese. Thanks. I wished that I could walk around with a mask. Even if I wear non-skinny jeans, a sweatshirt with my hoodie pulled over, I still get catcalls. I get hassled 20 times a day, everyday. By now, I'm sick of it. What I like about other Asian countries like Nepal, or around South East Asia; is that I look like them, I can walk around without being noticed.

I know I know, it isn't their fault. I am from America, where a lot of us are sensitive to racial issues, and TRY to be politically correct. However, it can still ruin my experience. I've grown to deal with it for 4 months, but now I just don't have any left.

Things I will always hate about India:
-Blasting horrible Hindi music from their cell phones, sometimes 10 phones at once. Somehow, they like to play them on overnight trains and buses at 3am. "Noise Pollution"
-The honking, this is the worst I've heard in my experience in traveling. Especially those motorbike jerks that hold the horn down the entire time.
-Men scratching their balls in front of my face on the bus.
-When I want to get away from India, but realize that I can't and am still here.

Things I will always love about India:
-Their faith, seeing the pilgrims devote their spirits in the ghats, or temples. Watching them touch cows with their fingers and then onto their foreheads. Numerous foreheads with tikka dots.
-Walking through non-touristy villages and families offering me chai.
-Bargaining with rick-shaw drivers for 5 minutes and having them yell out "Why like this?"
-All the friendly people I meet on trains.
-Women wearing saris.
-Not being able to use the head-waggle, it grows on you!
-The curiosity and interest people have of where I come from.

India has truly been the most toughest country to travel in and I will never forget it.

Fambam in India

It went by too quickly. It felt like I just saw my brother for the first time coming out of the train station yesterday. When I did see him when he came to Goa, I was emotionally overjoyed. I've been having a hard time saying Goodbyes and seeing my brother Brian, the closest human being to me, was one of my best moments. That definitely prepared me well before seeing my mother short time later. The past 2 weeks were wonderful, good times, classic one-liners from my mom, and hilarious videos to post.

Goa...is alright. It isn't 'da bomb!' It was relaxing and kind of romantic. But I did want to go there for the Headphone Party, I heard so much about it traveling. Basically, you go to a club and they give you wireless headphones with 3 LED stations on the sides, and you can click to choose which of the 3 DJ's you want to hear. You can also see what other people were hearing by seeing the color of the light on the headphones. I think they do this so people can dance till 4am without closing the club down cause of the loud music? Who cares, brilliant idea, great music. However...there was a terrorist attack; a bomb went off in a German Bakery in Pune, 13 hours north of where we were. The club had to close at 12 am. My brother and I were already drunk when we got there at 10:30 pm!! So the party was fun while it lasted.

Goa headphone party

Delhi - Brian and I got to our hotel in Connaught Place, way too expensive but I didn't know where else to take my mom. I wanted her to feel comfortable on her first day in India. I knew she wouldn't freak out, cause I think China and India is pretty much the same, but India with Indians. Anyways, she did well throughout the whole trip, but I feel like she didn't like it much. She liked the Taj Mahal, she liked Pushkar, and was very happy when she bought 40 mini door knobs for less than $10. I think that was all of her highlights of India. And seeing of me of course.

mommy

Jaipur - Not so great, didn't like it at all. It was actually the most aggressive place I've ever been to in India. All the touts were crazy...all the rickshaw drivers following us for a ride, it's like 'No! I don't want a rickshaw! I want to walk!' or 'I do not want a peacock feather fan!' or 'I don't want a Pashmina!' Not to mention I am EXTREMELY protective over my mother, but she handled herself well with the aggressiveness. One night walking 2 blocks to a restaurant, about a fazillion rickshaw drivers stopped us, she held on to my brothers arm and said "Are we rabbits in the jungle?" Yes mom...we are, we are rabbits in the jungle, they're going to eat us alive!

Top 10 highlights of the past 2 weeks:
1. Huge lizard in the toilet
2. Brother fainting...you can't hydrate with alcohol!
3. Motor Bike Day "Brian! You have to use your horn!"
4. Great Wall of China sand castle
5. Dirty smelly sock fight with mom
6. Discovering mom will only eat banana pancakes than Indian food
7. The mysterious stolen 20 Thai Bhat from our room
8. Mom getting a really bad henna tattoo
9. I was worried about my bladder infection at the hospital while Mom and Brian were happy to buy 6 prescription glasses for $6 each.
10. Mom letting Brian and I have a Bhang Tea.

Top 10 lines from my mom:
1. "How much does it cost? 10 pesos?"
2. "But I haven't seen any monkeys." - she thought Jaipurs' City Palace was the Monkey Temple
3. "Wow, there's a lot of dogs here too."
4. "This is the NICE city of Delhi?" While walking around Connaught Place
5. "You know, Indians look like Mexicans." while watching t.v.
6. "You look Indian now Mei!" when she saw me at the airport with my dark tan.
7. "If you give me a bad massage, I will kick you." she said to the massagist in Pushkar
8. "I liked to bite your butt when you were little, it looked like...a tiny...cookie."
9. "Where is Brian? I hope he didn't pass out somewhere." Moments after Brian and I taking Bhang Tea.
10. "You're going to look like me!" After I told her she's starting to look like Grandma.

Me & India

Been in India for a few weeks now. Crossed the border by foot, so far so good. I'll recap the cities:

Varanasi: Way cool, cold and foggy. It was still nice, the mist made the whole area mysterious. Visited the burning ghats, saw dead bodies being burnt, smelled gross. Slipped on cow poop, not so great. If you like to walk aimlessly through narrow streets and get lost, this is the best place. Overall enjoyed it!


Kolkata: Met a sweet Bengali family on the night train. The daughter, Ambika called me sister and wanted to sleep with me on my berth. The father didn't mind and he treated me as if I was his daughter. He gave us ice cream! He even dropped me off by taxi to make sure I got to my hotel safely and wouldn't let me pay. OH YEAH...Can't make it out alive in India without traveller's diarrhoea!! Got sick for a few days and missed my 2 day train to Trivandrum, Kerala. Spent 4 days in Kolkata vomiting, pooping, body aching, chills, and fever. All I did was went to the Indian museum and visited Mother Teresa's house.
ambika and taxi driver.


Hampi: WOW! Love this place. It was awesome to get away from the honking, or any street noise. Also, got my first mosquito bites in 5 months, good 5 months it was. Took a day tour around the temples, climbed up a hill, sipped coconut lassis, and read books. A great place to relax and read a book.


OH YEAH, one day I was walking towards the Monkey Temple, which was quite far but willing to walk it. An auto-rickshaw driver passed by me and offered me a free ride cause he was doing deliveries there anyway - sometimes this happens, there are NICE Indian people out there that do give me free rides in the day time when my stop is a long their route.- So I made sure that it was free and that I was not going to give him money, he said Yeah Yeah. Before I got in I told him I was married -I always do this with Indian men, my husband is American, his name is Mark, and we manufacture clothes in Delhi for 6 months.- He then asked where my ring was, I told him that I never wear nice jewelry when travelling in India, he nodded in agreement. Anyways, he takes me to the temple, and then offered me a ride back to where he picked me up, I made sure if it was for free again and he said yes, on the ride back, he asked "You know fucking?" I gazed from outside of the rickshaw towards his eyes and I said "I know what?" he turns his head around and asked again, "You know fuck-ing?" I blurted out "Yes I know what it is, WHAT ABOUT IT!?" He turns back facing to the road and says "Well, I mean...I give you a free ride and-" I cut him off and yell out "No no, stop...STOP!" He stops the rickshaw, I get out, and walked back. What a Madachudh! (Motherfucker in Hindi, ma-da-chood, I love it, gives me the same feeling when I say the English version).


Kerala, Cochin: Another place to relax. But damn it's fucking hot. I arrived at 4am and I was already sweating and getting bitten by mosquitoes, no bueno. I also like the locals, they stare at me in a friendly way. Not in a 'I want to have sex with you' or 'you look like an alien,' type of looks. The food is good, it's by the seashore so I'm eating seafood, Keralan style. In the mornings I eat Masala Dosas, famous South Indian dish, they're like burritos but instead of a tortilla, it's wrapped in a crepe, with curry sauces on the side. In a few days I'll travel through out the backwaters and in the villages, should be grand.

Anyways, got another couple of weeks until my brother comes! Yay, brother!

Nepal Prt 3. Emo Time

I got my visa! Phwoar! It's about time. Now I can start traveling. I wasted a couple of weeks, but oh well, all this is an experience and part of traveling. I'm leaving in a couple days to Varanasi.

So I was a bit emo the past few weeks. Mainly leaving the boys and knowing that I won't come back to Nepal. Nepal is my #2 favorite country. (Cambodia being #1) When I came back I couldn't see the boys. I was told that it would be too difficult to handle another Goodbye when I was there for only a week. I completely agree because it was a tough Goodbye last week. The kids kept asking me if I would come back again, and I had to tell them No. A volunteer from the same house said that the day after my departure, the boys were sad and were in bad moods. I was surprised. Before I came to Asia I was worried that I wouldn't effect anyone. As in, making a difference, even a small one. I remember writing something like this in my cover letters; I'm not trying to change the whole world, if I can help ONE person, inspire them, make them happy, or to even share a friendship, that would be enough for me. One person is good enough.

Now that I'm back and hearing how the boys were when I left. It touched me. I always wanted to know if my time there mattered at all when I left last summer. I thought they would forget me. Now I know...that I had effected most of them, and it became emotional. I was afraid of that part. Saying Goodbye to them was very sad, I felt like we were all trying to fight back our tears. I'm just so glad that my time so far was meaningful to me and to them.

Goodbye Bangladesh

And good riddance. My India visa application was rejected. I'm a tourist! I'm not looking for a job in India! What a douche. I tried calling the foreign visa officer personally and he hangs up on me, not willing to hear me out. The US embassy can't help me because they have a week holiday until Sunday. I'm not waiting anymore.

I could have gone to the Banderbans, the border of Burma, which sounds amazing where there are Burmese tribes. But I couldn't go because of this stupid visa issue. It was either apply for the India visa and wait 3 days to get it and bone out to India right away, or buy a tour package to the Banderbans and wait for my permit (required) in 4 days, and then I'm allowed to enter the Banderbans for an extra few days. But the India visa was more important so I waited out for the visa. Bada Bing Bada Boom, no visa. But no time to go to Banderbans.

I'm going back to Nepal to get my India visa, find a bus/train to Varanasi and that's that.

Bangladesh...okay maybe I should say - Dhaka, the capital. What did I learn in Dhaka? This country has 89.8% Muslims. The people of Bangladesh are called Bangladeshis (Bandladesheeze) and the language is called Bangla. The Bengal Tigers are widely known around the world because they are from the Sunderbans, south of Bangladesh. And the currency is called Taka, US.68 to their 100.

This was a tough city to get around. Primarily because there are no women. I walked down a busy street full of hotels, restaurants, businesses, and a college! I saw an guess-timate of 200 men outside for lunch and a total of 5 women. 2 of them were beggars and the 3 were probably someone's wife and sisters. Even the florist has male employees! So imagine an intersection with 600 men, and 15 women. That is how I saw it.

I can actually count the times that someone was nice to me; The old man fruit seller that gave me 2 extra oranges, and was cool that I didn't have 30 more taka on me to pay for all of my food and water. One rickshaw biker actually watched the road and tried his best to not scare me when crossing the middle of the highway. My hotel manager gave me a new towel and toilet paper without me asking. The representative that helped me get my air ticket back to Nepal, he gave me my first Bangladeshi red tea. And the female security guard at the India embassy, telling me that I was beautiful.

So, I wish I went to the Banderbans and then I could say that Bangladesh ISN'T the worst country I've been to. But it is indeed memorable. I bought a can of Bavaria, non-alcoholic beer, and I will crack it open midnight tonight. Cheers to a dry country!