sophie in vietnam

Jul 17

ha noi

Just got in from Hanoi, had a great (very packed) weekend there. I arrived Friday night - that was actually my first plane trip alone! The airport in Hanoi is quite far from the city, but I found a cheap bus. When I arrived, I spent the night downtown. There were so many people, even at 11, 12 at night. On weekends, Hanoi has this great night market in the old district that just seems to never end. It’s much much bigger than Ben Thanh Market at night.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from Hanoi. All my coworkers in Saigon hate it. One particular girl from work (who hasn’t been to Hanoi in 15 years…) told me that her brother had some business to do there a while back, so the whole family decided to take a two week vacation to the North. They hated it so much that they returned to Saigon after four days.

As for differences between the two cities, Hanoi is certainly more historical. The streets are narrow and packed. There are lakes in the middle of the city, making it really beautiful. I felt more touristy, I wasn’t expecting that. People on the streets were a lot pushier in trying to sell me things.

On Saturday, I went to Halong Bay. It’s just as beautiful at you’d imagine looking at pictures. Sadly, it was a bit foggy so the landscape wasn’t so clear, but it was still great. The caves were nice too - we almost didn’t get to go inside because of the weather and an approaching storm. Finally, we went kayaking, but then the rain came, and it was pouring. I liked the feeling but of course we had to get back onto the boat.

By the way Halong Bay is trying to get voted in as one of the new seven wonders of the world, you can vote at the link below. It looks like Canada’s Bay of Fundy is on the list too!

http://www.new7wonders.com/

Jul 6

touched my heart: canada day 2011

Celebrating Canada Day in Tra Vinh Province of the Mekong Delta was a highlight of my time in Vietnam. I have always loved Canada Day. I’m not overly patriotic, but since my hometown is Ottawa, Canada Day has always meant a fun day of hanging out downtown for hours with friends, going to concerts, watching fireworks… To be honest, I was a little disappointed that I had to miss it this year.

But the students and faculty at Tra Vinh University + People’s Committee of Tra Vinh Province made us feel at home and organized a great Canada Day event. Some background info: the Canadian International Development Agency, throughout the years, has contributed around $6M to TVU. Now they run independently and still celebrate Canada Day each year as a symbol of their appreciation.

And I must say, for a group of people who, for the most part, have never been to Canada, they put on a great show. Songs, dances, speeches, games, it was all well organized and thoughtful. At one point, there were some minor technical difficulties, so the cutest Vietnamese boy, maybe around 6 years old, started singing “Happy Birthday Canada.”

Both the thoughtful celebration and CIDA’s help in the Mekong Delta are two things that touched my heart. It’s always great to see international development projects that have a great long-term impact and organizations that become independent after the project completion.

<3

Jun 30

being canadian in vietnam

I was just thinking about differential treatment of locals and foreigners when the YIIP team also brought it up on their blog: http://yiip2011.blogspot.com/

I think that anyone who doesn’t look Vietnamese here will always feel like a bit of an outsider. A while back, we got a security briefing at work. The main message was “blend in.” Difficult for someone who doesn’t look Vietnamese!

There is this park around the backpacker area of Ho Chi Minh City, 23/9. It could sound like a weird name for a park at first, but it refers to September 23rd 1945, the date when French troops returned to Vietnam for the second time.

Since there are many foreigners around this area, many Vietnamese come in groups to initiate conversations to practice English. It seems that many English teachers in HCMC must ask their students to record their conversations in the park because I’ve had many university students interview me and write down my answers. But people also come here simply because they want to practice their English. It’s amazing how motivated they are to speak English.

When I speak about Canada to Vietnamese people, the image they have of Canada is a nice, peaceful, clean, quiet country that offers its citizens a good quality of life. At the Consulate, one of our goals is to push Canada’s brand in Vietnam. Obviously, we are off to a good start. The challenge is that though the image is good, Canada is not the most “top of mind” country.

Some misconceptions are to be expected of course, from a country that is half way across the world. One Vietnamese guy was telling me he really really wants to go to Canada to try all the fast food. But he would never set foot there in the winter because it’s -40 every day. :)

I was surprised to hear how many Canadians live in Vietnam. The Canadian community is growing in Vietnam with over 1,500 Canadians living in the country including 950 in the South.

Tomorrow I’m heading to the Southern Province of Tra Vinh in the Mekong Delta for Canada Day celebrations. Tra Vinh University received a lot of support from CIDA so we have a good relationship with them. Afterwards I’m joining a coworker in her hometown in the Mekong Delta.

Keep you posted. :)

Jun 16

all settled in

Hello again, it’s been a while, I know. It’s been a month and a half now since I first arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. I thought I’d talk about the YIIP movement theme today. It’s not possible to talk about movement and transportation in Vietnam without mentioning motorbikes. They really are everywhere! Almost everyone rides a motorbike to work and around town. It’s the most convenient way to get around with all the congestion.

The great thing about the motorbikes is that they don’t take up space and pollute like cars. It worries me however that with an increasing upper class, more and more Vietnamese are using cars as a status symbol. Judging from the size of the streets (the biggest highway only has two lanes), HCMC really can’t support a switch from motorbikes to cars, not to mention the environmental impact. HCMC has a plan for building a subway, who knows how long that will take to materialize though. Like many things around here, it’s funded by Japan. Vietnamese people really do love their motorbikes though, so I’m a bit skeptical to see if the subway will catch on. I hope HCMC can learn from other Asian cities like Bangkok and have a solid urban plan as more people start using cars.

Motorbike taxis are called xe om. I love the origin of this word - it means bike hug, referring to the passenger holding on to the driver. And you better hold on tight because they can go fast and swerve like crazy! Right now I have a regular xe om driver who takes me to and from work. This really has its up and downsides. My driver and I have a bit of a communication problem! But I have some Vietnamese phrases memorized and I text them to him, that seems to work for now. I like using the xe om because it’s fast and much cheaper than a taxi. The ride to work also is very invigorating and certainly wakes me up because I have to stay very alert. I have yet to be caught in rain while riding the motorbike, but with rainy season upon us I cannot expect this lucky streak to last forever. As soon as the rain starts, all the people on their motorbikes pull over and wear a poncho. Some people have these adorable ponchos with two holes for the head that they share with their passenger.

I am starting a list of funny things I see on motorbikes (to be updated!):
- A family of four (a friend recently saw five people on a bike!)
- Cases of durians
- 12 acoustic guitars
- Dehumidifiers
- Construction equipment, large metal rings places around the motorbike
- Mops and brooms sticking out about a metre in front of the bike
- A printer

May 28

mekong delta

It was nice to get away from the big city and go out to the Mekong Delta, a must-see for anyone traveling in Southern Vietnam. The bus ride there wasn’t too bad, I think it lasted less than two hours. Along the way, there were some really unique landscapes - you really have to go out into the countryside to experience a whole new Vietnam. The most striking thing I saw would have to be rice farmers cultivating with a buffalo. Advances in technology are making the use of buffalos very rare. It is safe to say that they will be gone completely in a few years. Another discovery on the way there were traditional Vietnamese tombstones, house-shaped and placed on the land the deceased tended. They are spread out all over, rather than bunched together.

When we got to the Mekong Delta we got on a boat to tour the river and make a few stops along the way. The best part was by far the floating market. Producers of various fruits and vegetables pack their boats full of produce and go to the market to sell them to vendors to resell them in the smaller markets. So that everyone can see what each boat is selling from afar, they tie one piece of fruit on a high pole on the boat.

We stopped and saw a family all working together to weave long dried leaves into big panels to be used as roofs, and people cooking rice to make it pop like popcorn, it tasted like Rice Krispies!

Sadly the Mekong Delta is more and more affected by dams being built in China and Laos. Since the delta is all the way downstream, the flow of water is changing. Since 60 million people in the area depend on the Mekong for transportation, irrigation, food, etc., many people’s livelihoods are at risk.

May 28

What a relief.

May 25

Eyes painted on the boats to scare off sharks.

May 22

Watermelon boat at the floating market.

May 17

first impressions

Hello world,

Today marks one week since I’ve landed in Ho Chi Minh City. It was the longest flight I ever took with layovers in Chicago and Seoul, but I’m pretty much over the jet lag now. I’m not too tired during the day but I seem to always wake up a little too early. I’ve certainly never had this problem before! So, back to the beginning. Everything went smoothly during the flights. I felt like I was in Asia when I was in Chicago waiting for the Korean Air flight - everyone was speaking Korean and I was definitely the odd one out. During the first meal of the flight, they gave me instructions to eat the Korean food! It was quite simple but I thought it was pretty funny that they would hand out directions for the non-Koreans.

When we were landing in HCMC (at night) the first thing my mom noticed were how few lights there were, especially for a city of millions. Turns out she was right: every day around 6PM everything turns dark, even in the busiest parts of the downtown core. When we landed we had to get a taxi to the hotel. I knew to negotiate the price but I was so confused about exchange rates I was asking for the equivalent of $1 when I meant $10. It also turned out I took out $10 instead of $100 the first time at the ATM. Makes me lose a lot of credibility as an international business student, haha, but I blame the lack of sleep!

Of course, I knew to expect the unexpected. HCMC is an interesting place because it has many aspects of a modern city, but its fair share of poverty. It is certainly in a crazy development phase. Hotels, office buildings and apartments are being built everywhere and the builders never stop, night and day. There are a lot more foreigners than I expected, especially in District 1 (downtown). This is a good sign because I think Vietnam has a lot of potential to grow in the tourism industry with its nice weather and beautiful beaches.

We can’t talk about being a foreigner in HCMC without mentioning the insane amounts of motorbikes and crazy traffic. Crossing the street is a nightmare - the trick is to go slowly and hopefully the motorbikes see you from a distance. My great-aunt, who visited Vietnam many years ago, told me the trick is to follow closely behind a Vietnamese person who knows what they are doing. This is the best advice! For people that are really scared there are also people in uniform labelled Tourist Security that escort you across the street. I have to say they have helped me out (saved my life?) once or twice.

To finish off this first post I have to talk about the Vietnamese people themselves. As a whole, they are some of the friendliest, polite people I have ever met. They are always smiling and very calm - I think they let go of all the rage when the hop on their motorbikes! I still haven’t ridden one, that will be my goal for next week.

— Sophie