I'm Back, People!!
xin chao! Hello, I'm back from Vietnam! Want to hear something stupid? After managing to go 19 days in Vietnam with my passport intact, I almost lost my passport at the Budget Terminal in Singapore. Yup, and I didn't even know it was missing until a policeman managed to track me down at the taxi stand, matching my face to my passport photo. Sigh.
So how was Vietnam? In one word: fantabulous. It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. The country revealed magnificant history, warm people and gastronomic delights. But I must say, it's good to be home. The disparity between Singapore and Vietnam is decidedly marked and while I loved, loved, loved Vietnam for it's old world charm, idiosyncratic architecture, lilting language and fascinating culture, I completely hated it's terrible traffic, incessant touts and overcharging of foreigners. But more of that later.
Besides, there was only so much pho I could eat. The Vietnamese are crazy; they eat pho for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At any hour of any day, you are gauranteed to see Vietnamese eating that ubiquitous bowl of pho; be it at a roadside cafe or in an air-conditioned restuarant.
In my first few days over there, do you know what I truly missed? MacDonald's. I know, I know, I have such plebian tastebuds. But seriously, I was starting to have hallucinations and dreams of sinking my teeth into a cheeseburger. The entire Vietnam is without a single MacDonald's, can you imagine. The only American fastfood I could find was KFC, but with the bird flu scare, I wisely stayed away.
Oh yeah, I missed chicken too. And towards the last few days, after consuming soupy bowls of rice noodles, or yellow springy noodles sauteed with seafood, I was overtaken by my longing for ta mee pok with extra chilli. I'm very sad, hor?
Oh shit, I didn't mean for this entry to be all about food. Oh well. It was good, what. Need to pay respect to it. The photos will come later, once I get around to uploading them. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of me eating pho. *whacks forehead*
What else did I miss about home? Waking up in the same bed every day would be one. Oh yeah, knowing that 95% of the time when the "green man" is shown, it would be safe to walk across a street, is also a great feeling. Unlike in Vietnam, a redlight means nothing to the motorists. And if you choose to wait till an opening arises, you might as well pack up your bags and return home. Seriously, some how, some way, you just walk directly into the traffic, no hesitation and full of confidence. Some how, some way, the motorists would manage to swerve in front and behind you, honking all the way. But I must admit, I wrote my will many, many times while navigating the treacherous roads, especially in Ho Chi Minh.
What did Fadz miss? His X Box. -_-''' That boy needs to reexamine his priorities.
But sitting here at my computer, I'm starting to miss certain aspects of my holiday already. The ability to walk for miles to explore the streets, or just the simple pleasure of enjoying a cup of Vietnamese black coffee at a cafe as I watched the city zoom by. Also, the long conversations with Fadz and his arm around me at night would definitely be sorely missed. Ah well, all good things must come to and end. Till our next holiday together! Hoo Hah!
