I'm back!!!!!! Thoughts of Vietnam and Japan..

A fabulous grad trip to 2 places: Vietnam and Japan. Honestly both trips were borne out of randomness. Vietnam because of a random mention of backpacking somewhere in SE Asia by a friend (ok...it did not turn out to be a backpacking experience but a guided tour with random ppl instead, nevertheless it was awesome all the same) and also because of a very unconfirmed FYP schedule in the summer sem. As for Japan, I turned down going to Japan at first due to that same unconfirmed schedule, only to have my decision reversed by a very tempting 500 bucks NWA air ticket and approval from my PG. Throw in a swine flu outbreak that erupted before the weekend when I was set to go to Japan and it's a load of "happenings" that took place in preparation for this grad trip. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I saw it through all the way.

Will be a bit of time b4 I actually blog about these places, so I'm just gonna list some memorable experiences about these places:

Vietnam
1) Random ppl on the tour who were really fun to be around with. And it's even more fabulous cos we had Vietnamese friends to take us around. Incredibly informative session when asking about the sights and the language barrier was broken down with the help of these friends. I'm pretty sure the girls did not mind when it came to bargaining!

2) The crazy weaving traffic of motor-cycles. A bit unsettling sitting in the front seat of the van and having to see vehicles coming head-on directly. Over in Vietnam, motorcycle is king! Oh and persistent horning too!

3) Short stools. Vietnamese sit on stools when they eat, and most do so by the roadside. So it's unsurprising to see office ladies, common folk and ppl from all walks of life sitting on this small stool, camping by the roadside eating. I was totally not used to sitting on the stool at all...need to stretch my legs abit. :p
Joining the masses of Vietnamese eating just by the roadside near this cross-junction is an experience by itself.

4) And speaking of eating: Pho (pronounced fur) is their noodles of choice here. Beef pho is kinda like the Vietnamese staple diet. Throw in snail pho. Hmmm...nice though it has a bit of an acquired taste to it. Mix in sticky rice, spring rolls with a different kinda sauce and Vietnamese desserts. Mmmmm...yummy!

5) Museums in Hanoi are a must cos it's the one way to be informed of the history and various ethnic minorities in Vietnam, which adds to the culture experience. A water puppet show is a must for this cultural experience.

6) Halong Bay. Top attraction. Nuff said. With an endless sea and countless limestone formations that dot the horizons, sailing through here on a junk boat means the feeling of getting lost at sea and getting to see an ever-changing landscape. Spend the night staring into the stars and it's like a night show with the stars appearing, shimmering and getting hidden behind the clouds. Swimming and kayaking here also tops it.

Japan
1) I always feel if you can navigate around the subway system in Tokyo, then you are very much able to conquer the rest of the subway systems in the world. And conquer we did, and survive the subway rush-hour too at times. But on the whole, I was rather pleased that we did not get too "hor lan". If all else fails, I find that 比手画脚 helps a heck lot here. you just have to think of creative ways to do it. (Sashimi madness at the Tsukiji market, trying to tell them I want to "da bao" or takeaway, punching in numbers into calculators, waving and pointing etc etc)

2) When 比手画脚 fails, have you ever had the feeling of getting "Lost in Translation"? I'm pretty sure everyone who comes to Japan would surely experience it at least once. And this is one of the more memorable experiences that would make it into my OMFG travel entry. Suffice to say, it was a pretty messed up day cos it was a simple form of miscommunication.

What happened was that we accidentally refunded this Suica card which was an EZ-link card and also used to store luggages. Our original intention was not to refund the card but to actually top up 500 yen into it, so I picked the calculator, pressed 0 to signal that the card had no value, den I pressed 500 yen to show that I wanted to top up an amount of 500 yen. Sounds simple? Apparently, the station attendant was so enlightened that he took our empty card, and refunded us 500 yen for the card! Now we have no card to retrieve our luggages and when we tried to explain to him that we wanted the card back, he kept flashing his "X" sign posture with a "dame ni" meaning "cannot!!!"

What happened next was a series of events leading to us leaving and entering the station multiple times until i think the officer there see us until sian liaoz, getting a lady to write a message in Japanese to communicate our intentions, and waiting for the very nice locker uncle to help us. We screwed their locker system btw...

The whole thing took 2 hours, screwed our plans for the day a little, so I officially term it the day we got SUICA-ed. Yet I was totally thoroughly amused about the whole experience though I was pretty sure my companions were pissed!

3) Rain rain go away! Half of the trip was rainy, though it happened more towards the end of the trip. So that means not getting the chance to see Mt Fuji and Owakudani in Hakone cos it was too cloudy and windy. Think that was very much the most bummer of all.

4) Nevertheless, thanks to the rain, the mood for onsen or hot spring was even more fulfilling. Imagine spending the day just nua-ing in a ryokan and soaking in the hot springs. Shiok!

5) Food! Japanese food = oishi! Fresh, cutely packaged, there's always something different in the corner. And the food here is not as MSG-laden compared to the Jap food in SG. A 60 bucks sashimi and sushi set in Tsukiji Market is one of the freshest you can get in the world. It's totally worth it, even if I got man-handled by the Jap auntie tending to the store when she was trying to get me to queue.

6) The accomodation in Tokyo (K House) was totally reminiscent of those in Europe. Budget backpacker hostel style that was very comfortable and not too expensive. Kyoto accomodation (Budget Inn) was very surprising as it was cheap and resembled a mini-ryokan, with services to try out the kimono for the girls. And of course, to top it all, a night at a ryokan.

7) Neon lights, the human traffic, huge LCD screens. It ain't Japan if you don't spend a night being immersed in the crowded streets in Japan. The weird, the cute, the fashion in Shibuya, the cosplay in Harajuku, the manga, the maids cosplay, the various schoolgirl manga content that seriously stems upon borderline pornography in Akihabara. Ya know what I mean....it's just Japan.

8) Peace and zen at Kyoto. Temples and shrines to fill our time. Fortunately we visited a few and the main interesting ones so that we were not templed / temple-fied / templed-fried out at the end of the trip. Plus: I have an incredibly gd lot at Kiyomizu temple. Er..from the god of love and "good matches"?!? Totally unexpected. Anw, geishas, maikos and a load of other Japanese cultural performances completes the Jap culture experience. Kyoto makes it up there as one of my favourites in Japan.