Hectic Boston, Part II Vietnam
8:40 PM
Life has been quite hectic the past couple of weeks: moving, getting a car/registering it, starting my internship, looking for a job, getting a job and working, and trying to find time to relax. As of right now, Kathy and I have gotten quite a bit done since we've gotten back and it is time to blog more about Vietnam.
Once we got to Vietnam, we were immediately greeted by Kathy's Grandma, cousins and uncle. This is a common occurrence in Vietnam to have the whole family or quite a large chunk of the family to come greet you once you come from America. Everyone was all smiles and it was sensory overload to hear all the Vietnamese and also see the sights of downtown Saigon. We made our way to Vung Tau where Kathy's Grandma's Temple is and we stayed for the first couple of days.
The Taxi ride to Vung Tau
This is the room that we stayed in when we were at the temple. It was a simple room with a hammock in one corner and a bed in the other. It was quite hot with just a fan but it was my first time sleeping in a mosquito net. I never really had any problems with the mosquitoes but Kathy sure got bitten 20 or so times throughout or stay in Vietnam.
A view of the houses next to the temple at about 5am in the morning.
Another view from the front of the temple. The temple was a serene setting on top of a hill, away from the chaos of the streets below. Kathy and I enjoyed being in the peacefulness, but I was raring see more of Vietnam.
Kathy and I opted to see what Vung tau was all about and we decided what better way than with a cyclo. Cyclos are all around Vietnam (usually in the touristy areas) and you either get badgered by them or they read their paper, eat or sleep while they wait for their next customer, but mainly they badger you. Also because they deal with tourists they charge 100-400% more than the going rate of about 5 dollars for three hours but we got Kathy's grandma's cyclo and payed him a little extra ~10 dollars because he was really good.
As you can see from the pictures, the streets are nearly spotless. This is a rarity in Vietnam because landfills are scarce, people just throw trash in the road and the side of the road. The trash sort of takes away from the beauty of Vietnam as a whole, but the touristy areas are kept squeeky clean. Foreign investment is booming and tourism is quickly gaining ground, so Vietnam as a whole has to clean up it's image to be welcoming to foreigners.
The front of the temple.
This is a picture of the main building of the Temple.
The monks would sit in a circle in front of the large
statue, hit a drum, and chant for a long period of time.
This is a video of the back yard of the temple.
More is to come when I get some free time.
Once we got to Vietnam, we were immediately greeted by Kathy's Grandma, cousins and uncle. This is a common occurrence in Vietnam to have the whole family or quite a large chunk of the family to come greet you once you come from America. Everyone was all smiles and it was sensory overload to hear all the Vietnamese and also see the sights of downtown Saigon. We made our way to Vung Tau where Kathy's Grandma's Temple is and we stayed for the first couple of days.
The Taxi ride to Vung Tau
This is the room that we stayed in when we were at the temple. It was a simple room with a hammock in one corner and a bed in the other. It was quite hot with just a fan but it was my first time sleeping in a mosquito net. I never really had any problems with the mosquitoes but Kathy sure got bitten 20 or so times throughout or stay in Vietnam.
A view of the houses next to the temple at about 5am in the morning.
Another view from the front of the temple. The temple was a serene setting on top of a hill, away from the chaos of the streets below. Kathy and I enjoyed being in the peacefulness, but I was raring see more of Vietnam.
Kathy and I opted to see what Vung tau was all about and we decided what better way than with a cyclo. Cyclos are all around Vietnam (usually in the touristy areas) and you either get badgered by them or they read their paper, eat or sleep while they wait for their next customer, but mainly they badger you. Also because they deal with tourists they charge 100-400% more than the going rate of about 5 dollars for three hours but we got Kathy's grandma's cyclo and payed him a little extra ~10 dollars because he was really good.
As you can see from the pictures, the streets are nearly spotless. This is a rarity in Vietnam because landfills are scarce, people just throw trash in the road and the side of the road. The trash sort of takes away from the beauty of Vietnam as a whole, but the touristy areas are kept squeeky clean. Foreign investment is booming and tourism is quickly gaining ground, so Vietnam as a whole has to clean up it's image to be welcoming to foreigners.
The front of the temple.
This is a picture of the main building of the Temple. The monks would sit in a circle in front of the large
statue, hit a drum, and chant for a long period of time.
This is a video of the back yard of the temple.
More is to come when I get some free time.
