John and CB's Most Excellent Adventure

Well, we had another long weekend (Malaysia has had a string of holidays lately, the past Friday was the prophet Mohammed’s birthday) and this time we decided to stay in Malaysia but head to a section to which we had never been.  East Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  Borneo is a huge island (east of Singapore) that is split between three countries:  Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.  Boreno is famous for it’s beautiful rainforests, gorgeous beaches and marine life, and general natural beauty.  We decided to go and enjoy the beach and marine life–we needed to get out of the city!

We left our apartment in KL bright and early on Friday morning.  We had a bit of trouble with our taxi.  The taxi system in Kuala Lumpur is not very good.  There are plenty of cabs and fares are low, but the fares are so low that the drivers cannot make a good living off of them.  As a result, they often refuse to go by meter and set inflated prices to get certain places.  As you can imagine, at 4:45am going from a hotel to the airport, the problem is exacerbated and the bellmen like to get in on the action.  When they told us how much it was going to cost to get to the airport, it was about 40 Ringgit (about US$13) higher than it is supposed to be.  I noticed the taxi driver and bellman exchanging something through the window.  At that point, I knew exactly what was happening.  John managed to negotiate with the driver and get the rate to a reasonable level.  Upon arriving at the airport, John asked the driver why he and the bellman exchanged money.  The driver said that he doesn’t get jobs if he doesn’t do that.  I believe it.  Malaysia did raise cab rates once last year but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the increased cost-of-living and the increase in gas prices.

Beautiful Water in Kota Kinabalu

That adventure aside, we got to Kota Kinabalu without incident.  We stayed at a resort that was comprised of two hotels and a marina.  A marine park consisting of five islands was just off of the coast from the hotel.  After a delicious “American style breakfast” we went to our room to take a nap–those early flights really wipe us out!  After that, we went to the pool, had dinner, and then turned in.  We were anticipating a busy day the next day!

On Saturday, we got up, had breakfast and took off on a ferry to the Marine Park on one of the islands off of the coast of the hotel.  We had our snorkel gear and beach mats and were looking forward to a day at the beach!  The water felt wonderful–it wasn’t cold at all, yet it was refreshing.  I also need to mention that it is jellyfish season and signs are posted everywhere!  The water was the clearest we have seen in Asia thus far.  Standing on the pier looking into the water, we were able to see to the bottom and all kinds of beautiful tropical fish including the largest sea urchins we had ever seen (some were larger than 8 inches spike tip to spike tip).

After a yummy dinner!!!

We saw the most beautiful fish colored so vibrantly I never knew those colors existed in the animal kingdom!  We saw polka dot fish, rainbow fish, and even some fish camouflaged against the sandy bottom.  We also saw jellyfish!  The jellyfish were clear, but had a glowing purple center so we thought we would see them before they got us.  Keyword:  thought.  John ended up getting stung all over his feet and I got stung three times:  once the tentacles wrapped around my arm, once around my leg and the other brushed my shoulder.  I know the tentacles wrapped around because when the sting showed up (it affected me more than it did John) it was in distinct lines around my arm and my leg.  It felt like lots of bees stinging me all at once.  Fortunately, after a few minutes out of the water, my stings felt much better and I was able to continue with the day.

That night we had the most wonderful dinner at a Malaysian/Indian fusion restaurant called “Spice Island.”  We had paneer (cottage cheese) in a delicious tomato gravy with cashews and red snapper in a wonderful gravy all over rice.  It was so rich but it was so so so good!!!

Beautiful sunset

The next morning, we had our breakfast and then headed off to the Kota Kinabalu Sunday market!  We’ve been to lot of markets before, but this one was just a little bit different.  There was country music blaring in the background and there were tons of people.  They had not only fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, and clothes, but also live animals!

John with the chickens

We saw cages full of five and six puppies.  We joked that obviously PETA hadn’t made it to Kota Kinabalu yet.  Then, as we left the market, we passed a KFC and standing on the corner was a person in a chicken suit with a crutch and a sling and a picket sign protesting the restaurant.  THEY WERE FROM PETA!

Although I love KFC, this photo had to be taken!

After getting my picture with them (as a Kentucky girl, I had to do it.  I still love KFC, by the way) John informed them that we were looking for them near the dog cages in the market.  🙂

After leaving the market we went back to the hotel where we ate a fabulous buffet brunch, complete with quesadillas (a rarity at Asian tables).  We ate for over an hour, it was so delicious.  Our bellies full and trying to avoid the blistering sun, we decided on an indoor activity:  bowling!!  We got some very stylish socks (see picture)  and ending up splitting games.  After all of the trash talking I endured from John, I was pretty pleased.  🙂

Check out those killer shoes!!!

Later that afternoon, we headed back to the airport and flew back to Kuala Lumpur to get ready for the work week!!!  It was a wonderful RELAXING weekend.  Thank for reading everyone!!!

As most of your realize, the trip from Singapore back to Kentucky or Florida is a rather lengthy one, taking more than a day in travel time.  Since we were just back in August, we opted to stay in the eastern hemisphere for Christmas.  We decided we didn’t want to stay in Singapore or KL, we wanted to do something awesome!  So, we went to visit our dear friends Patrick and Yoshie in Manila, Philippines, and then spent Christmas in Hong Kong!

When booking our flight to Manila, we booked a budget airline that flies into Clark, Manila, not the main Manila airport.  Most airports in this part of the world have budget terminals that are separate from their main international terminals so we thought nothing of it.  As it turns out, Clark is an old U.S. airbase located about two hours outside of Manila proper.  So John and I land and hop on a “direct shuttle bus” not knowing what to expect.  The bus took off headed toward the city.  Within twenty minutes, we were stopped at a rest area/bus stop combination where vendors boarded the bus and tried to sell their goods.

John with his pie and pork on a stick...

We were like targets sitting together at the back of the bus.  We ended up buying a box of mini coconut pies and some pork on a stick.  Granted, the pork on a stick may not have been the most intelligent option in the rural Philippines, but we survived.

Three hours later, we were just arriving in Manila.  Our bus driver was supposed to drop us off at a mall, but instead we were dropped at a bus stop located on the median of a busy highway.  Dragging our suitcases along, we were finally able to find a cab that took us straight to our friends’ apartment.  We were so happy to see Yoshie.  🙂  She made our day when she told us she had booked a couples massage for us in the spa in their apartment complex.  So, as she went to finish her Chinese lesson, John and I went and had all of the stress of the day massaged away.  That night, we went to a wonderful authentic Filipino dinner with Patrick and Yoshie and talked until the early hours for the morning.

Yoshie and me at the diner

The next two days went by so fast–I feel like we saw a lot in Manila!  We saw the historic area called “Intermuros” (where Yoshie and I got to see a wedding) and got to eat some wonderful western food.  Manila has more western restaurants than any city over here I’ve seen!  We went to a diner, a couple of cafes for tapas, to a few markets.

Our last night in Manila had to be the most eventful.  We went to a fish market where you bargain for the fish, prawns, crab, etc. then take them to neighboring restaurants to be cooked in any style that you would like!  We (Yoshie bargained) picked up some tuna, salmon, prawns, and squid.  The locals were most helpful in the choosing of the seafood and they even let me hold a huge fish!!!

The fins were still twitching...

We took them to a restaurant next door where the hostesses are men who are dressed like women.  That definitely threw me off.  We ordered kalamari (squid) chili prawns, and a couple of types of cooked fish.  The food was absolutely incredible!  I’ve never had prawns so delicious and the tuna was scrumptious!  To top it all off, they had a live band who played my request:  “Country Roads” by John Denver.

Our Hungry Husbands

After dinner we headed to the main event of the evening:  The Hobbit Bar.  The Hobbit Bar claims to have “the smallest waiters in the world.”  Walking into this bar is like walking into a hobbit house, complete with a big round door, roots on the ceiling, and pictures of Gandalf and company everywhere.  Here’s the kicker–all of the waiters and waitresses were little people.  Only in the Philippines would a place like this be possible.  Yoshie and I enjoyed a mango margarita while the boys enjoyed a selection of beers from all over the world.  John even got a t-shirt.

At the Hobbit Bar in Manila

The best part of the weekend was spending time with our dear friends Patrick and Yoshie.  They moved away from Singapore at the end of the summer and we miss them terribly!  Manila was a fun city, but being with them made it even better.  We’re going to have to have another adventure soon!

The next morning, we all went to the airport.  Patrick and Yoshie were off to Korea to spent Christmas with Patrick’s parents and John and I were off to Hong Kong!  We arrived late in the evening and after finding our friend’s apartment (thanks, Mark for letting us stay there) we were off to find a bite to eat.  We ended up at a Dixieland Jazz bar in the middle of Kowloon (across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong proper) called Ned’s.  We listened to a band sing a mix of Christmas and jazz songs and even joined in with the rest of the Americans in the place for a rendition of Sinatra’s New York, New York.  After eating, we walked home on the Avenue of the Stars (Hong Kong’s equivalent to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood) which has a gorgeous view of the Hong Kong skyline.  Honestly, it is the most brilliant skyline I’ve ever seen!

The Venetian in Macao

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Macao, China–the Las Vegas of the East!  Macao is only an hour ferry-ride from Hong Kong and since Las Vegas is near and dear to our hearts (we were engaged there), we had to go!  We stayed at Hotel Lisboa, one of the classic Macoa hotels.  It’s the equivalent of the Flamingo on the Las Vegas strip.  The night, we ventured over to the Venetian (the second largest building in the world–large enough for every NFL team to play consecutively inside) to see the new Cirque de Soleil show.  We ended up getting first row seats which made for a fantastic show!!!  Before the show, we had an Italian dinner date night where we enjoyed a similar restaurant to where we got engaged (John proposed at an Italian restaurant at the Venetian in Las Vegas). After dinner and the show, we wandered around a bit before heading to our hotel for the night.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and started to explore the city a bit more.  We visited the Wynn and MGM and were impressed by what we saw.  The MGM had some Chihuly blown glass and the Wynn had a delightful cafe.  In fact, we sat poolside for a few hours and just talked.  Finally, we caught a ferry back to Hong Kong to do a bit more exploring.  That night, we walked around Kowloon (part of Hong Kong, but across the harbour from the main skyline).  We went to the women’s market where we found tons of purses, belts, shoes, etc. ready for bargaining.  Too bad we don’t speak Cantonese, or our bargaining probably would have gone better.  We then took the subway over the Hong Kong side and went to a few bars before calling it a night.

John and the Wynn in Macao

In the morning, we set out to really explore Hong Kong!  It was Christmas Eve and we were determined to see as much of the city as we could!  First, we ate some excellent dim sum (Chinese appetizers) and then explored a local produce market.  Next, we went for a ride on the world’s longest escalator/travelator that went up the hillside with a plethora or restaurants flanking each side.  Once we reached the top, we headed to Victoria’s Peak for the most spectacular view of a skyline I’ve ever seen.  It was here we ate our Christmas Eve dinner (thanks, Robin!).

View from our Christmas Eve Dinner

We ate at a steakhouse next to a window overlooking a spectacular view of the city.  I couldn’t believe it–it felt like we were spending Christmas Eve on top of the world.  It was beautiful.  Following a Christmas Eve church service, we went back to the apartment and went to sleep.  We had a big day the next day, not only was it Christmas Day, but were were off to….

Hong Kong Disneyland!!!!  We decided to spend Christmas at a place where we knew Christmas would be done right.  And, let’s face it, Disney’s got it down.  We rode the train out there and got there around 11:00 in the morning.  We spent the entire day riding rides (including Space Mountain, the Jungle Cruise, the Philharmagic show, etc.) and enjoying being around something so familiar.  The highlight of the experience, however, was Canto-Mickey.

My husband, Buzz Lightyear!

It’s true.  Mickey and his whole gang didn’t speak English–they spoke Cantonese (a dialect of Chinese).  We also saw Merlin trying to pull the sword out of the stone and yelling at it in Cantonese.  Bottom line:  it was hilarious.  We’ll try to get the videos on You Tube before too long.  Don’t worry–we have proof of Canto-Mickey!

The Disney experience was as perfect as it is in the States.  The only different was the language and the food offerings.  We were hard pressed to find a pizza and a favorite snack seemed to be squid on a stick.  We ended the day watching the “Let it Snow” parade, playing in the fake snow on Main Street, USA (yep, they had one of those) and putting on our 3-D glasses to check out the lighting effects in the trees.

Definitely two Disney kids...

That night, we returned to the apartment and called our families to wish them a Merry Christmas.

The next morning we took off from Hong Kong–such an incredible city.  It would definitely be a fun place to live.  Who knows–we may end up there one day…  🙂

Thanksgiving was coming up and we hadn’t yet decided where to spent the holiday.  They don’t celebrate it over here–instead it was an Islamic holiday called Hari Raya Haji.  John had a long weekend and I didn’t have class so we decided to go to one of the most famous places in southeast Asia–Bali, Indonesia.

We took off early on Thanksgiving morning from Kuala, Lumpur, crossed the equator and arrived in Bali in the early afternoon.  As we walked out of the airport, we were bombarded by taxi drivers insisting they take our luggage and get us to our hotel.  (We didn’t realize this, but Bali is a large island–not just a little hideaway in the South Pacific.  It can take up to four hours to reach parts of the islands from the airport.)  Fortunately, our hotel was only about an hour away and as we were purchasing our taxi coupon–we saw him.  A sweet Indonesian man wearing a safari hat yelling:  “Mr. John!  Mr. John!  Over here!”  Running up to us was Uru, our hotel’s van driver, who we would become close with during the trip.  While booking the room, we had requested an airport pick-up, but it was never confirmed.  And here he was!  Uru was a sight for sore eyes.  He loaded us up in the van and took us to our hotel:  the Mara River Safari Lodge.  Yes, that’s right.  A safari in the middle of Bali.

Pretty excited about feeding the animals!

Our room overlooked a “savanna” and was filled with zebras, elephants, wildebeests, and even a rhino named Nelson.  We even had an “animal feeding” bucket in the room that was full of carrots so we could feed the animals from our balcony.  So cool!  The pool overlooked the same savanna.  It was and interesting experience to be floating in a pool in Bali and to see a zebra stroll by.  After cleaning up, we received a phone call from our friend Uru telling us he was off work for the evening and he would see us in the morning.  That night we had our Thanksgiving dinner at the Lion Restaurant (thanks, Grandmother and Papaw!!!), a dining spot situated next to a lion enclosure.  Before we entered the restaurant, we had a chance to play with a baby liger–a lion and tiger mix.

With the liger

Although it was a baby, it was a pretty feisty little guy who would growl and scratch at us whenever given the chance.  Never thought I would ever get to pet a liger…Napoleon would be so jealous!

The enclosure in the restaurant had 4 adult lions (1 male, 3 female) with a separate enclosure behind the bar with a large male lion to watch you while you sip on your gin and tonic.  Just as we were enjoying our salads, we noticed large chunks of raw meat flying into the exhibit and the lions leaping towards it.  We found out later that this was kangaroo meat (very lean and healthy, we understand).  The only watering hole in the enclosure was along the glass behind which we sat (this glass was less than an inch thick–if the lion wanted to come through it, he would have had no problem).  As a result, we got up close and personal with the lions.  I have to admit, I was eating my meat very carefully, so as not to tempt the lion.

Pre-Safari Breakfast with the Lions

The next morning, we woke up to the phone ringing.  It was Uru telling us he had come to work.  With that, we went to breakfast in the same lion restaurant and gorged ourselves on a full continental breakfast including PORK bacon.  Most bacon in Malaysia and Indonesia is beef since both of these countries are Islamic and anything from a pig is consider to be “unclean.”  Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Bali is predominately Hindu.  Ironically, the Hindu’s don’t eat beef, so beef bacon is out of the question.  John and I prefer pork bacon (it’s what we grew up with) so this was a welcome treat after spending so much time in Islamic Malaysia.  After a fabulous breakfast, we were off on a Safari.  That day, we saw lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), elephants, white tigers, and even a few crazy monkeys.  We were also fortunate to see a piranha feeding.  Don’t ever stick your hand in the Amazon!  As we were walking back to the hotel, who did we see, but Uru?!?  He had come into the park to find us and tell us he was leaving for the day.  He knew we were changing hotels the following morning (we decided to spend half of our vacation at the famous Bali beaches) and wanted us to book him to drive us there.  He also wanted us to come over to his house to meet his wife and young son.  We politely declined.  After spending months in two different countries, this was our romantic get-away and we wanted to have dinner–just the two of us!

That is one big baby!

After a day at the Safari in the hot sun, we went back to our savanna bungalow to take a little break.  As we were getting ready for dinner, we received a phone call.  “Mr. Candeto, there is a baby elephant in the lobby.”  That is a sentence I never thought I would hear.  We hurriedly got ready and headed to the hotel lobby where we encountered the “baby elephant”–all 18 years and several tons of him.  After feeding him a banana and a quick photo op, we headed into the restaurant for another dinner with the lions.

The next morning, we were off to a different hotel, this time on the beach!  Uru was waiting for us at the hotel lobby after breakfast and off we went!  He took us on a small tour to one of the best “surfing beaches” where we saw little old ladies and children collecting beautiful rounded stones to be sold for the hotels for landscaping and floral arrangements.  We also saw some Hindu temples and some real Bali households.  A few hours later, we were at our next hotel where we had a small villa next the pool, complete with a nice front porch.  We spent the afternoon at a little beach bar sipping tropical drinks and talking.  That night we found a restaurant with tables on the beach and ate under the stars.  We were starting to really love Bali.  🙂

Merry Christmas from Beautiful Bali!!! 🙂

The next morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast that was brought to our front porch.  We had fruits, eggs, bacon, and pastries and some amazing fresh fruit juice.  After that we enjoyed a morning of reading (me for my dissertation and John for fun) by the pool.  By the afternoon, we were ready to do a bit more exploring.  We headed to Kuta, the touristy beach of Bali.  During the day, this beach was nothing compared the beach near our hotel.  It was crowded with lots of tourist traps.  Kind of like Myrtle Beach when compared to Hilton Head.  I was starting to wonder what the big deal was with this particular part of the island.  Then, the sun began to set and I saw what all the fuss was about.  In the foreground were the shadows of surfers trying to catch one last wave before turning in for the night and in the background, the most expansive sunset I’d ever seen.  It was gorgeous.

Bali sunset

After this, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a traditional Balinese meal, then went for a swim before heading to bed.  Our flight back to KL was at 6:00 the next morning, so we hit the sack.  Bali was beautiful and we didn’t even scratch the surface.  We still haven’t seen the legendary rice paddies and temples that are populate the inner part of the island.  I guess we’ll just have to go back.  😉

What a whirlwind of a weekend we just had!

As I mentioned in my previous post, last Monday John called me and said, “would you like to go to the beach this weekend?”  The rest is history and we ended up spending a glorious 36 hours on Langkawi, Malaysia–a little island close to the Malaysia/Thailand border.

Our adventure began at 4:30am on Halloween morning.  We decided to take the first flight to Langkawi on Saturday morning and the last flight back to KL on Sunday night so as to maximize our weekend island time.  We needed to leave the hotel at around 5:30 in the morning, so when John wasn’t up at 4:50 and we still weren’t packed, I decided to play the Monster Mash to wake him up.  Me dancing around to the Monster Mash at 5:00am was not amusing to John.  He told me I truly was “Scary Beth”  🙂

After an hour-long cab ride to the airport and an hour-long flight, we touched down in Langkawi and headed straight for the hotel.

View from our chairs

Fortunately, the cab prices were set (this is highly unusual for Malaysia), so we had a very easy time getting to our hotel:  Berjaya Beach Resort.  We got in, had a HUGE “American Breakfast,” went to our villa (with a “15% ocean view”), and took a little nap.  Then, off to the pool/beach!!!  We had a beautiful view from our lounge chairs and enjoyed some tropical cocktails.  John and I have a problem where we can’t sit still for more than ten minutes, so a few minutes later, we were off on a jetski!!!  I think the island was even more beautiful from the water–it was absolutely perfect!  Crystal blue water, mountains right by the coast, gorgeous palm trees and a beautiful beach.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Date Night on the Water

A little later, we had date night!  We went to a Thai restaurant about 100m out over the water.  We had some amazing green curry and bananas in cocunut milk and enjoyed a beautiful night view of the ocean.  The restaurant even had this huge spotlight pointing down into the sea so we could see the big fish swimming around.  It was amazing!!!  We enjoyed a wonderful conversation then took in some music at the lobby bar before hitting the sack.

John enjoying the beach and some fruit juice!

The next morning, we decided to go on another crazy adventure–we rented a motorscooter!  Have either of us ever driven a motorscooter?  No!!!  Well, John told me later that he did try once and that it was a failed attempt.  Hmm…perfect.  So glad he chose not to tell me until AFTER he had about two more hours of practice under his belt.  After the first bit, he turned out to be a pretty decent driver and I could loosen my grip a bit (I’m pretty sure he still has fingernail marks in his chest).

Funky Monkey in the Middle of the Road

The ride was beautiful–we went to a gorgeous beach (sipped from coconuts) then to a mountain top with a spectacular view and made it back in time to go back to the Thai restaurant for sunset.  We had several encounters with wildlife on our trip including a dead alligator (no kidding–it was in the middle of the road) AND we almost hit some monkeys that decided to dart across the street.  Now, I’ve heard of people hitting possums, turtles, squirrels, rabbits, deer, but monkeys?  Never a dull moment….

My view. Hello back of John's head!

Our weekend ended with a beautiful sunset over the ocean, sprinting back to the hotel lobby in a torrential downpour (it really is the rain forest) and a flight back to Kuala Lumpur where we started 36 hours earlier.  Whew…what an incredible weekend!!!

On our adventure!

Currently, I’m back in Singapore (John is in KL) and I’m finishing my last week of classes!!!  One more funny story before I end this post.  John and I had pancakes yesterday and, obviously, enjoyed some maple syrup on them.  Our sink is full of glasses that need to be washed (I don’t have a dishwasher here) so I left the plates by the sink.  Then, last night, I fell asleep on the couch and failed to run water over them.  I know–terrible housing keeping.  But, it happened.  This morning, I awakend to a dead lizard stuck in the syrup.  It gets better.  The lizard’s tail was on one side of the plate and the body was on the other.  I freaked out and called John in KL (I really have no idea what I expect him to do when I call him with my critter stories) and decided that that plate would never get washed–it was going down the trash chute.  As I picked up the plate, the lizard squirmed–it wasn’t dead after all!!!  Of course, I screamed, managed to put the plate into a plastic bag and sprinted to the garbage shoot.  I then called my Mom to report the story.  She laughed and instead of commenting on the lizard, she scolded me for my dishes not being washed!  Haha—-love you Mom.  I have to admit, that’s pretty bad.  🙂

Back to KL for me this weekend and a nice week in Singapore until then.  Until next time, we miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!!!

FYI:  Our US number will forward to our Singapore phone numbers AND our Malaysia phone numbers depending on what country we’re in.  So–feel free to call us wherever we are!!!!  🙂

Greetings all!

I am writing to you from Malaysia where John is working this week and I am enjoying my mid-semester recess.  By enjoying I mean doing lots of work sans class.  It’s actually been very productive.  John works from 8:30am until at least 10:00pm (if not later) every day, so that give me lots of time to spend with my books and the computer.  Plus, I go exploring sometimes.  Today for lunch, I ventured down a local street and found a “Tandoori House” with delicious Indian food.  Only thing that would make these little adventures better would be the husband!  🙂

John and I had an AMAZING adventure this past weekend.  In Singapore and Malaysia, it was the Hari Raya celebration–an Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan.  It’s a big deal–think Thanksgiving weekend in the US.  John had a four day weekend so we knew we had to take off.  Where to???  Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam!!!!

We each got about an hour of sleep then night before we left.  John had just returned from KL and I had to submit some school work before the break.  So—5am rolled around and we were off to the airport.  At the airport, to our surprise, we met one of John’s colleagues, Tony, and his wife Courtney.  They were going to Saigon, also!!!  We would end up meeting later in the trip for some dinner!  We boarded the plane and an hour and a half later, we were in Vietnam!

Our first day in Saigon, we got to the beautiful Sophia Hotel and zonked out for a few hours.  When we were finally awake enough to be pleasant to each other and everyone around us, we began to do a bit of exploring!   First, our room.  We discovered that a) the safe was not bolted down (John could easily pick it up), b) the shower head was bolted into the wall so that no person over five feet tall could use it, c) instead of hot and cold water mixing to make warm it just oscillated between hot and cold water.  It may not sound like it, but our hotel really was nice–a great place to relax after a nice day roaming around the city.

John cooking our dinner at the BBQ Garden

We set out for dinner (yes, we slept a lot) and wandered down one of the main streets in Saigon until we found a place called BBQ Garden.  It was an outdoor restaurant with beautiful Christmas lights hanging down from the trees.  We ordered some delicious fruit drinks (the fruit in Vietnam was delicious) then ordered some meat dishes and steamed rice.  When they served the meat, we noticed it was raw.  Hmm….interesting.  Then, the waitress lit a gas grill in the middle of our table and we got to cook the food right there!  We had beef, chicken, and pork, and a yummy banana crepe (yes, Vietnam was colonized by the French so there are lots of delicious pastries!!).  It was fabulous!!!

Next, we headed the Rooftop Garden Bar at the Rex Hotel as recommended by my good friend Ben Ray.  It’s where the US officers would go for a drink during the Vietnam War (or American War, as they call it in Vietnam).  It was a beautiful rooftop bar with live entertainment including a Grecian born, German raised Canadian living and working in Saigon and an Australian Elvis impersonator.  I can’t make this stuff up.  I have videos of these fine gentlemen posted on Facebook.  I’ll get John to put them on his You Tube site once he gets a spare moment…

Historic Rooftop Garden Bar. Elvis may even be in this picture.

The next day, we were off to the War Remnants Museum.  When we arrived, it was closed for lunch (apparently, siestas are common in Vietnam also) so we headed off to find a restaurant to grab a bite to eat.  We happened upon a little restaurant that had no food.  I kid you not.  No food.  They did have frozen yogurt though and the manager was so excited about it, he got it for us himself.  When we tasted it, it did not taste like the frozen yogurt that we like to think of.  No, it was not soft serve.  It was Dannon yogurt that had been put in the freezer and frozen.  Therefore, it was literally frozen yogurt.  Actually, it was pretty yummy.  We finished it and some lotus tea and were on our way.

Finally, we got the museum (it was open this time) and went inside to see the relics the Vietnamese collected during the war.  They had American tanks and airplanes, photo galleries of Vietnamese war victims, and all the anti-war propoganda you would ever want to see.  One thing I was very surprised by, having been educated in the US was the way the war was presented.  The South Vietnamese government was referred to as the “puppet” government of the US.  And, in the museum, Vietnam referred to the North Vietnamese as us and we.  I always thought the war had three parties:  the North Vietnamese on one side and the South Vietnamese and US on the other side.  The story at the War Remnants Museum tells it as much more of an us and them story.  As we walked out, we were greeted by a landmine victim who pegged us almost immediately as Americans, although we told him we were from Singapore.  I’m sure you can guess how that conversation went…

Post Motorcycle Ride. We're on a boat.

That evening, we went on a dinner cruise on the Saigon River.  It was John’s birthday present from me!  Our first taxi couldn’t get us there (we couldn’t communicate well enough to figure out why).  So, desperate to not miss the boat, literally, we found an alternate mode of transportation.  A motorbike.  A Vietnamese guy came up to John and I and offered to take us to our boat.  Hmm… I am wearing a white dress and this man wants me to hop onto a motorcycle behind him AND for John to hop on behind me?  Sounds like an adventure–let’s go!  So, all three of us hop on and we weave through traffic to the dock.    Let me explain something about Saigon.  It has a population of 9 million people and 4 million motorcycles.  I’m sure you can imagine what the traffic is like.  I’ve often heard it described as the worst in people have ever seen.  I definitely believe it.

The dinner cruise was fabulous complete with European and Asian fare, music and even a magician!  John and I completed our evening with a trip to a bar called Insomnia.  The patrons of the bar were all white men with Vietnamese women.  These women were not their wives.  I definitely felt out-of-place.

John bought me a hat! I was so excited!!!!

The next morning, we were up bright and early for a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels just outside the city.  These tunnels were famous hideouts for the Viet Cong (VCs) during the Vietnam War.  These things were so tiny–you can see pictures of John and I actually getting inside of them.  Some of the village people lived in them for years.  I can’t imagine doing that–I would go crazy!  Our introduction to the tunnels was a propaganda video that we weren’t too fond of, but then we got to do a bit of exploring which was really eye opening.

In the tunnel. That thing was tiny!

The VCs set up traps for the American GIs (as in giant camouflaged pits with sharp bamboo sticks in them) and popped out of these crazy tunnels (see picture to the right) to capture any Americans that stayed behind to try to help a wounded GI.  You have to respect the ingenuity of the VCs but it really made me feel for the South Vietnamese and the Americans.

John in the tunnel. Yes, he is standing on the ground.

I can’t imagine being in a jungle with camouflaged tunnels and traps everywhere, not knowing where the enemy will come from next.  The more I walked around and saw what the war really looked like (without the guns, bombs, and bullets even) the more it really made me stop and think.

We also got to crawl through some of the tunnels.  They had one for “big western tourists” as they put it.  It was 100m long–John and I both completed that.  Then, we went down to an original tunnel.

John and I inside one of the "real" passages. Notice the size!

You can’t believe how tiny it was.  Apparently, the VCs were able to bend over at the waist and walk through, but I had to crawl on my hands and knees the tunnel was so small.  We can out dirty, hot and sweaty and with a new respect for that war altogether.  It truly was an amazing and enlightening experience.

On our way back to the city, we stopped at a local farm and learned how to make incense!  We even got to step into a rice paddy.  It was the most gorgeous thing–so peaceful.  I even stuck my hand down into the water (probably not the smartest idea) and pulled out a huge snail!!!  What a gorgeous gorgeous place!!!!

In the beautiful rice paddy

When we got back to Saigon, we met up with our friends Tony and Courtney for dinner.  We went to a Claypot Rice restaurant where we tried some chargrilled claypot rice.  They cook the rice in a claypot and grill it.  Once it’s grilled, the rice on the outside of the riceball becomes hard and keeps it’s shape, so they have to use a hammer and break the claypot off (John loved this part because things were being broken).  They then proceed to through the rice ball across the restaurant and catch it on a plate at the other end before it is served.  After all of this, the results are quite yummy!!!!!  We had a delightful dinner of pepper beef, braised pork, sweet and sour cauliflower and the biggest omelette you have ever seen!  It was great to be able to share a wonderful meal with our friends!

My attempt at photographing the traffic. This picture makes it look tame.

After dinner it was off to the night market!!!  Prices in Vietnam are unbelievable!  I’ve been eyeing a large platter in Singapore for the past year–it’s price is a slightly over US$100.  In Vietnam, we got it for US$25.  I also bought a complete tea set (including tea pot and serving tray) for US$11.00.  We bargained that down from about US$25.00.  The night market was amazing!

We went back to our hotel for last last evening in Saigon.  Early in the morning we were off to Singapore to catch a coach back up to Kuala Lumpur.  Saigon was an AMAZING city–probably my favorite city I have visited since we’ve been over here.  There are barely any food chains (no McDonalds in Vietnam) and all of the food we had was fantastic.  Despite the propaganda, the locals were very friendly to us, despite the fact we’re American.  And, traffic aside, we found it to be a very safe city.

John and I are in KL until Friday when we head back to Singapore for the Formula 1 Race.  Next week, it’s back to KL for John and back to school for me.  I am going back to Indonesia next Friday to teach English at the children’s home, then heading back up to KL to spend the weekend with my sweet husband.  Loving life right now!!!  🙂

Hope you are all well, wherever you are reading this.  Drop us a line!!!  We’d love to hear from you!!!!