A Brief View of Vietnam

Heyo,

The two weeks following our trip to Thailand was compromised of a mad rush to study for our finals and take them. On Wed Dec 1st, both Dan and I completed our last final in our Statistics class. We then headed downtown to celebrate a little bit. The next morning we headed to Vietnam, which is what most this post will cover. I set up the trip with the intent that we would experience the culture of Vietnam the second day and the history the third. We arrived in Vietnam around 2pm and made it through the very strict customs. (We had to do a lot of work prior to leaving Singapore so that we would be allowed into the country) We spent the afternoon visiting the main attractions of Ho Chi Minh City (previously called Saigon). Just for those who are wondering, Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the country (the vietcong in particular) during its most difficult times including the Vietnam War. He is considered the only father of the country and a very respected man, thus the reason of the name change of the city. In addition, all women who sent their sons to the war are considered the mothers of the country. To the right you see me flashing the peace sign in the post office of Ho Chi Minh City. If you look at the pictures linked

at the bottom you will see that most of the buildings appear from france, which is because of their presence there in the early 1900's.

Because of this, the city is nicknamed the orient of Paris. The next day we signed up for a tour to go see the Mekong Delta, which is the most southern part of Vietnam and also the most fertile land which makes it good

for farming. The picture to the left shows me on one of the boats we were riding through the jungle. We ate food cooked by inhabitants on a island and listened to them play music. The food was amazing, although at the time I was a little concerned about getting sick, but all turned out well. The next day we headed to Cu Chi Tunnels which is located in the city of Cu Chi. This is where the Vietnam War took place. The north (Vietcong) lead by Ho Chi Minh were north of the city while the American and southern Vietnam were located to the south. The Vietcong constructed over 270 km of tunnels to transport warriors and keep women and children safe. These tunnels were very complex with areas to diffuse smoke, air holes, and entrances located in strategic places with escape routes that lead to the Saigon river, where they would emerge under water. The tunnels were constructed small to prevent Americans from maneuvering easily in them. While at the Cu Chi Tunnels we also learned about contraptions used to horribly injure American soldiers,

it was very fascinating and pictures of these contraptions can be found in the link below. We were allowed to go through a 40 meter section of one of the tunnels which was enlarged to make the task easier, however it was still significantly small and a little nerve racking, since there was no light. The picture to the right shows Dan ahead of me. We had our backpacks with all of our stuff which made it even harder. Our tour guide told us of a story where an American Vietnam Veteran came to see the tunnels. He weighed 120kg and was urged not to go because of the possibility of getting stuck, however he said that he had to see them and wanted to before he died. He did get stuck, and after pulling on him from both directions they got him out, and although very bloody he was just so happy to have seen it. They were really neat! After we arrived back in Ho Chi Minh City, Dan and I went to the War Remnants Museum. It is a highly controversial museum but I really wanted to see it and learn more about it. Although I wasn't expecting what I was about to see. The first floor was laid our with hundreds of pictures of deformed Vietnamese from Agent Orange along with all the weapons used in the war (this floor was by far the most horrifying), the second floor consisted of war pictures and the Vietcong side of the story while the third floor consisted of letters and news paper and magazine pictures from the US (the US story was here although probably slightly biased by the Vietnamese). Outside was a replica of the jail cells. We spent about 3 hours here and I learned just about everything you could about the war. I'll probably never forget it.. Soon after we got some dinner and then headed to the air port to fly back to Singapore.

We found it really interesting, that after all of this stuff that the US has done to the Vietnamese that they all still love Americans and were possibly the friendlies inhabitants that we have visited. Our tour guide of the Cu Chi Tunnels said it very well at the end, "we thank you for coming to see this part of our history, we are not here to say that we were in the right or were smarter, we are here just to show our way of fighting and its the one of the few parts of our history that we have pride in." Another tid bit of information is even though Vietnam is still considered a communist state, it is a very forward thinking communist state. They call themselves communist, but for every major decision that they have, they send out surveys to the public to get their input, which is why some call it a fake communist country or communist with a democratic spin. The country is moving forward fast and will probably in no time be just as developed as Singapore. Ho Chi Minh City will be opening the longest under water highway tunnel in south easy asia in the next year and have 4 metro train systems being installed. All in all, the trip was by far the most educational of all the trips that we have done, and I would highly recommend it. And the food was amazing! If you would like to see more photos which will tell the story with more detail click here.

In approximately 9 hours I will be heading to the airport to catch my plane back home. My study abroad experience here at Singapore was eye opening and definitely worth my time. I look forward to telling you all more about it when I get home. This will be my last post. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

This is Brett Hauser Signing off from Signapore!! Later

Thailand (Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and Krabi)

Whats Up,

Dan and I went to Thailand this last weekend. We arrived at Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand Friday night with the hope to see some of the towns crazy night life, however it was raining... So we ate some dinner at a Lebanon restaurant, pictured right, which was really good and then hit the hay with the hope that it would be sunny for the rest of our trip. We woke up Saturday morning to a little drizzle although it cleared up pretty quickly. We walked around the Patong beach, had some lunch, and then caught our taxi to the ferry terminal located on the other side of Phuket which took us to Koh Phi Phi, a tropical island paradise. By the way Koh translates to Island.

After a short ferry ride we arrived at Koh Phi Phi. It was amazing, there were limestone cliffs that shot straight out of the water with blue water surrounding them.

That evening we walked around the island which is really small and for the most part compromised of only paths, and thus no cars are seen unless you venture out of the tourist haven. It was by far the coolest atmosphere I have ever been in, very relaxing, with very friendly inhabitants and visitors. After walking around a little bit we decided to visit the fish doctor. A pic of this can be found to the left. We had seen this in Bali, Indonesia but never tried it. Basically you walk in and have your feet scrubbed by friendly staff so that later when you put your feet in to the fish tanks you don't harm the fish. As you put your feet in the tank you feel a bunch of little slippery things attaching to your leg, which are teeth-less fish that suck along your leg and improve circulation and remove dead skin. It was scary at first but then became very comfortable. It was definitely a high point of the night. We then got some ice cream and then headed to one of the beach parties to discover Phi Phi's night life. It was pretty cool. The next morning we woke up somewhat early to go snorkeling. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever done. The fish were so colorful and the water was so blue, clear, and endless (we could see 50 feet down with no trouble). Our tour guide asked if anyone wanted to see sharks and so Dan, I, another guy on our boat said yes. And sure enough after following him for a while, we came across a group of sharks measuring 15 feet or longer, and looking just like greatwhites, but our tour guide called them sea sharks, so not 1oo percent sure if they were, but nonetheless it took my breath away. To the right is Dan and I on our long tail boat, which can be seen if you click the link at the bottom of the post. Long tail boats get their name because of the huge tail they have which is a shaft with a prop on one end and the engine on the boat side. Its the only way of getting around and is pretty efficient. They carry 5 to 12 people. After a little snorkeling at two different places our tour guide took us to maya bay, a tourist favorite and then cliff jumping, which was also wild. Then right before we headed back into shore he stopped so that we could see some monkeys which can be seen at the bottom. Soon after getting back to Phi Phi we caught a ferry to Krabi, where sadly the trip turned for the worst. The tour book that I have for Thailand really recommended eating at the street side shops along the pier. The food was really good, although around 430 am I thought differently when I got to taste it all again. Dan and I both got pretty sick and since we had already bought tickets to Railey beach we woke up early to ride a long tail boat to Railey beach which was really beautiful, although Dan and I just laid on the beach for the 6 hours until our ferry came to pick us up to head back to Phuket. It was a bit of a downer, but we definitely got in some good relaxation on the beach. Overall our trip to Thailand has been my favorite yet though, especially Koh Phi Phi. The locals were amazingly friendly and didn't beg for our business, a completely different atmosphere then Bali, Indonesia. More pics can be found if you click here.

We have 20 days left until we head home, however these next three weeks are going to be the hardest. Finals start Saturday and go on for two weeks, however we both have our last final on the 1st and so we are going to go check out Vietnam before we head back to the states on the 6th. I probably wont post again until after our Vietnam trip. Thanks for reading and hope all is well in the states,

Later,

Brett

Cousin Laura and Mom visit Singapore

Hey,

Last weekend my Mom and Cousin Laura arrived in Singapore to visit for a week. I spent the whole weekend touring Singapore with them along with a few nights last week after classes. We spent Friday checking out Clarke Quay and then Saturday we hit up Sentosa Island and the new Marina Bay Sands Resort (which I hadnt toured yet) followed by a little walk around the bay. The resort was really neat, and just as we had been told the water flowed right over the edge of the building from the pool.

It was pretty wild. A pic of us on top the Resort can be found to the right. Sunday they toured my campus and then we did a 5 mile hike through a bunch of parks connected in the city. In addition to these little adventures they toured a Budhist, a Hindu, and a Islam temple along with China town and Little India. They learned a little about the history of Singapore at the Singapore Museum. Overall it was a really fun time and I am glad they could make it. More pics can be found here.

In a hour I am leaving for Thailand and so will post again when we get back on Tuesday. Hope everything is going well in the states.

Until then, later,

Brett

12 Hours in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hey There,

Over the past weekend Dan and I went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We left from Singapore at 12am on sleeper bus bound for KL. We had to go through customs a half hour into the trip but then quickly fell into a deep sleep until our arrival at Times Square in Kuala Lumpur at 4am. This trip was suppose to take 5.5 to 6 hours but took a mere 3.5 hours because of lack of traffic. We didnt get much sleep... The bus dropped us off at the times square bus stop, everybody seemed to have somewhere to go but us, if felt kind of weird. We had no food (besides some peanuts) and were soon to find out no money (couldnt exchange money until 10am). So we sat around watching the homeless sleep until about 6 when we asked a times square hotel security guard if we could use their bathrooms. We had gone in there earlier to see if they could exchange our money however wern't treated very nicely since we wern't paid customers. The security guard was friendly though and said to not worry, so we brushed our teeth and then left for Batu Caves, located 7 miles north of Kuala Lumpur (KL) via a cab who said he would

accept our singapore money. We arrived at the caves around 645, although they didnt open until 730am but got to see the morning religious ritual (Batu Caves is a Hindu Temple). A guy who appeared to be exercising stopped to talk to us while we sat on the street curb. He was very friendly and happy to see us. He recommended taking the tube, or the train back into the city for a cheaper method of travel, and so he exchanged some money for us so that we could pay for the train. He was awful nice. The caves were cool but dont have a whole lot other to say about them. By the way those are some 280 stairs to the left of the statue, used to get into the cave. Quite a hard task when you are really tired.. We then caught the train to the KL Center where we ate some breakfast and got some coffee which helped for a few hours.. Soon after, we rode the Light Rail to the KL Tower which had a 360 degree view of the city. It was really informative and had a tight view. After this we ate some lunch, and then walked through downtown KL to get to the Petronas Towers, 3rd tallest towers in the world, they were the tallest in 2004. To the right is a picture of the Petronas Towers, although not taken by me, it started to rain so I couldn't get a shot.. Tickets to get a view from the bridge half way up are very hard to come by. People wait in line starting at 5am and then sales start at 8 and all tickets for the day are sold out by 830am. I had read online though that if you go in during the afternoon and just stood by the ticket office, sometimes people didnt show up for their time slot and so you could take their spot. We were quite lucky, and sure enough two tickets were available, so we got to see the view, although not as cool as the KL tower, still really neat. The picture of the bottom is of Dan and I and a man from Nigeria who had to have a picture with us. He was really friendly guy. It then started to down pour and so we took a cab back to time square to eat dinner and catch our bus back to Singapore at 430pm. Overall the trip was quite an adventure, but I think just about the right amount of time. Gotta tell you though I was a little worried about how the day was going to turn out when we were dropped off at 4am and we found out about our predicament. If you want to see more photos you can click here. We only have 5 weeks left here, time is flying. My mom and cousin are coming next week, thailand the week after, finals, and then a mini trip to Vietnam before we hitch a ride back to home sweet home. Hope all is going well back in the states. Ill post again next week.

Until then, have a good one,

Brett

Quick Update

Hey there, I just thought I would write a quick update since I havn't posted in a while. School has been keeping me really busy. In the second half of the semester here is when all the classes do their labs, it makes life pretty hectic, but I am just about done with all of them. Other then school work I have just been trying to enjoy Singapore. Last friday I went climbing to a local boulder (climbing with no rope under 20 ft) spot here and had a real good time, the atmosphere was pretty tight and everybody was really nice. So I hope to do that more often. With that being said though, I only have 7 weeks left here, I have 4 more weeks of classes, a study week and then two weeks of finals. As far as expected upcoming trips. The weekend of the 30th of October we plan to go to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, the week after that my mom and cousin Laura will be coming here to check out Singapore. Which should be fun! The week after that is our study week which we will be spending part of in Thailand and then after our finals we are going to make a quick trip to Vietnam before our trip back to the states. It is all coming to an end real fast.. Dont have much other news then that, hope everyone is having a good fall season, I will post again after our trip to Malaysia in two weeks.

Until then, later,

Brett

BALI, Indonesia

Hey there, from the 18th through the 24th Dan and I were in Bali. It is an island located in southern indonesia known for its night life and tropical get away. Most of the visitors are Australians. It was a 2 and a half hour flight from Singapore. We arrived in Kuta on Saturday night the 18th and headed to a resort for the first two nights. Kuta is the heart of the night life in Bali and is located on the southern tip and is also known internationally as one of the best places to go surfing. Upon unloading our stuff we headed to a local bar called Uncle Norms, more relaxed type of bar then most in Kuta. Sunday we rented some surf boards on the beach and hit the waves. We were using the bigger boards, not the short boards, so within a short amount of time, both Dan and I were getting up no problem, it was alot of fun. The pic to the left is of me holding the money I converted to rupiah, the bills are 100,000, and I just so happened to have a little over 2.9 million in my hands, no big deal or anything.

Monday we decided to rent some mopeds to get around the island for

the next four days. Because of safety and liability issues most people opt to rent a driver and a car for the day, however we were looking for some adventure and freedom and a cheaper method of transportation. I never thought that I would actually be driving in the crazy no rules indonesian traffic. However after driving for four days, I have a new respect for their rules or lack of them when it comes to driving. Basically larger vehicles have the right away, and little vehicles like mopeds can weave in and out of traffic but use theirs horns with the larger cars help to do so safely. The horn is method of communication rather then a way to away to show your anger. The reason why I think they are doing it right, is because everybody has to be an active driver, no traffic lights, no stop signs, no rules. You communicate with the cars around you and everybody is alert, and so you are always ready for something to happen. With that being said it is quite a tiring process. To the right you can see my moped.

Monday night we stayed in Ubud, its a pretty large city. We only had reservations made for our first two nights in Kuta, so we didnt know what it was going to be like getting a room. However as soon as we arrived in Ubud, hotel managers were riding around trying to get us to come to their hotel, so we could barter as we rode along. It was very efficient, and after going with one and checking out the room, we batered even farther getting the room for 120,000 when he wanted 300,000 for it, they were really hard up for cash, and we found the walk away to be very effective. By the way 9,500 is about 1 dollar US. In the morning we got our free breakfast delivered to our room. Their were monkeys all around us on the roof of the hotel and running along the telephone wires, it was pretty crazy. Dan didnt want his papaya and so in a matter of seconds of him standing up, a monkey dropped from our roof and started eating, it was pretty funny (pic to the left). After breakfast, we checked out a temple in Ubud, and as if we hadnt seen enough monkeys, we went into a monkey forest to see hundreds more.

We then headed out for Mt. Batur with the plan of stopping along the way to see the rice paddies which can be seen to the right. They were pretty magnificent. Now, one of the down sides of riding a moped is that cops can pull you over for no reason and ask for millions of dollars if you dont have a international license or an indonesian license. (They are quite corrupt although they have been doing a good job taking out terrorist groups in Bali) Anyways, we read up about how to handle this situation before we left in case we encountered it. Dan read somewhere that you can try to convince the Police that your license from the US is international. So low and be hold, as we were climbing the mountain on our mopeds, we come around a corner, and there was 5 officers motioning us to pull over. After stopping we showed them our insurance, which thank goodness was in order, and then they told us that we didnt have the right license, and so we started our attempt to convince them otherwise. It was pretty humerous, although at the time, we were trying to keep a straight face, but the fact is they really didnt have a clue if it was or not, they just wanted money, but after 15 minutes they gave up and said we could continue on. We were pretty thrilled, although we had only about 100,000 in our wallets and the rest in our bags, so they wouldnt have gotten much.. We arrived at Mt Batur and instantly a guy names Tobali befriended us and showed us around, basically took us to his friends restaurants and hotels, but it was all good, he was really helpful and it was all cheap. He spent the whole day with us, taking us to the most sacred

indonesian temple on Mt Anung.

Wednesday morning we woke up at 330 am and were driven to the base of Mt. Batur, a 5 minute drive. Mt Batur is an active volcano and famous for its sunrise views from the top. We had to pay for a guide earlier the day before, since it is all monitored by the government. (another way to get money from tourist) Our group was compromised of a french couple, a german couple, two french girls from london, and another french guy (alot of French!). It was a really good group though, and we all became friends pretty fast, picture of group is in the photos link at the bottom. It was a very strenuous hike and we pretty much sweated all the way through all of our clothes (just t shirt and shorts at that time). It took about 2 hours to get to the summit, and we all got there around 6am, however we couldnt see more then a few feet because it was literally in the clouds. It was also really cold, but that was ok since we brought dry clothes and a sweatshirt, so all was good. Our two guides cooked eggs on the steaming rocks which was pretty neat and really tasty. We then started down a different, longer way with the hope of seeing a good view, since at this point we still hadnt seen the inside of the volcano. About 800 ft down from the summit, it cleared for a little bit so that we could get a pretty good view, everybody was pretty excited. The crater was HUGE, and actually a Sweden kid fell down and died last spring, (first death on the mountain) and so they told us about that, and showed us where it happened. About 6 hours from when we left we arrived back at the base, said good bye to our trek mates and then headed back to the hotel to pack up so we could continue are trip up to the Northern part of the island at Lovina Beach.

We spent a night at Lovina beach, watched a Bali Dance Show and did some swimming, and then thursday morning we started our trip back south to Kuta. Along the way we stopped at the Gigit waterfall, which was refreshing and then tanah lot temple on the south western side which had some pretty good views. We arrived in Kuta around 4pm thankful to be safe and without any incident with our bikes. The renters were also really relieved I think, since we had worked up a deal for a little bit more dough, that we wouldnt be responsible for anything, even the theft of the bike, they just wanted cash so bad they signed our agreement and probably prayed that nothing would happen. Thursday night we once again spent at Uncle Norms, they always have live music after 8pm which was really nice. Friday we went to the beach to get thrown around by the waves some more and decided to try our luck with the short boards which didnt go so well, but was fun none the less. We then hired a driver to take us to a temple on the southeast side and then the airport after that. The pic below is of me at the temple. Whenever you go to a temple you need to rent one of the little dresses as you can see, so we always looked pretty goofy.

Overall it was a really fun trip. One thing I wasn't expecting though, was the begging for our business, they dont understand the word NO, and by the end you just learn that you just ignore them or give them a wave of your hand. Although some, girls who wanted to give us massages, would follow us all the way down the street, rubbing our arms, as if we were going to change our minds, it was kind of annoying, but I guess part of the culture. I think Todd, the husband of the french couple that we climbed with summed Bali up pretty well, "Theirs three religions here, hindu, buddhism, and muslim, but they all have the same god... the RUPIAH." But with that all being said, everybody we encountered were very friendly, and one guy even took the time to draw us a map of Ubud, because we kind of got lost. More pics can be found here. I have got a pretty busy week coming up here with some midterms, so I probably wont post for another two weeks. But until then, have a good one, Brett

A Little Update

Hey there, Just thought I would write a quick update since it has been a while. This last Saturday we finally got our student pass which is shown to the right. It was quite an ordeal, they are quite particular about how things are done. We had brought a picture of ourselves since we were told to, but it was not adequate even though we had followed all the passport photo rules so we had to go get another one (looks a little more scary then my other one), in the midst of all the chaos at the immigration building. But after about 2 hours we were official with this card which is now scanned every time we cross through customs, making the process very fast. I'll finally be able to feel like a local at customs, wont have to wait in the long lines. After getting our passes we got some lunch and set out on an adventure to get Dan a backpacking backpack. We ended up at a place where there was a bunch of shops selling backpacks via bartering. We spent the rest of the afternoon bartering with the owners before finally making a decision. I brought my backpacking backpack from home but felt the need to get a small hydration pack as well. I had a general idea what the backpacks went for but was not positive, so when we got back to our rooms we looked online at an outdoors website and found out that we had done a pretty good job, Dan saved 30 US on his backpack, and I 10 US. It was a pretty good feeling. Not much other news though. Next week we will be leaving for Bali Indonesia which is about a 2 and half hour flight form Singapore. We will be there during our semester break and will be leaving on the 18th and returning on the 24th. We plan to do some surfing and then travel around the island, with the hope of climbing one of the volcanoes called Mt Batur.

Ill post again when we get back from the trip, hopefully with a bunch of pictures,

Until then, have a good one,

Brett