Paradise Found in the Vietnam Gulf

Phu Quoc Island

            The second day in Vietnam I took a flight to Phu Quoc Island.  It is an island off the coast of Cambodia but it can only be reached from Vietnam. We took a turbo prop plane, which is the same kind of planes we take from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas. Once we arrived, there was a driver that took us to The Longbeach Resort.  I didn't do any of the planning, so I had no idea what to expect.  The resort was luxurious and was situated right on the beach. Most of the people visiting the resort were honeymooners, so there were virtually no kids.  The first day we relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the sunset.  That night, we went out to dinner for authentic Vietnamese cuisine. 

            The next day we spent our time exploring the island.  We went up the west coast of the island on mopeds.  Most of the roads were dirt so it was not a very comfortable ride.  We rode through markets as well as over bridges that were not very promising.

            At night, we met a lot of people but only one Vietnamese.  The language barrier made it very tough to communicate.  There was a family of 4 that were at the bar we went to the first night, DS Bar.  They were from England and have been in Vietnam for over 3 weeks.  I spent most of the time talking to this family and comprehending what they were saying.  The mother, Deborah, told me that her children were getting a better education because they were teaching their children about culture.  She believed there was no other way to teach her kids about the rich cultures in these countries.  I thought about my experience thus far with SAS and I agreed with her.

            The food in Vietnam was delicious.  I didn't have any food there that I did not like.  It was probably my favorite food because everything was cooked with lime.  Phu Quoc is known for its seafood, pepper farms, and pearls. One night, I ordered a seafood bowl and I cooked everything myself.  They brought out a portable stove with a small propane tank attached then they brought out my metal plate and placed it on top.  The plate had a bowl in the center with boiling soup.  The server showed me how to put the fish, squid, shrimp, and numerous vegetables into the soup and cook it.  The spices and flavors in the soup combined with the experience of making it myself made this my favorite meal so far.  

“That One Time in Nam…”

Ho Chi Minh City

            The shuttle from the ship took us to a 5 star hotel in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.  The Rex hotel had cool air-conditioning, live piano music, and marble floors throughout.  Inside the hotel there were numerous luxury boutiques. Outside of the hotel on our way to Ben Thanh Market, the shopping was more affordable.  There were tourist boutiques and vendors selling t-shirts, hats, and other Vietnamese trinkets.

Singapore

22 March 2012

One day in any country is never enough time.  We had a really hard time deciding what to do with our single day in this fascinating, extremely globalized, small island off the tip of Malaysia. After going through customs off the ship, we realized the walkway took us straight to a shopping mall. The first sign of globalization was right in front of me.  Students came running to the ATM area where everyone was withdrawing Singpore Dollars with Starbucks cups.  Immediately, the group I was traveling with wanted to go get their Starbucks fix.  I ordered a passion fruit lemonade and I was so excited to have a drink that was familiar to me. Even thousands of miles away from the original Starbucks in Seattle, the drinks tasted exactly the same.  I never really understood why they needed to call the sizes of the cups tall, venti, and grande until I ordered my tall drink and it was exactly the same size.  By regulating the sizes throughout the company, I knew that I was getting the same amount of the drink as I would in America.

            Once we finally got through the mall lined with half American, half Asian stores, we took a taxi to the Marina Bay Sands resort.  The taxis were metered and had GPS devices that showed us exactly where we were going.  It was a huge difference from the tuc tucs in India in that he actually took us where we wanted to go and didn't try to rip us off because we were tourists! Inside the Marina Bay sands it looked like the Contemporary Resort in Disney World.  I was expecting a monorail to come whizzing through at any moment.  We wanted to view the top of the resort, which is world famous for an infinity edge pool that overlooks the ever-expanding and developing city skyline. In order to view this pool, we had to either be guests of the hotel or purchase a ticket to the observation deck with hopes of getting a tour of the pool area.  We lucked out and were able to purchase tickets to the top and signed up for a tour. The view at the top was magnificent. Everytime I saw someone walking up to the edge of the pool, I thought they were going to fall over the side of the building. Next time I go to Singapore, I am going to stay at the resort so I can see how it feels to walk to the edge of the swimming pool and off the side of the building.

            After we viewed the top of the hotel, we went shopping.   The mall attached to the resort was incredible.  It reminded me of the Gardens Mall at home in that there were not very many stores that were affordable.  They had all of the classic stores along with many other designers: Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Tiffany and Co., Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc. The Louis Vuitton store was the 5^th largest in the world (according to the security guard. Our research ahead of time said it was the largest). Once we walked through the gallery within Louis Vuitton, we took an escalator to the main area of the store. From the outside, this store looked like a glass box in the middle of a lake. 

            Whenever I go shopping in large malls that have the same stores as I do at my local mall, I only purchase goods that I cannot find at home. I looked for something in every store that was exclusive to Singapore.  I could not find anything.  I got extremely frustrated in Armani Exchange.  Why were we shopping in a store I have in my mall, looking at t-shirts that say 'Established in NYC'?  I like shopping at stores that have not been globalized and still have a local feel.

            And then came the food.  When it came to food, I was very happy that Singapore had choices and not just the local food.  I wanted something that reminded me of home, and I was able to have that.  For lunch we went to High Society and I had a crab Caesar salad, club sandwich, and a glass of Moët Chandon Brut. I thoroughly enjoyed the Singaporean taste on the classic American club sandwich.  For dinner we went to Osteria Mozzo. It was a fine Italian dining experience.  I had an appetizer of fresh mozzarella, with an entrée of steak marinated in balsamic vinaigrette topped off with an arugula salad with fresh parmesan and a glass of red wine. 

Last Day in India

17 March 2012--St. Patrick's Day
And no green beer was to be found. The closest I got to green beer was a green bottle of Kingfisher. This was my first holiday away from America where I couldn't celebrate in my traditional style. Looks like i'll need a second round of celebrating when I get home--Ireland anyone?

Delhi

15 March 2012

Delhi-->Agra-->Delhi

14 March 2012

            At around 7am we climbed in a car that was arranged by the hotel that took us from Delhi to Agra.  It was about a 4-hour drive there and a 4-hour drive back.  We drove through many small towns littered throughout the highway.  There were multiple forms of transportation on this highway. We saw over 15 people crammed into one tuc tuc, a cow pulling large quantities of hay, 5 people on one scooter (gives a whole new meaning to two football players, one scoot), and tractors pulling trailers full of people. Once we arrived in Agra, we picked up a tour guide and went straight to the Taj Mahal.   It was incredible seeing something that was so incredibly built so long ago.  The writing on the Taj and the outside gates gradually get larger as it goes up so the viewers reading the writing on the building can read everything from the ground. Our tour guide knew a lot about the taj mahal, agra fort, and the surrounding history.  He also liked to photograph in his spare time.  He took my camera from me in the beginning of the tour and took pictures of us throughout our tour.  I must say, he knew the many angles of the Taj.  Every time there was someone standing where he wanted to take a picture or someone walked into the frame, he would yell at the Indian in Hindi.  I would love to take him around with me in Disney World. We went inside the taj, but we were not permitted to take pictures.  There was an Indian tourist line and a foreigner line to get into the Taj. Again, I was shocked by this obvious segregation.

            Throughout our tours of the Taj Mahal, we had numerous Indians come up to us and ask us to take pictures with them.  A lot of the times they would respect their customs on how they touch women, but sometimes they put their arms around us.  I knew this was not how they were taught to treat women, so I got very uncomfortable whenever they put their arms around me, especially when they touched the small of my back.  A lot of women were throwing their children at us so the kids would have pictures with white people. I felt like I was a celebrity that did not have any personal space.  This added to the experience of visiting India's tourist attractions.

            After Taj Mahal, we visited a marble inlay factory and store.  They showed us how the people that build the Taj used marble inlays to create the magnificent designs displayed throughout the structure.  Some of the flowers and smaller pieces were made from over a thousand small stones. I couldn't pass up this opportunity: I bought a small chess set and had it sent home (should be coming to the office soon mom and dad!) After the marble factory we went to Agra fort.  You could see the Taj Mahal from the fort.  I felt like I was royalty standing in the fort.  I could close my eyes and picture thousands of people running around trying to keep the king happy.  The architecture throughout both of these buildings was extremely unique and always played with your perception of how you view things.  For instance, in order to see all of the beams in one of the buildings from the outside, they made the beams all different sizes.  I am so happy I had the opportunity to view these honorary world wonders.