Little-Wonder.Net - Personal domain and blog of Brenda Tan

Back from Vietnam, after seven days of both physical and mental torture in a foreign country, plus an unusually turbulent plane ride back home.

An unusual welcome
Upon entering the immigration area of the airport, I just had this strange sensation that I was being stared at. Thinking that it was merely my imagination, I chose to dismiss it altogether.

Only when I reached the front of the queue did I realize that the stares were coming from two immigration officers at the counter I was queueing at. When I handed my passport over, he stared at my photograph for almost a whole minute with me standing there, bewildered at the sheer amount of time he was taking.

That was when the second immigration officer and himself proceeded to stare at me for the next minute or so. By then, I was beginning to feel increasingly uncomfortable.

He finally handed my passport back to me several minutes later. Just as I was about to leave, one of them officers suddenly spoke.

“You are a very beautiful girl,” says he.

That was when I freaked out.

Number one, I am not a “beautiful girl”, as he puts it. I consider myself as plain average. You just need to set your standards a little higher, Mr Immigration Officer.

Number two, Immigration Officers certainly do not go around patronizing people this way. Perhaps he didn’t mean to seem patronizing, but that was how I perceived it.

Well, it is just me.

Thoughts on Vietnam
Hanoi had excellent weather. Cold climate - which I love, but it was too boring a place to be. Ho Chi Minh had a shitload of attractions and shopping districts, but the weather was bad enough to reduce me to a boiling puddle of liquid on the sidewalk - that’s the physical torture.

Okay, so both cities had both their good and bad points.

Where’s the mental torture?

Far too many. Perhaps it is just me, but I have a tendency to get annoyed very easily especially when on a vacation in a foreign land. Perhaps the habits of the locals there just didn’t appeal to me and thus, it happened to rub me the wrong way.

There are people who simply shove you aside instead of using the phrase “Excuse me”. To tally it all off, I have been shoved and pushed aside violently almost five times throughout the entire trip, with each offender receiving muttered cursing and swearing from yours truly.

The roads are terribly chaotic. The cars and motorcycles do not choose to heed the traffic lights and keep to their lanes. Instead, they muscle their way, weave through the traffic as if they own the road. Plus, when a vehicle gets into their way, they do not slow down. They choose to blast their car horns instead. Not once, not twice, but thrice.

The salespeople are pushy. Extremely pushy. I’ve had my shirt tugged, my hands and hair pulled, all by desperate salespeople who were trying to divert my attention to their stall as I strolled through Ben Tanh market at Ho Chi Minh City.

Needless to say, I was pretty much disgusted.

My cousin had it worse. He got groped.

There was one huge bright side, though.

Most of the toilets there were surprisingly clean! Wow-wee! Quite surprising, especially for a developing country like this one.

After experiencing Vietnam, and adding on to my past experiences in other developing countries like China, I realized that I am someone who cannot tolerate uncivilized behaviour - which makes me appreciate my own country more.

Personal Issues
On the whole, the trip was so-so-ish. The whole experience didn’t quite make it to my expectations, perhaps due to the restrictions set by some of my relatives.

Well, you know relatives. Typical adult-like thinking of not allowing the younger generation to roam around on their own, or staying out beyond a certain time. That’s where the huge pain in the arse sets in.

When in a foreign country, what I want to do is explore and fly freely. However, a certain relative is always insisting on me remaining in the hotel unless there is an available adult to escort me, since she seems to feel that I am incapable of looking out for myself.

And the other adults? They are too preoccupied with wanting to ‘fly freely’ on their own and so I was stuck in the hotel room with nowhere to go since there was no one left to bring me around.

Fuck it.

Ah, anyway. I didn’t mind having some me-time in the hotel room, lazing around in bed with a book, and munching on goodies at the same time. However, the thought of being cooped up in the room when in a new surrounding with only seven days to complete my exploration was well, agonizing.

To sum it all
I did manage to spend quality time with my three beloved cousins though - the boys who I grew up together with. You three never fail to make me laugh. (And David, please stop farting in the bus. It stinks to high heaven.)

And I miss the sights at Halong Bay, Hanoi. Ahhhhhhh. Most relaxing period of the entire trip. You’ll find out why once I post the pictures up. Not today, but soon.

Meanwhile, please make do with the above commentary. (:

As for now, I seriously need to catch some sleep because I have been surviving the past three days with only an average of 5 hours of sleep a night.

Plus, the turbulent flight mentioned earlier seems to have disoriented me a little because despite being on level ground and typing on my keyboard, I am still feeling as if I am on the aircraft.

Is this what people call jet-lag?