Vietnam OCIP 06'

13 days in Vietnam.
spent 7 days in Bac Ha
and the rest in Hanoi.

flight delay.
instead of train, we had a 10 hr busride.
sit until butt-ache.
reached Bac Ha at abt 1pm.
supposed to be 8am.
went to our worksite.
native area.
pple were dressed in their traditional costume.

starting building our "great wall of vietnam"
bricks, sand and cement for the next 7 days.
the kids started opening up to us
only on the 3rd day onwards.
they are really adorable!
miss them to bits!
wonder what are they doing now.
things we treat as thrash, they treat as treasure.
sigh.
simple life.
i like it!

now i learn to appreciate the cement mixer
and how the construction workers in s'pore feel!
tough job eh.

my room became an entertainment room.
after debrief, people will come into my room for massage.
ms wong is really funny.
i love to see that pain in her face when i rub her knee!
hohoho
unglam.
eyes always close one!
we even had neoprint sessions.
self timer.
ahahha!
all sorts la.

special thanks to SAMO!
she's my room mate:)
always making sure that im not alone in the room
because im scared to death.

transferred hotel for two nights.
that hotel was pathetic.
four walls.
wires hanging down from no where.
scary man.
was locked out of the room one night.
samo and gang slept so early.
spent one night in miss wong's room.
and that was the night i fell sick.
vomitted three times.
and before i know, half of the team was down.
only 12 continued to work.


taught the kids english
but i bet they dont understand la.
they are so young.
like 2-6 yrs old only?
and they just started learning ABC in vietnamese.
think we are confusing them even more.

Hanoi:

went to SOS orphanage as well as friendship village.
had a 3hr busride to Halong Bay to see the "surprise cave".
kayak at the lagoon after that..
thanks to yi xiang and alwin..
our boat capsized..
they keep splashing water at us
until we lost our balance...
wet wet wet in the cold weather..
BBBRRRRRRR...

i love Van Hai hotel!
my gosh.
they had the best facilities there!
endless supply of water.
bathtub.
cosy bed.
oh, i simply love it.

shopping at old quaters was crazy
me and yingjing simply went nuts.
deprived of shopping man.
that was the night i spent all my DONGS away!
hahaha..
bargaining and slashing of price.
ahahha.

shirts
shawls
wallets
belts
chips
vintage boxes
pouches
magnets
socks

everywhere is the same.
they all sell the same things.

and i won 10 000 dongs while eating potato chips!
found it in a packet.
ahhaha..
which is $1 in singapore la.
cheap thrill.
used that money for laundry tho.
hohoho!

oh well.
wanna thank SAMO!
you've been a great roommate!
i enjoyed the nights spent with you:)
tho you freaked me out one night..
"WHERE'S THE ROOM,WHERE'S THE ROOM"
and she fainted.
hohoho!
i practically got to wake up in the middle of the night
to check whether you're still breathing..
hohho.
what an experience.
:D

and Pretty..
dont worry about the curry la.
im not affected at all..
everybody has different prefernce tho.
YOU ARE JUST TOO PICKY, PRINCESS!
oh well,
at least mr Ho likes it!
:)
constructive criticism.
and yeah.
you're the ultimate shopping partner!
ahahha.
you me and ms wong practically went mad.
oh well.
retail therapy.
i so lovin' it!
:)

this is the most meaningful overseas trip i ever had.
CROSSING BORDERS,TOUCHING LIVES.
i've learnt not to complain so much and
appreciate everything little things i have.
be it family, friends or even my small house,
there are people out there who long for all these things
while we are often so complacent and taking things for granted.