so we decided to visit the cu chi tunnels. one of the regulars that play at dolores park is an incredibly experienced sixty five years old who has a ton of amazing stories. when i told him that i was going to vietnam, he confided in me that he was a vietnam veteran. he told me some stories that seemed to incredibly weighed him down. now i know why he is such a tough basketball player!

he told me that if i was going to go to the cu chi tunnels, i could buy him some kind of trinket from there. i promised him i would go there because i always wanted to go there. his compelling stories only made me more interested.

it turns out that the cu chi tunnels were just as intrueging to me as for leyla and tri. our guide was an old vietnamese that made you think he was actually there. but you only need half a brain to realize he is too young. but his broken english was precious. it was very educational even though we only understood a little more than half of the things he was saying.

leyla was so excited that she decided to make this as authentic as possible. she bought several bullets and decided to shoot an ak-47. she quipped, "if jane fonda can do it, i can do it."

and she also wanted to say, "well you know.....back in nam....i shot a chinese made ak-47." i guess she wants that one moment where she comes across a vietnam veteran and be able to say it.

but check this picture out....she has rounds around her neck, about to cradle the ak-47....and she still has her purse on her arm! incredible!

Halong Bay

raise your hand if you have ever seen that french classic "indochine" starring catherine denueve. well it is probably my favorite foreign film and i think catherine denueve is one hot senior citizen. anyways, the story is incredible. it is a romantic depiction on how the french lost their hold of their colony and a triumphant depiction of how the vietnamese commence their revolt against their french masters. the scenes are epic and landscape is beautiful. if you haven't seen it, i hope these pictures convinced you to at least netflix it.

anyways, this movie was the one reason why i have always wanted to go to vietnam. well....i guess graham greene and kaiko also had influenced me. but i have always wanted to see halong bay. they are these tiny islands grouped together in one area. there are like huge marbles, thousands of them, roled in one corner of a room that is flooded... except these marbles have vegetation carpeting them. it seemed endless and the room had the sky for walls.

it was an awesome sight. its so unique and breathless. the vastness of it all made it quite romantic.

tri's mom bought a vat of these strange looking shellfish for about a dollar from women lurking around one of these islands selling what they have caught, and she had the crew of our boat to cook it for us. we swore not to eat seafood for our stomach sake but we had to try these. they were rubbery but delicious. our stomach held on and we were quite content with the culinary surprise.

I'm Back!!!!

Wow...it has been a spell since i have blogged. but a trip to vietnam for a couple of weeks, a move to another apartment, a beginning of a new school year, a lack of internet connection, a wonderful wedding, and plain ole laziness can cause a month long sabbatical from blogging. so for those two or three people that do read my blog.....i'm back!

first entry: vietnam was amazing. i guess everywhere i travel, i tend to say its amazing. i have never really been to place where i have never been before that was not interesting nor intriguing. besides, if i am going to spend that much money, i tend to make the best of it.

however, this travel was quite unique. leyla and i went with one of my friend, tri and his mother. tri is of vietnamese descent born in the usa but has never been to vietnam. of course, the mom, who is incredibly tireless and excited to experience this moment with son, made sure we had a great time. his experience of making that connection with his parent's family and the past was poignant.

third world countries are exciting to travel to because they offer something different from the comforts we tend to take for granted at home. one can really see that life is incredibly more unique and different and hard and simple in third world countries. i guess that's why i tend to like to travel to these countries. it is a challenge!

the black boogers coming out of your nose, the mass of scooters, cars, busses, trucks from all direction all converging into one intersection at the same time...yet every single one happens to avoid an accident and move on to its merry way. imagine critical mass of bicycles in a friday in san francisco, but traffic in a third world country makes "critical mass" look like a stroll in a quiet street because this occurs everyday, at every hour, at every intersection! where are all these people going? the horns are a nuisance, and the smog is intolerable. crossing the street was "frogger" like and the heat was unbearable.

but i revel in all these challenges that travel offers. it makes me grounded and humble. i like to throw the comfort of life out just so i don't take things for granted at home. however, i have to admit that this trip was quite different. we actually stayed in 3star to 5 star hotels. we lavished in some of the more posh hotels and resorts of saigon, hanoi, and nah tran. we had our own bus, boat, entourage even! but having locals show you around sure made it more amazing. we went to places where most tourists may not have gone. we ate at restaurants that only locals frequent. details later.........