A few reflections on my Asian Adventure - Part I

Eighteen months since my return from Southeast Asia I have decided to write a series of posts reflecting on my time there. My first post will look at the lighter side of my trip - the custom made clothes I procured in Hong Kong and Hoi An (in Vietnam).

1. Fitted clothes are awesome. I have particularly enjoyed wearing the clothes I had made in Hong Kong. I consistently get compliments when I wear the three piece suit I had made there. I would order more clothes from Bobby's Fashions in a heart beat. I'm very glad I ran into my friend Josh in the Ottawa airport on my way to Hong Kong (he had been there on exchange and recommended it to me). The only problem is that I've put on an inch or two in the past few months in the waist. While Bobby's will adjust your pants for free, the catch is that you have to actually be in Hong Kong and go to their store in person (or ship your pants there, which is prohibitively expensive).
2. The clothes I had made at Thien Than Cloth Shop in Hoi An (Vietnam) are a mixed bag. The buttons from my trenchcoat came off almost overnight upon my return home. The dress shirts have held up well, as have the dress pants and vests. However, someone with a trained eye for good clothes has told me that while everything from Hong Kong was excellent, my Vietnamese blazers have women's shoulder pads. I thought the jackets looks fine enough, but to be truthful knowing that tidbit doesn't lead me to be as supremely confident in the Vietnamese Blazers as I am in the ones from Hong Kong. I still wear the rest of my ensemble quite often though. The japanese silk pyjama pants and the ties have held up quite well too. I would definitely order more of everything I bought in Vietnam except for any kind of coat (i.e. suit jacket, trench coat, winter coat, etc.).
3. Colourful clothes are also awesome. I am very happy I decided to get Purple and Pink dress shirts for the first time. I have gotten more comments/compliments regarding my two purple and two pink dress shirts than all the other dress shirts I have ever owned. In fact the only other dress shirt I ever remember getting a compliment on was a vibrant light blue dress shirt that I wore so much the sleeves have worn to the point I can no longer wear it in formal settings.
4. Three piece suits rock. When I show up at a formal event as one of the few men wearing a vest and/or three piece suit I really stand out.
5. The shoes I had made in Hoi An are not completely awful as I initially thought, but I'm still not thrilled with them given the price I paid. I have only consistently worn one out of three pairs. You can get good shoes for slightly more money if you get lucky at Winners (or Marshalls or Nordstrom's Rack if you're American). I would skip getting shoes made, unless you meet someone who went to a better shop than I did (and they happen to rave about the place).

All my pictures are now up - here are the links to the albums I posted today.

Videos to come later today (or tomorrow).

Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and final day in Hong Kong: Click HERE

Slow-boat up the Mekong River and The Gibbon Experience: Click HERE

Cambodia: Click HERE

Hong Kong plus the rest of Vietnam: Click HERE

Vietnam Loves...

The following is a guest post from the three lovely English girls Steve and I traveled around with in South Vietnam (and Cambodia in my case). During their time in Vietnam they made a list of all the things "Vietnam Loves". Steve and I might add our own later...

-powercuts (this was not unusual, especially after a rainstorm, but i wasn't surprised due to the way the electric wires were so unordered on the streets)

- about a million people on one motorbike (slight exaggeration, but that also includes any peculiar item they need to move from A to B)

- waking up really early (and doing tai chi wherever possible)

- bringing the appetizer and meal at the same time & bringing the food out at different times (they served it whenever it was ready!)

- "same same but different" (quote for all of south east asia)

- matching trouser and top combinations (the women more than the men, there were a lot of matching outfits, generally a very colourful and decorative patterns)

- face masks (the kind they were on motorbikes, we figured it was to stop the inhaling of fumes)

- beeping their horn (A LOT, they like to make a lot of noise)

- keeping children up late (we noticed this a lot, children eating food at around 10pm or playing out in the street at dark, we wondered what time they finally got to sleep?)

- grouping their shops together (streets seemed to be categorised, shoes, painting, jewelery, food, etc)

- faffing around (taking ages to do something. especially when it came to transport or sorting something out, they left you waiting and for what it seemed they weren't doing anything constructive)

- hammocks (in tuk tuks, by the side of the road, anywhere they could be assembled)

- street food (they love it)

- squatting (it is their preferred way to sit, I figure they are petite people - it is a lot easier for them to do it for a long period of time compared to their western counterparts)

- riding a motorbike on the pavement (when the roads get too busy, some clever Vietnamese like to take over the pavement to avoid the traffic!)

Shooting an AK-47 and M16

During a break in the Cu Chi Tunnel tour you have the option (for a price) to shoot guns at a firing range. Steve and I shared 10 rounds each on an AK-47 and M16 (so we each had 5 shots on each gun). I don't think either of us hit any of the targets, but it was interesting to feel what firing a gun is actually like. The guns are bolted in (for safety) so you have a limited range of motion, but it was still a cool experience.

The range was REALLY loud though. I wouldn't be surprised if most soldiers with long deployments come home hard of hearing (or if they wear earplugs in the battlefield... although I imagine you wouldn't want to dampen any of your senses in a battle).

One wonders where the guns and ammunition come from. I think it's safe to say the guns come from the Vietnam War. Not as sure about the ammunition. This may be naive of me, but I'm hoping all the munitions are also surplus stock from the Vietnam war, and not lining the pockets of some arms dealer.

Cu Chi Tunnels

One of the most popular things to do while in Saigon is to take a trip north of the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This network of tunnels is what allowed the Viet Cong to effectively control a swath of territory that was under 100km from Saigon.

The tour we did was one of the more striking examples of propaganda I have come across on this trip. As a Canadian, I couldn't help but wonder how an American would feel doing the same tour I did (I don't think anyone on my bus was American, so there was no around to ask). I couldn't even fathom how someone would feel if they had a close relative that fought in the Vietnam War.

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to write about how much one has to admire both the craftiness and the persistence of the Viet Cong. They would have lived in these tunnels for decades if that's what they had to do to get the American army out of their country. Living in the tunnels for a couple days may be a neat/novel experience, but I think I would go mad living in those tunnels in such cramped quarters, for weeks at a time.

The Viet Cong dug a network consisting of three levels, and hundreds of kilometres completely by hand. All they had were bamboo dustpans and steel shovels to excavate the tunnels. They thought of everything - a system of filter rooms so that steam and smoke would not give them away while they were cooking, hidden shoots of bamboo going up to the surface to ensure a supply of fresh air, and connecting the tunnels to the Saigon river so that when the Americans tried to flood the tunnels the water simply passed through them into the river.

The tunnels really are a marvel of design and engineering, even more so when you consider that tanks were roaming just metres above them, not to mention the constant bombing raids from American bombers. I guess the clay earth helped make for sturdy tunnels, since I did not see any wood support shafts that most mines seem to have.

Anyway, time to get back to have the tour of the tunnels made me feel. While I admired the resolve of the Viet Cong, I felt that the tour lacked any semblance of balance, and that my guide basically thought the death of an American soldier was a laughing matter. It's one thing to turn the death of one's enemy into a joke when you are producing a piece of fiction, such as in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds (yes, I admit I laughed a few times during that movie). Tarantino did a wonderful job of turning the killing of Nazi's into a joke, while also weaving intensely serious moments into the movie.

While showing us a number of the different traps the Viet Cong set to kill Americans, our guide was basically laughing when he showed us the different mechanisms belonging to each trap.







































Not every American soldier in Vietnam committed war crimes, and not every American soldier
in Vietnam was there on his own free will (although I guess they could have deserted and fled to Canada - an extremely difficult decision for most to make). If my father or grandfather had died from one of those traps, I would have wanted to punch my tour guide. Lucky for me, I basically have no family that were American citizens that far back (please correct me if I'm wrong!).

Nonetheless, I am glad I went. It was a great learning experience, and getting to crawl through the tunnels was really cool. Steve and I decided to go through the 100m tunnel - the second longest one they have for tourists to go through. We would have done the full 140 or so metres, but we didn't see anywhere to keep going once we got to the 100m point. There was a couple from Australia right behind us - the boyfriend was 6"6. I couldn't believe that he fit through!

Steven's Last Night in Town

Two nights ago was the end of an era - with Steve and I going on to different cities our two year run as room-mates came to it's end. We had a great night out to celebrate though, so it was nice for things to end on a positive note.

Photo's from the war museum in Saigon/HCM City

My First Ever Straight Blade Shave

Yesterday I had some time to kill in Nha Trang before my night bus left for Saigon. Steve had wanted to stay at the beach while I decided to go relax at the hostel. After spending some time there I decided to go for a walk along some streets I had yet to explore.

One thing I've wanted since I got to Vietnam is a proper straight shave from a barber. It costs at least $20 at home and I could never justify the expense. The only encounter I've had with a straight blade razor until yesterday was having my sideburns and the back of my hair trimmed by my old barber in Kingston (Generations, for those Queen's students in the audience - Kristos is the best there is in Kingston!).

I saw a barber in Sapa but he wanted $40,000 dong and I was pressed for time. Well yesterday I stumbled upon a barbershop and immediately went inside and motioned that I wanted a shave. One of the staff showed me a $20,000 dong note to let me know how much it would cost. I decided the price was so low it wasn't even worth bargaining. A proper shave at a barber for one dollar!

I was so happy with the shave and the fact that they were honest, I gave the barber a $10,000 dong tip. Normally you don't tip in Vietnam, but given how him and his colleagues didn't try to go through my bag while I was in such a vulnerable position (i.e. with a sharp blade just above my throat), I decided a tip was in good order.

Here is a picture of my barber and I!

Frogger in Saigon

In Vietnam very few intersections have traffic lights. This makes for some general madness trying to get through intersections, especially if you're on foot.

You either have to go really fast when you have a small window, or walk really slowly and take each gap as it comes. I've decided that it's basically a real world version of Frogger. If you're a Seinfeld fan then you'll know what I'm talking about.

Here is a link for those that don't know what frogger is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogger

One thing I love about travelling in Vietnam...

is that since the country is long and thin, there are only two primary routes for travelling through the country: Going from Hanoi to Saigon, or vice versa. The result of this is that when you meet someone there is basically a 50/50 chance you're going in the same direction.

There is a host of people I have hung out with in multiple cities. In two weeks in Vietnam I have run into more people in multiple cities than I did in seven weeks of travelling throughout Europe. It leads to a nice social mix because there are always new people to meet everywhere you go, but it's nice running into a "familiar face" too. It allows you to get to know your fellow traveler better than you otherwise would.

Larger Collection of Sapa photos

I posted all my Sapa photos to Facebook. You can view the album even if you are not a Facebook member. Click HERE for the link.

Canada Day in Nha Trang, Vietnam

While we were in Hoi An, Steve and I decided to get custom made silk shirts so that we could celebrate Canada Day in style. We also figured it was a good way of meeting other Canadians. Fortunately, the shirts were a resounding success. Two different people saw us wearing our shirts and told us about a Canada Day party being hosted by Guava Bar, which is owned by two guys from Vancouver.

We got there nice and early, around 6pm so we could take advantage of 2-for-1 beers during happy hour. The place was kind of empty, but we met some great guys from Calgary. One of them just graduated from the same program my brother is in (Queen's Engineering). All of sudden once the live band started playing the bar was packed. However, it was mainly packed with Brits and Aussies (go figure). We did manage to meet a few other Canadians though.

Generally I'm doing my best to stick to local fare, but last night I couldn't resist ordering a poutine for dinner. It was no Edelweiss Valley poutine, but it wasn't bad either.

Last night was probably the most fun we've had yet - we befriended the dozen or so other Canadians in the bar, and then also ran into two groups of girls that were on our sleeper bus from Hoi An to Nha Trang. There is this one group of English girls we've run into in Hanoi, Hoi An, and now Nha Trang. Steve also ran into them in Hue! It's as if we have the exact same trip planned. They're fun to hang out with, so we're happy to keep bumping into them.

There was a live band that came on once the bar started filling up, and they were letting people come up to the mic and sing. We decided some Our Lady Peace and Tragically Hip would be in order, and the band leader actually let Steve borrow his guitar. So, with Steve doing guitar and vocals, and myself doing the tamborine and vocals, we belted out the songs Fireworks and Clumsy, followed by Steve doing a rendition of the Guess Who's American Woman. As many of you know I am one of the Levitan's who was not born with the singing gene (that would be my sister and father who were). Steve can sing though. We powered through our short set to rave reviews. I guess people just respect you for getting up in front of a crowd.

The $17 USD we each spent on our silk Canadian flag shirts might be the best $17 either of us has ever spent. Even if we never wear the shirts again (which we will), the fun we had last night was more than worth it.

Worst of Hoi An, Vietnam - Do NOT go to this shoe maker!

Store: Bi Tuong
Address: 54 Le Loi St., Hoi An

Neither of us were particularly taken with the shoes we had made - they weren't any more comfortable than shoes you can buy off the shelf at Winners.

----

***March 2012 update: the loafer like shoes I had made were comfortable after I took some time to break them in. It took several weeks of uncomfortableness to get to that point though. The two pairs of dress shoes still don't get warn, as they dig into my heel and cause extreme discomfort.

Steve's First Guest Post (aka meeting my cousin the Argentinian Ambassabor and getting slapped by a elderly Vietnamese woman)

Sitting here in Nah Trangh, on Canada Day, almost two weeks in Viet
Nam, I decided a guest post on YAA was overdue.

Getting in from Hoi An last night was an experience. We took a
sleeper bus for 12 hours through the rainy and busy streets of central
Vietnam, nearly missing cars, motorbikes, buses, trucks and people. I
happened to get stuck in the back corner of the bus beside four other
people, while the majority of the people had an aisle next to them
(cough cough Yoni), I was in very close quarters, with a Londoner and
Chileans who loved heavy metal. The one blessing though was that
after a bout with diarrhea, some very kind English girls gave me a
sugar/electrolite booster to help me feel back up to speed.

But lets take a trip back a few days. After Yoni and I split up after
Halong bay, when he went to Sapa, I decided to stay in Hanoi for two
more nights, with good reason. First, I had the opportunity to meet
with a distant relative who happens to be the Argentinian ambassador
to Vietnam. We sat in his air conditioned office, drinking tea and
talking about family, embassy life, and Vietnamese culture. I also
asked if he knew of a place where I could have a friday night dinner.
He didn't know initially, and already had dinner plans that night, but
offered and succeeded in getting me in touch with some people from the
Israeli embassy. I ended up at the apartment of the head of security
at the Israeli embassy in Vietnam and had such a wonderful Israeli
style shabbat dinner challah, humus and tahina included. They were so
kind and amazingly enough were about as happy to host me as I was
happy to be hosted. They also had three really cute kids, and the
father and I set an in-house badminton record of 53 hits back and
forth, crushing the previous record of 10. NB. Vietnamese people LOVE
playing badminton, and will set up impromptu nets anywhere and
everywhere in town.

I then ended up on a train very early the next morning from Hanoi to
Hue, a very quaint imperial town in Central Vietnam. Taking the 14
hour trip on a hard wooden bench wasn't the most comfortable ride, and
being the only white/western person on the train had didn't make for
the most comfortable trip either. However, I had an immersive
cultural education from an eldery Vietnamese woman who throughout the
ride, and out of love, slapped, pinched, hit and force fed me. In
addition, explaining to her and the other passengers around me that I
was a vegetarian was also a challenge.

Once I got to Hue, and after a relatively quiet night (because I've
been in bed at 10pm every night...), I got on a DMZ tour to see
authentic tunnels, American bases, stories and remnants from the war.
The DMZ was the area that divided the communist North from the
capitalist South where the Americans had control, and in the end after
a brutal campaign, Vietnam communized the South. It was also
fascinating to hear the Vietnamese perspective of what happened in the
region.

I then went to Hoi An to reunite with Yoni, we went to get suits made
at this awesome place, Thien Thanh, where I bargained my tuchas off.
I got two three piece suits, four shirts, a long coat, and Japanese
silk pajamas with my initials embroidered on the pockets for under
$360. I also helped Yoni bargain for his stuff...spending all that
time in Israel has paid off! The staff there were the best, Han, who
was the woman who did all the sales and measurements became my best
friend was the light of my time in Hoi An, we went there at least
four-five times for fittings and measurements, and I would recommend
anyone to go there. On our last visit we got custom made Canadian
flag shirts, red sleeves, while front and a maple leaf embroidered on
the front...I am currently wearing mine. I also got an Israeli flag
shirt, which didn't turn out as well with the embroidery - who would
have thought that a star of david would be more difficult to sew than
a maple leaf...oh well.

When we weren't getting clothes and shoes made, Yoni and I rented
motorbikes, and cruised around the city, and spent some time at the
beach...which was totally undeveloped and amazing. Twenty years from
now there is no chance it will ever look as empty, as hotels, resorts
and golf courses will completely engulf the area. We spent our
evenings at a beach party, watching the World Cup, playing foosball,
and listening to the same 12 songs on repeat throughout the whole
night. Our last night there, I lost track of time, probably
discussing the fiscal situation in Vietnam, as to whether they should
decrease inflation or create jobs, and all of a sudden it was sunrise,
an incredible sight, shared with a South African and large group of
inebriated Irish people.

What can I say, so far so good. We are heading to a bar in a few
hours to partake in Canada Day celebrations, and are looking forward
to that, lounging on the beach and getting ready for Saigon.

This is Kraft signing off -- Good Evening Vietnam

4000 dong beer (i.e. freshly brewed 20 cent beer)

Later on in our travels we stumbled upon a place with 3000 dong beer, but alas, I am sad to say we never had the chance to try it.

Pics from the vacant beach Steve and I happened upon in Hoi An

The picture where you can see a resort in the distance was to our South, while the picture with nothing but a long stretch of vacant beach was to the North

Hoi An's Best - Than Thien Tailor & Than Vanh 2 Hotel

Steve and I have two positive recommendations from Hoi An, and one negative one. First I'll start with the good:

Thien Thanh Cloth Shop: This is where we got those beautiful clothes from the earlier posts made. First off, the staff were extremely nice. Han (I guess you could call her the manager) spoke good English, started with a fair price, but still knocked something off the price when Steve pushed, and most importantly, she always seemed to have a smile on her face.

Han understands customer service - unlike the tailor in Hong Kong who refused to change the clothing once it was finished, Han did several fittings for us to made adjustments after the clothes were already finished. In Hong Kong our only true fitting was when the clothes were half finished.

Also, I had wanted to get a cheap canvass belt since I had only brought a leather belt with me. Unbeknowest to me, while Vietnam is abound with leather belts, canvass belts are a rarity. Han's sister took me to the local market on the back of her motorized bike so that I could find a canvass belt that I liked. It was neat - it was an indoor market void of tourists (or at least void of Caucasion tourists). Han's sister took 15 or so minutes out of her day so I could go buy a $3 belt.

Here is there address: 43 Le Loi St. (in Hoi An)
Their E-mail is: thienthanclothshop@yahoo.com

If you find yourself in Hoi An, Steve and I strongly encourage you to give them your business. They won't try to rip you off, and they will keep making adjustments at no extra charge until you are happy.

We also really liked our hotel (Than Vanh 2, not to be confused with it's sister hotel, Than Vanh). While the location wasn't great (it was a five minute walk to get to the fringe of where the town really begins), the hotel itself was fantastic value. The room compared to that of some of the 4 star Carribean resorts I have been to with my family, and the staff were very friendly. They had free internet (a common theme in Vietnam), and a great breakfast buffet was included as well. All this for only $20 USD a night (for the 2 of us).

Unfortunately, the shoe shop we met to was not so great. I don't have their business card on me, but I will update this post next time I'm at a computer.

Hoi An - Silk Pajama's!

Steve and I also got custom made pajama's at our tailor in Hoi An. We decided to go for the good stuff (Japanese Silk). Since he had just spent three weeks in Israel cutting his teeth bargaining with Israeli shopkeepers everywhere he went, Steve took the lead on negotiating our price.

Steve went all out getting tops and bottoms. I just went for the pants. I'm not sure if you can tell in the pictures, but he even got his initials sowed onto his pajama top!

I say if you want to become better at bargaining, forget taking classes... just spend a week shopping in the Arab Shuk (market) in Jerusalem.

Hoi An - Pics of my Suit Fitting

Hoi An - Continued

During our travels I learned that Hoi an was home to the best tailors in Vietnam. Friends told me that the streets were literally lined with shops, and everyone insisted I go to their tailor once I got there, since their tailor was so nice, gave such good service, and gave them such a good deal, etc.

Well, they weren't exaggerating. This one street (Le Loi) is dominated by custom clothing and shoe shops. Since the prices were so much cheaper than Hong Kong we decided to get a bunch of things made here (3 piece suits, dress shirts, a trench coat, and even silk pajamas!). They also do more fittings than the tailor we went to in Hong Kong to ensure a good fit. I'll have to ship the clothes home from here, which adds to the price, but it's still much cheaper than Hong Kong (which itself is much cheaper than home). My wardrobe for when I start work in August is now officially set.

We took pictures of the tailor fitting me and I'll post them soon. Hat tip to my friend Adam from Scottland (who I met while trekking in Sapa). He recommended the tailor Steve and I went to.