In the Land of Tempeh

I have a new love. It’s moldy, and chewy, and oh so delicious.

One thing I learned on my trip, in addition to the fact that you can’t buy gum in Singapore unless it’s nicoret gum to stop smoking, is that tempeh originates in Indonesia.

I wrote the following haiku for tempeh

Tempeh: the other Tofu
Perplexing flavors
Fermented soybean patty
Protein of my dreams

Epic Indonesia Trip

Jonathan and I make good travelling buddies. We are both pretty easy going and willing to laugh at most situations. Unfortunately, we are not very good planners. The result? A non-stop rush to cross the island of Java in time to make our flight in Bali. During the rainy season.

I don’t regret one moment of the trip- it was amazing. But I think we’re both still recovering from the dizzying pace.

Here’s our itinerary:

Monday Feb 15 --> arrive from Singapore in Jakarta

Tues --> Train to Bandung and trip to see volcanic crater in the rain

Wed --> Bus to Pangandaran - a beach town on the southern coast.

Thurs --> realize over a beer we need to leave that night to fit everything in before our flight on Bali- take uncomfortable overnight train to Yogyakarta

Fri --> arrive early morning in Yogya, see Borobudur temple and other sites around town

Sat --> leave early morning for Bromo, an active volcano in Eastern Java

Sun --> hike up Bromo to watch the sunrise among the sulphuric clouds. Arrive in Bali that night with enough time to dip my feet in the water before bed

Mon --> early morning flight back to Singapore

Tues --> Jonathan heads back to Ha Noi while I hop on bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a short work stint in our regional office there before continuing epic Tet Extravaganza Part II

Highlights of the trip: floating down the “Green” Canyon; watching the sunrise from smoldering Bromo volcano

Lowlights: VERY uncomfortable 4 hours spent on the “overnight” train that were hard metal seats with a desk fan bolted to the ceiling with a serious sunburn followed by an hour of sleep on a wooden bench when the hotel owners couldn’t be woken up to give us a room

Singapore Sling

Jonathan (friend from Ha Noi) and I left on our epic Tet getaway the night of Feb 11th. First stop was Singapore for a few days. After being in Ha Noi for 6 months, it was a pleasant shock to the system. It was the first time I’d seen a Starbucks in a looong time. Weird, right? Singapore is a cool place- a clean, sunny city with efficient public transport and permeable parking spaces. We ended up staying with Jonathan’s friend, which was a really fun way to see the city- and cost effective. Apparently with modernity comes expense, I’d forgotten.

Eating durian and corn flavored icecream wrapped in funfetti wonderbread

Singapore is interesting because it is the confluence of many different Asian cultures, in one small but well-manicured city. There are many Indians, Chinese, Muslims, Malaysians and others. We spent our few days there eating our way around the city and various hawker centers (Singapore’s solution to street food- centers with lots of vendors selling nasi lemak, nasi campur and other tasty dishes). We were also there for the Chinese New Year and decided to spend it on the streets of Chinatown watching the hoards of people…and then joining them for some New Year’s fun.

As nice as it was, after a few days I was tired of the constant onslaught of shopping and consumerism and was ready to move on to Indonesia.

Playing dress up at the Museum of Asian Civilizations

Pre-Tet Crazies

It’s now been about two months since my last post. Partly neglect, but also partly because I’ve been travelling for the past 3+ weeks. I’ll do my best to catch up on life, and central to that is the strange phenomenon known as Tet.

Tet is the Lunar New Year, (also known as Chinese New Year in other parts of the world). This year it fell on February 14th, a particularly auspicious date for all you romantics out there. It’s probably the biggest holiday of the year and a time of family, shopping, and strange happenings. In the madness leading up to Tet, prices inexplicably rise, flashing lights and bejewelled signs deck the city spreading good fortune and “Chuc mung nam moi” (Happy New Year). Traffic reaches an extreme, and the usual daily adventures of getting around the city are confounded by large mandarin and cherry blossom trees strapped to the backs of motorbikes so that the roads begin to feel like a living forest, winding and twisting through narrow alleys to the incessant sounds of honking. Crisp 1,000 to 50,000 dong notes become suddenly hot items to get stuffed in red envelopes and given away as ‘lucky money’ to children and friends.

Any sort of strange occurrence can be explained by the overwhelming force that is Tet. Robberies and thefts are said to increase leading up to and during Tet (a few of my friends can attest to that). Furthermore, the words “auspicious” and “inauspicious” begin to dictate your life. For example, a female friend tried to stop and get air in her bicycle tires on the way to work one morning. She was refused by the shopkeeper. Apparently it is inauspicious to have a female customer as the first of the day in the weeks before Tet. Interesting.

The whole nation shuts down during Tet holiday to go be with family in the countryside, eat dinners of epic proportions, and wail to the inspiring tunes of Vietnamese Karaoke. For most expats living in Ha Noi, it’s a time to escape. They say if you do plan to stay in the city, stock up on food, water and money. And for those who have remained…. on the actual day of Tet, the streets are eerily deserted. Left to the rats and the few foreigners wandering the streets - the city is the most peaceful it will ever be.

I decided to take advantage of 5 consecutive days of public holiday and headed to Indonesia with a friend.

The Good, the Bad, and the Especially Difficult

The past few weeks have been a time to ponder. The holidays have come and gone, followed shortly by my birthday- and the realization that I'm almost at the halfway point of my year in Ha Noi.

What I have come to understand about living in the hectic jumble that is Ha Noi (and no doubt true of living abroad in any country) is that your feelings toward the city fluctuate just like the rickety roller coaster at Ha Noi's sole amusement park that I don't dare set foot in. Sociologists refer to this as the culture shock curve. I call it my life.

A few weekends ago I hit a low. I discovered the initial euphoria of being in a completely new setting and discovering Viet Nam had dissipated. And then a series of events happened that reminded me just how HARD life can be here (a few close friends were robbed, my roommate was in a motorbike accident, etc). I have never felt so frustrated and upset and helpless against it all.

But this episode just highlighted for me the fact that if you can ride out the lows, the roller coaster will go up again. A few days later I was at the airport for a work meeting (because who doesn't have meetings at the airport?) and saw something that made me chuckle and remember why I was in Viet Nam. It's for the small things each and every day that remind me I've chosen the path less travelled.

Holiday Horse Hotpot

YUM!


Christmas 2009 will not soon be forgotten. While many of my cohorts in Ha Noi opted to spend the holidays back home or at some tropical beach resort in Viet Nam, I decided to head north into the mountains with two friends and find the coldest town in Nam. Destination: Sa Pa.

View of the town from our hotel



We took the overnight train on Christmas Eve and crammed into a 6-person hard bed cabin for a few hours of sleep (the bottle of wine on the train definitely helped) and arrived 6:00am Christmas day at Sa Pa, near the border with China. We spent the next few days eating and walking our way around the small town and nearby ethnic villages. Although cold and blustery at night, the days were beautiful and sunny and allowed for some spectacular views.


Space was a little tight on the overnight sleeper train


Sa Pa was formerly a resort town for wealthy French colonialists and military personnel and comes complete with quaint villas nestled into the picturesque mountain landscape. Today it is a stronghold of ethnic minority groups such as the Hmong, Dao and Tay. You walk the streets among fellow tourists decked in Goretex jackets and giant packs, and shoeless children dressed in traditional garb of bright colors and dangly jewelry. As a popular tourist destination, the constant chorus of "You buy from me" adds to the background sounds of nature.


Typical grilled sweet potatoes, pork, rice, and eggs from the area

And when in Sa Pa, why not try the traditional hotpot of horse meat (lau ngua)? Well, horse pieces really. So while most of you were eating your turkeys, potatoes, and pies, my two friends and I sat down to a giant boiling vat of horse intestine, liver, kidney, and other parts. I can now say I've eaten horse...and it probably won't happen again.


Season's greetings from Uncle Ho Ho Ho

HANOI 5-7-5

My roomate Julia has recently created a website to capture life in Hanoi in the age-old verse of Haiku. I was sceptical at first, not being the poetic type myself- however, there is something to be said for trying to process life in Viet Nam through three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.

Mom, I thought you would appreciate this, seeing as you love your Hike-Kus. You should post one on Julia's website Hanoi575!

Here's one I submitted after coming out of a week-long stomach/digestive episode, all thanks to the wonders of my new-found friend, ciprofloxacin.

Homage
my belly rumbles
forces inside pull and tear
ciprofloxacin

One thing to Haiku about- picnic lunch on the swan boats in the middle of West Lake