Thanh

Thanh studied tourism in university; he is someone who loves to meet new people. He talked about how he has never been outside of Vietnam, but he would really like to visit Australia someday. Before he can do that, he needs to save money first.

This is when I feel so lucky to be able to see the world. My parents grew up in the country, and wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing even if they wanted to. I was very lucky to be born in a place where people have a relatively easier life, and can balance between living and making a living...

He says he will bring me to a place where we can have some dog meat...
...and I never say no to things I haven't tried :)

Halong Bay

When I was young, I already knew that I wanted to go to Vietnam as soon as I saw a picture of Halong Bay.

Saturday morning, I took a bus from Hanoi to Halong and then took a boat to the middle of the bay. I did some kayaking there with a guide. We went into a hidden cove where we can only get in by going through this hole between the water and the rocks. It was amazing there; I could hear echoing sounds of animals and saw many monkeys, jelly fish, and what I like to call “Matrix bugs”. I felt like I was in a jungle.  It was truly an awe-inspiring moment.

Then I went back to the boat, had dinner, drank some Bababa and fell asleep. 

 Waking up to this scenery...

My room in the boat.

Bababa, a local beer

Hanoi

Vietnam was occupied by different countries for thousands of years and only had about 30 years of freedom. Compared to others, they only had a short period of time to develop their country but they are now the second fastest developing country in Asia.

I think it’s very touching when they talk about their history with so much emotion, pride and nostalgia like it was yesterday, because this is something that I don’t have. I’m glad that I’m Chinese, and I think I know Chinese history, language and culture quite well...but I don’t feel the same way about my country the way they do because I haven’t been through any difficult or victorious times with my country since I grew up in Canada. I grew up in a place where people already have the rights that Vietnam is still fighting for today, but we don’t remember how many men and women died for us to have those rights anymore...

Hanoi is a place where we can still see the older tradition. It is messy, ridiculous at times, but always interesting and raw. I love this place. People make good use of what they have. It reminds me of the smaller towns in China.

I spent most of my afternoon walking around the old quarter of Hanoi today. To sum up my afternoon;
-pho
-many trees
-cute and natural vietnamese girls
-dangerous drivers
-a whole family on 1 motorbike
-dead pig on a scooter
-honkings
-narrow houses
-plastic stools
-handicrafts
-jaywalking
-1$ beer

Yay, I made it to my hotel without drama!

I'm in Hanoi! I'm very excited because I finally get to wash my hair, my clothes and to cut my nails. Sorry if I sound dirty, but I couldn't wash my clothes and hair in Hong Kong...the bathroom was too depressing, haha and it wasn't very convenient.

Why do I have 2 beds? Well, one for me and one for my clothes :)

Fear

I'm at the Hong Kong airport waiting for my flight to Hanoi right now.

People often ask me if I'm scared to do all of this alone. Even my parents worry that I don't realize that I should be scared...but of course, I am scared sometimes. I think we'll always be at least a little scared of things and people we want the most...but everytime we encounter something that we're scared of is another opportunity to grow, to be courageous because we perceive something else to be more important than our fear. Whether we continue grow intellectually, philosophically, and emotionally depends on how we handle that fear.

...and I think this is where things went wrong for Jonathan. From pain, we grow and from comfort, we become complacent. He was too comfortable but as he ages, he realized that he missed out on many opportunities. He could've had everything by now, but he decided long time ago to give up on his long-term goals for a form a happiness that exists in one moment but leaves him feeling empty the next.

Hong Kong, part 2

I went to Wong Tai Sin today, another temple, but I often hear about this one on TV, so it's actually quite cool to be there. I liked how serious and miserable people look when they are desperately praying for something, haha, it's funny to watch.

 The peak.

I really like Hong Kong; it's very diverse and dynamic. I consider Montreal to be somewhat diverse as well, but definitely not dynamic and in fact, it is quite resistant to change as well. Quebecers are unreasonably afraid to loose their identities...and that tells you how strong they are already. Hong Kong, on the other hand, is not only ethnically diverse, but it incorporates old and new, skyscrapers and rustic street markets, timeless traditions, relaxed ambiance of the seaviews and hectic city routines, it's just awesome here. Everything co-exists in such a peaceful way. It continues to grow, and it's definitely a place with more potential than other cities I've visited.

PS.: People often think that I'm from Hong Kong, because I can speak Cantonese without any accent, but I'm not. So that was my very unbiased opinion :)

C

I usually don’t read my e-mails, but I arrived at Narita airport 5 hours before my flight. I tranquilly ate some udon for lunch, watched some youtube videos, stalked some people on facebook, and finally went to read my e-mails.

I see an e-mail from C. C is a girl from Montreal, but is currently in Hong Kong for an internship. She’s been reading my blog for years now, according to her. It makes me laugh everytime she ends her e-mail with “Your stalker, C”. I think it’s cute.

Back to the e-mail, she asked me if I could get her some specific cookies that can only be found in Japan. So, I went around the duty free shops and found them. I wrote back telling her that my next stop will actually be Hong Kong, so we could meet and have dinner together.

Isn’t that a funny way to meet people? But I love to meet people in the most bizarre way possible; it always makes things more interesting.  

On Wednesday, as I was approaching the bar where we were supposed to meet. I see a girl that could be her, and she started waving at me. I met her coworkers, they are very interesting, nice and talkative.

Later during the evening, when everyone else left, me and C went to a restaurant in Causeway Bay to have some ramen. I like C because she reminds me of my younger self. I can tell that she’s someone that not everyone will like; she is opinionated, smart and I get this feeling that she is sometimes misunderstood and lonelier than average girls of her age. She is definitely not a follower, but she is still young and still unsure about herself at some level.  With time, I think she will be someone very confident and strong.

Anyways, I really had a good time, thanks C!