Jon Boat Seats Fishing
Going to Vietnam for holidays
I simply love flight of aircraft and long term. We prize winning aboard Singapore Airlines, with about 30 hours to go. With 8 magazines, 6 movies, 4 meals and a sleeping pill, I arrive relaxed and ready to explore. U.S. airports are not nice people. Airport ultra-modern Singapore invites you to linger with terminals for free internet access, a cinema room, indoor pool, aromatherapy spas, bars of oxygen, nature indoor garden with waterfalls and koi pond.
I am following my smallest group yet with 28 singles. More than 60 had asked me to offer these destinations, but the Most of those rescued at the last minute citing fear of bird flu. So it's like a vacation for me, with this quality over quantity entourage of hungry people by culture.
We started with a tour guide at the top of Mt. Farber, with spectacular views. I can see the group is impressed with this sparkling metropolis located between Malaysia and Indonesia. Here is the leader in Southeast Asia, a bustling port, which was modernized by the British Empire. It called the "Lion City" and inhabited by four million souls. 76% are Chinese and other minorities in harmony. Singapore is a city, capital of the state and in one country and draws 8 million visitors annually, but few Americans have yet to discover this.
We checked into the opulent Four of Regent Hotel Stations. They gave me a suite and I swear that this wins the award for the most gracious people on the planet. We arrived at a perfect time now with the "Great Shopping Festival" at. There's nothing like retail therapy to soothe our jet lag. Orchard Road, as the tree lined Fifth Avenue is one block away and the center of all life. Shopping is a national obsession and bargain hunting can become a blood sport here.
There are 150 mega-mall with a few that never close. I am a slave to the label and buy an authentic Rolex with the documents used by a fraction of their original cost. We only have four days here. So much to do 24 / 7, is like Hong Kong on steroids. The Arts Festival is back with a plethora of places. After dark, it is party city in the fashionable area of Clarke Quay by river.
We have a smart and friendly guide named Farida which shows all the locations together with a great sense of humor. We visit the lush National Orchard Garden with 60,000 orchids, China Town, with its markets and temples, as well as Little India, with its intense aromas and vibrant colors.
So for the District of ultra-contemporary financial Merlion Park with its source of reference and historical colonial area that was created by Sir Stanford Raffles.
We stopped for a drink at the famous Singapore Sling Long Bar of Raffles Hotel, where Rooms start at $ 700 per night. Other tours included Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari at the zoo, considered the best world, with its free roaming boxes to 2500 animals. In his spare time, we ride rickshaws around town and take the cable car on the island of Sentosa.
Some we choose to go back to the zoo for a breakfast with the orangutans in the jungle. On the night Terry and I dine at Chili jumbo crab cakes and rice. This vibrant island-state of Singapore is clean with bright purple bougainvillea bushes lining the highways. All cars are equipped with alarms that sound if you exceed the speed limit. No graffiti not gangs, and this strongly "managed democracy", which is the death penalty for drug traffickers. We all make jokes about getting caned for chewing gum or jay walking.
It's been a pleasure to visit here. I usually feel like Jack Bauer in the TV series 24 on my trips with non-stop routes. I feel rested as I board our flight 3 hours to Vietnam.
We arrive to another world with rice paddies, sampans, lotus blossoms, coconut milk and noodle soups. It's like time travel machine back to the 15th century this graceful land is steeped in history. It's much worse than I had hoped. There is however, a seductive charm that is found in the kindness of these people with sincere smiles. I'm a fan of the Third World. Whereas Singapore was dynamic, Hanoi is culturally stimulating. The city is filled with lakes and shaded by tamarind trees. It's a dichotomy that bustles with Chi-energy and is still quiet at the same time.
We checked the Sheraton Luxury Resort, an oasis of calm amid the chaos. Our fabulous guide named Hong will be with us for 6 days glorious. His first lesson was to teach us how to cross the street. 7 lanes of traffic is horrible with 2.4 million motor scooters. "It's called game of chicken. "Hong says." Do not run, do not stop, just slowly so that drivers can predict its direction. "That afternoon, I'll fear stranded curbside 20 minutes from this lesson goes against every instinct. There are entire families on a single scooter, called the "Vietnamese sandwich." Everything is carried on these mopeds, eight pigs, a dozen chickens upside down, a television, a tree and more. Pollution is bad. The inner city looks tired and worn out. Suddenly there's a monsoon rain. People ponchos curtain and becomes a raincoat in the city. It dissipates quickly began and life goes on.
The sun shone on our day trip that included the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, the French Quarter and the memorial to Ho Chi Minh. We line up with hundreds of people entering the tomb where his body is preserved just as Lennon visibly wrapped in Moscow. Communist armed soldiers sent us to the silent reverence, no cameras, umbrellas, sunglasses and arms to our side.
Later we visit Hoa Lo Prison, or the fiery furnace. Built by the French in 1896, thousands of political prisoners were tortured here till 1954. We see the dungeons with leg irons, torture equipment and "machies cutting head. "In 1960, the Vietcong used it as a prisoner of war detention center of the American pilots killed during the Vietnam War. It was our pilots captive ironically called this place "Hanoi Hilton." We also do a walk through the old quarter, where each narrow street was named for his former occupation: Silk Street, St. Coffin, Grilled Fish St., etc. Hong leads us to a food market with turtles, sea slugs, pigs' heads and other unspeakable creatures for sale. Thit Chow dog stew is that it is the food of the peasants here. Country Mouse is ceremoniously served at all birthday parties.
Most of our meals are included with breakfast buffet prepared 10 lunches and rude. Each restaurant is accessible. One night my dinner menu displayed jellyfish salad, fried eel, crickets ginger and sticky rice with tender roasted pigeon. It seems that Vietnam will eat anything that moves, because "it tastes like chicken."
We attend the Water Puppet Show, an ancient art form unique only to Hanoi. This mixture of music and dance on water was the source of entertainment residents of long ago. Then spread to explore the city, the oldest capital of Asia. Some go for massages and pedicures at prices that can not be resisted. a shop for souvenirs, while others have tailored clothing for them. I have a dress of silk embroidery cut into my body in 4 hours for $ 45. We also visited craft villages for business in art, ceramics and lacquerware. Money is a big challenge for us as $ 10,500 dong equals 65 cents. We feel like millionaires, however, it was disheartening to learn that the annual per capita income is only $ 320! We tip generously throughout.
pulse of Vietnam lies in its cities while their comely grace is found in its villages. We head out across the field to a full day cruise to Halong Bay. The air is fresh and spent rice paddies, duck and shrimp farms. It is time to harvest the rice and hundreds of rice farmers are bent over their ponds. Children wave Shy as a unit. We arrived at this UNESCO World Heritage natural and board our private Boat trash timber. Silently, we sailed into a dreamscape that seems surreal. 3000 islands of sheer limestone cliffs emerging from the emerald sea. There is a timeless, haunting quality to this scenario. Nat Geo. calls the "magic stone and water. "We like a seafood lunch with fresh caught crab and shrimp. It's a perfect day in the sun for serenity and escapism.
The highlight of the trip for me it was our group cycle tour through Old Hanoi, the last day. We turned a corner downtown to watch the 28 bicycle-rickshaws line to sell to us, individually, a hours through the narrow scooter full lanes of traffic in the opposite direction. There are some near misses on the red light, which is always ignored. We all laugh like looking residents. Terry at 6'4 "is considered large, even in the United States. Here he looked like King Tut seated on a throne as 90 pounds. Driver sell it effortlessly in line with our group. Later, go our separate ways for independent exploration. After several hours, I found myself lost in an area the city without cabs. I had to come back to join others for dinner. No choice but to hire a scooter ride. Wearing a skirt with her arms full of bags, I ride the bench small and we're off. On the road, I wrap my arms and legs around my driver like an octopus. He laughs all the way to the Sheraton.
We fly back to Singapore for a good night's rest at the Le Meridian before our long flight home to Los Angeles via Tokyo. Reflecting on another journey well done with knowledge about the history and cultures. It was like visiting two different planets within a vacation. The contrast of this trip is evident in our photos of the garden of paradise contemporary Singapore for the new renaissance of traditional Vietnam. This is certainly a case of Asia that will never be forgotten.
Suzy Davis
Adventures For Singles Inc.
800-813-9421 or GA. 770-432-8225
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