How to be in someone's good graces?

I quote Bha Phuong who quoted Ha: Nha Trang's Mud Bath.

"thanh.phuong2708:

lol, Ha's chatting with me. He was tellin that Mr X is scary

then i said, dnt wori, he's gonna like u, coz all my Chinese frenz like u. Wat tricks did u use on them

then he said: next time i will ask Mr X to go mud bath in NhaTrang"

Good Things Come In Threes

OK, I know this is the second post of the day but I wanna do justice to this theme (pretty fickle eh, with theme changing 3 times in a month).

Credit to Dean who found this awesome theme which I relate greatly to. So far I had 2 very memorable trips, which both I've travelled in trios. They say two is a couple three is a crowd, but I beg to differ. Two indeed is a couple but three 'makes everything look easy' (insiders joke, again).

Also the previous theme was too desperate as a mac wannabe. Too sleazy though it really was nice too. This is to remember all the great times by and for more yet to come.

Back to 'School'

Yeah. We are young adults still being treated as kids in this 'school' called Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. Returned for my final semester to find the internet fettered, just like China. Talk about freedom of information, speech and globalization. All google related sites and tools are blocked, yes which includes gmail which is totally unacceptable considering how indispensable google is.

Now there’s some way to bypass proxy which given us freedom, which eventually reflects on the point that the more a society or individual is restricted the more they would rebel and find loopholes to sneak through, just like religion too.

On a lighter note I was impressed with Tesco’s song selection. They actually played an Italian song which I like while I was doing groceries there. Got over-hyped I had to message Bha Eeo about it when she mentioned Kee Hui might have been the DJ.

Wasn’t only me who got hyped over something. Bha Eeo is the other who is raving about her discovery of Freemason temple in Ipoh and Penang to the extent she said this:

"mcb lee tze yang

there's a building in penang i always passby

also a masonic temple!"

Not forgetting also folks who like to perpetually sai meng. One keeps saying how jealous he is cause we get to come back to uni while another keeps saying how ‘unfortunate’ he’s not in EE so he does not have so many lectures.

Final semester has been the time most of us have been waiting earnestly for, but now that it’s here, I know I will miss how we will be able to gather frequently to hang out. I was conspiring with a few other friends to flout a few laws before we graduate:

1. To drive from Pocket D end all the way to Chancellor’s Complex in a convoy.

2. Camp in the IRC and remain unnoticed even on the next day.

Looking forward to the hiking (more trekking like) trip this coming Saturday with Dean and his buddies, while Bha Eeo despite so much coaxing chose mee suah over us it, allegedly also claiming she doesn’t wanna abandon her darling roomie.

Pool

My brother and I decided to go for a swim in Shah Alam but to find the pool closed to our chagrin upon arrival. Oh well, I'm still too pumped from Vietnam to fret about it.

Another pool related thing which totally slipped my mind was this awesome concept introduced by Aiting called, well, the Pool. It's a collection of ante put in by all members of the group. Payment related to shared items like food, accommodation and transportation will then be made from it. Saves the hassle of producing loose change and money handling too. Kudos to Aiting the treasurer.

I Left My Heart in Vietnam 2 (Too)

WARNING Long winded post ahead!

In a nutshell it was a blast, which is already an understatement. Our experience was priceless. I had many firsts in Vietnam, many discoveries, encounters and many bonds either strengthen or formed over the duration of the trip. For photos visit Dean’s Facebook.

The Destination

Saigon (I still prefer Saigon over HCMC cause it does not sound aesthetic) is a bustling and thriving city with motorbikes outnumbering cars by at least 3 times they seem to be swarming like ants. Traffic is crazy. I dub it humans left to their own devices which is actually safer than one might think. Accident rates are lower than Malaysia (surprise surprise).

Dalat is similar to Cameron Highlands, but much larger (it’s a city and not only a one road town), with colder climate and great sceneries. Many lakes and valleys dot the outskirts of the city, not forgetting the huge Xuan Hong lake smack in the centre of the city which spans 5km in radius. Strawberries here are dirt cheap and yet still tasty.

Nha Trang is a beach city with great night life and smorgasbord of activities such as island hoping, water sports, diving and spa. Coffee and food here is undeniably the best of the 3 cities, or it could be attributed to our host’s discernment in choice of restaurants and food.

The Experience

Wouldn’t be a blast without Phuong, Kim Chi, Mai Chi, Ha, Huong, Nam, Zui, Zum (if I got the spelling right). Hospitable, accommodating hosts with such great hearts. A million of Cảm ơn to them. I have to hand it to them, with me now conferring the title of Hosts of the Year to Vietnam. People there are so friendly and contented with life. Their apprehension is so blatant when they try to swindle you. Totally different from my encounter with overseas born Vietnamese in Melbourne.

Ate, slept did almost everything we could to our heart’s content yet we under spent. What’s more pleasing than to be in the blacks? Being able to divide costs by 5 (1MYR = 5000VND) was so much better than multiplying costs by 5 (1EUR = 5MYR). 7 days and 7 nights only cost us RM600 (with change!).

We were intrepid enough to try dog’s meat and ducks embryo, not forgetting our crash course on motor biking without licence.

Pampered ourselves in a mud and mineral bath, tasted so much Vietnamese food till we fell deeply in love with it, did an island hoping tour which culminated with a floating wine bar where we sipped wine while drifting in the sea.

Owh not forgetting Edrea and our wretched duck ride in the Valley of Love. We went in circles to get ashore cause we got a lemon duckie, but ended up being rescued after the others managed to convince the operator there really was a problem with our duckie. Not forgetting all the wacky stuff we did on the Lang Biang, on the beach and on the sleepers train. We actually spent more than an hour at it on the train!

Street food was fun, clean, yummie and very affordable. Had my best sour soup and sapodilla juice in my 23 years of life, not forgetting how Dean got converted to be a coffee lover after our insistent shot of coffee everyday. The chance of lunching in Kim Chi’s place just like how the locals do – priceless.

Post trip

Midway we were already contemplating on our Northern Leg (Hanoi, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An). That’s how much we love Vietnam. Phuong is already prebooked (no escaping).

It was hard to part, from Vietnam, and even in KL Central. As much as we enjoyed each other’s company we will also miss them dearly. Curtain officially closed in 1U’s Camp 5 where we went for rock climbing a day after our return.

I felt very rejuvenated from the trip returned with elevated spirit level and better skin thanks to the tanning and the mud bath! Great way to kick start 2010. To those who say Vietnam is no fun, come talk to Aiting, Dean, Edrea or me. You will instantly be a convert.

“A toast to Vietnam” (insiders joke).

Soft Launch for the Sored Muscles

Yeah, this is the soft launch of my restarted blog, after being persuaded by Dean to do so. I intended Vietnam 2010 to be the official launching since I just got the photos from Dean (thanks Dean). In light that uni years are ending soon too and the uncertainties of where we will all be, nothing better than a blog to stay updated, apart from brainless Facebook.

Those wondering how sore muscles are related to this post, the Vietnam 2010 team minus Phuong just got back from rock climbing at Camp 5 in 1U today. That’s the closing ceremony for our Vietnam 2010 trip. More Vietnamese coffee making attempts to come, and as requested photos from the trip.

Still not in the mood to head back to uni. The trip really spoilt me (and I presume Dean and Aiting too).