I have finally gotten to do some sigh-seeing in my adopted country. On a recent break from school a friend and I spent a few days in Vung Tau, a resort town a couple of hours from here. We booked a hotel before we left, but because we didn't know the area, we booked a little further from the beaches than we wanted to be. We traveled to Vung Tau on a hydrofoil which makes several trips each day. It took a little over an hour to get there, but sadly, we could not see out of the windows very well. I must admit that I slept most of the way there, waking up shortly before we pulled in to the boat landing.
The entire town is pretty well a tourist resort area. I had heard that there were three beaches, but truthfully, there were many more than that. Our hotel was within walking distance from the boat landing several restaurants, some tourist attractions, and Front Beach. We took a taxi to the hotel and rested, then went out for a walk of discovery. The most interesting thing we found was cable cars that would take passengers to a small resort on top of one of the mountains in the town. We did not take advantage of this as I am unable to ride in cable cars. We did find Tommy's Bar and Grill, where we had lunch and dinner the first day. The food was okay, but my biggest problem was in getting them to bring me a large glass of unsweetened milk. And if the food was okay, the margaritas were wonderful.
The nest day we went walking again after breakfast at Tommy's. We walked for a couple of hours, and saw fishers emptying their nets at Front Beach. This is not a beach where I would want to swim, because of all the boats that are in the area. There is a lovely park beside the beach that we strolled through. We found a lovely little bakery/ bistro for lunch, and in the afternoon hired a car and driver to take us to Long Hai Beach, about 15 km away. this was a much better beach. We rented chairs and I promptly fell asleep for most of the afternoon, not having slept well the night before. the bed I was sleeping in was not good for my poor back.
On our last day, we booked a car and driver for the afternoon and he showed us the sights around Vung Tau.At this point I was so tired from another sleepless night that all I really wanted to do was sleep. He took us to Giant Jesus, the second tallest statue of Jesus in the world. It stands on top of a mountain, and you can climb the 139 steps inside and walk out on Jesus' arms for a panoramic look at the area. My friend Freda climbed up to the statue but I didn't. You can look on You Tube to see what it looks like from Jesus' arms. We also saw some other beaches and the Vung Tau market, which is much bigger than it appears. This is a place that I will be going back to from time to time when I need to feed my soul, as it seemed to me as soon as I arrived there that I had come home to a place I'd never been to before.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Fashion
Fashion in Vietnam. It runs the gamut. For dressy occasions, many women wear outfits that would be called "trashy" in the west. The skirts are very short, and the necklines are very deep. Asian women are petite, and the dresses cling to their every curve, but too often they expose too much.
Casual wear for men and women is similar to what you would see in the west. Jeans and hoodies and t-shirts are common, but there's one big difference: it seems that graffiti on the clothing is desirable. It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not, as long as there is writing. I have seen t-shirts that have the word "preety" across the front. Misspellings are common. One hoodie I recently saw said "5" an one line, and "love" on the next line. Huh? What could that possibly mean? But I think I've discovered what happens to the t-shirts and hoodies from the west that have mistakes printed on them: they ship them over here. Sports team names on clothing are popular too. Every I look I see someone wear ing clothing saying Manchester United.
Older folks, male and female, sometimes wear outfits that look like pyjamas. These are worn on the street, and the gaudier the print, the more popular the clothes. Older people especially don't seem to care about wearing stripes with prints, or colours that some might not wear together. And Asian men are not scared to wear pink shirts.
Brides usually wear western wear, white dressed with big billowy skirts. It's common for the bridal couple to get dressed up in all their wedding finery and have professional photos taken before the big day, and then the photos are displayed at the wedding reception. I haven't been to a wedding ceremony here, but I did go to a reception. Both the bride and groom changed their clothes during the event, which is common.
Work wear depends on where one works. Dress can go from what I consider inappropriate, "trashy" clothing, to casual to business suits. Most workers wear clothing similar to what would be worn in the west. Many businesses have uniforms for their employees to wear.
Of course I couldn't talk about fashion without mentioning shoes. Flip flops and sandals are de rigeur for most people, old ,young, male, and female. They are called slippers, and many people have a pair that are called their "house slippers". Apparently Chinese superstition dictates that people wear slippers inside, otherwise bad spirits will sneak into your body through your feet. Everywhere on the streets one can see sandals and flip flops that have fallen off when the owner was on a motorbike. Many people wear socks with their sandals, and the socks are made with a split between the first two toes, much the same way that a mitten has a separate spot for the thumb.
One custom that makes me laugh cynically is the way that women dress for outdoors. This is a tropical country, with hot sun almost every day. The women wear gloves that go to their shoulders, if they happen to be wearing a t-shirt, or a hoodie or sweater and short gloves. Hoods and hats are used to keep the sun off their faces. Some wear shorts or a skirt with thigh length stockings, and I don't mean panty hose weight. Every effort is made to stay out of the sun, and sadly, skin whitening cosmetics are common. It has nothing to do with avoiding skin cancer, and everything to do with no having brown skin. It's a holdover from times when peasants and poor people who laboured outside became tanned. The whiter the skin, the more beautiful a woman was thought to be. It made me very sad a few weeks ago when I complimented one of my colleagues on her beautiful complexion. Her response? Her skin wasn't white enough. White enough for what? Why can we never be happy with who we are?
Casual wear for men and women is similar to what you would see in the west. Jeans and hoodies and t-shirts are common, but there's one big difference: it seems that graffiti on the clothing is desirable. It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not, as long as there is writing. I have seen t-shirts that have the word "preety" across the front. Misspellings are common. One hoodie I recently saw said "5" an one line, and "love" on the next line. Huh? What could that possibly mean? But I think I've discovered what happens to the t-shirts and hoodies from the west that have mistakes printed on them: they ship them over here. Sports team names on clothing are popular too. Every I look I see someone wear ing clothing saying Manchester United.
Older folks, male and female, sometimes wear outfits that look like pyjamas. These are worn on the street, and the gaudier the print, the more popular the clothes. Older people especially don't seem to care about wearing stripes with prints, or colours that some might not wear together. And Asian men are not scared to wear pink shirts.
Brides usually wear western wear, white dressed with big billowy skirts. It's common for the bridal couple to get dressed up in all their wedding finery and have professional photos taken before the big day, and then the photos are displayed at the wedding reception. I haven't been to a wedding ceremony here, but I did go to a reception. Both the bride and groom changed their clothes during the event, which is common.
Work wear depends on where one works. Dress can go from what I consider inappropriate, "trashy" clothing, to casual to business suits. Most workers wear clothing similar to what would be worn in the west. Many businesses have uniforms for their employees to wear.
Of course I couldn't talk about fashion without mentioning shoes. Flip flops and sandals are de rigeur for most people, old ,young, male, and female. They are called slippers, and many people have a pair that are called their "house slippers". Apparently Chinese superstition dictates that people wear slippers inside, otherwise bad spirits will sneak into your body through your feet. Everywhere on the streets one can see sandals and flip flops that have fallen off when the owner was on a motorbike. Many people wear socks with their sandals, and the socks are made with a split between the first two toes, much the same way that a mitten has a separate spot for the thumb.
One custom that makes me laugh cynically is the way that women dress for outdoors. This is a tropical country, with hot sun almost every day. The women wear gloves that go to their shoulders, if they happen to be wearing a t-shirt, or a hoodie or sweater and short gloves. Hoods and hats are used to keep the sun off their faces. Some wear shorts or a skirt with thigh length stockings, and I don't mean panty hose weight. Every effort is made to stay out of the sun, and sadly, skin whitening cosmetics are common. It has nothing to do with avoiding skin cancer, and everything to do with no having brown skin. It's a holdover from times when peasants and poor people who laboured outside became tanned. The whiter the skin, the more beautiful a woman was thought to be. It made me very sad a few weeks ago when I complimented one of my colleagues on her beautiful complexion. Her response? Her skin wasn't white enough. White enough for what? Why can we never be happy with who we are?
Sunday Driving
There are cars in VN, but they are a luxury many cannot afford. The sales tax on cars is 100% of the car's sale price. In other words, whatever you pay for your car, you will double the price by the time you pay the taxes. If a person has the means to buy a car, they often will employ a driver. Many companies offer some key employees a vehicle and a driver. Most people, however,get around by motorbike. The motorbikes here are not the big chrome trimmed gas guzzling noise making machines we see on the roads in the western world, but instead little machines that have around 100 cc motors. i have been driving one since just after I got here, and recently bought my own rather than continuing to rent one. I drive very fast- maybe as much as 60 kph! Speed limits for bikes are usually around 50, and many people like to drive more slowly than that.
Two and three wheel vehicles are given a special lane on the extreme right of the road. This is true on the highways and on some streets, but not everywhere. That doesn't mean that only two and three wheeled vechiles use these lanes. Other vehicles, including big trucks, often pull into that lane before making a right turn. The thing that bothers me most is when I'm walking on the sidewalk and a motorcycle comes toward me, going the wrong way on the SIDEWALK, and the driver beeps for ME to get out of the way!!
There are no stop signs or yield signs anywhere that I have been in this country. Some places have lights, and most drivers pay attention to them, but you still have to look out for the crazies who don't.
Today I bought a bicycle. Believe me, bicycles here are nothing like the ones in North America. They have one speed- yours. my new bike is pink and says Queen on the frame. I think the dealer was waiting for me to come along. At about $75 it was one of the most expensive models in the shop. When riding, it feels like my feet are going very fast. I think adjusting the seat may help with that. Anyway I'm hoping that driving my bike instead of my motorbike sometimes may help with my age old weight issue. We'll see how it goes.
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