đức tales - adventures of a German living in Vietnam

So, long time I haven’t written something and also the last time you will be able to enjoy (?) finding news on this site as I will stop writing after this post, at least for now. At first this blog was only intended for showing my friends back home around a bit and maybe also for showing off a little But over the time it grew into something more at least for me it will now provide a good help in retracing the steps I made during the last half year in Vietnam.

The last half year was so full of new experiences that it surely will take a long time for me to really process and reflect everything that happened to me there. One thing is that I notice things in Germany I never realized before - like how clean everything is. You don’t even have to put off your shoes when you enter a house as normally they won’t get too dirty as everything is sealed off. And I think I never really appreciated German food as much as I do now- luckily I have the Vietnamese genes that will prevent me from becoming fat

Now I’m here since one week and Vietnam already feels quite far away. My friends here gave me really warm welcome and work here will start soon.

But I also notice that the writing doesn’t come as easily as it used to be in Vietnam - but maybe saying goodbye always is a bit difficult. But I think it’s like with all the good movies - I’m sure that there will be a sequel to it. And then maybe I also will restart this thought-dump.

Love to everyone! Especially to the people that made the last half year be such a memorable and great time!!

You know who you are

Long time I didn’t write and this will be one of the last entries that will appear on my page as my time here in Vietnam is nearly over. And as if it was a sign for reminding me of the virtues of my own country I received a package from some friends in Germany delivering all sorts of delicious western food.

As you can easily guess, this package was intended to arrive at Christmas and it only took nearly 4 months to find its final destination - I guess mainly because of the speed of Vietnamese customs. Anyway - it was a good surprise and before I forget…

Fett Dankeschön an: Mäx, Penis, JakobJakobJakob & Christin!!!

My trip is over and I returned to Thai Nguyen last Sunday. I had a quite nasty flu and also needed to find a new room as I couldn’t return to my old one in the students dorm. But now I finally live like a Vietnamese student… or let’s say upper-class Vietnamese-student in a ~6sqm room with toilets and "shower" outside. But with a surprisingly fast internet connection My friend Mr. Linh lives here and with him about 15 other students. Some of them cook in the evenings so I can get some cheap and delicious local food.

But back to the trip. One of the best things I ever did in my life. And I think in one of the best countries in the world for traveling (OK, I don’t have so much experience)   in my opinion. The people everywhere were very friendly, open and curious in nearly all of the off-tourist places that I could reach with the motorbike. Sometimes it was just out of necessity as it is nearly impossible to drive in the dark and I had to stop for the night - and always when they noticed that I could speak a little of their language they tried the best in having a conversation with me. My Vietnamese is really really bad - I would say that my french is at least 10 times better. Those who know me can imagine how it must have looked like "talking" to people…

And the initial doubts I had about travelling alone have not come true: I never felt lonely and I met so many people which surely wouldn’t have happend if I had traveled with other people as I hoped to do in the first place. I only read one book and I think I wouldn’t have achieved this if I wasn’t ill the last days. But if you’re interested in the American (Vietnam) - war I can recommend reading When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip, the auto biography of a girl growing up near the frontier between north&south Vietnam.

On this place also a big Number One! To Manh and Thierry, two Swiss I met In Nha Trang. We spent nearly all the time of the last week together. The Noi Bai was quite nice Not to forget Toan, who I met in a bus to Hanoi last year - we exchanged numbers and he really was happy to see and spent a lot of time with me also we only met for maybe 30 minutes over 5 months ago.

In exactly two weeks from now on I will start my journey back to Germany. Maybe it’s good that I won’t have to much free time missing Vietnam as I will have to begin my Diplomarbeit immediatly after returning.

So after all the motorbike journey was only another piece perfectly fitting in the beautiful picture of this country and its people that has formed inside myself during the last half year.

And now after emotional crapping for those who haven’t noticed yet that I already uploaded a set of pictures some days ago - here you are…

Sometimes the most intelligent thing you can do is to be stupid. Sounds stupid? Au contraire! Read When heaven and earth changed places - a real great piece of work. But most of the time I don’t have to stick to reading, as it’s really really interesting - and when I don’t try to eat kilometers I talk to the locals - or they to me although I’m still surprised how long you can make a conversation with the very limited knowledge of words that I have - Maybe it helps that the questions Vietnamese people tend to ask in an casual encounter eating on the streets are nearly always the same.

In the touristic towns I have to admit that it’s more other travellers I meet, but it das been only Hoi An and Hue so far. But that also is a nice point that I didn’t see before: There are people from all over the world in one place and everyone (or nearly) wants to share knowledge and knows english - or german. I even met two germans that also are on their way on rented motorbikes, but they have less time and therefore have to keep cracking while I can make it a little easier. And 200kilometers is about the most which is possible in one day if you want to keep it easy… mainly because from 6 pm on it’s getting too dark to drive. The headlights of the vehicles coming from the other directin nearly blind you when you have the visor down - and with visor up the constant stream of insects that is attracted by your headlight hits you in the face. I mentioned the bicycles and big animals before I think.

Right now a set of pictures has just finished uploading, so as always read and get jealous. Or put Vietnam on top of your to-travel-list… I neglected it for a way too long time!

Tomorrow I will drive to Nha Trang where I meet a Vietnamese that I met in my first month on a bus to hanoi - and when I informed him yesterday and carefully asked if he still remembered who I was he called me about 2 minutes later

I wish everyone the best that happens to run across this. And please don’t kill me for all the typos. I’m just too lazy to proof read it…

Hello everybody, right now I’m sitting in an internet-cafe in Hue, close to the hotel which is the best I had so far. Hue also is the biggest city so far and the one with the most tourists and the fastest internet connection available. So while I’m typing, a selection of pictures I took so far is being uploaded

Concerning the journey, I can simply say that it’s great. I meet new people every day, Vietnamese are extremely friendly when they notice that I can contribute with a little of their language and today I met a nice German couple from Berlin I had lunch with. The motorbike does great, my navigation skillz get better and better and I get lost less often, also in Hue it still happens as it’s quite big and not as squared as for example Hanoi.

There would be so much that I could write about the experience so best (and laziest) is that I’ll just add some comments to the pictures and tell everyone first hand that is interested in more detail when I come back to Germany.

For those that stumble across this site planning to ride a motorbike in Vietnam - just drop me a line here if you should have a question. Some shirt words now: Highway 14/15 (a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh Highway)  is really great with really little traffic and quality roads nearly all the time - but make sure that you have a full tank as it can be hard to find fuel out there. Highway one still isn’t as bad as everyone cleimed that it would be - I wonder how many people have actually driven there that warned me off using it. Although I might already be acoustomed to the far worse street linking Hanoi and Thai Nguyen, where traffic, dust and crap is literally 5 times higher…

Hi everybody, just a small sign of life from me. Right now I’m stting in Vinh in an internetcafe but I only have little time as I need to check out in about 30 minutes - and Vinh itself is not very attractive at all. So until now the motorbike and I still survived although I already had to take it to the mechanic once. But only a minor problem. No Photos as I barely have shot any - only of some monkeys in the Primate Center atr Cuc Phuaon national park. I’ll upload something as soon as it will be worth the effort.

Today I’m gonna visit Ho Chi Minh’s birthplace and the try to hit the Ho Chi minh Trail (Highway 15) as it is said ti be much quieter and more beautiful. Highway 1 isn’t as bad as expected and although it’s quite busy you can easily make an average speed of 50 kph. Nothing compared to the Street between Hanoi and Thai Nguyen…

I plan to make a longer stay (that means more than one night) in the DMZ or Hue where I plan to arrive in two days. And then I think I will find some more time to write something more elaborate. And for now…

…hit the road Jack, won’t you come back no more, no more, no more - NO MORE!

I just finished cleaning my cubicle and the hard disk of my computer. Today is the last official day of my internship and with this also the last entry before I will start my big trip heading south with final destination Saigon. This will be the last big adventure for me and it finally turns out that I will experience it all by myself as everybody that at first wanted to join me now is busy in some way - but I don’t really mind. Actually I’m looking forward to do the trip on my own as I never traveled alone before. Only thing to hope for me is that I make it safe through sometimes crazy traffic and not very good roads. But I already sacrificed some money for this end so I should be protected - also I have bought a quality helmet, a compass and some quality road maps. And mechanics are omnipresent so it isn’t too bad when the bike should suffer from a serious breakdown - help is within a walkable range normally.

I think another good aspect of the trip will be that it will facilitate saying goodbye to TN, the dormitory and my friends that really made me feel home for the past 5 months. Also due to traveling alone I will have some time to reflect and think about the last months - something which I never really did since I’m here. I have to admit that I look at the trip with one crying and one laughing eye as the idea of traveling by motorbike was sawed when I first drove a hired Moped in Sapa on my first weekend here and since then grew stronger and stronger and by now it really feels like a dream that might come true. But on the other hand the trip will also mark the end of my stay here in Vietnam which really was the best thing I did since going to Spain in 2005. But life has to go on and it certainly will with more changes coming soon as I’m about to finish my carrer when I return to Germany and luckily it seems that I found an interesting topic for my diploma thesis already…

So I will start in about one week, until then try to relax a little and make some final preparations and clean the bike which looks like thitcho since the last time I drove it through mud. So I think you won’t hear from me again until I’m somewhere way south of Hanoi.

Ahh and my parents have returned safely to Germany and for saying goodbye a small picture set that was taken on the last Weekend. Might be boring for most of you… And one last warning: Perfume Pagoda sucks. Too crowded, too commercial, too loud.

Xin Chào cac bạn! I plan to provide some useful information for people that want to ride a motorbike in northern Vietnam. So If I find the time and animation I will try to give some information about road conditions and traffic load I experienced when I did the route. Last weekend Miss Thái and I went to Ba Be national park which is located around 150km north of Thai Nguyen. While it’s also possible to reach it via public transportation we chose to inaugurate the new Motorbike with it’s first longer trip. The Red cross is where we started and the color of the road reflects the driving joy - light green means little traffic overall good road condition and the darker green colors indicate that this part was really steep (partly >15%) - which can be very exhausting as your average speed is around 20kph only. The allowed top speed in Vietnam for Motorcycles outside the cities is 60kph which at first might seem pretty low compared to European (at least German) standards but it is reasonable for several reasons:

- you can avoid the potholes that are on every street more easily
- you drive slowly enough for emergency braking if a buffalo chooses to cross the street (It weighs more than you - so you better not hit him)
- the roads can be really winding - which actually is fun to ride…

We achieved an average speed of around 50kph and I would definitely say that the back trip had the better roads (a small road through the mountains compared to a pretty big road) Around Thai Nguyen the traffic is pretty bad but as soon as you leave it gets better really soon. Ah and I would definitely recommend not to drive during night as the streets are hardly ever illuminated and buffaloes, horses and bicycles hardly ever come along with a headlight…

For the experience in Ba Be itself this time I’m too lazy to write an elaborate story. But I uploaded a picture gallery and left a line for nearly every photo - so just watch and enjoy (or get jealous ).

Cút-Bye!

I decided to facilitate the picture retrieval process by putting all the links to the different gallery pages (on three different providers) on one page. You can find it on the left sidebar in the links category under photos (topmost link).

 Some of the pictures are actually quite beautiful and might deliver pure aestethic pleasure - while others only are interesting for the people who have been in the event or are in other ways linked to the content. But decide for yourself! I just included a new set from the Tết experience I had this year…

So finally I find some motivation again to write something here, Now I’m one week back already in good od Thai Nguyen after I spent the Vietnamese New Year Tết at Bắc Giang province in the small town of Neo (actually it was a village attached to this town, but I don’t know hơ to spell it - sounds like Bien Dong). Thaí’s parents are farmers so everything was very basic at their home - but luckily they had electricity and a gas driven stove for cooking - which actually was perfect because Mis Thái and I cooked everyday for the whole family which was a lot of fun. Actually it was the first time I could cook here for myself as my appartment is not equipped with a kitchen and food is so cheap that I always eat outside normally.

So I learned something about Vietnamese cooking which uses lots of garlic, ginger and foremost: flavor enhancer (what I don’t really like) But I think the best part is that everything we used comes fresh from the market. Vegetables really taste better than from the supermarket which I’m used to in Germany. And I prepared some salad ever day which is not really popular here - in fact you can only get it in posh high class tay-restaurants. Salad is something I really miss here…

 On the first day of tết in the morning Thái’s mother set up this "altar" in front of the house and then did some worshipping - I’m not quite sure to who exactly she was doing it but I suppose partly to some ancestors and to some ghosts to ask for good luck, wealth, security, health, … for the next year. I myself had the honor to be the first guest which also plays an important role for people here.

All in all the 10 days I spent there were really great and also very interesting - we drove around the perimeter of the town nearly every day to visit friends of Thái or the province capital. Only thing that really did suck bigtime were the cocks.

I’m talking about  male chicken that try to tpo each other in terms of decibel all night long… and after 3-4 hours of sleep every night I finally moved into an hotel. And one advice for you: Don’t even consider taking a Stundenhotel (No-tell Motel according to LEO) for sleeping. I found my room occupied when I returned the next evening because the hotel staff decided to make some extra money and as I wasn’t there they just took all my stuff out of the room - luckily I had no valuables there and it consisted mainly of dirty clothes. Anyway’s they were really unfriendly and suddenly pretended not to understand english anymore. Only when I first shouted the word police at them they showed some will to cooperate. But finally I found a more decent hotel and finally could get some sleep…

One other thing I did was buying a motorbike in a shop in Bắc Giang City. It is a Honda Win clone with a displacement of  107ccm (I think it will be capable of around 80-100 kph on flat ground) but I didn’t try it yet as the engine is new and not broken in yet. Unfortunately it didn’t come with a manual and the internet also didn’t know anything about a bike named canary 110e - But the engine sounds nice although the quality is quite poor and the seat is way too soft and althoufg the front brake was ultra crappy. First thing I changed. But I will keep you informed about what adventures I will have with it (hopefully not too many that include a mechanic) And one advice for you if you are planning to make a big investment in a vietnamese shop (price was quite ok ) Never give them all the money right away - if they have it they don’t care anymore about anything. The first time we got the bike it was not in a usable condition and the shop didn’t really care about us anymore. I don’t think that they understand that it could be much more valuable for them to have a satisfied customer that recommends their shop to potential equally rich friends. So do not buy a motorbike in a 3 stories high shop about 1km of BG supermarket that displays a gib SYM sign on top. Ahh and second: Get a local (male) that knows about motorbikes - Through this I could get a really good bargain of ~700.000vnd.

My parents arrived save at NBA last sunday. For those of you who might care for them They visited me in TN and also have been to Ba Be and Halong/Cat Ba already. Today they will return to Hanoi and the start a tour heading south to Hue.

Now I’m quite hungry and will eat some…

yeah right. Good-bye!

Hello my friends back everywhere you are wandering around right now. First of all I’m glad to learn that Vietnamese postal service seems to be quite reliable as at least 4 of the five Christmas cards I sent reached their destination in less then the excepted time…

Right now we have the last days of the Chinese lunar year which means that Vietnam’s biggest holiday is getting closer and closer: Tết. Usually Vietnamese people visit their families on this occasion and I’m beginning to feel quite lonely in the dormitory as virtually nobody is staying there anymore by this time. But luckily I won’t have to spend all of Tết alone in Thai Nguyên as Miss Thái invited me to spend it with her family in Bac Giang Province about 100km from here. Then I also will find out what my Vietnamese is worth as she is the only one with decent English…but I already mentioned that I think.

Another drawback of Tết for me right now is that I have to learn rules of market economy the hard way: Despite the fact that Vietnam is supposed to be a socialist society all of the eating places, Internet cafés and bike rental shops in the street of the university are closed - there are no more customers as everybody has left. For me this results in long walks by foot as my 2nd bicycle has been stolen and I have no other means of transportation right now.

But I will get a motorbike as soon as possible as I was able to change the date of my return flight to Germany and with this also changed my travel plans for the end of my stay: Instead of visiting neighboring countries like Laos or Cambodia I will put my focus on Vietnam only and I plan to travel it from north to south with a motorbike. I know that there is some kind of risk involved as the traffic here is not comparable to anything what you might have experienced in Europe: Due to the opening of the Vietnamese economy in the mid 1980’s the living standard has risen drastically, especially in the urban areas which led to yearly increase-rates of ~20% for motorbikes. Cars are extremely expensive here as there is a 100% import tax imposed on them so nearly nobody owns one here - also it’s nearly impossible to maneuver a big thing like a car in urban traffic. And the quality of the roads can be extremely bad… All this resulted to a development that today there are about 3.5 million motorcycles in Hanoi which has a population of 6 million (And this is a conservative estimation).

Nevertheless I’m planning to get one - either a Honda Wave or Dream (Similar to a moto-scooter) a an old-school Russian Minsk which is said to be the AK-47 of motorcycles.

This just as an impression for the motorbike-madness amplified by football-madness. Picture was taken just after Vietnam won the Suzuki cup for the first time at the end of last year - Felix and I were in the stadium in Hanoi and later part of the mob celebrating this historical Victory…

So what’s up next? My parents will visit me here in Vietnam in about 2 weeks, my work is kind of crappy as I don’t feel any pressure to do it - rephrased this means that nobody actually gives a shit about what I’m doing… But luckily I can help some of my co-workers once in a while with my (for Vietnamese terms) excellent English. Besides this I played a awful lot of Badminton the last weeks what is one of the most popular sports here in Vietnam and I’m doing quite well I think. Finally the suffering in Highschool pays off (I played 2 years in a Badminton club and due to a really unfortunate birthday and therefore inferior physique I lost every single match in competitions I had been to) But now I’m strong enough for long clears and tall enough for smashes… and I still remember the importance of moving to the center after each hit what many Vietnamese people don’t. But the ones that do so are unbeatable for me as nearly everybody has a superior hitting technique compared to mine. But it’s fun after all and there is a tournament scheduled somewhat after Tết - we’ll see how far I can make it…

Finally I have to say that live here is very different from the beginning - I think all the initial excitement is gone and I’m really fully into everyday life now. And although I felt a bit depressed when I realized that this initial thrill had gone life here still feels good. I still discover new places in the city and new friends. And I’m not so shy to step on a stage anymore… In this region of the country it is not very common for foreigners to be here. I’m the second in my exchange Program (IAESTE) for example - this leads to beiing the center of attention in many occasions - and people are even proud when foreigeners visit there homes. Wish I could say this about my country as well. But I will try to bring some of the spirit of hospitality back home And also I found a guitar cafe with an open stage where I already played 2 times. And the people even seem to like my singing. Probably because of the high reverb that is added to singing mikes here but I don’t really care. It’s fun if only it wasn’t so cold in the evening…

So now really enough, instead of working I think I have been writing nearly the whole afternoon. So sorry for having wasted so much of your time but maybe you have learned one or two things about me and Vietnam. For example that software usually doesn’t suffer from bugs but a different type of animal…

Vạn sự như ý!