Memories of Vietnam

When I was young I thought I was naive and ignorant and knew nothing.

I grew up and traveled far and wide.

Now I know I am naive and ignorant and know nothing.

- could just be Jon Snow

It's been close to a year since I traveled to Vietnam with Benj. when I look back and think about it it is a myriad of throwbacks; annoying, hilarious, absurd and beautiful.

एक 

People smile and say f**k you! We found a hotel, got over charged, had to wait till eternity before checking in and kept getting moved from room to room. but hey at least the owner told me my brows were on fleek and Benj was really lucky to have found a pretty Indian girl!

Now only if everyone screwed you up laced with compliments!

So pre-wedding photoshoots are a thing everywhere it seems

दो 

NOTHING can beat the comfort of joy that chaos brings! Perhaps because as an Indian I am so used to things never really happening on time or happening the way they are supposed to be and yet eventually getting the result you wanted, competing with cattle and scooters and Audi's on roads, houses and every sort of construction fitting in like tetris blocks, perhaps that's why every time I travel in Asia I never feel lost or overwhelmed! 

On the other hand when I first traveled to Switzerland it freaked the day lights out of me when a bus patiently waited behind me, without honking as I sauntered in the middle of the road at my own sweet pace! I could barely sleep for the first few nights, I mean how could I without any dogs barking, cars screeching or wedding songs to lull me?!

Asia FTW!!

Always such a balancing act between chasing and letting go

तीन 

Pho-bo is comfort! Period.

Pho-tastic!

चार 

People asked to get pictures clicked with me! I understood how Benj felt about his fan following in India being a foreigner, or how animals in the zoo feel.

Also this one time we were stranded in the middle of the night, slept on a bench, woke up to see other Asian tourists video taping us!

पांच 

Hoan Kiem is life!! There is really nothing better than starting your day at Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi. old ladies graceful doing Tai-Chi, old men casually doing hammer curl reps under the weeping willows. it is an absolute burst of charm and antiquity one needs to experience!

Hoan Kiem Lake

Bridge where the morning light rests

छे 

Take a sampan ride in Tam Coc. Even if you are going to it's more famous cousin Halong Bay. Quietly meander between the karst formations, ogle at brightly coloured kingshers darting around and mountain goats perched precariously on the limestone formations as your boatman casually switches to rowing with his legs.

Sampans waiting to go to Tam Coc

Bich Dong Cave

सात 

Don't ever be a part of any tour group. You don't want to spoil your experience in Sa Pa dining with a hundred other people.

But do go to Sa Pa. Do a small trek, stand on a peak and marvel at the landscape and vegetation.

SaPa dekho!

Them topography!

आठ 

Visit Halong Bay but go via Cat Ba. Cheaper, less crowded, fantastic atmosphere and lots of places to play beer pong with strangers.

नौ 

please don't go to War Memorials, museums if you can't respect them. The country and it's people went through a lot. They have opened up to the world more to be understood and less to be photographed in selfies with awkward poses and pouts. Or so i would like to believe.

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

One of the four important symbols of Vietnamese culture; a dog's body with a lion's head representing both fierceness and loyalty

दस 

Gave it a chance. Like everything else Vietnam did eventually grow on me. They have a flag which represents tolerance and can be seen fluttering on almost structures. It is beautiful.

Very few cities I have visited blend the old and new with as much ease as Hanoi.

Beer, nem, steaming noodles with locals on streets; there are ver few things that can top such experiences.

Reminded me of India where almost every place we went the landscape had a character of it's own and its people maintained their individuality and yet blended with their environment.

Tolerance. Coz well we are all equally annoying

हमेशा 

Travel with your beloved.

love + travel = <heart/>

In my first few days in Vietnam I was n't sure if I would ever go back.

Ever since I landed back India, I have only been thinking about when next I can go back.

Kathmandu : One Year Hence

It was nearing end of first quarter, which for a lot of us in the banking industry just means impending truck loads of submissions and excels and more submissions which stretch on till you can possibly imagine. Also it was nearing Holi and a lot of my colleagues, flatmates and friends had gone off to meet family, just meant impounding the drudgery at work.

So just like that with no plans in mind I booked plane tickets for a quick getaway to Kathmandu. A lot of people asked why Kathmandu? And my answer, like to most why’s was; why not?!

For Indian passport holder, picking out random trips to other countries is really not the most straightforward thing. The countless documents, proofs and harrowing waits, then the expensive tickets, converting your currency etc etc just add up to a lot of headache which I was n’t willing to go through to get away from the aforementioned drudgery!

So Kathmandu is easy. Cheap flights, no Visa hassles for Indians, no problem for currency, no worries for language or food or clothes. Going to Kathmandu was tantamount to packing your bags for a night stay at a friend’s place you have n’t met for ages.

Also not to forget the view before one lands in Kathmandu. It is dreamy. Yes that is the word. To wake up mid air, glance out of your window and your eyes are locked by snow capped peaks perfectly offsetting the cyan sky.

Just the kind of come-hither I was looking for!

After a hopping flight via Delhi I landed in Kathmandu a little after noon. And the scene outside the airport, just as home. The cacophony, the haggling, the colours, the people, the send offs. don’t get me wrong, this is not a critique, just a re-affirmation that probably us Asians derive comfort out of chaos.

I quickly took a cab to my Airbnb hosts’ house and probably the second thing that struck me about Kathmandu was the dust. It was all over the place and it seemed really hard to figure if it was still from the aftermath of the earthquake or just urban planning gone woefully wrong.

The first that struck me was the hospitality, which would end up being one of my favourite aspects of the trip. Right from the airport where strangers helped me pick out the correct bus and then later haggle with taxi drivers, to my hosts Maya and Dipak who are one of the most charming and warm people I have come across!

Now since I was only going to stay for a couple of days so I decided to just focus on the Kathmandu valley and prepared to get charmed.

First up was the Swyambhunath Temple. Perched on top of a hill this place perfectly captured the essence of peace in chaos. Most of the temple area is covered with debris and construction material, yet the Buddhist chant “Om Mani Padme Hun” wafts through the air as you watch the sun go down on Kathmandu city amidst the fluttering, colourful prayer flags. The temple is made of thirteen spires which represent the phases of life and on top is the Nepali digit one which signifies unity.

My first day in Kathmandu ended with heaps of steaming dal-bhaath, sharing stories with Maya and Deepak and their two lovely daughters and finally dropping into a long ten hour slumber!

First morning in Nepal was waking up to lush green fields, steaming black coffee and three humongous pancakes! This was already turning out to be one of my favourite Airbnb stays thanks to Maya and Deepak. Plus I raked up some massive backpacking points by being able to use the Indian toilet without cramping my legs and also using a gas geyser without setting anything on fire! I’ve been travelling for more than three years now and it is fantastic how there is always something new to learn, always so much to grateful for that we usually take for granted.

To start off with I walked up to Thamel, the backpacking district of Kathmandu. I was told that Nepal imported most of it’s food items from India, but roaming around Thamel made me think if they also import their souvenirs! Most of the teas, the decorative masks and clothes all seemed like the same stuff I had seen in local markets in Shillong and Darjeeling.But then again considering how free the movement is across the border it should n’t come as such a surprise! My hosts would joke as to how the peanut butter and Nutella I had with my pancakes were bought from India on a shopping trip a few days ago! But Thamel like all backpacking districts across the world is bustling at all times with people from all nationalities, though here it is mostly trekkers buying their supplies before they set off. After a few hours of loitering around the alleys of Thamel i proceeded towards the Narayanhiti Museum. After the People’s Republic of Nepal was formed the royal palace was converted into a museum and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister. the museum from outside looks desolate and eerie, but once you’re inside it is one of the most well maintained museums I have ever visited! From the wallpaper to the carpets, everything is absolutely immaculately maintained and really does take to back to a bygone era. The museum showcases the different ways the dignitaries of several states were wined and dined on their official visits. In the same complex as the Narayanhiti Palace is the Tribhuvan Sadan where in 2001 the royal family was massacred by the crown prince himself. The entire structure is demolished now, but a few walls still remain bearing bullet marks.

Finally I walked a few more kilometers further to the south of the capital to reach Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The entire site has numerous temples in varied but equally marvelous architectural styles amidst several open courtyards. Out of the three Durbar Squares (Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu) this one is said to have seen the most damage in the 2015 earthquake and it was all quite evident. The site was predominantly either about debris or logs supporting whatever was left of the constructions or reconstructions going on. Most of the temples and structures are only partially standing and the entrance to the Palace was completely strewn with debris and is now flocked by hundreds of pigeons, which again undeniably does make a photogenic site, sad but photogenic. Very interesting to see though was the wooden carving on a lot of temples; in fact a few made completely of temples. Inside the palace premises, the floor was covered with wooden artifacts and carvings which once adorned the walls and will hopefully soon resume their rightful places. One of the tour guides was heard saying that post the earthquake all the art smugglers of the world were concentrated in Nepal and a lot of precious sculptures and artworks were lost during the same.

But even their half dilapidated state, one can easily make out the intricacies and delicateness of the beauty that once existed and how fantastic the entire square would have looked in its heydays and before the earthquake.

One of the most interesting sights in the Kathmandu Durbar Square is the Kumari Ghar. This is where the Kumari – the living reincarnation of Goddess Taleju lives. Maya and Deepak were telling me that from the Newari caste a young girl is selected to be the kumari who then with her family moves into the temple. And till she gets her first period she remains the Goddess and post that to being an ordinary mortal! One can get a sight of her every day at 4pm and several come to the temple to worship her. Interestingly the Kumari still continues with her education, only writes all exams from the temple itself!

Next day I decided to go to Bhaktapur, another ancient site, about an hour away from Kathmandu city. As usual there are several cars converted to public transport vehicles, rickety buses, spanking new buses, all sorts of vehicles available at intervals of a few minutes and most importantly there are friendly locals always available who help you board a bus in case they spot you looking all confused! But in general Asian sense and Hindi knowledge did take me a long way here.

I got off somewhere on the highway and with the help of directions from friendly locals and Google maps I walked a few winding lanes to enter the Bhaktapur Durbar Square from the Potter’s Quarter. This is the centre of Bhaktapur’s ceramic industry and as you walk around you can see houses, courtyards, windows lined with rows of finished and unfinished pots set out to dry in the sun.

As one starts moving around the other squares, the devastation from the earthquake is only much to visible. One of the most impressive and relatively well preserved structures was the 17th century Siddhi Laksmi temple. With huge steps leading to the temple, flanked by lions and horses, the top of the temple provides a reasonably good panoramic view of the courtyard.

Rest of the complex houses the remnants of the Royal Palace, the Taleju Bell, a broze statue of king Bhupendra Malla, the Char Dham temples and several tiny souvenir shops.

Post Bhaktapur I took a quick detour to Changu Narayan. This small temple perched on top of a hill is another UNESCO World Heritage site. A short walk, and a 30 minute ride in a bus cramped till every last inch, we reached the historic site which is a living museum of the cravings from the Lichhavi period.

My final destination in the Kathmandu valley was Patan which also happened to be my favourite of all the three durbar squares. Patan is supposed to be the oldest city in Nepal and its name means the city of art. I reached much before the inflow of the tourists groups started so I had sufficient time to meander around the alleys, soak in the remnants of a kingdom long lost, and just sit on a roof top cafe, write, sip on my coffee (probably from India) and watch people take selfies with the debris.

Lastly, after much heartbreak over the historic sites being in ruins, I almost broke down when I saw Bodhnath. Once Asia’s largest stupa, white washed to perfection with its gilded tower and the all seeing eyes on Buddha painted on top, was now just another of the sites under reconstruction. However in spite of its current state, it was by far one of the most peaceful sites which prayer flags fluttering and monks and pilgrims circling the stupa, and chants wafting in the air.

Goa : The Quick Fix for all Quarter Life Crises!

If we wonder often enough, the gift of knowledge will come – Arapaho

Last year a lot of my friends turned the dreaded big two – five and through out I had to hear about the impending quarter life crises, the disappointing jobs, the even more disappointing job interviews, the stagnant love lives, the static Facebook timelines when everyone else’s seems either like a dynamic atlas or a never ending wedding party! I kept thinking, bah humbug (!), when I turn twenty-five, I’ll be more sorted than sorted!

I turned twenty five a few months back, and sadly I am nowhere close to being sorted. I don’t know if there is any real crisis situation, but I guess it just makes the whole being an adult phase too much of a reality, its like now you definitely cannot go back to being useless, being drunk, eating only maggi noodles, bunking classes, even if you wanted to your body, mind and practicality won’t allow you to! Also the definition of discomfort has changed so much over the years and so rapidly. I was whining about the same to my parents and they didn’t quite relate because well what was I whining for? I live in a great city (with all its pitfalls and potholes), I have a job, I can pay all bills that appear with being an adult, I am done with my education…pretty much all boxes in the check list have been ticked and I am not even being pressurized to get married (! yay me!)! The definition of what we want in life has also changed so much and so rapidly. The best and the worst thing about the change is probably the freedom that is now accorded to us to choose what we want …or almost. Before, there were fixed notions, career trajectories, marriage proposals so in a way one didnt really have to worry so much because well a lot of your life was already planned for, whether you like it or not! But well we are the more liberated generation, and also hence a more confused one. We have our freedoms without the supporting infrastructure to actually enjoy it. There is so much of “you can do whatever makes your heart pump with joy” that you pretty much don’t know what that elixir of joy is! Well of course I cannot speak on behalf of everyone else, but at least the freedom has taught me what does not give me joy and how to ruminate on that for hours at a stretch without any concrete outcome!

In such situations the best thing to do is usually to either stare at the sea and understand the pattern of waves crashing at the shore, or to fill multiple pages of your diary, or even better to do both at the same time. And thus there is Goa, or rather the calm, quite, friendly, bursting at seems with all its greens South Goa!

Taking a quick weekend getaway to Goa especially during the rains massively calms ones frayed nerves. Where else can you drown your sorrows in endless bottles of King’s beer without then worrying about whether you need to starve the rest of the month after paying the bill!! On a more serious note, some times the sparseness of your surroundings makes you realize how futile your fretting is, the niceness and hospitality of people around makes you think not everyone is out there to get you down and not every day is an episode of a Zee TV drama!

Well one can probably do all this thinking in their own houses, but it is just more charming to do it while collecting sea shells on the beach!

Charms of Hong Kong : Lantau Island in a day

“There were streets, narrow and crowded with people and vehicles. Above them flashed neon lights and blinking billboards of every colour, shape and size. Some ran up the sides of the buildings, others blinked on and off in store windows. In the space above the sidewalk, higher than a double decker bus, hung flashing neon lights in bright pink, yellow, red, blue, orange, green and white. Yes, if white could be whiter than white, it was when it was neon, Hong Mei thought. She knew Nathan Road in Kowloon was famous for its neon lights.” – B.L. Sauder, Year of the Golden Dragon

In August this year I was lucky to be invited to Hong Kong as a delegate of the Harvard Project for Asia and International Relations (HPAIR) – Asian chapter. After having spent time in both New York and Singapore I was intrigued to see what kind of city or rather what combination of these two would Hong Kong be? Would it have the cosmopolitan melting pot of New York? Would it have the order of Singapore? Would I be disappointed?

Well now that I look back, Hong Kong is the perfect combination of all my favourite cities. It has the skyscrapers of New York (more rather), it has the chaos of Bombay and it has the order and discipline of Singapore. Yes it is an oxymoron of a city. And it is probably unfair to just go there for a few days as it does n’t give you enough time to soak in and absorb the symphonies of varied existences, but again it is better than never visiting the Pearl of the Ocean at all!

My few days in Hong Kong were spent mostly in walking around and exploring the madness and going to Lantau Island and Macau both of which can be squeezed in day or extended more really depending upon your interests and time on your hand.

Lantau Island

This is the biggest island in the territory at around 25 kilometres across and it has something to interest all kinds of people. From Disneyland at its north coast to the Po Lin monastery with the Big Buddha, to Tai-O the small fishing village and its pink dolphins!

One can reach Lantau Island by taking the metro to Tung Chung. The line runs pretty much parallel to the airport express line. Once at Tung Chung station a few hundred metres away is the Ngong Ping cable car station. It is definitely worth it to take the cable car ride once for the splendid views it offers especially on clear days. I was lucky to have only waited for about 45 minutes from entering the cable car station to purchasing my ticket and finally to get a car to sit in. But I knew people who had waited for close to 1.5 to 2 hours for the same. So depending upon the season one is visiting in and the day of the week it could be preferable to book the tickets online and then just collect them at the station, especially if going in a big group. A one way cable car ticket cost me about 130 HKD and it is probably the only major expense on public transport since the metro to Tung Chung and the buses in Lantau are reasonable affordable.

The views from the cable car are absolutely gorgeous! One can see the clear coasts, the ferries, the airport, the ridiculously cramped and symmetrical high-rises, and the long Lantau Trail below amidst the lush vegetation and finally the Tian Tan Buddha. After about 20-30 minutes the cable car drops you off at the Po Lin Monastery which is at the base of the Lantau Peak. A lot of people usually stay overnight and climb the peak to catch sunrise. One has to walk through a promenade of souvenir shops and restaurants for a few metres and the head of the Buddha can be seen all the way till the base of the steps which actually lead you to the huge, beatific Tian Tan Buddha. The entire courtyard is also pockmarked with statues of mythical generals. Though not many in number but with the heat climbing up the stairs to reach the Budhha does make you stop and gasp for breath! But the views from the top are worth the lack of oxygen enroute! One can also see the Lantau Peak, one of the highest in Hong Kong.

Right at the base of the Budhha is the bus stop from where bus # 11 goes to Tai-O. Tai-O is a tiny, sleepy fishing village offering stark contrast when compared to busy Hong Kong just about an hour away. One can walk around its tiny alleys with cats and dogs lazing on the streets and locals selling all sorts of sea food and other food items. For me the highlight of the day was taking a boat ride and actually seeing pink dolphins off the coast which are found only in the Pearl Delta estuary region. They came into the radar only recently due to the development of the airport and the following land reclamation. Though it did look like with the land reclamation and also the waste flowing into the waters their numbers could be harmed but there are efforts being made for their conservation. I would have loved to take a few pictures but these dolphins were too fast! So the pink dolphins remain in my heart!

Finally I took the bus back to Ngong Ping station and walked to catch the metro back home. With the Tian Tan Budhha looming overhead, the picturesque cable car ride, the sleepy village of Tai-O and its pink dolphins, Lantau Island is definitely a place to check out.

Of Casinos and Colonial Remains : Macau

Lying 60 km west from Hong Kong in the Pearl Delta peninsula lies Macau, a former Portuguese colony with its intriguing blend of cultures. Macau is connected via three bridges to Taipa which along with Coloane forms the majority of the peninsula.

To reach Macau one can either take the ferry from Hong Kong island or from Tsim Sha Tsui. While i had read about ferries going to both Macau  and Taipa, we could only locate tickets for ferries that go to the latter. A one way ticket costs about 160-190 HKD and it is better to just buy a return ticket for the last ferry back and if required one can always board an earlier ferry. While I left from the hostel reasonably early in the day but the entire process of locating the ferry terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui (it is inside a mall!!) and then another 1.5 hours or so to Taipa led us to reach only by noon. In case one has already been to Victoria Harbour in the evening and soaked in the glitzy view from Victoria Peak then the ferry ride during the day offers very contrasting, somber views of the same mammoth skyscrapers.

After reaching Taipa it was another challenge to actually get to Macau! Right outside the ferry terminal there are at least a dozen buses belong to the several casinos, which one can take free of charge and get off at the required stop. Since language is a reasonably strong barrier, I just got off on a bus for a casino which I think I had remembered was in Macau, though alas my memory failed me and after a 20 minute ride we ended up at the casino barely a few hundred metres away from the ferry terminal!!

But I don’t think I have EVER seen so much glamour concentrated in a tiny spot! It was almost amusing how contradictory the entire environment felt. While Taipa itself (or whatever little I had seen) seemed quite barren and forlorn in general, there were these massive and grand casinos like The Venetian glittering in the sun, like oasis of wealth, glamour and extravaganza in a desert of stoniness! Anyway, finally after much frantic questioning I finally found the right bus to take me to Macau!

Less than 2 hours away and yet Macau is so different from Hong Kong! There are still innumerable people and mainly tourists and yet there is a difference in their pace. There are no groups of people walking in a focused hurry with no time to stop and stare. With Portuguese influences Macau is a rather charming and interesting place to discover. Right from the sign boards in Portuguese and Chinese, to the cobbled lanes and alleys and the fusion food!

The main artery that runs across Macau is the Avenida do Infante D. Henrique, which halfway changes to Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro and leads to the old city in the north which has majority of the sights and the entire peninsula is almost walk-able though it gets a little tough with the sun beating down and the ridiculous levels of humidity!

The most common and probably the best place to start one’s tour would be the Largo do Senado which is the centre of the old city, which is bursting with people shopping, trying to grab a bit at the numerous eateries and tiny stalls. The most iconic sight to see here would be the ruins of Sao Paulo. The construction of this imposing facade started in 1602 and took 25 years to complete. The church and the adjacent college became a noted centre of learning and inspired awe in many of whom who visited. “I have not seen anything that can equal it, even in all of Italy, except St Peter’s” wrote one visitor in the 1630s. Sadly it was on a fateful day in 1835 when a fire spread through the entire complex leaving only the carved stone facade as a remnant of its glory and rapture. Now as one meanders through the nest of cobbled lanes to approach the ruins, it even now invokes the sense of awe and appreciation with this wide swathes of steps and the lonesome facade still retaining all its glory, power and charm.

Behind the facade is the the church’s subterranean crypt which survived the fire as well and now houses religious paintings and sculptures. Immediately to the west is the temple of Nan Cha built after the boy-God believed to have put down a nineteenth century plague and this joins into the last surviving remains of the Old City wall dating back to 1569.

Towards the east of Sao Paulo is the solid Fortaleza de Monte, a fortress that was a part of the Jesuit complex of Sao Paulo. The fort also houses the Museu de Macau which is its main attraction. The museum primarily explains the origins and development of Macau and it is extremely well maintained and has some excellent full-sized reconstructions of shops and houses.

Next I walked along to the southern part of the peninsula, which is rather quite and nondescript as compared to the centre which makes it quite interesting and charming to walk down in narrow lanes and see the old houses, sample cakes at the little shops, visit the A-Ma temple and the Maritime museum.

One can keep walking past the museum and the Fortaleza de Sao Tiago da Barra (once Macau’s most fortress, now converted to a heritage hotel) and walk along the lakes on the Avenida da Republica, a cobbled tree-lined esplanade with modern and colonial era houses. One the same way one can also see the Government House (Palacio do Governo), a graceful pink structure in a complex line with beautifully manicured trees. The path finally leads you to the huge roundabout at the end of Avenida da Amizade where roads from all over the peninsula and the bridge to Taipa converge. And it is here one can see two of the most iconic and outrageous buildings ; the Grand Lisboa and the Lisboa Hotel. Both were built by Stanley Ho who had a monopoly on Macau’s casino’s till the Chinese took over. Like me if you don’t gamble, it is still worth the time to check out the 24-hour casinos with a huge expanse of gaming tables and a very random naughty stage show. But it is just magnificent to see how one can spend money considering you have too much of it! After a few drinks at the casino I took a bus back to Taipa ferry to go back to Hong Kong.

Overall, I must say that Macau may be known all over the world for its glamour and casinos each one more outrageous and ostentatious than the other, but the true charm definitely lies in old part of the town, with remnants of its colonial history not only in terms of architecture but also language and food (must try the Portuguese egg tarts!) and to walk down among faces from all over the world, sample Chinese cuisine and try to figure out directions in Portuguese!