Here I sit in the corner of a coffee shop with full length windows as to allow the shining sun to cast a debilitatingly perfect glare on my computer screen. There is a Vietnamese family in the direct opposite corner and they are teaching their daughter how to play the ukulele. I have a strong urge to join in on this lesson because I haven't been practicing and this dad seems like a legit teacher.
Goal: write a song that isn't just singing Vietnammm.com reviews and random chords strung together.
So we were just on Tet Holiday which meant that I had another two weeks off to explore this continent that I will only call home for another four months. This vacation was a little too hectic for my liking, but it was a vacation all the same. I had two friends from home, Ashley and Flounder, come to visit and I packed in four different countries in two weeks. Rough life, eh?
Singapore
Before meeting Ash and Flounder in Hong Kong, I flew over to Singapore for Laneway Music Festival for the weekend. The moment I stepped off of the plane, my pockets were lighter. I have this horrible habit of treating currency in other countries like monopoly money. This sounds douchey, but I assure you that I have no room to do this. 75% of my body weight is student loan debt. Sam and Josh let me stay in their swanky apartment for the weekend and we spent Saturday drinking champagne and listening to the bands we were about to see on some speakers while staring aimlessly into the ocean. Singapore feels like a city that was imagined by a group of ritzy scientists from the future. It is impeccably clean and safe, so naturally, it's not for me. Basically, I could never live there because they don't sell chewing gum. I had a pack in my purse before heading over and I felt like a drug smuggler.
Laneway was amazing, although I missed the band that I wanted to see the most, Beach House. Grimes and Chvches were both astounding and we were able to trounce through the muddy fields to inch up to the front of the show. After about seven hours of mud dancing, we went out with the rugby dudes from Singapore and that ended with me starting a rowdy game of never have I ever on the streets with a group of random humans. I wonder at what age I will stop my aggressive never have I ever habits. I hope it's not 28.
The next day was spent sipping over priced coffee near the water, enjoying the freedom of being able to walk without the possibility of a motorbike running me over, and eating Hawker stand food by the beach. I will be back in Singapore very soon and I hope to get a better feel of the city (update: I saw Bon Iver and ate breakfast with Orangutans at the Singapore Zoo during this weekend I'm referring to here so I can officially die happy).
Hong Kong
Reluctant to leave the butterfly gardens and steam bun filled Singapore airport, I hopped on a 8 AM flight to Hong Kong to meet up with Ash and Flounder. When I stepped into the HK airport, I was immediately reminded of Korea. The existence of a subway system. The efficiency. The excessive pushing.
I rode the subway (WITH WIFI WHAT?) all the way to a nice personal van which dropped me in front of the Sheraton (Shout out to Flounder's mom for getting us a room at the Sheraton which I could never otherwise afford) . I was ecstatic with the prospect of seeing my friends from home and I bolted up the gold escalator to greet them. The smell of adventure was in the air and we set out on our first journey. About twenty minutes into said journey it started raining and we nestled ourselves into the closest dark, warm space we could find...which just happened to be a brew house. Now, beers in Hong Kong are 10 dollars but they also have double IPAs so it's a lose win. We sat and chatted like there hadn't been any time spent apart. We cracked peanuts onto the dirty bar floor and read cheesy made up quotes from famous Americans on the walls. We set out looking to find a new adventure...and ended up at another brewery. This brewery was legit and to prove it I will tell you one fact; it had a jukebox.
(Hong Kong Brew House and Craft Beer and Co. )
The rest of the days in Hong Kong were a blur of me complaining about the cold (55 degrees F) and eating dumplings. I literally do not own a pair of pants so it was an interesting trip. I went to the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong wearing leggings and gym shoes...why am I still single you ask? Here are some pics of the trip:
Creepin' hardGive me street dim sum, or give me death -George Washington
Din Tai Fung, how do I breathe without you?
I decided that it was about time that my friends become exposed to my hectic Saigon life style, so we flew back to Saigon for a few days before jetting off to Thailand. I often get wrapped up in the negatives of this city and usually, all it takes is having visitors to remind me of its many charms. The fity cent beers. The freedom to drink said beers on the streets. The people. The tiny chairs. The fresh, authentic food around every corner. The fact that not a day goes by where I don't see five things on the street that make me say, "What the damn hell was that?" We ate street food, drank beers, and became a part of the organized chaos of this strange little planet called Ho Chi Minh City for a mere three days.
After Saigon, we flew out to Thailand for a week. Sometimes, I get so used to the ridiculousness that comes with traveling in SE Asia that I forget to warn my Asia virgin friends of the complications that can come with flying and then busing and boating and then smaller speed boating and motorbiking and walking down dark gravely alleys with backpacks full to the brim-ing. All of this just makes sense to me now somehow, like riding the subway, but I forget what it's like to be new and excitedly confused by it all.
We spent two nights in Bangkok, once again eating street food and drinking street beers, throwing our baht around like we owned the place. Thailand is my favorite country in Asia so obviously I was thrilled to show my friends from home this magical land. Since we were in my favorite country, I wanted to show them the best place that I have found thus far: Ko Pha Ngan island. Now some people immediately think of The Full Moon Party when they think of KPN, and in that case I would be quick to say, "BUT there's a whole different side of the island, guys! Just stay away from Haad Rin unless you feel like burning your leg on a jumping rope of fire, waking up with your sheets looking like a highlighter, and drinking bucket vodka like it's your freshman year orientation." We stayed on Haad Yao beach and woke up every morning to this view:
And drank these:
And I took Ash here, because it's the best place on Ko Pha Ngan...managed by Chai, one of the nicest people I've ever met. Stay at Golden Hill resort if you ever make it to this place:
There were a few mishaps while staying on KPN, mostly involving motorbikes. Warning: when you go to Thailand, don't rent a motorbike unless you are willing to pay big bhats for repair on even just a scrape. I should have been much more weary of renting brand new, beautiful motorbikes but my desire to cruise the island took precedence over my better judgement. Just don't rent new motorbikes in Thailand, OK?
We returned to Bangkok, and I
The rest of Sunday night, February 14th, a day dedicated to ever lasting love and devotion, was appropriately spent with my one and only---Ashley Betke. We got tattoos in a tiny shanty on a random Bangkok side street, played shuffleboard with some ultimate ultimate folk, and ended up at a bar called "Spanky's" with some cool dudes. Any night that ends in a bar called Spanky's is alright in my book. We went back to our over-sized hotel and at 4 AM I tried to hold back the tears as I let the elusive Ashley Betke leave my sight. I know I tend to exaggerate most everything, but I can easily say that it was the best Valentine's Day to date. Major props to everyone involved.
Tune in next time for my next episode: SRI LANKA AND WHY YOU ALL NEED TO GET ON THE NEXT PLANE THERE IMMEDIATELY
Count down to moving back to the land that I will inevitably move back away from: T minus 2.5 months! You can find me crying in the peanut butter section of Whole Foods.
