Hey, I'm back online... and Safe in a Crazy World... This song pops into my head as I read and updated myself with the recent news coverage over the world... It's in a sad state and how protected I felt being in Nippon Maru with almost without any worry besides how much to change in each port and if you can get up on time for assembly... Wanted to blog about today... but things changes as I read of the Singaporean who was killed in the Mumbai blast... Sigh... and the thought of YL stuck in Cambodia without any flight back... The demonstrations in Bangkok... Just look at the news today, it's a sad, sad state... It's been awhile since I last read the news...
Here's a shoutout to everyone reading from SG and Vietnam, we are safe as of erm our homestay... Well, I'm safe and at least NL is celebrating another NL's birthday... enjoying the wireless here... And I hope everyone else is safe over at Vietnam.
Tonight is the last night in Vietnam and I went groceries shopping, hahah... See I remembered to get drinks... Ayano-chan got a SIM card at a super reduced price and we had trouble finishing that up!! WE called Japan and Singapore and Vietnam and tried calling all our SG-mates number... Hahah... It's quite hilarious...And learned that someone had to go back to the ship tonight from my SG. Alright, SG C...4 people down... no more from the rest!! Wow, my sg is taking up alot of cabin in the first floor!
This is just a random post while waiting for Ayano-chan to finish bathing... Need to pack my stuff to head to Nippon Maru...
Adios!! Will be too busy to blog tomorrow... till we meet again at the next port of call!!!
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Our performance using Angklung
15 Nov – My (Venetia) home-stay in Jakarta was an experience for me. Baby from Lao and I was matched to a young, simple and down to earth couple who were host parents for the first time. They lived simply and were loving people who took time off from their work on Thursday evening and Friday to receive us and show us around.
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And I'm back... online...
The 28th today... Hahah... I must have gotten the dates wrong the previous time... and I'm back online and not to rushed to finish blogging... Wireless here in Vietnam in my District 3 is FREE, only on the second floor that is!! So here I am blogging and regretting leaving my HDD on the ship...
The homestay in Vietnam is different from the rest of my homestay... In Thailand, I stayed like I was on vacation as I had a well-to-do family where I went to spa on the first day and stayed in a condo apartment...
My Vietnamese house is an interesting 3-storey shophouse-looking one with no shop but technically, you can have a shop there and it's all fine. I shared a room with Ayano-chan, but luckily that I have the chance to have like different homestay and this time shared alot of laughters. BUT I got to really show you the room ... I'm staying on the first floor, the whole room is just below the living room and looked as if it's just attached to the bottom of second floor. But the most fun part and interesting is the way it's constructed... Hahah... I way too tall for my room, the height of my room is really 1.7m and I'm like 8cm taller than that... Hahah... Think Vietnam presents the most opportunities to see new things... Simply because, I'm staying with an average family... with unfamiliar environment... The shops are different than those in Thailand, and those who think that I shopped for random and interesting stuff might be disappointed... Having too much fun soaking the differences and ambience... Made me want to read Vietnam history, it seems that it has loads of historical places... Maybe I was influenced by this book I'm currently reading, a historical triller novel set in Germany (Yup, because I felt like reading up German history and going to Germany next... and I've just read the prologue of the book)...
Like I said earlier, me staying in District 3, we just came back from visiting the REunification Palace and treated with the presidential room and furniture and loads of other PYs and oh... our NLs as well... Hahah... Even when walking to the Notre Dame Cathederal... and the Post Office... I think Vietnam is the place I missed my camera the most...I've always been fascinated by buildings not to mention colonial and renaissance ones... the architecture of the community weaved through times... And to think I'm a chem kid... Hahah...
Me and Ayano-chan had lunch at home... Since I don't eat pork nor other meats to make things earlier for them, they always use a separate wok to cook for me... I had some kind of vietnamese salad crepes called ban-sell (I have no how to spell but it sounds like that!)... A rolled up salad veg with crepe, prawns, tauge, leek and some bean (i think it's pilaf)... Super full... and I didn't know "chomp-chomp" here means rambutan... I was trying to get Ayano-chan to describe to be me but it was kinda futile....
We are going shopping later at the small shop and night market later... Should really avoid the touristy places, not as much fun... Even when I was in Thailand, I didn't go the all the touristy places... hahah... and I shopped as much!!
Hmmmm... it's less that 2 weeks before we depart from Japan... Sigh... oh my, I'll be away for 52 days then... I'll miss the people... and this is going to end soon... sigh... sigh... boo hoo... Time to make the best of the time left... hmmm... and maybe I'll be back online tonight... See ya till then!!
The homestay in Vietnam is different from the rest of my homestay... In Thailand, I stayed like I was on vacation as I had a well-to-do family where I went to spa on the first day and stayed in a condo apartment...
My Vietnamese house is an interesting 3-storey shophouse-looking one with no shop but technically, you can have a shop there and it's all fine. I shared a room with Ayano-chan, but luckily that I have the chance to have like different homestay and this time shared alot of laughters. BUT I got to really show you the room ... I'm staying on the first floor, the whole room is just below the living room and looked as if it's just attached to the bottom of second floor. But the most fun part and interesting is the way it's constructed... Hahah... I way too tall for my room, the height of my room is really 1.7m and I'm like 8cm taller than that... Hahah... Think Vietnam presents the most opportunities to see new things... Simply because, I'm staying with an average family... with unfamiliar environment... The shops are different than those in Thailand, and those who think that I shopped for random and interesting stuff might be disappointed... Having too much fun soaking the differences and ambience... Made me want to read Vietnam history, it seems that it has loads of historical places... Maybe I was influenced by this book I'm currently reading, a historical triller novel set in Germany (Yup, because I felt like reading up German history and going to Germany next... and I've just read the prologue of the book)...
Like I said earlier, me staying in District 3, we just came back from visiting the REunification Palace and treated with the presidential room and furniture and loads of other PYs and oh... our NLs as well... Hahah... Even when walking to the Notre Dame Cathederal... and the Post Office... I think Vietnam is the place I missed my camera the most...I've always been fascinated by buildings not to mention colonial and renaissance ones... the architecture of the community weaved through times... And to think I'm a chem kid... Hahah...
Me and Ayano-chan had lunch at home... Since I don't eat pork nor other meats to make things earlier for them, they always use a separate wok to cook for me... I had some kind of vietnamese salad crepes called ban-sell (I have no how to spell but it sounds like that!)... A rolled up salad veg with crepe, prawns, tauge, leek and some bean (i think it's pilaf)... Super full... and I didn't know "chomp-chomp" here means rambutan... I was trying to get Ayano-chan to describe to be me but it was kinda futile....
We are going shopping later at the small shop and night market later... Should really avoid the touristy places, not as much fun... Even when I was in Thailand, I didn't go the all the touristy places... hahah... and I shopped as much!!
Hmmmm... it's less that 2 weeks before we depart from Japan... Sigh... oh my, I'll be away for 52 days then... I'll miss the people... and this is going to end soon... sigh... sigh... boo hoo... Time to make the best of the time left... hmmm... and maybe I'll be back online tonight... See ya till then!!
GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!!
The SPYs arrived Vietnam the morning of 27 Nov 08, after spending a day floating over the blue, blue sea... All safe and sound as we departed from Thailand... News had it that there's been a travel advisary to Bangkok, due to the travel situation... Lucky us, imagine if our YL got stuck in Cambodia and can't fly back to Thailand... Maybe we might an extra night... Sorry, no photos this time... My HDD is on the ship and happily hidden away...
Like always, the day we arrived at the port-of-call is welcomed by welcoming ceremony and port of call... And with an unforgetable dinner as well in a Cantonese Restaurant that had half the SPYs having instant noodles and smuggled sushi (Thanks to Mr Postman & Gang), way past the 11pm curfew...with all the stories of course...
Soon, 12 pm came, and I've yet to pack my things for home... After 4 homestays, I'm getting better and faster at packing my things albeit it's always a little on the heavy side. So I packed my things and then head off to my usual room, yup... room 441 (that's not my room)... For the first time, all of the 441 roomies were in 443... It has became an almost a nightly thing, the getting together that part to share the daily snippets of life onboard...
The morning of 28th, we huddled all our belongings for a 2 night stay in Vietnam. Yup, yup... and I have since taken a stance if I forget anything, i'll just buy... We had an intitutional visit to Bemark ( ops, i might spell wrongly here) and a lunch hosted by them... Way, way better than the dinner the night before... before heading to visit the Tyre company...
The visit to the tyre was company and I was impressed at how "Tuas" the place looked in terms of vast space and the manufacturing ambience and yup at how closely it looked like my company outlook in Sg... But too bad, I was disappointed by the fact that the visit was only 20mins of looking... Sigh, how short my expectation plummeted! And there's no like proper introduction of the manufacturing process, we could do with some diagrams...
Sigh... that was quite a disappointment... Anyway, next was the homematching ceremony... which took quite long...
Anyway, that's wasn't much to say but I super like my Vietnam house!! eSP MY ROOM!! it's 1.7m talll... hahahh...darm... need to go off already... will continue soon...
Like always, the day we arrived at the port-of-call is welcomed by welcoming ceremony and port of call... And with an unforgetable dinner as well in a Cantonese Restaurant that had half the SPYs having instant noodles and smuggled sushi (Thanks to Mr Postman & Gang), way past the 11pm curfew...with all the stories of course...
Soon, 12 pm came, and I've yet to pack my things for home... After 4 homestays, I'm getting better and faster at packing my things albeit it's always a little on the heavy side. So I packed my things and then head off to my usual room, yup... room 441 (that's not my room)... For the first time, all of the 441 roomies were in 443... It has became an almost a nightly thing, the getting together that part to share the daily snippets of life onboard...
The morning of 28th, we huddled all our belongings for a 2 night stay in Vietnam. Yup, yup... and I have since taken a stance if I forget anything, i'll just buy... We had an intitutional visit to Bemark ( ops, i might spell wrongly here) and a lunch hosted by them... Way, way better than the dinner the night before... before heading to visit the Tyre company...
The visit to the tyre was company and I was impressed at how "Tuas" the place looked in terms of vast space and the manufacturing ambience and yup at how closely it looked like my company outlook in Sg... But too bad, I was disappointed by the fact that the visit was only 20mins of looking... Sigh, how short my expectation plummeted! And there's no like proper introduction of the manufacturing process, we could do with some diagrams...
Sigh... that was quite a disappointment... Anyway, next was the homematching ceremony... which took quite long...
Anyway, that's wasn't much to say but I super like my Vietnam house!! eSP MY ROOM!! it's 1.7m talll... hahahh...darm... need to go off already... will continue soon...
12 Nov - Nippon Maru sailed into Tanjung Priok Port, Indonesia at 10am.
National Leaders taking photo with Dr Budi Setiawan
Our first stop was to the House of Representatives in the city of Jakarta, to make a courtesy call on the Deputy Speaker. It was our privilege to be seated on those plush cushioned chairs meant for elected representatives of the various states and cities of Indonesia, listening to the Deputy Speaker of the House deliver his speech.
Us at the House of Representatives… Lucky us!!
The next stop was the ASEAN Secretariat where we were given an interesting lecture on the goals and vision of the ASEAN.
13 Nov – We started that day at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Angklung, a traditional musical instrument of Indonesia was given to each PY as a gift and we played to the tunes of “I have a dream”, “You raise me up” and many more after a quick lesson. This was such a great way to introduce the instrument to us and I could tell that many PYs enjoyed the session.
Just before we were released for our lunch break, Colonel started walking around the front of the hall at an extremely slow pace… gathering the top of his hair with his five fingers in slow motion! That was the sign! Our first test for the “fall in” gesture… (inherited from the SAF)… worked when Colonel gathered us after the first half of the session. I have to say Colonel is really quick with his thinking!
He quickly jumped into action and suggested that as a show of appreciation, the Singapore Contingent should include a short performance of Singapura, using the Angklung during the home-stay matching ceremony later that evening, in addition to the originally planned performance. SPYs were all enthusiastic and agreeable to it and when the decision was made, Charmaine immediately sprang into action and started penning the notes of Singapura.
We gathered after a really quick, boxed lunch… and started our practice. In fifteen minutes, we were almost there with Charmaine conducting us and the melody sounding just right.
Tickled by Colonel’s comical and innocent bluntness on stage, all of us enjoyed ourselves putting the act together =) Well, the performance that evening turned out great and we were delighted that everyone appreciated our gesture as we received cheers and applause.
Our performance using Angklung
15 Nov – My (Venetia) home-stay in Jakarta was an experience for me. Baby from Lao and I was matched to a young, simple and down to earth couple who were host parents for the first time. They lived simply and were loving people who took time off from their work on Thursday evening and Friday to receive us and show us around.
Myself and Baby together with our foster parents
I say that it was quite an experience for me because I had not lived such a life for a while I guess, and it took me some time to get used to it. Amenities were unlike what we have in Singapore. The entire experience made me realized that as I aged and the more independent I become, comfort has become part of my way of life. It also made me realized how I have taken some things for granted. This home-stay had made me appreciate the way things are around me... How, my government had done so much to ensure that the standard of living for us was constantly improving.
One thing which I really enjoyed when I was in Jakarta was the food! Yum! I was lucky to have been able to try Javanese and Sumatran food, thanks to my foster parents. I had not eaten so much rice in my life!
I say that it was quite an experience for me because I had not lived such a life for a while I guess, and it took me some time to get used to it. Amenities were unlike what we have in Singapore. The entire experience made me realized that as I aged and the more independent I become, comfort has become part of my way of life. It also made me realized how I have taken some things for granted. This home-stay had made me appreciate the way things are around me... How, my government had done so much to ensure that the standard of living for us was constantly improving.
One thing which I really enjoyed when I was in Jakarta was the food! Yum! I was lucky to have been able to try Javanese and Sumatran food, thanks to my foster parents. I had not eaten so much rice in my life!
This is not Homestay Part 2...Just to say that we sailed safely from Nippon Maru!
Hahah... okay... I'm sure that you will be expecting the part 2, nope... you won't be getting this now...as I happily hijacked this flow of entry and I'm sure Asilah don't mind... So here I am with Internet in Brunei... Brunei, folks... So glad that Alf's here to welcome us... So sweet of him!! Hahah... THANK YOU, ALF!!!
It's been like 19 days since we left Singapore, OMG... Nothing... Days been going zipping super fast... We all had a safe 6-day cruise from Japan to Brunei. None of us really get seasick except for Desmond... It's been fun, relentless and the ever-so-looking-forward contingent meeting with Colonel...
Ops... I have to get out of here... I'll continue posting new photos okay....Be right back...Hahah...
It's been like 19 days since we left Singapore, OMG... Nothing... Days been going zipping super fast... We all had a safe 6-day cruise from Japan to Brunei. None of us really get seasick except for Desmond... It's been fun, relentless and the ever-so-looking-forward contingent meeting with Colonel...
Ops... I have to get out of here... I'll continue posting new photos okay....Be right back...Hahah...
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