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purplesurveys · 7 years ago

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What’s your favorite nail polish that you own? I don’t use nail polish. I move my hands around too much and anything I put on my nails would get chipped in an instant. What’s your favorite play by Shakespeare? I never enjoyed taking up Shakespeare in high school. I guess I was most engaged when we studied Macbeth, though. That or Hamlet. What’s your favorite recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to prepare? Homemade pizza. We were taught how to do it in preschool–hotdogs, mayo, ketchup, cheese on white bread then pop it in the oven toaster. I haven’t had it in like a decade just because I’ve never had time to make them, but it’s the best thing that takes less than ten minutes. It’s such a preschool recipe but since I had it so many times as a kid, it’s comfort food to me. What is the smallest thing that made you embarrassed or anxious? Ordering in restaurants, asking for help at a store, talking on the phone, asking questions, people looking at me. Anything can make me anxious really, so long as I’m thrust in the spotlight. You’ve just written the most annoying computer virus ever made. What does it do? I used to have the world’s most annoying virus on my ancient laptop. It used to type down random Vietnamese texts on its own. Like I could be watching a YouTube video and it would make a group of Viet words show up on the search bar. If I had to wish something on my worst enemy it would be that.

Did you ever attend a wedding that was a complete disaster? Fortunately no. Filipino weddings aren’t as dramatic as the horror stories I’ve heard in other countries. What is something that you were surprised you were able to do? Dunno. Keeping a magna cum laude standing to this day is one of them though. What movie surprised you with how good it was? Wonder Woman. I never go to see blockbusters, much less superhero films. That one was a pleasant surprise. Is there anything you’re stressed out about? Yes, but I’m on Tumblr right now to de-stress so don’t remind me. Satan decides to make a new Hell for the lesser sinners where everything is mildly inconvenient. What would you expect to find there? Ads. Lots and lots of annoying, unskippable ads. Think the Fifteen Million Merits episode of Black Mirror. Which persistent myth/misconception annoys you the most? Can’t seem to think of any now... What’s the last video you watched on YouTube? I think it was a snippet from The Return of Superman, the Korean show with dads taking care of their kids. Do you have any extensions on your web browser? No, I don’t download third-party programs onto my Mac now since I want to keep it as clean as possible. What is the most bullshit sounding true fact that you know? The fact that mammoths were still alive when people were building up the pyramids. That or people before the 1800′s had no idea what dinosaurs were. If you were to create your own candle scent, what would it be? I don’t know. Cookie dough? I’m sure that’s been made already. Have you ever bought food online? I always have my food delivered online because I could never call them up. Are there any foods that you avoid eating? Yes. Any kind of fruit. What Oreo flavor is your favorite? Just the regular ones. What G-rated joke always cracks you up? They’re all in Filipino so nobody would understand anyway. If you won free food and drinks for a lifetime to a restaurant of your choice, which restaurant would you choose? Vikings. It’s this huuuuge buffet restaurant so I would always have a variety of choices. What comedic sound effect would completely ruin sex? All I could think of is Mario screaming “YAHOO!” so that. Do you think they should have made a sequel to Nightmare Before Christmas where they explored the other holidays? I’ve never seen that movie so I don’t know if it would be a good idea or not to extend it. But I know I wouldn’t want, say, Love Actually to be turned into a Halloween or a New Year’s movie, that’s for sure. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween even though it isn’t a holiday. Do you ever make playlists? Yeah, for certain moods. I have a playlist for when I drive my car with Gab in the middle of the night and a playlist for when I’m sad, to name a couple. Do you think you could create an entirely new font? No. I’m so not creative. Sour gummy worms or plain gummy worms? Errr I guess sour. I’ve never had a gummy anything that tasted plain. What songs have you been listening to a lot lately? Dua Lipa’s Homecoming is SOOOOO good. It’s a breath of fresh air from New Rules, which is becoming overplayed to an extent that I don’t particularly enjoy. What was something that looked easy but turned out to be hard? Being an adult. Ever been in a talent show? How many times? What did you do? No, because I have no talent that I could at least show off to an audience. :/ Ever try out for the talent show and not make it? Did you cry? Well not a talent show, but I did try out for the school newspaper. I got through the first cut, but not in the final one. I did cry; it had been my dream to be in that paper since I was in fourth grade (they only accept high school students.) I never tried out for it again and instead became part of the editorial board for the yearbook when I was a senior. When that was happening, the paper was begging me to pick them and work for them...too bad. What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever cried about? Nothing. That’s the stupidest thing I had ever cried about–I literally cried over nothing. Do you like peanut butter?: LOVE IT. Put it on/in my pancakes, my cookies, my cakes, my cupcakes, my chocolate bars, and on my kare-kare. Peanut butter is life. What about marshmallows?: I fucking hate marshmallows. How do you roast your marshmallows? I don’t even eat them. Do you eat s’mores?: Sometimes. That’s really the only time I get to enjoy marshmallows. What’s the best brand of chocolate? Reese’s, Twix, and Maltesers. Do you own a disco ball, or know anyone who does? No. Gabie sure deserves one, though. She’s stuck in the 70′s. Own a lava lamp? I don’t but I did want one when I was like 14. Own any sort of glow-in-the-dark room accessory? No. I have glow in the dark sticks and bracelets that I got from concerts, but they’ve long faded by now haha. Ever faked an orgasm?: Never. If I couldn’t have one I’ll just let my girlfriend know and snuggle instead? Done something illegal to your car?: No. The car wasn’t bought under my name, so if I did anything stupid it’ll be my dad who answers to that and I don’t want him to kill me. Own some type of work out machine? My mom owns one but I have no idea what it does. Ever pooped a weird color besides brown, green, or orange?: No. Are you quickly getting grossed out? Not at all. Think a drum player for a band is hot?: I don’t find them hot, but I always found anyone who could play drums cool. Do you tend to like male or female bands better? I like bands with music I could listen to better. What scars on your body do you have? One near my eye and another on my pinky toe. Ever did something sexual in public? Sure. Do you like the taste of squid or eel? Yep, we live on seafood down here. Ever date anybody in middle school?: I didn’t. No joke, as a grade schooler, I thought I wasn’t supposed to develop romantic feelings for anybody until I was at least 25. I just thought it was an adult thing. What was your first date like? I’ve never been on a getting-to-know-someone date...my ‘first date’ was literally the first date I had with Gab, since I went straight to asking her to be my girlfriend and never really courted her hahahaha. It was beautiful. We went to a museum and had a nice Italian dinner and had a sleepover in my house where we played video games (well she did) and had pizza delivered. It was the purest thing. What about your WORST date? Ugh. That Shakey’s date was THE WORST. It was our last date before we broke up and also my last resort to get through to her, after I realized that she was distancing herself. Everything was my treat and it was because her birthday was coming up...I felt like shit when I learned it wasn’t going to fix anything anymore. Share a really embarrassing moment? Driving out of the gas station and nearly entering the highway when I didn’t even wait for my change :(( The gas attendant had to run after my car, since I was basically driving away from around ₱400. That’s a week’s worth of lunches, and it would have sucked if I was able enter the highway immediately. Did you like to get dirty when you were little? Nah. My mom hated it and wanted me to stay clean, so it got passed on to me. Do you find the show Family Guy absolutely hilarious?: There are some scenes that are funny but ultimately, it’s not my humor. Most jokes just fly over my head since they’re too political or too pop culture-y for me to recognize them. Own anything that has to do with dragons or unicorns? I don’t think so. Believe in mermaids/mermen?: Nope. What piercings do you have/want?: None anymore. What tattoos do you have/want?: Also none anymore. Hate needles. Which is cooler - pink or purple?: Pink.

#survey #surveys

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thekillerblogofkillers · 7 years ago

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Antoinette Frank (1971-?)

Antoinette Frank is a former police officer from New Orleans that was convicted of 3 murders. On March 14, 1995, Frank and Rogers Lacaze, her teenage accomplice, committed armed robbery at a restaurant which ended with the murder of 2 members of the family who owned the restaurant, and the murder of fellow officer Ronald A. Williams II.

It was early 1993 when Antoinette Frank applied to the New Orleans Police Department. However, several red flags popped up during the hiring process – she was caught lying on several sections of the application, and also failed 2 standard psychiatric evaluations. Philip Scurria, police psychiatrist, examined her and told the police force that under no circumstances should they hire her, calling her “shallow and superficial.” Despite this, Frank applied a second time when the NOPD was extremely short-handed. During this period, officers were being paid lower than other police departments in similarly-sized cities, and they were losing officers faster than they could replace them. Many potential applicants were not hired due to a police that all officers be residents of New Orleans, a requirement that was overturned in 2014. All this, paired with the fact that Frank was a black female, and police officials thought more black people on the force would ease the city’s racial tension, meant that Frank was hired on February 7, 1993, graduating from the Police Academy on 3 weeks later.

Despite the fact that Frank graduated near the top of her academy class, her time with the NOPD was largely unremarkable. Most of her colleagues believed her to be very shy and said that she had no idea what police work really involved, lacking the decisiveness to be a good officer. It was also noticed that her behaviour was sometimes irrational, and in August 1993, less than six months after graduating, her superiors wanted to send her back to the academy for further training and was ordered to go through frequent supervisory reviews. On a few occasions, however, she did distinguish herself, winning “Officer of the Month” awards more than once from the local Kiwanis Club for her work in the community.

In November 1994, Frank was called to an incident wherein Rogers Lacaze, a known drug dealer, had been shot. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DOC) investigator was under the impression that this was the first time they had met – Frank claimed to have met him eight months prior. Frank took a statement from Lacaze after he was shot and got closer to him, trying to turn his life around. However, Frank soon fell for Lacaze’s “bad boy” image and their relationship became sexual. She kept this relationship up despite the fact that sleeping with a known drug dealer was putting her career on the line. The relationship was discovered after other officers saw Lacaze driving Frank’s squad car and even saw him moving her police unit at the scene of a crime she was investigating. Once, Lacaze went with Frank on a complaint call where she introduced him as a “trainee”, and other times as her nephew. Before the murders, other people testified that Frank and Lacaze would pull over cars while in her squad car, and then rob them.

During the DOC investigation, Frank would not discuss her relationship with Lacaze other than to say that she was trying to help him. It was only later that the sexual relationship was discovered. When she was asked why she continued to associate with him, despite his drug dealing, Frank said that she would not abandon someone because of their past. The investigator also questioned Frank about trying to purchase 9mm ammo for Lacaze the day before the murders, but Frank replied that she was a police officer and that there was nothing wrong with her buying ammo. In her statement, Frank claimed that she and Lacaze were not dating and had not been intimate. Frank would not discuss the murders, instead telling the investigator to “look it up in the record,” or protesting her innocence. She did at one stage claim to have a boyfriend, but would not go into specifics as she said he worked in the police department.

Two men who claimed to have met Lacaze at a party on February 4, 1995, John Stevens and Anthony Wallace, testified in court, saying that as they were leaving the party, an altercation between Stevens and Lacaze began but Wallace suggested they leave. The two men got into their car and drove several blocks before being pulled over by a police car. Antoinette Frank, in full uniform, exited the squad car and told Wallace and Stevens to exit the vehicle and stand behind the car. The two men noticed Lacaze was with her, and he was holding a gun. Wallace rushed Lacaze and the two men began to fight – Stevens and Frank also became involved and the gun went off. Stevans began to run, but another man appeared and grabbed both Lacaze and Wallace. Frank told the man that “Lacaze was the good guy” and that Wallace was the criminal. Wallace was restrained until backup arrived. He was then arrested and charged with attempted murder and armed robbery. Irvin Bryant, who in 1995 was a civil sheriff, testified that on the evening in question, February 4, he saw a police vehicle stopped in the road with its lights flashing. Bryant thought the officer was making a traffic stop, but as he got closer he saw the officer and two black men fighting on the roadside. He saw Wallace break away, run and pick up a TEC-9 semi-automatic weapon off the grass. Bryant then ordered Wallace to drop the weapon, which he did, and he was then restrained. Lacaze then lunged at Wallace but was grabbed by Bryant. Frank informed Bryant that Lacaze was with her and ordered him to be released. Despite his involvement in this incident, Bryant was never questioned by police and never gave a statement.

After midnight on March 4, 1995, Frank and Lacaze visited Kim Anh, a Vietnamese restaurant run by the Vu family where Frank had often worked as a security-guard to earn extra money, due to the wages shortage in the NOPD at the time. As the employees were closing the restaurant and cleaning up, Chau Vu went to the kitchen to count the takings for the night and then went into the dining room to pay Ronald A. Williams II, a NOPD officer and colleague of Frank, who had been working security there that night. When Chau went to pay Williams, he noticed Frank approaching the restaurant.

Frank and Lacaze had already been to Kim Anh twice that night to get leftovers to eat. When Chau had let Antoinette out the last time, she couldn’t find the front door key, and now that Frank was coming back a third time, Chau realised that something might be very wrong. Chau ran to the kitchen and hid the takings in the microwave. Frank entered the restaurant using the key she had evidently stolen earlier in the night, and walked past Williams, pushing Chau, Chau’s brother Quoc, and another employee into the doorway of the kitchen. Williams began to follow to find out what was going on when the shots began. Lacaze had crept up behind Williams and shot him in the head, severing his spinal cord and instantly paralysing him. After Williams fell, Lacaze shot him a second time, killing him. As Frank turned back toward the dining room, Chau grabbed Quoc to try and hide somewhere. They hid in the rear of a large walk-in refrigerator in the kitchen, turning the light off as they entered. They did not where their other brother and sister, Ha and Cuong Vu, were – they had been sweeping the dining room floor when Frank entered the restaurant. From their position inside the walk-in, Chau and Quoc could partially see the kitchen and the front of the restaurant. Chau noticed Frank looking for something in the kitchen, before Frank moved out of their line of view and they heard gunshots. Frank was searching where the Vus normally kept their money, and Frank and Lacaze were shouting at Ha and Cuong to hand it over – they didn’t know, however, where Chau had hidden it. Frank hit 17-year-old Cuong with her gun when he hesitated in telling her where the money was. Frank found the money in the microwave, then shot Ha, 21, three times as she was knelt down, pleading for her life. She then shot Cuong six times. After Frank and Lacaze left the restaurant, Quoc emerged from the refrigerator and ran out of the back door to a nearby friend’s home to call 911 and report the murders while Chau tried to call 911 on her cell phone, but couldn’t get a signal in the refrigerator.

Frank dropped Lacaze at a nearby apartment complex, and Frank was concerned that there were living witnesses after hearing the 911 call about the murders on her police radio. She borrowed a patrol car and returned to the scene, posing as a responding officer. She intended to kill Chau and Quoc to eliminate all witnesses. She parked in the back and entered through the back door, through the kitchen, toward the dining room, where Chau was awaiting for help at the front door. As Chau ran through the door to the safety of arriving officers, Frank identified herself as a police officer. Chau told Frank that she knew what she had done and told the officers that Frank was the killer. Eddie Rantz, the detective who worked the case, believed that Frank planned the robbery in order to get revenge on Williams, who was working more hours and getting more pay than she was at the restaurant. Rantz later described Frank as the most cold-hearted person he’d ever come across in 30 years as an officer.

Chau and Frank were questioned in detail while sat at different tables in the restaurant. Frank was subsequently arrested and charged with 3 counts of first degree murder. Lacaze was arrested and charged later the same night. Frank was taken to the station for further interrogation – she later confessed, along with Lacaze. She is believed to be the first NOPD officer to have been charged with killing a fellow officer.

Antoinette Frank and Rogers Lacaze were indicted by an Orleans Parish grand jury on April 28, 1995. Their trials were conducted separately, and Lacaze was tried first between July 17-21. He was found guilty as charged and was sentenced to death. The main evidence against him was using Williams’ Chevron credit card at a gas station in Gretna just minutes after the robbery/murder. Frank’s trial began on September 5, before the same judge. Although Frank’s attorneys had subpoenaed 40 witnesses, none were called, believing that it was enough to argue that the prosecution hadn’t proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. However, on 12 September, the jury needed just 22 minutes to return a guilty verdict on all counts. The next day, the same jury needed only 45 minutes to recommend the death penalty. She was sentenced to death on October 20, 1995, and sent to death row at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel, near Baton Rouge.

#antoinette #frank #nopd #new orleans #police #murder #robbery #rogers #lacaze #accomplice #death sentence

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svetlanawagner-blog · 5 years ago

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Our year in NYC is already over! I can’t believe how fast it went. As I write this, I’m currently staring out my window soaking up one of the last beautiful sunsets I’ll see over the city

For the past 5 years, we’ve explored a new city every year, and moving to each city has felt a little like dating. We’re originally from Atlanta, and so far the cities we deep dived into were LA, Vegas, San Diego, Portland, and NYC.

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Last Updated: Mar 22, 2019

Pros and Cons of Living in New York

Each city had its pros and cons. Ultimately, we haven’t felt like we could settle down in a of these cities. Maybe we’re commitment-phobes and afraid to lay down deep roots in one place or maybe we just want to pave our own path that just might not look like everyone else’s.

It always feels bittersweet to leave because there will always be parts of each city that made our stay worthwhile and also parts that made it a living hell. I’m going to mix up the pros and cons since each one with a different perspective or taken to the extreme can go either way.

The Weather Perpetually Sucks / All the Seasons

You get all the seasons, and it’s beautiful. However, the fall and spring are fleeting, and winter seems to last forever. There are ma places that get colder temperatures, but what’s most brutal is the length of winter. You can assume it will go well into April. If not, you have a nice surprise. Summers are also not ideal since it gets hot and humid.

Overall, after the gloomiest and rainiest year in Portland (they had in decades), my body felt much happier having sun in NYC. I will admit that I didn’t spend much time outside during the winter.

More: How to Survive Winter in New York + Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms in NYC

It's One of the Most Expensive Cities to Live In

We’ve all heard this before, so this is no surprise. Or maybe it still is, because it’s still common to hear visitors exclaiming how crazy the prices are.

You’re paying double or maybe even triple for everything. Right now we live in an apartment that’s triple the size and half the price of our NYC studio. Get ready to say goodbye to savings, because your income is going straight to rent, and you can pretty much forget trying to buy a place.

We’re not just talking about rent. It’s also the eating out, drinking, and entertainment. Yes, there are some cheap eats in the city, but if you’re comparing it to the rest of the US, you’re paying a lot more for the same quality. For example, dinner and a movie can set you back $100 compared to $30-50 in other cities.

PRO – Every other place will feel cheap to you!

More: Top Free Things to do in NYC

No one cares about you

This could be either a pro or a con depending on how you look at it. What I absolutely loved about New York is that you could roll out of bed or act completely batshit crazy, and people will just go on with their own busy lives. No one is judging you for how you look.

On the flip side, if you’re in trouble, everyone might pass you by thinking it’s someone else’s responsibility. Our friend saw someone have a seizure, and they were the only ones that stopped to help out.

We did have one incident that contradicts this. When Jacob passed out on the 7 train, there were several guys who stepped up and helped me carry him out.

Everyone Hustles Hard

Because everything cost more, we hustled more. We saw that ma of our friends also hustled hard simply to be able to live here. I loved the working energy, but I could see it wearing me down if I had to do it for more than 3 years. It’s a great city if money ain’t a thing, but for the rest of us, it will be a city we pass through.

It's a Concrete Jungle

It has some great urban parks and green spaces, but overall it’s much harder to get outdoors and connect with nature. The busyness can sometimes feel overwhelming if you don’t have ways to “find your zen” or have inner peace.

More: 11 National Parks in New York City + Your Essential Guide to Central Park and All Its Secrets

There's Always a Wait and It's Crowded Everywhere

You can almost always expect a wait if you’re going out to eat during peak meal hours.

I overheard a visitor saying how New Yorkers love to wait. No one loves to wait, but New Yorkers accept that it’s the reality of New York. Not only do you live on top of each other, but you also get a ridiculous number of visitors that clog up the regular flow of the city. It’s impossible to escape if you leave your home, which is why it’s nice not to have the pressure to go out and see everything in the city. Staying home can feel like a luxury too. Is that why people are going from place to place to get out of the crowd as fast as possible?

Yet a Lot of People feel very lonely

Although you’re always surrounded by people, it can be a lonely place. It’s already difficult to meet people and make friends the older you get, but New Yorkers are busy people. We got lucky since we already had a few friends living here, and since we climbed a lot, we met friends at our climbing gym.

New Yorkers aren't Friendly / They Don't Fake It

I hear a lot of people say how New Yorkers are rude or cold. Maybe it was my expectations coming in, but I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of New Yorkers that were friendly. No, it’s not Mr Rogers neighborhood where everyone is saying hello to each other, but when we needed it, strangers took the time to help us out or chat with us.

I also don’t need people to be fake nice to me. I like people being a little more rough around the edges and honest.

It's truly a melting pot

It is the most linguistically diverse city in the US. Over 800 languages are represented here. On our apartment floor alone, we represented 11 countries.

You See it First

Since it’s a city that starts trends, you get to experience a lot of things like trends, fashion trends, etc before it arrives awhere else in the states. Companies often build flagship stores, pop ups always come through, and you’ll get huge music acts visiting the city.

More: Your Essential Guide to NYC Pop Up

You Never Run Out of Things to Do

There are tons of museums, shows, restaurants, bars, and more. It has a little bit LOT of everything for aone.

More: The Ultimate Guide to Broadway Shows

It's the city that never sleeps

There’s always something to do or eat a time of day. It was perfect for night owls like me who always have a midnight craving.

The Food

The is hard to top and the options are endless. We started with a big list when we arrived and every time we checked one off, we learned about another 3. Our list never got smaller. Out of all the great options, they did have a shortage of amazing Korean , Vietnamese , and tacos (yes, even in the outer boroughs, but I will always take more recommendations in hopes to prove myself wrong).

More: 99 Best Places to Eat in NYC + 17 Best Desserts in NYC

It's Not Great for Big Groups

If you’re going out with a big group, you don’t have as ma options for places to hang out or eat. A lot of places are compact and have limited seating.

Amazing Public Transportation / It's Hard to Own a Car

You can practically get awhere via subway and bus. If not, there’s always Uber. Regardless, you can find ways to get around having a car. The hardest thing for us was not being able to do a large grocery haul. Instead, we would buy things here and there when we’re out, which can be more time consuming.

If you want a car, the challenge is finding parking and paying for parking. Parking can be the cost of rent in other cities.

More: 15 Incredible Weekend Trips from NYC

You Can Get Screwed by Public Transportation

We’ve been lucky, but a lot of locals have been screwed by public transportation. You’re at the mercy of their schedule if it goes down.

You’re also exposed to the elements when you have to use public transportation to get everywhere. Subways aren’t heated or cooled.

More: 25 Fun Things to Do in NYC for Rai and Cold Days

You Walk a Lot (And Fast)

I miss the walking city. You learn to walk fast and be conscious of the people around you, so that you’re not in their way. I felt healthier not being in a seated position most of the day from desk to car back to desk.

It's safe

NYC used to be known as a dangerous place, but nowadays, you can walk around most of the city at a hour without having to worry about your safety.

Sometimes people get freaked out that there are tons of homeless people. For the most part, they are harmless.

Direct Flights and the Airports

Since we still travel quite a bit for work, it’s important for us to have direct flights. We have plenty of airports and flights to choose from, but they’re all a cluster.

There isn’t a other city like it. I actually surprised myself how much I fell in love with the city, since I had a love/hate relationship whenever I visited. It turns out, I just needed to take on New York at a slower pace.

Tell me… could you move to a city like NYC? What are some dealbreakers when you decide where to live?

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Esther + Jacob

Esther and Jacob are the founders of Local Adventurer, which is one of the top 5 travel blogs in the US. They believe that adventure can be found both near and far and hope to inspire others to explore locally. They explore a new city in depth every year and currently base themselves in NYC.

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19980115 · 6 years ago

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Juyeon’s Childhood & School Days

Juyeon has a dad, mom, and a younger brother who is 4 years younger than him. His hometown is in Gwangju city, Gyeonggi province, South Korea. He lived there and went to school in Gyeonggi all the way until he graduated from high school. His dad used to raise two dogs at two different times, a Beagle and a Jindo dog. Both were named Lee Jumong (이주멍, 멍 is a cute way of calling a dog). Eric has seen the beagle one and expressed how Juyeon's hometown is located in such a natural countryside. His brother's name also starts with "Ju", so \"Lee Ju\" has always been a significant part of his family, embodied in the different members of the family. He also used to raise a rabbit and it was kept and fed in front of his house though it didn't have a name. He is very scared of praying mantis because once he accidentally stepped on a praying mantis that was eating an earthworm while playing with his friends... He is more of a cat person and it's not like he doesn't like dogs but when the dogs his dad raised grew bigger, he became scared of them. At his house now, they are raising a Long Coat Chihuahua that used to belong to a hyung (a guy he knows who is older than him) who moved out to the US. The name is Yong-i and that name was given by the previous owner.

Juyeon was rumored to be very good looking when he was young and people around him kept telling him so. Even during Valentine's Day, he would get a lot of snacks from his friends. There was a time that he got 100 Pepero snacks and he had a hard time bringing them back home. His mother really liked these traditions so during White Day she would make Juyeon bring candies to school and give them out to all his classmates. He used to learn Taekwondo until 3rd dan black belt, swimming but stopped before he learned butterfly style, and piano classes just for a bit. He also used to be good in Math, even getting 100 marks a lot, but it only lasted until junior high, after which he picked up basketball. During his primary school days (Chowol Primary School), Juyeon was the class president from 1st to 4th grade. In 5th grade he decided he won't be the class president anymore, but in 6th grade he became the school's president instead. He said that he used to be really smart and diligent at studying. Even during such a young age, he already really liked Bigbang and DBSK. He even already had Cyworld (Korean SNS) account since his junior year and his BGM was Last Farewell by Bigbang. He said at that time no other kids knew Bigbang or DBSK, it's just him (ㅋㅋㅋ)

The relationship of their family is very good, although after his grandmother passed away, they barely had time to get together. That's why he was very happy when they all went out to eat together during Chuseok in 2017 because it has been such a long time that they got together. He also ate together with his family and went to the sauna with his brother during Christmas in 2017. His hometown is a Greenbelt area, which means that there are restrictions on urbanization. It was in the mountains and there are a lot of hills. Near his house, there is a Vietnamese restaurant called “Phosai” that he frequents, especially for the rice noodles. He used to go fishing with his father in the valleys a lot and said that he always let the fish go after catching them because he feels bad for them. On top of that, his father used to take him around to find places to stargaze. His hometown has very little light pollution so the stars are extremely visible and he can even point out the Cassiopeia constellation with naked eyes. He's always really liked observing the sky. He is extremely close with his younger brother, Juhwan. They go out together a lot (just the two of them) and spend holidays in many different places (ski place and beach resort). They would also go to sauna rooms a lot and spend time there. During break a few months ago, his brother was just nearby when he went out with Jacob and Eric, so Juyeon called his brother to come over and they went to play sports together in a place named Sports Monster. As the oldest son, he felt that he received a lot of benefits and even felt sorry for his younger brother because Juyeon was able to do everything he wanted to his brother.

Juyeon's mother seems to love teasing or tricking him. Juyeon would actually believe every single thing his mom told him (such a filial and obedient son), even if it's actually really nonsensical... His mother used to feed him every morning until primary school grade 3~4. He said in the morning he's always very tired so even while being fed he would fall asleep. His Chinese zodiac is actually ox and not tiger, but he was a part of the Tiger VLIVE with Chanhee and Changmin so fans tried to ask and tell him in fansigns that his zodiac is cow but he replied with "But... mom said that... I'm Tiger...". Other fans talked about it to him after that and he said "Yeah... I heard that my zodiac is actually ox...". He seemed very sad about it because he really liked his Tiger zodiac... So fans have kind of given up and let him just think of his zodiac as Tiger. However, when fans gave him tiger-related accessories lately, he said that his Chinese zodiac is ox and even though fans convinced and reassured him he is a Tiger-born, he still insisted that he knew that he is Ox-born and that he was tricked by his mom. His parents once said that if Juyeon was a girl, they would have named him Jusoon. The fan whom he told about this was skeptical and asked if it isn't something that they just made up at the time, but he really believed that it was the truth. When Juyeon was in kindergarten, his teacher just told him about the Slit-mouthed Woman ghost. His mother once told him that she saw the ghost on the alley before. He had to walk back alone around 2-3 PM and he was so scared that he started humming out loud a made up song. Juyeon's mom's pregnancy dream was that she saw a tree full of ripe grapes and she picked all of the grapes His first memory was also related to his mom, when he was walking with his mother and came across a cat. He was scared at the time because of how the cat looked like but now he become very fond of cats and wants to raise a cool and chic type. The types he has mentioned are Turkish Angora, Scottish Fold, and Russian Blue cats.

He said that he was active and a bit on the playful and even the naughty side. He went to the amusement parks a lot and even had an annual membership in Lotte World. Because of that, he said he is very good with rides and his favourite is Gyro Drop. They have a garden in their house so he would play there a lot when he was young. Juyeon easily believed things that people told him. He used to believe that Santa existed until when he went to kindergarten, the kids there kept telling him that it doesn't exist but he didn't want to believe it and kept saying "No, that's not true, that's not true!". Juyeon even believed the myth that dragons live inside and can appear out of wells. In Juyeon's house, there used to be a lot of Hello Kitty dolls and that's why he got familiar with the character. Even his small desk (the one that you can fold) had a Hello Kitty image on it... There's an entertainment area called Yatap in Gyeonggi province and he used to go to the cinema there a lot to watch movies. He said it's so big (but according to the fan who shared this story, it actually isn't big at all... it's even on the smaller side). Juyeon has always really liked white milk from a young age, even until now. The brand that he used to drink is "Einstein". He said that he's always been tall since he was young even though his parents aren't on the taller side but his growth stopped at one point because he couldn't sleep well. His childhood dream was to become a pilot, and even until now a superpower he wants to gain is to be able to fly and he also once said that he wants be reborn as a vulture since it is strong and possesses a wide field of vision when flying.

Juyeon has always been quite popular in his school days. During high school, seniors would come to his class just to see him and sometimes when he walks in the corridors there would be juniors whispering to each other about how good-looking he is. His friend said that he used to receive a lot of confessions and gifts. He treats both his boy and girl classmates very nicely and equally so everyone was fond of him, especially because he laughs easily to everyone's jokes. Whenever his friends ask him to do something/go out together he would always agree right away. In the spring, the cherry blossom trees inside his school would be in full bloom and usually the students would go outside and not have class to enjoy the view and even take pictures together with the teachers. He would spend breaks talking with his friends or playing basketball. Since his high school did not serve meat, he didn’t really enjoy the meals but bought pizza bread regularly and ate them. Because of that as well, during lunch time that lasted for an hour, he would instead play basketball for 55 minutes and ran to eat for only 5 minutes.

He used to lead his class for the regular sports competition in his school for basketball and gained first place. He said he worked and practiced really hard for competitions, and so one of his best memories was when he scored a buzzer beater (scored right when the time left turns 0 second and match ends) during a competition in his province. He even received two MVP titles, one of which was in national competition. Juyeon would go to other schools to play basketball and his favourite seat in the class was the furthest at the back right beside the window because he likes watching students from other classes play basketball and football. He used to play as Small Forward, but lately he’s changed position to Shooting Guard. He used to really like Cleveland Cavaliers because both his favourite players, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James were in it, but because they transferred respectively to Boston Celtics and L.A Lakers, he also changed the teams that he supports. His favourite manga & anime is Slam Dunk, as he read the manga more than 3 times and watched the anime for more than 5 times. His favourite characters are Rukawa Kaede and Hisashi Mitsui. His number in The Boyz (11) is taken from the back number of Kyrie Irving in Boston Celtics, Rukawa Kaede in Slam Dunk, and his when he used to play basketball, as he thought of it as an ace number. The members also said he watches a lot of basketball videos, probably even more than he watches The Boyz videos, and that he is the one who plays the game console a lot especially NBA 2K. He used to join a choir group but dropped out only after two days.

Juyeon has always been known as someone who's conceptual and full of ideas (thinking type) by his friend and his speech is also very neat and proper. Rather than obsessing over him, lots of his friends had an admiration towards him like "Wah... Lee Juyeon... You're really...", that kind of feeling. This admiration especially comes from the fact that he was a trainee (starting from 2nd year of highschool, around mid-2015. His class in 2nd grade was Class #3). Juyeon was excused from classes sometimes because he had to practice but whenever he went to school, he never fell asleep, always wore his uniform properly, and finished all his exams. Because of that also he barely ate lunch in the school. His friend said that they never heard him curse. When he went to school he would wear earphones and sometimes bring a book and read it in school. He came across the book he reviewed in one of his individual broadcasts, Knulp by Hermann Hesse, after reading Demian, written by the same author during high school. Once when his class had Physical Education lesson in the gym, one of Juyeon's friends tripped and almost fell but he quickly grabbed his friend. Because of that he received a lot of compliments and his friend said it is a story that everyone in the class would remember. Juyeon is close to his History teacher who was also his homeroom teacher, who encouraged him to continue pursuing the path of becoming an idol when he was doubtful of it. He is also close to his Geography teacher with whom he consulted a lot about his problems. His favourite subjects were History, Physical Education, and English, especially because his English teacher was a really good teacher who knew how to make the class enjoyable. During KSAT, he took Korean History for the Social Science requirement. His teacher said he was a really cute and kind student. He is now attending university online, and said he has been listening to the courses well and enjoying them a lot as well as doing the works in the midst of the busy schedule, though he is not allowed to reveal his major.

Translated and compiled by @deobjeu / 19980115.tumblr.com. Please do not re-post to any other platform or re-translate into other language.

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drtanstravels · 5 years ago

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2020 is the year that a lot of my friends will turn 40 and the first on the list was Shane Worthington, the one I’ve known the longest. We’ve been close friends since we were five years old, were in pretty much every class through primary and high school together, and were best man at each other’s weddings. We spent all of our childhood and teen years hanging out together and, although we hardly get to see each other for years at a time due to me now living in Singapore and him in Canberra, ACT, when we do it’s like we only spoke yesterday. That’s why when he told me at the beginning of 2019 that he was planning a cruise to New Caledonia for his 40th birthday, I knew we had to go. Anna instantly loved the idea, but not everyone else invited was able to make it so in the end it was ultimately going to be an eight-day cruise aboard a ship carrying almost 2,000 passengers, 800 crew and staff, and Shane’s group that would consist of himself, his wife, Danii, their 18-month-old daughter, Evie, an older couple that he used to work with, Sam and Kerri, and Anna and myself. We were scheduled to board the cruise ship at 1:00pm in Sydney, Australia on January 8 and depart for New Caledonia, spending almost three days at sea, before reaching the islands of Noumé, Maré, and Lifou, spending a day on each before making the trek back to Sydney and arriving on January 16, Shane’s birthday. Let’s see how this worked out.

Monday, January 6, 2020 Anna had booked our flights months prior and the holiday period is the worst time of year to travel to Australia, because it’s so expensive! To put the prices in perspective, we’ve booked return flights to Los Angeles next month and Cape Town, South Africa in June and neither of those flights were as much as return 7.5-hour flight from Singapore to Sydney in the summer. Our tickets were over S$2,000 (US$1,486) each and depart after midnight so Anna later decided that, because we had paid so much for the seats, we may as well pay extra and upgrade to Business Class so we could at least sleep easier on the flight and feel remotely fresh when we arrived.

I woke up on Monday morning to a message from Shane, asking what our plans were:

That’s right, we had messed up the flight details. Anna was meticulous when first booking the flights, but she thinks she may have rushed it a little when she upgraded our seats, resulting in us being scheduled to arrive a day early. There was no way Anna could get the day off work, I could’ve gone that night, but she also gets nervous when I fly alone due to my track record for having seizures on overnight flights so she rescheduled the tickets for the same time the following night… for the small fee of S$3,600 (US$2,675). So, now we were over eight grand down and hadn’t even set foot on the ship.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, but we were a little nervous for obvious reasons, the main one being that if there were delays of any kind we would more than likely miss the cruise. There was also the possibility that getting into Sydney could be difficult due to the bushfires ravaging nearby areas, but fortunately everything went smoothly and we touched down in Sydney at about 11:30am local time, actually a little ahead of schedule. Once through immigration we collected our luggage, took a shuttle to the port in Balmain, went through the entire immigration and customs process again like you would at an airport, and soon we were aboard the Pacific Explorer, later departing Sydney at 4:00pm. Once inside there were a few things that immediately struck us:

You don’t realise how big these ships are until you are onboard. It was so easy to get lost on this one.

Anything that wasn’t in the cruise package you had initially purchased was extremely expensive — AU$25.00 (US$17.20) to wear what in a hotel would be a complimentary robe and AU$15.00 (US$10.30) to use an umbrella is just unreasonable.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not so much retirees that make up the majority of passengers on cruise ships. Maybe it was because it was school holidays, but there were a lot of families on this one. There were also a ton of people who must’ve just heard the words “complimentary buffet” as well, because some of the passengers were enormous!

We took our luggage to our rooms, had a look around the ship, and then went to the already crowded buffet for our first meal of the day. What I expected from the buffet was the crappy quality bain-marie stuff you get in public school canteens, but that wasn’t the case on this ship. There were separate stalls serving different dishes from around the globe, as well as salad bars, dessert cabinets, everything. We just went to the first stall we saw, which was the Mexican one, and the food was really good, but it wasn’t the most popular option there, that’s for sure. We would only eat at the buffet a few times on this trip, but what was truly mind-boggling was the sheer amount of french fries people would eat over the course of the cruise. The fish ‘n’ chips stall perpetually had a queue of at least 10 people, closely followed by the one selling hamburgers and chips, some people just getting basket after basket of fries from both stalls. It would be safe to say that the fish ‘n’chip stall fed around 10% of the passengers at any given meal, leading me to wonder how many tons of frozen chips must be stored in the galley of the Pacific Explorer to last an eight-day cruise with 2,000 passengers who have access to unlimited fries? I will get to the bottom of this matter one day, mark my words.

The rest of the day was spent quietly trying out the different bars and catching up with Shane and Danii for the first time in five years, as well as meeting Sam, Kerri, and baby Evie for the first time, with dinner at an Asian restaurant called Dragon Lady thrown into the mix and finishing up at The Blue Room. The good thing with the bulk of the onboard restaurants is that they are also complimentary unless you order one of the specials. This is what Wednesday looked like:

A little smokey approaching Sydney

Anna at the port

This cabin would be our home for the next eight days

Looking out towards our balcony

A portrait of Rear Admiral Bill Murray near the elevators

Looking down from our floor to other areas of the ship

And we’re off

Under the bridge

Passing the city

Goodbye Sydney

A small portion of the deck

Anna in front of the outdoor cinema screen

Me hanging out with a coffee

Panoramic view of a different area of the deck

The view over the stern

A portion of the deck at night

Inside The Blue Room

Thursday, January 9, 2020 The next couple of days aboard the ship en route to New Caledonia were just spent relaxing, it was really only the nights where anything truly happened. Shane was up early every morning to change nappies and hit the gym, Anna and I would go down to the cafe a few floors down for coffee and then come back up to the cabin and read while relaxing to the sound of the ocean. On Thursday we had a couple of drinks after that, Anna had an afternoon massage, and soon it was time for dinner, because due to there being six of us and a baby, we had to either book a table at 5:15pm or 7:30pm. The latter was too late for an 18-month-old so we would have had to go with the former, a time when very few people under the age of 85 eat. Instead, we had burgers and wings at an outdoor bar. Shane and Danii were rather tired, Sam and Kerri decided to go see Normie Rowe play so Anna and I went to a standup comedy show, on this occasion being Hung Le. In Australia Hung Le is probably most famous for playing the Vietnamese boss in the local film Fat Pizza. I have never seen the movie, but I remembered him from watching comedy festivals on TV as a teenager and had always found him funny back then, but I figured he must be a bit washed up now if he’s doing the cruise ship circuit, just like once legendary entertainers that now play nightly in Las Vegas. I couldn’t have been more wrong, he was absolutely hilarious. The show started at 10:30 and went for 45 minutes, but Anna was fading towards the end so we went back to the cabin afterward and had what we consider an early night.

The burgers there were great!

Friday, January 10, 2020 Friday followed a similar pattern to Thursday, but the problem was that Anna had a lot of work to complete before the cruise, preparing presentations for upcoming conferences, completing and submitting journal articles in time for publication, that type of thing, but I don’t think even she realised how exhausted she was. She woke up at 10:00am for a 45-minute acupuncture session and I was still asleep when she returned so Anna got back into bed. Now, we realised when we were in the Galapagos Islands a few years back that the gentle rocking of a boat makes it a lot easier to sleep, but I’m still not sure that the motion of the ocean is solely responsible for Anna sleeping again until almost 3:00pm. Once she was awake we went to get coffee and then meet the rest of our crew in one of the bars, on most occasions it was the Explorer Hotel, for a couple of beers before an early dinner. There were quite a few bar options on the ship, but some only opened at night or were hosting events. It was always really hot and sunny on the deck with kids running around and screaming so we cancelled those options out. The foyer in the middle had a bar, but there was almost constantly a guy by the name of Kingsley playing there, whom we went on to dub “Elton Joel.” Kingsley wore a gold, glittery, plastic hat and despite being a decent piano player, couldn’t sing if his life depended on it, yet he would spend hours at the piano playing covers, roughly a quarter of each were either by Elton John or Billy Joel, hence the nickname. Upstairs was the Ocean Bar, but it was kind of small for the seven of us and you could still hear Elton Joel in there so we went to the adjacent, but separate Explorer Hotel on most occasions. After a few drinks and a chat there was a dinner reservation waiting for us at an Italian restaurant onboard called Angelo’s and once again the food was great and their pepper grinder was hilariously large, but there was a bit of a problem with the way we were spending time on the boat; most days we would meet up before dinner and have a drink or two, then have dinner at 5:15pm due to how the reservations worked. Even if we sat at the table and had more drinks before ordering, by the time it was eight or nine o’clock in the evening it felt a lot later than what it actually was and, despite still being light at times, Anna would sometimes start to get tired again. This was one of those occasions so even though she had only been awake for six or seven hours, she went back to the cabin and checked in early, only about half an hour after the sun had set.

Most nights on this ship, besides the regular shows and entertainment, there were themed parties and the theme that night was Back to School. Everyone who attended was trying to look sexy or classy in their school uniforms, but Shane and I figured we could just go in what we were wearing because our school didn’t really have a uniform. The idea of a school party had us reminiscing about stupid things that had happened when we were in high school, such as setting a bucket of glue on fire, resulting in a student getting suspended for eating a cookie from our overweight principal’s desk. Or the time a football was kicked over the chainlink fence into the junior campus of the neighbouring Catholic school, but instead of climbing the fence or asking a student to kick it back, someone just got some bolt-cutters from the shed where automotive repair classes were taught and just cut a giant hole out of the fence to retrieve the ball. Then there was the time that there was a stabbing at our school in retaliation to something that happened to my friend, Owen. It sounds worse than it was, sure, a kid did get stabbed, but it was only in the side of the leg, painful, but not fatal. There was a banner at the Back to School party along the wall that could be signed so we added our little tidbit that you will see in the next bunch of photos.

The school party wasn’t really our thing and we had other plans anyway, namely to keep drinking until karaoke started and then take over. We were the fourth people to sing and we had a decent amount of liquid courage inside of us, plus we decided to play the sympathy card with a crowd that was more than likely assuming we were homosexual due to a combination of Shane’s shirt and the fact that we had chosen the song Maneater by Hall and Oates. “I’m Tim, this is Shane,” I said as I was handed the microphone. “Shane’s wife is stuck upstairs with the baby, mine’s passed out in bed so tonight we’re going to party,” and then we tore it up. Our rendition of Maneater was a crowd favourite that night, even when we got bored during a one-minute guitar solo and decided to give a botany lesson on the many plants surrounding the stage. We kept drinking and then later Shane wanted to do another song, Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang. The initial idea was that my role would be the hype guy, kind of like what Flavor Flav is to Chuck D in Public Enemy, however, Shane knows this song like the back of his hand, not even needing to look up at the lyrics. Besides being able to get the occasional “Yeah Boy!” in when he was out of breath later in the song and at one point calling up a bunch of eight-year-old children onto the dance-floor, my role eventually left me relegated to sitting on the on-stage ledge with my beer, surrounded by ficus plants while Shane blew away everyone in the bar with his rendition of the old school hip hop classic. I’m just glad they only had the “short” six-and-a-half-minute version, not the 15-minute take, but regardless, he blew Maneater out of the water to the point where people would come up to us for the remainder of the cruise, some referring to me as “Goose,” an incorrect reference to the sidekick of the main pilot in Top Gun (I think they meant Jester). Once karaoke was done we went back to the Blue Room to see the end of a really good band’s set before the place filled up with attendees of the Back to School party. Danii and Anna still say that because there is no video evidence, they are skeptical about our karaoke dominance, but Anna’s also seen what happens when I get a microphone after a few drinks, be it karaoke or even if a band is playing. Just because I can’t sing, it doesn’t mean I wont. Still there are these pictures and a couple of other videos of Shane in the general vicinity of the dance floor:

Kerri getting some pepper in Angelo’s

Anna’s turn

Having a beer with Shane. I hope it’s just the perspective that’s making my legs look that long!

The banner at the beginning of the Back to School Party

Our contribution

School’s out

Saturday, January 11, 2020 One thing about spending two-and-a-half days on a cruise ship is it’s not long enough to get your sea-legs so any time you’re walking around it feels like you’re drunk but without the pleasure of the booze. Saturday was going to be an interesting day, because when we woke we were docked a short way off Nouméa:

Nouméa is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia’s main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island’s European, Polynesian (Wallisians, Futunians, Tahitians), Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific’s most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.

At the September 2019 census, there were 182,341 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Greater Nouméa, 94,285 of whom lived in the city (commune) of Nouméa proper. 67.2% of the population of New Caledonia live in Greater Nouméa, which covers the communes of Nouméa, Le Mont-Dore, Dumbéa and Païta.

We were off the ship just before 8:00am, took a small boat to the island, and immediately went across the road to a nearby supermarket to get something to drink. We then walk around some of the main areas of the town, just exploring different parts like Coconut Palm Square and walking through Chinatown and the Latin Quarter while we waited for the crowd to subside so we could take the island tour in comfort. After an hour or so we took a tourist trolley around the city, taking in sites such as some canons installed by Australians at a fort at Ouen Toro, an old prison, the craft market, and a library with a dinosaur statue out the front. The trolley tour was a round trip so once we were done we decided to walk along the coast and find somewhere for lunch. We had our minds set on a restaurant out on the water called Le Roof, but when we arrived and saw the prices, also remembering how we had paid 2,700 F (US$25.00) on a latte each earlier, we figured this island is either obscenely expensive or they must just bump the prices up substantially when the tourists arrive, because we were looking at paying at least around S$45.00 (US$30.00) each for lunch. Instead we walked back down the road along the beach, passing one of the most rancid-smelling portable toilets along the way, and we found a reasonably priced restaurant that sold a bit of everything, but was predominantly Italian food. We ordered and were then brought a basket of bread to eat with a mixture of olive oil and an unmarked bottle of brown liquid that one would assume was balsamic vinegar, but it only took Danii one bite to realise that it was a little saltier than normal and not particularly tangy. That’s because it wasn’t balsamic vinegar, but soy sauce. Still, it wasn’t that bad. After lunch we started to make our way back to the boat and arrived at around 3:00pm. Shane and Danii decided to board then so Evie could have a nap, but we still had an hour before we were departing so Anna and I decided to pick up some supplies, including seeing sanitary pads for men which I should’ve bought for future trips to Myanmar, and have a look at some nearby shops that we hadn’t had a chance to earlier. This included visiting an awesome pinball store called Flipper Addict that was clearly set up by a guy who had come into some cash and started his dream parlour as a hobby, as well as servicing and supplying other machines, not that we saw a lot around. We had also been told on our tour that Coca Cola tastes better in New Caledonia because of the quality of the water used. We were both skeptical that Coke was even bottled there and neither of us has drunk any soft drink in years, but Anna wanted to try it and find out anyway. It just tasted the same as I remembered. It definitely was nice to spend a day back on solid ground again:

It was actually kind of difficult to stand properly when we first got back on the ground

Not sure what’s happening on that island

Looking up the coast

One of many rock formations jutting out of the water

Anna just standing around

Me doing the same

It honestly looks like Shane just found a baby

What we’d spend a bit of time being driven around on

The old prison

Where we had initially planned to eat

The local racetrack

Getting a bit stormy over the islands

Approaching the fort

One of the canons

Some background information

Looking back over the beach

Anna with her “special” coke

At the craft market

Should’ve bought this hat

A dinosaur guarding the library

It’s easy to relax here

‘Men Pads’ are a real thing her

The sign for the pinball parlour

When we were back aboard, Danii and Shane had decided to spend the rest of the night quietly, just a few drinks before dinner, which they had at the bogan-buffet. Sam and Kerri weren’t feeling so, resulting in us having dinner to ourselves so we went back to Dragon Lady for what turned into a kind of amusing evening. The two of us were led by the waitress to our table, one situated next to another table with two rather large women, one about twice as old as the other, from a small town located about 600km (372 miles) inland from Brisbane. They had ordered the same set menu as we were going to and had several nights prior, but when we sat down the younger of the women was dry-retching at the thought of eating even the tiniest bit of the squid skewer in front of her, even offering it to us. The older woman spent the entire time encouraging her to eat a piece and wasn’t taking “No” for an answer so after about 15 minutes the younger woman managed to summon up the courage to close her eyes and take a bite, tears welling up as she did. Once they saw how much we loved our skewers, the two women got talking to us, the younger one explaining that eating the squid would’ve been easier if it didn’t look so much like a squid. In fact, it turned out she had never even eaten pretty much anything that she was served and was apprehensive at all of them:

Squid skewers — “I was able to eat half an octopus ball once, couldn’t do the whole thing though.”

Marinated pork ribs — “I’ve never eaten ribs, I just feed them to my dog.”

Sautéed eggplant — “I don’t even know what it is.”

Curried beef — “That was probably my favourite out of everything.”

When the older woman heard that the younger one liked the curry, she tried to “educate” her on how curry is made, incorrectly telling her that it traditionally takes about five weeks just to make the paste, however, she could just by Ayam brand curry powder and do it in a slow-cooker. Apparently her niece had tried to make it herself, but it still took about five days to make the paste because she needed to blend spices from scratch. They later told us about their small town that consisted of a pub and one small store, the two of them both working in the store. They even needed to hire and train new staff so they could both come on this cruise. My guess is the younger one will be sticking to the fish ‘n’ chips at the buffet from now on.

Our entertainment for the evening was to be sitting in a live incantation of the Australian TV dating show, Perfect Match. There was no Greg Evans or Dexter, but what unfolded that night was trashy comedic gold. For the uninitiated, Perfect Match consisted of a male or female contestant listening to the answers of questions asked to three suitor’s of the opposite sex that he/she was unable to see and then choosing the one with which they would like to go on a date. On the first round of the ship’s version the questions were asked of four young women and as soon as the blindfolded male admitted that he recognised the name of one of the suitors because they had hooked up the previous night, followed by another female suitor yelling to someone down the back of the room to get her another drink and a bag of salt and vinegar chips, I knew I just had to get filming. Also, we were seated behind someone with a cornrow combover (below), but I can’t help but think that they missed the opportunity to braid the combover section across their head. It was even more shocking when said individual stood up and turned out to be a woman:

Anyway, it was a hilarious night, some of the female suitors were pretty trashy and the bulk of the male ones were as thick as pig shit so witness some of the Perfect Match train-wreck for yourself:

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Sunday, January 12, 2020 We would be making landfall again, this time on the island of Maré for some sand, sea, and sunburn. We got up reasonably early, put on some sunscreen, grabbed our swimming gear, and jumped on a boat to ferry us over to Maré Island:

Maré Island or Nengone is the second-largest of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island is part of the commune (municipality) of Maré, in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia.

The island is 42 km (26 mi) long and 16 to 33 km (10 to 20 miles) wide. It lies northeast of Grande Terre, New Caledonia’s mainland. Like its neighbor to the north Lifou, Maré is a raised coral atoll, a former atoll that has been lifted about 120 meters. The interior of the island is the former lagoon, surrounded by a rim of higher land that was the ring of reef islets. Its fossil coral rock is honeycombed with caves, pools, and pits of all sizes, whose sharp edges make for difficult walking. Because of the lifting, the current shoreline is relatively recent and supports only short sections of nearshore fringing reef, unlike the extensive barrier reef found on the main island of New Caledonia, Grande Terre. The narrow beaches of Maré are often backed by cliffs.

Shane, Danii, Evie, Anna, and myself all boarded our boat just after 10:00am for the short ride over some choppy water and we were soon back on the land. The first thing that struck me when we got off the boat was how clear the water was and how fearless the children living there were. A few of them were just blindly running up and jumping off cliffs into the lagoon below them, not a care in the world. We walked along the beach, passing some stray dogs that were sleeping on the sand, until we got to an area that wasn’t too crowded with our fellow tourists, planted our towels, and then Anna rented some old, mouldy snorkelling gear for the two of us. The others played with Evie in a shallow part while Anna and I slowly made our way out to a coral area to snorkel. I say slowly, because the water was a lot colder than over here in the tropics and, although it doesn’t bother Anna in the slightest, it takes me a long time to fully immerse myself in rather cold water, because I need to work up the courage to submerge the three areas that the temperature shocks the most; the back of the knees, followed by the testicles, and finally the nipples. Once in we snorkelled for a while and saw some colourful fish and areas of coral, but it wasn’t really anything special.

After swimming we just spent time walking along the beach, drinking cheap beers, and laughing at the Instagram influencers getting more and more annoyed while taking and retaking at least 10 photos to try and perfectly capture one sole representation of just how relaxed and hassle-free their island-hopping life is. There were several stalls selling coconuts and braiding hair so another activity that brought us all immense pleasure was listening to bogans outside of their natural environment. “Mum, can I get my mullet braided?” was one pearl of wisdom we heard out of a child, while an extremely overweight woman replied to a man offering her a coconut that, “Coconut is f__king gross!”, leading us to believe she had only ever had the desiccated type that comes on a lamington, but never the fresh variety. Shane at one stage tried to order a coconut from one of the stalls, but the two guys working there were so baked it took them a few seconds to realise he was even standing in front of them.

Soon we were back on the boat and we returned to the Explorer Hotel for a few drinks, followed by dinner, and back to the Explorer again to watch an Asian woman and an African-American guy do some fantastic covers, the dude able to make all the high notes when they did Prince tracks, particularly Kiss. When we first entered they were playing Wishing Well by Terence Trent D’Arby so I mentioned to Shane that he was in the bathroom while I was taking a leak. He thought it was cool that I got to meet D’Arby while having a piss and went on to tell me about the time he met one of the Australian cricket team in a public toilet, however, I was only referring to the guy out of the cover band we were watching at the time. There was the White Party that night where everyone wore white, however, Shane suggested that we all should’ve gone as Walter White from Breaking Bad, but we didn’t attend for the same reason as any of the other parties, it was just too crowded in a really small space. Instead, we watched a talent competition that was just glorified karaoke, everyone trying to get me to enter, but me declining on the grounds that I wasn’t drunk enough, before calling it a night. Looking back on Sunday:

Looking back at our ship

Approaching the island

I wasn’t kidding about the water

I was too scared to go off the 3-metre (10′) diving board at my local swimming pool at that age!

Dogs just laying around

Looking up the beach

And the other way

Towards some of the huts

Token panoramic shot

These guys were fried!

Our beer choices

Coconuts and braids

Another small hut

Walking around a cove

The five of us hanging out

Still walking around

Time to head back now

Especially when it’s coming over like this

The view on the way back

A similar view from our balcony that night

Monday, January 13, 2020 Monday would be our last trek onto land, albeit a shortened one, this time on Lifou Island:

Lifou Island or Drehu in the local language is the largest, most populous and most important island of the Loyalty Islands (Loyalty Islands Province), in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With a total area of 1,207 square kilometers Lifou is located east of Australia

Irregular in shape, Lifou Island is 81 km (50 mi) long and 16 to 24 km (10 to 15 miles) wide. The island is flat with no hills or rivers, but has abundant vegetation, dense interior jungles, fertile soils, terraced cliffs and breath taking reefs and corals.

Lifou Island is a former coral atoll that was part of a submerged volcano. Nearly 2 million years ago, the island was uplifted to its present shape and elevation, today it sits at a mere 60m above sea level at its highest point. Since there are no rivers on Lifou, the water comes from rain that seeps through the calcareous soil and forms freshwater ponds.

The term Kanak is used for natives of the islands and their native language of the island is Drehu, with people descending from Melanesians and Polynesians. With a total of 19 different tribes inhabiting the three Loyalty Islands, six of which are on Lifou.

Anna was keen to swim again, but I had no intentions of taking my shirt off, because I didn’t want to add to the searing pain I was in from how sunburnt I had got the previous day while swimming. I had put sunscreen on my torso, legs, and lower arms and Anna had covered my back, but I missed my upper arms and shoulders which were now bright red. In fact, it was so bad you could map the way I had applied the sunscreen by simply examining the finger lines in the burnt areas! Seriously:

I obviously used my right hand to wipe down from my left shoulder

Anna’s tiny finger-lines on my shoulder

If not applying sunscreen correctly was my main regret from Sunday, wearing sneakers that I hadn’t worn since going to the gym back when we lived in New York years ago would be my regret for Monday as you will soon find out.

We boarded another small boat to take to Lifou and it was extremely windy while we were on our way to the island, but it wasn’t just at sea, the wind was strong on the land, too. We had a heavy bag with us so we planted that under a tree at the exact same time an elderly woman tripped over a tree root and slid down a small embankment, cutting her arm in the process, but she was okay so we went to explore our last stop in New Caledonia. We found ourselves walking past traditional grass huts beside the crystal clear ocean and we were only about 15 minutes into our trek when part of the sole of my shoe came off. I figured it was no big deal and kept walking when almost all of the entire sole of the same shoe immediately came unstuck. On the ship we had to use a swipe card to pay for things, as well as enter our rooms, and I had mine on an elastic band around my wrist so I took the band and wrapped it around my shoe in a futile attempt to keep the sole from coming more and more detached. The scenery was stunning and soon we were near an old cathedral on the island when the sole of the other shoe came right off. These things were just disintegrating and it was now time for me to make use of the band of Anna’s tag to keep that sole on so after a quick pitstop at the cathedral we were off again. The sole that had come fully detached shifted as I walked, something that wasn’t an immediate issue, but it could have disastrous consequences soon; our plan was to walk through some thick jungle and descend down a considerably steep path consisting solely of some extremely slippery rocks to reach an underground cave system so I would need all of the grip I could get, not soles attached to my shoes by elastic. Besides the constant need to shift and adjust the soles we made it down to the caves just fine. It was a bit of a squeeze getting there and I had to duck through some low hanging areas, resulting in some local kids coming to the conclusion that I must be a professional basketball player, one even asking if he could have my cap. Once inside the caves there were freshwater pools that were about four metres ( 13′) deep where you could swim, but they were also freezing cold. It may have been able to relieve my sunburn somewhat, but I’m not a fan of the cold, let alone swimming in it, so we just had a look around and then made our way back up the path to the surface. Once at the top I tore the remaining portions of the soles off both sneakers, the end result resembling a pair of cycling cleats. We continued walking around the island, me in my disfigured shoes, before heading back to the boat. Shane and Danii checked out a vanilla farm and saw some wild pigs while they were in Lifou, but this is what Anna and I saw:

Looking one way…

…and the other

A little gusty out here

A local family going about their day

One of the traditional huts

Looking through a hole to the ocean beneath

Hanging out on a pier

It’s ridiculously clear

A wooden carving

Inside one of the huts

I’d probably struggle to get in

The local cathedral

Imagine both shoes being held together with elastic like this

Just need to go down this path in my not-so-stable sneakers

Looking into the jungle

Anna and a tree

About halfway down

A portion of one of the pools inside the cave

Another area

This guy served as a lifeguard of sorts

Goodbye, sneakers. Oh well, they were ugly anyway

A group about to do a traditional ceremony (we never actually got to see it)

Heading back to the ship

A little rough

It was still extremely rough when we were back on the ship. In fact at one point when we were having a bit to eat in the buffet it felt like the ship dipped down and hit something, but it was nothing to really worry about, it was just a bit difficult walking around.

The rest of Monday and Tuesday were quite similar on the ship. We spent most of our time relaxing in the cabin, eating, drinking, and trying to avoid hearing Elton Joel. We saw more talent contests and karaoke that featured a young guy doing an over the top cover of Greased Lightnin’, hamming it up even more the following night in the final. We watched a band do a decent Amy Winehouse tribute show, Anna and Danii went to a stage show the next night while Shane and I just hung out, and we also went in a contest where the funniest answers to questions were read out, except when it came to ours, because we wrote down some messed up stuff that they refused to read. An ongoing theme on the ship was photographers asking to do glamour photos for you and then charge you extortionate prices for a printout, but Shane and Danii had paid for a photo package so they got some glamour shots done, dragging me into a couple with Shane. Also on the Tuesday night there was a 1920s themed ‘Gatsby’ party and Anna and I met an elderly couple from Liverpool, England (below) who had attended and got chatting to them afterward. He was telling me about how he grew up during the depression and had to steal pigs to feed his family, including his 11 siblings. He even taught me how to steal them. While we were having this conversation his wife was telling Anna that he also used to string guitars for the Beatles when they first came out and that he even played guitar for Cilla Black! He never even mentioned this until Anna told me and I asked him about it!

One of our horrendous glamour shots

With our slightly older drinking companions from Liverpool

Wednesday, January 15, 2020 It was the eve of Shane’s 40th birthday and our last day on the ship. Anna and myself went down to get coffee, passing Danii on the way who told us that there was a ton of fresh seafood available at the buffet today so once coffee was done we feasted on fresh prawns, mussels, and crabs. After lunch we went to the Explorer Hotel early to try to secure a seat for that afternoon’s trivia competition. It’s difficult to get a table for trivia, because the place fills up with people playing cards, mainly Uno, and they won’t move until the trivia competition has finished. We managed to get a seat, but many others missed out due to the card players, and we ended up absolutely blitzing most of the competition. As soon as trivia was over, the table of Uno players next to us packed up their stuff, smirked like the asshats they are, and left the bar, but we weren’t going anywhere for a while, instead sitting around listening to one of the great cover bands we had seen on a previous night. Once we did leave, it was up to 400 Gradi for Shane’s pizza birthday dinner which concluded with us filling out a feedback form with the request that they never let Kingsley, AKA Elton Joel back on the ship again, or at the very least to not allow him to have a microphone. Once done we dropped into the The Bonded Store so Sam could buy Shane a top-shelf whiskey and then it was back to the Explorer for more drinks, but Shane was getting a tad sleepy. We sat through more karaoke, the winner of the talent contest finally choosing a new tune! We were all relieved, I even turned to a complete stranger and said, “At least it’s not f__cking Greased Lightnin’!”, to which she laughed and agreed. I guess I spoke too soon, because only a few songs later he was back with an even more amped up version of Greased Lightnin’, acting out the entire dance from the movie as he went. Seriously, I think this guy must’ve had to play the role of Grease‘s Danny for his recent high school end-of-year concert, it was still fresh in his head, and he figured if he pulled it out enough times he might be able to score his very own Sandy. As it approached midnight I let the guy taking karaoke requests know that it was Shane’s birthday, grabbed a round of drinks for us, and welcomed in his fifth decade, Shane initially irritated at the thought that he was going to have to get up and sing, but I only got the karaoke guy to get the room to sing Happy Birthday. It all didn’t last much longer than that.

Thursday, January 16, 2020 It was time for us to all say our goodbyes when we got off the ship that morning; Sam and Kerri had to catch an early flight back to Brisbane, Shane, Danii, and Evie were soon going to be on the bus home to Canberra, and we would be flying back to Singapore later that night. However, we had the entire afternoon to wander around Sydney so we got the nearby train station to store our luggage and we took a train into town to have a look around. I’ve never really been a big fan of Sydney, but I did manage to buy something I’ve always wanted while we were there, a Manute Bol jersey from his rookie season with the then Washington Bullets:

All in all our first ever cruise was an absolute blast, far more fun than we had anticipated and we were expecting to be awesome anyway. I hope you had a great time for your 40th, Shane, it was cool to finally meet Evie and see Danii again, as well as hang out with Sam and Kerri, now you all need to come and visit us in Singapore!

A week on a cruise ship and hanging out on islands in the South Pacific for my friend's 40th birthday 2020 is the year that a lot of my friends will turn 40 and the first on the list was Shane Worthington, the one I've known the longest.

#cruise #islands #Lifou #Maré #Noumé #ship

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eyesopen2019 · 5 years ago

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Midnight flight to Hanoi and trekking in Sapa

When I was booking our exit route from China for our visas several month ago I booked a 3.30am flight from Guangzhou to Hanoi. I knew it would be a bit tiring but thought we’d cope, and the flights were super cheap!! So on 23rd October we arrived to Kunming airport at 7pm for the first short flight to Guangzhou to wait for our 3.30am flight. In Guangzhou, we weren’t able to check-in until about 12.30am so we didn’t have many dinner choices in the departure side of airport but after some hunting Lani and I found a MacDonald’s which was open and kids got fast food which made them happy. We found some seats we could lie down on and we all managed to get a bit of rest. It was a struggle to wake kids up at 1am to get to check-in but we got there without too many complaints (I think they were still half asleep and had no energy to fight). We checked in and by the time we got through security it was time to board the plane for the short flight to Hanoi. We arrived and were picked up by our hotels driver for the 40min trip to the city and after leaving our bags at the hotel we went for a walk to find some breakfast. I love it in Vietnam how transport by car is so cheap that we can get a pickup rather than having to navigate our way by public transport as we’d done in most other places. It is always good to see your name on a sign in the arrival hall and know that you just need to sit in a car to get to your accommodation and not have to think about how!

We ventured out into the streets of Hanoi at 5.30am and found a local coffee shop and had café su da and xoi (sticky rice). After that we walked around and unfortunately wandered down a street filled with shops selling BBQ dogs. The kids were fascinated and horrified by the piles of BBQ dogs stacked on the table. We had Pho at a nearby restaurant which wasn’t very nice, probably because of the nearby dogmeat. We all felt really tired from our long night of travel and luckily we were able to check-in to the hotel early were we all had a shower and a rest. The hotel we stayed at (Hanoian Central Hotel and Spa) had a delicious buffet breakfast each morning with western and Vietnamese foods which we really enjoyed.

In Hanoi we enjoyed wandering the streets of the old quarter finding different foods to eat which we had been looking forward to. We wandered around Hoan Kiem Lake and checked out the shops including the night market where they sold lots of counterfeit shoes and clothes. We did some shopping and sent a box of things down to the family house near Saigon which we will pickup before we head home which made our bags a bit lighter and gave us some space (we later discovered the box was sent to the house but not delivered and so was sent back to Hanoi and then after Hung called was sent back to Saigon and arrived looking very battered but intact). I went to see the famous puppet show at Thang Long Puppet Theatre with Lani which tells a traditional story of farmers and animals set in the rice fields with live music and singers. It was just as I had remembered after going several times before with each of the boys, and Lani enjoyed it. One afternoon, Hung, Leon, Lani and I went out for a foot massage which they thought was funny, especially Leon, but they enjoyed it. We also found a really obscure magic shop one day where we bought some card tricks and props for Leon and Lani. It was owned by a young vietnamese guy who was obviously really into magic and enjoyed showing us what he had for sale.

We left Hanoi on 27th October on the overnight train bound for Lao Cai and we booked the deluxe sleeper which was fairly basic but had clean sheets, water and some snacks provided. The train was slow and bumpy but relaxing and we all had a reasonable sleep. We arrived at 5.30am and got a shuttle bus to our hotel in Sapa (Sapa Elite Hotel) which was surrounded by construction and was really noisy. The day we arrived it rained most of the day so we had a very relaxed day in the hotel. Our hotel had a view out over the main square and valley to the mountains so it was lovely to sit by the window and watch the rain. We did wander around the town and found it to be full of construction and a fairly ugly town with rundown buildings and dirty restaurants, roads full of holes and non-existent sidewalks. There were many groups of local Hmong women and children hassling us to try to sell handicrafts or be tour guides. Lani was surprised to find the children trying to sell things or be tour guides to make money and not at school. Lani thinks she would rather be out making money and not having to go to school.

The following day we had arranged for a local Hmong woman, Ger, to meet us at our hotel and she was to be our guide for the next few days. So together we set out from Sapa at about 10am for our trek through the mountains. She asked us if we wanted to go the hard way and avoid the government fee as we entered the nearby village or the easy way where we would have to pay a charge (never did find out how much it was). After a bit of negotiations with the kids, Hung and I decided to take the hard way with some complaints from the kids. Ger thought the kids could manage but didn’t really tell us the difference between he options. The first couple of hours was fairly steep in sections along a rough track which was overgrown in some parts. We definitely wouldn’t be able to find it without a guide. Our mountain looked across the valley towards Fancipan which is the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3100m.

Ger talked to us about Hmong people and their life, how they get married and have children very young, men usually stay home to look after the animals and farm while the women go out to work – selling handicrafts or guiding people on treks. Children now go to a local school but fend for themselves a bit with children as young as 4 and 5 walking alone or in groups along the edge of the road to get to school. She explained about land ownership and rice farming and how each family is fairly self-sufficient and is able to grow enough rice for themselves for the year as well as vegetables and keep chickens and cows for meat and trading. I was surprised to learn that Ger and almost everyone in her village has never travelled any further than Sapa. She has never been to Hanoi or seen a train in real life. She never attended school so can’t read or write but can speak her Hmong language and fairly good English she has learnt from tourists. She can’t speak Vietnamese which I found surprising.

I was interested to see some local medicine in practice with a women who was feeling unwell sitting by the side of the road having her necked pinched (and spat on) by an old woman so she ended up with a series of bruises in lines all around her neck, We saw many people, children included with circular bruises to their foreheads where a buffalo horn had been heated and placed here to relieve headache. I was glad my altitude headaches had resolved!

We saw old women carrying heavy loads of wood up hill to their home, with Ger telling me they were at least 50 while they looked at least 100. Women here definitely look older than their years due to the years spent out in the sun with no protection. Hmong women don’t tend to smoke, but they do drink rice wine (happy water) in the evening with the men.

Over the morning we made our way up the mountain then along the range before stopping for a break and lunch at a local restaurant which was at about 1900m elevation. During the day Lani got a bit tired and told me that her ‘energy was getting really low, no actually I’m all out of energy now’ and she wondered if we were just walking again ‘just for the view’. At the restaurant (aka tin shed), we all enjoyed some rest and fried rice or noodles. We set out again and continued along the range before descending into a valley and walking through a village until we got to Gers home about 5pm. Lani wondered how they got their groceries and lollies if they don’t have a road or a car. Ger said electricity was introduced to the village only 5 years ago and until only the last few years there were no motorbikes in the village, and they walked to Sapa every few weeks to buy items they needed. Ger’s house is a 2-storey wood structure separated into 3 small bedrooms with a kitchen with an open fire on one end. One the second floor they store the rice they have grown and will use for the following year. The floor was concrete and dirty from the outside dust and the house was smokey from the indoor fire. Ger cooked us dinner of springrolls, fried rice and vegetables. We had walked a total of 16km over the day and all enjoyed a rest.

On our second day we headed out from Ger’s house after a breakfast of banana pancakes at about 9am. We walked down towards the valley and river through the village to the rice fields. It is really interesting to walk through the village, past people homes and farms and see how they live. We found a lady brewing some happy water for her family and she gave us taste and Hung bought a small bottle from her for 30,000 dong – about 2 dollars. We saw farmers growing hemp for clothing and tea and I discussed cannabis with the kids and answered lots of questions with Leon asking if men who smoke cannabis really do end up with boobs (not sure where he learnt this) to which I told him that yes that’s true. We walked along the end of the rice fields which wasn’t so easy and Leon and Lani ended up with feet full of mud. We all enjoyed to see the water buffalo in the fields which made it worthwhile. About lunchtime we made it across the river to a waterfall where some local boys were sliding down the rocks and swimming. Leon and Lani worked up the courage to have a swim in the pool at the bottom which was muddy and quite cold. We had lunch nearby the base of the waterfall and decided to walk on towards our accommodation for the night in Tevan village. Kai hadn’t been feeling well with a cold and Ger’s son picked him up by motorbike and dropped him off at our homestay. We farewelled Ger and Hung, Leon, Lani and I set off for our village for the night. We walked up a very steep, muddy hill and accumulated a couple of Hmong ladies with us. If they see you without a guide they latch onto you and try to become your tour guide. The walk was along the mountain range through a bamboo forest and very different to the walk previously. After about an hour, with the ladies still following us, we stopped and bought some of their wares which made them happy and then they headed off to their homes. After walking through a few villages and picking some random paths we found our homestay about 5pm.

The next few days we relaxed at our homestay enjoying the tranquillity and rest. I am sitting on our small verandah looking out over the rice fields writing this blog while watching the passing village life. Hung walked into the small village to find some Xoi and fruit for lunch. Leon and Lani have spent the morning playing with the dogs, doing homework and using the computer for games. Kai is recovering from a cold and getting some rest. I can see the local children coming home from school for lunch, with the occasional water buffalo wandering by. We walked around the village out into surrounding farmlands and enjoyed the fresh air and rice terrace views.

After a couple of days we arranged for a taxi back to Sapa for the shuttle bus ride to Lao Cai to board the night train back to Hanoi.

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theexploringegg · 7 years ago

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Day 21: Free Food and Farewells

Our last day in Vietnam. Feeling sad at the prospect of leaving, we packed solemnly and went down for breakfast. I had the light fruit salad and then went out to the street while Mel finished packing to have a small bowl rice porridge with tofu. The lady spoke no English, and was amused at my expressions of enjoyment over her food. She opened a jar of picked pea aubergines and raised her eyebrows in question, to while I nodded before she popped them in the bowl for me. Little bombs of saltly sour flavour erupted in my mouth against the comforting porridge. I used Google translate to ask the lady about her job and family. She worked there, sitting on the street selling her food until 1am, lived just behind and had a son whom she taught at home. Such a hard, humble life. Very pleased I had taken the time with her, I said my thanks and walked to Hỏa Lò Prison to meet Mel. Built by the French to house Vietnamese prisoners, and then American soldiers; the cells were really haunting. I could feel the stark horror of this place, and took in all the information I could from signs while Melissa filled me in in true teacher style. A huge guillotine loomed in one hall, and photos of the heads which had been severed: a threat to those who would be punished. Enough heaviness for one morning, we walked home- me having one last coffee at my fave spot, Cafe Nuoi. We had time to chill at the hostel, and I spoke to the owner Mark (a Spanish guy, married to a Vietnamese girl just the week before!). The hostel had only opened 3 months previous, and I asked about the progress and construction period which was a mere 3 months as well. Marc had noticed my praise of the hostel and food on Instagram, so I was treated to a free burger with all the trimmings (including a fried egg with I requested). Rather chuffed (but also sad not to be having Vietnamese food) I really enjoyed my last meal. Hugging all the staff goodbye, we got into a cab, just missing the worst of a rain storm which has crashed down moments before. The airport in Hanoi was modern and spacious, with plenty of space to chill while we awaited the plane to Siam Reap. We did both feel sad to be leaving. Vietnam was a great place- due to the scenery and culture but mainly the people we had met (and the food). Our Vietjet flight was comfortable and smooth. My third flight with them, I was now accustomed to the sound of Westlife's 'You Raise Me Up' on landing. In the arrivals hall, we pulled our rucksacks off the belt (which had somehow gained a lot of weight) and bumped into two equally dazed Aussie guys who happened to be travelling to the same hostel as us. Since we now had a group, we shared a car to the hostel together - our driver San Va a total delight. The guys, Sam and Ira (yes, spelt I.R.A) were really good company and it was nice to have a little squad. San Va gave us a run down on Cambodian history and was a total fount of knowledge. We asked him so much and he seemed to know all. His face glowed when we told us about his daughter whom he was paying to study at an Australian school and was top speller for the precious two semesters. We pulled into a bustling and colourful Siam Reap, tuk tuks everywhere. Our hostel was just beautiful. New and spacious with lot of lounge areas and smiling staff to greet us, it felt like we had arrived home. Slipping off our shoes, we agreed to meet in 20 minutes while we got ourselves sorted for dinner. Not really knowing where to go, we happened to come across a beautiful restaurant called AnnAdYa which had a Tripadvisor sign outside so we figured must be alright. Sam and shared a Khmer tasting menu: fish amok, Khmer curry, Mekong money parcel, pork & aubergine and mango and sticky rice. Mel and Ira had the beef lol lok. As cocktails were only $2, we decided it would be rude not to. The boys were both students and on their winter break, with a great flair for sarcasm and joking which we got. After dinner we spotted fish-tanks for tourists so have their skin nibbled on. We agreed to give it a go, paid $2, got a drink and sat with our toes in the pools which were alive with the tiny fish. I hated it. Having very tickly feet and screaming at every sensation, I sat with my feet clamped together and moved around so they couldn't come near me. The others loved it however, so we sat a while chatting and laughing. Realising we had spent most of the night just eating and having our feet nibbled, we took off to explore Pub Street (very touristy and loud). The whole thing seemed like such a set up for Westerners, each bar trying to out-do the next with volume level of music. We stayed for a while, enjoyed a wee bev and went back home with a little pit-stop for some chocolate on the way (you can take the boy out of Switzerland...). A little call to a sleepy sounding San Va and our tour of the temples was arranged for the following morning. Following his advice on lack of decent sun for sunrise, we arranged a more civilised pick up for 8am, instead of the usual 4.30am most tourists were going for. Calling it a night, we climbed with stairs to our respective rooms to get enough rest for a what would be a busy day exploring.

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snails4martianrights-blog · 7 years ago

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Some Stuff in Northern Vietnam

^ Some weird fruit I was given

I recently went to Vietnam for about five days, but upon arriving there with a huge list of things i wanted to do, coupled with what the locals were saying about how long it would take to get everywhere, I concluded that you should probably take at least two weeks to properly appreciate Vietnam, more if you can. For example, I heard great things about Halong Bay, but it takes around five hours to get there from Hanoi. Same for Sa Pa Terraces.

Anyways, I’ll tell you what I did get to do.

I always end up in different airports, and I’d like to note that the Taipei airport for my connecting flight was quite nice, and very clean. In fact, everywhere I looked there was some random old lady idly grazing the already clean floor with a broom, not a care in the world. I want that job. The Taipei airport also featured a store called "Indigenous Taiwanese Souvenirs," from which I, of course, bought genuine Polish cherry rum liqueur candies and happily watched the lady sweep the same spot on the floor for an hour.

After enduring the visa process in the Hanoi airport (I have never had an official take my passport and not give it back without any explanation for twenty minutes before), I got a cab to the Hotel La Siesta, which I found a deal for on the internet. The room was about $50 a night, which is over a million Dong, the currency in Vietnam. The scariest thing about Vietnam was the large numbers I heard every time I bought something.

Hotel La Siesta

^ The room I got in Hotel La Siesta

This place is phenomenal and I can’t say enough good things about them. Not only was it super inexpensive to stay here, but it earns it’s four star rating. The rooms are clearly set up for a romantic getaway- flower petals on the beds, hard wood floors, and cute bathroom windows. I certainly didn’t mind, though I was by myself.

The free breakfast in the morning is a mind blowing mix of all the best foods ever. There was dim sum, bruschetta, spring rolls, sushi, French pastries, and basically everything else. Wow.

If you're into the party life, this hotel is also well situated. It's in a fun area with easy access to basically everywhere, and you can walk to some nice night life.

My room was right across from the spa inside the hotel and that is a damn good spa. I enjoy massages in Vietnam far more than Thai massages in Thailand because I wasn't crying internally. This was a good time and I would certainly recommend a massage from this hotel and also this hotel itself.

The staff is in a class of their own. “Helpful” is a complete understatement. They offered to arrange transport to my next stop as well as call another hotel to set me up a reservation. They personally talked me through my travel plans and went through the logistics of my plan with me (thereby forcing me into the conclusion that I was not going to be able to see everything I wanted). They helped me arrange a train ride in a sleeping car to Dong Hoi the area of the Phong Nga caves, some of the biggest caves in the world. They offered to continue to help me in my travels after I’d checked out, though I told them I would be fine.

Hanoi

Hanoi is a dense area with a lot of shops, bars, historical monuments, mopeds, outdoor cafes with little plastic stools, bubble tea, pho, and fishing boats on the water. A lot of the time, people will sleep on the floor of their shop until someone walks in. If you walk to the back of the store you’re liable to find yourself in someone’s house. Sometimes you can see a family’s entire living space just from looking at the front of a store, because they generally have a whole front wall missing instead of having a door. They pull down a metal security door at night to close up.

^ Shrimp

^ Random street

^ Store full of local antiques

^ The only gate left standing after the French invasion. apparently the French couldn’t quite crack it open, but there is a cannon ball mark still present on the upper left part. The rest of the wall has been destroyed, presumably by the French.

There is a road of official government buildings in Hanoi that look like they might have been reclaimed from the French, painted yellow, and decorated with communist banners and symbols. These buildings look like beautiful old manor houses, and maybe they once were. All of the windows were open on most of them. Maybe they don’t have air conditioning?

^ This picture doesn’t really do these building justice, but I was taking the pics as communist soldiers stared through my life, so I thought I’d be fast.

Journey to the Phong Nga Caves

So I have been salivating to get the chance to explore the largest discovered cave in the entire world, Son Doong. Son Doong has its own forest and separate ecosystem inside, as well as some camping opportunities. Sadly, this is a trip you need to be a hard core caver for, which involves being well prepared gear-wise, as well as arranging in advance with the Vietnamese government to pay $3000 for entrance to the cave.

Son Doong is, on top of the other issues, a "level four" cave, which apparently means rappelling from the ceiling into a dark hole. Not my style. That’s why I went into a different set of caves in the same park.

I rode the sleeping train down to Dong Hoi. The train itself is a sardine tin for people, and does not have a nice bathroom. Or nice anything else. It works though, function over form. On the way back, I did meet some nice people at the train station, including one middle aged lady selling food on the side of the track. She didn't speak English but she was able to use interpretive dance to tell me that my train would be late. I sat down on one of her stools and bought a beer and some peanuts. We became insta-friends and she took me behind her store to show me where she made the food and we took selfies. When my train came, she cheerfully kissed my face and shoved me toward the train.

^ The train station with a bunch of vendors on the side

^ The train sleeping car. Not the fanciest way to travel.

^My newest best friend. We drank beer and she showed me where she makes the food in a random armchair out back near the bathrooms. She charges people money to use the bathrooms. Pretty slick. She also gives free peanuts to people who buy stuff.

On the train they wheel around a giant bowl of soup for people to eat from, but most people brought their own food. Someone grabbed my leg at around 5 am and said my stop was next, so I sat up, got my stuff and disembarked. I found myself in the countryside. I found two guys with backpacks that looked lost and were speaking German and I asked (in English) if they were trying to go into the caves. They said yes and so I tagged along with them.

I ended up being thrown onto a tour bus with a bunch of Europeans and other pasty flavors, as well as Sunny, our local tour guide. Sunny was a cheerful, yellow shirted story teller, who delighted us with cave information and tales of the valiant communists who united the country under the freedom of the sickle and hammer during the Vietnam War, using the caves as an underground network, naturally. Despite the interference of the deluded but well-meaning capitalists (she said as she gazed deeply into my deeply neutral Bald Eagle Stare), the northerners used the rough terrain that we were traversing to hide from their enemies and deliver much needed supplies. Sadly, one of the supply routes became blocked when a group of children played too close to a boulder which fell and trapped them. They were fed through a crack for nine days, but stopped taking the food. In more recent times, the rock was able to be moved without destroying the cave and the skeletons removed. She also told us that every Vietnamese household has a tiger because every Vietnamese man claims his wife is one.

Sunny would not stop giving us water bottles. I think she didn’t want us to overheat, but I’d already brought my own so I made a joke that I looked like I was trying to smuggle water across the border. I started hearing people try to dissect the joke in several different languages, obviously not understanding why I thought it was funny. But there was a Canadian who said she knew we had had a water smuggler all along. She was watching me.

Paradise Cave

This cave was previously thought to be formed by a river or inlet of ocean flowing through a crack in the earth, but now they know it was formed independently, when a bunch of underground water began to cut out minerals about 400,000 years ago. This cave is the longest cave in the world, though not the largest. Cutting through the cave is a wooden walk way, but it only goes 1 km there and back. It does not go all the way through the cave for conservation reasons. It is a shame but would also have taken a few days to walk all of it. The entire cave looks like melted peanut butter.

^ Paradise Cave entrance

^ Inside the cave

^ Still exploring along the wooden cave walkway

^ This is a spot where a bunch of people were taking selfies. It is also I think near where some guy said to me, “I don’t speak English. You are nice looking and I hope you have a good day.” Take notes gentlemen.

Lunch

We had lunch in an outdoor restaurant, which seems to be the norm here. The food came in giant leaf platters. Sunny decided to leave and never come back, so she yelled “bye!” and then left us all, and we were confused.

We finished our lunch and milled around haphazardly inside a storm of frantic people handing out cave equipment. Eventually we used our collective unconscious to migrate in the general direction of the start of the cave.

^ FOOD LEAF FUCK YEAH

^ Food leaf restaurant

^ View of the end of the Dark Cave adventure from the restaurant

Dark Cave

Dark Cave was a fun adventure, and I couldn’t take my camera into it, because you have to swim the whole way. You are supposed to climb a two story tower from which you zip line into the cave entrance. After finishing the zip line, you climb into the water in your bathing suit, hard hat and life jacket and swim to a wooden walk way inside. Then you swim and walk through a really dark bat cave with what look like volcanic rocks lining the tall overhang, and climb through a slippery dark passageway inside the cave. We ended up in a super dark area (dark cave, weird that it would be called that), and there was a small cavern where we took off our life jackets and swam into what was basically a mud bath. The water was flowing slowly toward the back of the cave where it disappeared into a small crack going under ground. Fresh water came into the cave from the other side and the bottom and sides of this cavern were clay. I naturally floated at about chest level without effort, and everyone was giggling and making clay dicks on the wall and throwing mud at each other. One guy collected so much mud that he had an armful and was pretending to be a mud merchant selling his wares.We were told after about a half hour that we had to leave :(

We then went back out to the boats outside the cave and went over to the mini obstacle courses over the water and a dangerous looking water swing that no one died on but probably could have.

We were led back to the restaurant, where a bunch of puppies had come out to play in the middle of the day. They gave us rum and coke, and we watched the puppies run around. It was a good time.

^ This is a different view of the end of the Dark Cave adventure, but if you’d like more information or pictures, the below link is the tour guide page.

http://sondoongcavetour.abstravel.asia/dark-cave-tour-with-kayak-zipline-1-day.html

Dong Hoi

I got dropped off at sunshine hotel in dong hoi and didn't stay at the super boonies around the caves because I figured it would be easier to access the train that way. I was torn from my fellow mud merchants, and deposited at the hotel. I was initially concerned about a last minute hotel reservation being expensive and boy was it. A whole 400, 000 dong. That twelve dollars really set me back. I cried so hard that my own personal tears solved the world water crisis.

The hotel did have free mopeds to borrow but I figured I would hurt myself if I used one. I spent a long time watching fishing boats on the beach instead.

^ That twelve dollars got me two beds and hard wood floors.

^ So it seems like in most Vietnamese bathrooms, the shower head is just sort of on the wall like this and you just shower in the middle of the floor. It’s not as weird as it seems.

^ Nice restaurant with a good view of the neighborhood

^ Crunchy egg rice with cucumbers

^ Shrimp

^ Part of the small bay near Dong Hoi

^ This church had a sign nearby declaring it to be evidence of American war crimes. Clearly it has been destroyed and possibly bombed.

^ Neat building I saw

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repwinpril9y0a1 · 7 years ago

Text

Veterans And Anti-War Activists Make Peace With Vietnam -- And Each Other

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DA NANG, Vietnam ― The street that leads to David Clark’s home is marked with a sign that says “Ushi’s house.” That’s the name of his wife, born in the year of the buffalo under the Vietnamese zodiac. Clark is also a buffalo ― that’s what makes them a good match, he says.

In other ways, they’re a surprising pair: Clark first came to Da Nang in 1968 as a 19-year-old Marine fighting in the Vietnam War. He returned to the country four decades later to see what had become of it. He met Ushi, who is Vietnamese, a few years later at a restaurant she owns in the town of Hue.

He remembers she was wearing a chartreuse dress, with long earrings and a watch to match. They later danced in the street as Ushi’s favorite song ― the Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week” ― played at a festival.

The two fell in love and married in a Catholic church while wearing traditional Vietnamese wedding clothes. Later, they bought a house near the beach in Da Nang and remodeled it to add some Western elements, including a filter that lets them drink straight from the kitchen sink.

On a warm night this spring, with the sounds of karaoke wafting through the streets from nearby bars and restaurants, Clark’s house offered another example of worlds colliding. A group that in the late 1960s wouldn’t have been caught under the same roof ― let alone sharing an appetizer of deep-fried Vietnamese spring rolls ― gathered around a large kitchen table.

The guests included Floyd Henderson, a Vietnam War draft dodger who fled to Canada in 1969; Cathy Wilkerson, a former member of the militant Weather Underground group who landed on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list; and Chuck Searcy, who also served in the Vietnam War and has since returned to live in Hanoi.

Searcy is also the vice president of the Vietnamese chapter of Veterans for Peace, an anti-war nonprofit. Through the organization, he leads tours of the country geared toward Vietnam War veterans and activists, but anyone is welcome to join. That’s what brought the unlikely group together at that kitchen table ― it was 12th day of their trip from Hanoi to Saigon.

For some, going back to Vietnam is a way to make peace with the past. For others, the trip is a chance to connect with a place and a cause that still matters deeply to them.

War tourism isn’t a new concept, and veterans have been returning to Vietnam for years. But Searcy says he probably won’t keep hosting his tour. The affected generation is aging, and it’s difficult to get enough interest in the trips to justify them. Ten people traveled with him this year; usually about 15 people join.

Searcy was stationed in Saigon from 1967 to 1968 as part of an intelligence battalion. He returned to the country for the first time in 1992, and moved there three years later to take a job at a nonprofit in Hanoi.

His tour takes a little over two weeks. It costs $2,750, plus airfare, and participants are asked to bring a gift of $1,000. At the end of the journey, they decide together how to donate the money.

Clark has been on the board of Vietnam’s Veterans for Peace chapter for several years, which is how he met Searcy. He describes Searcy in military terms: a point man leading others to learn how to make amends for the United States’ role in the war.

Clark has taken part in a few of Searcy’s trips, but this is his first year hosting a dinner and welcoming people on the tour into his home.

“If you had told me 40 years ago that I’d be here in Vietnam, I’d have said you’re full of shit as a turkey ― a Christmas turkey,” he said. “I came here in 1968 to die for my country. Thank God I didn’t. You know what’s the greatest gift I have? I get to die here of my own choice.”

For Wilkerson, the 2017 trip was a chance to complete a journey she started 50 years ago.

In 1967, she and three other members of Students for a Democratic Society flew from the U.S. to Cambodia by way of Paris. Their goal was to make their way to meet with the Viet Cong in North Vietnam and bring back information to help their anti-war efforts in the U.S.

It was a bloody year in the Vietnam War, and Hanoi wasn’t accessible by a commercial flight. But the activists planned to hitch a ride on a mail plane that made a daily trip to the city because an international agreement dictated that it wouldn’t be shot down, Wilkerson said.

They never made it across the border. The U.S. had started bombing the northern city, and the North Vietnamese decided it was too dangerous for the students to make the trip. So the North Vietnamese met them in Phnom Penh for four days of meetings and discussion.

Wilkerson caught the attention of national news ― and the FBI ― when her father’s New York City townhouse, where she and other activists had been building a nail bomb, exploded in 1970. Three people died in the incident, and Wilkerson spent the next decade evading authorities by working minimum-wage jobs without an ID. She surrendered to law enforcement in 1980 and spent 11 months in prison.

Wilkerson is petite and shy, with silver-framed glasses. Her outward appearance doesn’t match with the ‘60s radical who got caught up in a group advocating for an “armed struggle” against the U.S. government. But she still describes herself as an activist.

The events leading up to the townhouse explosion were “ill-advised,” Wilkerson said. But even as she grew older, she maintained an interest in Vietnam.

“People don’t think about the consequences of war beyond the bullets,” she said. “I needed to touch base with [Vietnam] again. To see what they’ve done, how far they’ve come.”

Floyd Henderson describes how he feels today about his choice to flee to Canada instead of being drafted into the Vietnam War. Listen above.

Henderson joined Searcy’s trip for the first time in 2014. Forty-five years earlier, he’d received a bench warrant for his arrest after ignoring several draft notices.

When his brother threatened to turn him into the FBI, Henderson took the $700 he had in his sock drawer and spent $250 of it on a Buick. He packed his typewriter, guitars and other possessions and drove with a friend to International Falls, Minnesota. Henderson had no intention of coming back once they crossed into Canada.

“I didn’t want to kill ― I had no desire whatsoever to shoot another human being for any reason,” he said.

Although he’d made it across the border, he didn’t have a legal right to be in the country permanently. “I spent that winter living pretty much on the street,” he said.

Henderson later secured a legal right to be in Canada, but eventually returned to the U.S. after President Jimmy Carter pardoned draft dodgers.

Henderson is gentle and thoughtful when he speaks. He has spent a great deal of time considering his choice to flee the U.S. in 1969 while so many others were getting drafted. “Sometimes it’s an almost constant ― regret might not be the right word for it, though it’s probably the closest I can come to it ― that I did not go to Vietnam.”

He’d make the same decision again, he noted. But still, he struggles with what he described as “survivor guilt.” That feeling was what originally brought him on Searcy’s tour in 2014.

That group included many combat veterans, which made Henderson nervous. “I went with a huge amount of trepidation because I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I was going to get from these guys,” he said.

He was surprised at the response he received. “Without a single hesitation, they accepted me as one of them,” he said. “Even going so far as to call me a veteran and one of their brothers.”

He joined the trip again this time for another chance to see the country.

Clark joined the United States Marine Corps on his 17th birthday. On a warm day in March at the hotel where Searcy’s group was staying, he recounted arriving in Vietnam for the first time. He couldn’t legally vote or drink in his hometown, but here, he could carry a gun. He remembers that vividly.

It was a court-martial offense to leave the compound without a weapon, so Clark always had his M16 and rounds with him. And when he encountered a Vietnamese person, he remembers what he’d do.

“Every time I came across the Vietnamese ― I didn’t care if it was a man, woman or a child ― I would point that M16 in their face. And I wanted them to fear me. Because I felt if they feared me my chances of going home were much, much better,” Clark said.

Clark was outwardly successful in the U.S. after the war, but he struggled emotionally to come to terms with his experiences. He couldn’t forget that look of fear he’d put in people’s faces. Or the battles where he’d shoot into the fray, not knowing whom or what he might be hitting. Certain dates or moments that were meaningless to others would trigger terrible memories of the war.

In 2007, a friend who had been in the Air Force suggested Clark try going back to Vietnam. So he went for it. He landed in Saigon and was waiting nervously at immigration when the humidity hit him, then the smell ― and then he saw people. The memories came right back. He wanted to turn around.

But he didn’t. In fact, the trip turned out to be a positive experience. He couldn’t believe how welcoming the Vietnamese people were. He visited several other times, and in 2013, he returned to stay for a year.

He hasn’t left since.

Clark likes to visit the Marble Mountains outside Da Nang, which he used to climb when he was stationed here. He watches the sunrise and looks out over the landscape ― sometimes it’s cloudy, sometimes it’s rainy. But the sun always comes up.

“When I’m in the United States, the American war in Vietnam haunts me every day and every night. I see many sights, and I see those faces,” he said. “But when I’m in Vietnam and I’m on the top of Marble Mountain and I’m looking around and I don’t see no flares, no tracers, no choppers, no gunfire, no artillery fire, no rounds going over your head ― the American war was over 40 years ago. They’re at peace here. And I find peace here.”

David talks about how living in Vietnam has helped him come to terms with his experiences from the war. Listen above.

As everyone sat around the big kitchen table enjoying Ushi’s homemade yogurt for dessert, Clark poured two glasses of Johnnie Walker Red Label scotch. He clinked glasses with George Mische, another participant on the trip. Mische burned draft cards with homemade napalm in 1968 as part of the Catholic group that became known as the “Catonsville Nine.”

Searcy told the group his story of first returning to Vietnam after the war, describing how he panicked as his plane approached the Saigon airport.

His anxiety was so intense that he would have turned the plane around, he said. But he couldn’t.

The group listened, smiling and nodding over their shared history.

As the evening drew to a close, Searcy’s tour participants bid goodbye to their hosts. They got back on a bus and made their way to their hotel. The next morning they’d eat warm, salty fried rice or pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup, at the hotel breakfast buffet before heading to the airport. From there, they’d fly south to Saigon.

Clark left the house and walked down dark, warm streets to one of his favorite local cafes. He smoked thuoc lao, a Vietnamese tobacco, out of a water pipe, the bubbles gurgling. Motorbikes hummed along past the café, and he greeted the two children inside the shop. It’s his favorite place in the city, he said.

Heading back home afterward, he called “hello, hello” to the Vietnamese people he passed. They smiled and waved back.

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pat78701 · 7 years ago