September 21, 2004 Bangkok, Thailand
The nightmare of proctoring began today. I can now look forward to two weeks of spending five hours a day standing around with nothing to do with Thai teachers who are bitter that I earn four times what they do, and think I'm lazy because I don't scurry around picking up papers every time a student leaves. It's amazing how tired doing nothing makes me. I am exhausted, and I did absolutely nothing today. What a today waste of time.
After this awful experience, I will be glad to get out of the country for two weeks. Which brings us to:
Terry's Trek in Vietnam
We only get two weeks holiday as semester break, which is barely enough time to go anywhere. But I was going to go on a super-intense whirlwind tour of China's Yunnan province. I bought my Lonely Planet, and had it all planned out. I hate making detailed itineraries, but with such a short amount of time, everything has to be planned, and flights must be booked between destinations.
I went to the travel agent, and kept them busy for an hour looking up the obscure cities I wanted to go, but no flights were available. Then I read in my Lonely Planet about how my vacation coincides with a big week-long national holiday, and warns that it would not be smart to come during this period. Just my luck. For the second time, I have been denied access to China. At least I didn't buy a visa this time.
So, plan B. I still haven't been to Vietnam, so I bought my ticket to Hanoi. I always thought Vietnam was pretty small, but when you're only going to be there for two weeks, it's pretty big. So I will only visit the North.
Stay tuned for daily journal updates from the road.
Only the north? I have to say that i think thats a bad idea - missing Ho Chi Minh would be a shame. I went HCM - Da nang - Hue - Hoi Ann - Hanoi. Hue and Hoi Ann really do have to be seen - they are, in my opinion, the best places in Vietnam. Also, if you go to HCM, there are good trips to the Chu Chi Tunnels and The Maekong Delta (a great day out).
Personally, I didn't like Hanoi. I found it cold and miserable, the people unfriendly, but that might just have been me!
Posted by: him on September 21, 2004 10:19 PMI'll go on the record saying you are doing the right thing, Terry. I went to HCM last year and was very disapointed. It is just a big noisy city with no character and full of people asking me for money. To the Government, the history of the city began sometime in the early 1970s. What a shame!
I hear great things about Hanoi, though. I think I'd also try to squeeze in Hue, Hoi An and Danang, as suggested above. At least they are all on my list of places to visit.
Two weeks is a long time. From the tone of your latest posts, it sounds like you need a break. Have fun!
Terry,
You need to regain your perspective! I can't say that I feel too sorry for you being stuck working a whole 5 hour day. Nor do I sympathize with having to go to Vietnam instead of China. As for only having two weeks, the only time I've taken off 2 weeks or more in a row is to have a baby.
Posted by: Ann on September 27, 2004 08:58 AMAnn,
I have to work a full 8 hours, but I have to sit in a room, with nothing at all to do, with angry, bitter Thai teachers for 5 hours.
I am not looking for sympathy about China. The fact is merly that it was my first choice.
And you should take a full two weeks some time. Nothing wrong with taking some vacation. Unfortunatly, two weeks is not a long enough time to vist a country.
Posted by: Terry on September 27, 2004 10:13 AM