Two Birds of the Same Feather in Vietnam
Door: Marijn
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Marijn
13 December 2012 | Vietnam, Hanoi
Xin Chào, dear friends!
More than a month has passed since my last update to you from New Delhi, India. By then, I had just returned from the “Navratri” celebrations in Gujarat and I was about to visit one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, the Taj Mahal. Right now, I’m writing to you from my father’s apartment in Vietnam’s capital: Hanoi.
Whereas the first part of my trip to India was mostly about undertaking professional activities, the second part was more about spending time with new friends and about (re-) visiting some travellers’ highlights of this incredible country. After being amazed for a second time by the beauty of the Taj Mahal, I made my way to one of the most holy cities for Hindus: Varanasi. This place, you might have seen pictures of it before, is where millions of Hindu pilgrims go to pray, to bathe and to drink from the waters of the holy river Ganges. On top of that, it is believed that dying in Varanasi guarantees a direct pathway to Nirvana. To me, the unbelievable variety of the people who make their way day and night through its tiny streets and the awkward and extreme everyday presence of both life and death, make Varanasi one of the most bizarre and fascinating places I have ever been.
With a renewed portion of spirituality in my pocket, I continued on the night train to Kolkata, the former capital of India located in its North-East. “Calcutta”, as it was known during the British rule, is said to be the intellectual and cultural capital of India and perhaps its most famous citizen was the poet and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. As I used a special “Tourist Quota” to book my train ticket, a birth (bed) was assigned to me in a coupé with five other foreign travellers. One of them was living in Kolkata and he invited all of us to join him in celebrating two festivals that coincided the next day: “Kali Puja” and “Diwali”. (Yes, there are lots of festivals in India, but what else to expect with a few thousand Hindu gods…!) Shooting firecrackers, being shown hundreds of self-made statues of the goddess “Kali”, trying the most delicious local street food and visiting the Kolkata International Film Festival, I had a wonderful time!
On my first trip to India, I had already travelled the West coast of India, all the way to its southernmost city: Kanyakumari. This time, I planned to explore India’s East coast, starting by taking a train from Kolkata towards Chennai (formerly known as “Madras”). With my time in India almost running out (unfortunately), I treated myself with a few days in a very laidback beach town, listening to the typical (because long) Tamil name: “Mamallapuram”. After going back to Chennai to visit a friend of mine and the project that he is doing there with underprivileged children, I concluded my second (and hopefuly not my last) trip to India with eating my favourite dish in a wonderful local restaurant: Chicken Tandoori with Butter Naan :-D
Before heading to Hanoi, I had planned a stopover for three days in Bangkok, where I arrived in the middle of the night. Since I had been there before, I found my way swiftly to a familiar guesthouse in Chinatown where I first slept for a few hours. Since Bangkok is a very lively metropolitan city, three days are easily spent there. In short, I explored a few local markets, rode the waterways on ferries and “water-taxis”, practised my Thai (ahum…), had my first Thai massage (yes..., massage only!), ate “Thom Yam Kung” at least once every day and I lid a few candles at Wat Arun during the wonderful “Loi Krathong” festival. And so it happened that before I knew, a very friendly taxi driver dropped me off at the International Airport and I was checking in for my flight to Hanoi…
…, to be warmly welcomed by my father! Then, something strange happened. Freshly off the plane, two hours later I was walking the streets of Hanoi, dressed up like “Black Peter”. It was the 31st of November and the Dutch community in Hanoi was preparing to celebrate a very Dutch tradition: “Sinterklaas”. For those of you who have never heard of it before, it is in some way comparable to Santa Clause with Christmas. I hope no one will be offended now (which I’m sure was never the intention) but Sinterklaas is being “assisted” by a few “Black Peters”. And I was one of them, entertaining about thirty children of my father’s school and giving away candy (“pepernoten”) to them. It was surely a great experience and at the same time, it was a nice way to be introduced to many new people in Hanoi!
During the last two weeks, I settled into the cosy apartment of my father which is in a quiet neighbourhood of Hanoi, I visited the United Nations International School (“UNIS”) where he works and I got slowly used to the city and the country where I had been three years before. My father introduced me to many of his friends and colleagues, he took me to some very nice restaurants which he discovered over the last four months that he had been here and together, we set out on an adventurous motorbike trip last weekend throughout the impressively beautiful countryside around Hanoi! I guess the Vietnamese saying: “Đồng thanh tương ứng, đồng khí tương cầu” (“birds of the same feather often stick together”) applies well to me and my father on this adventure in the far East :-)
On the professional side of things, there is also some good news to tell you, as I am asked to do a legal internship with a relatively young, ambitious and internationally operating law firm in Hanoi, not far from where we live. Curious to experience the kind of work that they are doing and eager to take on any (international) opportunity in the region, I am looking forward to get started there. Depending on how things will work out during the internship, we will discuss further options at the end of that one month period…
But first…, yes already tomorrow morning…, my mother will arrive in Hanoi to celebrate more than three weeks of winter holidays with us!! Obviously, my father and I are both very much looking forward to welcoming her and we have already made an attractive travel itinerary for her stay :-) After a few days of acclimatising in Hanoi, we plan to travel North towards Sapa which is located in the beautiful mountains close to the Chinese border. From there, we’ll be heading Southwards to imperial Hué, to picturesque world heritage site Hoi An and to the natural labyrinth of waterways that is the Mekong Delta. Around New Year’s, we paln to cross the border into Cambodia where we’ll visit the temples of Angkor first before ending our trip together in Phnom Penh, a city that is well known to me :-)
When my mother will fly back to the Netherlands and my father will return to Hanoi, I will stay in Phnom Penh for a while to visit old friends and to look for professional opportunities in the Human Rights area. Mid-January, it’ll be my turn to fly back to Hanoi and to start my internship.
Finishing this update from Hanoi, I realise once more that keeping this travel blog not only provides you with an overview of my adventures, it’s also gives me a summary of the things I have experienced. Looking forward to be hearing from you again and wishing you all the end of 2012 that you have hoped for!! :-)
“Hẹn Gặp Lại” from Vietnam,
Marijn
More than a month has passed since my last update to you from New Delhi, India. By then, I had just returned from the “Navratri” celebrations in Gujarat and I was about to visit one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, the Taj Mahal. Right now, I’m writing to you from my father’s apartment in Vietnam’s capital: Hanoi.
Whereas the first part of my trip to India was mostly about undertaking professional activities, the second part was more about spending time with new friends and about (re-) visiting some travellers’ highlights of this incredible country. After being amazed for a second time by the beauty of the Taj Mahal, I made my way to one of the most holy cities for Hindus: Varanasi. This place, you might have seen pictures of it before, is where millions of Hindu pilgrims go to pray, to bathe and to drink from the waters of the holy river Ganges. On top of that, it is believed that dying in Varanasi guarantees a direct pathway to Nirvana. To me, the unbelievable variety of the people who make their way day and night through its tiny streets and the awkward and extreme everyday presence of both life and death, make Varanasi one of the most bizarre and fascinating places I have ever been.
With a renewed portion of spirituality in my pocket, I continued on the night train to Kolkata, the former capital of India located in its North-East. “Calcutta”, as it was known during the British rule, is said to be the intellectual and cultural capital of India and perhaps its most famous citizen was the poet and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. As I used a special “Tourist Quota” to book my train ticket, a birth (bed) was assigned to me in a coupé with five other foreign travellers. One of them was living in Kolkata and he invited all of us to join him in celebrating two festivals that coincided the next day: “Kali Puja” and “Diwali”. (Yes, there are lots of festivals in India, but what else to expect with a few thousand Hindu gods…!) Shooting firecrackers, being shown hundreds of self-made statues of the goddess “Kali”, trying the most delicious local street food and visiting the Kolkata International Film Festival, I had a wonderful time!
On my first trip to India, I had already travelled the West coast of India, all the way to its southernmost city: Kanyakumari. This time, I planned to explore India’s East coast, starting by taking a train from Kolkata towards Chennai (formerly known as “Madras”). With my time in India almost running out (unfortunately), I treated myself with a few days in a very laidback beach town, listening to the typical (because long) Tamil name: “Mamallapuram”. After going back to Chennai to visit a friend of mine and the project that he is doing there with underprivileged children, I concluded my second (and hopefuly not my last) trip to India with eating my favourite dish in a wonderful local restaurant: Chicken Tandoori with Butter Naan :-D
Before heading to Hanoi, I had planned a stopover for three days in Bangkok, where I arrived in the middle of the night. Since I had been there before, I found my way swiftly to a familiar guesthouse in Chinatown where I first slept for a few hours. Since Bangkok is a very lively metropolitan city, three days are easily spent there. In short, I explored a few local markets, rode the waterways on ferries and “water-taxis”, practised my Thai (ahum…), had my first Thai massage (yes..., massage only!), ate “Thom Yam Kung” at least once every day and I lid a few candles at Wat Arun during the wonderful “Loi Krathong” festival. And so it happened that before I knew, a very friendly taxi driver dropped me off at the International Airport and I was checking in for my flight to Hanoi…
…, to be warmly welcomed by my father! Then, something strange happened. Freshly off the plane, two hours later I was walking the streets of Hanoi, dressed up like “Black Peter”. It was the 31st of November and the Dutch community in Hanoi was preparing to celebrate a very Dutch tradition: “Sinterklaas”. For those of you who have never heard of it before, it is in some way comparable to Santa Clause with Christmas. I hope no one will be offended now (which I’m sure was never the intention) but Sinterklaas is being “assisted” by a few “Black Peters”. And I was one of them, entertaining about thirty children of my father’s school and giving away candy (“pepernoten”) to them. It was surely a great experience and at the same time, it was a nice way to be introduced to many new people in Hanoi!
During the last two weeks, I settled into the cosy apartment of my father which is in a quiet neighbourhood of Hanoi, I visited the United Nations International School (“UNIS”) where he works and I got slowly used to the city and the country where I had been three years before. My father introduced me to many of his friends and colleagues, he took me to some very nice restaurants which he discovered over the last four months that he had been here and together, we set out on an adventurous motorbike trip last weekend throughout the impressively beautiful countryside around Hanoi! I guess the Vietnamese saying: “Đồng thanh tương ứng, đồng khí tương cầu” (“birds of the same feather often stick together”) applies well to me and my father on this adventure in the far East :-)
On the professional side of things, there is also some good news to tell you, as I am asked to do a legal internship with a relatively young, ambitious and internationally operating law firm in Hanoi, not far from where we live. Curious to experience the kind of work that they are doing and eager to take on any (international) opportunity in the region, I am looking forward to get started there. Depending on how things will work out during the internship, we will discuss further options at the end of that one month period…
But first…, yes already tomorrow morning…, my mother will arrive in Hanoi to celebrate more than three weeks of winter holidays with us!! Obviously, my father and I are both very much looking forward to welcoming her and we have already made an attractive travel itinerary for her stay :-) After a few days of acclimatising in Hanoi, we plan to travel North towards Sapa which is located in the beautiful mountains close to the Chinese border. From there, we’ll be heading Southwards to imperial Hué, to picturesque world heritage site Hoi An and to the natural labyrinth of waterways that is the Mekong Delta. Around New Year’s, we paln to cross the border into Cambodia where we’ll visit the temples of Angkor first before ending our trip together in Phnom Penh, a city that is well known to me :-)
When my mother will fly back to the Netherlands and my father will return to Hanoi, I will stay in Phnom Penh for a while to visit old friends and to look for professional opportunities in the Human Rights area. Mid-January, it’ll be my turn to fly back to Hanoi and to start my internship.
Finishing this update from Hanoi, I realise once more that keeping this travel blog not only provides you with an overview of my adventures, it’s also gives me a summary of the things I have experienced. Looking forward to be hearing from you again and wishing you all the end of 2012 that you have hoped for!! :-)
“Hẹn Gặp Lại” from Vietnam,
Marijn
-
13 December 2012 - 17:30
Erik A. Sprokkereef:
Als DE vader zijnde van jou (en niemand kan daar omheen !) prijs ik je stijl van schrijven: afwisselend en bloemrijk en dat ook nog in een andere taal. Wat heb jij al veel beleefd................kan er nog meer bij ?
Blijf je leven leiden zoals je dat doet en geniet: "Enjoy life, because it could be short". om ook maar eens een spreuk er tegenaan te gooien.
Ik blijf je van dichtbij meemaken, je vader Erik A. Sprokkereef / Giam Doc 'de Blauwe Lotus' Ha Noi -
13 December 2012 - 17:34
Taimur:
Looks like a lot of fun Marijn! I want to backpack in east asia in a year or two. Hope you are keeping well. Have fun with your parents!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Taimur -
13 December 2012 - 22:18
Mélanie:
Hi Marijn !!
Sounds awesome! You were rather quick to find a nice internship opportunity :) Nice!! What are you going to work about? As always when I read your message, I feel like taking my backpack and going for some nice adventures. I will definitely plan some travels afer I finish my PhD!! One collegue of mine went to Ladakh this summer and it also sounded like a nice experience, have you already been there during your India trips?
Thanks!!
Have a very nice Christmas time with your parents!
Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! How do you say this in Vietnamese? :)
Cheers! Enjoy yourself!
Mélanie -
13 December 2012 - 22:20
Lisenke:
heerlijk verhaal weer!heel veel plezier met je ouders samen de komende tijd, kijk uit naar een nieuwe update
groetjes Lisenke -
14 December 2012 - 10:23
Rob:
Klinkt goed Marijn!! Veel plezier met je ouders daar de komende weken en top dat je een internship kunt gaan doen in Hanoi!
Binnenkort eens skypen?
Ciao! Rob -
14 December 2012 - 10:36
Femke Jansen:
Wow Marijn! Gave verhalen hoor. Heel veel succes met je stage! -
14 December 2012 - 12:30
Kees:
Ha Marinus!
Mooie verhalen, elke keer wordt ik blij als ik een update in de mailbox zie.
Alleen.... 31 november? Volgens klopt je kalender niet meer helemaal ;)
Grtz en veel plezier in Azië!
Kees -
20 December 2012 - 21:56
Jun Mi:
Ha Marijn,
Zojuist eindelijk tijd gehad om je geweldige verhalen en je mooie foto's te bekijken.
Wat heb jij een supertijd daar!
Vanuit dit koude kikkerlandje wens ik je hele fijne feestdagen en mag 2013 al je wensen vervullen!
Alvast heel veel succes met je stage en ik zie uit naar je volgende verslag! Ja, ja, ik heb mij inmiddels aangemeld voor je mailinglijst. (-;
Heel veel liefs,
Jun Mi -
27 December 2012 - 16:26
Renske:
Ha Marijn!
Wat een cool avontuur ben je weer gestart zeg! Heel erg veel plezier en geluk daar in het oosten! Ben benieuwd hoe de stage bevalt! Geniet ervan!
xx Rens -
02 Oktober 2013 - 01:49
Caroline:
hi,
I was so admired what you did, where you travelled. How is Taj Mahal? that's a great place, isn't it ? Hope you share more about your journey to us.
Thanks, Marijn
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
