So...there is a huge chunk missing out of this blog...about 5 months worth. The reason for this is because I had laser eye surgery (in Korea) and was told to stay away from the computer (and TV and alcohol and reading and a whole bunch of other things) for about a week. I thought that I was signing up for LASIK with an 'i' but in fact, I had gotten LASEK with an 'e'. The Korean pronunciation is just so similar and I thought for sure I was getting LASIK, no doubt about it. With LASIK, you are able to see the next day. When the next day came for me, I was still blind. So I thought, maybe tomorrow. Nope. Maybe at the end of the week? No siree Bob. I was back at the doctor's for my week check up and I asked him why my vision was still unclear when all my other friends were 100% 20/20. He told me that they had a different procedure and that was when I learned I had gotten LASEK. And that is when I started bawling hysterically at the doctor's. And that is when the doctor got really uncomfortable. And that is the last time I ever saw him again. After that, my check ups were with another doctor. Makes me laugh, haha.
The recovery time for LASEK is 3-weeks (for OK vision) and 3 months for full recovery. The latter has increased whenever I asked the doctor and it was extended to 6 months. It has now been a little over 6 months since I've had my surgery and my vision is pretty good. It is definitely a significant improvement from my vision before, but at night/in the dark, my vision is subpar. I hope it gets even better has time goes by.
So, back to the waterworks - why did I cry? It was because I was scheduled to go to Vietnam for vacation and I wanted to SEE where I was going. I was debating whether or not to cancel my trip, but I thought about it and decided to go anyway. I was to go 2 weeks after I had my surgery and my vision had improved, but it was still blurry. It definitely changed my first Vietnam trip but I still had a great time, even if I couldn't try the alcohol :(
I went with Margaret, Amanda, and Ramsey. Margaret and I were there for about 2 weeks, whereas the other two left after a week. We had a ton of fun!
Here's a quick overview of what we did in Vietnam:
Day 1:
I arrived very very very late at night, I think it was about 2am? I think I was supposed to arrive at midnight, but I didn't step out of the airport until about 2 or 3am. I can't remember, but it was definitely VERY late and VERY dark. I had no idea where I was going and I left the airport to see Ramsey there waiting for me! That was quite a surprise. The first thing he said was, "You're late." haha Woops. I didn't know anyone was coming to get me! Good thing he did because the hostel had a closing time (he had asked earlier on in the day), so he thought it was best to come get me so they would open the door for us when we knocked. So, I get into the room with Amanda and Margaret and it's maybe 330am. I get into bed with Margaret, kinda wake both of them up, and then I was informed of an 8am tour they had signed us up for for "tomorrow"/today. Ahh! No sleep for me! But it's OK because I didn't go to Vietnam to sleep.
We went to the Cu Chi tunnels which were used by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War (or American War, depending on where you're from) to hide from the American soldiers. It was a really educational experience. It's so crazy how the Vietnamese people could dig these tunnels with their hands and have them not collapse on them while they lived underground for years. There are miles and miles and miles of these tunnels. It was a community underground - kitchens, honeymoon rooms, bedrooms, etc. It took a lot of ingenuity to create these tunnels. Don't let that photo above fool you. This specific tunnel I am in was widened especially for us fat tourists. The real tunnels were actually probably half the size.
After the Cu Chi Tunnels, we headed back to Saigon and went to the War Remnants Museum, which is probably my favorite spot in Saigon. This was so educational and was just so powerful. The images of the effects of Agent Orange were so poignant and were really difficult to look at. However, the Museum is definitely a place that I highly recommend visiting.
Days 2&3:
We spent these days on a tour of the Mekong Delta, the floating market, and we also opted to do a homestay. It was an amazing experience. We went to a few different islands. At one, we tried some tea, very nice. At another island, we got some coconut candy. Yum. We also had the chance to try some snake wine. It was disgusting! Then we got to go on a little rowboat down a tree-lined part of the delta. It was a short ride but it was cool. We also got to see the process of making noodles. At the floating market (which is REALLY huge!), I bought a batch of baby bananas from a little boy selling them from his little motorboat to our larger boat. They sell fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Some of the vendor boats were huge and they threw all of their trash into the water. Yuck.
At the homestay, we had an diverse group of people. The biggest hit of the night was an old white man who could tell your future via Chinese tarot cards(?). I didn't get the chance to have my fortune told because he was just so popular. We stayed in little huts equipped with a mosquito net, geckos, and newspaper wallpaper. Fancy. While laying in bed, I saw my first firefly! So exciting!
Days 4&5:
We all took the bus to Mui Ne for some beach time! We stayed at a 3 star resort. I would probably give it 3/5 stars so that's appropriate. The grounds were really nice, but our actual room wasn't. Maybe the OTHER rooms were nicer, they did look a bit better. Anyways, we didn't even lay on the beach. We hung out at the pool a little bit and then did things away from the beach. We went to the Fairy Stream, Red Rock Canyon, and some sand dunes. It was really nice and really red! haha We also went to multiple sand dunes. It was so difficult to climb to the top, but once you're up there, it was so windy, you could see the sand being blown off the peak.
After the sand dunes, Amanda and Ramsey left to go back to Korea. And then there were two.
Days ???
Margaret and I headed to Dalat, the city on the hill. The ride there was treacherous. I felt so sick because of the windy roads. It was a long ride, I think it was like 4 or 5 hours. Horrible. I didn't expect much from Dalat, but it ended up being a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, even though the food was not all that impressive. While we were in Dalat, we signed up for lots of tours because you can't really do things by yourself. Everything seemed to be down in the valley and not on the top of the mountain where we were. The first tour we went on, we went on a cable car ride, went to see some flowers, went to a waterfall, saw a Vietnamese cowboy, went to Bao Dai's Summer Palace, dressed up like Vietnamese princesses, went to the Valley of Love, to see some amazing silk embroidery artwork, and went to see the largest Buddha statue in the city. It was a successful and tiring day. Then for dinner, we had the worst meal ever. Ugh.
The next day, we went to another flower garden (Dalat is the largest producer/exporter of flowers in Vietnam), some lake whose name I forget, the Crazy House, another waterfall, to see the "Magic Table" (not very magical), and to another flower farm. After the tour, we went on a search for che lau (dessert!) and I finally found it after I was told that they don't have it the previous day. It was different than what I was used to, but still good. Then Margaret and I just walked around and explored the city and the market.
The following day, we did our separate things. Margaret went canyoning. I opted out because I had already gone canyoning when I was in Switzerland and I also didn't wanna do anything to mess up my eyeballs. I ended up going on a customized tour to the French District, the Linh Phuoc temple (my favorite place in Dalat!), coffee plantations, another temple, Elephant Waterfall, a silk factory, and a flower plantation. I went on a motorbike with a guide and it was so much fun. Riding on the back of a motorcycle was my new obsession.
Days ???
After Mui Ne, we went to another beach town, Nha Trang. The weather wasn't good when we were there so we didn't get the chance to tan. So sad. We found other things to do though. We went to explore a temple, and we also took a boat trip where we were supposed to go to like 5 different islands, but I think we only went to maybe 2 or 3. We went to a traditional market, a stone church, and another temple with a
Cambodian style, Thap Ba Ponagar. Oh, we also went to get a mud bath. That was SO much fun!! I don't have any photos from it though.
Food in Nha Trang was amazing too. I think the restaurants we went to were a bit more expensive though because they were on the beach - Louisiane Brewhouse and the Sailing Club. We walked around on the last night and there was a bunch of Tet (Lunar New Year) decorations and festivities. There was a dragon dance and cat things all over! I was confused why there were cats because it's the year of the rat, but in Vietnam, there is no rat, it's a cat!
Days ?????
We then traveled to Saigon for the last days of our Vietnam stay. This was really the first days I was able to actually spend in Saigon whereas in the beginning, we were using it as a base to go on our little tours. This time, I actually got to walk around a bit. I went to the see the Ben Thanh Market (most of which was closed due to Tet), the post office, Notre Dame, the Reunification Palace, and Chinatown (District 5), which is where my Granny is from and had a hair salon. We ate at a Chinese restaurant and the people there spoke Cantonese! Wowza!
After a few days in Saigon, I was homeward bound to Gwangju.
Will have to update the rest of my Korea experience in installments. There's lots, but I think I will do an abridged version.
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