Have been very lazy lately, thats why i din post anything aft the vietnam trip. Hmm.. whats been going on? work, play, daydream.. life's gd? not too bad. At least I;m healthy, and I can earn a decent living. Guess i'm the easily contented one in this aspect , (though I still wish that I can strike lottery,.,, well, who doesn't) 

Work is ok. Not fantastic but think I;m happier this yr, cos i chose to step down from certain posts, That doesnt mean that I've an easier life. I still work like a dog on certain days :-) But most of the time, I;m able to find time for gym, rowing, rock climbing shopping,., things that I enjoy doing.

Well, jus hope that the new year can be a more fruitful one for me and all my beloved friends and loved ones. :-)

Went Hoi An for 3 days. Hoi an was great, a UNESCO recognised quaint looking chinese influenced town. Took many nice pics of yellow walls and shophouses selling drawings, lanterns etc. It was really wonderful to walk around the town despite the heavy traffic (yes, vietnam traffic is frightening!) and dust due to construction. Went to visit some Cham ruins. People were really friendly, even those street vendors are ever so willing to sell you a bottle of mineral water for 50 cents with an ever ready smile and genuine sincerity.

reached Hue yesterday. Hue is the former imperial city, and the Imperial palace is no doubt the most interesting highlight. It was not as well maintained and exquisite as those in China for sure, but strolling round the palace is certainly an interesting and relaxing adventure by itself. The Best thing about Vietnam i suppose, is the food. I never like Vietnamese noodles (Pho), but the delicacies in the various vietnamese towns and cities were mouth watering. The Wonton in Hoi An, the pancake with shrimp and peanut paste in Hue... and food is really cheap here. One bottle of Heineken beer costs 1.80, regardless of whether u buy it on the streets or in a cafe. One meal can cost about 5 dollars for 2 persons, of cos, we had meals that cost 40 dollars for 2, with seafood (nothing spectacular though).

Its been one gd wk of travelling in vietnam. Encounters have been good so far. Ho Chi Minh was touristy as expected, so din plan to stay there for long, jus 2 days to see the Tu chi tunnel and Cao Dai temple, which is one that practice Chistianity, confucianism, buddhism.

Flew to Nha Trang on 4th day. Nha trang is a town by the sea. Went for a one day boat trip, snorkelling wasnt good as water was rather murky. But I thoroughly enjoyed the boat excursion to several island hopping. I was very impressed by the attitude of the boatmen. The main guy was apparently high, (i think he drank a lot on board), but high or notwithstanding, he was very committed to his job- trying to crack jokes and made us feel comfy, attend to all out needs etc. After lunch onboard (including sea urchins caught from the sea which i din dare to eat), we had a great surprise! The boatmen were transformed to a band, as they took out their electric guitars and tattered drums.. ha ha! And the main guy was the "Lead singer". He invited us to sing, of cos, being "shy singaporeans",my friend and I din sing. The vietnamese onboard did though. after that we jumped into the cold waters to drink red wine in the sea . yes, the boatmen had already jumped into the sea with a bottle of wine and we had to jump in too to get outr drink. Insane!

All in all , i had a very great impression of the boat trip and the boatmen. We paid peanuts for the boat trip, $12 sing including boat trip, snorkel equipment, entrance to aquarium, lunch, fruit party...and the boatmen were doing the same thing day after day.But they are still all smiles and committed to wat they are doing. This really had some impact on me. Yes, we may complain about our job/ lifestyle.. they may not like wat they are doing but they are still committed to wat they do for a living.