I just love airplanes and long-haul flights. We boarded the award-winning Singapore Airlines with approximately 30 hours to go. With 8 magazines, 6 movies, 4 meals, and a sleeping pill, I arrive relaxed and ready to explore. American airports are not yet human-friendly. Singapore’s ultra-modern airport invites you to stay with free internet terminals, a cinema, a rooftop pool, aromatherapy spas, oxygen bars, an indoor natural garden with waterfalls and a koi pond.
I am accompanying my smallest group so far with 28 singles. More than 60 had begged me to offer them these destinations, but most were rescued at the last minute claiming fear of bird flu. So it’s like a vacation for me with this quality about the number of cultural vulture entourage.
We start with an orientation tour at the top of Mount Farber with spectacular views. I can see that the group is impressed with this brilliant metropolis located between Malaysia and Indonesia. Here is the leader of Southeast Asia, a bustling port that was modernized by the British Empire. It is called the “City of the Lion” and is inhabited by 4 million souls. 76% are Chinese and the other minorities blend harmoniously. Singapore is a city, a state, a capital and a country rolled into one and attracts 8 million visitors a year, but few Americans have yet to discover it.
We checked into the opulent Regent Hotel of the Four Seasons. They gave me a suite and I swear this wins the award for the friendliest staff on the planet. We arrive at a perfect time now with the “Great Shopping Festival” underway. There is nothing like retail therapy to alleviate our jet lag. Orchard Road, like a tree-lined Fifth Avenue, is a block away and is the center of all life. Shopping is the national obsession and bargain hunting can become a bloody sport here.
There are 150 mega-malls and some never close. I am a label slave and I buy a genuine used Rolex with documents for a fraction of its original cost. We only have 4 days here. There is so much to do 24/7, it’s like Hong Kong on steroids. The Festival of the Arts is underway with a multitude of venues. After dark, it turns into a party town in trendy Clarke Quay riverside.
We have a sneaky and friendly guide named Farida showing us all the sights along with a great sense of humor. We visit the lush National Orchard Gardens with 60,000 orchids, China Town with its markets and temples, as well as Little India with its intense scents and vibrant colors. Then to the ultra-contemporary financial district, Merlion Park with its iconic fountain and the historic colonial area that was established by Sir Stanford Raffles.
We stopped for a drink of Singapore Sling at the famous Long Bar of Raffles Hotel, where rooms start at $ 700 a night. Other tours included the Jurong Bird Park and the Night Safari at the zoo, considered the best in the world with its free cages for 2,500 animals. At leisure, we ride rickshaws around town and take the cable car to Sentosa Island.
Some of us chose to return to the zoo for a jungle breakfast with the orangutans. In the evening, Terry and I had giant chili crabs for dinner and rice cakes. This vibrant island-state of Singapore is gleaming with purple bougainvillea bushes lining the roads. All cars are equipped with alarms that sound if one exceeds the speed limit. Without graffiti, without gangs and in this strict “controlled democracy”, it is the death penalty for drug traffickers. We all make jokes about being spanked for chewing gum or reckless walking.
It has been a leisurely visit here. I usually feel like Jack Bauer on TV 24 on my nonstop itineraries. I feel rested as I board our 3 hour flight to Vietnam.
We came to another world with rice fields, sampans, lotus flowers, coconut milk and noodle soups. It is like a time machine traveling back to the 15th century in this elegant land that is steeped in history. It is much poorer than I expected. However, there is a seductive charm to be found in the gentleness of these people with the most sincere of smiles. I am a fan of the Third World. While Singapore was dynamic, Hanoi is culturally stimulating. The city is dotted with lakes and shaded by tamarinds. It is a dichotomy that brims with Chi energy and yet is calm at the same time.
We checked into the luxury Sheraton Resort, an oasis of calm amid the chaos. Our fabulous guide named Hong will be with us for 6 glorious days. His first lesson was teaching us to cross the streets. The 7-lane traffic is terrible with 2.4 million scooters. “It’s called the chicken game.” Hong says. “Don’t run, don’t stop, just walk slowly so drivers can predict your direction.” That afternoon, terrified, I was stuck for 20 minutes on the sidewalk, as this lesson goes against all instincts. There are entire families on a single scooter, called the “Vietnamese sandwich”. Everything is transported on these mopeds, 8 piglets, a dozen upside-down chickens, a TV, a tree and more. Pollution is bad. The city center looks tired and worn. Suddenly, a monsoon downpour falls. People cover ponchos and it becomes a waterproof city. It dissipates as quickly as it started and life goes on.
The sun was shining on our daily tours that included the Temple of Literature, the One Pillar Pagoda, the French Quarter, and the Ho Chi Mihn Memorial. We line up with hundreds of people to enter the tomb where his preserved body is visibly locked up just like Lennon was in Moscow. The armed communist soldiers order us to the silent bow, without cameras, umbrellas, sunglasses and arms at our sides. Later we visit Hoa Lo Prison or the Fiery Furnace. Built by the French in 1896, thousands of political prisoners were tortured here until 1954. We see the dungeons with shackles, torture equipment, and “head-cutting machines.” In the 1960s, the Vietcong used it as a prisoner of war detention center for American pilots shot down during the Vietnam War. It was our captive pilots who ironically called this place “The Hanoi Hilton”. We also take a walking tour of the old town, where each alley is named after its ancient crafts: Silk St., Coffin St., Grilled Fish St., etc. Hong takes us to a food market with turtles, sea slugs, pig heads, and other nameless creatures for sale. Thit Chow is a dog stew that is considered peasant food here. The field rat is ceremoniously served at all birthday parties.
Most of our meals are included with elaborate buffet breakfasts and 10 simple lunches. All restaurants are affordable. One night my dinner menu featured jellyfish salad, fried eel, ginger crickets, and glutinous rice with roasted baby pigeon. It seems that Vietnamese will eat anything that moves because it “tastes like chicken.”
We attend the Water Puppet Show, an ancient art form unique only in Hanoi. This mix of music and dance on the water was the source of entertainment for the villagers long ago. Then we spread out to explore the city, the oldest capital in Asia. Some opt for massages and pedicures at unbeatable prices. Some buy souvenirs, while others have tailor-made clothing. I have an embroidered silk dress cut to my body in 4 hours for $ 45. We also visit craft towns looking for bargains on art, ceramics, and lacquerware. The coin is a big challenge for us as $ 10,500 dong equals 65 cents. We feel like millionaires, but it was disheartening to learn that the annual per capita income is only $ 320! We tip generously at all times.
Vietnam’s pulse is found in its cities, while its decorous grace is found in its villages. We set out through the countryside for a full day cruise in Halong Bay. The air is fresh when we pass rice fields, duck and shrimp farms. It is the time of the rice harvest and hundreds of rice farmers are bending over their ponds. Shy children wave as we pass. We arrive at this natural site declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and board our private wooden trash can. In silence we sail towards a dreamlike landscape that seems surreal. 3,000 islands of rugged limestone cliffs emerge from the emerald sea. There is a timeless and haunting quality to this setting. Nat. Geo. he calls it “magic in stone and water.” We enjoyed a seafood lunch with fresh crab and prawns. It is a perfect day in the sun for escapism and serenity.
The highlight of the trip for me was our group cycle tour of Old Hanoi on the last day. We turned a corner downtown to see 28 bike-rickshaws lined up to be sold individually for an hour through the narrow, scooter-filled lanes of oncoming traffic. There are some red light faults that are always ignored. We all laugh as the locals look at us. Terry, 6’4 “, is considered huge even in America. Here he looked like King Tut sitting on a throne with his 90 pounds. The driver effortlessly sells him online with our group. We then went our separate ways for an independent exploration After several hours, I found myself lost in an area of the city without taxis. I had to go back to join others for dinner. I had no choice but to rent a scooter ride. Dressed in a skirt and arms full of bags,. We get on the tiny seat and go. On the road, I wrap my arms and legs around my driver like an octopus. He laughs all the way to the Sheraton.
We flew back to Singapore for a good night’s rest at Le Meridian before our long flight back to Los Angeles via Tokyo. I reflect on another trip well done with new knowledge acquired about history and cultures. It was like visiting two different planets on vacation. The contrast of this journey is evident in our photos from the contemporary garden paradise of Singapore to the new revival of traditional Vietnam. Without a doubt, this is an Asian affair that will never be forgotten.