Road trip adventure

So I got those itchy feet again, and I have been checking out the places to go during these 5 days off, sadly, all the tours that I wanna join are either full or too costly, so I ended up going on a road trip, which I planned since January.

To avoid running on fumes, I made sure my gas tank is full. And we departed at around 9:30, Sam – our leader of the day, and also my amazing ‘driver’ decided that we would take the Vo Van Kiet highway. That is what I love about roadtrip, we can choose our own route, and if we make the right choice, it will be a fantastic trip, and I must say, that is how I felt yesterday. It turned out that riding on the back was a lot more fun; I could enjoy the view of newly constructed apartments, feel the breeze, and doze off occasionally ;)

The first destination is Buu Long Pagoda, located at 81 Nguyen Xien, Long Binh Ward, District 9, hidden in a rural area (you can catch bus line 611 to get there). I highly recommend this place for worshipping, sightseeing, photographing or more. The unique golden stupa of Buu Long pagoda recalls Thai architecture (at least to me it does).

It is said that the pagoda has a [Gotama Cetiya – a stupa masterpiece in Saigon - used for worshiping the Buddha and Noble Sangha relics.] - read more

It was such a pity we didn’t get to see the inside of the stupa, since it was almost 11:30 and you have to take off your shoes in order to get in, and it was lunch break, time out! Instead, we wandered around the area, praying, taking photos here and there. My favourite spot is the turquoise pond right in front of the main building. It creates pleasant atmosphere for visitors.

There is also a small restaurant near the parking lot where you can order veggie meals, iced tea is free ;) The price is reasonable, we paid 86,000 VND for 3 bowls of noodles plus 3 drinks, the taste is fine, it's worth the penny.

After a few minutes 'recharging' our energy, we headed to the second target, Nam Thien Nhat Tru, located at 100 Dang Van Bi, Thu Duc district. Unfortunately, it was 12:30 when we arrived, and it was closed for lunch break (again!). Anyway, it was a day off and we were already there, one more hour was not too long (I guess), so we ordered iced tea and coke from the street vendor, chatting to kill time until 1:30pm.

It was a quiet afternoon, the shades from these trees made it better to sit under the sun during noon hours.

the team of the day ;)

When the clock finally ticked 1:30, I was so eager to get inside, yet the door was still shut, the bell was no where to be found, and I didn't think knocking on the pagoda door is something appropriate to do, I almost gave up and ready to go home. So then I tried my best to get at least one shot, through the closed door.

Suddenly, there came a lady with the keys, and she just saved my plan by getting the door open. Looking at the time, it was past 1:30, pretty punctual lol.

 This is the replica of Ha Noi iconic One-Pillar Pagoda, which was originally built in the 11th century and was rebuilt in 1954 after destruction by the French. The structure and decoration is similar to that of from the North.

 One thing interesting about this place is that there are a lot of fishes and turtles in the lake.

After walking around to pray and take some more photos, I called it a day. We got on our bikes and headed home. It was a four - hour journey on the bike, my last day of April was indeed a very enjoyable day! 

The trip was not just about getting to know new places, I did have some really sweet moments with my friends and I am grateful for those tiny little things you did.

Thank you for being great companions. Thanks again :)

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DT

Be proud

Technically, the first day of Lunar New Year is almost over, and to be honest to myself, I wasn't in the mood to celebrate, partly because I'm not surrounded by the hyper atmosphere in Vietnam, yet right now I am in a faraway land of Melbourne - Australia, where it just happens to be any other ordinary day of these 365 days.

Although in my last entry, I felt that New Year has begun in a positive manner, lately, I find myself trapped in depressed state.

I doubt.

Doubtful of myself.

Tons of questions like 'what can I do?', 'why am I doing this, not that?', 'where am I heading for?', etc. keep echoing in my mind. It's like nothing seem to work.

The songs on my playlists are not upbeat.
The motivation to follow dreams is poor.
Self-esteem is low.
Boredom has become my new friend.

I was hesitated to note down my screaming thoughts. I was reluctant to get an escape exit.

I know that is not right. Lucky enough, again, reading blogs is my therapy; and this inspiring article found its way to my desperate me.

Well, of course the energy cannot be fully recharged just by an article, however, what it did to me, (again), is telling me that it's okay to be imperfect, that it's not wrong to feel blue, that I can be proud of myself for even the smallest things I have.

Yeah, be proud.

At least I am proud that no matter how stuck I may be, I do always remember to smile.

Online Course - Anybody in?

It's the second day of 2015, and if we are talking about how my new year starts, I would say, 'Positive'.

Apart from spending my day with my favorite buddies at Tibetan Coffee House in our regular Tea House Adventure, (which was indeed really enjoyable) what makes me so much excited is the finding of the Online Course called Cultural Studies and Modern Languages: An Introduction from FutureLearn.

I have been looking for online courses for a while, there were a number of courses that caught my attention but didn't bring real motivation for me to get started. And today, I must say it was a luck of the draw when I found this. 

Although I can't say that I put my heart into languages and cultures, the idea of tackling the foreign languages and getting to know a new culture is fresh and stimulating to me. Imagine how we get the insights to alien cultures, simply via languages, it will tell us a lot of fascinating stories. That's just cool, right?

If you watch the trailer video, you will listen to Ms. Gloria Visintini (Lead Educator of the course) speaking English with Italian accent (I guess). This alone is amazing. Personally, it recalls the so-called 'Lingua Franca'  where a language is used as a medium for people around the world to communicate with each other and the notion 'World Englishes' to describe different versions of English created by different nations; these two terms happen to be my favourite in my Applied Linguistics course back then in 2011.

Back to the present, I already signed up for the course, and I just can't wait, I'm bouncing off the walls now. How about you? It's just a 4 - week course, which requires 3 hours per week. 

Let me know if you are going to join me, then we can take the journey together.

It will start on Feb 16, 2015, just so you know :)

DT