Vietnam Vespa Adventure

I came from a country that is notorious for motorcycle accidents. The highway leading to my home holds the record for having the most number of motorcycle-related deaths in the Philippines. I have never dated a biker dude. And so, I can confidently say that no, I am generally not comfortable with riding a motorcycle.

It is therefore quite a surprise to me that I enjoyed our Vietnam Vespa adventure as much as I did. I am recommending it to anyone visiting Ho Chi Minh. It is such an efficient way to fall in love with the city in a very short amount of time.

Happy faces on a happy Vespa:)

I asked our tour guide Dat, “Does everyone in Vietnam know how to ride a motorbike?”. “Yes”, he said,  “well, maybe except for my mother”. So no, it is neither an act of courage nor madness on my part to ride a motorbike. In Vietnam, that’s really just how things are done. I heard a lot of tourists just rent a bike and travel all around the country.  It would have been appealling if we had a month or so to stay. This  day tour is the best option given the time we had.

It was my choice to take the Wartime Memories Tour (I am not a war buff. Quite the opposite actually – I know nothing about it) . I was smiling from under my helmet the moment our bikes started moving. I enjoyed our stops in seemingly ordinary buildings that actually played a part in Vietnam’s history. Dat speaks very good English and he surely knows what he’s talking about. It was educational and entertaining at the same time.

Here I am, listening about Dat’s stories about the Opera House and the Notre Dame.

The CIA used to have a secret office here!

Inside the post office.

My favorite part of the trip was the stop at the War Remnants Museum. It is just three floors of pictures, actually – no fancy exhibits, but everything is so moving. It left me with a heavy, feeling that reminded me of how cruel humans can be. I mean, Agent Orange? C’mon! I left the place feeling thankful. I made a promise to never complain about any petty luxury that I don’t have.

I usually don’t like going on organized tours because usually has this tourist-y feel that stops me from full experiencing the country like a local. This one didn’t give me that feeling at all. It was an honest and raw .

Do check them out! Our tour cost $50 each:)

No to Starbucks

I rarely go to coffee shops for coffee. I don’t even know the difference between drip and brewed. So long as I have something to sip, I’m a happy kid. Sad to say, I spend way too much money on and way too much time in coffee shops. This habit started in law school, and is possibly the only reason I stayed as long as I did.

Travelling helped me discover how comfortable I am with being alone – in every sense of the word. I like living by myself, I like eating by myself, I like working by myself, I like drinking by myself,  I like dating myself even. I am okay with being alone even if the rest of the world Is having a party. And so I guess it is my introverted personality, more than my love for food (believe it or not), which makes me love coffee shops so much.

I’d love to say that I read pages and pages of classic books when I’m in coffee shops, but I get distracted so easily. Thank you, Japan-ultra-fast-magical-3G-connection-and-iphone. Thank you, distractingly over-dressed teens who are fun to watch. Thank you, imagination and your endless what-ifs. Shamefully, my books usually become coasters or paperweights to keep tissue in place.

Coffee shop time is “me time”. When I’m in a coffee shop, I feel like a spectator, and I can watch the world go by. I don’t need to show any emotion. I don’t need to nod in agreement to anything. My little coffee shop corner, wherever in the world that may be, is a shielded place.

I recently started a “no to Starbucks” album in my Facebook account. It is admittedly my lazy choice when it comes to coffee shops. I don’t want to be lazy anymore. Visiting coffee shops is a fun way to explore.

Sad that I don’t have pictures in some of the meaningful coffee shops I used to visit in Bangkok. Anyway, here are some of my recent favorites:

CAFE NOISE, SUNSHINE CITY, IKEBUKURO- Great vibe! very chill. They serve wonderful meals too.

LON CAFE, ENOSHIMA- They only serve French toast. Four kinds- this one is fig & cheese. They serve it with ice cream. Second best I’ve tried in my life. The best still comes from home!

DEAN AND DELUCA, SHINAGAWA- had this as my birthday breakfast. Pastry selection is tempting.

Ueno, Tokyo, Japan

I realize that I’m going to leave Japan soon. I find it unfortunate that I haven’t written much about this country yet. These last remaining weeks, I will try to make up for my lack of writing, and perhaps for my lack of travel too. Let me start with what happened today.

I live in Okachimachi. It’s one of the stations of the JR Yamanote Line, meaning it’s right in the heart of practically everything happening in Tokyo. It’s adjacent stations are Akihabara and Ueno. Akihabara is known as Tokyo’s electrical town. And the other  station, Ueno, is the side of Japan that I kind of like. It is home to cultural sites, and a street market district that is so different from the bustling high-end stores of Ginza and Shinjuku.

I went to Ueno today. By that I mean I spent my time relaxing like a tourist instead of rushing like a mad salaryman to catch the train. My sister was with me. Being with this kid made it feel like I was on a field trip.

at the start of our long day!

It was about a fifteen-minute walk from our house to Ueno park. The more common way to find the place is to ride the JR Yamanote line, get off at Ueno station and then take the Park Exit. It is almost impossible to get lost. English signs are available all around. A tourist can easily spend an entire day in Ueno. There is so much to do in this place.

We went to the Tokyo National Science Museum first.  I paid 600 yen for my entrance but it was free for my 6-year old sister. Considering the size and caliber of the museum, the admission is reasonable. I opted to pay another 300 yen for an English audio guide, and even taking this into account, I’d still say the trip was worth it.

Maybe it was just my own mistake, but I assumed that the exhibits start on the first floor. As it turned out, it was supposed to be the last stop. We ended up starting on the exhibition about astronomy and the scientific methods of study. On the sixth floor, where one is supposed to start, there is a room that provides the overview of the whole trip. Here are some of my favorite parts of the trip:

This is the preserved body of the famous Japanese dog, Hachiko.

Space food!

Traditional Japanese clocks for the typical middle-class Japanese.

I wanted to have lunch at a place called Park Side Café, but the line was just too long. I’ve learned that a hungry kid should never be kept waiting. So we opted for a pizza stand just outside the Ueno Zoo. We had a nice cheesy pizza, some fries and a corndog for 1,500 Yen. It was a pretty good meal, and it added a field trip vibe to our lunch.

Next we went to the Ueno Zoo. I think I enjoyed it more than my sister did! We went to Tokyo Disney Sea recently, and I felt like the zoo was organized like that. It is a very happy place. All it needs are bunch of floats and Mickey Mouse singing in Japanese.

I am amazed by how organized, clean and smell-free the zoo was. The zoo area was huge but organized. There were tables and chairs for resting and eating. My sister loved the zoo map with square boxes that she needed to stamp as we visited different places. Really, it was like Disneyland.

This made me miss BKK.

Can you spot Riri?

The highlight of the zoo seems to be Riri and Shishi, the pandas from China.  In typical Japanese fashion, these pandas were made into cute cartoon characters and brilliantly marketed with posters and kawaii merchandise. My sister knew their names even before we came to visit. And amusingly, the Japanese, even the senior citizens, all made a fuss over how cute the pandas were. I agree they are cute, but the elephants are cute too. And the polar bear. And all the other animals. Riri and Shishi are not even from Japan!

One thing though, I am not entirely sure how I feel about zoos in general. These animals are taken away from our natural environment for our amusement. I guess the animals should at least receive 5-star treatment to justify their imprisonment.

Overall, any tourist should spend a day in Ueno- especially those who are interested in seeing a more down-to-earth and relaxed side of Tokyo. I haven’t even talked about Ueno shopping yet! It is so different from Shibuya and Shinjuku. It is a good place to get a taste Japanese culture in a day.

Training Abroad

I find it quite useful to have a hobby. I got into MMA when one of my friends dragged me to a gym in Cubao because we were both heartbroken (Hi David!). I don’t know what kept me going even after he stopped. I just found myself training and training and training even if I had no plans to compete… Even if I was the only girl on most days…. Even if it was getting quite expensive. Eventually, I willingly gave up weekends just so I can train. Training was a stress-reliever, and team felt like family.

Choosing to travel meant I had to leave the gym I’ve grown to love. However, I love the sport enough to look for other gyms. It was like starting from scratch, but I didn’t want to stop training.

Imagine how difficult it was (is) for me. I am a girl with little background in MMA. It is a full-contact sport dominated by strong men. And -here is the clincher- I will learn the lessons in languages I don’t understand.

In Thailand, I trained in three gyms. In one of the gyms I first trained it, I felt like the coach was hitting on me. Good thing I had to transfer cities so I had a non-paranoid reason to transfer gyms too. Eventually, I stuck with a gym affiliated with the Royal Thai Army. Best decision ever. I ended up being friends with the owner. I even joined them in watching Muay Thai matches. We tried Muay Boran. Also, I ended up doing volunteer work for them by teaching English on Saturdays. Although training was never as hardcore as the ones for fighters, I feel like my Muay Thai experience came in a complete package. My only regret is I never bought legit Muay Thai shorts.

Now here in Tokyo, I train only in one discipline in one gym. I’ve fallen in love with Jiu-Jitsu, and I believe I am in one of the top gyms in the country. In general, I think jiu-jitsu is the friendliest of all martial arts. I know most jiu-jitsu gyms encourage a sense of community among it’s members. I don’t know if it’s like this in all gyms or if I really just got lucky with mine. Point is, I really feel like they welcome me…even if I am a girl…. and even if I don’t know Nihonggo.

About 80 percent of our lesson is in Japanese, and a lot of my partners cannot speak English well enough to explain my mistakes. Luckily, the coaches can speak English. And the headcoach does so really well. And everyone is pretty much trying. Most of the guys try to help me when they can. I guess the advantage of this is I’ve become very observant when it comes to movement because it’s the only way I can learn. Often though, I feel shy to ask for advice or to have someone teach me after sparring- only because of the language barrier.

For a close-contact sport like this, it is extremely important to feel comfortable – with the environment and with the people. I still remember the night I went for a trial class. I spent about five minutes psyching myself up before entering the gym. It would’ve probably been easier if I were a boy or if I knew Japanese or if I already knew a lot of jiu-jitsu moves. I’d consider that one of the brave moments of my Japan stay – yes, even braver than sparring for the first time.

Training makes my travels more meaningful. Jiu-jitsu gives wise ways to spend time. The gym gives me some form of social life. It is just a hobby, but it means so much more – especially because I am training abroad.