Diary Entry Day 10: Miss(ing) Saigon

By Jia Wei Low

Photos by Audrey Samuel

               

Our evening began much like any other time commitment we’ve had here in Saigon, running on Malaysian time. Picking out the right shirt, trying not to blotch make-up and getting last minute preparations for Cultural Night seemed to be the usual suspects to fault for our tardiness. We managed to pull through however, getting there in time to prepare for the arrival of our guests.

                

 On our last night in Saigon, we decided to give back to those who graciously helped us in our journey - the facilitators of our learning sessions, our student guides and even those who put us up and put up with us for the past nine days. To show our appreciation, we invited all those part of ‘In Search of Saigon’ for a Thank You dinner and cultural show.  Dinner consisted of delicious Vietnamese fare while the show included songs from four of our student guides; Pham Tuan Anh, Nguyen Thien Vi and the dynamic duo of Vo Nhat Thang and Le Kim Thanh. Following that, the Indian Bhangra dance was put on, with a makeshift singing group following after, belting out tunes such as Kau Ilhamku, Ais Kacang and Stand By Me. Then all the travellers joined to perform the Dikir Barat with a finale comprising a tribute to Dr. Yeoh, our guide and mentor for the trip, sung to the tune of P-p-p-poker Face by Lady GaGa.

Some of our guests at Cultural Night with our student guide Thang Vo standing

Following a tradition established last year, awards were given out to our travellers, who were voted and nominated for individual categories by the rest of the travellers. The winners for this year’s awards included Lochna Menon, for Most Considerable and Helpful Person and John de Silva for Most Culturally Aware and Perceptive Person.  Mumbi Munene, an exchange student from Monash South Africa (and Editor on the trip) took the prize for Best Travel Companion while the Most Hardworking Person was well-deservedly Abeer Yusuf (the Chief Editor).  In the last of the official categories, Andrea Tee, also the Blog Team Head, went home with the award for the Most Well Written Story for her two part coverage on food in Saigon. One special unofficial category was also included- that of Most Persistent Session Sleeper, for the one person who slept through all 6 official school sessions. In a unanimous decision, Bonnie Teh went home with the infamous moniker.

Sorry Abeer for using this unflattering picture!

 

Once all the awards were given out (with Oscar worthy speeches following some), tokens of appreciation were given out to our guests and guides. The most special moment of the evening for me however was when everyone gathered to watch the slideshow of our adventures in Vietnam thus far. The video brought out streams of emotion from (almost) everyone there. While the trip might have started off on uneasy footing, we eventually formed a sense of camaraderie in the truest sense of the word- our own fellowship.  The evening concluded with one final walk through the city to our hotel, to take in every last bit of sight, sound, smell and taste of this wonderful place we’ve come to call home.

Farewells are never easy- pictured here are traveller Mumbi and student guide Anh

These past 9 days have been quite the ride. It feels like we’ve been here for an eternity, yet still it is too short a stay. Every single experience here, though not always pleasant, will forever be treasured. I cannot speak for everyone else, but I personally wouldn’t change a thing. Stolen wallets, hangovers, everything. Its these important life lessons that have given me perspective on just how privileged we are and how so often others have to grit their teeth just to achieve a fraction of what we often take for granted. 

               

Our last morning seemed a bittersweet affair. Though many of us relished the thought of Malaysian food, not waking up to see each other’s faces in the morning and walking down the spiraling stairs seemed like a heavy price to pay. But still, we packed our bags, said our last goodbye to our home/hotel in Saigon and hopped into a taxi to the airport. Our guides and friends awaited us there, to share last farewells and tears of parting.

Goodbye to the alley we’ve come to know so well

 At that point, waves of emotions were building as it dawned on many of us that our sojourn in Saigon was ending. The curtains were being drawn and even though we knew that all good things must come to end, the bitter pill remained bitter. But the memories remain with us, immortalized within each and every one who walked the alleyways of Saigon, be it student or teacher, guide or traveller. In the end we will always have this blog; a little piece of our history. Our mark on the world.

  

Till we meet again, travellers

Check out the Saigon tear jerker here

Fit into small holes

Crawl through underground tunnels

Only in Chu Chi

Riding on a boat

Abundance of sky up high

Only in Mekong

Dodge motorcycles

Crossing streets like you own it

Only in Saigon

LowJia Wei, 23 is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Writing and suffers from chronic Internet addiction.

               

The God Giong: An Epic of Vietnam

By Jia Wei Low

Photos courtesy Google and Vietnam Tourism

Writer’s Disclaimer: This story was told to me by one of our student guides, so advance apologies for any discrepancies that might occur in this recounting of the tale.

Just as most, if not all Malaysians are familiar with fantastical tales of the mouse deer outsmarting all manner of beasts in Sang Kancil, or a Sultan trying to win the heart of the beautiful princess of Ledang Mountain in Puteri Gunung Ledang, or how the blood of a woman proved her purity in Mahsuri, the Vietnamese too have their own story of God Giong.

As every other story begins, once upon a time in Vietnam, a woman was walking in her padi field tending to her crops when she chanced upon a giant footprint. Surprised by the enormity of the footprint, she stepped closer eventually stepping into the giant footprint. As she did, she felt a strange sensation overcome her body, and some sort of an immaculate conception take place. Nine months later, she gave birth to a boy whom she named ‘Giong’.

For the first three years of his life, Giong could not walk, talk or even move. This was at a time when invaders from China begun attacking the kingdom. So the King sent out a herald to every village in his kingdom in search of a hero to defeat the army of invaders and save his kingdom.

When a messenger arrive in Giong’s village, much to his mother’s amazement, Giong sat up and told his mother to bring the messenger to him (keep in mind that Giong was three years old at the time). So his mother, though confused and amazed, did so.

When the messenger saw Giong, he too was amazed at how a child of three years could talk. Giong commanded the messenger to tell the King to craft him an armor of iron, a helmet of iron, a staff of iron and a horse of iron.

The messenger, feeling the command in Giong’s voice rode off to do so. The King ordered that Giong’s command be fulfilled. And so a staff, a suit of armour and a helmet- all made of iron were crafted and borne by the horse made out of iron, which breathed fire.

Giong upon his fire breathing iron horse

Giong was however, still a small child, but he asked his mother for food and as Giong ate, he grew bigger. Giong could not be satiated and asked for more and as he ate, he grew until there was no more food left in his mother’s home. So the villagers brought him more food until he was roughly the size of a small giant.

Then Giong donned the helm and armor, bore the staff of iron and rode the iron horse to fight off the invaders. Giong fought fiercely with his iron staff and ferocious iron horse, but in the midst of fighting his staff broke. So Giong pulled out bamboo from the ground to continue the fight and eventually emerged victorious, thus saving the kingdom.

In the epilogue of this story, Giong returned to his village to wish his mother farewell and then guided his horse to the Soc Son mountain where he ascended to the sky (or as my Vietnamese friend put it, “flew to the sky”) and was immortalized as a god.

In every culture there are tales of great heroes. In Scandinavia there is Beowulf. In Malaysia we have the story of Hang Tuah- in Vietnam it is the tale of the God Giong. I have always had a soft spot for epic tales of heroes and Vietnam certainly does not disappoint in this department. Still, Vietnam’s folklore is unique in itself, reflective of its own culture and history. Also, a fun little tidbit- the Giong Festival is celebrated annually to commemorate the defeat of the An invaders in Hanoi.

 The Giong Festival in Hanoi (picture courtesy of Vietnam Tourism)

Being an enthusiast of folklore as I am, I one day hope to be able to visit the Giong Festival. If nothing else, I hope to come back to Vietnam to learn so much more about the many legends which I know for a fact I haven’t been able to cover within such a short period of time.

Blogger Profile

LowJia Wei, 23 is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Writing and suffers from chronic Internet addiction.

           

Ty Quang Pagoda’s Philantrophy

By Jia Wei Low

Photos by Lim Fei Xiang     

On Day Five of the trip, the students made their way to Chuong Trinh AIDS, a NGO that helps the HIV/AIDS patients of Ho Chi Minh city through multiple channels. Having ties with a number of organizations and sub-groups, we met Mr. Pham Thanh Van, the co-ordinator, whose organization liaises with community efforts to collectively come together as one and aid HIV/AIDs patients. It was into these community efforts that the students were then divided into for the day’s session. While some were assigned to visit the Pagoda’s community effort, others went to see how individual community members had taken on leadership roles to aid others within the community.

The common thread binding all four groups is the social pandemic HIV/AIDS, showing just how ubiquitous the disease has become and how various walks of life have incorporated it into their community efforts to deal with it as effectively as possible.

This particular account has been written by a student who was part of the group that visited the community service being provided by the Ty Quang Pagoda. -Editors' Note

In the Govap District of Ho Chi Minh City lies the 72 year old Ty Quang Pagoda, a Buddhist temple that impresses visitors with its picturesque garden and many statues. Upon entering, we were greeted by the deputy head monk of the pagoda, Thich Thien Binh who gave us a tour of the pagoda.

Behind the main hall which houses Buddha statues is housing for children affected with disabilities such as sight impairment, Downs Syndrome and birth deformities, orphans and abandoned children.

The tour began with a look into their dormitories. A total of 10 rooms house 150 children, many abandoned because of their disabilities. Each have their own cot but at night, the rooms are crammed with more than a dozen children each. Though some are free to roam the grounds of the pagoda as they pleased, many others are confined to their beds, cared for and nursed by volunteers and monks of the pagoda because of their disabilities. One such example is of Tiny, a 17 year old teenager with the body of a toddler.

 Tiny, the 17 year old child

The pagoda also provides the disabled children with physiotherapy, teaching them how to move about and feed themselves. There is also basic education rendered by volunteer teachers for those capable of learning.

Some of the disabled children in physical therapy

Many are perfectly healthy children, but have been orphaned or abandoned. Many of these children eventually become monks themselves though some go on to do other things in life.

A free clinic is also situated at the pagoda site where many people from the surrounding communities get their healthcare. However, in place of Western medication and drugs which is costly, traditional medicine is given to the people of the clinic.

The free clinic provides accessible healthcare to anyone

The pagoda also helps those afflicted by HIV by providing counseling and support groups, to help them manage their condition and learn coping skills for living with HIV. Most affected by HIV have contracted the disease needle-sharing while doing drugs while some of the women were infected by husbands unaware that they were HIV positive.

Volunteers play a major role in the pagodas- they teach, feed and play with the children as well as clean the rooms and prepare meals for the children along with the monks. Young adult university students can be seen at the pagoda, helping out and playing with the children, giving them much needed love and attention. Some foreign volunteers can also helping out the disabled children, sent by NGOs such as the Volunteers for Peace Vietnam.

University students playing with the children

The Ty Quang Pagoda provides an important community service to the marginalized poor and disabled people of the community. Those rejected by society find solace and a safe haven here at the pagoda where they are cared for. The care and compassion shown by the monks and the volunteers of the pagoda is truly inspiring.

Blogger Profile

Jia Wei Low, 23, is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Writing and suffers from chronic Internet addiction.