Monday, 3 December 2007So, I started my journey at 2 AM in the morning through a shuttle to the airport. And I suppose to meet someone from SBMI who has my ticket. I don’t know the person. I never met him, never seen him. I really don’t know how to find him. I just send SMS to Angie that I will be waiting at the MacDonald’s at around 6 AM.
I did meet the person after waiting and passing him by several times! I am short in cash because the UNDP only sent such a small amount. Enough to cover the fiscal and airport tax only! That is madness! The worst thing that I have to transit in Ho Chi Minh city on my way back home but they don’t provide the budget for a transit hotel, while I have a 24-hour transit! That is even more madness!
So, we travel anyway by Vietnam Airlines that is operated by Garuda. This is the worst flight ever for me! We have to transit 3 times! So, it was Jakarta – Singapore [transit] – Ho Chi Minh [transit again] – Pnom Penh [transit again!!!] – Vientiane [finally!]. That was a very exhausting flight for me ever!!! Just for the sake of saving US$ 20, we had to suffer from 3 transits! The other annoying thing was that in Ho Chi Minh airport I had to collect my luggage first because the luggage couldn’t check-in through from Jakarta. It was good that someone from the transfer counter was taking care of my luggage and make sure that it goes right to Vientiane.
I arrived in Vientiane feeling very tired at around 5.30 PM. So glad that the hotel had arranged a shuttle service for all the delegates. I can’t imagine if I had to bargain for taxi fares after that tiring flight. I met a lot of other participants, including Cynthia, in the shuttle.
The hotel is quite impressive. I think it’s a five star hotel and it’s fully booked by a lot of foreigners also. The room is nice and I don’t have to share it with anyone. But I had to move my room because my first room was a non-smoking room. The hotel is located at the tourist area.
After freshing up, I went out to have dinner with Cynthia and Reuben from Malaysia AIDS Council. We talked about a lot of things until around 11 PM. Then we felt tired and decided to go back to our room. So, I went up to my room and soaked myself in the hot tub. When you feel tired, hot tub is the best solution for the whole muscles in your body!
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
I woke up with a weary head. I slept so late last night. I didn’t feel want to wake up at all. But I managed myself to get ready and had breakfast at around 8 AM.
I woke up with a weary head. I slept so late last night. I didn’t feel want to wake up at all. But I managed myself to get ready and had breakfast at around 8 AM.
The session went well. I had to facilitate a group discussion about the challenges in HIV-AIDS for migrant workers and Civil Society Organizations. Some people in this workshop are not too familiar with HIV issues and some other not familiar with migrant issues. So, it was kind of dynamic. I like that! It keeps the class alive because a lot of discussions and feed back giving. Although I had to struggle myself against a participant who was very dominant in the group, I enjoyed myself.
At the end of the day, I went out alone to find a convenient store. I need to buy something. I asked the hotel staff, but I couldn’t get a satisfying answer. So, I decided to walk around and explore the surrounding. Accidently, I found a minimart and it was by the Mekong river side. And as I crossed the street to approach the Mekong river, I saw a lot of food stall there. So, I decided to have dinner by the river [even though I couldn’t see anything! It was very dark]. I think the place must be much prettier before dark. Especially during the sunset hours.
The streets in Vientiane are very quiet. Very few vehicles, motorbikes and tuk-tuk passing by on the streets here. It’s kind of nice, because I thought it would be like Bangkok, since Vientiane is the capital city of Lao. The city is considered very…very quiet. I wish Bandung is more like Vientiane. The weather is already similar. It’s quite hot during the day but getting cooler as the sun goes down. The cool breeze is a good companion. I felt a bit lonely though. I miss daddy so much. I really want to have some times to travel around with him. Maybe someday I will be able to do so. I want to take him to see another part of the world. The part that is better than the part he went before. More exotic and friendlier too. By the way, the prices here are about the same with in Indonesia. A bit higher, but the exchange currency between US Dollar and Lao Kip is the same as US Dollar to Indonesian Rupiah. So, it is impossible to save some, because everything is a bit more pricy here. I like the food here too. It’s similar to Thai food. So, I find no difficulties for food.
I went back to the hotel after checking my email in the nearest internet café. It was around 8 PM. I’m glad that this workshop is only for 2 days. But I’m still upset with the 24-hour transit. Even though I talked to Soimart from UNDP Bangkok and she convinced me that all expenses will be covered [but it has to be reimbursed] by UNDP, I have very little amount of money with me, so, I’m a bit worriedand feel insecure. Thank God I got my DSA on Friday, because Hadi came here without his DSA. They said that they already transferred but he didn’t get it until our departure time. He also forgot to exchange some Dollars too in Indonesia. So, he practically doesn’t have money. He borrowed US$ 30 from me for the visa on arrival at the airport. I feel sorry because I can’t help him either. All my money will be getting into my account on Wednesday or even Thursday. I hope it’s going to be there on Wednesday, because I have to cover my transit hotel first, and then reimburse it later to the UNDP.
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Today we are going to have discussion on several things to be submitted in the UNRTF meeting tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It’s about the involvement of Civil Society Organization in national and regional level. That’s tough, because a lot of civil society representatives are just tokenized.
Today we are going to have discussion on several things to be submitted in the UNRTF meeting tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It’s about the involvement of Civil Society Organization in national and regional level. That’s tough, because a lot of civil society representatives are just tokenized.
At the end of the day we wrapped up with several recommendations for UNRTF in action plan format. By the way, UNRTF stands for United Nation Regional Task Force [just in case you don’t know what it is]. There are so many UN task forces, but so little follow up. I’m kind of upset about this matter. I’m not sure if anything is going to happen after this meeting. I hope there is a follow up, and a real one!
Thursday, 6 December 2007So, I had to get up real early today because Malu, Cynthia and I have a breakfast meeting schedule. There’s no other time because I’m going home this morning. Well, not really home though. I’m going to stay over night in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.
I found out that a lot of the group member is also going to the airport at the same time. Jesus, Amy, Irene, Gladys from the Philippines, and then Jackie from Thailand, Navuth and his friends from Cambodia [I couldn’t remember their names]. We took a shuttle from the hotel at 8.15 AM. The streets are very quiet, there’s no traffic in Vientiane, which is very good because then we reached the Wattay airport in 15 minutes!
We took Vietnam Airlines and stopped in Pnom Penh before continued our trip to Ho Chi Minh city. It took only 45 minutes flying from Pnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh city. As soon as we landed in Tan Son Nhat International airport, my head was spinning because we need to find a place to stay over night. Malu lend me THB 4,000 and said that I can return it in the next meeting in Pnom Penh. So glad, because I don’t have any money with me.
After clearing the immigration, I exchanged my Baht to Vietnam Dong. I got VND 1,600,000, that should be enough to cover the expenses for hotel, taxi and meals during my stay. I managed to have a hotel reservation through a travel agent’s counter. The standard room costs VND 400,000 [US$ 25] and the deluxe room costs VND 550,000 [US$ 35]. That’s fair enough because when I see the map of the hotel, the location is close to the Ben Thanh Market, a famous place to shop in Ho Chi Minh city. Hadi also agreed with me, so he will have the standard room and I will have the deluxe room. It will all be reimbursed anyway. I also booked a taxi because the guy at the counter told me it costs US$ 7 and it’s a fixed rate. If I take a taxi by myself, it will be the same price anyway.
So, 45 minutes later we were in the taxi, heading for the Ha Hien Hotel at the 145 – 147 Ly Tung Street, District 1. Ho Chi Minh city is very different to Vientiane. It’s crowded, just like Bangkok and Jakarta. The hotel is located in the downtown area and has a lot of shops around it. It’s just like Sukhumvit area in Bangkok, so easy to find anything.
The hotel is a two-star hotel, but quite nice. And they have free internet too! Hooray!!! After laying back for a while, I went down again and see Hadi in the lobby. We went out to the market which is very…very close to the hotel! The place is quite huge and we can find just about everything there. From vegetables, fruits, food, drink, souvenirs, shoes, bags, clothes, house wares, house decorations, cosmetics, accessories, party utilities, disposable things, suitcases, flowers and many more! I bought some things there because I didn’t shop in Vientiane. The price is a bit higher than Bangkok though, and I had to bargain like hell!
On my way back to the hotel, I bought myself some dinner. It’s a grilled barbecued duck and rice. I took it away to have it in my room. It was nice!
Well, after this I just want to rest, re-pack my suitcase and get a good sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment