Recess holiday

On the beginning I need to mention that this note will be a short one. I have just come back from my 10 days vacation in Vietnam. In Singapore week 8 of school is a recess week. During that time all the students should catch up with their homework, papers, essays, prepare for upcoming tests. However, I don't know a single exchange student who stayed in Singapore during the recess break. The most popular destinations were: Bali, Java, Philippines, Cambodia, Phuket (Thailand). One of the professors said that all the full time students at SMU will try to have at least one day break during the recess, while all the exchange will try to spend at least one day of the recess studying. Unfortunately, I did not have any time for studying ;)
So... Vietnam. What a place... We started in the North – the plane landed in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It is a huge city with lots and lots of scooters and motor bikes. It takes a lot of courage to cross the street. From there Luise (German girl), Monika and I (both Polish) went to Sa Pa. It is a city known for the most beautiful rice fields. The pictures will follow in a few days (most likely after Wednesday when my Portfolio Management test is) so you can see yourself. Pure nature, people dressing up in national Vietnamese costumes, everything unchanged since centuries. After Sa Pa we went to Halong Bay. There we spent one night on the sheep cruising around all the 2000 tiny islands. The views are amazing, but the place is way too touristy: on every corner there were people trying to sell you crap ("hello miss, only $1, buy from meeeee").Next, we planned to take the train to the center of the country, Hue, but the flood changed our plans. There were no buses and no trains going south so we had to buy the plane tickets all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Last minute ticket was a big shock for my budget. Anyhoo, we escaped the flood and were able to continue the travel. I thought it would be impossible, but there is even more motorbikes in Saigon than in Hanoi. The good thing: people speak English over there. In the South we visited Mekong Delta (yes, I did swim in Mekong :)) and Dalat. The latter was amazing. In is a small city in the mountains, but we got a private tours on the motor bikes, so we got to see coffee and curry plantations, waterfalls, and the factory of silk. So, I am finally back to Singapore, and since I had no time to study during the recess I definitely have some catching up to do :SWill post some amazingly beautiful pictures soon!
Take care,
Joanna