The sky isn't the limit?

The world's tallest building is currently the Burj Kalifah situated in Dubai which cost a whopping 1.5 billion dollars to build. In the lifts your ears are popping from the amount of pressure change and there are futuristic space style disco lights. Once you reach the 124 floor's observation deck then you have amazing views across the country.

There are some really interesting design features such as the silver tinted windows, giving a beautiful reflection of the bright sun, but also keeping the building cool.

It takes 3-4 months to clean all the windows with track lines, a series of ropes and for the spire: men hand cleaning! Just like in Vietnam really.

What's even more shocking is that there may be an even taller construction in Saudi Arabia, adding just over 100m and breaking world records. It seems like the sky simply isn't the limit.

Here's a link for more information:
http://www.smartplanet.com/photos/plans-revealed-for-new-tallest-building-in-the-world-photos/6271252?tag=thumbnail-view-selector;get-photo-roto


I don't think there's any building in Hanoi as amazing as this one!

Culture shock again?

There is such a thing as 'reverse culture shock', never before had I encountered this term until I faced it head on during my break. I took a trip to the Middle East (well just Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain), where camels roam freely and the landscape consists of many thousands of grains of sand. I felt out of place not wearing the traditional long black burka like all the other women and unlike Hanoi there didn't really seem to be any well; culture.

In years gone by the Middle East was a haven of different foods, traditions and differences to the Western world. Now I fear it may have fallen to the conformity of shopping malls, designer labels and fancy cars (and boy do they drive fast). Their driving makes Hanoi look tame.

I still really enjoyed my trip and here are some pictures I took along the way; I went out in search of mosques...

Yum, olives in chocolate, now that does sound great.

This was actually the ceiling of the shopping centre, but I thought the tiling was spectacular and no one was making an effort to look up!

Well this sign was a little bit of a joke.

Apparently the gold souks used to be out on the streets but now they are mostly all inside. The jewellery was such a radiant yellow shade I couldn't believe it was actually real.

Strolling around Hanoi

One of the best places to meet up with friends is Joma, a Vietnamese cafe equivalent to Starbucks. After tons of schoolwork I met up with friends there and tried out the carrot cake and caramel latte, YUM! Afterwards we just strolled around taking pictures of random things, here's some of mine:

Sapa

This last week I took a trip to Sapa, recommended by all the guidebooks because of the tribal people living there and the beautiful countryside, perfect for hiking.

You can take an overnight train from Hanoi sharing a cabin with 3 others in bunk beds (since I was with friends it was fun on the contrary sharing a room with a stranger is not my idea of fun) and then you arrive in Sapa at four in the morning.

Staggering through the train station onto a bus you travel on these horrifically vomit- worthy winding roads, the sunrise is a welcome distraction.

I was in the 'Action' group where we did a 7 hour hike passing through four different valley sections. All the way I hummed Taylor Swift songs and it was amazing to see the people there in their traditional tribal outfits. We didn't go up Fan xi pan the highest peak in Vietnam but the walk was extremely tough with knees aching, thighs burning and sunburns all around. We saw so many interesting things and I took a ton of pictures along the way and the women we were walking with weren't tired whatsoever!

We were talking to one of the women and she told us that she dated her husband one week before he asked her to get married. They now have a son so she was extremely happy as sons are important here like in China to support the family.

There are many ethnic tribes in Vietnam including the H'mong people wearing these colourful outfits.

If you want an overview of the place check out the Lonely Planet website:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/northwest-vietnam/sapa

History

Here is a great video if you want to learn about the war and if you want more information I've put some affects of the war below on the people:

How people in the USA were immediately affected by the war:

Money was wasted and the people of America lost faith in the government. Those returning were not congratulated and many had fallen into drug addiction since drugs were extremely easy to get hold of in Vietnam.

Long term effects on America:

The Americans are still embarrassed today about the failure of not just their policy of containment but of their decision to become involved in Vietnam.

How people in Vietnam were affected by the war:

Vietnam became one unified communist country.

There were Vietnamese refugees who had migrated to other countries trying to get away from the war.

The environment and people had been affected by bombing and chemicals used, houses had to be rebuilt and Vietnam didn't have a strong economy to rebuild everything quickly. Many of the plant life had been destroyed because of the chemicals and weapons used hurt not only soldiers but also innocent civilians.

Lasting effects on Vietnam:

In the countryside there are still unexploded landmines and bombs which still endanger people today. As well as this many of the children being born still have disabilities due to the chemical used: Agent Orange.

The power of... milk.

In the book 'Blink' (blink) by Malcolm Gladwell which I recently read it said that statistically  those who are CEOs are on average over 6 foot tall (for men), and in Vietnam this is reflected by the strong belief in the power of milk. There are these milk shops everywhere in town, TrueMilk is one of the biggest chains selling only one product, guess what it is!

Happy Pancake day!

I organized a pancake day for charity and we played loads of Spanish music, I especially love Shakira in Spanish and this song by Los adolescents:

Question : Do people like this song if they don't like to dance? I have a friend who doesn't like dance songs because he doesn't dance, but even if you can't sing surely you listen to songs with words. Hard thinking going on right now!

This pancake endeavour wasn’t just because I felt in dire need of some carbs though, it was to raise money for the charity Helping Hands and so in honour of this event I would like to devote this post to the charities my school supports and problems throughout Vietnam.

The Cancer hospital:

The cancer hospital was my first ever project last year and it was really upsetting to see so many sick children. We brought them  toys and games which they appreciated so much and we blew bubbles and drew pictures with them.

Thuy An orphanage:

At Thuy An your eyes really open to how a LEDC (less economically developed country) copes with those suffering from disabilities. Since families don't have the knowledge, money or support they leave their children here. We learn about the different conditions such as cerebral palsy and downs syndrome and each time we visit we interact with the children through play, massage (which helps stretch out their limbs) and walks in the push chairs. My most recent charity project involved purchasing a washer and a dryer in order for all the nappies and clothes to get cleaned quicker which will hopefully help the carers a lot.

 I bought a washing machine and dryer with help from family friends, thank you everyone!

This child is sooooo sweet!

Here's the crepe recipe for you to hold your own day. We sold 100 total all of which we made ourselves (a giant bowl was required for that much batter!) and even though it took us a lot of time both to organize and prepare I really think it was a worthwhile event.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-crepes/Detail.aspx