Tạm Biệt Việt Nam

Day 167 - Thursday 24th November 3.21pm

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Celebrating for the first time today with a turkey cranberry and stuffing sandwich (with a dunking pot of gravy of course) and pumpkin pie. I am definitely thankful for food! Family, friends and food, thank you for that. Never did gravy taste so good.

 

This week we stocked up at the supermarket and recreated the Ayurvedic curries from our cooking lesson. I've got to say, pretty damn good. They're gonna be on my regular list when I settle down again I think! We also treated ourselves to my favourite dish of Mango Curry at the Hanoi Social Club and that did not disappoint either.

 

But obviously the best food to indulge on is the local cuisine, so we were thrilled when Hoai and Linh (colleagues from my Friday school) offered to take us out for some Phô Cuon and Vietnamese coffee. This soon became our favourite dish and we had a great evening with them learning about everything Vietnamese and making them giggle at random snippets of our mundane lives back in England.

Day 174 - Thursday 1st December 7.24pm

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... Whilst everyone sends snaps of their freezing car thermometers back home I'm sitting cosy in a cafe in Hanoi writing Christmas cards over my turkey stuffing cranberry and gravy sandwich (yes that is the second one since Thanksgiving but it's just too good) and a massive slab of the most delicious chocolate cake I've had in the world, with Christmas songs floating along in the background. It's December 1st already!

This also means that tomorrow is sadly our last day living in Hanoi. We've had a busy week cramming in all those "yeah let's do that one day"'s and trying all the street delights we come across (obviously the majority of our Hanoi Bucket List revolves around food).

One of our favourite street treats was when we randomly stumbled across Bánh Cuon, peering curiously into the cooking pot when a French Vietnamese guy offered to help and translate. Best decision ever - little steamed rice pods stuffed with pork and mushroom and all sorts, with a chilli dipping sauce. Another lady was also frying something that had intrigued us for weeks, which turned out to be banana fritters and some weird battered potato things, needless to say the banana ones went down a treat. 

 

Our other local favourite was a stall down the road with Bánh Xeo & Nem Lui; the first is rice pancakes fried with prawns beansprouts etc, wrapped up in rice paper with herbs and dipped into a light chilli sauce, the latter is minced meat barbecued on a lemongrass stick. We've invited Hoai and Linh out again for more Phô Cuốn (and other dishes I couldn't name) and packed in as many home cooked stir fries as we can.

 

For the rest of our final few days we've walked down to the lake for a coconut cone when the sunset looked good, continued counteracting the food with jogging to yoga and the occasional pilates and even attended a slightly odd but relaxing meditation session. Who knew squeezing out the gooey aloe leaf flesh could make such a great foot treatment too?

 

I've tried to visit Phuc Tue as much as I can too to spend time with my old students before I say goodbye once more. It's been fantastic to see them all again all grown up and I hope this won't be the last time too, especially for the beautiful Anh and my lovely teacher Nhien.

 

One thing I wanted to tick off the list living here was playing badminton in the Botanical Gardens (a must do in Hanoi!) and walk to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum at night time, to see the building lit up in its full glory. I'd driven past so many times and thought it looked beautiful at night, but it only took us three months to actually pay a visit.

 

My love of tea has grown too, I really enjoy a dainty little cup of iced Vietnamese tea and my favourite finds so far have been kumquat tea with watermelon and peach tea with passion fruit. Surprisingly Megan and I have also jumped on the beer bandwagon, making the most of the freshly brewed barrels of Bia Hoi that are cheap as chips (well cheaper than water in fact). Last week we enjoyed an evening making friends over beers, boogying and burritos, the latter was highly recommended to any passer by so I think I deserve a tip.

 

This morning I had my last yoga class and health-filled smoothie, and my instructor Thuy very kindly gave me a mini session of simple techniques to continue on my travels and to strengthen my dodgy back, my favourite being a head stand using just two chairs and a wall, head hanging in limbo. Let's see how that one goes!

We have had some free time to plan our next steps into Asia too, over egg coffees and avocado smoothies. After spending some time with my Mum and Stu in Bangkok next week, we'll be choo-chooing to the North to explore Chiang Mai and Pai, before jetting to Myanmar for Christmas. It's going to be pretty strange without the frosty mornings and mince pies, but I am excited to celebrate my time abroad in a new way! Then the plan is head to South Thailand to see in the New Year, spend a few weeks island hopping then casually fly to the Philippines to top it all off... I've worked hard for this I promise!

Day 177 - Sunday 4th December 12.14pm

After six long months of Asian life, I'm  reunited with my beautiful Mum and Stu under the Bangkok blue skies for a few days. After a manic flight and long delays they got to our rooftop hotel and it felt great to have a big mummy hug again. I'm very lucky to have such supportive family and friends around me joining me on my life overseas!

 

Packing and early airport buses have provided us with minimal sleep this week so it's now time to sweat, swim and sunbathe with my favourites.

Friday was our last day in Hanoi, packing up our flat, squishing everything into our rucksacks and not quite sure how to feel about everything. We had one last Bùn cha, my favourite Vietnamese dish (vermicelli rice noodles with mini burgers and bacon in a delicious broth), said another round of goodbyes at Phuc tue and my last lesson with my lovely fun students at Educap. To celebrate we found the little rooftop gem of Trill Cafe for a mojito and surprise dinner watching sunset over the city, getting something completely different to what we ordered!

 

 

 

 

Saturday presented us with a 5am start, unable to keep my eyes open, and the long journey to Bangkok begins. Twelve weeks in Vietnam complete, it has been an absolute pleasure, now it's time to settle into Thai life again. Sawasdeekaaaa.

 

Balancing a Life of Yoga and Desserts

Day 157 - Monday 14th November 11.42am

The sun's out! It's not quite 33* bliss again, but a million miles away from the woolly jumper weather last week, which made me want to eat non stop and find a big blanket!

Last week we discovered Zenith, a local yoga centre not too far from our flat, so I decided to treat myself with my birthday money to a membership for our final weeks. I have just had my third Hatha yoga class and am really, really enjoying it - I've wanted to practice regularly for far too long, but not had the option or opportunity since I left university. The teacher and entire class is very relaxed and non-judgemental, going through each pose slowly and carefully to ensure everyone benefits to their fullest potential. I've done classes before where you can barely keep up with the instructor bending into impossible positions and having no idea how to get there, so it was perfect to begin with full support. We use more equipment like chairs, belts and blankets too, as well as scary looking ropes on the wall to hang off (this is my favourite part!).

 

The community at Zenith is very chilled and friendly, which has helped me to feel at home here. Their cafe has tonnes of healthy food and smoothies that I can't help but give in to, I think I need a healthy physical and mental detox anyway to balance all the stress and desserts! (Talking of desserts - our last great finds were a whole tray of rocky road at Chops and a bread pudding with bacon... So yum). They hold lots of cool events regularly at Zenith too, so we took advantage of their Ayurvedic cooking class and bike ride by the river. 

 

I found the cooking lesson really interesting, it's not related to Vietnamese cuisine but Ayurveda is the holistic yogic healing system originated thousands of years ago in India. Depending on your predominant Dosha, you can learn to balance your mind, body and spirit for optimal health. This system is still used widely in the Eastern world, which I witnessed a lot in Sri Lanka. Dosha's are three energies derived from the five elements (air, space, water, fire and earth) describing physical, emotional and mental characteristics, of which each person is unique. We learnt about what foods are good for certain people and how to incorporate that into your everyday cooking. So for instance if your predominant Dosha is Vata (air and space = cold and dry), you should base your diet on more warm, nourishing foods like sweet potatoes, hot soup and cinnamon. There's so much detail I could talk about, but if you're interested there's tonnes to read online about it! Try http://goop.com/ayurveda-how-to-eat-for-your-dosha/

 

Our teacher was a Canadian guy originally from India, so he had grown up with the Ayurvedic philosophy guiding his medicine, diet and balancing his overall health. We used the most simple natural ingredients like ginger, garlic, turmeric and coriander to form the base of surprisingly flavour-filled dishes and healthy pure cooking, nothing fancy or ridiculous. One dish he showed us was literally onion, peppers and freshly ground peanut powder which he made by roasting and crushing the peanuts earlier that day. Fry those three simple ingredients together, slowly, and you get the most delicious invigorating taste and crunchy texture. He gave us lots of little Ayurvedic lifestyle tips too to keep our health in balance, such as eat the heavier foods in your meal first (like our dhaal lentil curry) as they take longer to digest and avoid water for an hour before and after eating. Definitely learnt a lot and can't wait to try it all out!

 

The bike ride was the following morning - it's amazing what beauty lies five steps outside the city... Apparently endless crops and farmland, anyone who's been to Hanoi will probably think where the hell was that hiding? There's a huge area by the river where all other evidence of the chaotic city is hidden and you can enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. The ride ended with a fantastic three course meal altogether back at Zenith; chunky vegetable soup, baked rice and chocolate brownie. Feeling good!

 

We spent yesterday how a Sunday should be spent. Productive but relaxed, ticking off chores and washing and shopping before enjoying Netflix and a home cooked dinner with coconut ice cream.

Day 158 - Tues 15th November 9.52pm

Today I refound my love of phô when we ventured into the Old Quarter before work. Fresh light herby goodness! Accompanied by two Californian guys giving light on the recent election of Trump and how the world is going to pan out for us all very soon. Trip to Canada anyone?

Day 159 - Wednesday 16th November 3.55pm

A morning of jogging, yoga and pilates, chickpea curry and cacao shake, laying in the park in the sunshine, organising our Myanmar visa and a good old frozen Kit Kat Chunky.

 

Day 160 - Thursday 17th November 2.22pm

Now it's back to 33* bliss, this weather seems more confused than an English summer!

Sitting on a bench by the lake, enjoying my pork and pate Bánh Mi in the sunshine, all I need now is a coconut ice cream to top it all off. Today has been beautifully and actively tranquil; after my tropical fruit breakfast I actually enjoyed a jog to my Hatha yoga class, rejuvenated after by a fresh coconut with aloe and mint (yes Aloe - seriously try it!) before my aromatherapy massage at a local centre that trains partially sighted and disadvantaged youths as masseuses. Since my new daily yoga sessions I ached in every corner of my body! What a great morning eh? Now time to prepare for a headache with two hours of my noisy non-stop class of 12 year olds. I knew the peacefulness couldn't last too long!

Day 164 - Monday 21st November 2.05pm

Morning Yoga and Pilates done, green smoothie devoured, time to enjoy the last day of sunshine before the Hanoian frost comes! Which means laying with my book on the one patch of grass that seems acceptable in this city.

We've had a pretty packed weekend, trying out the Hanoian cinema experience on Friday to see Fantastic Beasts (loved it) complete with an Lotteria burger before class after class after class that evening. On Saturday we went for a burrito brunch after yoga then to a special market at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, generously making far too many beautiful handmade purchases from the Northern minority tribes, then an evening of great food at the Hanoi Social Club.

 

Sunday was spent meandering through the Hanoi Green Market, where we stocked up on dirt cheap Vietnamese local veg and mysterious fruits that looked minging but tasted divine. Then something that should not be legal on a Sunday - covering a rowdy kindergarten class for two hours with absolutely no preparation. Dinner could only be one thing - a street food takeaway delight in front of the TV.

 

Teaching Toddlers and Turning Twenty-Five

Day 135 - Sunday 23rd October 9.24am

Well, quite a lot has dramatically changed in the past ten days!

I had been feeling really nervous about starting a new life in Hanoi and figuring out my future, I really had no idea what to expect or what would happen, with a fear of failure lingering over me. This is something I'd been dreaming about for so long, what if it didn't work out? What if I realised I was actually a shocking teacher and all this effort was for nothing?

I spent every hour of the next two days scrolling through sites and links and adverts to simultaneously find a job and place to live for the next couple of months.

Luckily for us, we're not the only ones who set out to do this in Hanoi. There's a brilliant Facebook community called 'Hanoi Massive - A New Era' (the updated one), which has grown with expat advice and knowledge and events, giving the local know-how and also the best place to find the newest job vacancies. There's another page specific to Hanoi English Teaching Jobs and Hanoi Housing, so for anyone looking to find their feet in this city these are definitely the most useful places to look. I seemed to scroll and send a thousand applications, losing track of all the emails exiting my outbox. At first it seemed never ending and I was getting an increasing number of blind offers for "Great salaries, only three hours from Hanoi!". By Day 2, when I was starting to lose motivation, I was suddenly offered an instant interview for the next evening at Educap English Centre, including a demo class with a nice little wad of cash given at the end. Now it all became real and scary!

Believe it or not I've never actually had a proper face to face interview before, which made me really quite nervous. I was crapping my pants all day. But actually they asked the simplest questions, the class went swimmingly and I instantly got the job. Buzzing!

The next day our luck continued - we saw an apartment advert in the morning, went to visit in the afternoon, then by the evening were ready to sign our short term contract! Moving into our swanky bachelors pad by the lake the following morning, all in time to celebrate Megan's 25th birthday in style. It's all starting to come together!

 

 

Megans birthday consisted of food, good food and even more great food. But first of all, moving our rucksack of worldly belongings into our exciting new flat, hello king sized bed, flat screen TV and rooftop view of the city! It felt good to finally have a home for the next two months, everything was falling into place just in time. We starting off our food babies by discovering Joma's bakery (soon to be our regular favourite treat) for a breakfast burrito and bagel brunch, ending the day with a much-craved and very homely sausage and mash at Moose & Roo, I've missed gravy! Then of course a selection of cakes to top it all off. Happy Birthday Megan!

 

 

 

Monday meant another busy week focusing on work - starting with a hectic day of two cancelled interviews (at the very last second of course), two actual interviews (at different ends of the city of course), then when I was about to flop onto my bed in exhaustion I had an urgent call to rush for a last minute cover lesson with one company AND a class observation with another in order to get the position there. This working life stuff is exhausting. Zzzzzz

Tuesday wasn't much better - my first interview got cancelled (again), I cried at my next one (shockingly unprepared), then in my haste to escape I made more rookie errors and wasted four hours waiting for an agency interview, again completely the other side of town. All before my second lesson at Educap, then a mingingly disappointing phô gá to end the day.

Wednesday offered a lazy morning of Bánh Mi and lesson planning for my next trial lesson at Espeed Adult Teaching Academy. It actually went pretty well - maybe I can do this after all?

Thursday just got weirder and weirder. After crying at the interview, having no preschool experience and not even realising I was applying to teach 4 year olds, I got a job at a kindergarten. Sorry what? And not just any kindergarten. A Montessori International School kindergarten. The legendary Montessori philosophy of teaching your children independent learning and an intrinsic motivation to discover. Where the parents are paying two grand a year to have their kids taught by a nerdy English teacher who isn't able to handle a class of preschoolers. Someone pass me the ice cream.

Friday was the real test - an entire day of students ranging from 2-20 years old. Thank god for GrabBikes though - the Asian version of Uber which has enabled me to easily transport between my life of lessons for about a dollar a journey, saving the hassle and time of a bus in the chaotic city traffic. Leaving the flat at 8am, starting with nursery rhymes at 9am, straight to a class of thirty screaming 4 year olds, lesson planning in my break, repeating the hour to a different group of hyper 4 year olds, whizzing to the other end of the city for my original class of 12 year olds at Educap, then braving myself for my Espeed uni students at 8pm, falling into the flat at 10pm. This week has been exhausting.

The weekend meant a Saturday brunch date yesterday with Mr Eggs Benedict, then a trip to the Old Quarter for a bbq, beer and slightly boozy cocktail. Sunday's are for snoozing, so that's just what I'll do.

Day 150 - Monday 7th November 7.53pm

Five little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away, Mama Duck said "Quack, quack, quack, quack", but only four little ducks came back. Four little ducks...

Round and round and round and round in my head. Hello world of Kindergarten Teaching!

 

After a few weeks of teaching at Motessori International School, I have discovered I can think on my feet pretty well and I'm not quite as bad at it as I'd dreaded. For my little kids I have to do English nursery rhymes, so yes I sit and sing to two year olds for half an hour. I've found it surprisingly therapeutic (I'm not sure they'd agree with my great singing skills) but when they start to clap or sway along it's so much fun, especially when they try to babble a few words back to you! I repeat my class with four year olds twice in a day, which is bloody hard work. Controlling thirty crying screaming hyper kids, given no resources or curriculum and having to use the limited Montessori wooden equipment, with absolutely no preschool experience, was quite a challenge believe it or not. I have certainly learned a lot from my days at Montessori and it's been a great experience, however I've decided today will be my last day today. I'm just not quite cut out to be a preschool teacher and obviously it wasn't in my original plan. My final lesson actually went brilliantly, the children all engaged and behaved and sang along to the songs and actions I made up on the spot. No one cried and no one screamed and everyone seemed to be learning... Can I do this after all..? Ha don't be ridiculous, I have started to dread the exhaustion of a Monday morning! Nonetheless I'm really glad I gave it a go and now know which direction I'd like to continue. Plus no more nursery rhymes stuck in my head I hope!

 

I am really loving the rest of my classes though and feel very lucky to have found these jobs at such great places, especially as I've heard some nightmare stories before. I teach various evening classes at three other language centres: Educap, Espeed and Cleverlearn. Most centres in Hanoi are based on communicative language teaching, so it is more about listening and speaking in natural conversation than skills in reading and writing.

I have my lovely little class at Educap every Friday evening still for an hour and a half; six highly intelligent students around 12 years old who make my life easy, love playing games and are keen to chat about anything and everything. We follow a curriculum in Friends and Family 5, alternating their lessons between myself and a Vietnamese teacher. Everything about the centre is really nice and relaxed - the staff, the students and the lessons, plus I don't even need to mark their homework!

Every Tuesday and Thursday I have a two hour class at Cleverlearn with a larger class of eighteen students from 10-14 years old. A bigger group obviously means more varied levels, which was a challenge for me to learn to accommodate in my lesson planning. There's a real mixture of the loud confident giggling girls in the front row to the brainy guy who will quietly contribute and the silent student in the corner who doesn't feel like engaging. So my mission has been to leave no one behind, which is harder than it sounds! I hope with experience and personal development this is something I will continue to improve as a teacher. At this centre I've helped out with quite a lot of cover classes too, boosting my breadth of experience and giving me a few extra dollars for the end of the month. This weekend I agreed to four hours on Saturday and four on Sunday, which doesn't seem too bad right? But with no break in between and the vaguest idea of the lesson plan AND being told two of the classes are kindergarten, my weekend suddenly became a bit too exhausting! I don't know how teachers do it non-stop back home, I don't know if being in another language makes it even more exhausting, or if I just wasn't prepared enough. Still, great experience and learning for me too!

For the rest of the week I have an ever changing timetable for my 18-24 year olds at Espeed. This means I have random classes at different times each week in various centres spread across Hanoi, but it's worked out quite well to fill up my timetable. Espeed lessons are for a couple of hours, lead by a Vietnamese 'Inspirer', with an hour slot for a foreign teacher. The level of English of most of the students is actually a lot lower than my 12 year olds, so my time with them is a slower paced immersion in the language using competitions and games like hot seat, role plays and quizzes. I really like the structure of the lessons here and all the lessons are planned for you based on their conversational curriculum. For example they do 'Experience Days' where they have to introduce themselves to foreigners or buy things at a shopping mall or have a job interview in English, making their learning useful, realistic and personal. I think this approach should be adapted more widely and is definitely the style of English teaching that I'd like to continue using.

 

It's great fun working with people who are more my age, they've given me really good feedback too which is always a relief to hear. My favourite lessons were when two classes surprised me on National Teachers Day - bouquets of flowers, cute cards and a Teachers calendar to thank me for my hard work!

 

So that's my TEFL life in a nutshell so far. I have really enjoyed the whole experience and feel it's something I want to continue with in the future. I'm looking forward to the wad of cash I'll be flashing before I leave for Thailand too!

Day 151 - Tuesday 8th November 9.06pm

It has felt like a stressful non-stop ten days (it's not all smiles and paradise believe it or not) and it's made me start the inevitable of missing home. I know I put a lot of pressure on myself to do the best i possibly can, so the constant flow of new things and getting settled and continually learning and developing as a teacher gets my head into a bit of a kerfuffle. I want to make the most of my short time teaching here as it will be such valuable experience for me to take forward when I decide what I'd like to do next. It's been fantastic so far, challenging exciting stressful and rewarding. I've received some really encouraging feedback from fellow teachers and students with tips I'm eager to take on board. 

Aside from work, I've tried to make the most of living in here in Hanoi. Last week we finally stumbled across a cheap set of racquets to fulfil mine and Megan's lifelong dream to play badminton, the most loved sport in Vietnam it seems! We gave them a test run on Friday morning, when the sun finally decided to shine after a few foggy freezing days. We found our spot under the blue sky and breezy palm trees, setting off to a disgraceful start, blaming the cheap equipment for our hilarious efforts. But after an hour of intense *ahem* play, the pro's were out and our rally went from a fantastic 3 to a slightly impressive 59. Not too bad for two unsporty amateurs.

I was really excited to be able to visit Phuc Tue again to spend time with my favourite little students, plus a trip to my teacher Miss Nhiens home for dinner, practicing for my kindergarten class with her two small grandchildren!

 

 

 

Finding great food has also seemed to take up a lot of our time - exploring the cafes around the lake, cooking stir fries in our little kitchen and finding the best chocolate cake in Hanoi. Our favourite regulars are a barbecue pork bánh mi with a view of the lake and Bánh xeo crispy pancakes perched on mini plastic stools. However the best cake in Hanoi was discovered on a very special day....

It was my 25th birthday! Feeling old and wrinkly, but we managed to celebrate with another weekend of eating. First was a huge poached egg and avocado brunch at Hanoi Social Club and a food coma nap before the two lessons on my birthday evening.  Next day was a full English brekkie at Home 38 next to Tay Ho, leading to the the cake. Joma's chocolate fudge cake, warmed with a pot of cream, cut to the size of a small village. I was in heaven. I loved it so much we even had to go back again the next day... Good job it's a half hour walk away! We went for a beer to celebrate, but ending up like every other night out attempt in Tay Ho - disappointing failure. The one guy we met somehow walked slap bang full frontal into an oncoming motorbike, so that was our night over. Oh well, our next evening of homemade veggie chilli and movies in the rain was a much better idea.

 

 

Day 152 - Wednesday 9th November 4.16pm

What a difference a week makes. On Thursday we were sweating under the bright sun and blue skies, the air reaching a beautifully embracing 33*C whilst we topped up our Vitamin D on the rooftop.

 

Today I am shivering, wrapped up in leggins long sleeves cardigan coat and ditched the flip flops. The Old Quarter has swapped it's hot pants and sunglasses to puffer jackets and woolly scarves. I can't deal with this cold! Twenty four days until I get to cuddle my Mamma in Thailand...

Cities and Seasides

Day 118 - Thursday 6th October 2.05pm

We've now spent a few nights in Ho Chi Minh City, with time to explore but also relax and realise our plans over the coming weeks and months.

On Tuesday we started with breakfast overlooking the city from our rooftop, then set out to explore Saigon for the day; visiting the market, Cathedral, Post Office (it's an impressive building!), City Hall, Opera House and last of all to the War Remnants Museum. The museum has a highly thought provoking exhibition of photos taken by combat journalists during the war, up close to the soldiers and civilians, some with a retrospective narrative describing the moments after the photograph where they heard the gunshot or witnessed the beheading. I still don't know too much about the Vietnam War, but learning about the facts and figures was shocking, especially knowing it wasn't that long ago. The most profound was the ongoing effects of Agent Orange and thousands of unexploded bombs, claiming the lives and health of thousands and thousands of innocent people even generations down the line. When will the human race learn?

After a heavy afternoon, we decided to try out a Sivananda Yoga session downtown, which is an interesting practice emphasising proper breathing, relaxation and positive thinking. The teacher was impressively leading the class in both Vietnamese and English, with a Sanskrit chant, strange breathing techniques blocking alternate nostrils, then generic bending the body into impossible positions. It was Megan's only Yoga lesson since we first tried out a class in Bali five years ago (when we were giggling the whole way through), but we both really enjoyed the experience!

Yesterday I was up and awake at 6.30am for some bizarre reason (this is usually an unearthly hour to me), so I decided to go for a stroll across the park. As the sun grew against the skyscrapers there was already a great atmosphere, with locals beginning there day with badminton, tai chi or the elders favourite at the outdoor gym. As I wondered around I found the best smoothie man in Vietnam, donning a delicious avocado, mango and dragon fruit delight which was heavenly! It was the perfect treat before a beautiful breakfast of soy sauce, banana and scrambled egg baguette. Try it.

The rest of the day was spent catching up on life, a phô bò lunch break, then planning our next move. We somehow made the spontaneous decision to head back up north to Cat Ba, as unfortunately the weather forecast for Phu Quoc Island was looking dismal. Within half an hour our flight was booked, our hostel was chosen and we were ready for a new adventure.

We nabbed a free noodle dinner at our hostel, then went from $1 backpackers to dolled up millionaires (ahem) for a cocktail at Bitexco Sky bar, overlooking the river and city lights. We managed to spot our hostel, the tai chi park, Saigon Opera House, City Hall, the cathedral and post office etc from our earlier walking tour which was pretty cool.

Then back to the hostel to be cheap backpackers again for free beers and Irish snap, before heading out for a boogie with our fellow cheap backpacker camp mates. 

It's time to pack up now and grab another top notch smoothie before our flight to Hai Phong, ready to enjoy our last few days before the world of work!

Day 122 - Monday 10th October 7:34am

We made it to Cat Ba! And we love it!

 

We flew from Saigon to Hai phong and found a cute old hotel to rest our heads (and watch Star Movies) before our early morning scenic boat journey to Cat Ba Island.

We arrived to fresh fruit and yogurt, lugging our bags up the hill to our chosen guesthouse and being greeted by the sweetest Vietnamese family and their baby.

We knew it was immediately time to soak some sun rays so we hopped on a motorbike to Cat Co II beach - white sand, calm sea and everything I didn't expect from Cat Ba!

In the evening we headed out for Vietnamese chicken curry and free local beer, treating ourselves to no alarm clock for the next morning.

That weekend we powered straight to the beach again for swimming and sunbathing, with a view of the limestone cliffs surrounding us. Fresh coconut in one hand and a book in the other. It's quite a nice walk to the beach and we've been coming back to see the sun set over the boats in the harbour too which looks beautiful.

 

In the evening we joined the family dinner at our guesthouse with some others from Holland, sharing traditional Vietnamese dishes of chicken, tofu, spring rolls and beer.

Last night we made the trek up to Canon Fort for sunset too; braving the steep uphill path in flip flops, a sarong and wet bikini was not the easiest... But we made it just in time to watch the sun setting, burning bright orange in the hazy sky and reflecting into the harbour below.

Then it was time to be a responsible adult and prepare for a teaching job in Hanoi, sorting out my mess of a CV and thinking carefully about my next steps out in the big wide world.

Today we've got a boat trip booked around the craggy island cliffs of Lan Ha Bay, so I better get a move on!

 

 

 

Day 123 - Tuesday 11th October 12.46pm

Yesterday's boat trip turned out to be a fantastic day! Imagine kayaking through the emerald waters through limestone caves and towering cliffs brushed with green jungle, taking a dip with the darting fish to swim to a solo stretch of sand, and witnessing your first floating cloud since arriving in Cat Ba. Lunch was a brilliant buffet of more fresh Vietnamese dishes - plenty of tofu, noodles and spring rolls. We got chatting to some people from Ecuador, inspiring us for some far off future trip there (one day) then had some time to read on the deck with a sea breeze easing the Suns warmth. We sailed through floating wooden villages and fisherman with their daily catch, then stopped off at Monkey Island for a random rock climbing expedition on the jagged (bloody steep and bloody sharp) limestone wall, catching our breath for a brilliant view over the island and across the bay. After our sweaty climb it was time to fulfil a lifelong dream - sipping a coconut on a desert island with white sand and the sparkly sea at my feet. 

 

Exhausted after a day of paddling, swimming and climbing, that evening we headed to the harbour for a Oreo and banana milkshake to fuel me for another stretch of CV sorting. 

This morning we decided to stop being pansies and do what every other backpacker does - try out a motorbike. We hyped ourselves up on everything we could do if we just got on one and rode, the adventures we could have and the remote places we could explore... Butttt after two minutes I don't think we'll be revving another engine anytime soon! Accepting our fate, we began our walk back on the beach. It was particularly peaceful today with only a handful of people. Time to use our last drips of suncream and enjoy the waves before our city life begins.

 

5.07pm

Somehow managed to blag a ride home in a golf buggy, best mode of transport yet!

10.12pm

Sacked off cocktails for a Mars Bar and Star Movies. No wonder I'm getting old...

Day 124 - Wednesday 12th October 12.32pm

We've spent six marvellous days in Cat Ba, the best last minute decision we've made, coming for the short stretch of brilliant blue skies and only spotting one cloud in our time here. I hadn't really thought much of Cat Ba previously, but I have really enjoyed the relaxed vibe, beautiful quiet beach and night time atmosphere along the harbour front. We are currently waiting for our bus-boat-bus, with a power-cut throughout the town for the last hour or so, ready to be shipped back to the busting streets of Hanoi, for a new adventure living in the city.

 

That time we missed the jeep.

Day 113 - Saturday 1st October 2016 1.52pm

October? I'm turning 25 this month how?

It's the first time I've actually been away in October, it feels slightly odd. Especially as in a couple of weeks I'll (hopefully) have a job, settled in Hanoi, but yet have no idea how Megan and I will be celebrating turning a quarter of a century.

Today is our last day in Hoi An, the pretty riverside town that sits half way between Saigon and Hanoi. It has been a pretty chilled few days here too which is nice. After arriving from our epic motorbike trip on Tuesday, we wondered the lantern filled streets through the ancient town, rustic and yellow from the earlier European influence. We've made ourselves known at the local Ice Cream Parlour, where you can pick and mix from their 60 flavours of ice cream, self service, topped with Hershey's chocolate sauce and sprinkles, yum. We made a new pal in our dorm room too, a very funny well travelled guy who offered us tips and stories and high class mineral water and any weed if we fancied it too. Don't worry mum we did politely decline. On his recommendation we headed to Ganesh, an Indian restaurant with a mean chickpea curry and peshwari naan. Ordered far too much, ate it all, loved it, then waddled home with food triplets before collapsing in a food coma. 

I'm not sure if it was laying on a full stomach, or dehydration from the day before, but that night I fell suddenly very ill, writing off the next day in bed feeling like the worst hangover ever. And it couldn't have been the food as Megan ate the same dishes as me. A massive shame as the sun was shining, but I could only just manage to go out for some pho noodle soup that evening before collapsing on the bed with exhaustion again. 

Luckily a good nights sleep sorted me right out, so the next day we got out and about, getting back my appetite and enjoying time to read in the hammocks. On Friday we rented bikes and headed for a day of coconuts and more reading on An Bang beach, getting home just in time before the heavens open up to torrential rain. After we waited a while with a cocktail for the downpour to ease, we decided to give in, grab our bikes and pac-a-macs and embrace nature pouring down on us. We ordered a load of local dishes - White rose dumplings and Quang Nam noodles and Bánh Xeo pancakes - which were so scrummy, although the staff had to teach us how to eat them!

So today we decided to rent the bikes again, check out Hoi An Museum and cycle the maze of streets with tailors and street food and cyclists around every corner. Finally, of course, one last trip to the ice cream parlour, where my salted caramel scoop now sits deliciously in my taste buds!

9.45pm
We are on our next night bus, a whole jolly 21 hours to our destination. Jealous? Thought so.

We are heading to Mui Ne, one of my favourite places last time I was in Vietnam, with its immense red and white sand dunes unexpectedly bordering the coastal road. So far the journey has flown quite quick, setting off at 6pm then we got chatting to the guy in front from York, who amused us with his stories of ladyboys and cheddar cheesecake. We managed to get in a great meal before we left Hoi An; chicken coconut curry, bánh xeo and fresh shrimp and mango spring rolls. No missing dinner for us this time Mr Bus! We've got a pretty long way to go though until our stop in Nha Trang, where we'll have time for breakfast before hopping on our final bus which'll get us there mid afternoon tomorrow. Plenty of time to catch up on rest!


8.30am
After a couple of hours kip, we got lugged off the bus in Nha Trang at an unearthly hour of 4.30am, sat on the kerb with our bags being told 'You bus 7am'. Great fantastic thanks. As the sun first showed its light and the vendors awoke, we took a stroll to the beach, shocked to find it was already completely packed with hundreds of Vietnamese heads bobbing away in the sea! It was a very unexpected and amusing sight, there was plenty of stretching and aerobics going on too. After an avocado shake and a delicious street bánh mi roll we waited patiently for our final bus of the day. Are we there yet?




Day 115 - Monday 3rd October 6.07am

We missed the jeep. We walked past all our dorm mates having fun last night and we went to bed early and we set an alarm for 4am and we missed the jeep.

It is my second time here in Mui Ne, I was absolutely buzzing about coming back to do the sand dunes again, even more excited that we could see it at sunrise. And we missed the jeep. Feeling frustrated and deflated, waiting for an hour on the road and trying to find alternatives, we hung our heads and climbed to the roof to watch the East turn pink over the hill and the lightening flash over the sea. We missed the jeep.

Trying to stay positive, but we also spent our last pennies on it and have already booked our bus and hostel for later. Everything happens for a reason. Lesson learned. Don't miss the jeep.


12.13pm
After deliberating our options (hacking out the rain, forking out for a motorbike or skipping the legendary dunes) we gave up and settled for our tours' complementary breakfast. Which turned out to be amazing - who knew a splash of soy sauce would deliver excellently on a poached egg baguette? We watched the rain pour whilst job hunting from the comfort of a cosy sofa, when the guys from our tour arrived back. Hearing them say that it bucketed down the whole morning, soaking them in the jeep and preventing them from quad biking, even persuading them to get a taxi home early from the Fairy Springs which turned into a flooded muddy river; hearing them say that was the biggest relief and immediately evaporated our self-frustration. See, maybe it does all happen for a reason! Lesson learned though, you'll be real pissed off if you miss another jeep.

8.00pm
Arrived in Saigon. Feeling low and deflated, it's been one of those days. Time to head to Burger King.