Middle Vietnam

Lunch cost a bit more than usual today.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 25 May 2014 12:30:00 +0000

I don't think we could say we had truly lived in Vietnam until we had experienced street crime. While I was just tucking into my delicious bo luc lac at Red Cafe today, our friend Tommy came running in to call us all out because something had happened to the bikes which were parked just out front. "Something" turned out to be 2 guys, now vanished, who had tried to steal 3 of them by using screwdrivers to break the steering locks. When Phil, Sue and I tried to start our bikes with our keys, they wouldn't go in or turn and we were stuck! As well as Tommy, one of the witnesses who had chased the idiots off was a plain clothes police man who called two other blue shirted guys who talked a lot, checked the bikes and confirmed that yes they had been tampered with and there was a lot of this sort of crime going on right now in this area. For this service we think he expected a tip but we didn't pay anything. To get the bikes going again Tommy, the Vietnamese speaking local hero of the hour, called the nearest Honda shop who sent a couple of guys around to hot-wire the bikes so we could follow them to the shop. This took a while. They arrived just before a heavy downpour so Sue and I enjoyed another coffee while everyone waited for the rain to stop and the bikes to go.

Phil was watching closely to learn how to hot-wire a motorbike.

Once the bikes were on the road again the two repair guys took off with Phil and Tommy in hot pursuit. Sue and I did our best to follow until Phil's highly identifiable bass guitar case disappeared in the distant traffic so of course the 2 of us ended up initially at the wrong honda shop. Once we found the right place Tommy chatted to the team and told us the price - and now we know it costs almost 5 times as much to fix the steering and lock and replace the key for a Honda Airblade as it does for a Honda Vision - no idea why. 10 seconds work with a screwdriver took over 2 hours to repair including travel time as the whole thingumy that the key goes in had to be replaced.

It pays not to wear makeup when you are going to be sitting around getting hot and tired as your face and head just get sweaty.

Just waiting for her ride to be fixed.

Phil and Tommy waiting at the Honda shop, pondering the price of lunch.

I couldn't believe it when I turned around to see how the work on my bike was progressing and saw it stripped completely bare! 10 seconds work with a screwdriver meant the seat lock also had to be replaced which meant my lovely bike had to be completely taken apart.

A Honda Vision Skeleton!

Arriving home shortly after 5pm (we had left for church at 8.30am) with our new sets of keys we decided it was Isaac's job to go out and get dinner because a) We had been unable to pick up our usual supplies from the supermarket and organics store in D2 and b) He had been home chilling and playing x-box ever since lunch at Red Cafe, a place we may not return to as there is no security guard watching the bikes.

Vietnamese Vocab 101

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 May 2014 10:59:00 +0000

We are into what will be our final 4 week block of language classes under the tutelage of the fabulously patient Miss Thao at Saigon Language School in District 3. Learning to speak Vietnamese is really really hard. The main difficulty for me is that there isn't often any connection between the way a Vietnamese word is spelled or said and it's English translation. The few English "hooks" that I've been able to invent, much to the kid's eye-rolling amusement, sure stick a lot more firmly in my brain.

1. To do exercise = tập thể dục. It's pronounced "tup ter yoop" but it sure looks like "tap the duck" and trying to tap the duck would certainly be an effective form of exercise if the duck didn't wish to be tapped, right?

2. Telephone = điện thoại. If you try calling your friend and she doesn't answer "den twai" again later!

3. Snow = tuyết. Sounds a little bit like tweet? Just like the sound a cold little birdy would make if it was lost in the snow.

4. Australia = Úc. To say it right, you go "oop"and puff your cheeks out as if a fly has flown into your mouth!

5. Begin = bắt đầu. "Bat dow" A bit of a stretch but anyone want to start a game of bat-down?

6. Table = bàn pronounced "bang" like the sound of hitting a table really hard with your hand.

7. Husband = chồng and when ng comes after o it's an "m" sound so this is similar to chum or charm as in Prince Charming.

8. Singer = ca si said "ca shee" So her dress is flashy and she earns a lot of cashy.

9. Tummy = bụng Say. No. More. Actually it's pronounced boom as in "boom baby!"

10. Bank = ngân hàng. We used to hang bank thieves but that practice has ceased so these days none hang.

11. To move house = dọn nhà pronounced "yon yah" as in "we're moving to that there house over yonyah" Remember these don't have to be actually said out loud to anyone to work as a memory aid.

12. boss = sếp as in shepherd: the boss of the sheep.

13. to live = sống which is actually said "shom" but I will always think living is like a song.

14. secretary = thư ký. She has to have two keys.

15. report = báo cáo pronounced bow cow. Ok, for this one you have to imagine a farmer whose cows have the attitute of humble servants who report to him all the happenings on the farm and bow before him. "Bow cow" then means "make your report!".

Just Another Day for You and Me (and 3 teenagers) in Paradise ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 11:13:00 +0000

So, 2 weeks ago we spent the weekend in the hugely popular coastal tourist destination of Mui Ne. (and I made the kids write their blog posts as soon as we got back) Yes, it was lovely, yes it was relaxing, yes absolutely http://www.fullmoon-village.com was the nicest holiday accommodation we've ever stayed in but sadly my memory of this wonderful family holiday will always be tarnished by the view of the the trash strip along the coast form the edge of our resort AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE. Not only was it unsafe to wander bare-foot along the sand but I felt sad for the locals who clearly don't have the infrastructure to deal with their own litter. Their children will inherit a location that tourists will have abandoned. I even spent an hour bent over in the hot sun filling a big bag (that was lying on the beach) with trash myself much to the amusement of my husband watching from the 2nd floor of the beachfront restaurant over his ice coffee. Unsure what to do with my heavy plastic sack of rubbish, I ended up leaving it on the edge of the clean beach area hoping that whoever cleans it might find it and dispose of it appropriately. It bothers me that in a country where people mostly don't recycle, staff hand out plastic bottles of water and individually wrapped wet wipes to every passenger on every train every day. I will return to beautiful NZ with a new respect for our civil engineers who oversee waste management and the important job they do, even in our larger population centres, keeping the place tidy! Hey, I know someone who speaks Vietnamese and wants to study civil engineering .....

Back to our fantastic resort - one of the best assets at Full Moon is their "beach boy" - the guy who spent an hour in the surf, which was so warm, teaching our girls to "pa-dool, pa-dool, always pa-dool" on their stand-up paddle-boards. He was really enthusiastic and friendly - I told his boss to keep him and we gave him a good tip. He had offered to teach them for just $10 but earnt way more than that. If we hadn't been having so much fun mainly doing nothing we could have tried wind-surfing or taken the catamaran sail boat out. We also could have gone exploring and discovered the amazing sand dunes that we read about in the Lonely Planet Guide after we got back but we had such a lovely place to stay and only 2 nights so we decided to just stay.

Ok, this isn't our beach boy and we didn't do this but we saw lots of boats like this!

Holiday in Mui Ne

noreply@blogger.com (humming bird) — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:57:00 +0000

5 am, still dark, and we are cramming down a hurried breakfast to catch a train that we will be stuck on for four hours. Yet despite how it sounds, I had been looking forward to this day for weeks! We were going to Mui Ne (pronounced Nay) to stay in an amazing villa for a weekend of relaxing.

After an evening of unpacking and a good night's sleep with big fluffy pillows, we hit the beach. Because the conditions weren't right for surfing, we had decided the previous day to have SUP lesions. SUP stand for Stand Up Paddle boarding. Once I got the hang of it, it was awesome! My favorite part was at the end when I caught a wave to bring myself into shore and found my self surfing smack bang in the middle of a school of fish!! So cool.

Isaac when he saw the snake.

The next day we discovered our mistake. As well as the sore muscles I had expected, we were all burnt cherry red, Isaac on the legs, Amberly and I on the face and arms. Despite this, I went beach-combing the next day, collecting some beautiful shells. On my way back to the villa with Isaac, I heard a sudden gasp, followed by the odd sight of Isaac dancing a jig! After a brief interval, I saw what had caused the spectacular spectacle. A long, thin, venomously green vine snake that Isaac had inadvertently stepped on. Thankfully they cannot kill you, and most can't even seriously hurt you. But as Isaac did not realize this at the time, he did what is only natural for a frighted 17 year old boy. He danced the jig, hooting like an owl, trying to get away from the unknown danger of the vine snake.

After a final breakfast, buffet like the one before, we packed up and hoped on the train that would take us back to Ho Chi Minh. As soon as we walked in the door, Amberly said she missed the villa. so will we all, and the trip to Mui Ne is now one of the highlights of our trip to Vietnam.

Great Snakes!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 08:44:00 +0000

On the 28th of March, we all went to Mui Ne to celebrate Dad's birthday, as it is supposedly the nicest beach in Vietnam and fairly close to where we live. As we shambled out of the house at 6:30 in the morning though, we weren't really thinking about celebrating. Or anything else for that matter. We were catching the train for the first time since coming to Vietnam, so we were all interested to see what it would be like. There were a lot of xe oms (motorcycle taxis) outside the station hoping to catch a customer from amidst the people entering and leaving the station. Inside bore similarities to a Vietnamese airport, but we were only inside briefly before exiting to hop on the train. The carriage could have been worse; the seats were comfortable and everybody had one.

When we arrived (into a climate that was even hotter than HCMC!) the taxi we caught took us to the wrong place, a second beach resort owned by the same company as the one we were going to. Luckily, there was a free bus to the right place, and after a short wait and a drink we walked into our three bedroom villa. It was very impressive, even better than our apartment! Sadly, Dad was the only one taking photos, so we have but a few.

It was right next to the large pool, and if that wasn't enough we had our own pool in the garden!

In the background above, you can see me sitting on our Vietnamese trampoline, made in 1200 a.d. As the spring wasn't invented until the late 1400s, they were made of wood and didn't really catch on for another few hundred years.

After enjoying the pool, we went for dinner at the resort's restaurant, where we would be eating all our meals. At the end, they told us that as it was our first day they had a "special dessert" for us. As it turns out, it was actually a birthday cake! They had looked at our passports and seen that it was Dad's birthday, so it was free. The staff were all very helpful and friendly. Makes you wonder what else they now know about us though...

Next morning, we went down to the delicious (and complimentary) Western-style buffet, where we met a family of Americans who were also staying there. Once we'd eaten, we headed to the beach for the first time. The area directly in front of the resort was lovely, but just 20 meters to either side rubbish stretched along the sand as far as the eye could see. Environmental protection doesn't have much publicity in Vietnam, and any popular spot quickly becomes trashed.

I took out a kayak and paddled around while the girls had a go at stand-up-paddleboarding. I was helpful and encouraging (yeah right), and we stayed out there for an hour or two. We were all pretty badly sunburned when we finished, and my legs were red and sore for the next three days.

Ambling back to the villa whilst reading my kindle, I failed to notice a long, writhing snake right in front of me. In fact I continued to not notice it until I actually stepped on it! As soon as I noticed, I rather hurriedly hopped around trying to create some space between me and it (I may have let off a hoot or two) and Lena screamed, which attracted the attention of one of the staff. As soon as I got clear, I recognized it as a vine snake, non-venomous, and might have even tried to pick it up had the attendant killed it with a long pole. I wish I'd had my camera on me.

Apart from that exciting incident, not much else happened while we were there; after lunch and another swim in the larger pool we rested for the remainder of the day, then the next morning we packed and left after breakfast. The train ride seemed to take longer, maybe because we were all tired and had missed lunch, but we all made it back safe and sound.

Our full-moon experience

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 05:59:00 +0000

We stepped off the train at around 11:00, to behold a stampede of xe om and taxi drivers, all vying for our attention. It had been a long 4 hour train ride to get there, and although we had to get up at 6:00 AM, I was by no means tired, and couldn't WAIT to hit the beach!

We found a cab, and soon we were on our way to Mui Ne, where the full moon resort was.

Reaching the resort took a little longer than expected, because our cab driver had taken us to the wrong place, and we had stopped for a drink there while we waited for the free shuttle that went to and from resorts to come. When we arrived after a 1 hour drive, we were amazed. It appeared that we had stepped out of reality into a luxury travel magazine!

the pool alone was pretty awesome!!!

We were staying in villa 17, the 'dragon fruit' villa (they all had fruit related names)

Mum said she could happily live there, and I agree, it was bigger than our apartment! That night, after dinner the staff told us that they had a special dessert for us, since it was our first day here. I didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary. That is, until the lights went out and the chef came in carrying A huge cake with 'Happy Birthday Phil' iced onto it!!!!

How did they know it was his birthday? They saw it in his passport! How thoughtful of them. The next day, after a buffet breakfast (chiefly consisting of bacon and pancakes!) we donned our togs, and went paddle-boarding!

It took a while, but eventually I managed to stand up on it!!! I was a happy 13 year old!!

Our instructor was really helpful!

The rest of the day was filled with swimming, watching TV, eating and relaxing.

On Sunday, I went beach combing and found a ton of strange T-shaped shells that, as it turns out were white hammer oyster shells.

I didn't swim in the beach much that day, due to the huge jellyfish I had seen roaming around in the waves.

Eek! The train ride home was pretty uneventful, though at one point we passed a HUGE crater-like hole with diggers in it, which was pretty interesting. My legs were REALLY achy from crouching on the paddle-board, and still are, a bit!

Count your change!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:53:00 +0000

I was at the supermarket recently when I had a rather singular incident that will no doubt stay with me for a long time. As those who live in Vietnam know, the 10,000 Dong note and the 200,000 Dong note are rather similar shades of orange and can be mistaken for each other if you're not paying attention to what you're doing. In this case, I was not.

It was rather late and I had been told to go and get something or other from the local Co-op supermarket. I got the stuff, headed to checkout and waited while the lady swiped everything through. At the end, the total came to 196,000, so I gave her what I thought was 206,000. While I waited for her to get the change, I looked at something else and when I turned back she was holding out 16,000! I assumed she'd miscounted, but my Vietnamese wasn't up to explaining, so I tried using various gestures and the few words I knew to get what I wanted to say across. She didn't understand (or so I assumed) and called over another lady to help. The situation rapidly escalated, and soon there were no less than 4 assistants and a security guard trying to get me to understand... something.

They kept pointing to a 200,000 note and saying "two hundred thousand" (I assumed this was the 200 I had given them) and doing the same for a 10,000. Finally I thought "Wait a minute - what if..." and checked my pocket. Instead of seeing the 10,000 note that I had brought for parking, staring at me was Ho Chi Minh's face on a 200,000 note. When I realized that I had given the lady the wrong note, my face looked something like this:

Luckily, everyone seemed to have a good sense of humor and all the people laughed as they saw I had clicked. I paid the correct amount, grabbed the bags and left in rather a hurry.

To dungeons deep, and caverns old...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 13:24:00 +0000

The minute I stepped off the plane my first thought was how small the airport was. It wasn't any bigger than a warehouse, really. We had just arrived in Dong Hoi, a town north of Hue, which is becoming a popular tourist destination because of the amazing caves it has (one of which is THE largest cave in the WORLD!). Outside the airport our driver was waiting to take us to the farmstay (http://www.phong-nha-cave.com/), which would be our home for the next 5 days.

Once we reached the resort, we were greeted by a friendly guy with an English accent called Mike, who showed us around the place.

While we were having lunch we met a friendly dog named Lucky (we would later meet her puppy, Hotpot, who was so adorable you couldn't help wanting to give him a great big cuddle, even when he was trying to eat your shoe!)

Hotpot begging for food

Lucky (below) was basically just a great big pussy cat: she'd lie around all day and in the evenings she'd come and curl up on your lap. It was love at first sight, and I still probably have a few of her hairs on my T-shirt!

After playing pool (and winning!) Lena and I decided to go for a swim. The water, however was FREEZING and Lena hopped out straight away! I was pretty cold too, but I swam anyway (what can I say? I'm a Kiwi!).

On Tuesday we were driven to the beach and had a swim in the surf. I got knocked over by the waves a lot, but it was still great fun. The next day after breakfast Mum, Isaac, Lena and I hired some bikes and headed off to find a place called The Pub With Cold Beer, which apparently did AMAZING food (Dad was on a two day caving trip, hence his absence).

We weren't disappointed, the peanut sauce ALONE was unlike ANYTHING I had ever tasted! The bike ride was half the fun as well, although the uphill bits were a bit tiring! Most of the time I was thinking to myself "there had better be a REALLY cold drink waiting for me when we get there!" At one point we went through a river, and I had to clutch onto my bike for dear life to keep it from being swept away in the knee-deep bits! As I struggled through the river, I saw some nearby cows looking at me with what I could have sworn were slightly amused expressions!

When we got there we got to watch one of the cooks first catch our indignantly squawking lunch, kill it, bleed it and then pluck it before cooking it.

plucking the chicken

relaxing in a hammock

LUUUUUUUUUNCH!!!!!

mum with the chef

On Thursday I didn't do much other than read, eat M&Ms , play with the dogs, and lose at pool.

Friday was the day we went to Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park and (finally!) got to visit the caves!!! The first cave I got to visit was Paradise cave, which is so big you can swing the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING around you and above you and it wouldn't touch the walls or ceiling!!! And Paradise cave isn't even the biggest!!!

As we walked down the underground board walk (after a very tiring uphill hike to get there!) we saw all kinds of AMAZING rock formations, including stalagmites and stalactites, lit by spotlights.

After going back through the cave and back down allllll those stairs we stopped at Paradise Cafe to have lunch and get changed into our togs ("swimsuits" for our non-kiwi friends) - we would need them!

Then we drove over to a building by the side of a river where we saw some wild monkeys in the distance. There we donned plastic sandals, life jackets, and helmets with torches attached (they didn't call this next cave 'the dark cave' for no reason).

Once we were all geared up we went down some steps to the edge of the river, where we paired up and got into inflatable kayaks. As we floated down the river (half paddling, half trying desperately not to capsize) I noticed that the water was surprisingly warm, and saw little fish darting around underneath the surface.

When we reached the looming entrance to the cave we climbed onto a platform and started our journey into the ominous depths of THE DARK CAVE!!!

As I followed our guide (Malty) deeper into the cave, I put my foot down and... SQUELCH! I was knee deep in mud. Thick, sloppy, oozing mud. Malty must have been expecting it, because he seemed unfazed and carried right on. As i looked around I saw we were in a narrow sort of underground corridor that was about two feet deep in mud! We went through this corridor a-ways and came out into a small chamber that was positively BRIMMING with MUUUUUUUUUUUD!!!!! There were steep banks of mud all around us that were PERFECT for sliding down! Someone started a mud-fight (it may have been me) and when it was time to leave, I was UNRECOGNISABLE (but hey, at least there weren't any leeches!).

Thankfully our next stop in The Dark Cave was a large underground lake in a HUGE chamber, where we could wash off all the mud that clung to us (however my rash top is now permanently stained brown!).

Once we reached the other side, the guide told us that from that point on it was all just razor sharp rocks, so we turned around and started to swim back. Part way through the lake we all turned off our lights, so now we were swimming in pitch black darkness. Of course right about now some genius decided to grab my leg! However I was expecting someone to try that, so i ~~was absolutely terrified~~ wasn't scared at all!

Once we got back to the cave entrance, we climbed into our kayaks again and started off for the opposite shore. After everyone was dry and dressed we all piled into the van and drove back to the farm-stay.

The next day I reluctantly packed my bags and said goodbye to all the wonderful friends I had made. Then us and two other girls drove to the airport and got onto our plane that we thought was destined for Ho Chi Minh city. However this was not to be, for as our plane was taxiing to the runway it unexpectedly slowed down before coming to a complete standstill! Then, over the intercom we heard that our flight had been delayed due to 'technical difficulties', and that we would all have to get off the plane and wait back at the gate.

We did this and after a while we were all getting hungry, so they gave all the passengers food coupons. We went downstairs and waited about an hour for our lunch, and once we'd eaten we sat back and waited some more. And waited, and waited.

Then over the loudspeakers we found out that our flight had been CANCELLED and the next flight wasn't 'til 7:00 am the next day! so we decided to drive to Hue, and catch a flight from there instead of having to stay the night. Three other girls (two of which were the same girls who had came to the airport with us) had the same idea, and helpfully arranged a car for our group to get to Hue. However our car was a seven-seater, and there was EIGHT of us. Oh, and did I mention that one of the girls was claustrophobic?

So for the next three and a half hours we were all piled into a car, tired, travel-sick, and with VERY sore rears! But in the end we made it, and just had time to have a quick dinner before boarding.

Needless to say, by the end of it all we were EXHAUSTED, but it had been and EPIC holiday!

Phong Nha

noreply@blogger.com (humming bird) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 06:40:00 +0000

mum in a hammock.

Amberly and Lucky by the fire.

On the 7 of January, 2014, our family went to Phong Nha Farmstay for the first holiday of the new year. The farmstay, which is located at Quang Binh, central Vietnam, is a two story paradise, decked out with a pool table, hammocks, tasty smoothies, a pool that was hypothermia-inducing cold, and two dogs called Lucky and Hot Pot. Even without the amazing view of rice paddies, cows, water buffalo and white herons, the place would have been awesome. But why stop there? After all, this area does boast the LARGEST CAVE IN THE WORLD!!! So obviously they had to provide tours. Renting a bicycle (xe đạp in Vietnamese) is also an option for the days entertainment, as the surrounding country side is lovely to pedal through. One of the best ways to wind down in the evening is to enjoy a mango smoothie by the fire with Lucky on your lap (or Hot Pot if you can get him away from his begging) while you read a book or chat to all the other friendly holiday making guests from everywhere. Of all the places in Vietnam, I feel that Mum and Dad chose the best one possible for our Christmas holiday.

One of the formations in one of the caves
in one of the cave systems in one of the mountains.

For more information about the farmstay and the tours, go to http://www.phong-nha-cave.com/

On a slow boat to Phong Nha Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:50:00 +0000

On the Thursday that Dad left to go on his 2 day expedition, the owner of Phong Nha Farmstay (http://www.phong-nha-cave.com/) suggested that the rest of us tag along with a group of Aussies that were going to Phong Nha Cave by bike and boat. We hadn't planned anything for that day and I was keen, but Mum just wanted a day to relax so she gave me some money to pay for lunch, I went over and said hello and once everyone was ready, off we went! It was a longer bike ride than the one to the Pub With Cold Beer, but the hills weren't as steep and everyone managed to keep up a decent pace. Not only was the ride fun, it was educational, as Malty, our impromptu guide (his name is actually David but no-one calls him that), gave a bit of a commentary as we rode along.

Here's Malty

After a bit we came to a river that had to be crossed by boat, as there are no bridges for kilometres either way. The lady who operated it charged us just over 5000 đồng each, although Malty said it varies up to 10,000.

Not many foreigners cross the river that way, so wherever we went every single kid we passed and even some adults called out "hello!" as we passed. As we rode along, we saw some lovely landscapes; it could almost have been NZ apart from the rice paddies!

Eventually, we came to the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. It was pretty hard to miss:

Once we were in, Malty led us to the ticket counter, where I noticed a rather unusual sign...

I wonder how many mental patients try to come through? Obviously not enough for the cashier to recognize them, as we got through no problem. We got tickets and headed down to catch another boat. There are over 300 families who make their living through fishing and transporting tourists, so whoever organized the place had a roster system set up so only a few were there each day.

While on the river that led to Phong Nha Cave, we got a closer look at the hills around us.

At last, we saw the unimposing cave entrance in front of us, and after a brief stop we headed in.

At the end of the first chamber (above photo) was a tiny entrance we had to squeeze through to get to the main gallery. This was where the oohs and aahs began, as we passed formation after formation of beautiful rocks, each lit by well-placed lights.

Towards the end, we came to an unusual sight: an underground beach! This area contained some of the most impressive pillars and stalactites/stalagmites, including one that sparkled (third and fourth pics).

At the end was a massive chamber with towering pillars on one side and a sheer wall on the other.

Once we got out, we stopped for ice cream then hopped back onto the boats to go home, passing what seemed to be a lighthouse, an odd sight on a river.

We had lunch at a stop on the way back (if 4:00 can be called lunchtime) that made absolutely delicious stewed pork and pork ribs. Sadly, we had to take a less scenic route home as we were pressed for time to get back before dark. This did, however, give me a chance to talk to the Aussies and find out how badly they'd been ripped off the first day they arrived, paying close to 10 times the normal amount for a taxi and coconut. It had been a great day, but we were all very happy to get to the farmstay again.

Haggling in Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (humming bird) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 07:03:00 +0000

Today, for the first time in my life, I argued with a shop keeper. The item in question was a lovely string of polished shell beads with magnets along its length, meaning it could be a bracelet or necklace to fit any one. The Vietnamese shop keeper, a pretty girl in her 20s,wanted 100,000 dong for it, about $6 NZ. Not bad if I was in New Zealand, but very expensive for Vietnam. I wasn't willing to pay that much, so I haggled and got it down to 80,000 dong, then 70,000. Eventually I managed to wrangle it down to 50,000 dong, about $3 NZ. Not bad for my first time haggling, but I strongly suspect a Vietnamese person could have got it even lower.

As if things couldn't get worse...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 08:21:00 +0000

Last Sunday, I, being tired from an early start and still a bit jet-lagged, decided to leave my rain jacket at home when I went to church. Why? Because it was a bit damp and needed to dry off. People make mistakes when they're tired.

I was nearly there when the rain started. Hoping to make it before it poured, I sped up a bit, then all of a sudden the bike died! No throttle, no lights, it just stopped working. I tried to start it again with no success, but after walking it down the street for a bit it decided to play nice. I was soaking by then, but at least I got a dry parking spot.

All was well, I drove to the restaurant we all went to lunch at with no trouble, then on the way home it cut out again and wouldn't start for anything! It was pouring again, but I was already soaked so couldn't get much wetter as I pushed the bike up the road to find someone who would repair it. This is not as hard as it sounds; because so many people own motorbikes, a surprising amount of shop owners know how to fix them, and every street has dozens of potential repair places. In this case, the first place we came to was a place that sold shrines, the guy just did repairs as a side occupation. He seemed to know what he was doing though, and it was fascinating to watch him at work; first he replaced the torn inner tube that I hadn't noticed, then he began taking the bike apart until he found the problem that had caused it to stop: a busted dynamo. By the time he found it, numerous pieces of my bike were scattered on the ground and Dad and I couldn't work out what went where!

Working out the problem was only half the challenge; he didn't have a spare dynamo so he communicated to Dad via signs and gestures that he needed a lift to a store to get a new one. Amberly and I had to wait at the shrine shop while they were gone, but once they got back the guy had it installed in under 5 minutes. The new part wasn't an exact match: it was from a different model, but the guy who sold it told him how to adapt it; what wire needed to go where, etc. The moment of truth came when he plugged it in, stomped the kickstarter, the engine caught...

And the lights wouldn't work. The mechanic(?) had another look at the connections, spliced some wires and voila! Once the cover and other bits and bobs had been reassembled, the cub was purring better than it had before it broke! The inner tube, spare part and service cost 425,000 total; around $24. It had stopped raining while the bike was being repaired, but wouldn't you know it, it started up again almost as soon as we headed off! What an experience!

A family of two homes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 04:09:00 +0000

Over the last three weeks, we had the longest trip so far, and funnily enough it was to NZ! We'd been looking forward to this one for a long time.

The flight left HCMC in the evening and arrived in Auckland early afternoon. When we stepped out othrough the airport doors, the cold hit us. In Vietnam, the average outside temperature is around 30 degrees Celsius. In NZ, it was less than 20. The others had thought to bring a jacket in their carry-on. I hadn't. Thankfully, it was only a short walk to the car that we would use while in Auckland. We were staying at Bucklands Beach, in a two-room motel unit. We didn't get much sleep during the flight, so by the time we went to have dinner at our grandparent's, I had been awake for 36 hours straight! It was a relief to collapse into a warm bed with an electric blanket in the evening.

It was in Auckland that we first started watching the America's Cup. Until it came down to just Team NZ and Oracle, we hadn't paid any attention to it at all. We watched eagerly as we approached match point, leaving Oracle in the dust, then had our confidence of a win shattered as Oracle won 8 races in a row, coming from nowhere to steal the cup. If it hadn't been for that 40 minute time limit, we would have taken it, but during several races, we were close to victory only to have the race cancelled, or a penalty called, and belatedly we would watch Oracle sail through the finish line first time after time.

We travelled around several areas of the North Island, having the holiday that we couldn't afford to have when we lived there! We stayed in motels and hired a car for three weeks, eating out and visiting sites along the way. We went to Auckland, Awakeri, Wellington and Rotorua, seeing friends and relatives everywhere we went, but the highlight of our trip was Papamoa!

We were the first to arrive, and the lack of campers surprised us. There were no tents and only one or two caravans, the occupants of which we didn't see. It was a ghost camp. Usually when camping at Papamoa, we would have a large tent, but this time we booked the Collin's lodge for the entire FAFF: Us, the Smiths, the Jeffcotes and the Mackenzies. It wasn't until the second day that everyone arrived, and Dale unfortunately couldn't make it due to an eye issue, but Michelle and the kids arrived just in time to see what would have been our winning boat race cancelled due to the time limit expiring.

Dinner that night was interesting; all the younger generation formed a "kid's council" of sorts to decide what we wanted to eat while the adults went out. Eventually, we decided to ask for $5 each which we would pool and send with representatives to 4 square to buy food. We had mac cheese, pizza, chips, and ice cream for dessert. Later that evening, after a swim in the spa, we found out that a deserted campground made an excellent manhunt arena (manhunt is really just hide and seek, but with a better name). I won both games, but it was a pyrrhic victory as to do so requires half an hour or so per game of sitting in a dark, uncomfortable spot hoping no-one finds you.

The last place we stayed before heading back to Vietnam was Wellington, and within an hour of our arrival, Dad managed to smash the right-hand taillight on a garage outside the bach we had booked. While in Wellington, we saw two of our relatives: our Uncle Glenn and his family and Uncle Michael and his family. We saw Glenn almost every day we were there, either at his place or out in the city.

Sadly, during the last couple of days I wasn't able to do a lot as I caught a cold, as could be expected when someone used to a hot environment goes suddenly to switching between near-freezing and room temperature. The last three mornings, I stayed home while the others toured the Beehive and the gardens. Still, I had a great three weeks, as did everyone, and we were sad to have to leave again, but leave we did, and what was even sadder was that we had to leave at 3 A.M.! We were half-asleep the entire plane trip and were barely conscious when we walked back through our front door. I didn't even make it to the shower, falling asleep with the light on waiting for the bathroom to be free. It was good to be back.

A Road-trip Worth Remembering

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 10:51:00 +0000

As many of you may remember, we have had some bad road trip experiences in the past (I won't go into detail, but they involve bathroom doors unceremoniously detaching and puking in cars!), ones that were, as Mum likes to say, "all part of the experience!" So when I heard that we were going on ANOTHER 8 hour road trip, it's understandable that at first I was just a bit skeptical! I thought that it would be looooong stretches of boring travel, feeling sick and doing nothing. Boy, was I wrong!

Day#1 Friday 9th August, 2013
We started the day at 4.30am (I love early starts!), dressed, gathered our bags and headed out into the night to meet the bus that would be our only source of transport for the next 3 days. We all climbed in and found seats (Dad, in the process, hitting his head on the disco-light for what would NOT be the last time). We then drove to Dad's workplace to pick up the rest of the gang. We all boarded the SOS express and once settled we were on our way. I thought that the bus ride would be kind of boring, but as it turned out it was the complete opposite! Everyone was very friendly and talkative, always chatting, laughing and smiling. (Vietnamese people will always act 15, even if they are 30!) After numerous breaks for meals and nhà vệ sinh (rest-room), and more Vietnamese stage show movies than I would care to mention, we FINALLY made it to Báo Trùc Resort, Phan Rang.

The minute I stepped into our room I was straight into my togs (swimsuit, for those who aren't familiar with the term) and diving into the pool before you could say hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, which wouldn't actually be that fast. After the pool I decided to hit the beach, which was only about 50 meters from the pool. A few hours or so of splash fighting with Isaac and a few others later, once we were dry and dressed, we (again) drove in the bus to a restaurant to have dinner. After dinner we all went to karaoke and Dad had the highest score! When we arrived back at the hotel I was utterly exhausted but happy; it had been an awesome day!

(me at the beach with Mum and Dad and Moss and Cường in the background)
Day #2
In the morning we ate at the buffet breakfast (Dad was mortified to find that there was no bacon) and then got back on the bus for an hour's drive to Vinh Hy Bay where boarded a boat with a glass bottom. Cương, Isaac, Moss and I went onto the more precarious top deck to enjoy the view. We passed a lot of steep rocky hills that might have been mistaken for cliffs that had a few little houses on them. When we reached our destination we alighted onto a floating platform close to the shore that had a few chairs, hammocks, tables and large containers holding shellfish of every sort.

(above) Dad: "you boys are so tiring"! (below) Dad: "that's better, now sit!)

I, being already in my togs, immediately ran to the edge of the platform and dove right in, instantly awestruck by a stunning array of fish and coral of all sorts of shapes and colors; I even saw a couple of lion fish(Lena was over the moon when she saw them, I myself didn't want to get too close, knowing how venomous they were)! After a few hours of diving off the floating jetty, pushing the guys into the water and exploring the underwater paradise that was Vinh Hy Bay, I joined the others at the table and ate crab with them(Lena had a bit of trouble getting the meat out of the shell).

Isaac tried to teach Cường how to dive, and, well... not exactly the most graceful I've ever seen!

Then we drove back (stopping on the way to have lunch) to the resort where I did even more swimming at the beach, then the pool. Once I (finally) went back to my room, I gave Moss a ukulele lesson (afterwards he forgot most of the tune, but it was still fun!)

We had dinner (same restaurant but no karaoke), and when it was dark and we were all back at the resort we went down to the beach and, after kicking a shuttlecock around a bit, we lit a campfire and sang and played some fun silly games around it. Eventually when the campfire had dwindled down to a few glowing embers, we all wandered back to our rooms. Some people went out to have seafood but I was simply too tired to bother.

Day #3
The next day I got up early, and had breakfast with Moss, Cương and Isaac. After the meal I went back to my room (meeting Mum and Dad on their way to breakfast) and continued to teach Moss the song on the ukulele. All too soon it was time to pile back into the bus for the loooooooooooong trip back home. At one point, near the end, the exhausted bus broke down and it took about an hour for a replacement to get there. On the final leg home I gave up trying to get Moss to remember the chords, and just wrote out the music for him. Once we finally dropped off everyone else and arrived back at the apartment, we were too tired to even bother to have dinner and just went straight to bed. It had most definitely been a road-trip worth remembering!

notice the charming face Isaac is making.

Road Trip II

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 09:05:00 +0000

This weekend, we went on a road trip with Dad and his workmates to Phan Rang, a beach town 8 hour's drive from Ho Chi Minh City. This being the case, we had to get up at 4:30 to be picked up by the bus that would take everyone there. At least we got picked up from the apartment rather than having to catch a taxi. Most of the others had to meet at Dad's workplace.

We were early, but after about half an hour everyone arrived and we headed off.

For the first hour or so, our tour guide entertained everyone and spoke about where we were going. The catch? He did so in Vietnamese. Luckily, our friends translated the important stuff for us.

At 7:00 we stopped for breakfast. Most people chose hủ tiếu, but all the Middlemisses had chicken and rice instead. Between the breakfast and lunch stops, the guide talked some more and various shows that seemed to be comedy played on the tv, again in Vietnamese, so the English speakers mostly listened to music or played on our various devices (those of us that had them anyway, Amberly just talked to anyone she could; mostly Jesse, the other Kiwi on the bus).

Lunch was several dishes: rice, seafood soup, salad and squid suckers, an interesting delicacy that we hadn't tried yet. Finally, around 5:00, tired and ready for a rest, we arrived at Bàu Trúc Resort. The rooms were very nice, large with air conditioning and ceiling fans. They had proper bathrooms, something not always found in Vietnam, with a bath and a shower. My room mate was a guy called Cường. He was probably one of the best English speakers of our group.

Before dinner, most people went for a swim, either in the pool or the ocean, just 50 meters away. Again, ate soup, rice, salad and meat. A pattern was emerging... The place we went to was large and sprawling, and like many Vietnamese cafes trying to impress, the decoration was very over-the-top. They went for a Disney theme, and this is what they came up with:

There were several other statues apart from Vampire Mouse, but this one was the strangest. Dinner was, again, fish soup, rice, salad and meat. A pattern was emerging...

After dinner, we split into two groups. One went to sing Karaoke, while Cường, Dũng (pronounced Yoom), myself and a couple of others played pool in a nearby room.

Dũng and I won 3-2 against Cường and another guy and girl whose names I forgot to ask. It was close though; Cường is a very good player, we only won because his teammate accidentally sunk the 8 ball.

Most people went home from there but one or two guys stayed out even later (it was past 10:00) to get drinks.

When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to see that Cường was back; I had had the keycard and I was pretty sure I had fallen asleep almost immediately, so how had he gotten back in? I asked him, and he said that I had let him in. For about 10 seconds, I was gobsmacked because I had no recollection of getting out of bed to open the door. Then a fuzzy memory came back of seeing his face through the window; I must have fallen asleep again as soon as I lay back down. That was weird though.

Breakfast was a Vietnamese buffet: fried rice, bread, congee, meat, salad ingredients etc. Very tasty, but I couldn't help wishing for some bacon and/or pancakes. It was Cường's birthday.

The highlight of the trip was coming up next: Vinh Hy bay, again travelling by bus. Luckily, this trip was only half and hour or so. On the way, I got some pics of the countryside.

We caught a glass-bottomed boat and went around the coast to an area with coral before heading to a beach for a swim and some seafood. Sadly, less than a third of the reefs that used to be here remain because of pollution; rubbish is heaped at the sides of the harbour and floating on the water. Still, there was enough to impress Lena.

We arrived at the beach and, like out last beach trip, it was like something from a travel magazine:

I didn't have any goggles, so I couldn't see anything underwater, but Lena and Amberly saw plenty of fish, including Lena's highlight, a lionfish.

While she was checking out the fish, I was teaching Cường to dive properly. He still needs some practice.

Once we'd had a swim, we stayed for a while on a floating building that caught and sold seafood of all sorts, from crabs to sea urchins.

On the way back to the resort, lunch was again rice, soup, veges and meat (this time, chicken).

Dinner was at the same place as the last night, but the food was a bit better. In the evening, everyone went down to the beach for a bonfire and some games. It wasn't quite what we were expecting; Vietnamese bonfire activities differ somewhat from western ones, and of course most of the talking was done in Vietnamese, so sadly we didn't fully understand everything.

Next day, after another buffet breakfast, we packed up and left for home. We stopped at two places along the way that sold local delicacies such as wine, grape juice and fish-related products; sauce, dried fish etc. Lunch was at a massive place that was almost just two giant rooms filled with tables and chairs. I thought it was one of the best meals we'd had, but Cường and some of the other Vietnamese guys said that they didn't think the food was very nice. At our last stop, a big market, the bus broke down and we had to wait over an hour for another one, so we didn't get dinner. By the time we got home exhausted, it was about 10:00. We were all happy to be back.

STAR OF THE SHOW, VINH HY BAY.

noreply@blogger.com (humming bird) — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:48:00 +0000

Vinh Hy Bay, http://vinhhybay.vn/ which is pronounced vin hi bay, is in the Ninh Thuan Province of Vietnam, on the east coast next to either the East Sea or South China Sea, depending on who you are, and is a picturesque location with white sand, rocky cliffs and, of most interest to me because I am a fish nut, an amazing coral reef. After a short trip in a glass bottomed boat, we stopped at a floating jetty. Shedding my clothes (I had my togs on underneath), I leapt into the water, grinning with delight as I saw the reef and it's inhabitants spread below me. A quick trip to the surface for breath, then right back under to peer into the seaweed forest growing on the bottom of the jetty. That is where I saw the undisputed star of the show, the king of fish, and the highlight of the trip. A Lionfish. If any of you have seen a picture of a Lionfish, you know they are impressive. Add to that that each of their stunning frills has venom waiting in the tips, that it's at the top of the food chain, and that they are rarely seen in water as shallow as I was in, and you can guess why I was so thrilled to spot it. Later on, another star joined the show. A lot darker in colouration than the first, a baby lionfish was hiding in the shadows when I detected it. Double whammy! I just couldn't get enough of them! Other interesting sights included a bicolour fox face, a pipe fish, a cleaner wrasse, batfish, cross hatch angelfish, black damsel fish, two spot damsel fish, and four striped damsel fish. Up on the jetty I learned how to extract and eat the meat of a crab (harder than you'd think), saw a sea snail as large as my head, and got squirted by a very grumpy couch snail. Apart from cutting my leg (I still don't know how I did it) it was a perfect trip, and beautiful Vinh Hy Bay is somewhere I would definitely like to visit again.

Cu Chi Cu Chi Cu!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 05:56:00 +0000

Last week, Aunt Monique and Uncle Tony, who we hadn't seen for over two years, came to spend a few days with us in Vietnam, and one of the places we wanted to go to with them was the Củ Chi tunnels, about 30 km from our place. Rather than take a cab or our bikes to get there, we booked an early boat trip that came with a light breakfast.

The ride there was the coldest I'd felt since coming here; the first and probably last time I felt cold enough to wear a jacket.

We arrived early, so managed to avoid the main rush of tourists as we went through the main entrance and started the guided tour. First, we all sat down while the guide told us a bit more about the tunnels and how they were used in the Vietnam War. He explained that tunnels could and did collapse due to rain and/or bombs, but what killed about a third of the Viet Cong who used the tunnels frequently was disease from the incredibly cramped conditions and insect bites. We saw large (as in 6-10 cm long) millipedes that dripped acid, but thankfully no spiders.

One of the first things we went to was a firing range where you could fire real AK-47s, M16s and even and M60. However, you had to pay per bullet, so most people went for the semi-automatic ones. Uncle Tony was kind enough to pay for a clip and let me fire most of them via an AK, but sadly we didn't think to bring a camera down with us. I didn't hit anything, but it was fun.

Wandering around, we were shown lethal looking traps that the Viet Cong would leave for the American G.I.s, ranging from your run-of-the-mill sharpened hidden pit filled with sharpened bamboo, to rollers that would impale you multiple times as you fell between them, to door traps that would turn you into a pincushion if they swung into you.

In another part, we were shown what a hidden entrance looked like. Funnily enough, we couldn't see it. Then the guide lifted up this tiny rectangle of wood, about the size of a large book, that was hidden under some leaves. An assistant then demonstrated how to get inside. Once he was in and the lid was back on, it was like he had vanished; there was no trace of him.

This isn't him, our assistant didn't smile.

A couple of others had a go, then it was my turn.

I only got a little bit stuck...

Next, we got to actually go inside the tunnels. The ones the tourists were allowed through had been made much taller and wider, the Viet Cong had to scootch along on their stomachs to get from room to room. Even so, it was a tight fit and my legs were sore for two days from crouching and running (the guide didn't go easy on us). Still, I was one of only three who stuck it out for the whole length of the tunnel (the other two being Lena and Amberly). The others took exits from a quarter of the way to halfway through. I was mildly surprised to see the small distance we'd covered; it had seemed like more. Again, we didn't get any photos of this part.

We wandered for a bit, taking photos with some of the various displays, then left by boat again. The trip was about an hour and a half each way, but we got a very nice lunch while we waited.

ROPED UP IN SINGAPORE

noreply@blogger.com (humming bird) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 04:40:00 +0000

''This is so boring.'' I thought to my self as I stood on a tiny platform 30 feet in the air, about to cross a wobbly structure they called a rope bridge. Safely harnessed to a sturdy cable, I was bored because I had to wait for the terrified Aussies in front of me, several of whom needed to be rescued. However, once I got a clear run to the end, the instructor commented to mum, "you can tell she's a kiwi, she's just running across it!" That made me feel good. Isaac later reported that he had done so well he had been (jokingly) offered a job! When we were finished,we went for a ride on the worlds largest zip line, the Sentosa Mega Zip. The only one who didn't enjoy that was Isaac, because he got a wedgie the whole way down! Before the boring waiting for the hopeless Aussie bit, the ropes course and zip line were awesome, and will always be remembered as such!

I'd like to teach the world to Singapore ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 09:04:00 +0000

Our little jaunt to super modern, multicultural, superbly organized Singapore has give us so many beautiful memories - from the gorgeous dark skinned women in bustling Little India dressed in their exquisitely detailed jewel bright saris to a three legged clouded leopard at the Night Safari gazing at me with big pleading eyes just like Puss in Boots. So much family fun - Isaac in the Plaza Singapura food court after an hour, still clutching his money and looking desperately hungry but unable to choose his lunch; Me at the zoo holding up my left hand saying "I may not have a great sense of direction but I think we want to go right." (even funnier because we did actually have to go right, but not the right I was pointing to). Food, glorious food including McDonalds! And a trip to Singapore is better than a gym membership - we racked up a few kilometers worth of walking between MRT train stops, up and down staircases to avoid the crush boarding the escalators and through mega indoor air-conditioned shopping malls - a large percentage of which are underground. In just 4 days we had one of our most enjoyable family holidays ever!

Sentosa Island felt like Singapore's answer to the Gold Coast of Australia and it runs like clockwork with free buses/trams driving around the main circuit and clear signage. Of the extensive list of theme parks and activities available we joined the photographically armed throng at the world's largest aquarium (several times the size of Kelly Tarlton's) then harnessed up at MegaZip Adventure park http://www.megazip.com.sg as featured on our favourite tv show, THE AMAZING RACE!! This had been on our "to do in Asia" list ever since Phil first got the offer to move to Vietnam. My kids only real challenge on the ropes course was waiting for all the less agile and fearless Australians to get through (or be rescued from) the frighteningly high obstacles. Zipping all the way down to the beach outpost over lush green forest, smooth white sand and sparkling blue water was enough of a thrill for me! The round trip cable car ride was a much needed relaxing break before returning to our comfy hostel to meet up with Phil, who had been at a work conference, the excuse for us all to be in Singapore.

Breakfast with orangutans (the orange ones behind us)

Of Singapore's four big wild life parks, the Night Safari, the zoo, the bird park and a river safari, we went to the first 2. They were both breathtakingly brilliant, featuring some trained animals (my flippers down favourite was Phillip the sea lion) and plenty of happy well cared for wild ones in big natural looking enclosures, many of which we could walk right into.We got really really close to bats, a flying squirrel we had been craning our necks to watch for a while nearly landed on my head much to my family's amusement and a pretty green bird with an orange beak took great enjoyment in making me and the group of 10 tourists behind me dive for cover. A lemur moved it, moved it around me to fly up a post I was standing next to and perch inches from my face - I've never been so close to heaps of different exotic critters and I will never forget the experience.

Phillip, performing like a trained seal at the zoo.

Singapore: the adventure begins!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 09:22:00 +0000

The minute I stepped off the plane I knew that this holiday was going to be AWESOME!! Singapore airport is pretty big, so it has these cool things called travelators,which are basically horizontal escalators, like conveyor belts. While we were on the travelator, we passed some guards riding on what looked like 3

wheeled segways!

They were also carrying large guns! Once we got to the hostel we were exhausted, so we had a rest then went to look for dinner. We eventually settled on a jungle themed tandoori restaurant, which had delicious food! The next day we went by cable car to Sentosa Island, where we had a blast at the worlds largest aquarium, where there were all kinds of awesome fish slithering around the bottom, darting in and out of the rocks, and languidly gliding through the clear water.

Eventually we managed to drag Lena away from the fish, and proceeded to the Megazip zipline and climbax rope course which was a lot of fun (I was faster at the ropes course than most of the other people there!). Following a late brunch at the food court the next day, (Isaac took over an hour trying to decide what to get!) we went to the Kenko Fish Spa to have the dead skin on our feet sloughed by little fish known as garra rufa fish (more commonly known as doctor fish).

It felt like pins and needles! All that, however was nothing compared to what was coming next...

Garra Rufa

noreply@blogger.com (humming bird) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 07:41:00 +0000

Something was tickling, nibbling, working it's way through dead skin, desperately searching for food. I loved it! Garra Rufa, also know as doctor fish or nibbling fish, is a diminutive species of dully coloured fish that gently removes dead skin from your body, and eats bacteria and dirt that are on you feet, which isn't what the companies will tell you, because they want you to think the fish eat the dead skin. After walking around the Plaza Singapura mall, which is just one train stop over from Little India, getting our lunch/breakfast (Isaac took a full hour to choose!) our feet were sore. Accidentally going to the wrong outlet of the spa first, only to find they didn't have the fish, didn't help. Then we were there. The Kenko Fish Spa at the Singapore Flyer! Our feet were washed, and then we placed them into a run full of nibbling, tickling, Garra Rufa for half an hour. Paradise.

Sleepless in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 02:37:00 +0000

Singapore.
The island that is it's own capital, this 697-square-kilometre-large nation was recently the location of our four day holiday. A week before we left, we were all excited, but then we saw this news headline: "Singapore air pollution breaks all records due to Indonesian forest fires." That put a damper on our plans, and we almost cancelled the trip, but luckily for us, it cleared up significantly two days before our departure date. Sadly, the haze that accompanied it was set to last for weeks, so we would just have to live with it.

The morning we left, we got up, had a quick breakfast then caught a taxi to the airport. During the flight, we went through a particularly large patch of turbulence which shunted the plane upwards, then pushed it rapidly downwards for a few seconds, evoking screams from some of the passengers. Good fun! Other than that, we touched down without any difficulty, descending through a very thick layer of cloud or smog. It was raining when we caught a taxi to the backpackers where we were staying, but not so heavily that we weren't left breathless by Singapore's amazing architecture. Massive skyscrapers dominated the skyline, one of which was designed to look as though it had a massive boat running along the top of it. Lower down, we could see the Singapore Flyer (the worlds largest observation wheel) along with several bizarre structures we weren't sure about. The overall impression was of the London shown in the new Star Trek movies.

We were staying in an area of Singapore known as "Little India", an appropriate name as most of the inhabitants and shops there were indeed Indian. Our hostel was close to the outskirts of the area, next to a train station under construction. That was an interesting fact we discovered about Singapore: you can get almost anywhere on the island without ever going outside. The MRT, Mass Rapid Transit system, is a giant network of trains covering the majority of suburbs and prominent malls, which themselves stretch underground for miles.

We settled into our rooms, then headed out to find lunch. As we wandered past what looked like a jungle-based tour agency, a guy dressed in old British safari gear informed us that it was in fact an Indian restaurant: the Jungle Tandoor. We decided to give it a go, so he led us in and showed us to a table. The decor was so over the top, it was out of sight. Stuffed tigers and panthers perched in fake trees with plastic parrots, a giraffe head and half an elephant sticking out of the wall. There was even a near-life-size plastic Tarzan frozen in the act of swinging down from the trees. Due to the position of the table, his feet were centimetres away from Mum's head for the entire duration of the meal. The food, however, was delicious, and one particular creamy chicken dish stood out as being the best.

Once we'd eaten, we caught the subway to a nearby mall. The trains are a very efficient way of getting around, able to transport a hundred or more at once to various places around the island. The mall we went to, Marina Bay Sands, was over 1 km long and 6 stories high. It was MASSIVE!

Not only that, it had a museum connected to it that was shaped like an enormous lotus flower, towering above us. We had dinner at the food-court in the mall, a very tasty chicken rice with matching soup.

Back at the hostel, we found that our room had no windows and as such was pitch black when the lights were off, so when we got up next morning at 8:00, it felt like it was only 6 (although that may have been partly due to the 1 hour time difference). We had breakfast at the hostel, but we only did so once during the trip as it consisted of cheap cereal, white bread, fruit flavoured jelly with too much sugar (called "jam" by some), and, for mum, some awful coffee. Still, it filled us up for our big day on Sentosa Island, also known as "Asia's favourite playground" Almost all the theme parks and major attractions (with the exceptions of the zoo and the Flyer) are here, but we were only going to visit two of them: S.E.A., home to the world's largest aquarium, and MegaZip Adventure Park.

To get there, we took the cable car, which stretched across the gap between Singapore's mainland and Sentosa. It brought back fond memories of Rotorua, more so because of the luge at the other end (although we didn't go on this one.)

S.E.A. was our first stop, so we worked out on the map where we needed to go, then took the bus to the right place. The entirety of S.E.A. is underground, much like most of Singapore, so we didn't see daylight while we were in there. I am normally unimpressed by things like zoos and aquariums, but even I enjoyed parts of this one. We saw such creatures as jellyfish of all kinds, spider crabs the size of large dogs, manta rays, archer fish and groupers bigger than Amberly (and they're not just tall; groupers are solidly built, making them even more impressive).

I think it was better than Kelly Tarlton's by a long way.

After lunch at McDonald's, our next stop was MegaZip. Lena had really wanted to go to the aquarium; this was top of my list. We signed up to do the ropes course there, as well as the famous zipline itself. The ropes course was fun, but on the third layer we got held up by a group with a very slow climber, making it less fun than it could have been.

Once we were finished there, we went on the 450+ metre long zipline leading to a nearby beach. I would have enjoyed it had my mind not been occupied with trying to relieve the crushing pain caused by the ill-fitting harness. I was surprised I could still talk normally when I reached the bottom. What was more amusing was watching the people who didn't make it all the way to the platform and dangled helplessly before being retrieved by a staff member. Once Mum and the girls caught up, we checked out the shops at the other end of the cable car route before heading home again. For dinner, we ate at a little Indian street shop, not a stall but not really a full-fledged restaurant either. It was a bit too spicy for my liking, but we got ice cream afterwards.

Something else about Singapore is that the Singapore dollar is almost equivalent to the NZ dollar, with less than 5 cents difference between the two. I didn't realise what a difference this would make at first, but being used to thinking in tens of thousands in Vietnam, I found myself thinking "Only $2? That's so cheap for a bottle of water!" However, back in Vietnam, a 5 litre costs less than a dollar fifty. Not so cheap then. In fact, most things are more expensive than in NZ, but I did score a brand new iPod Touch for only $376 NZD Very pleased about that.

The next morning, we slept in until 10:00 a.m. (except Dad, who sent Mum a message at 10am asking what we'd had for breakfast. Wish I could have seen his face as Mum said we were still in bed.) Again, this was probably due to the complete absence of light in our room, as it still felt like it was early (Lena and Amberly's responses when I told them the time were those of general disbelief). We caught the train to a mall for breakfast (Trains were how we got around for day-to-day travel), but missed the breakfast meals as we arrived at 11:30. Mum and the girls got McDonald's and sushi, and I left them thinking I would get something else and meet them back where they were, but there were just so many choices... By the time the three of them finished and came looking for me half an hour later, I still hadn't chosen. Another 10 minutes later, I finally settled on KFC, with a smoothie from McD's. One other thing: there appeared to be no such thing as real bacon on Singapore! We saw beef bacon and turkey bacon (neither of which tasted as good as the real thing), but it looked like in order to appease those who wouldn't eat pork (I didn't see any of that either), the President had outlawed the stuff in any form!

Once I was done, we went for a walk to a spa that boasted a unique service: feet-eating fish! Also known as "doctor fish", once we lowered our feet into a tub full of them, they swarmed around nibbling at any dead skin within their reach. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they swarmed around my feet, and at any one time I had twice as many on my feet as did Mum, Lena or Amberly.

The sensation was that of many tiny jets of water hitting the skin, and I was even occasionally surprised when I looked down and found the surface of the water to be still. At the end of 30 minutes there was no visible difference, but our feet were no longer sore from all the walking, and they felt fine for the rest of the day (Mum said she could still feel her feet tingling though). After a rest stop at home, we went to our last and most anticipated activity of the day: Singapore's Night Safari.

Connecting to the Singapore zoo but at the same time independent, the Night Safari contains all the nocturnal animals that are asleep during the day. Several exhibits in the zoo allow the animals to roam free within large mesh environments with the condition that no-one touches them. As such, I came within inches of bats and flying squirrels, an incredible experience. The cutest animal award would have to go to the Clouded Leopards, one of which only had three legs. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to use flash photography, so we only managed to take a couple of photos of the more well-lit enclosures.

Above is a normal leopard, below is one of the clouded leopards.

They had almost mournful looks on their faces, and the one with three legs put his paw on the glass like he wanted to play with us. I thought I would never say this of an animal, but they were adorable. We saw an Animals of the Night show, featuring several nocturnal animals, but sadly we had to rush the last part of the trip in order to catch the last bus back. We arrived home at about 1:00 in the morning, but we would only get about 5 hours sleep, as we had to get up again at 6:30 to go to the regular zoo.

We did, and we were bone tired as we walked through the gates, not to mention hungry. Luckily, there was plenty of food as we had signed up for the Jungle Breakfast, a large buffet next to the orangutans, who came over to a specially built part of their enclosure so we could have photos taken with them. There was also a small snake, but significantly fewer people wanted their photo taken with him. We had no such inhibitions though, and enjoyed the chance to hold a Bald Python.

Later, during an animal show, I had my photo taken with a much larger boa constrictor which draped around my shoulders, but the shot was from too far away to see. We saw many different animals not found in the Auckland Zoo, such as white tigers, a 6-7 metre long croc, capuchin monkeys, hyenas and sloths. We finally got home again around 6:00 (that's close to 11 hours looking at animals!).

Again, I was more impressed than I expected. For dinner, Mum, Amberly and I ate out at a nice-looking place that turned out to be vegetarian! I had a large compilation or various sauces and small portions of different things along with naan bread, poppadums and rice. I had no idea what went with what, so I just tried different things with each other in the hope I was doing it right. Some were very spicy, some weren't at all and some were sweet, so I had plenty of combinations to try.

We were very tired when we got back, but still only got to bed at 10:00 (although this time it was our fault for watching Despicable Me when we should have been sleeping. Once the movie finished though, everyone dropped straight off to sleep except me. I dropped my pillow. When I looked over the side (I had a top bunk), it seemed close, so I leaned over and reached for it. I couldn't reach, so I leaned a little further. Still no success. Eventually, I reached it, but by that point I was hanging by my knees from the rail. I threw the pillow back onto the bed, then realised I couldn't pull back up. Not wanting to have to drop onto the floor and climb the ladder again, I twisted round and climbed back around the rail again. I was making a lot of noise as I did this, and I kept waiting for someone to wake up and ask "what on earth are you doing?", but everyone was out like a light, so I settled down again and finally drifted off.

Again, we only slept until 8:00, but it was worth it to get to McD's in time for the breakfast combos. They have better options here; KFC does blueberry pancakes, waffles or honey biscuits and McD's does a combo unavailable in NZ: pancakes with heaps or butter, maple syrup and jam and the components of a breakfast muffin (eggs, a sausage pattie and two half-muffins). Delicious. Once we'd eaten, we'd used up all our activities so we just browsed malls for a while, and I picked up an iPod touch for under $400.
Eventually, we picked up our bags, caught the train for the last time, then headed back to Ho Chi Minh.

126 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:56:00 +0000

Today Mum told me to write something for the blog, so I thought I'd write about how we've been here for 126 days, and the cool, awesome, and downright bizarre stuff we've done so far. Welllll... if I was going to write EVERYTHING then I'd be here all day long! So I decided to start with just writing down all the weird stuff I've eaten!

chicken feet
chicken HEAD
jelly fish
snail
field mouse (a little too spicy for my liking!)
the notorious durian (blech! I can't stand the texture!)

Before anyone asks NO I have NOT eaten dog, and do not ever plan on doing so!

On Wednesdays we have this really fun bible class called souled-out, where we play games, eat snacks, and study the bible. It's really cool, and there are lots of other kids and teens around my age too. We ride the bus to District 2 and from there we take a taxi to Souled Out. The leaders are two really friendly Americans called Brent and Stacey Tarr.

Learning to drive in Ho Chi Minh City

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:44:00 +0000

Well, a few weeks ago, we bought a 1973 or thereabouts 50cc Honda Cub class motorbike. First to start learning was Mum; after a few practice tries at Dad's work compound, she started driving to and from the place every couple of days for her English class. Next it was my turn. Never having driven a powered vehicle before in my life (with the possible exception of a bright pink Barbie car when I was 5 or so), I started to drive a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City of all places. Fortunately, there was very little traffic in the compound. On the third or fourth day, Dad (who I was following on the Cub) led me out the gate and round the corner to the other entrance. This was the first time I'd driven in Vietnam traffic, even if it was only for 50-odd meters, and it seemed fine. Then came the first trip to the supermarket.

As we got the bikes out of parking, Mum came down to see us off and take photos (She was a heck of a lot more nervous than I was). The first intersection we had to cross, right outside the entrance to the apartment block, was the trickiest of the whole trip as to get through it you had to first cross diagonally through oncoming traffic, then almost immediately either merge with or cross through said oncoming traffic turning left into a one-way street. In our case, we were merging, making the trip that much easier. Once we were past that part, there was only one corner between us and the supermarket. The journey went without a hitch, and going back was just as smooth, with another turn against traffic near the end.

We arrived home to a worried Mum, safe and sound. Over the next couple of weeks, I progressed in leaps and bounds and now go buzzing round in the dark and rain with no problems. I only hope that driving in NZ will go as smoothly.

I love my work!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:50:00 +0000

My English class with Phil's office colleagues 3 mornings a week has become one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences of my time in HCMC. When I started motorbike training with Phil, the roads around the Software City campus before work provided the most convenient location and time as Phil had to be there anyway and there was a bus straight home from across the road. As the need for a tutor had been mentioned, I was going to regularly be at the office and I had just completed my 20 hours online TEFL certificate, I timidly suggested that it could be mutually beneficial to have an English practice time with whoever wanted to come in early before I caught the bus home. I am so glad my friends said yes! They have taught me a lot about life and culture in Vietnam and we have had plenty of fun just chatting (and sometimes singing) in English while I check their pronunciation and vocabulary (sipping my lovely ice coffee). It's been awesome to have local mates to share my funny stories about adapting to living and getting around here and I always travel home (often riding my motorbike) feeling appreciated and privileged to be part of such a merry and sociable group!

Some of my Ho Chi Minh City friends.