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Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 6
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February 7th 2013
I am lost. I woke up this morning not remembering what day it is. Is it Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Saturaday? I think it is good to be lost when you are on vacation. I think it means that you are not counting the days and just relaxing and having fun. And boy am I having fun. Yes, that is right, I am having fun. To those who helped me plan this trip, listen and listen caresfully...you were right, I was wrong, there was nothing to worry about. Athough, I think it was from all the planning that is making this trip fun! Today, I meet two comples from Australia who were also "lost". They too did not know what day it was. After hearing us asking what day it was, the tour guide from Siagon Tourist ... read more
![IMG_0582[1]](http://photos.travelblog.org/Photos/259119/770191/s/7373826-IMG_0582-1-0.jpg "IMG_0582[1]")
![IMG_0619[1]](http://photos.travelblog.org/Photos/259119/770191/s/7373827-IMG_0619-1-1.jpg "IMG_0619[1]")
February 6th 2013
"Rise and shine", "The early bird catches the worm", "Up and at em" are all appropriate phrases when you visit Vietman. For 3 nights in a row, I have been waking up to horns honking, motorbike enhines reving, dogs barking, neighbours dragging their portable stone stoves to the edge of the road and roosters doing what they do best, cockadoodling at...(get ready for this)...at 3am! Thats right, 3am. Each morning. I would lay in bed, wondering how I can get back to sleep and then for a 5 minute period it is all quite, I can finally sleep now but as soon as I think those words, the roosters have changed my plans! Then all of a sudden, I hear faint music playing and with each passing 5 minutes, it gets louder and louder. Tired of ... read more
February 4th 2013
Good Morning Vietnam! Let's start off by saying...IT IS HOT AND HUMID HERE! As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I started sweating instantly! After landing in HCM, I was greeted with flowers, a nice touch that caught me be surprise. After meandering through the busy confusing streats of HCM, we made out way to the outskits of HCM for a nice lunch at a family restaurant. My first Vietnamese cuisine and it did not disappoint even though I didn't eat much. Not sure why, but I think it was either I was tried from my flights and or from the heat! After that, we headed to my brother in laws place to unpack and unwind but that had its challenges, we my luggage was locked in the car along with the keys! After ... read more
Ho Chi Minh City
Published: February 3rd 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1
February 3rd 2013
Back again faithful readers just chilling down after hectic two days of touring around HCMC. Long long trip to Cai Dao Holy See and Cu Chi tunnels but well worth it. Temple area undoubtedly biggest yet - 22 hectares - but after a quick jog round (likely!!!)you got the hang of it. Amazing fusion of big five religions (I feel a blog fact coming on) - Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. So sensible it was bound to fail and note (with apologies to all left footers) only major religion that refuses to acknowledge Cai Dao is Catholocism (check out catholic in the dictionary and you'll get the irony!) Cu Chi tunnels fascinating and made more interesting by our other tour party member (very select tours we're booked on) being an ex serving marine who was ... read more
February 2nd 2013
Da er vi ferdige med cruise-livet. Var en behagelig måte å reise på .. ja selv om det må sies at vi ikke har forflyttet oss så veldig langt på uken vi har vært om bord. Vi har totalt lagt bak oss 939 kilometer. Disse kilometerne har ikke gått direkte fra A til B, vi har har diverse avstikkere underveis…..opp og ned diverse ”tarmer” av Mekong. Uken om bord har bestått av god mat og drikke, nye mennesker, utfarter og nye kulturer. Båten tar 63 passasjerer og på denne turen var vi kun 22 stk. så det har vært god plass om bord. Besetningen om bord var 26 stk, så besetninger var faktisk i overtall. Passasjerene var for det meste pensjonister med unntak av Meg og Michael og et par til. De var alle veldig hyggelige ... read more
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February 2nd 2013
Hello, Here is our blog from a crazy new years in HCMC We had three days and two nights in Ho Chi Minh and I really enjoyed it. It has that crazy Asian feeling with loads and loads of people on scooters and the city has a real buzz about it. I was surprised by how wealthy it was with the main shopping city full of lovely building and designer clothes stores, with the sunshine and the white marble pavements parts of it reminded me of Beverley Hills!! Ho Chi Minh also has some impressive sky scrapers and old colonial architecture, it’s a really great city. For New Years we decided to have a mini tour of the city so about 4pm after a quick power nap we put on the only decent clothes we had ... read more
The Cambodia Challenge
Published: March 22nd 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1
February 2nd 2013
The mission: Tet Holiday (2weeks) in Cambodia with $232 Feb 2 2013 Gate 10 waiting room. I should be relaxed and happy but sitting here I had a strange feeling of pressure and anticipation. 2 weeks of freedom ahead of me and a small backpack holding all the essentials (super compact sleeping bag, a change of clothes appropriate for temples, my kindle, camera, ipod and a few toiletries). A few deep breathes and some good tunes helps me loosen up. This is the first trip of it’s kind. No real schedule, no big luggage, no money and couch surfing. My tentative plan is to arrive in Saigon at 5pm and catch the night bus to Cambodia, Phnom Penh to be exact. From there just go where the wind takes me, with the only goals of seeing ... read more
January 31st 2013
Chao (hi) and welcome to my travel blog! I hope to update you while on my up coming trip to Vietnam, dubbed "Vietnam 2.0"! This will be my second trip to Vietman. Why fly over 7300 miles to the same place twice you ask? Well, this trip will be completely different from the first. Firstly, I am on my own. Secondly, I will have 22 days to explore and see the country compared to only 7 the first time. Third, did I mention I am on my own? Haha. Ok, ok, I'm not really on my own, I will be accompanied by my sister in law's brother and aunt. Vietnam 2.0, I am hoping to see more of Saigon, a trip to the mighty Mekong delta, explore the Cu Chi tunnels, visit the capital city of ... read more
The Battle for Hearts and Lungs
Published: February 17th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City
January 30th 2013
Getting a bit slack on the old blogging, sorry! Here's an update on what's been going on over here in Vietnam the past month or two. I've been here about 3 months now - I can't believe how quickly that's gone by. I've really settled into my job - the first week or two was really easy as they had their Vietnamese exams, which meant I had no class and could spend a bit of time preparing for the following weeks. And it's a lot of prep, believe me. The classes I teach are between two and a half to three and a quarter hours long, which is a long period of time to fill and try and keep it interesting. It doesn't help when these kids are so smart that they get through the huge ... read more
January 30th 2013
Thought I'd do a little update on non-school related things and the few outings that I have been able to go away on... So I have managed to get out and about a bit over the past couple of months. I went on a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels one weekend which was interesting. This was an extensive network of underground tunnels which the Viet Cong guerilla fighters used with great success against the Americans. They would pop out of tiny camouflaged holes in the ground, fire a few shots and then disappear again. The tunnels were used for transporting people and supplies, and they even had hospitals and communication centres in them. The Americans were unsuccessful in dealing with the tunnels - even when dropping tons and tons of bombs on them. The ... read more
