Now
Welcome to my blog! I'm back in Thailand and heading for India. For some reason the blog entries are not in order - if you are new to the blog, start at the one dated 4 February and then find the next entry by date. The blog is slightly out of date (by almost four months ...) due to a mixture of too much fun and computer problems but I'm working at it, I promise! Enjoy my blog and any suggestions would be very welcome! xBig Adventure
Travel Blog Posts
September 6th 2010
I'm off on a boat trip today. Woo hoo! After visiting a couple of islands we have lunch on the boat and then there is a karaoke session. The host sings songs from various countries, inviting a 'volunteer' from the relevant country to join him. When it comes to England, he gets me up on stage. I protest that I won't sing and offer to dance to his tune instead. However, he starts singing and he's only chosen 'Yellow Submarine'! I grab the mike and start belting the song out and prancing around. Woo hoo! Yep, I am a bit tipsy by now, thanks to Alan and Shandy, a couple of guys I met on the boat. At the next stop here is a floating bar and the only catch is that you have to jump ... read more
September 6th 2010
I'm having a chat with the lady who works at the reception of my guesthouse and it turns out she used to go to the same classes where I have started to teach :) Anyway, no class for me today so I have a chilled out evening after spending time at the beach.... read more
August 10th 2010
I'm at the beach in the afternoon, intending to stay there until the English class. It suddenly starts raining so it's back to the guesthouse until it's time to teach. There is already a volunteer teacher in the advanced class so I offer to teach the beginners class, which is a class of around fifteen. I start off with a conversation with the students, who have loads of questions. The class goes well and the course monitor asks me to prepare a lesson plan as I'll be teaching on my own for the next class. Erm, okay.... read more
August 10th 2010
In the evening I'm off to volunteer at a local English class. The two evening classes are for adults, one for beginners and one for advanced students. Today, I join the advanced classes. The classes starts off with me holding a conversation with students so they can practice their English. Then we go through some words and their meanings, finishing off with word games, which is lots of fun as I get to decide who wins. The students are really friendly and I'm looking forward to coming back tomorrow. I eat dinner at my usual place, a cheap Vietnamese cafe and spend the evening chatting to another traveller. The good news is that I can use the wifi connection from a nearby hotel. The owner of the cafe asks if 'their' wifi connection is good, with ... read more
August 10th 2010
It's a nice long breakfast and I take ages over my book. There are plenty of touts in the area offering trips etc as usual but I just want to relax for a few days. So it's back to the beach later for some chilling ...... read more
August 10th 2010
It's a day of chilling out in cafes reading my book and checking out the local area. I make my way to the beach after 3.00, in the aim of getting there when it's cooler and find that lots of other people have had the same idea - it's packed with locals intent on having fun. Woo hoo! I sit under a palm tree with my book and read until I have to move due to the start of a rather exuberant football game. Time for dinner, I guess ...... read more
August 10th 2010
It's just after 1 am so still a few hours to go in these cramped sleeping quarters ... But hey! I'm so exhausted that I fall asleep and don’t wake up until the morning, when the driver pumps up the radio. I manage to find a lovely guesthouse in Nha Trang, which is a converted house with the most amazing wooden staircase (lots of fun to run up and down). After check in and a much deserved rest, I make my way to the beach which is touristy but still very lovely. It's too hot to go without shade (and Little Miss Stingy doesn't want to pay for a sun lounger) so I sit in a lovely restaurant on the beach and have a rather expensive dessert but seriously, I deserve a bit of a treat ... read more
7 May 2010 - Cu Chi Tunnels
Published: August 20th 2010Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » Cu Chi
July 10th 2010
On the way to the Cu Chi tunnels I'm sitting next to a guy from Czech Republic, who's studying in Taiwan and here for a holiday, and we spend the journey nattering away. We take a break at a workshop where paintings and other items are made using egg shells. There are some stunning items in the gallery ... At the Cu Chi tunnels, I am horrified by the booby traps but the information about the tunnels is interesting and like the musuem, really makes you think about Vietnam's history. Soon, it’s time to crawl through the tunnels which is quite an experience: you have to go crawl on your hands and knees and it's claustrophobic and very hot!! My knees are being scratched and I end up swapping between a conventional crawl and a ‘bear ... read more
July 5th 2010
Son and Co had invited me to meet up with them but after a leisurely breakfast I’m running out of time as today I’m off to the Independence Palace. After my visit I’m making my way back to my guesthouse through the park, intending to get changed and return to join the aerobics session. I get approached by a couple of students who want to practice English and they have such hopeful expressions that I agree. They only turn out to be Son’s friends! One of the students has noted phrases from American films that do not make sense in terms of grammar and as I explain the phrases and move on to pronunciation, more students gather to listen and I soon have an audience of more than a dozen. Students filter in and out and ... read more
May 15th 2010
I visit the war museum which is interesting, although rather 'one-sided'. I go for a walk in the park in the evening and am watching the group aerobics session, when a local student, Ha, approaches me to practice her English. She invites me out with her and her friends at 7. I visit the market and then return to the park at 7 to meet her. As I wait for her, another group of students approaches me to practice English. I recognise one of them, Son, as I chatted to him during my last time in Ho Chi Minh. I apologise, saying that I'm meeting someone. They walk away and Ha finds me. I walk with her towards her friends and they turn out to be Son and the students who just approached me. We are ... read more
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