Hoi An Adventures - chapter 1

Half term arrived yesterday after a very productive paperwork day at school. With primary reports completed and most of the planning for the first week back finished. I left school feeling excited about my first real Vietnamese adventure.

Last night I flew to Da Nang, where I was met by a driver from my hotel and taken to Hoi An.

When I arrived I wasn't immediately pleased with my hotel room as there were centipedes in the bath; the air con is temperamental and I also wanted it all to be perfect. Today I've decided that it has a faded charm; the bed is comfy and the staff very friendly. I've also thought (and not for the first time) that I must stop comparing the prices of hotels to what I could get in Ecuador.

Today has been a crazy mad day! I've wandered round the streets taking pictures and been enticed into many shops. Hoi An's streets are crammed with tailors and shoe makers. Fi heaven - shops and photography!

I decided to take a wander round the fabric market, and was followed by a beautifully dressed older Vietnamese lady asking me if I'd like a manicure or pedicure? the price quoted was amazingly cheap so I accepted, but only after I'd finished looking around. Every stall holder wanted me to look at their materials and buy clothes from them! Another lady invited me to her shoe shop and I have to admit that here I got quite carried away and ended up ordering 4 pairs of shoes, which will apparently be ready tomorrow - amazing!

Whilst chatting and laughing with Ms Thanh, Madame Mai (my manicurist) waited nearby, she also joined in with our jokes and smiles. Miss Thinh also waited, hoping I'd buy some clothes from her!

Madame Mai whisked me away to her stall in the Market as soon as she could. Before I knew it not only was I getting a pedicure, but my eyebrows were being threaded, followed by my legs and parts of myself I don't consider very hairy were being examined critically by Mme Mai's discerning eye!

A team of four women worked to make me 'beautiful', assuring me that there is no gain without pain and that I would now find many boyfriends. I really liked all these women, with their humour! Because I liked them and was enjoying the attention, I kept agreeing to more things. Naively I didn't ask a price as I went along, so the final bill was a bit of a shock. Yet I did have a marvellous time. Also, hilariously, a couple of the women had a quick feel of my boobs - I laughed a lot!

Miss Thinh kept coming back to make sure I was coming to her stall afterwards. I couldn't refuse.

Back in the fabric market I waded through many catalogues and picked out some items that I liked, this took ages. I was getting increasingly more tired and wanting to escape! When it came to choosing fabrics I only found a few that I liked. I was getting increasingly more worried about committing to some clothes after already spending quite a bit on shoes and pampering. Also at the back of my mind was the fact that I hadn't followed any of the guidance given by friends or guidebooks about which tailor to go to. I finallly agreed on a pair of trousers with matching waistcoat and a silk dress. I have a fitting tomorrow, so will find out if I chose well then I guess.

After all the excitement I was exhausted so had some food and came back to the hotel to chill.

Poking me will not encourage me to buy clothes from you...

Neither will handing me an XXL and telling me it's my size!

Personal space is an interesting issue here, especially when in markets. Today I ventured to Saigon Square, a sort of indoor clothes and accessories market with the other Fiona. I found I really didn't like people poking and prodding me as I tried a few tops on...I asked one lady to stop and she didn't take the hint at first, so I politely repeated, "Please stop touching me."

Another example of lack of personal space was when I was buying fruit and veg in a local supermarket. You have to have all items weighed and Vietnamese ladies were literally pushing me out of the way so they could have theirs weighed first!

Solutions to the problem:

1. Buy fruit and veg from Organikvn, an online shop. Then a nice man delivers fab veg to your door, no poking required.
2. Buy clothes in more expensive places where I am a medium and again was not poked.
3. Have clothes custom made. Take things you already own to be copied, therefore no poking or measuring required.

7 weeks in...

Life continues to have ups and downs, luckily this week has been better than the one before. 

I hit the extreme exhaustion wall last week and was being very sensitive to other people's words and actions. It didn't help that I was running a few mins late on the Thursday morning and the bus didn't wait for me. Luckily through all this the kids were great and it reminded me of the fact that I do what I do because of them!

Last weekend I went on a major shopping and pampering spree - this cheered me up no end! I also went out on Friday and Saturday night with people from work which was really good fun.

This week I've still been knackered but have gone through the tearfulness to bizarre sense of humour land (phew!). I also gave myself a pep talk and decided I must stop being such a sensitive little flower.

Today I've hopefully found my tame tailor and will have two new pairs of trousers and a top in 10 days time!

First adventure away from Ho Chi Minh City

Two weekends ago I had my first trip away. A small group of us escaped from school on Friday afternoon and headed to catch the hovercraft to Vung Tau, From there the plan was to continue to Long Hai, where we'd booked accommodation. We arrived in darkness to what looked like a fairly swanky hotel. We decided we'd like rooms by the beach and this was when it all started to turn a little strange. We were transported on a large golf buggy type thing down a very dark road and then had to wait ages for someone to come and open the gate. One of the crew started to look at the geckos and she almost fell off the buggy as it started to move as she was getting back on. Everything was in darkness. We stopped outside some villas and went to inspect the rooms - we were not impressed. We asked to be taken back to the main hotel to look at some rooms there and still were not impressed. I couldn't help but compare them to Ecuador where I stayed in beautiful places for around $15. This place expected us to pay $60 a night for a room that was even close to the standard I knew from Ecuador. We tried to reason with the receptionist to drop the price, but she was unable to help us. We ordered some cold beers and a taxi and waited to head back to Vung Tau - the taxi took forever.

Luckily we were all fairly chilled about it...I did go rather quiet but that was because I was needing food.

Vung Tau has a fairly seedy reputation - it is where Gary Glitter was caught! We eventually got to the Sammy Hotel and asked to see the rooms before deciding whether to stay. The boys sat down to wait whilst us girlies went to inspect. We got out of the lift to a floor in total darkness - there were a few comments about the fact we seemed to have found ourselves in an episode of Fawlty Towers! We looked down a dark corridor and saw electric cables hanging down and very obvious signs of work...oh dear we thought! We were extremely relieved when we were then shown rooms on the floor below which were very nice - hurray!

We checked in and headed out to find food as by now it was nearly 10.00pm. Luckily there was a beach bar across the road who said they could order us pizzas, I proceeded to order a rum and coke.

Most of the next day was spent chilling on the beach and swimming in the beautifully warm sea - splendid. We had ice creams to make it feel even more like a holiday. 

In the afternoon, Fiona (yes there is more than one Fiona here - weird!) and I went to have a massage back at the hotel. This was another strange experience. We had to pay up front which I've never experienced before and were then shown to a room. We sat and waited. A lady came in and gave me two towels and indicated that we were to strip off. I've also never had a massage where the lady is in the room while you disrobe. The massage began, with no oil. It was also quite disconcerting that the two ladies kept giggling and chatting. I could recognise some of the techniques being used but found it all very strange - with hindsight we should have stopped them and asked for our money back. At the end my lady very rudely asked for a tip - again after not leaving the room while we got dressed. I refused and we scarpered as quickly as poss discussing how weird it had all been!

In the evening we had delicious local food on the beach and went back to drink more cocktails at the beach bar. I hadn't expected a late one, but before we knew it it was 3am and I was dozing off on the sofa!

I loved the beach at night, it really came to life with street food sellers, bonfires, joss sticks burning - it was fascinating and was one of those 'I'm in a different country' moments.

The next day I was fairly fragile and we did very little until it was time to get the boat back to Ho Chi Minh. Unfortunately my ticket for the boat had got wet and was falling apart - they wouldn't accept it and a man was shouting at me in Vietnamese. My friend Carolyn tried to talk to him (she's been here for six years and speaks Vietnamese really well), but that made him even more angry. So I had to run in the pouring rain to get another one - fairly horrible experience.

Once on the boat we all crashed out and in less than two hours we were back in HCMC, where we got shouted at again, this time by a taxi driver. He wanted us to use his more expensive taxi and was trying to make us get out of the one we were in - again a fairly frightening experience. 

Although being shouted at in a language I don't understand was scary and intimidating, it has not put me off Vietnam. I'm looking forward to more adventures, half term is in three weeks time and I'm going to head to Hoi An.

Good Morning Vietnam!

Well to be more accurate it should say good evening, but as this is my first blog from Vietnam it seemed like an appropriate title.

I have been in Ho Chi Minh City for just over three weeks and am still very much finding my feet. I am living in District 7 which is a suburban area and relatively new. It only takes ten minutes to get to school and about twenty to get into the main city centre (depending on the time of day and amount of traffic). It's very easy here as it is ex-pat land; there are shops and restaurants near to my apartment and even a spa - which I have already visited twice as my back is in a shocking state. 

My apartment is not quite as swanky as Quito, but it's okay and will do for now. Some more comfortable furniture would be nice as I'm sure spending most of my time sat on the computer chair is not helping my back. When I arrived there was very little here other than furniture, not even loo roll. The only reason I didn't have a complete breakdown about it is because there was internet access already here.

I received a settling in allowance when I arrived which I thought I'd be able to live on till payday - unfortunately that went very quickly on things like: towels, bedding, pans, crocks, etc. Money has been quite a worry, but I have now been paid which is a blessed relief. The past year has been incredible, but I had spent all my savings by the time I arrived here.

School has been interesting for a variety of reasons. A couple of days after arriving, I found out I was the only music teacher so would be teaching every child in the school aged 2-14 and that I was also a Yr 7 form tutor. I wasn't entirely surprised about being the only music teacher but being a form tutor as well was a bit of a shock. However I really like my kids, so that's a relief. The only class I have found difficult so far is the Yr 9 group - but I think I may have approached them in the wrong way which didn't help. We'll see how it goes this week!

Being here is like being on an emotional rollercoaster - I expected that too. But knowing it's going to happen still doesn't really prepare you for the reality of it. Some days are so amazing I could burst, whereas other days I would just like to curl up into a ball and cry. I'm exhausted too which doesn't help. Again I expected this from my experience of moving to Ecuador, but having not worked for just over a year I haven't felt the kind of exhaustion related to work for a very long time. 

When I haven't been at school I've been getting to know District 1 a little - this is the city centre and seems to be a pretty cool area. There are 14 districts in Ho Chi Minh - so a lot to get to know! I was very happy yesterday when I found The Body Shop and could buy some of my favourite perfume.

I'm missing family and friends greatly at the moment, but know this will get easier over time and as I meet more people here.

Words from a different life...

Written in December 2006

I'm standing on the edge of an uncertain path,

Feeling as if I could fall backwards,

Knowing that the only way is forwards,

Facing doubts and fears,
Shedding so many tears.

I wonder about possibilities,

Try to keep my positivity,

I look to the future wondering what it holds?

Terrified of being left alone and cold.

I made my decisions,

Found the strength to leave,

Have this feeling that suddenly I'm free,

Or am I just behaving stubbornly?

I keep myself busy fearing that if I stop,

I may not be able to cope with the drop,

I fear the chasm that opens ahead,

Yet I also feel excited, so alive, not dead.

I talk to friends who offer their advice,

Keep going forwards, don't think twice,

Keep on growing and blossoming and flowering,

You will find this all empowering.

Yet I am standing on the edge of an uncertain path,

Finding the strength to keep from falling backwards,

Knowing that the only way is forwards,

Facing doubts and fears,

Smiling through the tears,

Understanding at last,

That the past is the past,

And that sometimes...

The journey is the destination.

Last two weeks in Latin America

In my last two weeks in Latin America I was happy to know I would be with friends.

Firstly I stayed in Huanchaco with Ursula - lovely Irish friend who I first met in Quito, she's been travelling around Peru for the last 18 months or so. When I arrived I was still feeling pretty rubbish from the cold/flu type thing I had going on - it was such a relief to finally have a room to myself where I could actually allow myself to be ill and rest.

Huanchaco was lovely, very peaceful and chilled. It was the end of the season so the town was quiet which was a lovely contrast after the hecticness of Cusco and Lima. My days were spent eating delicious food cooked by Ursula; walking dogs belonging to one of her friend's; sleeping; trying out a few of the local restaurants; reading - it was definitely a well needed rest.

I also got to hang out with the lovely Ilana and James who I originally met in Rio. Unfortunately they weren't completely well either, but it was lovely to see them again!

I had no real urge to do anything - after months of being in many different places, thinking about and doing many different things it was nice to stop. I also knew that once home, life would become manic again. I also finally allowed myself to really start thinking about Vietnam - getting much more excited about that adventure!

After Huanchaco I went to Costa Rica to spend a week with my friend Yvette in San Jose. I was looking forward to spending some time exploring with Yvette over the weekend. Unfortunately though I was ill again - this time stomach related. It began in Lima airport - not fun. I was also mightily pissed off by the air hostess who ignored me after landing in San Jose when I tried to explain how imperative it was for me to be allowed into the locked toilet - luckily I then noticed the other one was unlocked.

Staying with Yvette was also lovely, but unfortunately I didn't really start feeling well again till the Saturday (having arrived there on Wednesday, 25th May). So the trip we'd hoped to take into a national park on the beach didn't happen. However, every cloud has a silver lining, because of this we spent Saturday afternoon in the central area of San Jose where I managed to buy some pressies. We also heard a fantastic band playing in one of the parks and found out that they were playing again in a jazz club the following Monday. 

On Sunday when Yvette got up and came down I was actually able to give her the thumbs up that I felt well. We went to explore a fairly local farmer's market - the fruit and veg were amazing. My personal moment from there though was a father and son duo playing what I think was a marimba - it was lovely. Afterwards we went to an art cafe where we had a second breakfast!! We were in fact amazed that we were back at Yvette's having been out and about before the time we'd actually left the house the day previously! I even felt well enough to cook curry for Yvette and a couple of her school friends - it went down a treat! The last of my curry spices were gone - this was when I knew it was definitely almost time for home (plus the fact that I hadn't cooked for ages, I certainly didn't expect to still have some in the last week of my travels).

On Monday 30th May we went out dancing and oh how we danced! The band we had seen in the park certainly lived up to expectations. The club was packed - amazing for a Monday night. Furthermore, almost as soon as the support band (who were damn good too) had finished the dance floor was packed in readiness for Sonambulo Psichotropical! They were brilliant. I realised whilst dancing that one of the things I would definitely miss on leaving Latin America was the higher proportion of men who can dance. I love to dance with a partner and have met a couple of good dancers in my travels which has been so much fun! In Vietnam I will need to find places for dancing as I thrive on it!

I arrived home to the beautiful English countryside on the 2nd of June, after an incredibly long journey that included a brief stop in Iceland! Mum and Dad were both waiting for me and I was looking forward to some time at home.