Hot Pot Dinner

SUNDAY 13^th March

Today I taught my first children’s class... aged 7-11. They were boisterous, and we had to play lots of games as well as written work, but it was all good. I have found that every class I’ve taught, the students already know the vocabulary and much more, so if I just stuck to the curriculum they’d be bored silly in 10 minutes... let alone 2 hours!... but at the same time there are always a couple who are way behind the others. There is so much for this teacher to learn!

I got my first ‘real’ roster. This week I will  teach 2 classes on Monday and Tuesday nights, have both Wednesday and Thursday free (yea!), Then a 5:30 class on Friday night,  2 evening classes on Saturday, and the same kids class on Sunday as today.... 16 hours. Out of those 8 classes I get 3 classes twice and 2 classes once. So the good news is with that degree of continuity, I should be able to get to know my students quite quickly... thank God they have all adopted English nicknames to make it easier. Today I taught Batman, Tiger, Tom and Levi...

After classes finished, 10 of us went out to dinner to a new teachers welcome dinner. It was sumptuous. The restaurant was a BarBQ -  Hot Pot restaurant... Lẩu Tứ Xuyên .  Braziers are set into the table and you BarBQ your own meat...

L to R: that’s Linh, Frank, Lina, Amie, Eathen, Sarah, Dave and Ann

                    Squid, quail, and goat’s meat, pork, kangaroo (!), eel and fish.

Our Vietnamese colleagues are  a very cheerful bunch. This is Oscar, Linh, Frank and Lina. They all seem to really enjoy their work and life in general.

Then when you reckon no-one could eat any more. They bring out a big pot of soup that heaps of vegies, mushrooms, tofu, rice noodles etc gets tossed into and that’s the second course!

                                                 The aftermath of our banquet!

After that we all headed over to Megan’s for a Trivia night with a bunch of the English-language teachers from other schools. They're a rowdy bunch...

The winning team ... Sarah, Dave and Lance (USA)

At about 11pm Dave and I walked home while the young'ns went off to play pool. Unfortunately I didn’t realise till we were half way home (at a very brisk pace) that I was still wearing my teaching shoes, not my walking shoes... big mistake. By the time we got home I had blisters on the balls of my feet. Wont make that mistake again!

Mitu Cuong

Now here’s something funny... My motorbike man told me his name is Mitu Cuong, so I have been calling him Mitu. Dave has been quite puzzled, since Mitu is not a typical Vietnamese name, then this arvo he came up with the answer... it’s not Mitu at all, but Mr !!! He was trying to say Mr Cuong!  How embarrassing... I have been calling him plain old Mitu, not even Mitu Cuong!  You’ve got to just laugh and get it right next time...

No earthquake here

SATURDAY, 12^th March

Terrible news about the earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan yesterday afternoon. Fortunately for us, the South Eastern corner of China is between us and the epicentre, so we are in no danger of being affected. Although the event was covered by cable news channels, every TV I saw yesterday (other than mine) was tuned in to the regular Vietnamese soaps. No-one seemed to be very interested, other than we Aussies.

Sarah came home with a case of food poisoning, so she was still crook by Friday afternoon, so I got to teach her 5.30pm class. They are a new class of real beginners aged 11-14 and they were heaps of fun. We were only learning greetings using lots of games and role-plays. The funniest thing was trying to teach them to say great ... it was most often sounding like gwech... ah well, it was only their second lesson...

I finally got to sign my contract last night, so it’s official. I am here till 30^th September. I have no doubt that the time will fly by.

This morning I had breakfast at the little cafe down our lane. The ladies there are so delightful. They were teaching me many words, which I had to write down so I can try to remember. My food was a delicious clear broth with rice noodles, prawns, and greens. It is called bánh đa tôm.   Tôm (pronounced dom) is prawns.

This is Hang and Bich (pronounced Bit). That’s my bánh đa tôm on the table.

At the Big C supermarket I met a lady from Denmark named Helle who has been here for 8 months, She invited me to join a bunch of foreigners at a Ladies Lunch... they meet at a Texas Bar not far from here on Wednesdays at 12.  That could be fun. I have mentioned it to Amie and she’s keen, so we’ll probably drop in next week and check it out. Apparently the ladies join together and go to Hanoi, play golf... could be fun.

I’m home for the afternoon, now. I have a late class tonight – 7.30 for Intermediate adults. Again it is quite cool, but not too bad... great weather for fast walking!

My first class...

THURSDAY 10^th March

Today is Greg’s birthday and I’m so far away!...

I finally got to teach my first class last night. They were Level 3 adults aged 18 – 42 and it was great. They were all so keen and co-operative, loved the games especially. I will need to build up a repertoire of games so I always have something up my sleeve to keep things interesting. Fortunately, because they have classes with Vietnamese teachers also, our responsibility is mainly to get them talking and work on pronunciation and communication skills. Sweet! First up I got them to do role-plays for buying a train ticket (from their previous lesson), then my lesson was on breakfast foods. I’m so pleased to have that first class under my belt!  The class was 7:30 – 9:30, then I hoofed it home to get here just after the pizza arrived... yep, that’s right... home delivery pizza, 2 for 1 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!

So for the first time Dave, Amie, Eathen and I sat down together at home over a meal (Sarah is in Hanoi). It was so much better than coming home and all disappearing into our various rooms. They are great company. Among other things we discussed Eathen’s robbing. The big issue is that even Vietnamese people avoid being on the streets alone after 10:30... so we need to be wise, (and holler if we’re accidently locked out!!)

By the time I did the dishes and had a shower, it was 11:30 (my new bed-time it seems...). I was so pleased to sleep through till after 7 this morning.

I bought fabric (cost about $30) the other day and washed it, then took it to the tailor today. It will cost me about $22 to get 4 pairs of slacks and 2 business shirts made to measure... if she does a good job I'll get more made while I'm here!

Spent the afternoon preparing lessons and looking up games and activities on the net and sent out an email to tell my F’s & R’s about this blog...  It’s really cold tonight! Am sitting here with a blanket around me...

FRIDAY 11^th March

WOO-OO! I woke up to emails from dear ones who have read this! So lovely to hear from you!...

I’ll spend a quiet morning at home preparing lessons for the weekend, maybe duck over to the supermarket, then go in to school to go over my lesson plans with Ann, the manager, and sign my contract (finally). Then I’ll rush home to get on skype and join in Greg’s birthday dinner at Katie’s... love the technology!

Locked Out

WEDNESDAY, 9th March

This morning I went downstairs at 5:30am and found Eathen at the front door... locked out in the courtyard. Dave had locked the second gate last night thinking we were all in, so when Eathen got home at 2am he couldn't get in. He sent me a text, but I was sound asleep and didn't hear the bip. He resigned himself to sleep on the doorstep, but during the night a guy jumped over the security fence and robbed him at knife point... took his money and his phone. So by the time I toddled downstairs he was thoroughly cold and exhausted. I dont have a key to that gate either, yet, so I had to wake Dave to come down and let Eathen in. He was very philosophical about it, didn't want to make a fuss, just headed for a hot shower and bed.

I wonder whether the thief was just an opportunist walking by or did he target our place deliberately and happen to stumble across Eathen on the doorstep? Either way I do not intend to be out at that hour, and if I ever got accidently locked out I would shout the house down till someone let me in, not stoically sleep on the doorstep!!!  So dont worry about me, OK?

I have finally uploaded all the pictures on my HCM city travels, so now brief little updates should be the norm.  Well done anyone who persists and wades through the first couple of my blog entries! Now I have my first class to prepare...  See ya!

Settling in to Hai Phong

HAI PHONG  - 28th  February

I flew into Hai Phong at 9.30 am, after a very early start. As I boarded the plane in HCMC I realised I was the only Westerner in sight... I am glad to be out of the hype and bustle of the tourist rip-off. It wears pretty thin after a few days.

Hai Phong is mostly dead flat... not a hill or mountain in sight. Today is overcast (not uncommon apparently) and pleasant – about 22C. At first impression it is like a laid back version of Saigon... all of the character without the constant nagging to buy something you don’t want!

I was met at the airport by Dave and 2 girls from VATC, Sun and Kate. Dave (57) is English and has been here for a few years and for the last couple of months has been the only teacher at the school... but now there are four new teachers, all Aussies – Eathen (28), 2 younger girls, Amie (23) and Sarah (21), and me. We 4 are all novices, so Dave is guiding us through the early stages. We are all going to be house sharing, but tonight is the last night in this house... we are moving to a new place tomorrow within walking distance of the school.

This place is like something out of a movie! Check out the huge gates and the alleyway! (That’s Eathen standing in front of our gates)

It’s a bit sad, really. Once this must have been an opulent home, graciously furnished and inviting, but now it’s quite dilapidated. As the last to arrive, I scored the bedroom without the en-suite, so I get to use the bathroom downstairs and it’s filthy! I had to scrub the toilet before I could use it. So I’m rather pleased we’re moving tomorrow, then I can have some input without fear of stepping on anyone’s toes. So I won’t even bother to unpack tonight... just my pj’s.

This extraordinary armoire is in my bedroom... isn’t it gorgeous!

I went for a walk around the neighbourhood with Eathen this morning, He’s great company. He is a town planner from Brisbane who has been travelling around SE Asia for several months. He is a keen hiker and loves to read. He tells me that there is nowhere in Hai Phong to buy books in English. Already it seems strange to have nothing to read. Good thing I packed my Bible! I understand now why Rhonda kept downloading books on-line.

I had a nanna nap for half an hour, then set up my laptop to work on this journal. At 4pm I caught a taxi with Dave and Eathen to the school – VATC. All the staff are extremely friendly. I had my first interview with Ann, the manager. I am to observe a few classes, then do a 1 hour teaching demonstration on Thursday morning  (to the staff). They’ll give it a week to see how I fit in, then if all goes well, offer me a contract. Tonight I sat in on one of Dave’s elementary classes. It was surprising how quickly 2 hours goes by. Then I joined Sarah for dinner at a local cafe (Megan’s) that is a favourite haunt. Lovely simple rice, greens and sweet ‘n sour pork for $2.

Ten o’clock and it’s been a long day. I borrowed a towel from Sarah, now I have to face the downstairs bathroom to have a shower so I can crash.

Day Two in Hai Phong was moving day. Everything had to be packed up and moved to our new house which is closer to the school. It’s smaller, but newer, in a neighbourhood of charming houses quite different from the dark alleyway of the first house... our building is the white one on the far end...

There will be 5 of us sharing this house (4 storey terrace). They are all great company and so far things are very harmonious. My room is the window directly under the blue sign. Dave is in the bedroom with the first floor balcony, Eathen is in the room above mine, and Amie and Sarah share the top balcony room. There is a small drying courtyard on the roof... we have our own washing machine.

Our 'house' is on a windy narrow street not much more than a laneway... mostly terraces 3-4 storeys tall with big iron gates leading onto a small courtyard for parking bikes, pot plants etc, then concertina gates, and huge glass doors leading into the living room... three levels of security. Ours is 4m wide and is a 25 minute walk from the school, which will save money on taxis. This seems to be a more up-market neighbourhood. Many of the houses near us are really pretty and wealthy looking. I can hear birds singing, one in particular. Perhaps it is a nightingale in a cage? After the bustle and tourist hype of Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong is a pleasant change. It seems to have all the same characteristics but the people aren't trying to jam it down your throat.

I'm all settled and just this minute got my Wi-Fi connection going... yeaaa. This is my room. It’s about 3.5m x 4m, with a window that looks out at a wall about 2m away. I am on the first floor, so I have less stairs to climb that the others J

I have my photos on the wardrobe right next to my desk

Still looks pretty bare though, eh! The TV doesn’t work yet and the aircon is still to be installed. It’s very cool here at the moment though, about 18 degrees C.

This is the kitchen, and the dining area...

And that door you can see is my bathroom...

We’re hoping they’ll get us a couch for the living space. So far the young n’s are using it to park their bikes, and everyone holes up in their rooms 90% of the time. That’s my bedroom window as you go up the stairs.

I photograhed this cute little boy outside our front gate.

      

During the week our classes are all at night .... 5:30 to 7:30 and 7:30 to 9:30. I have been going in and observing Dave and Eathen’s classes. We tend to meet up at Megan’s restaurant (she’s a good friend of Dave’s) for dinner after that and eventually walk home – late. Classes run all day on the weekends. The earliest is at 7:30am!!! The latest at 9:30pm. I think we will be rostered on for two or three classes on Saturdays and Sundays. The work load is not very heavy at present, with a full complement of teachers now on board, but it gets a lot busier in summer – June to August. Dave leaves in May so we should be very busy, but by then lesson preparation wont take as long.

Class preparation time is during the day, and everyone’s roster is different so we’ll all be in and out. For the first few nights we have all walked together, which has been great, but now the three youngn’s have bought pushbikes.

That’s Sarah in the black buying cigarettes on the way home.

On Wednesday, Eathen and I had lunch at the little ‘cafe’ just down our lane. I will take photos as I get to know them better. No-one speaks a word of English and our meal cost about 75c each. In the mornings, when I walk past I get cheery waves, especially from a tiny little old lady who is all wizened, has no teeth, but calls out to me with the biggest smile. I can’t wait to get to know them.

On Thursday, I went for a walk with Dave to get lunch and go to the local supermarket... this is lunch. Pickled vegies, Beef n greens, and a BBQ’d squid dish that is to die for. I’ll have to write down the name so I can get it again!

This  is me loving this Vietnamese food...

My teaching demonstration was at 9:30 am on Thursday morning, with the Vietnamese teachers as my students. So I headed out wondering if I would find a motorbike driver, or have to walk there. Just on the corner at the end of our street there is another little cafe where a group of motorbike drivers hang out. So I got a ride, no trouble with a very friendly driver who already knew where I wanted to go! (Like I said , there are not many westerners here...)The ride only took 5 minutes and cost me 15000D (75c).

I love how they drive here. Our school is on a busy, wide, main road, and when we turn onto it the school os on the other side of the road. No problem! We just drift across by riding straight into the oncoming traffic, and they take no notice, just flow around us! I must see if I can video it... you just have to see it to believe it!

My demo class was a lot of fun. I'll sign a 6 month contract on Monday, so I should finish up at the end of September. I'll get Katie to come over for that last week and then we'll travel about for a bit and I'll get home mid October to meet my new grandchild (due mid-August) and be home for Christmas... Yea!!

FRIDAY, 5^th March

I just had to tell you about what God did today... Yesterday when they offered me the teaching contract I was rather dismayed to find that they expected me to buy a whole new wardrobe to match level of professionalism they want to portray. I went to bed last night wondering how I was going to afford it, to wake up this morning to the news that there's $300 in my account from an unexpected source, which should more than cover it!

And to top it off, just to make sure I didn't miss the point, my devotion this morning was based on LUKE 12:22-34 .......if then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith............

So instead of stressing, today I'm off shopping for new clothes tailored to order, courtesy of my very generous and loving Father!

I only had time for a little tub of yoghurt for breakfast, then headed out in the drizzle to go and meet Sun, one of the Vietnamese teachers who is going to take me to the market to buy cloth, then to the tailors. My motorbike man was on the corner in his spot (I'll get a photo next time) and he waved and was keen to take me again. This time he only charged me 10.000D (50c). His name is Mitu Cuong. He was very concerned that I am only wearing a light summer top, since it is cold and drizzly. (How do you explain in sign language that you don't have anything warmer to wear??) Anyhow, I got to the school and sat around chatting for a while, waiting for Sun to arrive. Eventually someone phoned her to find out she'd called me and cancelled.... silly me, I didn't think to check my phone...

So I strolled home having a good look around. I bought a rain cape, but I only wore it for a bit. It has a little brim on the hood, and fits around your face so it covers the chin, so it's a bit much for just light drizzle!  When I got to our corner Mitu got up from his chair quite excited that I had walked home. He gave me his phone number so next time I can call him to come and get me... his English is not much better than my Vietnamese, but we manage!

Then I wandered down to the little canteen just down our street and had lunch... fish, chokoes and carrots, rice and soup. I couldn't eat it all. The little old lady wasn't there, but they were very friendly. One lady in particular came over and sat down and tried to teach me the words for chopsticks, rice, fish, soup, and chokos (or vegies?).  I took a photo of my lunch 15,000D (75c):

Since it was cold and drizzly, I stayed in for the rest of the day, talked to Katie on skype (how fabulous ...!) and worked on getting this journal all up to date so Eathen can show me how to turn it into a blog. So many dear friends and family have been in contact, I figured this is the most efficient way to broadcast what I’m doing (facebook is blocked here), so email replies don’t have to be as repetitious!

First early night I’ve had since I got here! In bed by 9pm. What bliss.  O yeah, I didn’t tell you how hard the beds are here!!! Just like in China. It’s like sleeping on the floor on the carpet. As soon as Sarah and I saw them we headed off to the shops to get some padding. We ended up at a department store called Parkson (like Meyers) and bought folding mattresses that are about 5cm thick for $25 (not cheap). It still isn’t enough, so I folded my doona under me as well, and I can get used to that. I have a very thin quilt for a blanket. I’ll be in trouble if the weather gets any colder, though.

SATURDAY 5^th March

Look at what I had for lunch... real live Pho!  I dropped into a grubby little cafe just around the corner that advertised pho and voila!  Scrumptious soup and fresh greens and it cost me 20.000 dong ($1).

After that I caught a motorbike to the Big C supermarket and bought some stuff including  2 bagettes hot out of the oven. Heaven right there! I had to fight for my place in the line as the bread came out. While I was watching these 2 guys grabbed about 20 loaves each - they sell them on the side of the road.  People were ‘tsk’ing and pushing me to let them through... no politely queueing and waiting your turn here!  That must be what they call a bun fight ..? The bagettes were 2 for 7,000d (35c).

The fresh food section is quite fascinating. There are heaps of different kinds of pre-packaged fresh meals so all you have to do is come home and chuck them in the Wok. They cost between .60 and $2 each depending on the meat. Just too many things we never see to try and describe them all.

Tonight I’m home alone, so I watched Avatar on my laptop sitting up in bed... very entertaining. The TV in my room doesn’t work yet, but I hope it’ll be fixed soon. It’s a decrepit old thing with no remote and the aerial cable has no plug. Hmmmm...

SUNDAY 6^th February

This morning I got to observe Dave’s Level 2 class... only 7 students

That’s Dave at the whiteboard. Lilly (9) is writing, with her sister Mary (7) behind her. Harry is the boy waiting his turn. In this game, they took turns to throw a sticky ball at the tic-tac-toe grid. Wherever the ball landed they had to write in a colour beginning with that letter. Whichever team completed three in a row first, wins the game.

This is our staff room. Sarah is the one in the grey night-club outfit (would you believe shorts!!). Yup, she needs a new wardrobe too... Sun is the one in the aqua jacket. She's due to take me shopping tomorrow "if the weather is nice".

This is Megan's restaurant where we hang out.  I had lunch there with Dave - that's him out the back in the kitchen. My lunch was 35,000D ($1.75) - including a can of coke. Way to go...

This is the street we walk along to get to school. At the other end there is a sort of market on the sidewalk... I'll get pics of that end eventually.

MONDAY 7^th March

Tonight I was rostered to teach my first class. I had to be at school at 9.30am to meet Sun, who was to give me my teaching books, and give me a run down, then 10.30 with Ann the manager so she could explain their system and sign my contract. Sun was late, and Ann just gave me a brief run through how she would teach tonight’s lesson, so I spent a couple of hours putting together a lesson plan, including creating worksheets, saved it to the computer I was on, and walked home. I got back at 5pm to discover that anything saved to that C drive is automatically deleted when the computer is turned off.... so I had just on 2 hours to re-do it all. Spewing! I was labouring through when about an hour later, Ann came and told me that class has been cancelled, because they didn’t have sufficient numbers yet.  So since I was due to teach them again on Wednesday, she gave me a different class to teach then. So I started in on the lesson plan for that class instead, with less than an hour to do it in!

At 7.30 I headed home and ended up getting Pho Bo for dinner at this little cafe very close to home.

A very friendly chap sat down and showed me how to use chopsticks properly. We had one of those stilted, friendly conversations you have when neither one speaks the other’s language. He said he’s a Christian and is 45 yrs old. He couldn’t say Annie, but kept repeating Allie, and tells me I am born in the year of the cat,not the rabbit (that's Chinese...)

TUESDAY, 8^th March

This morning I went to the markets with Sun and bought fabric for 2 shirts and 2 pants. I’m very glad she was there to negotiate for me. We will track down a tailor tomorrow.  I took this photo this morning. The balcony overlooks the big market in Hai Phong. We could hear the birds in these cages singing. Apparently they are worth hundreds of dollars.

 This is how you shift a load of building material in Hai Phong. I didn’t see how much energy it took him to get the load moving, but he must have very strong legs!

Both Sarah and Amie went to Hanoi for a couple of days. I hope to go soon... when my roster is clear for a couple of days. Tonight, however, I'm home alone having a night in!

Ho Chi Minh City - the adventure begins

VIETNAM  2011   -  HO CHI MINH CITY

22nd-28th February

I flew in at 9.30pm after an uneventful Jetstar flight, and was met at the airport and brought by taxi to the Kim Huong Hotel. I have a small simple room with no windows (a bit disturbing!). After a shower, it was 3am Coffs time before I got to bed...I woke up a few hours later to day one in Ho Chi Minh City and breakfast on the roof...

My first Vietnamese breakfast... but  oh those chillies were hot!

This is Kim Huong Hotel dining room on the roof, but it only opens for breakfast.

Here I am... first morning in Vietnam...  and just over the railing you look down on Ben Thanh Market – the big tourist attraction

This is my hotel

I caught a taxi to HJ Consultancy for my orientation with Heather, who wasn’t there, but Moon looked after me and Daniel Wright (Heather’s son) talked me through the contract and expectations. Teachers are expected to wear business clothes. The men have to wear ties, and long sleeve shirts. No bare arms for us, and no open toed shoes... not quite what I planned for. Hopefully my wardrobe will pass with a push!

I went back to my hotel and thought I would have lunch up on the roof... that’s when I found out it was only available for breakfast... they served me my chicken and rice on a tray to eat in my room (with no windows...). At least there were 80 channels on the TV so I got an update on the Christchurch earthquake disaster and found an episode of the new Homicide to watch.

 I had a bit of a nanna nap, then went across the road to explore the Ben Thanh Market.  Flowers, fruit, meat, fish, spices, food, clothes, shoes, bags, perfume, DVDs... It’s all there and they work hard to sell to anyone who walks past!  “You buy, Madame? I got your size!.. Madame??... Madame!” The market was very crowded, with a bewildering array of stuff... like a rabbit warren of little stalls, all piled high with goods for sale. Lots of fabric stalls.. some even offering suits made in one day. I wandered around fighting off salesgirls assuring me that they had stock in my size and didn't buy anything, although there is a perfume stall that had Opium for about $22. I might go back and see if he'll drop the price... as if it isn't dirt cheap already!  It's different knowing I'll be here for a year.. I haven't taken many photos and am in no rush to buy stuff.

It’s pretty much what you’d expect... teeming with people, accosted by every stall holder you walk past, and rip off prices that you have to bargain down... fascinating. I had no intention of buying anything coz I figured I could get it all in Hai Phong, probably cheaper. The place was crawling with tourists from all over the world... hot sweaty humanity.

That evening, Rosie, one of the girls from HJ Consultancy came at 6.30 to take me to dinner. We went to a little cafe just down the road. Grilled pork patties with various greens you roll up in rice paper (still crisp!) and dip into a dipping sauce (the same as Katie makes) and a chicken dish served on a bed of rice with very hot tamarind sauce and fish sauce, and Rosie also ordered a beef salad that was just a pile of lettuce with thin slices of beef and tomatoes and cucumber. We had kulau to drink (can’t remember the Vietnamese word for it... fresh coconut milk served in the coconut)...cold and delicious.

For Rosie, it was an opportunity to practice her English. She was very pleasant. She lives in a one room house with her mother and father, three older sisters and their husbands, and 4 little nieces and nephews! Mum and Dad do all the housework, cooking and babysitting, and the others all work. All of the girls have graduated from uni and have good jobs. She said it can get very noisy!... that would have to be an understatement !!??

DAY TWO ... CITY TOUR

The City Day Tour minibus picked me up at the hotel at 8.45am. There was a mixed bag of tourists and our tour guide was an engaging chap named Po (as in King Foo Panda). First stop was the War Remnants Museum... a harrowing place where they don’t pull any punches depicting the atrocities inflicted on the people during the Vietnam war (on both sides).

Po said: “We do not blame the Americans, we do not blame the Viet Cong. We blame the War itself. Our only concern now is to look after our people who are still suffering the effects of the war.” These resilient people welcome Americans, Australians, all visitors, but make sure we are aware of the ongoing effects of Agent Orange, which is now crippling the next generation of Vietnamese.  

That’s Po in the yellow T-shirt outside the War Remnants Museum. The guy in the red shirt was an engaging Frenchman who worked in Milan Italy. The girl in the grey dress was also French – petulant, bored and miserable... hated every minute of the tour. The man in the blue shirt was a taciturn American (maybe a Vietnam Vet?)

All sorts of planes, tanks etc. were displayed in the front court...

This building is a mock up of cell blocks with torture chambers, with many photos of tortured prisoners

After that we stopped off for a cuppa at a little restaurant in Chinatown and sampled Vietnamese candies and biscuits. Next stop was Giac Lam Pagoda built in the 17^th century complete with fabulous porcelain friezes depicting the ancestors watching like a great crowd of witnesses... I am fascinated by those figures... each one so individual, each with his own story to tell...

The third stop in Chinatown was the Big Market.. Cho Lon or Binh Tay Market.  It's a vast rabbit warren of stalls absolutely teeming with stuff and people. It's the wholesale market for all the other markets and street vendors.. my photos don’t show how crowded it was... mostly too crowded to stop for a photo.

Thongs, anyone?

Kitchen Utensils?

                                         How about a hat?            
There are dozens of these hat stalls

Seeing is believing when it comes to the power supply!

I sat with the French couple at lunch. I had a prawn & chicken omelette that you eat with an assortment of herbs wrapped in lettuce leaves... delish!

Then we walked all over the splendid Independence Palace which used to be the presidential palace before the communist government took over South Vietnam.

This is Andreus, a German tourist who is a lawyer whose office is in Moscow. He spoke perfect English and is also fluent in Russian, French and Chinese.

Our next stop was a lacquer ware workshop employing victims of agent orange (2nd generation).

It was fascinating... incredibly labour intensive.

These guys squat and vigorously polish all day!

Fragments of duck egg shells are painstakingly glued in a mosaic using the natural shell colours to create shading.

They inlay pieces of duck egg shell and nacre (shells) as decoration as well as painting with gorgeous results.

The last 2 stops were a bit ho-hum... the Catholic cathedral (pretty drab by cathedral standards) and the Post Office - a 150 odd year old building that's geared up for tourists to post souvenirs home... I didn't.

Just as I walked in the door at the hotel I bumped into Jennifer, an Aussie, who invited me to join her at a performing arts concert... so I had a very quick shower and rushed back out the door! The concert was a lot of fun with acrobats, dancers and kung fu fighters and strident Vietnamese music. They enacted 2 of Vietnam's favourite legends and it was theatrically clever and very entertaining. After that, we dropped by Jennifer's travel agent who tried to chat her up by asking us to go around the corner for a drink! Needless to say, she got quite flustered and decided not to go back to him.

Then we came back to the night markets here and had dinner. Such a raucous place! They shove tables in wherever and move you over to fit in more people... it's a fun way to meet new people! We ended up sitting next to a couple form England who had been travelling for several weeks who were great company.

They ate BBQ'd eel, and we shared deep fried fish, greens and fried rice. Delicious and dirt cheap (about $3.50 each). Boy was I tired by the time I fell into bed at 10pm!

DAY THREE – MEKONG RIVER TOUR
It was supposed to be an early start and I was ready and waiting as told at 7.30am for the Mekong River Tour. When I got to 8, I asked the receptionist if I had it wrong and she looked worried, made a quick phone call and 5 minutes later I was on the back of a motorbike whizzing off to catch up to the tour bus which had forgotten to pick me up... fabulous fun!... Then it was a slow 90 minute coach ride out to the Mekong River,

then onto a little river boat.

this is a floating fish farm. 

We went to Unicorn Island and sampled some tropical fruit including Jackfruit

and walked through the orchard and had honey tea at a bee farm

(well they had a few hives, but lots of souvenirs for sale...)

Then we all piled into canoes and were paddled down a winding canal between jungle and the odd farm house back to the river and our boat.

Further on we stopped for lunch where their specialty was deep fried elephant ear fish... quite gruesome looking, but delicious. Over lunch I chatted to a young backpacker from Finland who was escaping their severe winter. He too, spoke very good English and was very interesting. There was also a young Aussie couple from Logan who were in the middle of a 6 month trek and loving the adventure. So many tourists from all over the world, including a fair smattering of Aussies... including small groups of mature age women...!

At that stop I saw my first Water Buffalo, and fighting roosters in individual cages.

Next we went to a coconut candy "factory" and saw the simple but labour intensive way they made sweet, chewy coconut candy... sampled some and bought some.

Rice wine... snake wine... They had a variety of crocodile skin products for sale, too.

The long trip back to Saigon was crammed into a minibus and not so much fun. Again, I had just showered when Jennifer came knocking on my door looking for company. She had had her eyebrows tattooed... (why would you???) so she was wearing sunglasses and a headband covering her whole forehead (By this morning her eyes were so swollen and black she could barely open them...!). she wanted me to come with her while she sorted out a trip with a new travel agent...

After we got her sorted and booked for Ha Long Bay and Hoi An, we went to the night market for dinner. This time we had garlic crab, crispy noodles with prawns and vegetables, and fried rice with fresh coconut juice ... yum... $7.50. Again a very full day!

On Saturday I didn’t do much since the past few days were so hectic, though I did spent time on the computer in the foyer chatting to Katie. That was challenging, because the default was set to Vietnamese and I couldn’t work out how to change it back to English, so this is what Katie had to decipher:

“Yesterday ứa ridiculously búsy again, so today I have decided to do á little á possible.. so far I had breakfast on the rồf with Jennifer, went to the markets with hẻ so she could but some clothes, then walked up to the optometrists on the corner to order some cheap prescription sunnies ($50)...that took till about 9am... since then I have bên trying to relax in my rôm and get some kind ò journal happening on my laptop (coz someone ứa on thí computer) while watching an old episode ò Homicide on ABCTV...but it's hideous coz I have no window in my rôm, just 4 walls and I started going stir crazy, wondering what on earth I am doing hể?????”

For lunch I had 3 prawn spring rolls with a yummy peanut dipping sauce, and my new favourite drink... fresh juiced pineapple and grapefruit... iced heaven! Then I went over to the markets and bought a bottle of Opium perfume for $15 (it looks real...), and 2 huge mangoes for $1.50 :)  But these mangoes aren’t like Bowen mangoes at home. They eat them green – crunchy like an apple. I chose a wipe one and it was OK, but nothing like as sweet as we’re used to.

On Sunday I went for a wander around the neighbourhood, past shops (what is it with Versace? They’re everywhere!) and street markets and ended up at Ho Chi Minh City Museum, built in 1885.

A statue in the forecourt... love the baby and the pig!

Exhibits included dioramas depicting historical events and handicraft workers, a fair bit of Revolutionary propaganda, paintings old and modern, and best of all a special exhibition of Vietnamese pottery....

That small green celadon bowl in the corner is 1,000 years old! The others in this display are a mere 600-800 years old...

The happy chap on the right with his foot in the air represents the sun. I think the lady on the left represents the moon... dunno about that gargoyle in the middle!

This shop, in a street full of merchants trying to flog “antiques”, was stocked with debris from a ship wreck... mostly ceramic tiles from the 18^th century.

The last two landmarks on my walk were the grand Opera House...

...and this statue of “Uncle Ho” in front of the Town Hall – the City People’s Committee. Tomorrow I fly to Hai Phong and the real living in Vietnam begins.