Travels and home

Before heading back to cold, wet England I backpacked for three weeks.  Chiang Mai, Thailand was my first stop - a beautiful and quiet city that felt very small compared to Bangkok and Saigon.  Perfect for relaxation after finishing work.  Religion is far more open and visible in Thailand than Saigon, everywhere you looked there were monks walking the streets and temples all over the city.

From Thailand I went to Laos and took a very scenic trip on the slow boat from the border to Luang Prabang - the old capital of Laos and therefore very cultural.  Lots more temples and a very beautiful city on the banks on the Mekong River.  Vang Vieng was the next on my journey and vastly different from Luang Prabang.  It is a very small place, built up so travellers can drink and go tubing.  Bars and restaurants play 'Friends' and 'Family Guy' constantly with Western tourist staring at the screens nursing hangovers!  A group of us went tubing - lying in a rubber ring and floating down the Mekong in the sun, a brilliant way to spend the afternoon.  Vientiane - the capital - felt very small compared to Saigon and there isn't a lot to do, but I went to the Museum and found out more about Laos history.  Laos history is virtually untaught in the UK so it was very interesting.

Cambodia was my last stop.  The Killing Fields and S-21 Prison Museum in Phnom Penh were shocking and very sobering.  Such tragedy so recently.  Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples were beautiful and well worth the 3 days a friend and I spent exploring them.  I recommend hiring bicycles and cycling round them, it was fantastic.

South East Asia is an amzing place that is rapidly changing with all the tourism and Western culture coming in.  It has been a fantastic 11 months and I wish I could spend longer there.  It was very sad saying goodbye to Saigon and all my friends there, but who knows, maybe I'll be back there soon! 

Goodbye Asia, hello England :)

Mekong Delta, leaving work and Da Lat - in that order

It has taken me 10 months to get round to a day trip to the Mekong Delta, but I have finally managed it.  Unfortunately it was raining, but I still saw the all-day floating market.  The boats were covered and not many people were out, however it was really interesting floating through it and seeing the boats.  You know what each boat is selling by looking at what is at the top of the pole at the stern of the boat.  If bananas is hanging from it, that boat sells bananas, etc.  If the pole has leaves hanging from it, then the boat is up for sale.  Remarkably simple and yet extremely effective.  We also went to the typical tourist trip stops - coconut sweet factory, honey tea place, rice paper making place and listening to traditional Vietnamese music while eating fruit.  It was nice to be away from the busy city, breathe in fresh air and hear no traffic for a while.  My highlight was seeing a boat being propelled along by a digger.  Three boys had decided to move the digger scoop in and out of the water like an oar, one side of the boat and then the other, to move the boat.  It was seriously unstable in the water and causing a lot of waves, but they had huge grins on their faces, and it made us laugh.  A worthwhile trip, and another box to tick off my list.



After 10 months working at EMG, I have left. I have enjoyed my time there - the staff are great and I've loved the teaching. It was so sad to leave my students, and I think the feeling was mutual judging by the amount of 'Teacher, why?' and cards I received. I left so that I can come back to the UK to apply for my PGCE; teaching in Vietnam hasn't put me off teaching history in England, though I would imagine the students are far better behaved and willing to learn in Vietnam.

Taking advantage of a long weekend, some friends from work and I flew up to Da Lat. It was originally built up by the French who wanted a place to escape from the heat and busy lifestyle of Saigon. Having spent 3 days there, it is possibly my favourite place in Vietnam. It is very different from Saigon; much calmer, cleaner, fresher, greener and cooler. Settled in the mountains, it is a beautiful town that has a cooler and wetter climate that the (sometimes oppressive) heat of Saigon. Jeans, jumper and waterproof weather rather than shorts and t-shirt I'm normally hot it. It was a lovely change. Because the climate is so different, it is the main producer of vegetables and flowers. Everywhere we looked we saw green fields and flowers, again another huge difference from what we are used to. It was a fantastic weekend; lots of time relaxing over a glass of wine, or hot chocolate, as well as seeing a lot of the sights.

The Crazy House was out first stop. It truly was crazy. Designed by the architect daughter of Ho Chi Minh's successor, it looks like a tree trunk, with lots of twisty bridges going to other parts, and interesting steps leading to rooms with statues of different animals in; one of which was a kangaroo with glowing red eyes, and another, a tiger with glowing red eyes. I was ready to be disappointed, but was extremely impressed, it has to be seen to be believed. My descriptions do not do it justice (or my bad photos). It would fit in perfectly to 'Alice in Wonderland' or a bizarre dream. Definitely a highlight of my trip to Da Lat.

 

We also saw the flower garden, had a horse drawn carriage ride, climbed over slippery rocks while fearing for our lives to see Elephant Falls, went to the silk factory, where all the machinery is extremely old-fashioned, admired the view from Lang Biang mountain and then the cable car, and saw the oldest railway station in Vietnam, complete with old trains.  How we managed to fit all that in and the amount of relaxing we did, I don't know, but we all had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, and I definitely recommend it to anyone, despite the rain.  Just remember your jeans and waterproof!

 

 

 

My next adventures will take me to Northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia before I fly back to the UK.  I'm very excited, but will miss Vietnam a lot, it is an amazing country where the people have been very friendly wherever I've travelled to and with so many different areas in the country it is a brilliant place to work and travel.  Recommended to anyone with the travel bug.

Summer Teaching

Life is ticking along rather quickly here in Vietnam.  I’ve survived the four weeks of craziness, where I had two mornings to do all my preparation for the week: three subjects, two grades, long lessons and three full days at school.  It did make the time fly by, though (as if it needed any help).  I am now only teaching in the mornings and actually have time in the office where I have nothing to do.  It is a strange feeling.

The summer project in English for all my students has been ‘Treasure Island’, and it has been amazing.  The kids have loved reading it (a simplified version), and all the activities surrounding it, like drawing a treasure map, a Jolly Roger, writing a pirate story and playing the pirate game (bringing back memories of Brownies) – ‘MAN OVERBOARD!’, ‘climb the rigging’, ‘port’, ‘starboard’, and not to forget my personal favourites: ‘Captains coming’ = “aye aye captain”, and ‘Captains daughter’ = “oo la laaa”.  Keeps my grade 6s entertained and amused for ages.  Due to the game, they are also well equipped for when they next go on an English speaking pirate ship.  A common occurrence in Vietnam, I can assure you.

Unfortunately maths and science are not as interesting to teach.  I can’t get away with wearing a pirate hat and eye patch whilst waving a cutlass around when teaching probability and fractions, instead of whether Long John Silver is good or bad.  I’ve only got three weeks of teaching left, and then I’m away travelling.  It is so exciting, but I have so much to get ready!  With time flying so quickly I’ve got a lot to pack into the next few weeks.  All in the joys of travelling I suppose.

Vietnam Summer Travels

As I have been away for a while, my parents decided to come out and visit me.  I was not going to entertain them in one place for (almost) three weeks, so I planned a trip around Vietnam, it was also a good excuse for me to see the county as well (not that I needed one).

We spent a few days in Saigon, taking it easy, letting my parents get used to the traffic and climate.  The normal tourist sights were ticked off; Opera House, War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels and (something I hadn't done before), the Cao Dai Temple.  The Cao Dai religion has only been around since 1926 and is a mix of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, they believe in the Supreme Being and that all religions have the same origin.  It is very interesting, but looks very regimented.  I won't be converting.

The Eye - the symbol of Cao Dai

From Saigon we went to Hoi An, a very touristy but lovely old fishing village and port.  It is very small - almost impossible to get lost, and full of shops and old buildings.  I loved Hoi An, especially the lanterns that are dropped from the bridge at night.

A bus took us to Hue, the old capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty that lastest until 1945.  Unfortunately the city was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War, so there is a lot of reconstruction work underway, especially of the Old Palace.  It is sobering to remember how much is destroyed during war.  Our second day in Hue was spent on a boat tour up the river stopping off at Pagodas and old houses, and on the way back, three tombs of the Nguyen Emperors.  I was surprised at how big the tombs were, and how many different parts there were to them.  One of them took about ten minutes to walk from the first gate to his grave at the back, through lots of gates and temples.  A lot of work and money went into the tombs, and as a result one of the emperors wasn't popular due to the tax increase for his tomb.  It was stunning - everything was highly detailed - but it did look as if he was trying too hard.  The last tomb we visited was far less flashy, and by all accounts he was a popular ruler.  In fact, people were still leaving offerings by his sarcophagus. 

Detail from one of the tombs - made out of broken bits of pottery

Hanoi was next on our list, and as I'd been there before, I acted as tour guide.  I'm not sure how effective I was, as I'd been there for a total of two days.  But we did the same sights I did before.

Ha Long Bay is as beautiful as ever, this time we did the three day tour, and the extra night was definitely worth it.  We went further into the Bay, cycled through a village on one of the islands, and had to carry our bikes through the grass on the way back to go around the rice harvesting machine.  A motorbike was coming in the opposite direction.  I'm not sure how he manouvered it!  I still love Ha Long Bay, but my favourite place in Vietnam is Sapa.

The mountain town of Sapa and the surrounding villages are populated by the minority people, they make their living through rice, farming and tourism.  It is very touristy.  Our tour was two days, and walking through the town to start we were surrounded by lots of women in traditional dress asking us our names, where we were from, and about our lives.  They didn't leave us alone, and eventually we discovered they were from the village we were walking to and were to keep us company and answer our questions.  It was fascinating talking to them about their way of life.  They are very proud of their schools, but when their children are not in school, they have to help work.  A lot of the childrens work seemed to be looking after the water buffalo, (when they aren't pulling ploughs in the fields).  The water buffalo are amazingly patient.  Children were jumping, climbing and trying to leapfrog on them, kicking them, sitting on them.  The animals did not even blink. 

The scenery was stunning, for someone who has lived in a city for the past 8 months with only occasional trips out, it was fantastic to be in the countryside, walking, with no motorbikes and peace and quiet.  The rice paddies are a brilliant design.  They have been built into the hills in huge steps.  Everywhere you look there is rice growing.  I'd imagine the rain we had on our second day was welcome for the rice.  Not so much for us though!  My trainers will never forgive me for walking up muddy streams and down slippery paths in the rain.

Our guides

We got to lunch on the first day, and the village women suddenly opened their baskets and started selling us their goods.  Having two or three women all surround you shoving their bags and bracelets and material in your face is rather intimidating, but I managed to escape with two bags (both of which I wanted).  It was less funny the second and third time it happened - with the other women who accompanied us for less time.  The homestay that we stayed in was great.  Delicious food.  Rice wine - which I won't be having again voluntarily as it is not a pleasent taste!  Overall, Sapa is beautiful and the people are extremely friendly.  My favourite place in Vietnam by far.  Definitely worth the creaky sleeper train up there.

Now I am back in Saigon getting ready to start teaching again on Tuesday.  I had just over a week to plan my lessons until the end of August.  Maths, English and Science for 2 grade levels.  Challanging, but it is now largely done.  I am looking forward to getting back into classes, it is far too boring sitting in the office all day with nothing to do, or planning lessons all day.  I like being more active and seeing the students.  Though in a weeks time, after a crazy schedule, I might be saying something different.

Today, I went to a 3D Art Exhibition. It is THE best art show I have been to. The paintings were designed so that people could act like they were in it. We stood on rickety bridges, got eaten by dinosaurs, snakes, giants and storks, blow-dried a soldiers long hair, got taken around in a carriage, pushed the leaning tower of Pisa up, and lots more. It was so much fun. The brilliant way to spend a weekend.

 

 

End of Term

The last two weeks of school were very busy, I had to give my students progress tests and then mark them (almost all of them improved, which made me happy), do their reports and have parent-teacher meetings, all in the space of a week.  In addition to normal teaching, paperwork and meetings.  For the classes last lessons of the term I gave them more fun activities.  In English, they had to make up a poisonous animal, draw it, give it a name and write information about it.  In my lively grade 6 class, ALL the boys stayed in voluntarily at break, and worked in silence on it.  I was amazed.  These kids are normally running around at break playing football and kicking a Vietnamese-style shuttlecock around.  Unfortunately I can’t take any credit for the idea, it was taken from one of the other teachers.

For the maths lessons, I decided to brave the computer room.  Never again.  Out of a room with 40-ish computers, 12 were working.  All my classes have more than 12 students.  The computers were extremely old and their break-down-rate reflected that.  By the end of the lesson all the students were working in pairs and most of the computers had been reset at least three times.  It was an educational experience, probably more so for me: only use ICT when absolutely necessary.  And threaten the students with many types of punishment, as well as bribery, before you go into the computer room.  I had threatened them (it did help that I was meeting their parents that week), and they were exceedingly well behaved.  I was very proud of them.

I did not take my largest class (30 students) into the computer room, for obvious reasons, instead the other teacher and I combined our classes, and with the 45 students, taught them about English culture – specifically, children’s parties.  Pin the Tail on the Donkey/Lion/Monkey/Pig, and Pass the Parcel, were a big hit and they had loads of fun.  Unfortunately there was no time for the ‘Hokey Cokey’, and we let them calm down in front of Disney’s Robin Hood, popcorn and sweets.  We all had a brilliant time, teaching is so much easier when you can do things like that because you trust them to behave, and do what you say.

The term ended with the EMG Celebration – Sunday morning spent in a theatre listening to important officials from different departments in the government making speeches about education and Vietnam.  It was followed by students singing and acting ‘Snow White’, and then awards were given to some students.  All in all, the performances were brilliant, the awards necessary (that was the point of it) and the speeches too long.  It started at 9am and didn’t finish until 11.45.  Most of the students had been there since before 8.30am, without parental supervision, because parents weren’t invited due to lack of space.  Imagine 1500 6-14 year olds with next to no supervision in a theatre ‘listening’ to an hours worth of speeches.  Yes, it was chaotic.  The students didn’t listen to the speeches, they were turning round in the chairs, chatting, playing, etc, and I can’t blame them.  I could hear two things – the speeches at the front, and a roar of chatter from behind us (teachers were seated at the front).  But it is now over, and I was proud to see two of my students receive well-deserved awards.

School is now over and unlike British schools we don’t get 6 weeks of holiday in the summer, if we are not teaching we still have to go into the office and ‘work’.  I have taken some leave starting next week (very exciting travels are planned), but at the moment I am stuck in the office, supposedly working, in actual fact I am playing quizzes and games on the internet, talking, colouring in flashcards for a primary school teacher (you have no idea how much my colouring has improved), spending a lot of time on facebook, and updating this blog! 


To say ‘thank you’ to us for our hard work, the company took us to the beach resort of Mui Ne for three days.  It was a great trip, with 40 Vietnamese and 20 foreigners.  We saw the local sights and relaxed by the beach and pool, played team building games and generally had a good time, despite the long bus journeys and mosquito bites.  The best part was that we were paid to go on a paid-for trip.  I made money by relaxing in the sun, in a four star resort!

A classroom where Ho Chi Minh used to teach in 1910 - the desks and benched have not changed in most of the schools in Vietnam - classrooms still look like this, including use of the chalkboard.

One of the sights of Mui Ne - the Lotus Lake and White Sand Dunes.  It was a beautiful view, and not too difficult walking up one of the Sand Dunes, obviously my time in the gym is paying off!

Now it is back to work, well, colouring and facebook.

Travels Up North

My Vietnamese travels have now extended to North Vietnam, specifically Hanoi (the capital) and the stunning Ha Long Bay.  A group of us from work took advantage of the public holidays for Independence Day and Labour Day and flew up North for the long weekend.

We spent one and a half days being tourists in Hanoi, which was a strange feeling considering we are now very comfortable in Saigon and don’t feel like tourists.  It was strange walking around and recognising street names, because the names are often the same as in Saigon.  Streets are largely named after famous people from Vietnamese history, so they are repeated across cities.  We mainly stayed in the Old Quarter (more touristy and older sights), the sights we saw included: 

• Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum which is in the centre of Ba Dinh Square, where Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence on the 2^nd September 1945.  There was a huge queue and we were short of time, so we didn’t go in, but the building looked very Soviet in design.

 

• The One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột) is right next to the Mausoleum, and is a Buddhist Temple built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông, who ruled from 1028 to 1054.  It was far smaller than I imagined, but extraordinary in design – a temple on one pillar in a pond, with steps leading up to it.  You could smell the incense from the ground, it was so strong.
• The Presidential Palace which was built between 1900 and 1906.
• We stayed in the Old Quarter and, unlike Saigon, there are lots of lakes in Hanoi, one lake close to where we stayed was Hoàn Kiếm (or the Lake of the Returned Sword).  Legend has it that Emperor Le Loi, worried about the advancing Chinese, was boating on the lake when a giant tortoise rose from the murky waters and gave him a magical sword with which he could strike down all his enemies. The tortoise made Le Loi promise to return the sword once the Chinese had been defeated, which he did.  Since then, the lake has been known as the Lake of the Restored Sword. A pagoda on an islet in the middle of the lake has been built in the tortoise's honour, but it can’t be visited.  We did, however, visit the other pagoda in the lake: Ngoc Son Pagoda, or Temple of the Jade Island. which is accessed via an old red wooden bridge: the Huc Bridge (Morning Sunlight Bridge).  It was beautiful and very peaceful, which was surprising how close it was to the hustle and bustle of central Hanoi.

 

• We passed St. Joseph Cathedral, a beautiful old cathedral built in the 1887 but closed at the Reunification of Vietnam and wasn’t opened again until 1985.  The inside was beautiful and a similar style to Canterbury Cathedral which was strange to see.  Outside, sound the sides was a wall depicting some of the main scenes from the Bible.
• Another stop was The Temple of Literature, where Vietnam’s first national university was.  It has links back to 1070 where Emperor Ly Thanh Tong built a temple for learning as well as religion.  The building are traditional Vietnamese style, and beautiful.

So many sights in a short space of time is something I am not used to because when you live in a city, you do sights over a long period of time.  It was fantastic to see more of Vietnam though, especially Hanoi, the capital.  The food in Hanoi was amazing and highlights include the Chocolate Café – they only serve things with chocolate in, and I had the best chocolate cake.  It was definitely a girly afternoon, and not at all Vietnamese.  A more typical Vietnamese experience was going to a Bia Hoi on ‘Chicken Street’, yes it is known as Chicken Street due to the fact that there are a lot of places that serve chicken.  We sat on small plastic chairs outside, drinking beer and eating honey bread and chicken leg.  It was delicious.  Sitting on small plastic chairs outside and drinking beer is very common in Vietnam, when more people come, they just bring out more chairs.  It is lovely to have hot weather so we can sit outside.

We didn’t just go to Hanoi; we spent a night in Ha Long Bay.  It was beautiful and so peaceful.  There are almost 2000 islands, and although we didn’t go too far in we saw the Hang Sung Sot Grotto (Cave of Surprises).  It was surreal inside and was completely natural.  It reminded us of the ‘Mines of Moria’ from ‘Lord of the Rings’.  I am glad  I have seen Ha Long Bay, it is well worth a visit if you ever come to Vietnam, and it was wonderful to relax for a bit and get out of a city.  City life can be tiring, even if you don’t notice it.  A break is needed every once in a while, it is also another excuse to see different places (not that I need lots of convincing to travel!)

Hong Kong

I don't get much chance for time off during term time, but I took two days and had a long weekend in Hong Kong.  It was fantastic.  The best part was seeing my friend; it was so nice to see someone from home, who I have known longer than a few months.   I was shown around Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Lantau Island. 

My first experience of Hong Kong was the train from the airport, I couldn’t believe how nice it was; comfortable seats, leg room, music in your seat with adjustable volume.  Definitely a good first impression.  After navigating the subway (all of one stop) by myself and meeting my friend, we caught the tram to The Peak.  The view was incredible; all the buildings lit up on both sides of the river.  It was strange seeing a high rise city as HCMC has a few tall buildings but not many.

After the admiring the view from The Peak we went to have typical Hong Kong food – dim sum – steamed meat in pastry and different noodles.  It was delicious and I wish I could get it in Vietnam.  I ate a lot of typical Hong Kong food over the weekend and I’ve come to the conclusion I will have to return to have some more!

Saturday was spent sightseeing in Kowloon and on Lantau Island.  Kowloon felt less Western and developed compared to Hong Kong Island where the wealthier people live and major businesses are based.  There seemed to be more housing in Kowloon, and the pace of life was a little more relaxed.  We saw a Buddhist temple, which was similar to the ones in HCMC except it was more out in the open, and had more decoration outside.

After living and working in the centre of HCMC since November it was nice to get out of a city and see Lantau Island, and get some fresh sea air.  It is mainly a fishing community and the houses have been built so that they extend over the river on stilts, and for someone who doesn’t study architecture, it was quite amazing.  We walked through the market where lots of fish are sold, including dried fish, which is apparently beneficial to your health and expensive.  We then went to another part of the island and saw the big Buddha on top of the hill.  We walked down the path to get there, which is lined with 12 statues of angry looking men guarding the way.  They each represent a sign of the zodiac and 2 hours of the day.  We walked up to the Buddha and saw the statue up close and the spectacular view.  It was such a welcome change not being in a city.

We spent the next day and a half seeing markets, shopping centres, eating and going to the very interesting history museum.  We saw the daily light show that is put on every day at Victoria Harbour; the same flashing lights to the same music, for the tourist’s benefit.  I enjoyed it as well as finding it very amusing and touristy. 

Hong Kong seemed far closer to London than HCMC does and it was nice to be reminded of home.  There were far more Western shops and restaurants (I am ashamed to say I got rather excited over the M&S food department, where I got Easter eggs – which were kept until Easter day, the first time ever my Easter chocolate has been finished on Easter day).  The shopping is amazing, I plan to win the lottery and go on a shopping trip there, of course, playing the lottery first might help!  The public transport is more than a few old buses (HCMC), consisting of trams, the subway and loads of buses.  Not one taxi the whole weekend!  The strangest thing was crossing the road, pedestrian crossings and traffic lights actually had meaning, and there was not need to look around 360° for motorbikes when crossing the road.  Though waiting for the green man when there were no cars was bizarre.  My crossing the road habits are definitely becoming more Vietnamese. 

I really liked Hong Kong, it was very different to HCMC, I can see myself going there again on holiday, but I’m not sure I’d want to work there as there is far more pressure than there is here.