Race to the Present

Yes yet again my pitiful attempt to keep this blog updated had failed yet agian and I have realized that there is about 2 months that I know need to catch up...sooo here we go.

April we had Australia Day...yes Trent I know WAY late but take that up with AusCham. As per usual the Aussies put on a great party =) There was free flow wine, beer and food! The entertainment was great however what they palyed is a little foggy, but from the pictures we clearly had a great time!

May was janny's birthday so she hosted a pink party at our house...nothing brings people together like the color pink :P Of course in true Saigon fashion the weather had to be hotter than Hot! I don't think that there was a dry person in the house. It doesn't help that our hosue is 4 storeys high and so not matter where you want to go you're getting a workout!

FLOODS

Possible the worst part of rainy seaon is that floods are not uncommon! Vietnam as it is still is developing doesn't have good draining systems in place to handle the heavy rains. I was used to the raods and everything flooding,however I was not ready nor impressed by the flooding that occured in our house! I would be a little more forgiving if the flood was like a normal flood at the bottom of the house. However the flood accured from the Top (my room) down. The rain was so heavy that the water couldn't drain from the balcony of my house, so with no where to go it invites itself into the house/my room. The only reason we knew that my room was flooding was because there was so much water that it started to come down the stairs like a water fall!! Which sounds cool... when its not your house! I finally got my room mopped up but I am pretty sure that I had used almost all the towels in the house! I've posted ome of the pictures that Janny took of me while I was cleaning .. Too bad you can't really see the amount of water.

In March my faithful Hanoian friend Hieu departed back to Canada! It was she came down to Saigon for one final visit with the crew down here and to visit her family. We spent the weekend hanging out and going out with the Frisbee crew.

The highlight of the night,thanks to Tino, was the classy convenience store party. Similar to the US you can get all sort of liquor at the convenience store. So when the music sucks at the bar clearly the next thing to do is drink there!

It was good fun of course, as always the stares followed those crazy foreigners! I think they were just jealous!

I have seriously neglected my blog in the past months sorry guys! Don't worry I am still alive ...yeeps! I think that the reason for my slacking is that after spending all day at work on a computer the last thing that I want to do is come back on here ....sorry:P

Here goes my catching up !

Me in the CanCham Office...I Tried to Catch Diem (my office manager) but she snuck away!

Sssssssnake for Dinner

One of the true Vietnamese meals is snake. It's quite the ceremony and I'm not sure that I was fully prepared for the whole ordeal. Actually that's a lie it wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be.

The meal starts off with them bringing out the live snake for weighing, just so you see how big of a snake you were about to eat. And as you can see by the pictures they also play with it for a while so that you can get a real good look at the snakes!!

After the photo shoot with the snake it's time to get down to business..for those of you that are a little squeamish you may not want to read on (Em...Just don't' read Period!) They slit the snake open to get the blood out, the blood is mixed with the ever potent rice Vodka. And yes we shoot this vodka!!

The meal was a lot better than I thought that it would be. They make about 4 dishes with snake in it. We ordered a few non snake so that we wouldn't get too overwhelmed by snake.

There is one that all you men have to keep in mind when going for snake, make sure that you are not the oldest man their. It's the Vietnamese custom that the oldest man shoots the beating snake heart in the blood vodka. So my neighbour Mark was the unfortunate eldest and so he had to shoot the heart!! You also have the option to shoot the bile as well, but it's really foul I guess, so none of us decided to give it a try.

Enjoy the pictures from the night!

Who Do VuDoo...We Do VuDoo!!

There was no better way to spend Easter weekend than the glorious Island of Bali Playing Frisbee!!

I left HCMC with Jeigh and Tino on Wednesday to start off the adventure! It's funny how realistically Bali is only about 4 and a half hour fly time however it still took us all day to get to Bali!! By the time that we arrived in Bali it was dark, so we met up with Hoa, baby Hannah and David for supper and some exploring around Kutu. Kutu is the touristy part of Bali. The oddest part is that the main road is a one way road and you have to walk a long way before you hit a cross road.

Thursday a bunch of us went up to Ubud. Ubud is the main shopping Mecca of Bali, they have everything and anything that you could ever want. It was odd cause the stuff that they have sold hasn't changed since Erin was there. I saw the same thing that we have in our house that Erin brought back. For lunch we went to a local restaurant for some traditional suckling pig. It was fabulous so tender and juicy. I can't say that I was the biggest fan of the crunchy skin that you get served or the blood sausage but the rest of the meal was fantastic! After lunch we ventured to Monkey Forest. These monkeys were the absolute opposite to the ones that Em and I saw on Cat Ba in Vietnam. They were the most tame and well somewhat friendly Monkeys, they honestly didn't care how close you came! It was OK until I was attacked by a monkey!! All I was doing was minding my own business taking a rest on a bench, and the next thing I know I have a Monkey on my Back....yes yes insert Monkey joke here.

After our adventure ion Monkey Forest it was time for practice. We decided that there was no better place to practice than the beach! The beaches are huge here! so we had plenty of space to run all the drills and play a great game of pick up into the setting sun! It was unreal!!
I guess I should explain VuDoo (I know most of you are thinking I can't spell) however the Vu is for Vietnam Ultimate and it was only logical to make us VuDoo. We ended up amending it to stand for Vietnam Ultimate Defence Offence Organization, which as you can tell is quite the mouthful...thanks Tino! For the tournament we had bought some Vudoo Dolls (found in Ubud) and David had brought some drums to play on the field as well!

The first day of the tournament team Vudoo went undefeated, we had some really great games. Especially against the top ranked team in the tournament Freakshow! The second day we made it thru the pool play and came out 1st, so we earned a Bi into the Semi finals. In the Semi Final we faced Shiok, it was a great game, extremely long points! Usually the games go to 15, our score was 9-8. We didn't even make it to half (which was at 7 points) due to time Cap. That game was probably one of our hardest fought and most fun games of the tournament!

In the final we had to face yet again Freakshow. Freakshow, for as long as most people can remember has won this tournament, so we knew that we had another tuf game coming up! In the final there was no time Cap and so it was the first team to 15. Well the final game lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes!! Unfortunately we ran out of steam and Freakshow came out on top 15-10. I'm so impressed with the team, it was the first time that we had a team from Vietnam in the tournament and most teams had no expectations for us. So coming out and turning some heads was unreal!

After the game was the tournament party with the theme of "out of the Jungle" Lester had arranged the teams' Jungle inspired outfits. The night was full of drinks, dancing and bungie jumping! Team Vudoo went out in style and if there was an award given out for best partiers it would for sure be our team!! Most of our team was partying hard till the next morning!

Our final day in Bali Lester took us around for the Lester Tour! We started the day off with a cozy massage. This is the best way to spend the day after a tournament! We enjoyed and hour and a half full body massage..Heavenly!!After the massage we went for a Balinese Feast! I have had some Indonesian food when Erin introduced it to us, but it was great to taste it there. I was sad that the restaurant had run out of my favorite dish Rendang, however the rest of the food that they had more than made up for it!

After lunch we headed out to Paradise Beach...which held very very true to it's name, the waves surf and sun was a great combination! In Bali you can rent a surf board for $10 so we had alot of fun!! It was great to take Mai to the beach she doesn't really know how to swim, but she was so eager to learn! She was far more brave that I think most people would be, she jumped right into the ocean and enjoyed the waves! She was hit however pretty hard by the surf while trying to get out, but was still ready to get back into the water again ( well a little later after she recovered from being hit 3 times in a row!) We watched the sun set at the beach, then headed back to hotel for a quick swim in the pool, and some Frisbee throwing.


That night we went out to eat Greek food, i know it seems odd to be in Bali and eat Greek however it was worth it. It had been a long time since I had Greek Food.Actually I think it was in Penticton before I flew out here. After Dinner we headed to Ku De Ta , which has been voted one of the top 10 restaurants in the world! It was very nice, we missed sunset there which I guess is their specialty, they have big lounge couches that you can spread out in to watch the ocean or the sunset (which they time t music). There was 8 of us sharing a couch chatting and enjoy our last night in Bali.

Monday it was an early flight back to HCMC...I wish that I had a few days more in Bali as there was still a fair amount that I have yet to see. However that just means that i will have to go back again!!

I hope that everyone had a great Easter Holiday.. I miss you all.... keep writing I love the updates!!

Love

BC/Sarah

Hanoi Weekend

Yes I know I am still behind in my post but here goes my best attempt to catch up!

My second weekend down South was actually spend Up North. I had to go up to Hanoi to write my foreign service exams and so it was my last hurrah with the Hanoi Crew.

It was a good weekend however I am pretty glad that I was down in the South. The weather in the north is dismal at best ( check out Hieu's Post on the mold) the house when you look at it looks like it is sweating that's how wet it is up there. It's very very hard to keep mold from not growing on your clothes.

The weekend was a great typical Hanoi weekend we had some drinks and dinner on Friday night. Enjoyed some fine wince with the ladies of Dung Vo (Hieu, Caroline and Lora) Then went for Chinese food and a trip down to Le Pub and to the gay bar.

Saturday is Ultimate Day...hopefully not my last in Hanoi. The Hanoi club has grown so much since when I first started and I really have to thank Mai, Tu , Jonathan, Dan, Hieu and everyone else that helped introduce/ made me addicted to the game!!Saturday was also the last visit to Solace...how I will miss that Bar. Solace is the only Late Late night bar in Hanoi, it's on the Red River so that it can avoid bribing the cops too much and so that it can actually stay open with out bugging anyone.

Saturday Hieu and I ( hahah OK it was Hieu's House ) had the Locals from the Vietnamese team over to have a great Vietnamese Feast! The whole Idea started with Hieu asking g Mai if she would take her to the market,then it grew into taking the two of us, then to inviting other people too and just grew and grew from there. In the end Hieu and I were in charge of making the fruit smoothies and help roll the spring roles. I was continually teased as I was making far too Long Spring rolls.



It tool us a little longer to prepare supper and so I had to eat fairly quickly as I had to fly back to HCMC. It was a great ended to my trip to Hanoi. I am not sure when I will be back up, I believe maybe in a few months for either work or a visit.

Next Stop....BALI!!!

Ultimate Mui Ne

One would think that my first weekend in my new city that I would stay and explore the city, but no what do I do...I take a trip of course!

I can't think of a better way to be Welcomed by the South then a visit to Mui Ne!! I joined Lester and the Frenchies for a fun filled weekend full of sun, beach, Frisbee and Mojitos!!

Mui Ne is about a 3 hour drives away from Saigon, we took a 14 seater bus, with only 8 of us in it (riding in comfort of course) and it only cost $10 each way on the bus.

We left on Friday and arrived just in time for Lester and I to hit up Wax Bar. I swear there is no better bar than a beach bar. They had a great bon fire and on the beach they have mats and bean bag chairs so that you can sit and drink on the beach in comfort!

The next day we spent most of the day exploring the resort and the beach! Our resort was amazing, it cost us about $20/night for a beautiful bungalow. Our resort had a great pool, which is a delightful way to wake up as well they had great hammocks that were great for lounging.

It's wind season in Mui Ne so there's a lot of kite surfers and wind surfers around. On sat there was no wind, but it was ideal for Frisbee. Lester and I spent most of the day throwing the Frisbee and swimming in the ocean ( i know tuff life :P) My poor white Hanoi skin was not ready for the powerful sun of the south. So needless to say I was a wee bit burnt by the end of the day.

For supper we decided to venture down to a local sea food restaurant and beach lot. It was probably hand downs the best seafood that I have had in a good while. It was so fresh, you could actually watch them catch the sea food. So Lester, Caroline, Fred and I enjoyed a great meal of BBQ Squid, 3lbs of BBQ scallops (still in the shell) and Tamarind Crab! It was unreal!! Lester and I joined the local boys in a game of Football (I'll post those pictures when I get them from Lester...Hint Hint LESTER!!) The guys as per usual were amazed that I could actually play football! My team beat Lester's team!! Then Lester and I provided entertainment for the locals by playing one on one...again I beat Lester ha ha ha!!

On our way back from dinner and football we caught the sunset at the fishing village. Mui Ne is known for making fish sauce, so of course there is the constant aroma of fish sauce lingering in the air. The whole front of the fishing village is covered with millions of fish drying in preparation for making fish sauce. Lester and I were put to work, I helped with the flipping of the fish so that they dry on both sides, and Lester was put to work carrying the nets of fish over to the truck. The local were very friendly and loved our participation, so the next time you have fish sauce you can think of Lester and I! hahahaha

Since it was St Paddy's Day we headed down, to Wax bar (the only bar in Mui Ne), where we enjoyed the only green drink that we could find Mojitos out of a bucket!! Yummy and dangerous!! It was definitely a different St Patty's Day compared to last year, or any year at that. I can't say that there are a lot of Irish in Mui Ne so there wasn't very many people dressed up. Lester and I were sporting what little green that we had and some people were wearing some festive hats , but all in all there was a serious lack of green!

The second day there was actually some wind so we tried our hand at kite surfing, it's very addictive and I can't wait to try it again! I didn't actually get into the water, as well you have to fist master the kite. It's completely opposite to handle the kite than what you would think, when the kite gains speed your natural instinct is to pull back, however this will only make the kite go faster. SO you have to get used to the way that the wind turns and how it affects the kite. I'm hooked!!

Saigon So Far

Well I have finally arrived in Saigon, and almost settled in!

The city really is great, a whole new world compared to little Hanoi. I love Hanoi, but it's nice to be in a sunny city, which is booming and has a little more active community and night life.

My house is great, I will get some pictures up soon. I am renting a room from Michael ( my Intern Counterpart in Saigon) girlfriend Kim. The house is really nice, it's 5 stories, I'm on the 4th. I have a great sized room with a nice bed, mosquito net and a great bathroom, with a bath tub! A luxury over here. I also have my own balcony which is huge and the washer is on my balcony which is convenient. My favorite part is the balcony on the top of the house (5th floor) it's huge and you can see the whole city which is lovely. The house is better designed than my last one the living room and kitchen are on the same floor and separated by a waterfall. Yes that's right a waterfall... ha ha I will take pictures of it in action it's impressive. My roommate Jenny is very nice. She is from Singapour, she owns her own business here and works for a local magazine. She is away traveling for the next month so I am actually home alone in the house for a month.

The traffic and city is a little more controlled than Hanoi, the drivers are not so crazy, the roads are bigger and it's really just civilized. So I decided that I would actually drive a bike, more than the few select times that I drove in Hanoi. So I have been borrowing Kim's bike for the day to test it out, and see if I want to rent from there. It was ok I was doing great....till I burned my leg on the exhaust..so now I have a lovely "tattoo" on the back of my calf. It's fairly common so I guess I am just fitting in hahahaha!!

I'm heading out to Mui Ne this weekend with some of the Ultimate crew for some beach Ultimate and drinking! Mui Ne isn't far away from here so we rented a mini bus and are trekking out. I'm sure there will be many adventures to be had. Lester has informed me that he will be bringing his Dejembe, he provided me with a picture (see below) as I had no clue.

Hope everyone is well...miss ya...stay tuned for the Mui Ne Adventures!!

Love Sarah/BC

Goodbye Hanoi..Hello Saigon!

As a part of my public engagement requirements (for my internship) I have decided to start a blog for my travels to Saigon ( Ho Chi Minh City)

My last few days in Hanoi I feel like I am not really moving down to Saigon. (mainly cause I will be back here in two weeks) It's hard to believe that I have been here for six months! Last weekend both me and my friend Hieu were supposed to fly back to Canada. We were thinking (as we were singing Kareoke), how it would be so odd to be flying home right then. It seems like yesterday that we flew in here. I find now when I walk around the city I remember when I first came here and how things look so different now. As well as how lost I used to get , not saying I don' t get lost now just not as much!

Over the past three months I have had so many adventures, I have traveled to Cambodia, ran in a half marathon (yes Hieu we'r crazy) seen the temples of Angkor, I have hiked Mount Fancipan (again Hieu we're crazy) played ultimate frisbee in Saigon and Bangkok, snorkled in Krabi , explored Malaysia (Penang, Ipoh, Pusing and KL) as well as gone on many little adventures around Hanoi ( soc Son, Mai Chau, Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Even with all that I still have a lot to see and explore in Vietnam. I am looking forward to the next 4 months to explore the South and central parts of Vietnam, as well as hopefully make a trip over to Bali.

From what I have been told(and the little bit that I have seen) Saigon in a much much different city than Hanoi. They are almost night and day from each other, so it shoudl be a fun filled and busy 4 months!!

I hope that everyone is well... I miss you guys and Canada (not really the cold weather) Keep in touch thanks for all the emails and letters!!

Love Sarah (BC)