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)