Mui Ne

Back to Ho Chi Minh City

After quitting our jobs and leaving the Mekong delta behind us, we headed back to Ho Chi Minh City for a couple of days as we finalised our travels beyond.

After my previous encounter of this city left me relieved to leave, this time I was glad to be back compared to where we'd been! We stayed right in the heart of the backpacker district this time and so were much happier.

The time in HCMC was spent planning where to go, where to stay and how to get about on our travels ahead of us. We also sent some clothes back to England to make our bags lighter - which was always the plan when we went travelling - and we sent 2.5kilos for about £20 which wasn't too bad (but it'll take 3 months!). Other than that we frequented our favourite rooftop bar again and again for the best value meals and drinks we've seen yet.

Mui Ne

Sunday morning we set out for Mui Ne on the coach at 7:15am. The journey took 5.5 hours and we did manage some sleep on board. We then arrived at Mui Ne and headed up to our resort - Mui Ne hills. We could've stayed in a cheaper guesthouse than this but it was still low price enough, plus it has 3 pools and after the time we'd had recently we thought it would be worth it just to get our happiness back.

Claire gets stuck into life by the pool!

After dumping our bags we checked out the beach, which is lovely but not the best I've been to by far - there are black bits everywhere (assume its rock), it's only a couple of kilometers long, there's a bit of litter and the place is absolutely overrun by kitesurfers. This place is paradise for them as the winds are strong enough for them to get good air, but not dangerous. As a result we think our time here will be spent poolside rather than beachside.

Mui Ne beach - nice, but I've seen a lot better.

The room and hotel are both great, considerably the best we've stayed in so far. The weather here is glorious - blue skies, hot (35 mostly), but enough breeze to take the edge off the heat.

We have 4 nights here and the majority of them are spent sunbathing by the pool, having a dip, drying off and then repeating the cycle again until lunch or dinner. It's great to have that holiday feeling, something I've been crying out for ever since we left England.

At night we tried a few places to eat, having mainly local dishes and  most are unspectacular. I couldn't bring myself to try this local delight though: (even though I've had it before!)

Tonights special is.... Nah you're alright

One place three doors down from our hotel tempted us in though with a really good price for a burger, and after loads of local cuisine lately I couldn't help but succumb to something familiar! The place had a real beach vibe to it and I was so surprised at how good the burgers were too, top notch!

There are tours we could go on - to nearby sand dunes and to a "fairy spring", but we don't think they sound good enough to drag us away from the pool (seen sand dunes before, and the spring sounds naff).

Inbetween sunbathing and swimming, we also apply for a few jobs as we prepare for the next steps - working outside of Vietnam is now becoming a more likely possibility by the day.

Mui Ne - a summary

Mui Ne is a lovely place and is clearly on the up, there's plenty that's recently been built and seemingly more on the way. As mentioned, if you're a kitesurfer then this place is for you, otherwise the beach is nice but I'm sure some of the lovely hotels are even better than the beach.

Mui Ne reminds us of a Spanish tourist resorts in many ways, the look and feel mainly, but again that's been kind of welcome as it's at least felt a bit more familiar! There's also a particular foible to this place that we've noticed - there's a HELL of a lot of Russians here, so much so that lots of signs even have Russian on them. Maybe this is their version of Malaga??

So in all, our last few days have been fairly uneventful, but they've been critical to getting our state of mind back in the right place - if a bit of R&R can't do that for you, then what will?
Tomorrow we leave with fresh tans to the hills of Da Lat for something very different. I'm not sure I've had enough of sunbathing and swimming yet, but I'm looking forward to it all the same.

Relaxation time at the pool

Hitting the road: the itinerary for Vietnam

So, as mentioned in my last post, we've quit our jobs and we've now officially hit the road!

So what's next? Well first I'd like to show you our whereabouts of the last 2 weeks:

We landed in Ho Chi Minh, headed south to the Mekong Delta which took in Can Tho, My Tho and Tan An (plus working in Ben Luc), all before coming back to Ho Chi Minh to kick start our adventure again.

What's next is a tour of the rest of Vietnam going from south to north, starting in Ho Chi Minh and finishing in Hanoi (the capital) with a day or two in ha long bay to boot.

The itinerary is:

1. Mui Ne
2. Da Lat
3. Nha Trang
4. Hoi An
5. Hue
6. Hanoi
7. Ha long bay (round trip from Hanoi probably)

With this itinerary we'll take in beautiful beaches, sand dunes, high hills, ancient monuments, beautiful (well, apparently) cities and the stunning Ha Long Bay - which is likely the first image used when advertising Vietnam as a destination.

That's roughly 1,250 miles by a combination of coach and train (starting with coach as it's cheapest but the train is a little more expensive so we will try both to compare along the way).

We estimate this should take us about 3+ weeks, and with up to a week in Hanoi to allow for the Ha Long bay trip and a last chance of a job offer we will know for sure by then whether Vietnam is where we want to be for longer. We'll apply for jobs on the road so that we keep the prospects going ready for when we've finished touring.

If come the end of all that things don't work out here in Vietnam, it'll probably be full steam ahead to Thailand or Cambodia!

First up though, show me those beaches of Mui Ne, I can't wait!

Tan An and a change of plans

In this blog update I'm going to give a small update to add to what Claire has already said on her blog - which best describes the details and feelings of what we've been through this week so rather than repeat, I'll just add a few touches of my own.

Monday 17th March 2014

We were supposed to be picked up to go to Tan An at 8am, was only told at 7:55am that it would then be the afternoon (could've done with a lie in!). Eventually arrived at 4pm. New 'permanent' digs were seemingly nicer than the last but were lacking anything to cook with as well as many other basic amenities.... Wasn't happy! 

Went to the town (it's officially a city but I refuse to call it that) and saw there were plenty of cafés but nowhere to eat (here a cafe rarely does food, they just do coffee and juices - which are awesome, but you kinda want both). We thought then river view might cheer us up, but the stench of urine put us off.

Our favourite cafe in Tan An - the only highlight to speak of!

Tuesday 18th

Headed to the main district to see if this place we were meant to live in for the next few months had anything else to offer.... We found a post office and that was it. Later on we taught our first lessons on the payroll and were hoping that things would be better than the training last week.

The guy who came to pick us up to go to Ben Luc to teach was over 30 minutes late so by the time we arrived the class had been sat there waiting for half an hour. Just to make it worse the only lesson preparation we were given once again was shoved into our hands as we were quickly ushered into the classroom and then forgotten about.

Although already short on time, my first class went well with a few bright students making up for those that were shy. I started to feel really I'll during the class feeling dizzy - which was ironic given the topic was "health and wellbeing"!

The next class was completely different and possibly the worst 90 minutes of my life (and being a Southampton fan, I've experienced some painful 90 minute sequences in my time). The topic was " introducing yourself " which at first glance I thought might be quite good seeing as every class so far I've spent the first 5-15 minutes introducing myself, so I was well drilled and knew exactly what I would take them through topic wise. The big problem I had was the language we were supposed to be 'revising' had clearly not been taught - and this was stuff that for a class of their supposed level they should really know - and then when I tried to explain using even simpler terms they still didn't know. As well as all of this I had felt worse and worse so by the time I tediously dragged the class out I was a physical and emotional wreck.

As I walked out of the building I felt I'll, I felt like I'd failed and I felt furious with the school. As Claire saw me approach she took one look at me and said "there's a face of thunder!" And I threw the lesson folder on the desk and stormed out. With all of the stress that we'd faced recently, the poor preparation and lack of professionalism from the school, being constantly messed about with locations and timings, I was ready to not only quit the job, I wanted to jump on the first plane home.

On our way home in the car we were able to speak honestly as the driver spoke no English and I said "I just can't do this, I hate where we live, I hate the school and none of this is going to get any better no matter how long we stay".  Claire felt the same. We'd been fighting the urge to quit the job for a few days, each time holding on in the hope that it would get better when we start for real, but although we only taught one night we knew that there was just no way we could carry on here with so many factors out of whack.

We had no other native speakers to socialise with, our promised contract hours had been reduced by the school (not because of us, just because the school could no longer guarantee the same amount of hours) and the reduced hours meant we weren't earning enough to save towards our travels (which is the whole reason we are teaching). If any one of those factors was drastically different, we might've been able to stick it out but we finally took the decision that we can't carry on here.

I hate the feeling that I'm "giving up" as I've long prided myself on seeing things through, all of which made the decision to quit even harder. But we made up our minds and decided that enough was enough - it isn't the career, it's just THIS job.

Wednesday 19th & Thursday 20th

We've decided that in quitting we are going to travel the whole of Vietnam (as we are in the south), so we're heading all the way north to Hanoi. In doing so we're hopeful we can find more places we like and would be more willing to take a job, and if we don't find anything we're gonna carry on travelling anyway. Travelling was the whole part of this journey and all that's happened now is that the time to go has arrived earlier than expected!

We spoke to family about our decision on skype and they reinforced that if we weren't happy then leaving to travel was the right thing to do, after all we didn't give up our lives I'm England to travel half way around the world and be unhappy.

These two days have been spent sorting out our resignation and beginning the process of planning where to go next - so a lot of time researching! We hate that things haven't worked out here but these first two weeks of our "adventure" have so far sapped away at our enthusiasm and energy so for the first time since we arrived we are taking back control of our lives (much the way I prefer it) and we're going to do things our way.

Next up: back to Ho Chi Minh City for a couple of days before we head to the beach resort of Mui Ne for some much needed R&R.

So I'll catch you all after I've hit the road and soaked up some rays!

Our first classes teaching in My Tho

Thursday 13th March 2014

We were picked up at 5:30am to get onto a bus to Tan An and finally meet with our school. We arrived at 9am in the outskirts of Tan An, which was much quieter than what we'd seen so far. We were introduced to the school's director and straight away we were given a lesson topic and just 15 minutes to prepare an example 45 minute lesson to perform to other staff members - no pressure!

I feel it went well, and afterwards the feedback I was given was that I'll fit in well but I just need to talk slower so the students could understand (I'll put my fast speech down to nerves!). Claire had pretty much the same feedback.

After the class we were told that we would have a few days of teaching classes assisted to ease us in (thank god!), but we would have to go stay in My Tho to do it because a teacher there is sick. So our plans changed once again and we headed half an hours drive away to My Tho...

We got there and were shown to our accommodation: the teachers house directly behind the school (but down a nice quiet lane - quiet hasn't been part of the vocabulary so far!). The inside was a bit basic and lacking charm but had all the things you'd need - shower, bed, WiFi etc. Later on we were given our schedule  for whilst we were here: 1 class each on Friday evening and a full schedule on Saturday and Sunday of 4 classes each day with 1.5 hour lessons.

The teacher's house in My Tho 

After all that we just wanted to relax at home but the owner of our house insisted on inviting us out for dinner and wouldn't take no for an answer. We really wanted to say no but our sense of adventure told us to go with it so we agreed.

So our landlord and another man arrived at 8 to pick us up on their motorbikes, we both jumped on the back and were whisked away to a street food seller a few roads over (streetfood sellers also have little chairs and tables outside so they double as little restaurants). We sat down and soon after 6 others joined our table. Everyone was friendly but one person in particular was the best English speaker - his name was Hai.

After getting to know each other and tucking into some vegetarian pho, Hai explained why we were here. He had told these people there were 2 native English teachers in My Tho and no one believed him - it turns out that everyone here was actually learning English themselves and Hai was their leader, they were the seniors community! (They looked a bit older, but apart from one with grey hair I'd never had guessed they were all over 65!). They wanted to get to know us and practice speaking English with them, to which we were glad to.

In the group, many of them were actually war veterans - Claire and I instantly looked to change the subject as whatever side they were on, we would've been uncomfortable talking about the war - and one of them was even a high state chief of the area we were staying in (kind of like a mayor).

After eating (we knew they would insist on paying as it is custom here if someone invites you out) we headed for a drink (to be polite we just had lemonade rather than beer) and carried on conversation and practicing English. We continued the conversation and Hai said if we came back to My Tho he would love us to join the local tennis club and another invited us to come visit his large gardens for a free tour. Eventually Hai said to us "you must be tired" - at which point we took our cue to leave, our research before leaving home had told us when this phrase is used it's a polite way of requesting you to leave (and for everyone to do the same), our research on customs paying off!

The whole experience was so humbling, it was like I was watching some documentary with Michael Palin, except there were no cameras and this was real. This sort of thing can actually happen!

Friday 14th March 2014

We had all day off until our first lesson at 5:30pm, so we went for coffee at a cafe nearby which was really nice, with water features and fountains, and then before we headed to class we filled up on pho at a nearby street seller before heading to school. We hadn't been given any lesson plan and didn't know if we would be leading the class or not, so the lack of information only served to heighten our nerves.

We both sat in on a teacher's class - ages being roughly 10-13 - and he called us up at certain points to introduce ourselves, ask questions, drill pronunciation and correct pronunciation. The same teacher had two classes back to back so it was a 3 hour stint in one room.

We had both been incredibly nervous, but as we didn't have to do too much in this first class we came out happier to have gotten over the hurdle of the first class and we both had more confidence.

We headed across the road to a restaurant for celebratory beers and a large plate of Singapore noodles (only thing on the menu we knew to order here!).

Saturday 15th March 2014

Woke up early and ready for a long day, with our first lessons at 7:30am. At weekends the lessons here are mostly for much younger kids and we experienced that was the case throughout.
Most of my classes didn't go like they had the night before, in fact I lead nearly all of them. As before, I was given no preparation as to what to teach, so I just frantically whispered with the teachers when they arrived to ask what to cover before they all nonchalantly sat at the back and watched.

Most of my classes followed the same pattern: introduce myself, get them to ask me questions to learn about me, then use those topics to ask the same questions to them, practice the words I elicited, drill the words chorally and individually, correct students and then cover a small bit of a textbook before spending the last 20 minutes playing a game (my 'go to' being hangman, which they love).

We had a couple of hours off for lunch which whizzed by, before more classes until 5:15. Afterwards we headed back over the road and wanted to eat something other than Singapore noodles but due to lack of knowledge of Vietnamese we caved and had them again (they are lovely though!).

Sunday 16th March 2014

Up early again for classes at 7:30am, we break for 5 hours at 11am, and we eat pho at a street seller, get coffee and then doze at home before another shift until 7pm.

Classes were almost an exact replica of yesterday's with some of the same subjects being taught too, which isn't motivating but did allow us to start to hone our techniques. Once again we go for beer and Singapore noodles before returning home to Skype family.

Tomorrow we are finally supposed to head to Tan An and at the time of writing our 8am pick up is now delayed by over 6 hours... Lovely.

At this point we haven't been enamoured with our surroundings, and we are clearly the only Westerners here which does mean a lot of eyes on us when we walk around, but generally people are friendly and say hello.

The only real sight we've seen in My Tho - lovely Buddhist temple near our house.

We hope when we get to Tan An we can settle into life there and into life with our classes because so far the truth is we haven't fallen in love here with the locations. There are some good points such as the food and coffee and nice people, but other things are lacking. We came on this adventure perhaps too focused on the travelling and beaches, which does make being somewhere not of our specific choosing harder, so much so that Claire and I are already looking to when we next get a couple of days off and where we can go!

Acclimatising in Can Tho City

Monday 10th March 2014

Went to the British consulate in the morning in Ho Chi Minh to sort out all of the documents we needed to get our work permit and after the shock to the system that Ho Chi Minh gave us, it felt quite nice to speak full English with someone and be on home soil! (Never thought I would say that, let alone this early!) The whole process was quick, easy and we even got some of our money refunded - rule Brittania!

We met an employee of the company we are here to work for and she accompanied us to the bus station and to Can Tho City - which was about 3 hours journey. As we approached the buses in the terminal I saw a nice orange one and said "please let that be ours".... It was! Phew, the others didn't look appealing! The coach ride was comfortable; air con blowing, complimentary water and wet wipes, vietnamese comedy on tv, in fact it was better service than you'd get on national express!

We arrived to the hotel of our employers choosing, "it'll be comfortable" he said. In our tired state (still a bit jet lagged) we just said "yeah it'll do" and flopped on the bed to rest. Then we realised when the tiredness wore off that it was a right dump. Shower only pointed straight down off the wall with barely any pressure so we had to sit in the tub and use the showerhead sat down. Towels were so thin i could blow my nose in them and they would disintegrate. After Claire had a nap we headed out to check our surroundings and we could see we were quite a walk from the riverside - which is Can Tho's main attraction and where everything tourist happens - and the 30 minute walk down felt barely dissimilar to walking around Ho Chi Minh albeit with bigger streets.

The waterfront itself looked OK but it was dark and we were starved so we went to a restaurant that turned out to be the most expensive meal we've had so far along with tiny portions. To make matters worse Claire chose her meals well while I made terrible choices and to compound my misery my $2 ice cream I ordered to cheer me up consisted of one scoop. ONE SCOOP. We plodded off back to the hotel less than enamoured with our first impression of Can Tho.

Tuesday 11th March 2014

We spoke to our employer and she wanted to meet us around 4pm that day so we both decided to do something touristy to cheer ourselves up and headed out to get ourselves on a boat trip to the rivers of the Mekong delta. I must say though that the riverside looked remarkably better in the daylight, lovely views of the river and flowers and trees all around us but by the time we'd grabbed an ice coffee, eaten and walked down it was too late to go to the floating market and we only had a couple of hours available before having to head back and meet our employer. The place was deserted too - we'd expected to be bombarded with offers and hasslers trying to get us to go onto a tour boat but there wasn't a soul in sight - turns out you have to be here at pretty much dawn! We went up to a big sign and tried the tactic of looking around inquisitively and eventually a couple of women came running over and offered us a private tour boat. As we only had 2 hours we negotiated 2 hours hire for $15 which I didn't think was that bad.

The tour itself was fantastic and by far the best thing to do here. We headed down tiny little rivers with beautiful scenery and little houses either side where children would often see the westerners and shout hello and wave their little hands off - it was so cute. There were gentle breezes, dragonflies dancing around and the driver even made us little souvenir bracelets from the reeds, as well as a beautiful flower 'thing' from the reeds and little flower buds. The driver was so nice too, which made the whole experience the most relaxing thing we'd done so far.

After that we didn't actually meet our employer until after we ate dinner (found a place that did the best crispy spring rolls), and she then gave us details of where we will be going to be teach etc, which put a few questions to rest in our heads. She then said we had a choice of either going straight to the place of work tomorrow or we could have another day off.....we chose the day off obviously!

Wednesday 12th March 2014

We intended to make full use of this day of holiday and as we had such a rubbish shower we decided to head to the water park that the lonely planet guide had suggested as while we don't mind the heat we usually handle the heat by having a dip. We walked about 40 minutes to the place to find it completely deserted, our hearts sank. I formulated a plan B and used the lonely planet guide (which we are finding out is quite frustratingly out of date now) to see if any hotels in this city had a pool we might be able to persuade access to - there was just one that did and by some karmic act it was the closest one to us, in fact it was just one road over!

We got there at the Victoria resort and it seemed really posh - so much so that I was certain they wouldn't allow us to use their pool - but the receptionist was really nice and allowed us to for a fee (I was willing to pay nearly anything at this point) and we had a chat with him about the water park, to which he told us that it only opens at weekends at certain times of year as not enough locals use it so therefore it doesn't make any money. Even though we thought the entrance fee was cheap (£1) this is just far more than the locals can really afford and therefore they usually just jump in the river for free.

So we had a day pass to use the pool at this lovely resort and we spent the day just swimming in the pool, drying off, reading a book before repeating the sequence again. The setting was fantastic - French architecture clearly present. Another thing present were the people who could afford to stay at this $150 a night resort - old Americans. Nothing wrong with them per se, just reminds me how the other half live (plus these lot had those really annoying nasal-y accents that grinds on you). We lapped up every minute being here though as it finally felt how we had wanted it to feel - like a paradise.

We knew setting off on this adventure that it wouldn't all be bumming around and we definitely knew plush hotels aren't in our price range but perhaps we'd kidded ourselves so far that it might be a little more "holiday-like" than it had been, so these two days were just what we needed to help us acclimatise to this strange environment.

We then headed back to town and stopped at the same bar\restaurant we went to the night before (as the price was great) and we both felt that we had been mainly eating noodles, meat and bread since we arrived so we were in need of some fruit, so we both ordered mango smoothies and they were like heaven through a straw! Sweet, thick, cool and downright delicious. I've since gone back for more!

Later we met one of our employers called Callie - if you thought Claire was small, then just imagine Claire standing tall over Callie! - her frame and demeanour are very welcoming though so it was great to have a friendly face to get to know. She told us more about the school we'd be teaching in and that the next day we'd have to wake up at 5 and travel 2 hours to Long An to meet the school, give a teaching demonstration and check out the house we'll be living in, realising this me and Claire sharply said goodbye to get some sleep!

In all, Can Tho IS more laid back than Ho Chi Minh city, especially by the waterfront, but the further away you get, the more it begins to resemble it's bigger counterpart (pollution, noise and all). I get the sense that most cities in Asia will be similar to this, so the idea of us working and living in a smaller province seems very welcome right now. Nonetheless, we both really enjoyed our stay in Can Tho and feel we must return at least for the floating markets. But Claire and I are adjusting to the lifestyle of being here and being on the road with more ease with every passing day, albeit we perhaps underestimated how difficult it might be at first but these days in Can Tho have certainly helped and we now feel that it will get easier with each passing day.

Now just the small task of travelling to meet the school and starting work! Out of the frying pan and into the fire eh?

The first chapter of our adventure: Ho Chi Minh City

Day 1

We touch down in Ho Chi Minh City after an 11 hour flight without a wink of sleep and barely 5 hours from the night before. We spend about an hour at the airport waiting to get our visa and then we head outside to take our first steps on our adventure....

That's when the mayhem begins. We landed at 7am local time and the taxi driver is blaring dance music on our way to the hotel. There's what seems like thousands of people riding scooters in the street, all in a rush, all beeping their horns constantly and all zigzagging in every direction. I try to deduce if they drive on the right side of the road but you'd be easily confused by some people disobeying that apparent convention by driving the wrong way and stopping wherever they want. I'm instantly reminded of documentaries of salmon swimming against the tide. We are full of adrenaline (the only thing keeping us awake) and we can't stop laughing at the madness around us. We ask the driver if he ever crashes, the reply we get is "all the time!".

We are dropped off near our hotel but we can't see it, we then face something we never realised would be so daunting: crossing the road. When there are constant streams of bikes and cars going in all directions without stopping for any lights, you quickly realise crossing is going to take some bravery. Claire and I watched and waited for a couple of minutes before taking a run at it - holding each other's hands for dear life and nearly screaming all the way.

After that drama we found our hotel (the Thien Thao in district 3) and as we were 4 hours early they took our bags in for us - which was great of them - and to pass the time we went for a walk to gather our bearings. In our jet lagged state, the narrow pavements, dirty streets and crazy traffic were just as scary but eventually we found a park which allowed us some respite from the roads. We returned to the hotel for a power nap before setting out for dinner down to the backpacker area and we stumbled across an amazing rooftop bar called "The view" where we gladly sank a couple of drinks among the sunset skyline - it was just what we needed.

We ventured further and found a local place that did the specialty dish Vietnam is most famous for: Pho. If you've ever had ramen it is quite similar in that it is a big bowl of noodles and soup with vegetables and whichever meat you choose. You also get extra veg and sauces to use as you wish - to which we added chillies for a kick. This is the most common dish in Vietnam and I've instantly fallen in love, plus it cost less than £1 so my wallet is as happy as my stomach!

Day 2

We sleep deeply and wake up refreshed, then head straight out to see the sights. We take a taxi to district 1 (where all the sights and embassies seem to be) and arrive at the Notre Dame cathedral (yes just like the one in Paris). District 1 is so different to the other districts, the influence from French rule is obvious here with the beautiful buildings that also include a grand post office, museums, parks and boulevards. It's also clear this district is the most popular as not only are the streets clean and wide enough to walk alongside each other, but we also spot other westerners for the first time. We find a place to get a Vietnamese coffee nearby and instantly I fall in love with that too - just what you want in 35 degree heat.

We head to the war museum and get quite an education, during which we barely speak to one another as we both feel so bad for all of the people that were involved in the war, I especially feel terrible for the victims of agent orange. Claire's brother had told us the museum isn't for the faint of heart and he was spot on, however I'd recommend it as it certainly gives you a view of the events you wouldn't have heard of before.

We spend over an hour in the evening trying to find a place as nice and cheap as the place we went to the night before. We fail and therefore head back to the rooftop bar to eat as well as drink this time and further discover how much of a star find it is. I have braised pork and eggs and once again I am blown away by how amazing it tastes.

Day 3

We sleep terribly - the effects of being on a different timeline now fully taking effect. We get breakfast at an amazing local bakery that does amazing pastries, Claire then naps while I delight in watching a childhood favourite in Vietnamese (Pokémon! Yay!). We then head out to buy local sim cards - needed while we are living here - and enjoy more coffee and noodles.

After lunch we head to the Xa Loi pagoda which is a Buddhist temple. Claire has a real moment of enjoyment here as she gets just a tiny sense of the spirituality that surrounds this beautiful setting, a feeling I would've shared had my jet lag not fully kicked in and I rendered me unable to appreciate nothing other than the lovely scenery and peace and quiet.

We return to the hotel so I can take my own power nap, and in the evening we head out to the backpacker disctict again to eat.
When we get back to the hotel I feel the pollution of the city has started to take its toll on me as I can feel it in my lungs - if I were to stay any longer I'd need a mask like the locals wear!

I do get a treat to end the day with; thanks to Asia's love of premier league football, I get to watch my beloved Southampton beat Crystal Palace 1-0 live from my own hotel room! Being 7 hours ahead it means I'm watching a 3 o'clock kickoff at 10pm, so by the time it finishes I switch off the TV and fall asleep instantaneously.

Day 4

Not much to be done today and as we are still adapting to life here we decide to take it easy today so we head back up to district 1 to check where the British embassy is - which we need to visit tomorrow to complete the documents needed for our work permit. We get some more coffee but we can see that I'm district 1 the price is significantly higher than other places; in fact we paid the same price here for 2 coffees than we did for 2 meals and 2 beers in the backpacker district! Everything in this area is more expensive, so my tip is come here for the nice views and streets, then get out to eat and drink!

As we head to the park Claire spots a coconut seller hassling tourists and decides it is the time to try one out. He cuts one up and shoves it in our hands before telling us the price is 150,000D - again, the same as the meal and drinks in the backpacker district but this time just for one coconut! - as we both take sips we immediately regret the decision and grumble about the price.

We stroll through the park which is full on this Sunday with kids having fun making their own little dance videos and take our time to lap up the nice district before returning once again to our area which is a stark contrast.

Tomorrow morning we sort out our documents and then get picked up by our employer to spend a couple of days finalising our work permit in Can Tho City before heading to where we will be living: Tan An.

We've waited so long to start our adventure, so we've both felt bad that we haven't settled so far, however we've both come to the conclusion that Ho Chi Minh just isn't our cup of tea (too big, too noisy, too busy and too dirty) and that the jet lag and upheaval of leaving home has made our experience tougher than we thought it would. We won't be perturbed though as we know the rest of Vietnam will be very different, plus it makes us realise we just aren't big city people.

4 days in and we are already finding out a lot about the world and ourselves, so we just have to roll with the punches and take it all in! So we look forward to heading to Can Tho for a couple of days as it's supposed to be more laid back - like us.

Goodbye England - hello adventure!

This last week has been one of mixed emotions: from the excitement of leaving work, the stress of getting the last items sold before we leave and then the constant stream of leaving parties where I said goodbye to colleagues, friends and family.

There have predictably been lots of beers, tears, cake and hugs. Above all else though, there's been nothing but goodwill to me and Claire as we prepare to head out on our adventure on Wednesday and that's really helped me make it through what I thought would be really hard goodbyes.

One of my best friends said that "you have nothing to worry about, because we'll all be here waiting for you when you get back, waiting to hear all your stories." and he is spot on. This is was one the best things I could've heard because for years I had been thinking about this adventure, but I was worried about leaving my family and career behind and I was worried about missing out on everyone's lives. However I had no idea back then that everyone would be so supportive about it and that nearly every comment I would hear from friends and family would involve 'if you've got the opportunity, you should go do it' in some form or another.

Although I don't think I could've done all of this any sooner, nor would I have, I do wish I could've known beforehand how positive people would be about it. No matter though, as although I'm not that religious or spiritual I do have a belief that most things happen for a reason and therefore the timing of everything up until now is just right. Plus with the fantastic modern invention of Skype, I'll be able to easily stay in contact with everyone back home, so there really is no reason not to go! In fact, if you're reading this and you've ever had the same thoughts holding you back, then please take heed of this and feel free to discuss it with your loved ones, as you have no idea how supportive they can be.

What's next for us? Well... we fly on Wednesday from London Gatwick to Vietnam, land in Ho Chi Minh on Thursday morning to spend 4 days on a mini holiday before meeting with the British Consulate to sort out our documents for our work permit. Once we've finished that task, we get picked up and taken to our location where we'll be living for the next year - Tan An (which is roughly an hour south of Ho Chi Minh in the Mekong Delta). Once there, we'll just need to wait for our employer to finish up our work permit and then before we know it'll be time to teach our very first class as English (TEFL) teachers!

So to all of my family and friends, I thank you for your amazing support but I choose not to say goodbye, I choose to say arrivederci - which is Italian for "until we see each other again". Because this isn't goodbye forever, it's simply goodbye for now. My next update will be the first one on our travels, from the other side of the world! But for now, I'm outta here man!

Our long awaited adventure starts now.