Chao Hanoi

After a long 14 months, we have finally said goodbye (for now) to Ha Noi.

We leave behind some great local and western friends that will always be there to greet us on our return.

And, to make any time in Vietnam complete, we managed to have a motorbike accident 3 days before leaving. At 2am on the night of our going away party (the picture above), we were driving home chatting with our friends on the bike next to us when a black cat leapt from the darkness and went straight under our bike. Needless to say, the cat died....but in the process of me trying to keep the bike upright, Ness has taken a pretty serious stack off the back of the bike. To her credit, she completed a decent commando roll and by the time I could look around she was on her feet saying 'I'm Ok'. That was shock speaking of course. She lost a big chunk of skin off her knee, and is covered from head to toe in scratches and bruises. Thankfully, ours only counts as a small accident compared to others we've seen and heard about.

So, we're in the process of exploring Vietnam, and if this blog doesn't die soon (if it hasn't already) we might even post some photos.

In the meantime, here are a couple from the last few weeks of goodbyes;

Feel the love. These girls are die hard fans of all things Ness

Matt (teaching connoisseur and #1 colleague of Ness) our last night

Graham & Phuong (my teaching colleagues...on our 2nd last night in town)

Dave and Hau. The last of nearly a hundred meals shared.

Andy, Ness and English Dave

Sean and Emma....hours before the accident.

Cambodia


We just spent a week in Cambodia over the Tet holiday period and travelled with Sophie and Linly (two super travelling companions we must say).

Angkor Wat was predictably astonishing, and Phnom Penh was surprisingly charming. We're already working out when we can go back there for more.

So, here are some photos;

Local kids playing in Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom

Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom

Local kids outside of Phnom Penh

Ta Prohm Temple

Ta Prohm Temple

Ta Prohm Temple (yes we know, tacky tourist shot)

The Royal Palace, Phnom Penh

Post-temple cocktails, Siem Reap

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

[posted by Adam]

Hanoi has changed man! It's growing at a speed second only to China and it has become really evident in Ha Noi recently. It hosted APEC in November and last month was officially granted entry into the WTO. I can't read a paragraph of the news here without the mention of foreign investment and privatization. And I can't usually drive through town without seeing the number of rich people growing and growing. If it isn't young people on new Vespa's, it's someone driving a Hummer through the old quarter (possibly the most impractical and idiotic thing I've ever come across).

Of course, it's great.....I guess. Viet Nam was desperately poor for so long and many parts still are.....which is where my concern lies. It seems like the 'hammer & sickle' is slowly making way for consumerism. But anyhoo, that's another issue.

It's strange for us to see the little karaoke joint that stood on the corner of our street get knocked down and replaced by KFC**. And the Nokia shop down the road just got replaced by Gloria Jeans. Crikey! I can only hope that the Vietnamese are clever enough to see that you don't go to a cafe to line up, pay at the counter, wait in line (not here) and then be given a coffee in a cardboard cup. How that one went over the heads of Australians beats me. It would be very 'un-Vietnamese' to welcome those sort of shenanigans.

Part of me wishes these changes wouldn't happen. Part of me hopes the people reject the crap our Western societies are throwing at them and accept only the good. Part of me wants to get the hell out of here before it starts feeling like home.

Alas, there is good in all these changes and extra money. Road safety! I notice a new set of traffic lights every day (I've actually complained about how much they slow down my trip across town). I see barriers separating two way streets and new roads being laid. I see more helmets on heads and more traffic police at intersections. And most surprising of all, the people seem to be accepting these changes without too much dispute. I guess for most it's what they've always wanted. Anything to make their trip to the new shopping megalopolis a safe one.

** http://www.kfccruelty.com/**
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Christmas In Ha Noi

It was a strange Christmas - good, but certainly strange.

Negatives:

1) Our family and friends weren't here to sing bad carols with, exchange presents with and eat too much food with. All the important things.

2) We only had Christmas Day off work. You can't celebrate properly when you don't have that customary 'week-long slacking off at work' ritual. And going back to work on Boxing Day just simply sucks.

3) Mum and Dad's presents didn't arrive before Christmas Day (they have since). I was suspicious that they had slyly used Vietnam's dodgy postal service as an excuse to not send anything at all.

4) On Christmas Eve, our friend Huyen gave us 2 goldfish. On Christmas Day, one of them (we'll call him 'ill-Eddie') was floating on the surface of the tank, flapping occasionally in a desperate plea for survival. By Boxing Day he was surfing the toilet pipes. I can't believe I cried. No wait - I can. I really miss Eddie.

Positives:

1) 'Survivor-Sam' is swimming triumphantly around his own tank now - as happy as a captured fish could be. Providing he doesn't die from loneliness or from our inquisitive cat, I think he's safe.

2) We received some lovely presents and cards from our students and friends - all of them not celebrators of Christmas, but who were thoughtful enough to make it special for us anyway.

3) We had a great time Christmas Eve around the Cathedral. It was totally packed with locals and the odd westerner. It was both festive and surreal. It felt more like the Royal Easter Show which was accentuated by my childish consumption of Fairy Floss.

4) "Christmas Day At Andy's". Andy is my colleague and kindly offered his house to about 20 ex-pats and pulled off a pretty good Christmas at home substitute. Bless him. The garlic mash was a highlight.

So anyway, we hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We missed you all terribly.

Here are some photos.

SAVE OUR PLANET!

Hi guys,

we just got home from watching Al Gore's new environmental doco called

"An inconvenient truth"

It's amazing. If you want to save our planet (and I know you do):

1. Go to the website link on the right
2. See the movie
3. Tell all your friends to see the movie
4. Don't just take everything as truth (he was a politician after all!) - research yourself afterwards and discover what all the big words which he uses actually mean!
   
5. Spend 1/2 a day of your life on the above things and you will be amazed at how YOU can help - the problem isn't too big!

Enviro-woman, signing off...