Last day of the year...

It's the last day of the year, and we spent it at none other than the TAJ MAHAL!

The ticket office opens at 6am or so, and the gates open at sunrise.  We woke up in time to eat a quick breakfast on the rooftop restaurant in the dark and then walk the roads with other tourists and Indian people to the famous Taj.  The line for the ticket office was longer than I expected at 6:30am, but we got our tickets and lined up before the gates opened.  There were separate lines for men, women, Indians, and foreigners.  Foreign tourists pay 750 Rupees (around $15) to get in.  Indian people pay 20 (less than 50 cents)!

It was truly a sight to see... the photos of it online are beautiful, but it is even more grand in person.  The Taj was built by an emperor as a mausoleum to his wife, who died when giving birth to her 14th child.  Her name was Mumtaz Mahal, hence the name Taj Mahal.  The emperor and his wife are buried here.  No photos were allowed inside the mausoleum, but I think it is the outside of the building which is even more beautiful.  The Taj is made of marble and is apparently 55 metres wide and 55 metres tall.  The architect tried to design it with perfect symmetry.  The walls are beautifully decorated with carved marble and verses from the Quran.

Everyone was taking the standard Taj tourist photos, but going early really cut down the crowds.  When we left several hours later, it was significantly busier.

It was so massive that you can't help feeling small beside it.  It really is a beautiful place!  I had high expectations for the Taj, but they were exceeded for sure.  The first time I saw it was similar to the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  You see it in photos, but when it's with your own eyes... it's just that more amazing!

Tonight, we plan to spend New Year's Eve 2011 at a rooftop dinner party held at our hotel.  There will be a buffet of Indian food there, with the Taj only down the street!

Happy new year from Agra!!!  See you in 2012... :)

Rolling along the Indian highway...

 Here's an update on our latest destinations so far...

Pushkar


After leaving Udaipur, we made our way to Pushkar.  This will be the smallest city we visit on the trip (around 15,000 people).  It is built around a holy lake with a temple dedicated to the lord Brahma.  The lake has 52 ghats, or places where pilgrims can go and bathe themselves in the holy water.  If you want to stroll along the lake, you must take off your shoes and go down the stairs to the water.  No photography is allowed at the ghats, but I didn't realize this and took some pics... oops!  There are also a lot of monkeys climbing on the temple grounds near the lake... they were pretty amusing to watch.  Pushkar was a short, relaxing stay.  The next morning we were on to Jaipur!



Near the holy lake in Pushkar

Jaipur



Jaipur is a city of 2 million people or so, and is the capital of Rajasthan.  Our driver, Mr. Gopal, was from Jaipur... but sadly we were a bit annoyed with him by this point.  We ended up parting ways with him for the remainder of the trip in order to save money.  In Jaipur, John and I visited the Hawa Mahal, or "Palace of the Winds."  It is Jaipur's most famous landmark and was built so the royal women could look at the city through the small carved openings in the facade.



Palace of the Winds in Jaipur

We also watched our first Bollywood movie in Jaipur... called "Don 2" at the Polo Victory Cinema.  Tickets were just under $2 and even though the movie was in Hindi, we could understand most of what was happening since there were a lot of key lines spoken in English.  It was an action movie so most of it was just fighting and car chases anyway!

Agra

This brings us to our current destination, Agra.  After parting ways with our driver, we made our way to Agra by train from Jaipur.  The train was 5 hours or so, but we got sleeper class tickets and I was able to take a good nap after waking up ridiculously early to get on board.  The main reason to visit Agra is to see the Taj Mahal.  Since we arrived on a Friday (when it was closed), we decided to just chill out and enjoy the backpacker area.  Our hotel has an amazing view of the Taj.  The first time we went up to the rooftop restaurant, it was shocking to see that the Taj was right... there!  Less than 200m away, it looked like a fake backdrop hanging there.

The Taj was one of the main reasons I wanted to come to India, and it did not disappoint...

Christmas in India

 Christmas 2011 was spent in Udaipur, a lovely city on a lake in southern Rajasthan.  In the morning, John and I took an Indian cooking class with a woman named Shashi.  Shashi started teaching cooking classes after her husband died 9 years ago.  She told us that she hesitated to start teaching cooking because she didn't know much English, but now she can speak comfortably after learning from tourists taking her classes.  There were 3 other people taking the class with us... a couple from Denmark and a girl living in BC who was originally from Ontario and studied at U Windsor and graduated the same year as me (small world!) ... 

We spent 4 hours or so in Shashi's kitchen, watching her cook and trying out some new skills on our own. We made a lot of food.  Chai tea... chutney... curry... naan... chapati... stuffed parantha... pakora... the list goes on.  We also got a copy of all the recipes.  During our cooking session, the power shut off (standard practice in Udaipur... lights out at 12 until 2pm!) so we had to get creative, cooking in the dark.  Of course with any good cooking class you get to eat everything you make.  We all had a little feast at the end... it was delicious!

With Shashi

In the evening, I attempted to call home as you may know.  The connection was terrible but luckily I got to talk to Zia Alba and Alyssa on Skype... and to my mom and dad through a phone through Skype, ha ha!  It's weird spending Christmas away from home since it isn't a big holiday in India.  However, in the evening John and I were able to watch a random Christmas movie "Four Christmases" at a rooftop restaurant for dinner.  They had a little Christmas tree set up, so it was nice... but there's no Christmas like a home Christmas!

The rest of our time in Udaipur included taking a painting class with an artist named Madan.  Madan taught us how to paint the traditional miniature paintings on silk.  John did a replica of an elephant miniature and I did a camel.  We had to draw the animals and then paint them with small brushes.  You had to keep your hands really steady because the paintings were small and detailed.  It took us 3 hours to do the paintings... but they turned out great!  

Painting class in Udaipur

Another highlight of our time in Udaipur was attending an awesome Rajasthani music and dance performance at an old haveli (Indian heritage mansion).  The best part was this woman dancing around balancing 10 pots on her head... amazing!

I really enjoyed Udaipur, as it seemed a bit more relaxed than most Indian cities we've been in (although not without the cows and constant honking of horns).  Udaipur is famous for being a filming location for the old James Bond movie Octopussy.  The city is so proud of its claim to fame that they show the movie every night in multiple restaurants.

Now we're in the holy town of Pushkar... stay tuned for the next update!

India... so far!

I'm currently in an internet cafe in Udaipur, India.  It's Christmas Eve and it's weird not having the traditional family celebration at home.  I thought I'd give you a little update on our trip so far... pictures will have to wait until after I get back to Saigon.

Delhi

After connecting through Bangkok and hanging out at the airport with our friend Amrita who was also on our flight, we made it to Delhi.  Mr. Gopal, our driver for 16 days, was waiting for us.  I've always wanted someone to show up at the airport waiting for me with a sign with my name on it!  We arrived at night, so we checked in to our hotel straight away.  It was in a ghetto-ish area of the city... glad we were out of there the next morning!

Mandawa

Mr. Gopal picked us up at our hotel in Delhi, but things didn't go so smoothly.  Since the hotel was in a narrow street, it was hard for taxis to come down and there was some miscommunication about where to meet.  Luckily, he helped me get a sim card for my cell phone, so now I'm officially on the grid in India.  Crazy!  It cost $4 to set up, including airtime.

The drive to Mandawa was a bit long and bumpy.  The road was good in some places but in others, it was bumpy and unpaved.  There are cows EVERYWHERE in India.  They just wander the roads.  It really is crazy but I'm getting used to it now.  Mandawa is a small town that has winding, narrow alley ways and rooftop restaurants.  We stayed in a painted "haveli" which is an old Indian heritage home.  The walls were painted with murals.  It was pretty cool and the rooftop had a restaurant with great views of the city.  We could see kids flying kites and cows wandering.

Bikaner

We left Mandawa the next morning to travel to Bikaner, a larger city.  We had lunch in the old town where there was chaotic traffic... think cars, autorickshaws, motorbikes, pedestrians, cows, and camels.  It was also very polluted so it was hard to walk around for long breathing that stuff in!  I had my first "lassi" drink in India there... it was a delicious yogurt drink flavoured with rose water.  In the afternoon, Mr. Gopal took us to the Karni Mata temple, known by backpackers as the "rat temple."  This temple was created to honour a woman named Karni Mata who people in the area worship.  There are sacred rats everywhere.  Why rats?  Apparently they were chosen to be in the temple because Karni Mata loved all creatures, even those at the bottom of society.  This place is not for the squeamish.  Rats were running around all over the temple grounds, and some were drinking from large pots of milk.  If you spot the white rat, it is considered good luck... but we didn't.  John had a rat run over his feet which is apparently also good luck.  I'm glad none of them touched me!!!

On the way back from the temple, we also stopped at the camel breeding farm.  Camels are huge in this part of India.  There is a camel festival every year in Bikaner, along with other Indian cities.  I never knew that camels made such loud, strange noises!  We tried some tea which was made from camel's milk.  It was tasty but didn't taste any different from normal milk.

Before leaving Bikaner, we spent a morning at Junagarh, the huge fort in the middle of the city.  There was a free English tour and John and I were the only "foreigners" on it.  The tour guide seemed really happy we were there visiting the fort.  Many of the rooms inside were intricately carved.  It is definitely a lot more grand than Fort Henry, ha ha!

Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is known as a desert town... and it was from this place that we made our way into the great Thar desert on a camel safari.  We booked our tour through a great company called Trotters.  We were driven by jeep before sunrise to the middle of the desert, and dropped off to meet our desert guides.  They quickly made a fire and cooked up some toast and delicious chai tea.  We watched the sun rise and then saddled up on our camels.  Mine was named Johnnie Walker.  John's was called Lucky.  Lucky was kind of a bully and always tried to fight with the other camels.  Johnnie Walker just happily trotted along, following the other camels.  We rode for several hours before breaking for lunch.  Camels are very tall, but they walk slowly so I never felt scared.  We felt really sore after getting off them though!  Lunch consisted of rice, cooked veggies Indian-style, chai tea, and chapati bread.  We took a nap for a few hours while the camels ate and rested, and then set off again for a few more hours of riding until we reached the big dunes.  It was cool to see the sun set in the desert.  We set up camp near the dunes, and spent the evening eating, drinking chai, tending to the fire, and then sleeping under the stars.  It was fairly cold in the desert, and we were given some thick blankets to sleep under.  It was amazing to see the stars so clearly at night!  The next morning, we had breakfast and rode our camels to the point where we were picked up by the jeep and taken back to town.  I will never forget my camel safari experience... I'm still sore days after it, but it was worth it.  Now I can say that I've been through the desert on a camel named Johnnie Walker!

Johnnie Walker

Jodhpur

After leaving Jaisalmer, we made our way to Jodhpur.  We stayed in the old town centre, near the famous old clock tower.  There were interesting markets around, but sadly a lot of beggars who were getting a bit aggressive.  We walked up to the huge fort Mehrangarh which is situated high above the city.  The fort had great views of Jodhpur, the "blue city."  Many of the buildings in town are painted blue, hence the name. 

The Blue City - Jodhpur

In the afternoon we hunted down the famous makhania lassi (flavoured with saffron and other spices) at some hole in the wall place near the clock tower gate.  You know a place is good when the locals are there, and we were the only tourists in the place!  It was packed with Indian people.  There is only one kind of lassi there, and not really even a menu.  We walked in and sat down, and the guy said "lassi?" and we had lassis within 20 seconds of entering the place.  It was delicious, but very rich and not something you'd eat every day!  We also spent some time hunting down the famous samosa place nearby which had delicious spicy samosas fried up right in front of our eyes.

Unfortunately, I got sick before leaving Jodhpur.  Thankfully it didn't last long.  Despite some disgusting moments, I made it through the day in one piece.  I even felt well enough to check out the beautiful Jain temple Ranakpur en route to Udaipur.  It was a stunning marble temple in the middle of a peaceful forest full of monkeys.  We've been to a lot of temples before, but this one was truly amazing and probably the most beautiful I've ever seen.  The carvings were so intricate!

That leads us now to Udaipur... where the adventure continues!  We'll be here for the next 3 nights, spending the Christmas holiday here.  More about Udaipur later.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

Step into Christmas...

Only 4 more work days in 2011, then Christmas break!!

As many of you know, the December destination is... INDIA!  I've wanted to go here for a really long time now, and I'm glad that we're finally getting the chance to.  Based on what I've heard about India, you either love it or hate it.  I hope I'm in the category of people who love it!  I think living in Asia for this long will somewhat prepare me for the chaotic nature that I hear India is.  However, people keep telling me that you can see eye-opening things there that you'll never see anywhere else.  It is just... that... crazy!

The plan in India is to fly into New Delhi after a few hours of layover time in Bangkok (excuse to eat McDonalds and pad thai).  Once in Delhi, we will hopefully meet up with a driver that my friend is helping us arrange.  The driver will take us around Rajasthan (northern Indian province).  Hiring a driver in India to explore Rajasthan is quite common, and Rajasthan is a very touristy place.  I'm most excited to see the Taj Mahal... I hope it doesn't disappoint!!

In the mean time, there is still work to be done at school.  Tomorrow is the Christmas concert for primary grades.  I hope everything goes well... it's going to be a tiring day since the kids start school at 8:20am and then need to stay until 8pm.  They are not going home on the buses because some of them have ridiculously long rides to other districts in HCMC, so there is no point to having them come back to school.  All the kids are staying after 3pm dismissal and we have to entertain them/feed them until the show begins (6:30pm) ... should be a loonnnggg day.  The concert should end before 8pm.

I'll leave you with a pic which pretty much sums up the Christmas season in Vietnam... do you like the tree??  :)

Movember!

The Canadian tradition of "Movember" was witnessed at our school in Vietnam this past month.  The school raised a lot of money for cancer research.  John joined in with other male teachers on staff to grow a moustache...




He will probably not enjoy me putting this photo on the blog, but I feel like there is no other way for you to see this.

Terry Fox Run 2011!

Last week, our school held a Terry Fox Run for kindergarten to grade 3.  We had the kids do one lap around the school property and they were rewarded with some popsicles at the end.

Two days later, we had the International Terry Fox Run in Ho Chi Minh City, held in Phu My Hung (our neighbourhood)!  In Canada, the Terry Fox Run is held on a specific date, but international runs can be held on any date that is convenient for the organizers.  Our school played a big part in organizing the run, so a lot of teachers and students came out on the weekend to show support.  The school donated money on behalf of every teacher and student participating in the run.

At the event, you could walk, bike, rollerblade, or run.  It was pretty hot out, and there were over 11,000 people participating from all over HCMC!  I walked the route with my friends, but it took a while because of the huge crowds.  It was pretty cool to see a Canadian tradition like the Terry Fox Run come to Vietnam!

A Vietnamese wedding

My Vietnamese co-teacher, Hong, got married out of town in August.  This month she had another reception to celebrate with her friends in Ho Chi Minh City.  This wedding was a western-style one, sort of similar to a wedding in North America.  It was held in a room at a wedding hall in the city.  The evening began with dancers in wedding dresses holding disco balls.  Then the bride and groom walked up the aisle to the stage, and there was a speech in Vietnamese.  They cut the wedding cake on stage, and poured some bright red drink into champagne glasses (dry ice was in effect here... much like the wedding I attended in Korea)!  After this, dinner was served.  It was mostly seafood, so I didn't eat much.  The bride and groom came around to all the tables and we did a toast.  In Vietnam, you say "mot, hai, ba, YO!" which means "one, two, three" and cheers!

I attended the evening with some of my co-workers.  Unlike weddings back home, which go to all hours of the night, most people started leaving at around 9pm.  Also, there was no dance floor so anyone who wanted to dance went up on stage with the band/random guests who wanted to sing karaoke.

It was a fun time, and interesting to see how the night unfolded!  I'm glad that I got an invitation to see what an American-style Vietnamese wedding was like!

I have a maid.

Am I lazy?  Messy?  Rich?

A bit of all those things, I must say.  While I would not be considered rich back home, I am definitely considered to be on the rich side in Vietnam.  Hey, I'm technically a millionaire here (too bad those millions aren't in Canadian dollars, though!) ...

Anyway, the other day a MAID visited the apartment.  I always told myself I would not get a maid here.  Lots of people do, since it's really cheap, but I felt weird about it.  After we heard of our friends getting one and being satisfied with the results, we thought we'd give it a try.  Our rental agent set us up with her cousin, who was looking for new clients.  She arrived promptly at 6:00, asked what she needed to clean, and then got to work!  She stayed for 2 hours and cleaned the bathrooms, kitchen, and also mopped the tile floors.

The grand total was... 40,000 x 2 hours = 80,000 VND.  That is equivalent to about $4 !!!  We gave her a tip also, but they are not expected in Vietnam.  It is crazy to think that someone in this country will clean your house for $2 an hour.  While I'm very happy with the service, I felt a bit uncomfortable having her in the apartment cleaning while I was just on the couch doing school work on my laptop.  I sort of felt like a rich snob!

I keep trying to tell myself that it was good to have called her because she is looking for clients and needs the money... but at the same time I wonder if I will ever get used to it.  In general, I feel uncomfortable in many situations in Vietnam where I am being served... restaurants, stores, at school dealing with the cleaning staff, etc.  I know that these workers are making very low wages, and that they probably know that I make a lot more money than they ever could.  I sometimes imagine what it would be like to be that waitress in the restaurant serving me my food, or the cleaning lady who scrubs my classroom every day.  I wonder what they think about us rich "foreigners" hiring maids, eating out all the time, and taking taxis everywhere.  I try to occupy my mind with other things, but I can't help but feeling almost guilty when being served by people here.  I rarely had these feelings in Korea because I knew that I wasn't making as much as the Korean staff members were, and that the general income of the population was higher than it is here.  Everyone I knew in Korea seemed to live in a highrise apartment, wear nice clothes, and have a fancy cell phone.  Here, that is not the case.  Living in a country like Vietnam really makes me realize how lucky I am to have the things that I do!

Happy Teachers' Day!

Last week it was Teacher Appreciation Day in Vietnam.  Our school was decorated with a huge banner and flowers in the main lobby.  Kids brought us gifts like it was Christmas.  I received chocolate, face wash, body scrub, lotion, perfume, fancy hair pin, a bracelet, and a beautiful lotus lantern lamp.  John got things like cuff links, flowers, chocolate, and a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant.  One of my friends got cold hard cash! 

In the afternoon there was a ceremony for the whole school.  All the teachers assembled in a circle and some high school students came to us each to hand out flowers.  I felt like I was at a rose ceremony on "The Bachelor."  They should have asked us "will you accept this rose?" ... ha ha!  We also got a gift certificate for a grocery store from the Vietnamese school owners.

Anyway, the funny thing was that when all the teachers were down in the rose circle, the kids were in the stands unsupervised.  I looked over and the little kids were going a bit crazy with their newfound freedom.  Oh well.  Happy Teachers' Day!!

Rain, rain, go away...

Last week there was a heavy rain at the end of the school day, and when we experience this type of weather things get a little chaotic around school.  Hallways flood.  Water comes in through the roof in parts of the hallway.  The stairs get super slippery.  Kids go crazy!  After dealing with the chaos at school, a group of us hopped in a cab to go back to our apartment complex.  The cab ended up at a standstill at the major intersection nearby the apartment.  The traffic lights must have gone out, but by the time they were working again, the intersection was one big mess of motorbikes, bicycles, cars, taxis, buses, and huge trucks.  Since people in Vietnam don't follow normal traffic rules (i.e. staying in lanes, driving the correct way up one way streets, following traffic signals), there was no simple solution.  Every driver seemed to just want to go whichever way they wanted to, without thinking about the fact that they were clogging the intersection and that NO ONE could move.

We all ended up getting out of the cab and walking the rest of the 10 minutes home.  I'm curious how long it took for all those drivers to figure out a civilized way to clear the intersection.  We could have been sitting there for hours!

When we finally reached the street near the apartment complex entrance, we found out it was flooded (not surprisingly).  Motorbikes were riding through and it actually looked like they were jetskis since we couldn't see their wheels due to the flooded road!  Water was then washing up onto the sidewalks.  We had to walk down a bunch of sidestreets to get home.  Crazy times!!

Lucky!

Luck is on my side again.  I left my cell phone in a taxi today and after my friends tried to call it several hours later, the driver answered and delivered it back to me.  Crazy!  Once again, my friend Andy saved the day by speaking Vietnamese to the driver, telling him where to bring the phone.  Even though I can get by day to day in normal situations without speaking Vietnamese, it's in times like these that I wish I could speak the language at least a little bit.  Right now, my vocabulary is limited to hello, thank you, and taxi directions!  I would like to take a Vietnamese language class for fun, but the language is pretty difficult to learn.  Even though Korean was difficult, a lot of things about the language made sense to me.  Vietnamese just seems so impossible to me since it's a tonal language.  If you say a word with the wrong tone, it can carry a different meaning than what you intended!

Anyway... I'm hoping that I never have to rely on a cab driver again to return my belongings!!  Twice this year has been enough for me, and I'm afraid that if this happens again, my luck might run out!

Enter if you dare...

I forgot to add one photo of John's award-winning door.  His class won the prize for best-decorated door in grade 3.  They won a certificate and 3 bags of popcorn for their efforts.

Some blog viewers have asked me how to leave comments on the blog.  It's very easy!  All you have to do is click the "comments" button at the end of this blog post, then type what you want to say in the box, then select something in the "comment as" box.  If you are already a follower of this blog, you can comment as your blog ID, or just select "name/url" and type in your name, then just tab to the url section and put a space bar or key in a letter.  For some reason I think it makes you fill something in here.  The other option is to leave a comment as "anonymous," however I will not be able to know who wrote the comment unless you write your name within the message you wrote in the text box.

Hope you enjoy the blog so far!

C'est l'Halloween!

Halloween is not celebrated in Vietnam, but since we teach at a Canadian school, there was a big celebration for it.  Kids and teachers dressed up in costumes and decorated their classrooms.  We had a costume parade with K-3 and did trick or treating among the 4 grade 1 classes.  On this day there were also 2 birthdays in my class, so the parents brought in cake, chocolate, candy, and snacks... including fried chicken, french fries, and pepsi.  There was so much food it was ridiculous!  After Vietnamese/French class and calendar, we pretty much spent the afternoon eating and cleaning.

Here are some pics from the day...

                                                                              







Sawadeeeeee... welcome to Thailand!

Just got back this week from one week in Thailand, one of my favourite places.  I just can't seem to get enough of that place.  It is cheap to travel in, has delicious food, friendly people who speak English, and beautiful beaches!

The flight from HCMC to Bangkok was less than 1.5 hours.  We had heard many stories of there being floods in Thailand, but that didn't stop us from going.  Most of the flooding was in northern Thailand and other areas where we were not travelling to. 

Upon arrival in Bangkok, we made our way straight to Khao San Road (backpacker ghetto).  The one problem about Thailand is that so many people try to rip you off.  We were quoted a ridiculous price for a taxi from the airport to Khao San, but we figured out that it was cheaper to go on the express railway, and it was a much better way to see the city.

Khao San Road is overrun by foreigners - mostly backpackers on "gap year" holidays.  Even though it is ridiculous, I still love it there.  We checked in to a cheap guesthouse in the heart of everything, but didn't realize that we had a window facing the road and that there would be loud party music at all hours of the night.  I think the music actually stopped around 6am, but we had earplugs and I slept through the whole night.  On Khao San you can get cheap street food (pad thai, spring rolls, and mango sticky rice are my favourites) and buy cheap clothing and souvenirs.  You have to bargain hard to get souvenirs within an acceptable price range!

John and I were travelling with our friends Greg and Brittany.  Greg was the only one who had never been to Bangkok before, so we decided he needed to see the Grand Palace.

Hanging out at the Grand Palace in Bangkok

The next day, we moved on to Kanchanaburi (in central Thailand).  The bus brought us right to the famous bridge over the River Kwai.  It was a cool spot, and we found a guesthouse nearby.  Our main reason in going to Kanchanaburi was to see the Tiger Temple.  At the temple, we got to take photos with tigers who were lounging around.  There is some debate among tourists of whether or not the tigers are sedated.  We spoke with a monk at the temple (who was from L.A.!) and he explained to us that the tigers are not drugged, but they are calm because many of them have grown up at the temple and are used to interacting with humans.  He also said that they follow a strict routine which helps them stay relaxed.  If there are deviations from their daily routine, they don't like it!  Luckily there were no tiger attacks when we were there!  I got to pose with a baby tiger on a leash, but then it started dragging me up a flight of stairs and the trainer told me to go with it!  Kind of crazy but another memorable experience.

Tiger Temple!

In Kanchanaburi we also visited the Erawan National Park, where there is a beautiful tiered waterfall.  After spending an afternoon there, we made our way back to Bangkok on a local bus, where we paid the same price for a ticket as the Thai people riding it.  It felt nice not to be getting ripped off and paying the "tourist price" ... and the bus was much better than our "private VIP minivan" which we arrived to Kanchanaburi in (booked through a travel agent in the backpacker ghetto)!

The first few days of our trip on mainland Thailand were rainy.  On one evening, Khao San Road flooded due to rain.  It was hilarious seeing bicycles and people walk through it.  Thankfully, it drained in less than 2 hours when the rain stopped.

The remainder of the trip was spent on the island of Koh Chang (Elephant Island), which is on the east coast of Thailand, near Cambodia.  We rented motorbikes (don't worry... not HCMC traffic conditions!) to explore the island.  Some of the highlights included the Treetop Adventure Park (ziplining and ropes course in the jungle which was very challenging!), Klong Plu waterfall, Bang Bao fishing village with restaurants in the water on stilts, snorkelling at the national marine park, and of course... the Ban Kwan Chang elephant camp.  At Ban Kwan Chang we got to bathe/swim with elephants, ride the elephants into the jungle, and feed them a snack at the end of the morning.  It was pretty cool to see elephants up close like that.  Some elephant camps in Thailand do not treat the elephants well, but at this camp the elephants were out in the open and free to walk around.  There is one specific trainer for every elephant, so the elephants and trainers form a close bond.

Ban Kwan Chang

Leaving Koh Chang was an adventure because we missed our ferry.  The plan was for Brittany and I to take a taxi with all our bags back to the ferry, and John and Greg would drive the motorbikes back to the rental guy and then take a taxi to the ferry.  It turned out that it was extremely difficult to get a taxi from the beach we were staying at, and that you don't call taxis on Koh Chang.  They just arrive every half hour like a bus (??) ... so Brittany and I had to wait.  When it arrived, we told the driver to go fast and not stop at all for anyone else.  I felt like I was on the Amazing Race.  Unfortunately, he did not go that fast and he picked up a bunch more people.  FAIL!  By the time we got to the ferry pier, it was past 9:30 and the ferry had left.  We were certain that Greg and John would be worried that we left without them, even though I had all the tickets and would not leave without anyone!  Turns out, they were still waiting at the pier, and had also arrived late and missed the ferry.  They had only arrived a few minutes before we did after going to the wrong ferry pier!  They told us that they saw the ferry which we were supposed to be on, and were yelling our names and waving their arms in the hopes that the ferry would turn around.  We were all so happy that there was another ferry at 10:30 and that we could get on it without issues. 

We spent our last night in Bangkok buying souvenirs, eating delicious Thai food, getting cocktails at a bar which was decorated like a psychedelic hippie bus, and visiting McDonalds.  There are no McDonalds in Vietnam so I was really craving cheeseburgers!!

Anyway, it was an awesome trip to Thailand.  I hope to be back again some time since there is so much to see and do there!

My classroom!

Thought you'd be interested to see some pics of my classroom.  It isn't very big, and I don't have tons of resources or storage space, but here it is...

Top L-R:  Math Pattern Dragon, Guess Who? Self Portraits, Names/Photos
Middle L-R:  Our Door, Respect Bulletin Board, The Room
Bottom L-R:  Flags, School Rules, Calendar

Hoi An

Last weekend was our staff trip to Hoi An, a quaint little town full of tailor shops and cafes.  We took a bus to the airport after school on Friday, and from there we flew to Danang.  The flight from HCMC to Danang was around 1 hour long.  I guess I've gotten used to the long haul flights from Asia to Canada, so the flight to Danang felt like nothing.

We ate dinner at a restaurant in Danang before heading to Hoi An by bus.  The restaurant was called "Beluga Restaurant" with a whale on the sign.  I should have seen the whale and clued in that it was a seafood place... When I saw the night's lineup of dishes I was not too thrilled.  I was regretting not requesting a vegetarian meal!

After dinner, the bus brought everyone to a resort on Cua Dai beach in Hoi An.  I was exhausted and fell asleep right away, but it was short-lived.  I ended up being sick all night, cursing my bad luck with the horrible timing!  To make matters worse, the hotel that we all stayed in was disappointing.  It was a "4-star" hotel, but whoever rated it must have had pretty low standards.  The last time we were in Hoi An, the hotel cost $14 a night, and while it was not a palace, it was CLEAN at least.  Oh well... I can't complain too much because it was free, as the school paid for everyone!

Anyway, on Saturday I wasn't feeling much better.  I decided to try to go to Hoi An centre for lunch, but I had hardly any appetite.  I ordered bread and butter and couldn't even finish it!  There are a lot of people around Hoi An trying to cash in on tourists, so the fact that I was sick and being harassed by annoying touts was more than I could handle.  I also felt twice as hot as I would normally feel walking around outside in the heat, probably because I had a fever.  I could barely walk around!  Overall, Saturday in Hoi An was terrible, and I ended up having to leave to go back to the hotel, where I spent the rest of the day/night watching Harry Potter on TV, and nibbling on dragon fruit and bread.  Fortunately, my peeps got me some electrolyte tablets at a pharmacy in Hoi An, and I think that helped me out immensely.

The next day was much better.  I felt well enough to try going to the Hoi An old town again.  We wandered the streets and ate on the rooftop patio of a restaurant called the Cargo Club, overlooking the river.  I still didn't have a big appetite, but the double chocolate cake looked too tempting to pass up!  I also randomly got 2 pairs of linen pants made, ready the same day.  I went in for a measurements, picked out fabric, put down a deposit, and was told to come back later for a fitting.  After one fitting, the pants needed to be hemmed a bit more, so the tailor told me to come back in half an hour and they would be ready!  They turned out really well.  Later on, we had dinner at the hotel.  Karaoke ensued, and having already experienced one year of drunken karaoke staff outings when I lived in Korea, I decided to peace out quickly with some friends to enjoy more of the Hoi An old town district while I had the chance.



Hoi An - view from the Cargo Club rooftop!

I would have liked to have taken a cooking class or bike tour, but I was not up to it on this trip.  Hoi An is a place that everyone loves, and I know I'll be back at some point... hopefully feeling 100%!

Life

After nearly 2 months living in Vietnam, this place is feeling more like home.  Or, my home away from home, I should say.

Here is a glimpse into a day in the life of a.m.c...

5:30-5:45am  - Wake up, somewhere around this time...
5:45-6:30 - Get ready for work.
6:30-6:45 - Leave the apartment to take either a cab or local bus to school.
7:05-7:10 - Get to school and prepare for the day.
8:20 - Bell rings, school day begins.
9:55-10:15 - Recess...
11:15-11:55 - Lunch!
12:35-1:15 - My prep period... much needed break.
2:40 - Dismissal.

Leave school anywhere between 3:15-5:00, depending on the day.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I run a cooking club for one hour after normal school hours.

5:30-7:00 - Eat anywhere around this time with friends, at a random restaurant of our choosing.
7:30-10:30 - Hang out at the apartment, watch TV, go on the computer, go out for groceries, etc.
10:30 - SLEEP.

On weekends we usually go to District 1 ("downtown") ... the centre of Ho Chi Minh City.  D1 is a great place to wander the streets (while trying to avoid motorbikes), go to cool restaurants and cafes, visit shops and the big market, or barter for clothes at Saigon Square. 

The weeks tend to pass very quickly.  It's hard to believe that 2 months ago we just arrived here, ready to start a new adventure.  Time flies!

Trip planning...

This upcoming weekend the school is paying for the staff to go to Hoi An, a nice little town on the coast of the South China Sea.  We're leaving after school on Friday and returning Monday (day off work)!  The flight is only 45 minutes or so, and we will be staying at a resort on the beach.  I'm excited about it!  Hoi An is a great place that John and I visited last year on our travels, and we're looking forward to going back there.  There are lots of cute restaurants and tons of tailors.  Should be fun!

In other news... October break trip is BOOKED!  And the destination is....

THAILAND (again)!!!

We just can't get enough of that place.  Four of us are flying into Bangkok, then hopefully making our way to Kanchanaburi and some random island (TBD) that will have cheap, delicious pad thai and gorgeous beaches, no doubt.

All this trip planning has gotten me thinking about other destinations I hope to travel to in the next 2 years... the Philippines, Borneo, Taiwan, more of southern China... there are so many possibilities!  Once you get the travel bug, you can't stop.  I definitely have it, and it's an addiction that is hard to break!!

Peace, people!

September 21 was the International Day of Peace.  To celebrate this occasion, the whole school gathered for a pretty cool photo op, holding our "pinwheels for peace."  Amazing!!!

Autumn Moon Festival

Last week was the Autumn Moon Festival, aka the Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam.  At school, we had some traditional "moon cakes" for snack.  Sound delicious, right?  Truth be told, they are pretty gross.  Moon cakes are basically the worst version of fruit cake that you will ever try.  They not only have fruit, but nuts, beans, meat, and often contain things like shark fin.  Mmmm... delicious!  I tried some at school but was not a fan.  Actually, most of the students did not want to eat them at all!  I couldn't really blame them.

For the Moon Festival, we also had a dragon dance in the school gym.  It was interesting to see, and the students really enjoyed it.


The "Four Lions" dance

The dragon dance

Wikipedia tells me that the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival is called "Tết Trung Thu."  According to the website... the Vietnamese holiday recounts the legend of Cuội, whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree. Soon after desecrating the tree, she sat on one of the tree branches and the sacred tree began to grow and continued until it finally reached the moon, leaving Cuội's wife stranded there. Every year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cuội's wife the way back to Earth.  Strange, but cool!

Rainy season

Rainy season in Vietnam lasts from approximately May to September.  During this time, it can be beautiful and sunny and then downpour at any given moment.  The rain usually comes during the evening, and for a short period of time, however there have been times where we've been caught inside a restaurant for hours, waiting to see if the rain will let up! 
Even if you are equipped with a rain poncho or umbrella, you still have the possibility of getting ridiculously wet because when it downpours, there are some pretty huge puddles on the roads.  The drainage system isn't the greatest here, but I'm sure it is much worse in small cities.  I really hate the feeling of sloshing through a street in wet Birkenstocks, but sometimes it has to be done!  I can't carry rainboots with me 24/7...

Vietnam has lots of motorbikes (kind of an understatement), and when it starts to rain, many of the drivers pull to the side of the road and take out their rain ponchos to wear.  If there are 2 people on a motorbike, then the driver wears the poncho and drapes the back flap over the passenger behind him.  This looks pretty funny, but at least the passenger can stay somewhat dry even though they won't be able to see anything since they are riding under the driver's poncho.

Even though the rain may not be welcome all the time, sometimes it's nice to have things cool off a little bit.  It's over 30 C here every day... and walking around in HCMC on a sunny day can make you very sweaty!  Thank God for air conditioners!

Eating Out

I own a frying pan, 2 pots, and random kitchen utensils but have yet to really put them to use.  The extent of my cooking at home has been eating cereal and boiling water for tea.  While many people in Canada might think this is odd, it is definitely the norm among most expats in HCMC.

I eat breakfast at home, lunch at school (the cafeteria food is free!), and eat out for dinner... every day!  Restaurants here can be very cheap.  Sometimes you can get a full meal for $2-3!  The cheapest meals are usually at Vietnamese restaurants.  Sometimes we go to a "western" restaurant and splurge... spending $4-5!  Unlike the neighbourhood I lived in when I taught in Korea, this neighbourhood has much more variety in terms of restaurants.  Within walking distance, I can get to Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and "American"-style restaurants.

The #1 cheap Vietnamese meal:  pho

The typical Vietnamese "cheap" option is a soup called "pho."  Pho is sold all over the place, and is usually $2-3.  It is basically a Vietnamese version of chicken noodle soup.  It has noodles, chicken, and broth served with a plate of fresh herbs, sprouts, and lime for you to flavour it with.  I usually can't eat the whole bowl, but it is very tasty and healthy.  There is a chain of popular pho restaurants in Vietnam called "Pho 24."  If you order pho at this place, it will be on your table within minutes... the service is very fast!

In the above picture, you will see a glass in the upper right corner.  This is "tra da" which is iced tea (usually a jasmine or green tea, unsweetened).  Lots of restaurants will serve it to you for free, just like restaurants in Canada give you water for free.  It is tasty and refreshing!

Also in the picture is "cafe sua da," or Vietnamese iced coffee with milk.  I really like it!  It is very sweet because it is made with condensed milk.  Some people find it too sweet, so they ask for it without the milk.

Another good Vietnamese cheap option that I like is a dish with vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and spring rolls.  Yum!

Vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and spring rolls!

One thing that I have found is strange/good at restaurants in Vietnam is that tips are not required or expected.  Unlike back home, where everyone pretty much tips the server (and the servers expect to be tipped, even if the service is bad!), tipping is not the norm here.  We leave tips sometimes for really great service, but most of the time we just pay what we owe and leave.  This was a similar experience in Korea, where tipping was not required and was sometimes even considered insulting.  Nothing like a good, cheap meal to satisfy your hunger!

Beach getaway...

The long weekend in Mui Ne was great, and exactly what I needed after being tired out by the grade 1 class.  A group of teachers rented one of the school's buses for the weekend, which took us to Mui Ne.  Since it was a holiday weekend, there was a lot of traffic on the roads.  After 6 hours or so on the bus, we were dropped off at our hotel.  The hotel was located right on the beach, however there was not much of a sandy beach.  The tide was high and no one was out laying on the sand.  Luckily, the hotel had a nice pool located steps away from the beach.


The pool, where we spent a lot of our time!

Compared to Ho Chi Minh City, Mui Ne seemed so relaxed.  There was one main drag lined with palm trees where the hotels and restaurants were located.  There were still motorbikes (this is Vietnam!) but nothing compared to HCMC.  It was nice walking down the sidewalk and not worrying about motorbikes driving up behind me to park!

Besides lounging by the pool and taking a dip in the South China Sea, we visited Mui Ne's famous sand dunes.  The first dunes we drove to were called the "red dunes" because of the sand's reddish colour.  We were immediately harassed by kids trying to sell us pieces of plastic for us to sit on to slide down the dunes.  We took some pretty cool pics jumping off the dunes, but didn't stay at the red dunes for long.  We heard that the "white dunes" were further from town, and more impressive... but little did we know how amazing the white dunes would be!

The Red Dunes

 The white dunes were so vast and high.  I felt like I was in the middle of a desert!  We all kept asking ourselves "are we still in Vietnam?!?"  ... It honestly felt like we were in Egypt or some desert in the Middle East.  We rented ATVs at the white dunes so we could easily get up and down them.  When we were at the dunes, the sun was setting.  The whole experience was a bit surreal.  I definitely had a great time and would love to go back to Mui Ne again!

ATVs on the White Dunes

The White Dunes

7 days down, 173 to go!

The first 7 days of school are finished.  I've been a lot more exhausted than I thought I would be at this point.  Teaching full time is definitely a challenge.  Grade 1 is tough because all the kids are coming from kindergarten, where they apparently get 1 hour naps after lunch!  I've had a lot of kids tell me they feel tired and want to go home when the afternoon hits.  We're not in kindergarten anymore, kids!!!

This week was only 4 days, and last week was just 3 school days.  We have a long weekend now due to the Vietnamese National Day tomorrow, which means it's time to peace out of Saigon and head to the beaches of Mui Ne.  I love living in HCMC, but it is very chaotic and in-your-face.  There are motorbikes everywhere (including on the sidewalk!) but I've gotten used to it.  I'm looking forward to heading to a destination that is more "chill."

We ended up renting one of the school's buses for the weekend which will take a big group of teachers to Mui Ne (pronounced like "mwee nay"), a coastal town on the South China Sea, for 3 days.  Mui Ne was one place that John and I did not get to visit on our travels in Vietnam last year.  I regretted not going there, but now am thrilled that I have the chance to go!  There are massive sand dunes near the city similar to what you might find in a desert.  You can even do sand boarding down the dunes!  I'm excited to go here and explore a new destination.

Our school also has one week vacation in October, so more trip plans are in the works.  I'm hoping to score a cheap flight out of Ho Chi Minh City to anywhere!  I would love to visit Bali or Thailand again, or possibly try some place new.  What I love about living in Asia is that there are so many airlines and so many destinations just a short plane ride away.

For now, I'm off to Mui Ne tomorrow... stay tuned for the next post about my long weekend there!

The Ethical Decision

If you found a lost wallet, what would you do?  The ethical decision would be to track down the owner and give it back, right?

Last week I left my wallet in a cab after hitting up the Co-op Mart (grocery/superstore).  I have never done such a thing in my LIFE.  We were in a rush and carrying several bags of goods, and instead of putting my change from the cab fare in my wallet, I threw it in my purse.  Had I waited to take the extra few seconds to put the money directly in my wallet, I would have realized that I left my wallet on the seat of the cab!

While eating dinner with friends that night, my phone rang and the guy on the other line said "taxi, taxi!" and I thought it was a wrong number and hung up.  When it came time to pay for the meal, I opened my purse to take out my wallet and realized it was GONE.  Panic set in, and then I clued in that it was the taxi driver that called me, trying to tell me that he had my wallet.  He had gotten my number from my cell phone card which I left in my wallet (since I can't remember my own phone number which is 11 digits long)!  Luckily, our friend Andy speaks Vietnamese and called the taxi driver back from the restaurant to sort out the situation.  The waiter at the restaurant also helped out by taking my phone and telling the taxi driver exactly where the restaurant was located so he could meet us there to return the wallet.  The driver was all the way in District 1, so it was going to take him a while to come back to our area.  Feeling a sense of relief, I was so happy that the driver decided to do the honest thing and return the wallet.  Luckily, my passport was not in there, but my credit cards, some Canadian ID, and a bunch of money was.  I decided that I would give the taxi driver some money as a reward for returning my wallet.

When the driver finally arrived outside the restaurant, I ran up to his cab and he handed me the wallet.  I tried to give him some money as a reward, but he was brushing me off, and shook his head "no."  I must have told him thank you ten times before he drove off.  Such a nice guy, right???

Turns out... he had already helped himself to his own reward.  I realized that he had left most of the bills in the wallet, but had taken out a 500,000 VND bill!  That is equivalent to about $25.  I was just happy to get the wallet back, but kind of sad that the guy felt the need to take money from me.  I guess that explained the weird look on his face when he was refusing the money I was trying to give him as a reward.  For my carelessness, it was a small price to pay.  I'm just relieved that I got my ID back.  Lesson learned!!!

School Daze

The past week has been a blur ... so many things to do in such a short period of time!  Setting up the classroom proved to be a challenge since there were not a lot of resources left in my classroom from the previous teacher.  I've made due with what I have and survived the first week of teaching (only a 3-day week)!

I have a Vietnamese co-teacher, Ms. Hong, who is really nice and helpful.  Since there are a lot of students in the class, I'm pretty thankful that she is in the room with me.  The first couple days have been fun but challenging.  There is a lot of work to be done with establishing routines.  I have students from 7 countries in my class - Vietnam, Korea, Sweden, Venezuela, Taiwan, Switzerland, and Canada.  Most of the students are Vietnamese.  The English level ranges widely, as there are kids who are strong at speaking and then others who don't speak at all.

One thing I really love about the school is my co-workers.  People are really friendly and willing to help out in any way they can.  I'm glad I got to meet all these people... :)

Staff photo taken by the school photographer

After a day of teaching 19 grade one kids, I feel so exhausted.  Luckily next week is another short week!  Due to a holiday on Friday, we'll have a 3-day weekend.  There are plans in the works to go to Mui Ne, a beach town several hours away with massive desert-like sand dunes.

House Hunters International: Vietnam!

House hunting in Vietnam, or any foreign country, can be a daunting experience.  Unfortunately, the experience did not start well.  We were taken to some shady apartments by another rental agent.  Luckily, we were able to find a different agent named My (pronounced "me"), who helped us find an awesome apartment.  My was very organized in booking times to view 12 apartments.  She helped negotiate the rent, sent workers to the unit to repair some things, helped us go to the bank to get the deposits, called to set up our internet and cable TV, and offered to show us how to pay our bills. 

The best rental agent, My!

If you've ever seen the TV show "House Hunters International," then you will understand what the process was like.  Viewing so many apartments was a bit overwhelming.  I kept a list of each apartment, its pros and cons, and took photos of each one.  After a while, some of the apartments started looking the same, so taking notes and photos was a great way to remember each specific place.  Once a place was chosen, My helped to negotiate the rent price with the landlord, and gave us a bilingual contract.  Each unit in Sky Garden is owned by a different landlord, who is responsible for the upkeep and decoration of the unit.  I thought the

apartment had a lot of character... and I'm glad to call it my home for now!

As you can see, the apartment has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an office, living room, kitchen, entrance hallway, and small balcony where the washing machine is.  There is a nice view out the living room window of Sky Garden 1 and 2.  The "bamboo garden" next to the front window (not real bamboo!) is an interesting touch!  Unfortunately, none of the plants in the apartment were real.  You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

 
With the apartment search out of the way, now it's time to focus on work!  Orientation began this week... more to come about the school in the next blog post!  :)

Hello Vietnam

I'm happy to say that we have arrived in Vietnam safely and are loving it!!  The flight from Toronto to Hong Kong was very long (15 hours or so), and after a layover for several hours there, we were able to fly to the final destination:  HO CHI MINH CITY, also known as Saigon.  If anyone is ever flying to Asia, I would highly recommend the airline Cathay Pacific.  We were given tons of food, and even got to order off a small menu in economy class!

At the airport in Hong Kong, waiting for the next flight

Along with John and I, there were 3 other teachers from the school on our flight - Greg, Mike, and Catharine.  When we arrived at the airport in HCMC, we were greeted by the head of the school and then taken to our hotels on the school's private bus.  It was kind of surreal driving through the streets with Vietnamese signs, street food stalls, and insane motorbike traffic.  Even though I've been to this city before on my travels, it was crazy to think that I would actually be living here.  I wasn't able to get a lot of sleep on the plane, and despite being in transit for so long I felt pretty good!  We arrived in HCMC before lunch time, so it was important for us to stay awake all day so we would be able to get on normal sleep patterns.

Just arrived in Vietnam!

The hotel we stayed at was located in the neighbourhood of Phu My Hung in District 7.  It is about 20 minutes away from the school, and is full of a variety of restaurants and tons of modern apartment buildings.  It is an up and coming "foreigner" area in the city.  I wouldn't describe it as a touristy place - this is where many expats from different countries are living and working.

The apartment search began several hours after we arrived.  We were taken to a variety of places by several housing agents.  Some places were dingy, other places were decent.  Ultimately, we were able to find an apartment the day after arrival with an amazing rental agent we found on our own, named My (pronounced like the word "me").  My took us to view 12 apartments!  I felt like I was on the TV show "House Hunters International."


The apartment we chose is in the Sky Garden complex, which consists of many buildings, shops, restaurants, a gym, pool, and tennis courts.  Sky Garden is about 50% Korean expats which is kind of strange but cool.  I feel like I've never left Korea sometimes!  Photos of Sky Garden to come in the next post...

Goodbye, Canada

Less than 24 hours and I will be leaving from Toronto Pearson International Airport to fly to Hong Kong, and then onward to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!!!  Right now I'm feeling mixed emotions - excited, anxious, sad, and happy at the same time.

Currently I'm in Mississauga at Vanessa's place listening to the sounds of the big city from the 25th floor.  It's crazy to think that in a few days I'll be waking up to similar sounds, but on the other side of the world.  While my surroundings will be unfamiliar at first, I hope that I can settle into comfortable daily routines and enjoy life in Vietnam to the fullest extent.  No matter what happens though, Canada will always be on my mind... : )



Mississauga by night



Goodbye from Mississauga, ON and see you in Vietnam!