100 Happy Days

Can you be happy for 100 days in a row?  You don't have time for this, right?  That's what this website says.  After seeing some friends' Facebook and Instagram posts with the hashtag #100happydays, I thought I would check out what this was all about.  Turns out, it is a happiness challenge.  Every day, for 100 days, you must post a photo of something that makes you happy.  Apparently 71% of the people who tried to complete the challenge failed - quoting the lack of time as the main reason.  They didn't have time to be happy.  That statement hit me and made me think about my own life.  In the past few months I feel like I've been overwhelmed with things and haven't always been optimistic.  For this reason, I decided to take up the happiness challenge.  I'm happy to say that I'm on day 22, well on my way to day 100!  Follow my happiness on Instagram (angelaabroad)... : )

McDonald's has arrived in Vietnam!

Last month, McDonald's opened its first store in Vietnam.  There was a much anticipated grand opening with red carpets and huge line-ups but after a month of being open, most of the excitement seems to be over.  Perfect time to pick up a cheeseburger combo and a hot fudge sundae!

After our weekend in Nha Trang, some friends and I headed to the McDonald's in HCMC.  We were greeted by smiling workers who gave us a menu outside, helped us fill out our order on a paper form and punched it into a handheld device, and then directed us to workers indoor who guided us to the front counter where we handed in our order forms and paid.  There were lots of workers in the back, so the service was pretty fast and the food we received tasted exactly like McDonald's back home - or anywhere else in the world.

I was hoping there would be some funny Vietnamese items on the menu like "McPho" or "McBanhMi" but sadly, there weren't.  Everything was pretty standard, except for a few things like "McPork" which doesn't exist back home.

Apparently this first-ever McDonald's in Vietnam is also the first-ever drive-thru restaurant in the country as well.  Of course, it was mostly motorbikes driving through though!  They are already building another location in the city, so this may not be the end of the McDonald's craze in Vietnam.

Hangin' in Nha Trang

Last weekend I hopped on the night train to Nha Trang with a bunch of friends from school for a relaxing beach getaway.  It was 12 girls and 1 lone guy!  Sleeper train tickets were around $25 and the hotel was less than $15 each with free breakfast.

I visited Nha Trang in 2010 when we were backpacking around Southeast Asia.  It was fun to visit this beach town again to see how much it has changed.  After four years, there were significantly more beach chairs and umbrellas, and a few more high rise hotels, but the beach was still as nice as I remembered it to be.  I like Nha Trang because it reminds me a little of Busan, where we lived in Korea.  Busan and Nha Trang both have beaches in the middle of the city - although Nha Trang is much more "tropical" than Busan.  In Korea we couldn't go swimming in all seasons since it gets too cold.

On the night train, I stayed with 3 friends in a sleeper compartment.  We had bunk beds, a TV, and small table.  Before we went to sleep, we crammed everyone in one compartment to play the hilarious game "Cards Against Humanity."  I slept well that night, but my sleeping was cut short at 4:30 AM when the train arrived in Nha Trang!

Upon arrival, we made our way to the hotel and since only one room was ready, some people crammed into the beds and others slept on the couches in the lounge on the top floor.  I slept for a while in the lounge before waking up to see the sunrise and then heading off to an early breakfast on the beach.

Sunrise in Nha Trang

We spent the day relaxing and swimming in the ocean, trading desserts, and eating poutine at our hotel (manager is Canadian, of course).  In the evening we went to dinner and had our own dance party on the beach, right next to an official dance party that we didn't want to pay to get in to.  After re-visiting Nha Trang, I definitely have a better appreciation of the beaches in Vietnam.  When I think "beach destination" I normally think of Thailand, but Vietnam's beaches can definitely compete.  The beaches here are beautiful and generally less crowded!

On our last morning, some of us had breakfast on the rooftop restaurant at our hotel, and then walked around the boardwalk near the beach.  We had booked flights back to HCMC, and spent more time waiting for the plane (it was delayed) than flying (only a 1 hour flight).  Although the weekend was short, it was lots of fun and a nice break!

View from breakfast at the hotel