Rain, rain, go away...

(written 22/08/09, posted 06/10/09)

It’s bucketing it down. Thirty minute rainstorms in Cambodia had turned to an hour or two since being here but today it starts off rainy and never stops. So much for moto hire to see Wat Doi Suthep up the mountain with M. Moto + my moto skills + rain = potential disaster. We drink coffee and do the crossword instead. When it’s clear the rain isn’t going to stop we jump into a tuk-tuk and visit the Waroros market for locals as M needs some supplies for his homestay next week. Namely a man’s sarong for washing and getting changed under so he doesn’t give the villagers a surprise. I end up with more fisherman’s pants and some great material.

Lunch in the market is brilliant. We feast on my first Som Tam (Papaya salad) which I’ve now decided is the best thing since sliced bread. Still raining so it’s more shopping and more coffee. After a shopping respite, M and I meet up again later with S, the other volunteer here from VSO who was also on my course back in Birmingham. Catching up and listening to them chat reconfirms my absolute desire to do this. I still haven’t heard from the placement I accepted but that’s no surprise as it hasn’t been that long since I hastily filled out the application in Cambodia. I’m so keen it’s funny. More beers at the local bar with our favourite bar shop lady who can’t get anything I say in Thai. It’s really no surprise as I’m not getting on so well with this tonal language. S and I rely on M to order away, which he does and it ends up being another lovely night of beers, food and great company. What a shame, eh?

Holding back the tears...

(written on 10/08/09, posted 01/10/09)

Time to say our goodbyes...we said goodbye to a load of people who'd been with us all week and now it was time to say goodbye to the legendary Hoa himself and a couple more of the guests.

We were due to get the plane south to Saigon (no more buses for T and the flights were £31 each so L and myself thought it was a bargain - so much for my personal environmental pledge to only go overland whilst in Asia). Just that morning, I discovered my Vietnamese visa was 3 days out of date and I wasn't planning to leave the country for another few days after Saigon. Big Ooops. This could spell a bit of a disaster. We had our passports checked but not the visa stamps luckily. There were a couple if times I got a bit of the old clammy hands syndrome. Nothing to worry about then until getting to the border although I guess I could sort it out at the embassy in Saigon.

We didn't get to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City (it's modern name) until 6pm so it was a case of a taxi and find some accommodation. The taxi ride was fun and there were even more motos than Hanoi so it seemed even more chaotic on first impressions.

We ended up in the backpacker district so it was all clubs and bars. T, L and myself went up for a good nosh up and a couple of G&Ts. We were trying to plan what to do over the next three days, but it's always fun not knowing what you'll end up doing but just discussing all the possibilities.