Waterpark- big success!! Loved it. Other than the staring it wasn't nearly as bad as the reviews made out.

Last week I continued to work at home, though midweek came down with the flu so ended up not working for a day and half and sleeping instead.

On thursday and friday, a load of us went away to Cao Bang, which is far north of here, close to the Chinese border. We had been invited to a conference on international NGO support in that area, so the trip was actually all paid for and we had to just turn up! Unfortunately, it took 8 hours by bus to get there. This meant that we had to get up at 4.30am! We were given lunch as soon as we arrived (it was stonecold and not so good). The people from the hotel wanted to take us to see some caves in the afternoon, and little did we know that this would involve a few hours more driving in. It was quite beautiful and actually the caves in which Ho Chi Minh planned the revolution. At this point we were only the other side of a hill from China! Then drove back. Didn't get to look around the town in the evening as we had planned as the entertainment (traditional singing and dancing) went on for too long and the driving had tired us all out.

The conference itself I found relatively interesting, though difficult to keep track with given that it was being translated, so speeches were very jilted. A lot of the projects being put into place are similar to those which CECAD undertake, so it was nice to see how they are working elsewhere. Also good to see from an outside perspective how international aid is implemented in Vietnam.

This week we are to receive a further 7 volunteers to the house, so that there will now be around 30 of us. However, a load of people are due to be leaving or going away to Hoi An this week. I'm now starting to feel like a real oldie here. It kinda sucks with all this unsettle as new people keep visiting places I have already been. Nice to have it busy though.

Now running more and more, and really getting into it. Only problem is that the dust here is so soo bad, particularly as it isn't raining too often these days. I'm hoping that this much exercise will hopefully counter the copious amounts of rice and bread that I'm eating. Food is starting to wear thin, vietnamese food is just not as good as many other asian foods.

Another weekend in the city this week…...