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OK so its been over a month since my last update but between mum and dad being here, xmas, new year and travel planning it's been hectic. I'll split this entry into a few parts so it doesn't end up looking like a mini novel.
I'll start with beginning of December and we started to really plan onward travels. We reduced the Cambodia tour to 5days doing exactly what we wanted and they can arrange it for under £300 each. Mum and dad arrived on the Saturday so I walked to meet them at their hotel and the receptionist asked if I was there to see my parents straight away! She directed me to their rooms (very nice) and got a very long very tight hug from mum - you would think she hadnt seen me for months! We headed for lunch in a little sandwich bar with Paula and they thought it was hilarious how excited we were that you could choose your own bread - luxury in Nam.
I told them just to trust me when I took them for their first street food experience that evening. I ordered a mini feast and 15p beer and I think they enjoyed it, they couldn't believe it came to less than a tenner! Then I had to teach them to cross the road like Moses especially mum who kept wanting to stop and they were fascinated by everything on motorbikes. It was funny to see their reactions because I was the same at the beginning but now I didnt even look twice; their cameras were out constantly. Even though I had told them about the madness of Hanoi I knew they hadnt really believed me until they saw it with their own eyes! I took them to Watch Out bar and bubble bar for cocktails but it was still early so we were the only people in there. We moved on to the night market and I showed them how to haggle in Vietnamese but the traders were being stubborn as they didnt have many customers. We finished xmas shopping and the others were at bubble bar so we went back there so mum and dad could meet everyone. I left Jack entertaining them for a bit before jetlag set in and they wanted to head back (not before stopping to buy a bottle of £3 vodka on the way though!).
Sunday was an early start for the cooking course but not before breakfast at the hotel (banana pancakes with honey amazing). Our guide was friendly and spoke very good English, taking us on a market tour to tell us about the ingredients and substitutes we could use at home. I got to wear an apron and chefs hat yay! Unfortunately my chopping skills left a lot to be desired and the chef kept helping me because I was too slow, he just kept laughing at me. The course has been one of my favourite things so far - the food was amazing but way too much so took some home for the other interns. I opened my xmas presents from home including an advent calendar and shortbread, well done nan! Then it was time to hit them with Big C, it wasn't as busy as a normal Sunday but still a stressful experience. They took photos the whole way around and were gobsmacked at the random assortment and organisation of items. After buying a few things stress levels became overwhelming so I took them back to my accommodation for the Vietnamese version of steak and chips and cheap beer. The police must be bored at the moment as at one point we were all rushed inside another shop and tables packed away because they didn't have a license for people to sit on the street. It has never happened before but did in a few places around this time then stopped again. I will never understand this country! Took mum to a nice restaurant and she said she actually prefers the street food!
My afternoon off was the nicest day they had here weather wise so we went to West Lake on the bus so mum could see a pagoda. Wednesday saw Santa's (dad's) arrival at the school of dreams where all the kids wanted to rub his belly and pull his beard while the teacher wanted pictures with him. My TA even came back after lunch with her little girl to see him. Santa decided to danherwith me in the first session and regretted it as the TAs then made him do it in every lesson. Poor mum became Alf instead of elf but all the teachers told her how young and beautiful she was so think that made up for it. The kids were very unsure how to react at first so were very quiet but it wasn't long before they were all screaming. Dad even had to do a quick tour of grade 1 and 3 as well when they found out he wasn't coming back Friday. After 6 lessons and 50 repetitions of We wish you a merry christmas (crazy frog version), I think they appreciated how tiring the lessons actually are.
That evening we ate in the Old Quarter so they could finish their Christmas and souvenir
shopping and found a great little shop on silk street. The woman had bigger size t-shirts for dad and she named him Happy Buddha (a name he will now have for life). She even threw in some free chopsticks for all of us. Got taxis there and back and had 2 very chatty drivers. The first asked my name and age in Vietnamese and then mistakenly assumed I could actually speak Vietnamese. I spent the rest of the journey telling him I didn't understand, bless him he kept trying though and then just laughing at me. The driver on the way back had better English and we managed to start a conversation. He asked me if I had a darling and then if I would like a Vietnamese darling! He asked to take me for coffee - they're not backwards in coming forwards and waste no time here! I said I had to work so wouldn't be able to, feel bad lying but feel worse just saying no when they are being nice lol.
We went back to Happy Buddha lady later in the week for more t-shirts but she didn'thave what we wanted. She went running off to try and find things 3 times leaving us unsupervised in her shop lol. She couldn't find what we wanted but promised to get them for when we got back from Halong. Then she tried to give us more free stuff to make up for the fact that she didn't have what we wanted! I tried to get some new pumps but the woman in the shop threw a stall at me - no way I was buying anything from her after that!!
Halong in the rain
The tour guides we had in Halong were great and they loved dad, he was happy buddha for the whole weekend. Unfortunately when we arrived in Halong to board the boat it was cold and raining - great. The boat looked ok, if a little worn out in places, until we got to the room. It was a double room with another bed shoved into it so the beds were literally wall to wall. We had some of the sheets changed as well due to mystery marks, still no visible bed bugs was a nice improvement. The food all weekend was amazing but buffet meals so ate way too much again!
First stop was the 'surprising caves' and the Ti-Top island, still in the cold and rain. Me and mum climbed all 400 and something steps to see the view but I'm not sure it was worth it. After getting back on the boat we were supposed to go kayaking but no-one else wanted to go. I was gutted but hopefully will find somewhere else along my travels to do it. We had a relaxed evening playing cards inside the boat with a random Vietnamese awards show blaring out of the TV.
Saturday was an early trip to Cat ba island - less rain but still grey and miserable! We were going trekking in the National park - we stupidly thought this would be a stroll through trails surrounded by trees. In skinny jeans and pumps we certainly weren't prepared for the task ahead. I was ready to give up after the first section of stairs. The second section was a trail and I managed to get my breath back just in time for the rock climbing. Yup no real steps just heaving yourself up and over rocks with the odd rusty kadder thrown in. Our guide 'Alan' was bats*** insane, monkey calling and meowing the whole way. He kept sticking sticky plants on all the guys as nipples and making them shake for his amusement! This was when he wasn't climbing up and swinging from vines asking for photos. We all struggled climbing the rocks while he would just pop up out of nowhere after running up a steep hill, all in flip flops of course! This time the view was worth it even on a misty, drizzly day. Alan posed like a ballerina with his fan for photos on a narrow ledge. If i thought coming up was bad, getting down was petrifying. My legs wouldn't stop shaking even when I reached the bottom. Alan was like my PA all the way down though holding my ankles and placing them where they needed to go and holding my hand down steep steps. Without him I think I actually would have frozen.
Cat ba was a very strange little town although maybe it just feels that way out of season. We didn't spend very long there before going to Monkey Island and our bungalow. The weather was still miserable but you could see that in the summer it would have been a great place to stay, right on the beach and set in little lit gardens. However it wasn't summer, it was freezing and the air con that was supposed to blow out warm air didn't. So we sat looking at the sea all wrapped up with hot drinks. To see the monkeys you had to go to the other side of the island which involved more rock climbing. I got about half way up but it was getting dark and with no idea how long it woukd take and no one to guide me I came back down. I didn't want to get to the other side and get stuck in the dark with a pack of monkeys. So we saw plenty of dogs on Monkey island but no monkeys.
Sunday morning the rain started again and it was too cold to get the boat engine started. We ended up in mini row boats back to Cat ba harbour - you had to laugh or you would cry. When we got back to the Old quarter we went back to see happy buddha lady who had found mum's t-shirt. She kept throwing more free stuff at us from face masks to hat windchimes - I love her and will send everyone to buy things there.
Monday came and it was time for mum and dad to leave. It was by far the coldest day I had in Hanoi so far. They managed to pick one of the worst weeks weather wise as since they left we have had blue skies and sunshine - still freezing though! I never believed it when they said it but 10 degrees feels a lot colder here. Mum got a bit emotional at goodbye time but I felt ok I was over half way through and time was flying by. Not quite sure how much longer I could have kept up with them while working anyway, I felt exhausted but it had given me a much needed boost to see this through to the end.
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