Have not written for so long because I haven't traveled as I intended and then I realised that this blog is about the whole experience of living and working overseas not just about the good times. After my wonderful time in Hoi An I returned to work and teach for a 2 week period before we had another holiday for Tet (Vietnamese New Year). I was so excited as I was supposed to be heading to Myanmar - a country I have longed to visit. However it was not to be........

Still one of my favourite places in the world Hoi An retains its quiet serenity. Life seems to flow by at an uneventful pace. Each day you find yourself slowing down to fully enjoy all that this little jewel has to offer. A break from the hustle and bustle of city life was truly what we needed and as we walked along the narrow streets each day going from tailors to shoes to bags we would stop off at one of the many restaurants for a break. Everyone here is still ...

An early start this morning for quite a long trip to Hoi An. Have to cover about 280 kms which does not sound far but the roads are poorly maintained here and travel is slow. We were looking forward to today as this part of the trip covered the jungle and the mountains of the infamous and ingenious Ho Chi Minh trail. As an avid reader of books relating to the American – Vietnam War this area was of particular interest to me as I would finally get to see in ...

Getting out of our hotel was a joy after a terrible night only lightened by the consumption of whisky. We are getting heartily sick to death of this tour. We paid an exorbitant rate and have been scammed badly – everyday seems to bring yet another nasty surprise which is such a pity. Vietnam is trying to build itself as a prime tourist destination in South East Asia but when people are confronted with such poor service and when you tell them they just don&#...

I have decided to do a separate blog about Christmas in Vietnam as it has been such a surreal experience. Firstly I have to point out that most Vietnamese people do not celebrate Christmas – it is mainly celebrated by the minority groups many of whom are Catholic. Therefore as we were travelling through the Central Highlands which is the area predominated by minority groups we got to see firsthand how they celebrate. We had seen some decorations in Thu Dau...