Don't judge us--we cant wear makeup in Vietnam. It just melts off your face...The Canadian's have come back home, and Hailey and I have settled into our new place. We moved into a hotel right in the middle of town called The Royal Pearl. Whereas it is not nearly as nice as living at the house, it is in a convenient area. It is a few blocks from Ben Thanh Market and we can walk to all of the big hotels, restaurants, and bars. A few nights ago, we walked home from work and it only took about 10 minutes. At the house, our cab rides were 20-30 minutes, so we get to sleep in a bit now!
Hailey and I have found our favorite places in town--we are regulars at the ex-pat bar called Go2. It is one of the few places that stays open past midnight. Last Saturday night, we closed the place down. They have a pool table, good music, and a dance floor upstairs. The best part is the people watching! There are people from all over the world in the backpackers district--lots of Australians and Canadians. GO2 is just a couple blocks from work.
On Sunday, we saw the sun peek out, so we went to one of the five star hotels (nice!) and got a one day pool pass. This costs about $10 per person. It was very relaxing, but we got kicked out by the rain at about 4pm.
I tried pho (Vietnamese soup) for the first time the other day and LOVED it! There are some really amazing restaurants around here. We have gone to a place called Jaspa's for brunch a few times, and I swear the omelet there is better than any I've had in the states. Paul insists I'm imagining it and I have just been out of the game of real food for too long... who knows?!
Hailey's mom and brother are coming into town to visit on Wednesday. We are picking them up from the airport then heading right up to Nha Trang, which is a beautiful beach nearby. Since Hailey has been here for a month longer than me, she has already done all of the tourist activities. I will get the opportunity to see the war museum and go in the Cu Chi Tunnels, where the Vietnamese army hid during the war. There is a place next to the tunnels where you can pay to shoot guns into a field of haystacks. I think im gonna go for the AK47--its a buck a bullet. I'll post pics soon! We are also planning to take Hailey's mom and brother on an overnight trip down the Mekong Delta to see the floating markets and villages.
Our internship with Operation Smile ends on the 10th of August, and we are planning to leave Saigon a few days after that. The plan is embark on a 5 week backpacking trip through South East Asia. From Ho Chi Minh City, we are heading to Phnom Pen, Cambodia to see the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum. Then we are headed to Siem Reap to go on an overnight camping/dirtbike tour and visit Angkor Wat, which is the most famous temple in Cambodia.
From Cambodia, we are heading to Luang Probang, Laos. We are going on an elephant tour and hiking to waterfalls in the jungle. It is supposed to be beautiful! Then we are heading to Vang Vieng, which is also in Laos. We are going to tube down a lazy river that has bars all along the sides on the way down. They offer tours through ancient caves, which we will do if we have enough time. (I have a feeling bar-hopping in an inner tube could take a while...) That wraps up our trip in Cambodia and Laos, then we are headed to Thailand.
The first place in Thailand we are visiting is an island called Koh Phangan, the home of the monthly Full Moon Party, which oddly enough takes place on the full moon of every month. Luckily, Hailey and I will be there for this celebration...its supposed to be kinda crazy (think of scenes from Leonardo DiCaprio's 'The Beach'). Then we are heading to Kho Tao, a sleepy beach island, where we plan to get dive certified and be lazy on the beach.
Finally, we are traveling to Bangkok, Thailand. We are going to stay there for about 5 days or so, and explore the city. We are pretty much going to be wearing the same clothes for all 5 weeks of backpacking, so we have to bring small packets of laundry detergent and wash our clothes in the sink and hang them to dry overnight. It should be an interesting change from having my laundry done for me at the Canadian house...
That should conclude my travels, and I would like to be home somewhere around the middle/end of September.... in time for my birthday, of course. (September 22, for those of you who forgot. My favorite flower is the orchid.) Well, I am having a wonderful time here, and I am glad to hear that life in Seattle has stopped until I return home again. I will be posting pictures as I go along, so keep checkin the blogger! Miss you all!
Hailey and I have found our favorite places in town--we are regulars at the ex-pat bar called Go2. It is one of the few places that stays open past midnight. Last Saturday night, we closed the place down. They have a pool table, good music, and a dance floor upstairs. The best part is the people watching! There are people from all over the world in the backpackers district--lots of Australians and Canadians. GO2 is just a couple blocks from work.
On Sunday, we saw the sun peek out, so we went to one of the five star hotels (nice!) and got a one day pool pass. This costs about $10 per person. It was very relaxing, but we got kicked out by the rain at about 4pm.
I tried pho (Vietnamese soup) for the first time the other day and LOVED it! There are some really amazing restaurants around here. We have gone to a place called Jaspa's for brunch a few times, and I swear the omelet there is better than any I've had in the states. Paul insists I'm imagining it and I have just been out of the game of real food for too long... who knows?!
Hailey's mom and brother are coming into town to visit on Wednesday. We are picking them up from the airport then heading right up to Nha Trang, which is a beautiful beach nearby. Since Hailey has been here for a month longer than me, she has already done all of the tourist activities. I will get the opportunity to see the war museum and go in the Cu Chi Tunnels, where the Vietnamese army hid during the war. There is a place next to the tunnels where you can pay to shoot guns into a field of haystacks. I think im gonna go for the AK47--its a buck a bullet. I'll post pics soon! We are also planning to take Hailey's mom and brother on an overnight trip down the Mekong Delta to see the floating markets and villages.
Our internship with Operation Smile ends on the 10th of August, and we are planning to leave Saigon a few days after that. The plan is embark on a 5 week backpacking trip through South East Asia. From Ho Chi Minh City, we are heading to Phnom Pen, Cambodia to see the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum. Then we are headed to Siem Reap to go on an overnight camping/dirtbike tour and visit Angkor Wat, which is the most famous temple in Cambodia.
From Cambodia, we are heading to Luang Probang, Laos. We are going on an elephant tour and hiking to waterfalls in the jungle. It is supposed to be beautiful! Then we are heading to Vang Vieng, which is also in Laos. We are going to tube down a lazy river that has bars all along the sides on the way down. They offer tours through ancient caves, which we will do if we have enough time. (I have a feeling bar-hopping in an inner tube could take a while...) That wraps up our trip in Cambodia and Laos, then we are headed to Thailand.
The first place in Thailand we are visiting is an island called Koh Phangan, the home of the monthly Full Moon Party, which oddly enough takes place on the full moon of every month. Luckily, Hailey and I will be there for this celebration...its supposed to be kinda crazy (think of scenes from Leonardo DiCaprio's 'The Beach'). Then we are heading to Kho Tao, a sleepy beach island, where we plan to get dive certified and be lazy on the beach.
Finally, we are traveling to Bangkok, Thailand. We are going to stay there for about 5 days or so, and explore the city. We are pretty much going to be wearing the same clothes for all 5 weeks of backpacking, so we have to bring small packets of laundry detergent and wash our clothes in the sink and hang them to dry overnight. It should be an interesting change from having my laundry done for me at the Canadian house...
That should conclude my travels, and I would like to be home somewhere around the middle/end of September.... in time for my birthday, of course. (September 22, for those of you who forgot. My favorite flower is the orchid.) Well, I am having a wonderful time here, and I am glad to hear that life in Seattle has stopped until I return home again. I will be posting pictures as I go along, so keep checkin the blogger! Miss you all!
This is my little dancing buddy who is always selling gum at GO2. (he is seriously a good dancer). I told him I would take him grocery shopping if he took a picture with me. I took him to the store and told him to get whatever he wanted--and he walked out with a can of Pringles.
