Busy bee

Hello,


It has been a relief that my students have been busy with their speaking tests. Social events and other commitments have completely filled my time. We have celebrated a few birthdays and had some lovely gatherings. Work has still been quite hectic, it is quite visible in the students and the staff that we are approaching the end of the year and final examinations. My time has also been very occupied by my travel plans.

The panic has hit me that I only have another six weeks to see the rest of Vietnam. Luckily, I have a few days off coming up ! I am hoping to make it to Hoi An and Da Nang in central Vietnam. When my mother comes for a visit, we will go see Sapa in the north. I have been to Cat Ba before but the national park on the island is yet to be conquered. It feels weird to panic over such things; even though I am leaving Vietnam and Asia soon, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't be able to come back in the future and explore them more.

I am already thinking about the lessons I have learned in Vietnam and the experiences I get to walk away with. I have definitely met some of the most amazing people during my travels and I have made friends for life. Without a doubt these final weeks will be the cherry on the cake. This weekend we are heading to Do Son beach for a day out and a farewell party. Next week it's time for the annual pool party and my friend's big 30th birthday !

On another note, I have finally managed to find and organise the shipping of some of my property back to Europe. I looked into multiple options before but I have now chosen to use FedEx. My friends have good experiences from sending letters through the Vietnamese post but I wouldn't trust it with my belongings. The shipping has been a little tricky to organise because of the long list of regulations regarding the matter, which obviously boosts up the price with most companies into outrageous figures. So not to worry sister; your weasel poo coffee is on it's way in a few days !


That's all for now from Vietnam ! Have a lovely week.


M

Request for tips !

Dear Readers,

I am currently planning my road trip through southern China. I am heading there at the end of May. The plan is to go through Nanning, Guilin and Guangzhou on my way to Hong Kong. I am super duper excited about this trip and am trying to find out all the best things to do ! If you have any tips for me, I would be very interested to hear; mira.luoma@hotmail.fi

Later I will be heading back to South Africa, my former home country and my ultimate favourite. I will be blogging about this once the time comes so stay tuned for amazing tips and stories about Cape Town. Plan is to do the common tourist things; Table mountain, Robben island, Stellenbosch vineyards, Bo Kaap, Clifton beach.. Long with this I am looking to go scuba diving and diving with the sharks, hopefully bungee jump!

Sincerely yours,


Mira

The amazing Holi- festival

I headed to Hanoi last weekend. I am traveling to China at the end of my contract and had to make a run to the Embassy so I took up the opportunity to spend some extra time in Hanoi. I arrived Saturday afternoon and checked into the Downtown Backpackers' Hostel. Most backpackers stay in the old quarter around the Ma May street. This is a great place to see some more western people and enjoy western food. I wouldn't enjoy staying there for a long time but it is a more than welcome option after being in Hai Phong for so long.

On Saturday night I headed to a rooftop trance/ house party. The party was outside with a view over Hanoi, it was filled with different kinds of fantastic art work.  My friends had helped to organise it so I got to meet a lot of new people through them. Seemed like a super European night out and I really enjoyed it. We headed back to the old quarter for a little after party. Stuffed four people on a motorbike and drive down to The Rastaman to dance some reggaeton.

The Holi-festival took place on Sunday in the Kinder park in Hanoi. Woke up, drank my coffee and put on my white shirt. Off we went. The festival was amazing. Indian music is really catching and the joy of the people was just wonderful to witness. I even learned some traditional dance moves. I was rather surprised how many Indian people were in Hanoi. With just the entry fee, you could access an open bar and buffet. Absolutely tasty, authentic Indian food. At first, I was little scared that I wouldn't get enough colour on me but I can assure you, that was not a problem at all. I received so many heartfelt blessings from the people (rubbing some colour powder on your cheeks), it was beautiful. The festival took place right next to an amusement park so we had to test out their roller coaster. It was such a joyful, free spirited morning and afternoon spent dancing and laughing with so many happy faces. There was so much colour and so many different colours, I looked a little bit like a clown at the end but it was all well worth it. I did gather loads of stares on my way to my hostel but mostly people were just laughing, I did manage to make one child jump when I got out of my taxi.

Sunday night was spent dancing away with my girls. Backpackers feel no weekdays. Monday morning I hit the Embassy. Note to travels; if you are looking to go to China, the Embassy requires you to inform them about all the hotels you are planning on staying in. I was hoping to do my trip in a road trip style but in order to get the visa, this was not possible. For me, (besides the hotels) there was nothing extraordinary in the visa application. I was often warned about the long procedure, which is why I am so early with my application, but I was promised my visa within four days. I would however, recommend  you to apply for the visa 3-1 months before your journey.

This week has been full of speaking tests and trying to catch up with sleep.

I hope you had a lovely week so far and enjoy your weekend !


Love,


M

Vietnamese habits

Dear readers,

As I mentioned before, I have given a plenty of travel advice lately. It has made me think a lot of Vietnamese habits as I have been trying to explain how this country really works. I have long gathered my thoughts and notes, trying my best to analyse this country. So here we go !

The Vietnamese people hate the sun. This is even laughed at in Laos and Cambodia, much darker Asians. The Vietnamese take covering themselves to a whole new level, it is truly funny. It is nearly impossible to find skin products in this country that don't contain bleach.

There is no question too bold to ask. Not many days have gone past when I wasn't asked about my relationship status or other similar invasive topics. They don't understand the concept of physical boundaries either. You can easily see boys cuddling at school, holding their hands on each other's bodies. As I was shopping for my Ao Dai, I felt absolutely violated by the shop keepers as they were huffing and puffing around me shouting 'tay' and poking me to places no shop keeper has business in. There is no shame in pointing and staring at people, especially western people.

The country is still extremely communist. ''Attention'' my primary school assistant shouts when I walk into the class and the 8-year-olds greet me with a Nazi salute. All schools have their own 'school exercises'. This is a series of weird hand waving all students partake once a day during their break time.  It is still forbidden to discuss politics and religion with anyone, and you really want to mind your words when discussing famous Vietnamese people.

Vietnam has no bins. All litter is literally thrown on the streets where a group of older ladies gather and sort it into wheelbarrows. It is truly bizarre, throwing trash out still bugs me. In the start, I would always walk around with my trash looking for bins.

There is no such thing as originality. I tell my students to come up with a free topic to discuss in the next class and they all 'come up' with the same one (also reeks of laziness). There are a certain amount of Vietnamese traditional dishes; they are all made the exact same way, they all cost the same, no matter what shop you got to. No clothing shop or restaurant advertises themselves as unique or even tries to have something unique. People eat in the same place everyday. And nothing wrong with that, Vietnam has some yummy food.

Of course, when discussing food I need to bring up the meat culture in this country. Now, I have been a vegetarian for four years but even if I wasn't before, I would have surely become one upon arrival to this country. Firstly, eating dogs and cats is delicacy. Dog meat is eaten with crab meat sauce which stinks miles away. They say that two bad things make a good combination. No part of any animal is wasted. The meat is not parted into different files or ribs or anything, the entire animal is chopped into chewy, bony pieces that simply make me sick.

In restaurants, all meals and drinks are ordered a few at a time for the whole table. One person ordering a meal for themselves is unheard of. You can just simply join a dinner party, dig in and then pay your share at the end. If the food runs out, you simply order another dish. Beers are sold in jugs so just bring your glass around and pay 10 p at the end per glass.

All waiters and waitresses wait right by you once you have requested a menu or your bill. The western habit of slowly thinking, reading the menu or collecting money in peace from all parties does not exist. I guess it is because all the food is the same so people are expected to know what they want. Also, I believe that it is a custom for friends to pay for the dinner in turns.

There is a two - two an a half hour lunch break every day. The Vietnamese take their lunch very seriously and all the men get drunk on daily basis during this break. After which, they nap for an hour and start their day again. Their alcohol tolerance is so low, they get drunk very easily.

Like in many other Southern Asian countries, all things, especially money, is passed from one person to another with two hands. The words 'thank you' and 'please' are rarely used, the locals often laugh how 'tays' overuse these words. The students still bow their head when they are passing you or apologising something.

Security is ridiculous. This is something that does really annoy me, it is so unnecessary. You are not allowed to take any of your own bags into shops, you must check them into lockers. In case your wallet is in a tiny bag, it will be wrapped and sealed into plastic as you enter the shop. In clothing stores the assistants follow you so closely they sometimes even bump into you. Most of the expensive goods in shops have an alarm, batteries and wine etc. Once you are through the till a security guard will check your receipt and bags before stamping the receipt and letting you go. Small shops will even staple the receipt onto the bag.

I have discovered that it is possible to transport anything on a motorbike. I have seen fridges and washing machines, families and pigs. It's a shame that I am always driving so it's hard to snap photos but I'll be driving around with my go pro and hopefully, I'll be able to evidence some of the best ones later. I have even managed to transport somethings that I never expected; two rice cookers and a bunch of people. Nothing compared to the genuine locals but getting there.

It's okay to pick and poke anything, especially in public places. Next to my friends' front door in a stall that cleans people's ears on the street. Disgusting. You can often face a person at a dinner table sitting with their legs on the seat, picking their toe and finger nails. Most people are constantly picking their teeth (dental care here is nasty). Poking other people is not uncommon either.

And finally, it's all about them squats. Street restaurants have these cool urban chairs that are plastic and made for midgets. Toilets are either holes on the ground or disgusting. Sometimes it's really hard to drink enough water because it seems to be as hard to find a toilet as it is to find a bin. Squat, squat, squat away.


Anyways ! I hope I have shed some light on a few interesting Vietnamese habits.

Love,

Mira

A night out with prostitutes

You know, sometimes your find yourself in a situation you never imagined being in. And it all kind of feels surreal and crazy. Well, this is a post about my night out with some prostitutes. It will be very honest, so my apologies for those more gentle readers.

I was lured out by a Vietnamese friend, begging me to go sing karaoke with him. I thought it might be nice to try something new so I agreed. As we were waiting for a taxi, it turned out that we are headed 10 km out of Hai Phong to his home town. We picked up some of his friends on the way there, no one speaks English. We arrived outside this dodgy karaoke place in the middle of nowhere and were escorted to our private room. The room has no windows, is furnished with massive black sofas and a drinks table. Turns out that the boys always gather here because it is a safe place to take drugs in. Which were plenty; right from the door platefuls of powder were circling around.

There were about ten Vietnamese boys and one girl in the room. No one really paid attention to me so I happily took over a corner to observe things. The karaoke, and the boys, lasted about 5 mins. After this the room was dimmed and the boys were so high they were busy taking naps after one another. Needless to say that I don't have the habit of snorting things. After the lights went out, the girl disappeared for a minute and came back with a lot less clothes, boobs three times the size they were before and three half naked friends.

I guess thanks to the amount of powder in the room, things escalated quite quickly. The bizarre drum and bass blasting was so loud the sofas were shaking. Some of the boys were still fast asleep while the others were busy taking their tops off. No one (but my friend) had said a word to me. Sitting in the corner feeling like a high class prostitute no one could afford occasionally getting blurred confessions from my friend about all things between the Earth and the sky.

Luckily, another friend of mine joined me so we could retire in our gossip corner in peace. Turned out that the girls were 18 and the boys were nearly 30. Four girls on ecstasy entertaining ten, mostly married, older men. Watching this grinding show was quite an experience. Eventually, we decided to leave them to it and left home.

Once in a lifetime.


More stories in the future !

Mira

Travel tips

Hello lovelies and happy mid-week,

Recently, I have been asked a lot of traveling advice. I would just like to tell you all not to be shy and ask away ! Share with your friends and family, I am more than happy to share my experiences and try and help everyone to have the best possible trip.

Mira 

Vietnamese celebrations

Happy women's day !! :)

I hope you all have a very blessed, beautiful day.


Time after the holidays has gone quickly balancing between work and different celebrations. I partook in my friend's wedding, staff retreat in Hanoi, recently celebrated two birthdays and today, women's day. In my opinion, Vietnamese people take their celebrations seriously, and I love how giving flowers in so common in this country.

The wedding was fun, though, it reminded me of a TV show. It was in a huge hall, filled with lights and flowers. The wedding couple spent most of their time on stage taking pictures while a (too) loud commentator was babbling away in Vietnamese. No one really paid attention to the couple or the show that was going on, everyone was busy eating and drinking vodka shots. The presentation on the stage was a bit weird and quite unclear (at least to us foreigners). The wedding couple starts taking their wedding pictures a month before the wedding in countless of different locations and dresses. The funniest part for us 'tays' is how common it is to take pictures outside shopping malls, in front of expensive fashion outlets.

The annual staff retreat took place in Hanoi this year. We performed a dance that I choreographed and enjoyed some drinks together. It was a beautiful, sunny day so we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking beers by the river. It was great to see the girls I worked with in Ha Long again!

Birthdays were absolute madness. My best friend turned 28 so we had a cake made, ordered some flowers and loads of drinks. We took her out for live music, followed by some dancing at a club. It was so much fun and she seemed to really enjoy it. We continued to the other birthday, which was a house party. My friends recently moved into a huge mansion so the party was quite crazy, but so much fun. The next day we took our bestie for a surprise amusement park day. There is a very random amusement park in central Hai Phong, with some equipment we didn't dare to try due to the lack of security measures. Regardless, the day was amazing, just what we all needed.

Sunday night was spent in a Vietnamese dance battle, which was amazing, and watching a football game. All in all, a perfect weekend.

Women's day is very popular in Vietnam. Yesterday I received flowers from my assistant and my students. I really had fun in my classes and do think that I have the best of students! I am now planning on popping by my assistants house, her mum just sent me some coffee. Such a sweet heart.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to fully defeat my flu so I am still snoring due to the inability to breath through my nose at all. Hopefully, the situation will be fixed soon... it is truly annoying to be constantly coughing and sneezing.


Anyways, enjoy your day !


Mira