In Ho Chi Minh/Saigon, I was staying with my old housemate, Emma, who is currently teaching in Saigon. This gave me the opportunity to enjoy expat lifestyle. To be an expat you need to learn taxi directions in the native language, drink and eat out a lot, live in an incredibly swish apartment maybe with a maid (the maid does not apply to Emma, to be fair) and not necessarily have visited the main attractions in your city. This was quite fun for a week!
After a gruesome journey from Dalat, which lasted most of the day and included speaking Vietnamese that Emma had given me and a nice evening in (a treat when travelling!), I spent the second day exploring Ho Chi Minh. Firstly, this included enjoying the luxury apartment and its pool, and then I went and wandered around. Ho Chi Minh is much more built up and richer than other cities in Vietnam, there are a lot of high rise buildings and very swish shopping centres. There are also a lot of amazing patisseries and things, which are realy fun to have a look at. I also went to the War Remnants Museum, which is in no way fun. There is quite a heavy propagandist slant but also many horrendous images of the long term effects of war, particularly agent orange. The second unpleasant thing about the museum is the Asian tourists posing for pictures with damaged foetuses. Emma had lent me The Quiet American, which I very much enjoyed, so we went and walked down Rue Catinat and had cocktails in the Continental in the style of Fowler, and we could afford them! This was followed by a Vietnamese meal where someone felt confident ordering for us and ended up being delicious.
For my birthday itself, I went into Emma's school, the British International School. This was actually amazing to see. It's a really well done school building, with lots of small classes and a completely different atmosphere to any UK school I've been in. Firstly, Maths is cool. Secondly, the difference in value of learning is really apparent, especially as the lessons and school is very much British but the responses of the children are very different. I got to observe a lesson and chat to lots of teachers, as well as observe Emma teach English as a second language (they were learning 'If I had heard her, I would have gone downstairs' sentences - very confusing!) and then, after meeting the headmaster, was seen as some kind of Oxbridge expert and spoke to the head of sixth form (I assume) and one girl who is about to have her interview for Cambridge in Singapore, although normally they encourage parents to pay to fly to the city itself (!).
After that I had a massage in a salon full of expats having their hair done by three people at once, followed by English faculty drinks and then a big very Western meal out with a whole load of Emma's friends that I adopted for the day! On Friday, I went back to the school to watch their international day celebrations. This was incredible, all morning they wander around different classrooms that are different rooms and play quizzes/games/eat food/dress up, and then in the afternoon they have a big talent show and fashion show. This largely involved national dance (the Indians and the Indonesians, who dance with their eyes, were the best!), as well as a lot of dancing in the style of gangnam style - google it, it is huge here. Way more fun than any school show I'd been to before!
Finally, I also spent a day in the Mekong Delta, which is not beautiful but amazing how much life happens on the river, particularly when it floods a lot. I hope to share some pictures soon, I got rowed down through the jungle, saw honey being made, coconut and fruit being grown and heard some traditional music. A really good day trip. I wish I had google earth, I imagine it looks like one massive puddle from above.
I have now arrived in Borneo and have spent the day looking at Orangutans! I will try and post soon, as I am out of Internet time and definitely want to share some pictures soon!
Aw! Reminisce!
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