Vietnam Again

No this isn't a travel blog but goddamn, Vietnam is such an interesting, dirty, smelly crazy place that I need to fill you in....Hanoi, we landed and since we were on such a short trip we had to squeeze as much as possible into each day. Even the day when we arrived. The Husband will agree with me when I say it normally takes me a day or two to get into the groove of any holiday, especially ones overseas that have required leaving my kids and doing lots of organising beforehand. But as we were driving in surrounded by poverty and mad traffic, all my senses were heightened and alarm bells were ringing - I haven't got time to ease myself into this I have to be running as soon as we arrive. And that's what we did - straight into a DIY walking tour of Hanoi, complete with Saturday afternoon craziness, markets, motorbikes, people and general OMG'ness! Each meal had to count, each hour had to count - and what we realised is that I'm the MasterChef (god I love that programme) when it comes to pre-trip planning, but The Husband , well on-the-ground trip management is his strength, he broke the day into chunks and sort of knew exactly what we'd do in each of them. And so our 1/2 first day was walking, immersing ourselves and finding ourselves perfect spots for Bier Hoi sundowners (the local beer brew - about AUD$1). Our first day was capped off with a crowded outdoor street "bar" packed full of Vietnamese men sitting on tiny stools drinking beer. We joined them, and then when the guys next to us ordered food, we got what they did and had one of our ultimate Vietnam food experiences - Spicy Papaya salad and cold beer, sitting on tiny plastic stools in the rain. Now that's a long way from Sydney.

My article

I won't do this often I promise .....

http://blog.cruises.com.au/

Backpacking

I know I've been back from Vietnam for weeks now, but I'm in the midst of a writing course as well as writing my other blog about our Oxfam training so sorry this has gathered a few cobwebs lately. I have a zillion stories to tell and I will gradually get them down!
So Vietnam, The Husband and my objective for this 10 day trip was to have the kind of holiday we couldn't have with our kids, to be together again as a couple (rather than as parents who are a couple) and to go hard and have fabulous experiences. And to get in the zone we thought that instead of taking our smart luggage on wheels, we'd dust off our backpack and travel like we used to, before we had kids, or smart suitcases on wheels. We packed so conservatively that our total luggage weight was only 12kgs. In fact we even decided to catch a bus and a train to the airport rather than a taxi, although the reality was a taxi would have only been ever-so-slightly more expensive but so much less hassle. In the interests of saving money, we'd booked with the cheapest airline we could find online (Malaysian Airline), however there is lots to be said for booking through travel agents, because you actually get a real itenerary, flight times, transit details, even flight routes, none of which we had with our booking. So it wasn't until we were at the airport did we realise that we were actually flying through Brisbane - a small 3 hour diversion, and that we had 5 hours in Kuala Lumpar airport. Small details, we thought. Anyway I won't bore you with our long flight, apart from the fact that those hosties on Malaysian Airline had the teeny weeniest waists I'd ever seen, they were smidges of women impeccably dressed in tiny, tiny dresses. First feeling starting to develop of feeling like an elephant, and a badly dressed one too.
Arriving in Hanoi and in the midst of the swine flu fears, we were herded through a temperature measuring station kind of thing. No swish electronic heat detecting equipment like you'd find in Sydney Airport, no, instead we lined up and had a thermometer rammed in our ear. And was it like at the doctors when a new hygienic cap is placed on it each time it is used? Unfortunately no, just the same thermometer being used over and over and over again.... What would you have done? The time we had to make a decision was about 3 seconds when we realised what was about to happen.. Option A) Make a fuss in front of everyone, raising fears that you have swine flu and potentially getting put in hospital or the next flight back out or Option B) Have a dirty well used thermometer rammed in your ear, then move on and continue your holiday.

Lets just hope that swine flu can't be transmitted through ear wax.

Oh, and when we picked up our luggage from the conveyor belt, we saw that one of our backpack straps was ripped and broken. Possibly bad handling by airport staff but more likely from rot and the trauma of being used for the first time in 10 years.

Only in Australia...

Before I start my Vietnam stories, here's a article from the local newspaper. Now my sincere apologies to anyone who may be offended by my inclusion of this as an "item of interest" on my blog, but really, we're talking about a freaking possum here...

"Fur Flies Over Possum Death"
An Ingleside company has lost its contract with City of Sydney Council after it accidently killed a possum while cutting down a tree last week. The company said the possum's death was the result of poor communication and has apologised for the incident. It said one worker had been stood down and counselling for other staff was being arranged. A council spokesman said "The City of Sydney deeply regrets the incident and shares the anger and disgust of residents..." The Tree Services owner said "Our company deeply regrets the pain caused to any living being and apologises unreservedly for this incident".

This was a serious news item. And it's about a possum.

A Gig!

I have my first writing job! Admittedly it's a non-paying one, but still it's a start and a good one. Exciting!!! Now I just need to do it!