So tired, too much to do

I am so very tired. We have reports to write, our year group production in a week and a parents' evening too. Everthing has come at once and I'm feeling quite overwhelmed. I can't believe we are only just back from holidays 2 weeks ago it seems like forever.

We had a good weekend. It was Gareth's 30th birthday. I organised a night out for some friends and we had a good turn-out about 20 people showed up. Unfortunately the bar I booked in was closed and there was no other alternative but to wait in a real old-man's bar next door while we collected enough people to tell them where we were going next. The bar was a real hole - somewhere my Grandpa would have enjoyed. Luckily it all turned out well in the end when some friends called from the tapas bar where they were sitting and they had managed to reserve us the roof terrace - which is normally booked out but luckily not that night. They brought Gareth cake and candles and we had some good champagne and tequila! We went dancing in at a very cool halloween party in a club under the opera house. It was the perfect place for a halloween night - like a dungeon with loads of passages with little bars at the end. Woke up with a sore head the next morning but had to plough on as it was Gareth's birthday. We had a late brunch at a nice French cafe and then I cooked roast dinner in the evening.

Back Home

Had a really nice 5 days out of the city. We just flew back in today. It was a much better journey than our way out and we were home in about 2 hours including the flight and getting out of the airport.

On Wednesday we went on a huge hike. It was 17km through pine forest. Some of the climbs were real killers but it was really satisfying to feel so exhausted and pig out for dinner fully deserving it! The scenery was amazing. We went through a minority village which was like going back in time, through some coffee plantations (I realised I never knew what coffee plants looked like despite having studied something about coffee in geography) and had to cross the river by quite hazardous looking suspension bridges.

On Thursday we had a good rest. I got a massage which was amazing for my aching legs. Then we went for high tea la-di-da! Yummy pancakes and coffee. We finished off the evening having a ottle of wine in a nice restaurant then drinks in a hotel bar. It was a real Ant kind of day.

Leeches

Our plane: a but smaller than we had anticipated and quite bumpy.

Elephants have the weirdest bendy legs.
Leeches everywhere! They love this kind of swampiness.

Went on a mammoth hike yesterday. We started on a lake and walked up into the mountains. We saw an elephant along the way but he looked really sad as he was chained up for giving rides. Apparantly he gets to go free at night time as doesn't go far so they find him again in the morning. The scenery was amazing but one thing freaked me out: leeches! We had to check our shoes every 10 minutes to see if leeches were crawling up - and they were every time we looked. I really hated it they are freaky looking and stand up really high on their one jelly leg. We finished our walk in Chicken Village - with a big statue of a chicken right in the middle. On the way back I found another leech making its way up my leg. When we got home I stripped off straight away and found more leeches in my clothes. I put my socks in the bin as I couldn't bear it. We tried to flush them down the loo but they just climbed back up. Oh my god they are unstoppable! I wish I had taken photos!

Waiting

Had a very annoying morning. I woke up and had no features. I have some kind of allergy and am all swollen up in my face. Gareth thinks I look funny and keeps laughing at me. I don't see the funny side!

We got to the airport to take our flight to Dalat and they told us it had been changed to 3 hours earlier - they had our wrong details on file and had contated a Mr and Mrs Wong instead of us. So now we are hanging about in the airport for 5 hours until the next flight. They offered us the business lounge so we have free food and drink and at least I can go on the computer for a while. But I am really getting bored, bored, bored. Also discovered my allergy is some kind of flu. I'm all wrapped up and shivery. Sympathy please!

In town

We went into town today to get a couple of things for our oliday. We are off to Dalat tomorrow - up in the mountains so hopefully a bit cooler than here. I took a couple of shots of the centre of town. This is the opera house above. I went for an amazing facial. They also did my feet in a paraffin wrap. They put hot wax onto your feet like little wax boots. It felt amazing and my feet aren't so crusty anymore. I was a bit embarrassed and apologised to the lady for the state of my feet. A very relaxing afternoon. Great start to the holiday!

A whole bunch of stuff

I haven't written anything for ages as school has been really busy. I am on holiday now though so it's very exciting that I actually get some time to myself. 2 weekends ago Gareth and loads of school people did a fun run. I hate running but went along to watch. The photos above are some from the park where the run started and ended. I was actually quite inspired - all the people at school are so fit so I have been running and got up to 30 mins this week. I am planning on doing a 5km run in a few weeks! I can't believe my turn around.


On the weekend I have been helping out at an orphanage. The kids are so cute. They have this amazing padded room with loads of toys where they can roll about but the nurses never take them there and don't even give them any toys in the cots because they say they throw them at each other. They all rock in metal cots like caged animals and are desperate for a hug. So when we come in we take them down to play and they love it. The little baby above is such a sad little thing. She never smiles except when you lift her up into the air so I try to make her smile all the time. I'm so in love with them!

Good week

I've has such a good week. It's finally all getting easier at school. I feel like I know the system and am on top of things. I have finally gone through all the papers left from the last teacher and sorted out my classroom. The kids are starting to be more well-behaved. They are quite spoiled and I had to crack down on them as they just do their own thing and ignore you. Had a good day yesterday. We did art all day. We made bees from socks they look excellent and painted flowers on to rice paper then painted wooden dragon flies. The kind you can balance on the tip of your finger or nose. Love it!

We went out last night with Maz and Ben our friends from Mexico. We started at the Sheraton - which is very posh. We went to the top floor bar - where you can see across the whole city. I felt like I was on holiday. We had some good cocktails. We had a nice meal at the best tapas place I've ever been to. We had some wine then went to a really nice little bar. Woke up early and went to the bakery for croissants. So a good start to the weekend!

Moon Festival

We had the moon festival celebrations today at school. A yearly budhist celebration - basically a harvest festival. We had to dress in the traditional Vietnamese costume - Ao dai - made of silk, very beautiful, but totally uncomfortable. The trousers come up really high and it's boiling hot in the sun. A dragon troupe came to perform. The dragons are great they even blink and open and shut their mouths. They were amazing acrobats. One guy climbed right up a pole and balanced at the top. The dragons are made from 2 people so they have to support one another when the dragon jumps up. The druming was amazing and the kids loved the day. The worst bit was moon cake. They are the traditional treat of the day and are very expensive. They are so heavy as they contain mostly dyed lard (green or yellow). Inside the cake you can have anything from beef, to bean curd or whole boild eggs and nuts. They are really weird and quite disgusting. We now have 3 boxes at home. Great!

Pictures!

Been doing up our house to look a bit more homely. Bought some really bright pictures and got the maintenance people to put up my Mexican stuff. Loving it!

Mui Ne

I didn't take my camera out much so not many of people but I took lots of the beach etc. Enjoy!