Wednesday 26 March 2014

Starting again in Saigon

Firstly I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has sent us messages of love and support over the past week or so. You've certainly helped us see we are doing the right thing and that we should at the very least be happy whilst we are out here.
Without going into too many of the details, since the last post on this blog we've arranged finishing our contracts and are about to head back to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Friday 21 March

Today is the day we get our documents back and Mark strides into the cafe (where I am waiting with our bags and a cold coke) with a fistful of paper in his hands and a big smile on his face!

We hot foot it to the bus station and are soon en route to HCMC. We both plug into our iPods and feel the excitement grow. This is the real start of our adventure, hot on the backseat of a bus with little to tie us down. It's the first time we've felt really excited, like we are really travelling. Even when we left the UK we were on our way to work - we had appointments in a city we didn't even have a map for - but not anymore.

Arriving, we check into our hotel in the heart of the backpacker district and quickly make our way to 'The View' sky bar for dinner and a beer. Its actually good to be back!

Saturday 22 March

We have a few errands to do today before leaving in the morning. Number one is a trip to the post office. We'd packed lots of extra clothes when we came, expecting to be teaching, living and being generally 'unpacked' for a while. As our circumstances changed we decided it was time to shed some bulk, but there are some things we just couldn't part with. So, sack of clothes in hand we arrived at the post office to send a little over 2.5kg home. Being extra money conscious, we chose the cheaper over land option, costing somewhere around £20 and taking up to 3 months! Good thing we aren't in a rush!

Job number two is finding mark more credit for his phone, and three is getting some delicious lunch from the Baguette Viet Nam place next to the hotel. I get a massive sub with chicken, salad and that cant-quite-put-my-finger-on-it Vietnamese flavour with a coke for 20,000vnd. That's 61p!

In the afternoon, job number four is treating myself to a £1.80 pedicure to make sure my toes are pool ready!
I start to forget why I didn't like this place to begin with! It goes to show that location really is everything!

By the end of the day we are excited about getting to the seaside in the morning and have enjoyed our time in Ho Chi Minh, being fed, pampered and having left a lot of baggage behind us.

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