Big day

I started the day with another interview. This time it was for an organisation I think would be really great to work with, something a bit different but still education based. The interview ended on a positive note so we shall see. The streets were really busy and many places are flying the flag, including most of the taxis. It's Liberation Day tomorrow. Some businesses were having a holiday today, others are having the holiday on Tuesday next week. And the May Day holiday is on Monday. 


Then we moved from our apartment to the new studio. But before we did we had to go to the ATM to get our rent money and deposit. This meant multiple withdrawals and having a wodge of cash. So I was walking around today with 17,000,000 VND ($850)  strapped to my body (ok, it was just in my money belt) - but I did have a Bonnie and Clyde moment when we got back to the apartment and were counting out 35,000,000 VND and there was a knock at the door. 

When we arrived at the studio, we realised that there were no implements in the kitchen - which we were sure we'd seen last time we'd looked at the place. Over the course of the afternoon, having various discussions with our landlady T, we worked out what we needed to buy (towels, beer, toilet paper) and what Ms T was happy to provide. M paid the rent and deposit, and was impressed that Ms T had a note counting machine - obviously a business essential in this cash biased economy. 


The last bit of excitement for the day was that as Ms T arrived back at 6pm with all the kitchen items, sheets and maids to make the bed, I got a call from ?? about a job interview tomorrow at 10am. The person that rang was going to sms the address - but so far no info! So I'm not sure which of the multitude of organisations wants to see me tomorrow!

Saigon sunset

A lovely night here in Saigon. M and I enjoyed beers on the roof as the sun set.

Both my interviews went well. Although there were no firm offers, I think there are possibilities at both places. And I have another interview tomorrow morning.  I got a call just a few hours after I sent my cv. I’m hoping it’s a positive sign that they wanted to see me so quickly! Lack of experience and time in VN is a definite drawback for some of the better places (of course), but today I feel that there’s a chance if I can get my foot in a door, I develop a career here. However, it does seem that a (good) full time contract may be hard to come by. At my second interview the Head of Studies told me that basically, they don't offer full time contracts unless someone dies! But despite this he was encouraging about my chance of getting work. 

Most of the expats I've met so far have been American or English, with some Aussies too. In some places, classes have a VN teacher as well as an English speaking teacher. And some places are very much driven by whether the students like you or not. 

The second interview was within walking distance of where we're staying. This mural was on the way, an image we've seen a few times around the city. 

After my interview tomorrow we'll be moving to the studio. It will be kind of sad to leave our current place - we are getting to know the maids, one of whom gave us some fruit tonight as a present! Sweet. 

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go

Well yes we have signed for the studio - not without a last few shenanigans with things changing on the contract - nothing we couldn't live with, but disappointing just the same. Anyway, as it stands, afaik, we have somewhere to live from next Friday! Hurrah! No more hotels for a while. 

So with M sealing the housing deal, I was busy preparing for my lesson with the year 11s. Then we had a coffee, and after more prep some lunch, and then it was off to work. 

My new vice - cafe sua da (ice coffee made with condensed milk) .

I got to the school about 40 minutes early, and having located my classroom and the whereabouts of a whiteboard marker, sat down in the staffroom to go over my notes. And I met a few of the teachers. Who are all male, and seemingly disenchanted with the general VN state of affairs. In between questions to me (where did you last teach, why Vietnam etc etc ) I heard about molotov cocktails being thrown in Nha Trang, shootings, murders, disappearances, eyeless corpses and those true stories? urban myths? of expats marrying VN women and buying real estate, then coming home to a house where wife has gone and sold the house for $1... at least it took my mind off any last minute nerves I may have had about my lesson!!! And all this in 10 minutes! I did for a moment wonder if I'd slipped into some sort of Tarantino-inspired coma. But despite the flavour of the conversation, they didn't seem unfriendly. 

My class had a lot of energy, and it was fun. Not sure if I taught them anything, and may have bored them at times, but it was good. I had difficulty getting them to shut up!

And tonight we went walking to find a barbecue restaurant that M had seen. In searching we happened upon Sea Song. We could see it had seafood, with a bbq out the front - sold. So we sat down and contemplated the menu. The only words (besides the beer menu - universal) that we were sure of were washabi, beef sirloin, cơm(rice) , tôm (prawns), cá (fish) and mực (squid).  One waiter could speak some English, and helped us to select a salad, and M selected some prawns and catfish. In many restaurants here, the seafood is live until they weigh it for you. So our catfish was half a kilo - which we said yes to, but then tried to say no prawns afterall. However, an amazing dish of barbecued prawns turned up soon after. 

We weren't quite sure how much it was going to cost (we couldn't tell how much the catfish was per 100g - 22,000 dong ($1), 50,000 dong ($2.50) or maybe 140,000 dong ($7). Anyhow, it was ordered, it was cooked - and all the food was fantastic. Really excellent service too. We ate the prawns wrongly (you're supposed to crunch the shells, but I just don't like the texture yet).  Anyhow, a fab meal - and it ended up costing us $22 total. Amazing.  

Our BBQ chef - on the street 

We're pleased that we'll be staying around district 3 - even though we've heard it's 'tourist prices' here, we like it. I want to buy something from this basket bike stall once we are renters. 

And maybe a new outfit once I'm earning. 

Ao Dai shop on Pasteur Street

Tomorrow I have 2 job interviews. It's all happening!

I've (not) got a new apartment, baby, dodododoo

Well, we had a new apartment, and then… the agent that showed us the place, and had sent us the contract, sent an email this morning saying that the current tenants want to stay another month. So, as so often happens, in Vietnam and in life, what was sorted is now unsorted again.

Phung Khac Khoan street - banners in preparation for Liberation and May Day 

As a result, today we had a look at another 10 apartments. For the last seven apartments, we were accompanied by our new agent, let's call her Miss H. She has excellent English language skills and tried hard to help us find what we wanted. She was about a foot shorter than me even in her 5 inch heels (ie really short), and looked about 15 years old. We walked to the first few apartments, across Le Van Tam Park, where Miss H told us in the evenings they have ballroom dancing classes – ‘good for people your age.’ Hehehe. 

Statue, Le Van Tam Park

She was delightful company even though we didn’t find quite what we were looking for. We are hoping that she will take on the challenge and think a bit more to see if she has something on her books for us. Otherwise, we’re going to take a studio that we viewed – one room, but light, airy, and cheaper than the (unsatisfactory) one bedroom places we’ve been looking at. Anyway, as well as the fun of conversing with Miss H, the afternoon’s work was worth it for this photo of the Best Named School (so far). I give them points for not having the following words in their name: Academy, American, International, any adjective pertaining to intelligence or acquisition thereof.

Outerspace Language School

And speaking of jobs (or not having one) - I sent in a lesson plan as stage 2 of the application process for one of the bigger schools, and have also had an email nibble at another place in response to my CV. Meeting to follow.  I also have my first lesson on Wednesday - I'm off to school tomorrow to find out what I'm going to be teaching!


Anyway, M cooked me eggy bread for dinner (that's Royle Family speak for french toast) so all is well. 

last night in Phu My Hung

Thursday. We were awoken by the budding rock star in the room above who thought 7.10 am was a good time to start practising his electric guitar. I threw on some clothes, marched upstairs and knocked on the door. (Hair askew, gunk in eyes etc). He opened the door and looked surprised - I pointed to the guitar on the bed and said It's very loud! Dunno if he knew the words but he knew what I meant and said OK, sorry. And he did turn down his amp. Hmm, hotel living...

During the day we went and had a look at some apartments in District 1 & 3, not finding anything inspiring. In the evening I sat in on a class at a primary school. I had met the campus manager and asked to sit in on a kids class - but the class I went to was 15 to 18 year olds. An interesting experience, with a Vietnamese teacher also present, who frequently interrupted the English teacher (who had no idea that I'd be sitting in on the class). Midway through the lesson the VN teacher thought it would be good if I took the lesson instead - yikes! 

While I was at school M was putting his time to good use checking out another apartment he'd seen on the internet. The agent he'd contacted didn't respond to his emails, so he went to see if the place also had a sign out. Luckily it did and he had a look. One difficulty we've had is that most places want at least a six month lease signed. We're not in a position to commit to that yet.

We returned to Phu My Hung and had a wonderful dinner at Saigon Korean BBQ, where the restaurant manager translated the Korean/Viet menu for us and then told us she was Korean and had lived on the Gold Coast for two years! Excellent food and very friendly service too. Each table had its own barbecue hotplate where your chosen meat was cooked for you. 

On Friday M took me to see the apartment to check I liked it as much as he had. We had a look at another on the way, but the one he'd previously checked out was by far the most appealing. It's small but the bedroom is separate from the living/kitchen areas, very new looking and light so it feels spacious even though it's compact. We can't move in for another week but we're returning to our favourite spot in district 3 for 5 nights. We had a great taxi ride home as the sun was starting to go down, and passed a spot where there were 14 or so kites flying. It was a beautiful sight.

This morning we attended an MBA presentation we'd been invited to, by the Director of a number of different educational programs. We weren't exactly sure what we were attending - and ended up sitting on the dias with the speakers! But in the end we learnt more about the MBAs the organisation runs and how we might fit into such a program. So some work may come of it, but it's yet to be discussed in concrete terms. 

No pics yet as blogger is being recalcitrant.

You talkin' to me?

Morning tea - a coconut bigger than my head

I sat in on a class today that I'm going to be teaching for a few sessions over the next couple of weeks. They had a lot of energy and seemed pretty intelligent. I was excited to be meeting students but also a little bit nervous. Because I had to catch a cab back alone.


You may have heard horror stories of what happens if you get into the wrong cab in HCMC or Hanoi. There are a number of excellent and reputable companies (Mai Linh, Vinasun, Saigon Airport) and a number of not so excellent ones. The only problem cab we've had was on our return to Saigon. We knew exactly how much it should cost to get to our accommodation. So when the Festival taxi driver suggested a certain fixed price we knew it was double what it would be by meter. So of course we insisted on the meter, which was accepted with a sigh. 


Even though our experiences have been good, I was a little anxious about picking the right cab to get home after the lesson. I watched the traffic for a while, realising I would just have to trust the reliable companies we've used before. So I hailed a Vinasun and jumped in. 


A meter - good. The phone number of the company was correct. A sticker announcing the price per km was stuck on the side window. All looked fine. Then as I settled back I realised that I was in the absolutely cleanest taxi I have ever travelled in - in my life. The antimacassars (the things hanging over the seats - always wanted to use that word in a sentence!) were starched pure white, and were edged in lace. The black upholstery was spotless. All the black plastic interior surfaces were glowing. Even the floor mats didn't have a speck of dust. The air was pure strawberry. I noticed in the front passenger side pocket, there was a 2 inch wide paintbrush - presumably for dusting those hard to get corners. It was truly amazingly clean. So Mr Vinasun 5034, I salute you. 

You say you want a revolution

Yesterday we checked out our expat neighbourhood in more detail.  Around the streets of District 7 there are shops rather than traders, and a lot of cafes. I've tried a couple of cappuccinos which look convincing but have been very weakly flavoured. And in the last couple of days we've been indulging in some western food diversions - pizza, fajitas and curry (all good)! 

Last night there was a big storm: thunder, lightning and heavy rain. The water banked up on the balcony and we woke at 4am to find a large puddle on the floor. Nothing damaged, luckily.

View from the balcony

What would Che say?

The Truman Show

Well, we arrived safely in District 7, and settled into our new hotel... and discovered that we still had the key to our old apartment - oops!! Luckily we weren't leaving the city! 


Here, the streets are wide, and there's not a lot of traffic (except for the 12 lane freeway that runs through the suburb). Even so, bikes still get parked on the pavements - but it's much easier to walk along streets. District 7 has been described as a toytown - planned and built to be tidy suburbia (with Korean money) - but there's still a lot of life around. 

Because this is such a big schools/expat area, there are shops with products like cheese, potatoes, and bottles of Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. 


We also discovered this American wine (one for the film buffs):

After dropping off the key, we had a cultural outing to the HCMC Fine Arts Museum. The building itself is wonderful, and there is also some fascinating art work and historical sculptures.

We checked out a couple of bookshops and wandered around in District 1. We took a look at the rooftop bar at The Rex - but it all looked pretty quiet, so we decided to eat somewhere else. We caught the bus home, which was relatively easy and comfortable (and way cheaper than a taxi!)


In the afternoon we located a local brewery, selling Big Man beer, which is very tasty, apparently. 

Au revoir, district 3

A busy day today with a meeting about prospective jobs. Not exactly sure what is happening but have collected a few business cards (4) and I think I have at least a few hours work in a couple of weeks at a school that teaches the WA syllabus, and some other encouraging prospects. The topic focus for the class is natural disasters - what could be more perfect for starting an o/s teaching career?

I also picked up a couple of clothing items at the Co-op, our local supermarket (kind of like Target + a supermarket) - here I am XXL! 

Yesterday we took a walk to Zen Plaza, which has a lot of groovy clothes from VN designers. I plan to return when I have an income of some sort. The walk there was totally not zen - even the unflappable M was not quite sure at one point if we could get across one of the main roads. It was peak hour and we discovered that bike riders freely use the footpath if the road looks too busy - which it always does! We are learning not to flinch (THERE'S A BIKE COMING STRAIGHT FOR ME!), or worry too much about gratuitous tooting (a national pastime). 

Tomorrow we head to district 7 for a change of pace. It's supposed to be an expat area with lots of schools around (and RMIT) - away from the touristy sites, so we're expecting a very different feel. 

Tonight we dined at Dong Pho. Wonderful food (a bit more upmarket), waiters that reminded us of Sydney (ATTI-TUDE! BLING!) but one dish had me laughing - it was tres tres petit compared to the picture in the menu! But the steamed spring rolls here alone were worth the visit. Superb. And a very nice creme caramel. 

Because we went upmarket we still haven't been the the place we've nicknamed The Goat Palace - but I just have to show you what it looks like. 

Always smells great, always teeming with customers - one day...

eat your greens

A brief note as I just awoke from a food coma. We went to Loc Thanh, because we'd seen the large BBQ out the front. But in spite of the BBQ the best dish was a salad - I'm not sure of the Vietnamese name but it was translated as coconut body with chicken shred. Fantastic flavour - not of coconut at all - with carrot, young coconut flesh (?) cut into strips, roasted peanuts, pieces of chicken, dried onions, herbs and a wonderful fish sauce and lime juice dressing. We dined to the dulcet tones of the karaoke singers in the bar above.

Yesterday was the Hung Kings public holiday (even the maids got a day off). We went out walking to Tao Dan park early in the morning to see if anything was happening. A ceremony was in progress at the pagoda in the park. There were tag teams of boys working the dragons (screen right, out of shot except for a couple of feet!) and the musicians took turns to play the big drum (which did look like excellent fun). 

When?

When will we stop taking photos of food and foodstuffs? 

(Never!)

I'm sure this brand could work in Australia. 

We purchased a phone today as M's phone has been slightly broken for a while. We discovered that phone numbers have different costs because some numbers are considered unlucky. As the shop assistants serving us helpfully explained, "4=die". This did not sway us from purchasing a cheap number. Actually, the staff were great and sorted out the phone's battery, sim card and put the extra credit purchased on the phone for us. Even though I'm sure we were a great disappointment purchasing the cheapest phone in the joint! 

We went out for dinner tonight, heading for a restaurant carefully selected on the web because we were both feeling like pho. On the way, we saw another goat restaurant. There's one near us which we have to try before this one. 

Unfortunately, our restaurant of choice appeared to have been demolished, so we went to the next one along at Mười Xiềm and had bánh xèo (filled pancake) instead, which was excellent. Also tried some bánh khọt (small domed pancake), which I thought were like yorkshire puddings in texture. Tasty.  

Sane, saner, the sanest

This week there’s a public holiday to celebrate the Hung Kings on April 12^th, which we were dimly aware of, but we were too dim to realise that it turns this weekend into a long weekend for some businesses/people. 

After an energetic day Friday, Saturday we were back in ‘relax’ mode. Had a walk along the foreshore, a swim and a look at the local food market. And eating and drinking. Out and about in Nha Trang it seems a dominant trading name here is Sanest – Sanest Tourist, Sanest Restaurant, and various Sanest products. I do want to buy something to have on hand when the next attack of the crazies strikes (mine, or other people’s).

When we went out for our evening meal there were red flags flying everywhere in anticipation of holiday festivities. The holiday also meant that spontaneous flight purchasing was limited to early morning business class. Had to awaken at 5am (cranky – ****, yes) but it is a lovely time of the day to leave Nha Trang. By 6am there were people out exercising everywhere, along the foreshore and in the streets – walking/taichi/badminton. 

And I can report that Vietnam Airlines business class was very spacious and we got refreshments even though the flight was only 40 minutes. The best bits were that we didn’t have to be so careful about packing our bags (more weight allowed), there was a separate bus for when we got off the plane, and our luggage appeared quickly.

Now back in District 3. We want to stay longer so we’re looking at other accommodation options. M is making me laugh by reading some of the marketing blurbs on rental websites – one apartment advertised is ‘near a canal, you can get fresh air. Near the zoo.’ 

For dinner this evening, home cooking (yay!) - an omlette made by M's fair hand.

Get your motor running

Nha Trang is the ultimate in tourist towns. Along with every tour you can think of, you can also rent a bike. So we did. 

Hello, tourist! (countable noun joke there).

First, a visit to the Cham Towers.

Born to be wild - and parking only 2,000VND! (10 cents)

Cham Pongar Temple complex

M inspects the Mother Goddess

Cà phê sữa nóng ( say 'ca fey sir num') = coffee with milk = yum! (plus some tea)

Then, we visited the Long Son Pagoda. The pagoda was closed, but we visited the Buddah statues on site. For a 'free' site we spent a lot on donations! And parking 10,000VND - Muc qua! (too expensive)

Buddha, Long Son Pagoda

After lunch, a longer trip (17k) to Bai Dai beach. A beautiful spot, even if it does have some pollution problems. There are a number of restaurants build right on the beach. So close that the water is lapping the deckchairs. 

We had some wonderful tasting squid, cooked fresh over coals at our table and served to us piece by piece as it came off the table bbq! Amazing. 

taste sensations

Nha Trang is like the Vietnamese version of the Gold Coast. Except there are way more Russians here. The temperature since we've been here has been wonderful, around 29 - 30 degrees every day. The hotel is great for US$32 per night - including breakfast. 

Banana crepes - oh yeah

Nha Trang has a long and beautiful stretch of beach with a walkway along the length of it. Yesterday we walked right. We found some supplies at a local minimart, including an exotic Mr Potato flavour that I had to try - fab! 

Mayonnaise and ketchup - yum. 

Then after a bit of exercise, and a lovely lunch back at our hotel, we went to the Louisiane Brewhouse - they make their own beers, and they have a pool as well as beach front space. M had a swim in the sea and we both had fun people-watching.

 

We met some friends for drinks there and then went out for a fantastic dinner of baked snapper. The restaurant (San Ho Do) was immense and there were about 20+ staff for 10 customers. After the meal we had a strange tour of the kitchens and out the back - where all the fresh (ie alive) livestock was kept - fish, eel, frogs, crabs, guinea fowl, chickens, rats. No wonder that snapper tasted so fresh. But no tortoises, even though they were on the menu.

 Today we walked left along the beach, and then into the town proper. 

Found a couple of interesting markets which we might revisit before our departure. Saw some serious cock trading (ie for cock fighting, we presume). Also a Vespa showroom with one in every colour!

After a relaxing rest at the hotel, we wandered out to The Sailing Club for a beer and a coconut (coconut juice served au naturel). We found a great night market and M worked out the stall at the end had some fresh looking calamari - so we had some barbecued squid, then a few prawns. A top spot. 

I'm wearing double denim - I must be flying...

Another double denim day for me as we were flying to Nha Trang. (Denim weighs considerably more than any other clothing, so when every gram counts I do what I have to do). We arrived safely at 9pm and caught up with friends for a gin or two. So just some pics from the last couple of days for now.

Yesterday I had fun getting lost in the old quarter, while M had a business lunch. We found out yesterday that M didn't get the job he interviewed for, which we've decided is probably a good thing and adds to the adventure!

Today we had a more extensive look at Hanoi citadel (aka Thang Long/ Kihn Thien/ Doan Mon) which has only recently been opened to the public. Our outing to the citadel coincided with school visit day. M caused a sensation by waving from atop one of the gates to the hordes of kids below - it was like being in the Spice Girls (the screams of excitement!)

The art of ear-cleaning has a long history

The site is huge and fantastic; plenty to look at, free and hardly any tourists or usual hangers-on. There are a number of buildings, each with a different display, including an exhibition of photos of old Hanoi. (as above). 

The most impressive exhibition on the site is the display of objects found at the archeological site next door. When a tennis centre was ripped up to make way for a carpark,  the developers found centuries of the history of Hanoi embedded in the clay. The Hanoi citadel is definitely worth a look.