Christmas Day in Ho Chi Minh City - The New World Hotel

So, this is the third Christmas since I left England (I was in England for Christmas last year though). After a nice quiet morning we went to The New World Hotel for an all you can eat and drink lunch.

 

This is the same hotel that I went to the first year I was here. It's an expensive hotel but they do a good and pretty reasonably priced for what it is Christmas lunch.

  

 

There was such a wide selection of food available from all the roast meats to sushi. There was a great cheese board and some good soups too. The wine was very nice and we had champagne too. Only negative was there were no roast potatoes or stuffing.

 

 

It was lovely to be with friends on this day. After the meal we were a bit tipsy to went home to watch films. It was a nice and relaxing day after the trip to Singapore.

 

 

It's hard to believe this is my third year away!!!!

Back to Ho Chi Minh City ffrom Singapore

Today we fly back to Ho Chi Minh City from Singapore. We are planning to go to a party tonight and out to lunch with lots of friends tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Below is a picture of one of the Christmas trees in Singapore.

 

 

Singapore - Day 3 - Shopping and Museums

For our final day in Singapore we did some shopping and went t0 some museums. The main shopping is at a place called Orchard Road which had a large number of enormous malls. You can see how big one of them is from the first video

Not only were they huge but this one also had a river in it which took people down on a boat!

As it was Christmas there was lots of Christmas tree, decorations and lights. It was amazing to see how many shops there were and how busy it was. What was also good was there were a number of British shops there such as M&S which meant I could buy some new clothes I needed.

 

 

In the afternoon we went to some museums. One of them was on all the different civilisations in Asia and how they developed. This was interesting but a lot of information to take in. There were many artifacts from different cultures on display. Below is a photo of me in the Arabian area.

 

 

We also went to the spot where Thomas Raffles 'discoverd' Singapore for the British empire in 1819 (see below). This may go some way to explain why Singapore is so different from the rest of Asia.

 

 

 

 

Singapore - Day 2 - Botanic gardens and Singapore Zoo

Today I went to the Botanic Gardens and Singapore Zoo. In the morning we went to the gardens and looked around at the various plants and trees. It was very pleasant. It was nice to see people using the area for a picnic and running. The botanic gardens covers quite a large area in the city and you can easily spend a long time here.

 

 

There was a ginger garden and an orchid garden, the ginger garden was free but as it was $5 to go into the orchid garden and we'd been walking around for a few hours I was all planted out so didn't go in. It looked pretty good when I peered over the fence.

 

 

In the afternoon we went to Singapore Zoo, which is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I'm not usually a big fan of zoos but this one was pretty good and most of the animals weren't in cages and looked fairly happy.

 

 

There were so many animals here but the best was the polar bear. This is something I've not seen before and it was massive. If the heat annoys me then I'm pretty sure it must get to the polar bear big time,  however he had a really big area with a huge swimming pool and an air conditioned den. He was hiding for most of the time but when he came out of his home he went for a swim you could see how big he was. He swam in circles for a good 15 minutes before I left. It was one of those animals that you can imagine if you met in the wild you'd be pretty screwed whatever you did. I'd also put hippos and rhinos in that category too.

 

 



Singapore - Day 1 - Marina Bay

Arrived in Singapore and had a nice afternoon looking around Marina Bay and the financial district. Our hotel is very close to this area and walkable even though we are two minutes from the MRT (tube)

 

 

Marina bay was very nice and you could walk all the way around the harbour. The skyline was also pretty impressive too. Even though its in Asia it is very western.

 

 

Part of the walk around Marina bay is a section of the grand prix track which took place here in August / September time. This was quite cool to see.

 

 

There was a huge shopping centre under the marina sand hotel (pictured above) which I'll talk about more another time. I didn't go up this building as we were short on time. There is a big swimming pool on the roof but I wouldn't have been able to go into it as its for hotel guests only.

 

 

What really impressed me about this place was how well it's been designed. On the walk around there was a museum that showed you how they designed the whole area from the cabling and sewage underneath to the building with mixed use (offices and living). There were also leaflets with running tracks designed with different distances and other walks, they really had thought of everything.

Below is a video of me panning around the bay.

 

Christmas Carol concert at Notre Dam Catherdral in Ho Chi Minh City

On Saturday night I went to a carol concert at the big cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City, Notre Dam. I've never been able to go in this building before as its always closed to it was a good chance to see the building and get festive too.

 

Notre Dam Cathedral - Christmas concert.

 

It was a pretty good concert. We didn't get the chance to sing only listen and only half the songs were Christmas songs but it was free so I can't complain. It was a little bit long and the benches weren't that comfortable but the Christmas songs they did sing were good.

 

A Vietnamese Vicar

 

It was a packed event. It started at 7:30. Luckily we arrived at 6:50 and got seats. I've not been to a church for a while and it was interesting to see so many people passing the time on their I-pads.

 

I've added a couple of videos of the event.

 

The first one is of the vicar walking down the aisle, accompanied by a pair of candle bearers, carrying aloft a grand looking copy of the good book whilst chanting.

 

 

The second video is of the choir in action singing 'Hark the Herald angel sing' during the service.

 

 

It achieved its goal of making me feel more festive, albeit at least as much as possible whilst sweating.

Nearing the end of my first semester and a pre Christmas holiday

Not much to report really. I've settled into my new job and its all going well. The students are great and I'm enjoying it. I've already been here for over two months now and I'm coming to the end of my first semester. After teaching for10 weeks I have a week break before starting all over again. The good news is that my week off falls on Christmas week! This means I'm on holiday from 21st December - 30th December.

 

Some more good news is that I've booked a pre Christmas holiday to Singapore for three nights. I fly on 21st December and come back on Christmas eve. It should be nice and I;m hoping there will be lots of Christmas decorations.

 

 

 

I've not got any good pictures to put on the blog so I'm going to add one of the Singapore flag.

View from my teaching room at RMIT

I've taken a couple of pictures form my teaching room at RMIT where I work. You can see it looks nice and green and looks towards the city. I'm told you can't go for a walk in the trees because it is a mangrove forest. (a bit swampy) and there are probably all sorts of nasty things waiting in there. Nether-the-less it looks nice an is worth a mention.

Moving house to district 7

Over the past week I have been looking for a new place to live nearer to my school. I'm pleased to say I found a really nice place and this weekend moved into a new apartment.

Living room

Its a lovely place and very modern. My place has two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It is in district 7 which is about 3 miles outside the city centre. This district is not like typical Vietnam. It is where the expats live and has a lot of Koreans here. Its nice a quiet compered to the city centre and it will be nice to see if I prefer it here. Ive signed a one year lease.

Kitchen

Moving house was interesting. The estate agent arranged a removals man for me. He was late at getting to my house because the police had stopped him because the vehicle he uses for removals was basically a home made motorbike with a trucks trailer built on the back and deemed too dangerous for the roads in Vietnam (which is saying something). However he helped me move. We had to drive through all the back-roads to reduce the chance off getting caught by the police again.  He helped carry all the boxes to the new flat and all it cost me was $18!

Dining area

So I now have a new house, a new motorbike and a new job. I don' think I'll be getting anything else new for a while.

Bedroom

Unexpected Darts Glory

The other night was a special evening. My mate at worked invited me to a darts tournament. A pub landlord was replacing his old darts board and was arranging a darts tournament where the winner would get the old darts board. Darts boards aren't cheap and since I wasn't busy I thought I'd go along. The pub was called 'the rusty bucket' in district 7.

Me with my prize and cash

 I haven't played in a while so wasn't expecting much. There was only 6 of us so we decided to do a round robin tournament where we all play each other and the winner gets the prize, the landlord was playing and another chap from his darts team as well as three other from work. To make it more interesting we all put 100,000VND in the prize pot ($5 each).

The score board

I'm pleased to report (as you may have guessed from the title of the blog) that I won the competition! I won 4 games and lost 1. It was the best record so I won the darts board and $25!. We played 301 one leg. It was good fun and has made me consider rejoining a darts team which will be easier now I'm not teaching on Tuesday evening. Watch this space.

A New motorbike - Yamaha Nouvo

This past weekend I bought myself a new motorbike. The one I bought for $200 18 months ago was sounding a bit ropey and since I'm travelling further to work I got another one. My first bike was a Honda Wave. It was sad to say goodbye to it (I gave it away) but its ok. My new one is a Yamaha Nouvo - Ned edition. I'm not exactly sure what 'Ned-Edition' is but its a nice looking bike and more sturdy than the Honda.

 

 

What I also like about this bike is that the speed-o-meter works so I know how fast I'm going. Also the mile-o-meter works too. I bought this one for $400 which I think is a bargain. Its done about 65,000 miles.

 

 

 

So, I have a new job and a new motorbike. I just need to get a new house now.

My first 3 weeks at RMIT

I've just finished my third week at my new teaching job at RMIT and I'm please to report its going well. I teach for 4 hours a day but have to be on campus for 8 hours which is fine as it give me time to plan. I teach from 1pm - 5:30pm so get to my desk around 9:30am.

 

The view from upstairs

 

Its a great university. The facilities are resources are amazing. I'm teaching upper intermediate students so most of the teaching is skills that will get them ready for university such as writing argumentative essays.

 

The building

 

The University has some great sports facilities. There is a free gym which I've been using after work everyday and the sports hall is great. Every evening before I use the gym the students are doing sports such as basketball and badminton. There is even a Ken do class where they all dress up and smash each other with sticks which looks fun.

 

A lecture theatre

 

The bad news is my commute to and from work and only be described as hellish. There are so many cars and motorbikes on the roads its unreal. Its also dark which doesn't help and just to make it even more perilous its usually raining due to it being rainy season. But not just normal rain, I get thunder and lightening too. Which in a way is quite nice when you look at in the distance as I come into the city against the city skyline.

 

My motorbike I bought for $200 a year and a half ago has served me well but I may have to trade it in for something that doesn't sound like it could die at any minute. I'm also looking at moving closer to work to get out of this commute from hell as my contract is up soon at my current house.

Seahorse Resort, Phan Thiet

I've just returned from a short break at a resort in Phan Thiet. It was a lovely break and a fantastic resort. Phan Thiet is a six hour coach journey from Ho Chi Minh City. 

The resort was very luxurious. It had its own private beach, a swimming pool and a beautiful garden.

During the day we went to the beach and relaxed by the pool and at night we went into the town to have some yummy food.

It was nice to get out of the city for a few days and relax before I start m new job tomorrow. Pham Thiet is a great place and somewhere I'd come back to for relaxation in the future.

 

A Midweek break in Phan Thiet

For the next few days I'm going to a place for a nice relaxing break in a lovely resort in a place called Phan Thiet. I've been here before but not stayed at such a nice resort. 

We're leaving on Thursday and coming back in Saturday before I start work on Monday. Phan Thiet is about 4-6 hours from Ho Chi Minh City. The bus for this journey was about 5 pounds each.

Staying 'thank you' to my teaching assistants at ILA

In my classes at ILA I have one teaching assistant (TA) to help out with the class management and contacting parents. I've worked with a lot of TAs and for a long time at ILA. As a way of saying thank you I wanted to take then out for lunch. On my last day I did this. Where is the best place to take a group off nice ladies to say thank you? - KFC of course.

Having lunch at KFC

It was a really nice lunch and I felt good for getting to say than you to them all. Everyone likes KFC in Vietnam so it was good choice. They have all been really helpful in class and it's been nice working with them and sharing the experiences and fun times with the classes.

The man himself- Col Sanders

My last day at ILA Vietnam

So yesterday was my last day at ILA and I had to say 'goodbye' to all my classes and friends. I've met so many wonderful people and students here that it was had to do. 

My intermediate junior class

 I had a full day of lessons (8 hours of teaching) so was busy, however after doing this for two years its not stressful, just long. My three remaining classes were all junior classes ranging from 6 years old to 11 years old.

My beginner juniors class

I will really miss teaching children. At my new school there are only adults. The schedule will be different too. At ILA I work very long weekends and only two weekdays for two hours. RMIT will be Monday to Friday with weekends off work. So more like a normal job.

My beginners class

If anyone is reading this and thinking of teaching. I would highly recommend this place for a teacher starting out. Naturally you must like children but the opportunities for development are amazing, it's great fun and socially it's amazing too. 

I'll always remember my time at ILA. I know from my working life up until now that it is very difficult to find a job you love. I think this is the first job I can say without hesitation that I've thoroughly enjoyed.

Anyway, time to look forward to a week off before starting at my new school on 7th October - RMIT University.

Big Jesus Statue

A while back I put up some pictures about a big pink church near my house and mentioned that there was a big Jesus statue in its garden. I also said that I would get a picture of it sometime. Well here it is.

Big Jesus at the pink church

As you can see I was not lying, it is big. you can see Jesus holding out his hands and creating an almost perfect Y shape. When I took this photo there was a service going on in the church. It was very busy and they were all singing hymns in Vietnamese. I didn't go inside.

So, this weekend will be my last at ILA. I will have to say goodbye to my remaining classes and all my friends. I'll be so sad to leave.

Saying goodbye to my jumpstart class

Although I have one more weekend at ILA before having a week off and starting my new job at RMIT I sadly had to say goodbye to my jumpstart class yesterday.

 

My jumpstart class

 

I've been teaching them for 18 months from the very first level that the schools offers over four courses. In this time it's amazing how much English they have learnt and how much they have grown. They all started as 4 years old and are now 5 and 6.

 

A great class that I will miss - spot the twins!

 

I'm having to give the class up a week early as the course they are studying finishes so it's a good point for a new teacher to take over. For the last lesson we have an end of course party where the teacher buys lots of goodies for the kids and play games so it's good fun.

 

Showing off the cake

 

As I've had the class for so long and I'm leaving my teaching assistant, who I've worked with all this time, bought me a cake to say goodbye. We had some photos taken and all ate the cake. The cakes here in Vietnam are a bit different. They're very creamy and have strange things inside. This one had what I thought was nuts but it actually turned out to be sweetcorn. I was surprised that this actually worked quite well in a cake.

 

 

 

As you can see the kids are lovely and I will miss them. Next weekend I will say goodbye to all my other classes.

 

Two of my students who have been in my class since the beginning

 

The cake