Flying back to England for Christmas 2014

Tomorrow I fly back to England to visit family and friends. I'll be staying for 3 weeks before flying back to Vietnam on 2nd January 2015. Once again I'll be flying with Emirates and leaving at 0030 hours on 13th December 2014 on flight EK393 from SGN to DXB then leaving Dubai at 0745 on 13th December 2014 on flight EK001 and arriving at LHR at 1135 where my mum and dad will pick me up.

Its been 693 days since I last visited England at the end of 2011. This is actually longer than my first stint away from home by about five months. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and some nice cold weather.

I have my darts end of season party tomorrow night which starts at 7pm. This is where I get to go on stage and hold aloft my 'division 3 champion' trophy. Sadly I need to be at the airport at 9:30pm. I may well go along for an hour to try and get my trophy but may miss going on stage to collect it.

Anyway, since this is 'Joel's South East Asia website' I won't be updating it whilst I'm in Europe but I'll be back in the new year. So I'll take this opportunity to say Happy Christmas!

Sugar Cane Man - The Next Generation

I went out for dinner the other night in the backpacker area. There is a really nice restaurant where you get to sit at a table on the street and watch the world go by. I don't go to the backpacker area much anymore since I live about 20 minutes away from it so it was nice to pay it a visit.

Anyway, whilst I was sitting there eating my dinner who should come along? Sugar cane man! But this was not the sugar cane man from three years ago, this was a new younger sugar cane man. 

He stopped right in front of us whilst one of the ladies spoke to him. What happened next was very unexpected, now I'm not sure if this was a service the old sugar cane man offered but there appears to be some product diversification going on in that the lady he was speaking to got him to take one of his sugar canes off his trolley and cut it up for her. She then sat there in front of us munching on it. 

Sugar cane man and the sugar cane

I wasn't aware that the sugar cane was so versatile. Not only can it be crushed into a refreshing drink but it can also be made into a nutritious snack. This made me think about sugar cane and what else I don't know about it so I did some research and found an interesting article on the health benefits of sugar cane. You can read it below but in summary is good for your skin,hair and general health.

Top 10 Benefits and Uses of Sugar Cane Juice

After this the research snowballed really. There is also another website called sugarcane.org. Check out this for an opening paragraph on their website:

'Sugarcane can play a role helping to solve many of the top challenges confronting government officials and global leaders. This remarkable plant has the potential to lower carbon dioxide emissions, create jobs, reduce petroleum use and help create a healthier, cleaner planet. Learn more about sugarcane’s many benefits.' sugarcane.org

So it appears there is much more to sugar cane that meets the eye! It may actually be a solution to many of the worlds problems. Basically this website will tell you anything and everything you need to know about sugarcane.

I'm not sure if the other sugar cane man was aware of all this now that he's retired. I like to think he was. nevertheless it was nice to see that the sugar cane industry is alive and well and attracting a younger workforce to drive it forward in the 21st century.

Christmas is coming to Ho Chi Minh City 2014

Christmas is coming to Ho Chi Minh City! Everyone has an opinion on when the correct time to put up Christmas decorations should be. Many people would believe this is the first weekend in December. I can report that I saw my first Christmas tree in Ho Chi Minh City at the beginning of November. This was in a hairdressers near my house. Pretty much the whole city had there decorations up on display before the 1st December. This seem pretty unusual for a country that never really celebrated Christmas but I suppose with globalization, consumerism and the money to be made it was only a matter of time.

The picture above is of the Christmas tree in the awesome, free gym at my University. It's not in the gym reception but actually in the gym nestled between two running machines and behind the scales. This is something I've not seen before but quite nice to see nevertheless and therefore warrants a blog post.

I had my DELTA module one exam yesterday, I think it went well. It was all very official. The exams are posted from Cambridge in England and opened in front of us at our desk in a very secure looking envelope. At the end of the exam they were sealed in an equally secure looking envelope to be sent straight back to Cambridge for marking. I kindly offered to take them to the post office but the chief examiner wasn't having any of it. I get the results in two months.

Flying back to England for Christmas at the end of next week. Very excited!

DELTA Module one exam at ILA

A few months ago I blogged that I am currently studying for the DELTA module one exam. The DELTA is the diploma in English language teaching to adults. Well this has been ongoing and this Wednesday is the big day and I have the module one exam.

I've been doing this distance learning with International House though their website but I need to sit the exam at an exam centre and the exam centre in Ho Chi Minh City is at my old school, ILA. This is where I worked for two years and studied for the CELTA.

I went to pay my exam fee a few days back and visit the place. Its not changed much but the staff there are all teachers who I used to work with.

Its a three hour exam in total. Two papers of 1.5 hours. The past three months have involved a fair amount of work in learning terminology and different grammatical structures. All stuff I knew but not really how to explain.

I'll be glad when its over, it has been fairly stressful and involved most of my weekends to study. After this Wednesday I can start to relax and look forward to going back to England for Christmas!

Defeat in the first round of the SIDL championship

For those of you who follow the darts I'm afraid I have some bad news. I went crashing out in the first round of the tournament.

I did well though, I won two of my three games but went out on leg difference. Basically one guy in our group lost all the games and the rest of us all beat each other and lost to each other so there were three people on played 3, won 2 and lost 1 at the top of the table. Sadly I got spanked 3 - 0 in my second game so had the worst leg difference.

This means the dream died at the first hurdle..... Never mind, there's always next year. 

The finals are to be played on Tuesday evening. Four of The Taverns player's have gotten though so I may go along and watch.

So, that's it for the darts this season. It all resumes again in a few months time after Christmas.

Draw for the SIDL Division 3 knock out tournament

The draw has been made for the SIDL division 3 knockout tournament that starts tomorrow. It works in the same way as the football world cup where you are drawn in groups of four and play each other in a round robin format. The games are best of 5 legs, not the usual best of three and the top two players progress to the finals next week.

I'm afraid I've got some bad news. The draw has not been kind to me. I've highlighted below the four players that are in my group.

As you can see I've been grouped with the ranked 2 and 4 players in our division. Both of them have lost only one game in the season. Its going to be a big ask to beat them. Looks likes its a battle for third place between me and John.

Anyway, I'll give it my best and see what happens. I'll have to play well and as its only the first to three legs you never know.

Tuesday night darts – Game 14 of 14 – The Tavern vs B.I.A

The last game of the season was a home match against B.I.A. The team that plays at one of the most overpriced bars in Saigon which since getting promoted I won't have to go to next season. As I said fortunately we were playing at home so beer was reasonably priced. Enough about beer, onto the darts.

Team photo! The Tavern - Division 3 champions!

It was a fairly standard evening in all. We were winning 3-2 after triples and doubles then we won five of the six singles games which meant going into the last game, which we also won, we had a match winning lead. The final score was 9 - 3. I was third up in the singles and got to play the guy who beat me last time which was nice as I was pretty confident I could win... and win I did! It was a fairly comfortable 2-0 win. I didn't play great in the first leg but in the second I checked out with my first throw at a double.

The final table is below.

Top of the league... happy days! There have been some other interesting statistics from the season are below. I've got them from the website which if anyone is interesting in can check out at www.thesidl.com

The first one is of my record for the season. My goal at the start of the season was to win as many games as I lost. I achieved this having won 9 and lost 5. You can see there are some interesting names on the chart including Manneken Pis and Porridge. These are not real names but 'dart names' - I think.

The next is the list of top players in our league. I finished a respectable 15th out of about 65 players. I was fourth for my team which was pretty good considering our top three players finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd for the season. I finished with 108 points which again is respectable. I set the goal of 100 points halfway through the season so, again I'm happy.

So, that's it for the darts season. There is a singles tournament next week which will be all players in a knockout tournament for division 3. I've entered it. If I get through the qualifiers the finals night will be in two weeks.

Also I found out that the end of season award ceremony is on Friday 12th December which is the evening I'm supposed to be flying back to the UK for Christmas. I may be able to do both but my have to limit the booze consumption by going straight from the party to the airport.

Tuesday night darts – Game 13 of 14 – Dreamtime vs The Tavern

The newly crowned division 3 champions were up against Dreamtime in their penultimate game of the season. This was also our final away fixture at M52 bar in District 1. This was also out of interest the first bar I played darts in nearly three years ago when I came to HCMC.

The Okey - sponsored by tigers, ready for war!

With the pressure off and with Dreamtime 2nd from bottom in the table we were, perhaps rather arrogantly, not anticipating any problems. 

At the end of the doubles and triples we were winning 3-2. This should have been 4-1 but we blew a 400 point lead in one of the matches. I only played in the doubles but won it for the team 2-0. So along came the singles. I was fourth up. Dreamtime had already caused two upsets by beating two of our best players so with the score 4-4 it was important I won.

I'm happy to say I didn't disappoint. I scored ok but my checking was very good. I won my match 2-0 and with one game left I've a season record of W8 L5. 

Top Division 3 darts action

After my game disaster struck! We lost our last two singles matches meaning it was 6-5 to Dreamtime going into the last match - A big, big upset was potentially on the cards. Without drawing out the suspense I'm happy to say the upset didn't materialise and we comfortably won the 6 vs 6 team game meaning we drew the match 6 - 6. This was our first draw of the season but it's better than a defeat.

One more match to go in the championship winning season at our home ground of the Tavern next Tuesday night.

My first 180 in darts!!!!!

Great news! I was playing darts in the pub with my mate the other day and I hit my very first 180! I took a selfie to the occasion.

Darts tomorrow night. I’m hoping this is a good sign for things to come.

Tuesday night darts – Game 12 of 14 – The Tavern vs An Udder Team

The match this week was the potential title decider with us at the top of the league playing the only team that can catch us, An Udder Team, in second place. With three games left we had a 5 point cushion. If we win our lead will be 8 points making us uncatchable, a draw would pretty much put us there with us maintaining our 5 point lead with only 6 points available, a defeat would cut our lead to 2 points making for a very nervy last few games. However we wanted to get the job done tonight at our home ground - The Tavern.

Glorious scenes as The Tavern are crowned Division 3 champions

 It all started very well with us winning both triples, I checked out in my game. In the singles we won another game meaning we had a 3-2 lead going into the singles. I was last up in the singles which meant there was a good chance I would win us the championship. We won the first two singles then lost the next two putting the score at 5-4. Fortunately our next player won which made the score 6-4, this meant we could not loose this match AND I'd have a chance to win us the title!!

It all started really well, I hit three hundreds in a leg of darts which Id never done before. The other guy was still on 300 when I was trying to check out. Sadly the curse of checking out returned and he caught me up and won... very embarrassing. I stormed back to take the second leg to make it 1-1. The third leg he took a big lead but I managed to catch him putting us both on doubles for the finish. I was very nervous as was everyone else. I've never shook so much when throwing darts. Sadly I lost the game meaning I didn't win us the match. No fairy tale ending for me.

Fortunately we had the final 6 vs 6 game to win the match. I'm happy to say we won this, meaning we won the match and the championship!!!! I stayed a bit longer and had several beers which is always risky on a school night.

League table. The Tavern are now can not be caught

I was pretty pleased with how I played. I hit 6 hundred plus scores which nearly beat our team record of 7. I just need to work on the checking out.

So with two games left we are the champions so we can relax now and enjoy the remaining games.

Tuesday night darts – Game 11 of 14 – ACDC vs The Tavern

So, four games left in the season and this week we played the all-girls team  ACDC at Red bar who are currently propping up the league table with a meagre four points. If ever there was a team to bounce back from after last week’s defeat it was this one.

At the end of the doubles and triples we were 4 -1 up. I played in the doubles against two girls who I don’t think had ever played before. We comfortably won 2-0 with me checking out the second leg. After this came the singles. I was playing last in the sixth match. By the time it got to me we already had an unassailable 8-2 lead so the pressure was off. All I was playing for was male pride and once again I was put against the girl who beat me earlier in the season – a nice chance for revenge.

I played well in the first leg but lost, then in the second leg I started to play badly. She was trying to check out whilst I was still on 250 points fortunately she couldn’t hit that double and when I got a chance, I took it 1 – 1. In the final leg I started to throw some good darts again. I got down to checking out with her still on 300 points. This is where all the good news ends because I’m sad to report that I just couldn’t hit a double. Eventually she got down and had a chance to win and took it. I lost the game 2-1, yet another defeat to a girl.

To make matters worse I’m sure this girl must be a Liverpool fan because she is one of the worst winners I’ve ever played coming over several times to commiserate me. So although we won the match I wasn’t happy at loosing again. It’s the fourth time I’ve played this team and lost my singles match every time.

Anyway, the team won which is the important thing. Our closest rivals beat the third place team which means we are now promoted as only the top two teams go up to division 2. This does mean there will be no chance for me to get revenge which thinking about it is just as well as id probably loose anyway.

The next task is to win the league. We could achieve this next week as we are playing the second place team – a very big match!

Lots of practice is needed between now and Tuesday!

Tuesday night darts – Game 10 of 14 – The Tavern vs Phattys Phuckers

Our tenth game of the campaign was a home fixture against Phattys Phukkers at the Tavern. Another tough game and potential banana skin but so far this season things have been going very well so confidence was high for getting another three points. First up were the doubles and triples, all the games were very close but at the end it scoreline was not pretty reading - we were 4 -1 down against a good team. This meant we had to win 4 or 5 out of the 6 singles games to win the match - a very tough ask.

We won the first three games of the singles to bring the scores level. Sadly we could not maintain the momentum and lost the next two matches. I was last up in the singles and by the time it got to me we were 6 - 4 down meaning the best we could hope for was a draw. I didn't play well but somehow managed to beat my opponent 2 - 0. What saved me was that my checking out was pretty good. So my current record is W7 L3 in the singles. I'd have taken that at the start of the season.

So it all came down to the final match to salvage a draw and although we had the most chances of checking out I'm sad to report we lost the game and consequently the match 7 - 5. Disaster. Bad news is that all the teams around us won so our lead at the top has been cut to 5 points with 4 games left. Its still all in our hands but not as comfortable as we would have wanted. 

Fortunately we have the leagues bottom team next week. Its important we bounce back from this one to stay top of the league.

Tuesday night darts – Game 9 of 14 – Tequila Torros vs The Tavern

This week would be another potential banana skin against the third place team in the table 'Tequila Torros'. This team have a couple of really good players too and definitely capable of taking points off us. This match was at Tequila bar on Pasteur street in district 1.

The evening started well with us winning both the triples games. I was then dropped for the three doubles matches, as we have seven players we have to rotate and as I didn't play that well I was out, I didn't mind. However, after our great start disaster struck and we lost all three doubles matches to put us 3-2 behind going into the singles.

It was shaping up to be a tough evening as they had three really good players in their team so we needed to play very well going into the six singles matches. I'm pleased to report that, just like last week, we miraculously won all our singles games which meant we already had an unassailable lead going into the final 6 vs 6 match. I won my game. As luck would have it I was matched with probably their weakest player. I didn't play great and made a meal out of beating him 2-1 but I won nevertheless. 

We lost the final 6 vs 6 game but as I said it was irrelevant as we took the match 8 - 4. Even more glorious news was that our closest rivals, for the fourth week in a row dropped points. We are now eight points clear with only fifteen points available. As we've only dropped three points all season it really does feel now that we have one hand on the championship!

Tuesday night darts – Game 8 of 14 – The Tavern vs Black Magic

www.thesidl.com

After a one week break we’ve now started the second half of the season. So far all is going well in our division 3 championship with us top of the league by 4 points.

Our first match would see us against black magic who we beat on the opening day of the season a few months back. We beat them 10-2 but we had heard that since this time they had got some very handy returning players that nearly got them promoted last season so we were expecting a very tough match.

It was my turn to be dropped from the triples which ended 1 game each but I did make my return in the doubles. Sadly it didn’t go to plan as me and my partner comfortably lost 2-0. At the end of the doubles and triples we were 3-2 down – it was not looking good as this team were much better than

What happened next in the 6 singles matches was very unexpected not only did our form turn around but we won all six matches! They were close, competitive games but we just managed to come out on top. I won my game 2-0 against a very good player who had a record of W5 L1 before we played. I think I got lucky as I’m sure he didn’t play as well as he could have on the night. I was very pleased with how I played though. I checked out quickly and hit 3 hundred plus scores.

Going into the final 6 vs 6 match we already had an unattainable lead so we could relax a bit. Looking over at the black magic team they were very downhearted after their promising start. Just to put the icing on the cake I checked out in the final 6 vs 6 match with my first dart! I also got another 100 plus score along the way.

I think we all agreed this was our best win of the season against a very good team.To make the evening better all our nearest rivals dropped points. With 6 games left we have a very nice looking lead at the top of the league table.

Tuesday night darts – Game 7 of 14 – B.I.A vs The Tavern

This week we played B.I.A at their home ground - a place called Gartenstadt - which will be remembered by me for selling the most overpriced beer in the city. It was nearly three dollars to a can (yes, a can not even draft) of tiger. Even the water was 2 dollars for a small bottle. Ridiculous prices for Vietnam. Anyway on to the darts.

Again, I wasn't playing well I lost my triples but my partner carried me through our doubles. In my singles match I was given a favorable tie against one of there weaker player. I was outscoring him, playing rather well and won the first leg. Sadly in the next two legs although I continued to score well I couldn't hit a double and consequently lost the match.

Good news was that although I contributed nothing to our team I did get 3+ scored and our team won. Even more good news is that our titles rivals drew so at the halfway stage of the season we are clearly top of the league!!!

So, goodbye to Gartenstadt - a pub I will never voluntarily visit again. Next week we start the second half of the season

Tuesday night darts – Game 6 of 14 – The Tavern vs Dreamtime

Our 6th match if the season saw us play Dreamtime at our home ground of 'The Tavern' on Tuesday this week. On paper this should have been an easy game as Dreamtime are second from bottom in the league having won only one of their five matches this season.

http://www.thesidl.com/

Things didn't start off very well. I lost both of my triples and doubles matches. This was mainly because I was playing really bad. I kept hitting 22, 26, 3, 15. I just couldn't hit more than one 20 with my three darts. 

After the first first 5 games of triples and doubles we were winning 3-2. It was turning out to be a very close match. We needed to win at least 7 matches to win the tie and stay top of the table, I was the last match up in the singles. At this point we were winning 6-4 and only needed one more game. I wasn't very confident of victory however the guy I was playing was equally as average as me. 

I won a close first leg but lost the second so It came down to the decider. Fortunately I started to play well and hit scores of 140 and 100 so had a chance to check out well before he did and I'm happy to say won the match!!!! We also won the 6 vs 6 final match so won the tie 8-4 in the end.

So other good news was that our closest rivals only managed a draw so we now have a one point cushion at the top of the table.

Next week will see us reach the halfway point in the season and pit us against B.I.A who are pretty good and drew with our top of the table rivals this week.

Exciting times!

The Cambridge DELTA - Module One

I've just started studying for a qualification called the DELTA. This is the Diploma in English Teaching to Adults provided by Cambridge University. Basically, it’s the highest qualification you can do in ESL with the exception of getting a ‘masters in linguistics’.

Its split into three modules which you can take together or separately (I’m doing them separately). I’m starting with module one which will require 4 months of distance learning before taking a written exam in December. If all goes well I will be looking to complete the final two next year. Module 2 is a bit more complex than modules 1 and 3 as it involves being observed.

However first things first, I need to pass module 1. I’m doing this through the distance delta program (the link is below) who give me my reading and exam tasks on a weekly basis.I’ll keep you all posted with the progress.

www.thedistancedelta.com

If I do pass this qualification it will open up lots of doors for higher positions around the world as well as training opportunities and management positions.

Tuesday night darts – Game 5 of 14 – An Udder team vs The Tavern

http://www.thesidl.com/

So, it was back from holiday, back to work and back to business in the Saigon International Darts league. This week we were away at the Spotted Cow, a bar I took my mum and Dad to when they visited Saigon due to their very tasty burgers. Our match was against ‘an udder team’ who were second in the table. This was a top of the table clash!

It didn’t start very well. We lost 4 of the first 5 matches (doubles and triples) which meant they only needed 3 of the remaining 7 games to win. Our team were pretty much all round playing badly. Myself included. I don’t think the weeks break had done us any good. Me and my partner lost our first ever doubles match to the pub landlord and their only lady player. She checked out in both legs and they played much better than us.

Anyway onto the singles matches, I was third up and was put against the girl who had just beaten us in the doubles. It seemed very likely that I would be getting back to back singles defeats against a girl. Our two best players won their matches which brought the score to 4-3. It was very important that I won my match.

This girl was very good at darts. She was also only about 5ft tall. Darts is probably one of the very few sports she would be able to beat me at due to her size. With her playing so well and me not playing well I wasn't very confident.

Miraculously I started to play well again and I’m pleased to say I won the match 2-0! I also scored a 140 which I was pretty chuffed with. Even more importantly my pride is intact for another week at least.

We had managed, as a team to bring the score back to 6-5 at the end of the singles so had the chance to snatch a draw with one game to go. Sadly it wasn’t to be. We lost the final game and lost the match 7-5. However it was a cracking atmosphere and very tense on both sides due to the importance of the match.

It will be a great rematch when we play them again later in the season. We are still top of the league but only on legs won. There is still a long way to go in the season.

Sapa bus accident

Whilst we were staying in Sapa there was some sad news that one of the buses that takes people from Sapa to the nearest town, Lao Cai went off one of the roads on the side of the mountain. 12 people were killed with lots more injured. A link to the news story is below.

Link to Bus article on Thanh Nien News Website

On our way home we had to take the same route and at the time we travelled they were retrieving the wreck from the bottom of the cliff.

The top of the bus

People do drive like idiots here. Every bus journey I go on I see people and bus drivers overtaking on blind corners and driving much to fast for the conditions they are driving in. As a result of this there are many road fatalities each year. In 2013 a total number of 9,369 people were killed on the roads in Vietnam (29,500) injured. In the UK the figure was 1,730 fatalities for the 12 month period to June 2013. 

Much of this is because of motorbikes but I'm sure also a lot of the accidents are because no one is actually trained on how to drive safely. I'm pretty sure this crash is an example of that. 

I see car drivers in Vietnam who don't have a clue what they are doing. They drive cars like there motorbikes. They never use mirrors, rarely use indicators and don't have a clue how to reverse park a car, watching them would be hilarious if one of the consequences wasn't things like this happening.

I'm pretty sure the test is similar to the motorbike test where they drive around a track and then are free to drive on some of the busiest roads in the world. 

Anyway, not much I can do about it. Back to work next Monday to start a new semester. Its been an amazing holiday. Sapa's one of my favourite places I've been in Vietnam..... I just wish it was closer to Ho Chi Minh City!!!!

Journey up in to the moutains in Sapa

Today is our last day in Sapa. The lady who works in reception told us about a road which we should drive up which is not on the maps. 

I'm so glad she did because this road was amazing. It was about a 20 km circuit which goes up into this huge mountain. The accent it ridiculously steep and the weather changes so quickly. Its was really wet and cold but at the same time amazing. 

There were also lots of tribes people in huts living very simply. They get their water from the streams and grow their own food and look after their own animals. Saying that I did see one with a smart phone.

Sapa, amazing views

As you have seen form the previous posts. Sapa has some amazing scenery. Below are some of the 100's of pictures I took whilst we were out on the motorbike. The rice fields look so beautiful on the mountains with the clouds so close. Its easy to spend the whole day out on the bike and constantly stopping to take photos. Pretty much all these photos were taken at a deserted roadside.