KitKats in Vietnam

One of the things I feel I should have perhaps blogged more about since being in Vietnam are the selection of munchies and how these vary compared to back home in the UK. I'm not sure why I've not done this, perhaps going into shops and taking photos of munchies is a bit weird. Anyway munchies here are very different in general however regarding chocolate there are some types here that you can get in the UK.

You can buy snickers, mars bars, dairy milks from the UK and Hersey's from the states. You can also buy one of my favourites - KitKats, however, here they're a little different to home which is the focus of this post.

In the UK there are a few different types, the regular and the peanut butter to name but a few but over here the KitKats are very interesting. They have started to import them from Japan and Korea and I'm guessing they're well into their KitKats because in my local shop in addition to the regular flavor they sell both green tea and strawberry flavors.

Strawberry KitKits

Green Tea KitKats

Also in the past they've had Raspberry flavour!

The Raspberry ones are quite nice but a little sweet. Green tea is pretty awful and I've not tried the strawberry ones yet as they only sell them in a multipack. 

This made me think, just how many types of KitKats are there. Well it turns out that there are loads! Check out this picture below!

Your guess is as good as mine as to what flavour some of these are. I never knew there was so much to KitKats. I'm not sure how many of these will make there way to Vietnam but I'm hoping they all will.

Off season darts tournaments in Ho Chi Minh City

I've entered two off season darts tournaments this week. One at 'Game On' bar in District one and one last night at 'The Tavern'. This is a nice chance to get some practise and meet some players from other teams in the higher leagues.

Action shots from the darts tournament

The formats vary and depend on the number of people who turn up. Both events got about 20 people so we played a mixture of singles and doubles with names drawn out of a hat. 

Overall I didn't play that badly but went out quite early on in the competitions. These contests, which have prizes provided by the bar, attract some pretty handy players. I can immediately see the standard is a lot better than division three last season. I felt a bit out of my depth. More practise is needed.

Action shots from the darts tournament

Anyway it was good fun and free food was provided! i may go to some more of these over the coming weeks before the season starts again.

Internet Service providers in Vietnam

Not much to report since I've been back from England. I'm in my third week of working. Its all going well and nothing of interest to report.

Thought I'd blog about one of the frustrations here in Vietnam. On the whole I really enjoy living in Vietnam. It's far more relaxed and a much different way of life than England. However with this trade off you have to accept that some things are never going to be as easy taking into account its laid back, the language barrier and its a developing country.  In this particular instance is the service providers. 

Coming back from England I made sure I paid all my bills so ensure nothing was cut off when I returned. A few days after returning our Internet was disconnected. I was greeted with this message on my web browser when I opened it.

As you can see 'we are please to inform, your access account is temporarily locked because you have not paid the charges'. It was the choice of words I found particularly amusing 'pleased to inform'. Also where it says 'please see the details here' there is no link.

Anyway most people here would think 'well, its your own fault you should have paid the bill'. I agree except they don't ever send me a bill so its up to me to remember to pay for it each month. Also I can't pay online I have to go to a shop a few minutes drive from home who work similar hours to me and everyone else in the city so usually its pretty busy. I've also been down there in the past when I predict it's time to pay the bill and my psychic powers aren't as good as they should and they've told me it wasn't time to pay yet.

In addition they cut me off on Friday afternoon and then shut for the weekend so i had no Internet until I paid the bill on Monday morning. Very frustrating. 

In England I could go and shout at someone but that's pointless here. Also I could change ISP except from my initial research these jokers are the only providers in my area. So as you can see, very frustrating.

Anyway this story has a happy ending as I paid the bill and now have Internet.

Will blog again when I have something of similar interest to report.

Back in Vietnam after Christmas in England.

Just a sort message to say I've arrived safely back in Vietnam after a three week holiday in England. Feeling very Jet-lagged at the moment but I had a fantastic time and caught up with most of my friends and family. As always I've eaten far too much so its back to work and the gym tomorrow.

The flat was fine when I got home except the TV company have disconnected me so I'll need to take a trip to the shop to pay my bill sometime this week.

As I said its back to work tomorrow where I'll be taking over a class mid semester. The good news is that its only 4 weeks until TET when I get another week off work!!!! Its like having two Christmases in two months!