The best start to my summer

My brother Richard visited me last week, which was so great! Having someone from home was just what I needed, and it was pretty surreal seeing him in Vietnam. I arrived at his hotel on my bike to meet him last Saturday, and I think it worried him a little seeing me on a motorbike! Though he already knew I drove one over here, I don’t think he knew the extent to how crazy the roads are in Saigon, or that I use it every day. Nevertheless I managed to get him on the bike for a couple of metres (see picture - looking pretty confident on the back there Richard) though he was screaming SLOW DOWN every other second!

Richard had already done all the standard tourist things in Saigon with a tour group he had arrived with, so I will just wait till Breege comes over during the summer. We did however visit China Town in District 5 and the Southern Vietnam Women Museum.

We decided to book a very last minute 45 minute flight up to Nha Trang, a coastal holiday town halfway between here and Hoi An. I think Rich thought he’d seen enough of Saigon and wanted to get away from the constant bike beeping noises-which was the best idea! Spending three days by the beach was ideal.

Nha Trang is a beautiful and relaxing place and was just what I was craving. The first day was spent just chilling by the pool trying to improve on my poor excuse of a tan. I’ve been living in Vietnam for four months and Richard obviously still has a better tan than me. We went out for a good dinner at Nha Hang Yen’s Restaurant. This was genuinely some of the best Vietnamese food I’ve tried since being here. Definitely worth a visit.

   

The next day we went to Thap Ba Hot Springs, a mud bath spa. You sit in a bath of mud for 30 minutes, then a mineral pool and then there’s swimming pools to chill at for the rest of the day. This was bloody nice and though it was a bit of a taxi ride up a mountain, I definitely recommend going to this if you’re ever passing Nha Trang.

We decided to take a morning/early afternoon boat snorkelling boat trip, which I loved! At 22, I had never been snorkelling before, so it was a great first experience. We stopped off at two diving spots about an hour away from shore, and had lunch on the boat afterwards. At 300 thousand dong (about £8) this was a bargain for a 6 hour trip. 

That night we had a meal at The Sailing Club, a beach side restaurant, and it’s safe to say this was the nicest/priciest meal I’ve had since living here. I’m pretty sure the price of a bottle of wine on the menu was the same as my wage packet this month. Life.

At a couple of points on our visit to Nha Trang, I wondered whether I should have found a teaching job there instead. It seemed a lot more chilled compared to Saigon, and living by the sea would have been pretty sweet. Saigon however probably has more things going on for me, and living in Nha Trang I think it would have felt like being on a permanent holiday!

We flew back to Saigon the next day, and I was able to show Richard the area where I live. It was good for him to do this, as he was staying in the main tourist area and taking him to my house, I could show him proper Vietnamese life! We had some Pho at my usual place, and he met the family who run it. I also took him to get a smoothie from the lady down the road - she seemed pretty excited to meet him!

I was very spoilt by Rich the whole week, which I was so thankful for! When I mentioned how horrendous my monthly wage was I think he wanted to feed me up! He even offered to buy me some new clothes before he left but I couldn’t let him. The past week showed me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family, even when they are the other side of the world! My parents even sent over some treats for me in Richard’s suitcase.

It was pretty sad saying goodbye to Rich, as my post-Vietnam plan (I’ll explain later on) means I won’t be coming back to the UK for at least another year. But I know that at the moment, there really isn’t much going on for a 22-year-old in Norfolk.