Packing up and leaving. Again. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Some of you reading this might not even know that I have moved to Abu Dhabi and for that I apologise. As is usual with me, everything happened very quickly and I had little time to organise my life before I left South Africa. The decision to move here was a difficult one. I was finally settling into life in SA and I was happier…
Retail therapy in Ho Chi MinhHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam I’d sent a message to Mark last night to ask whether I could move back to Saigon Zoom Hotel the next day. At 9:30am my bedside phone rang and it was Mark saying he’d send someone to fetch me in 5 minutes. Relief! I don’t know why but I really disliked this place. I was still in my pajamas so I threw on some clothes,…
From the Mekong back to Saigon Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Time to pack up and leave this lovely place. I slept late, had breakfast on my patio and at 11am sharp I was on the boat to do the reverse journey to HCMC. The lodge called my previous hotel for me and they are full for tonight! Damn! By now I know the area though, and I know there are plenty of places to…
Day trip around the MekongMekong Delta, Vietnam Mekong Delta, Vietnam Every morning I wake up here, I give a huge sigh of contentment and realize how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place. Today I had lined up another tour in the area for 4 hours and they’d be collecting me by boat at 9am. Breakfast was delivered at 8:30 to my room and I enjoyed it outside, again watching the fishing boats putter along. The boat…
Cycling around the Mekong DeltaMekong Delta, Vietnam Mekong Delta, Vietnam It was lovely to lounge around having a relaxed morning and soaking up my surroundings. I had a small breakfast, once again served on my private floating patio and watched the fishing boats and sampans go by. After that I went back to bed with my book, the windows and doors open so I felt like I was on a very comfy boat. The bathroom in my room was great…
From Saigon to the MekongMekong Delta, Vietnam Mekong Delta, Vietnam After the few nights in HCMC, it was time to head down towards the Mekong Delta. Although it’s possible to do day trips from HCMC I decided to go and spend a few nights there and really see what it was like. I could choose to pay a $95 transfer fee, or I could do it the “local way” and pay a fraction. I was a tiny bit nervous of…
Cooking, exploring & eating SaigonHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam I had booked a cooking class via e-mail the day before I left Korea and it started at 10am. I had a quick breakfast of cornflakes at the hotel and caught a taxi to the address I had for them. It took a while to find it and I arrived 10 minutes late, but walking in there felt like I was going into another world. You…
Ho Chi Minh: Sensory Overload, in a good way!Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam It’s difficult to know where to begin to describe this place! It seems that each country I’ve been lucky enough to visit has been mind-blowing in its own way. I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) at around midnight on Friday night, the 11th. I had booked a transfer to my hotel in advance as it was my first time really…
Back in Korea for my second year.Cheonan, Korea Rep. Cheonan, Korea Rep.
There’s no place like home! Durban, South Africa Durban, South Africa Before I start I want to make it clear that I have had the most fantastic year in Korea and I still love being here! This blog post is about how my time away has really made me appreciate the country I call home and how South Africa, with all its flaws, will always be where my roots lie. In February I went for a two-week whirlwind trip home…