Vietnam 2019
Day One
Well hello from Vietnam! We had a huge flight and arrived at the airport 8 and a half hours later! Poor Mrs Grant had issues with her visa, but we managed to actually leave the airport and see our Hotel for the first time. The beautiful Blue Diamond! We enjoyed a yummy dinner then tackled the Bien Ten market for the first time. We haggled hard and Ms Simm may have lost a bit of money! We then hit our rooms after a 19 hour day and slept like logs.
Day Two
Good morning Vietnam!! Today we started with an early start and a great breakfast buffet. Jess loved the noodles! We then commenced our journey to Long Tan which was a real eye opener. The traffic was super busy and there were bike riders everywhere. Our first stop was to pick up our guide Wombat who lived up to his name and was a crazy fun person who also had lots of knowledge about the battle of Long Tan. We then experienced the Long Phuoc Tunnel which was where the Viet Cong used to hide and shoot soldiers. It is now only inhabited by bats, spiders and very long millipedes. It is a wonder you did not hear the screams in Sale!! We then visited the Long Tan Hill to see where the battle was experienced and were able to view old photographs of the experiences of the Australian Vets. We then felt the emotion of a memorable ceremony remembering the fallen soldiers. We laid a flower each in respect. After lunch in which we witnessed the live animals soon to be sacrficed for our dining pleasure, we headed to the Central Post Office and the Reunification Palace for photographs. After this crazy busy day - did we rest? No! We headed straight to the market and others headed for a manicure! Following this, we headed out to our evening entertainment aboard a floating restaurant. We danced the night away to Vietnamese music and belly dancers and a Vietnamese man singing Careless Whispers to us! It was very moving. The weather is hot and humid but very nice after the cold of Sale. We are all well and happy and ready for a new adventure!
day 3
Another hot and steamy morning in Vietnam! Our day started as normal with a delicious buffet breaky then we hopped onto our party bus. We started the journey to Mekong River with a pit stop to a bamboo and coconut fiber manufacturer and was safe to say we felt like were on channel 99 watching sales commercials. After watching a scarf styled 27 ways we ventured to the mekong River where we hopped on boats and were on our way to unicorn island. On the island we tried various new strange fruit,sang songs, tried magical honey that suposibly fixed everything in your life and held huge SNAKE, yes A SNAKE. We then had lunch at a beautiful restaurant and ate elephant fish cooked fresh from the water running through the property. With full stomaches we then headed to the University of Science and Humanities where we got the opportunity to meet some amazing individuals. We shared our backgrounds and compared our similarities and differences while playing games and doing challenges. After a sad goodbye to our new friends we then went to a restaurant where we ate our weight in pizza and pasta. We haggled our way around the night market and Ms Simm made vast improvements on getting cheaper prices. We are now showered and ready for bed!
Day 4
Today Ms Simm is coming to you straight from Hoi Anh. It is quite late and so the students have been given the night off blogging to concentrate on a good nights sleep. This morning we started our day bright and early, packed our belongings carefully and headed down to our last buffet breakfast in Ho Chi Minh. We then checked out and headed to the Cu Chi Tunnels which were built by the Viet Cong in the war. Shammy our guide told us some amazing stories about the Guerilla warfare tactics of the Viet Cong including nasty pits of torture and shoes that made it look like Viet Cong were walking away from a point rather than to a point. Some of the bravest of us had a go in a tiny pit that the Viet Cong woud hide in with a lid covered over with leaves which allowed for excellent camoflage and sniper attacks. We even learnt that some of the soliders were female and their uniforms were black because of monthly issues. We then actually experienced what it was like in the tunnels. It was very humid and even the shortest of the group had to crawl along. After five minutes in the tunnel we really felt appreciation for those who would be in the tunnels for up to ten days - and apparently they did not even have a torch on their iphones!!
Cu Chi was certainly an amazing experience. They even had a gun range their where you could fire rifles. Unfortunately this was only offered to those 18+ and while Zak was sure he could get away with it - we were fairly certain it was not DOSEL approved. So we were content to simply listen to the dulcet tones of gun fire!!
Following this we drove to a beautiful restaurant that was set between two fast running rivers. The food as always was plentiful and absolutely delicious. Ms Simm is fast becoming a very happy Buddha! The restaurant was a temple style and so she fit right in!
We then drove the two hour journey to Ho Chi Minh domestic airport and bid Goodbye to our crazy and delightful guide Shammy Oanh. We also bid goodbye to our shy but hopeful Bus Boy who may have taken a bit of a shine to our dear Sophie! Not that she gave him any encouragement. Sophie was in fact unaware until Marty noticed with his eagle eye!
The flight to Danang was uneventful and quite speedy. Touching down in Danang was like entering another world. Although we arrived in darkness we were all amazed by the large resorts and the much cleaner streets. Our wonderful new guide Luat explained to us that 20 years ago Danang was like a very small country town made up of beaches and jungles. It is now very cosmopolitan and full of sights including a casino that the Vietnamese are not allowed to gamble at. It is just for foriegn tourists. The resorts were massive and cam with their own private beach. Such luxury! Our dinner was absolutely delightful once again and eaten in a restaurant with beautiful coloured lanterns in the trees outside. Wow - it was like fairy land. We then drove approximately an hour to Hoi An where we are not tucked up at the Lotus Hotel. Very beautiful and lovely villa style accommodation. Your students are all doing well. Hope all is well at home and all those Collingwood supporters are not too disappointed. Sorry about the photos on the blog. I will try and upload some as soon as some time comes along and it is not too late.
Signing out - Ms Simm
Day Five
Well we are half way through the experience of a lifetime and Vietnam just keeps getting better! This morning the students were very excited to have a 9am start which meant a later breakfast. Every one was looking foward to a sleep in only to be woken at 5.30am with the noise of a loudspeaker that provided continous commentary for aproximately 2 hours in Vienamese! Our guide later explained that this was a call for people to attend to vote in the election of the equivalent level of Government as our local council elections. Given voting is not compulsory in Vietnam, the Nation and our little poppets from Australia were awoken to calls to do your duty and come and vote for your local Communist party member! Classic! In any event some of us did not hear a word of it and only heard a rooster crowing and slept soundly until breakfast.
After a delicious breakfast which included all types of delicacies we moved on to the Hoi An Old Town and it was spectacular. It was a really wonderful cultural experience and quite different to Ho Chi Minh. Hoi An is a quaint area steeped in tradition and is a World Heritage listed area. It was easy to see why. The students first visited a Taoist Temple and were able to soak up the architecture and spendour and also understand the significance of the statues inside which included the Goddesses of Safe travels and the ocean and Fertility Goddesses. Luat, our guide, is truly a historian and was able to give the students insight into the various cultures that have shaped Hoi An, including the Japanese, Chinese and Portugese. As we entered the temple there were large coils of incense hanging from the roof. Luat explained that individuals could come to the temple, make a wish that was written in the middle of the coil, and the incense would burn for three weeks. At the conclusion of that time, the legend is the wish will come true. Unfortunately this may be too late a period for the Richmond supporters out there!
We then visited a traditional home of a Vietnamese family in a House that has been in the same family for seven generations and was built in the 15th Century! The current owner is an 80 year man who still delivers the dumplings made by his family to the local restaurants by bicycle several times a day. His own mother recently died at 100 years of age. The home is heritage listed and so no improvements including airconditioning can be made to it. It is entirely authentic. However, the Government recently assisted to restore some parts of the home and paidn 100% of these renovations. It was incredible to experience this and hear about the lives of these people and of the importance of family life.
After experiencing these joys we toured the streets of the old town and were taken to the famous, excting and exhilerating joys of the House of Yarly. A Coutour fashion house where 3 000 tailors are ready to tailor clothes designed for their customer from fabrics chosen by the client. Not only do they make them, but they deliver them in the same day. 16 students (including some very excited supervising teachers) had clothes made to them. These were then collected on the same day!! It was truly amazing that this could be achieved. Those who did not have an item made, bartered the time away in a very satisfying fashion and once again, those baggage limits looked worrying. At this point we have suggested Kyle start to offer suitcase space to the highest bidder - his current level of well under 13 kgs is raising a lot of interest!
We then enjoyed another spectacular lunch of Vietnamese cuisine and headed off to our cooking school for the afternoon. The cooking school was really something to remember and to talk about. We split into groups and each had a chef from Cooking school take us on a walk of the Hoi An food markets. This was such an eye opener and with good humour and much care the students were informed about how to pick the best seafood, spices and chopsticks. Quite a few magic knifes were purchased and these are so magic!! Let's just hope we remember to pack them in the checked-luggage, because there is no way these things will get through carry-on checks! From the market we headed by boat to the cooking school. Hoi An is such a pretty area and the boat ride was lovely and picturesque.
On arrival we were served a Mocktail which was delicious (not yum - ask your students about this) and we settled down to learn how to make rice paper rolls - including the actual rice paper, crispy omelettes, seafood salad and chicken and tomato soup. Our chefs taught us how to cook, and gave us the special recipes with patience and skill. It was such a fun experience. We were also cooking in beautiful surroundings in an outdoor pavilion. I overheard several students make career choices to become chefs in the Red Bridge Cooking School. We ate our own food and then enjoyed some other dishes the chefs prepared for us. It was a really memorable evening.
From there it was back to the Hoi An Old town where we got to see the beautiful overhead lanterns strung across the streets lit up. So prettyn and special. We strode with purpose to the House of Yarly to collect our brand new made-to-order clothes and then headed back to the Hotel where the students enjoyed a much yearned for and well-deserved swim as the day had been humid, carefully watched by our life-guard extraordinare Corey "Iron-man" Scholtes.
This sums up our day as best as possible, but in no way captures the true magic of it - signing out from Vietnam. Catch you all in the morning!
Day six
The day started with a nice and relaxing rise and breakfast at the beautiful hotel. While checking out of the hotel Xav and Marc put their pool skills to the test but we will admit there wasn't many balls successfully put in the pockets. We begun our trip to Hue with some knowledge of the area from our belovered tour guide Luat. We got the oppertunity to see the stunning coast line along the way. Our first stop was at a little place which had some of the original standing building/walls built at the time of the Vietnamese War and got to take some candid tourist photos on the hill overlooking the water. We then stopped at a fishing village where many of us got to try iced coffees with condenced milk, super healthy. We had a few stops along the way to our final destination and you could say that the ice coffee may have been responsible, hey Soph!!!! With the luxury of toilets we all settled comfortably into lunch and enjoyed a five course meal at a local Little Italy restaurant. Our Dragon boat ride had to get postponed till tommorow morning because Sale decided to come visit early and bring us rain. Everyone was happy to have a relaxing afternoon chilling out with the choice to go shopping, resting or venturing out to the bridge. We walked through the hustle and bustle towards dinnner at the Tropical Garden,where they had a traditional band that played us music while we devoured our yummy dinner. On the way back to the Hotel we got our dance moves out and danced through the fun street of Hue. We are now back at the hotel and are heading bed to prepare for another jammed packed day in this amazing slice of paradise.
Day 7:
Hello - Ms Simm blogging with you from Hanoi in the very first few hours of what is actually Day 8! What what a packed and eventful day we have had. Our first port of call was a Dragon Boat ride along the Perfume river. What a beautiful river this was. Luat assured us it smelled just like Pomello's, not too sure about that, but what I can tell you is there was more shopping to be had on the boat! Who would have known there were so many places to shop in Vietnam. I think some of us may be determined to break the record of making a purchase at every location we attend - let me tell you it is entirely achievable! The Dragon Boat was so interesting because by day the owners of the boat use it to carry tourists like us, but by night the Dragon boat is their home where they sleep, cook and live! Amazing. This Dragon boat carried us along in idyllic scenery until we reached our destination of the Thien Mu Pagoda. Wow, was this something to see. It is a seven story Pagoda and location of a group of 65 Buddhist monks all trying their best to make it to Nirvana, mostly novices, some as young as 7 years of age. As we walked through beautiful gardens and ancient bonsai, Mr Scholtes noticed some statutues in a garden that looked like a living painting. The statues included Monkey, Monks, Pig and Oxen. Luat told us the fascintating story of these characters - and it became clear they were reliving their childhood memors of Monkey Magic on ABC television! Do you all remember that parents? Amazing - it gave the television show so much more meaning!
It was an absolutely beautiful spot overlooking mountains and the Perfume river and I think we all thought of converting to Budhism for a brief moment - Ahh - just kidding!
From this location our bus drove us to the Imperial City where the Emperors of Vietnam lived until they finally abdicated in 1945 due to French domination. This is a Palace and town of approximately 6-7000 people within three walls and a moat. It actually gave me an idea for the new CCS buildings - a moat could be very effective and a real talking point! We visited the Palace with the Emperors throne that was extremely impressive, the Reading room and the Opera House. This was a beautiful and amazing place to visit and we could all clearly imagine the Emperor and his 500 concubines and one Principal Wife holding Court there. Although it turns out that it was not necessarily a great thing to be an Emperor because they tended to frequently behead them or send them to exhile in Africa. So while having lots of women around would be interesting - the time to enjoy them was limited! (I hope this is not too inappropriate). Luat also told us some wonderful and interesting stories about Buddah. My fun fact for the night is Buddah was actually born from his Mother's armpit! I think this could catch on??? I think it sounds less painful - although I guess it depends on how it is possible to emerge from an armpit?
From here we had lunch at a wonderful restaurant that included carrots and pumpkin carved into the shape of birds, pagodas and swans. The Vietnamese certainly know how to do food presentation!!
We then returned to Hue for a small amount of free time, and early dinner and a very sad farewell to our most wonderful guide Luat. What a tremendously knowledgable, fun and interesting man he is. If any of you intend to visit Vietnam - I have his contact details. He would definitely be the one to see.
Our flight to Hanoi was thankfully uneventful and we are now all tucked into our new Hotel in Hanoi with our new guide Belle. Our flight was quite late and we arrived at our new Hotel at 11.15pm. Very tired students are on board but they are all buoyed by the thought of a boat ride tomorrow (did you see what I did there?) On the way Belle has already told us some interesting facts about Hanoi and North Vietnam. Did you know they have started to farm rats? The rats are farmed in the country so they are fed on rice and corn rather than the sewer rats we may be more familiar with. Apparently rat restaurants are all the rage. I suggested the kids try this new delicacy but no one was overly keen. Strange. We have another massive day tomorrow with a four hour bus ride (so the wheels of the bus will go round and round a lot!) to Ha Long Bay. We then also have a four hour boat cruise. With a wake up call at 6am - it is time for this blogger to Tam biet.
day 8
This morning started with yet another early start with a call from the front desk at 6am. We hopped on the bus after a yummy breaky and started our 4 hour journey to beautiful Halong Bay. Our first stop was at the workshop for the disabled, this place showed us the ongoing effects of Agent Orange used in the Vietnam war, as well as showing the stunning artwork and handmade items made by these talented individuals. We all had the opportunity to buy something and refuel with some food before continuing on our journey. Our next stop was at a pearl farm, we got to see the process of making the pearls, naturally as well as inseting the needed resources to grow pearls. Ms simm made a purchase of pearls to go along with her stunning bag Christian.
Upon arriving we climbed on board of our very own ship for the afternoon. we were spoilt with seafood from prawns, food, clams and much more while driving down seeing the scenery of the breathtaking landscape of Halong Bay. Each student as well as teachers had the oppertunity for a photo shoot with Catholic College Sales very own Andrea Simm which resulted in photos that would be on nothing less worthy then a magazine cover or postcards. Our boat stopped at an island where we got to get out and explore two amazing caves which showcased natural formations and the historical value of Vietnam. On the way back some people enjoyed reading in the sun, sunbaking or even just taking in our surroundings.
We headed to our hotel where we checked in and had some free time. Corey took whoever wanted to for a relaxing swim before we headed out for dinner. After another amazing dinner we got to go to the night market and explore what the local town had to offer. We are all now ready for bed and preparing for another full on day in paradise.
Day 9
Well how about that - it is day 9 and what will really be the last day of this Blog given tomorrow we will be airport bound. What an amazing experience we have all had full of culture, spectacular food and splendid shopping. This morning we awoke early and drove back to Hanoi. This time we took the freeway in order to reach our next destination in time and so it was a much quicker trip. Only 2 1/2 hours. Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh's Tomb and what a solemn and amazing experience this was. The students were all told before hand that while in the Mausoleum they could not point, talk, and had to walk in pairs. Given we were surrounded by army officers the students performed to perfection. I am thinking of trying this in my classroom! So there was Hoi (which is what you call him once you have visited his tomb - first name basis) embalmed and lying in a massive marble coffin in the middle of an even bigger tomb, as if he was fast asleep. Our guide explained to us that he actually asked in his Will to be cremated and his ashes placed in three urns symbolising Past, Present, Future.... but no, instead he was embalmed and put on show for millions of people to walk past. We were told that there can be up to a million visitors every weekend! It was a solemn, incredibly interesting and quite scary experience. We then saw the Presidential Palace (only from the outside, you can only visit it if you have Prime Minister status) and from there visited a beautiful Pagoda and an amazing Temple of Literature which was the site of Vietnam's first University. Now students come to the temple to pray to Confucious and rub his foot which is said to assist with good exam results. Male students need to rub the foot in a circle with their right hand nine times and girls with their left seven times. I can tell you, everyone of our students solemnly had a go and several said they felt more spiritual afterwards!
From there we moved to lunch and what a special lunch it was. We went to the Koto Restaurant which was opened by an Australian man to assist the homeless to become chefs and wait staff. As such he gives those young people who do not have a home a future. Our meal was spectacular and full of delicious morsels including some of the best sweet and sour pork I have ever had. Your students then performed magnificently by donating a very large tip to the workers there to help support this worthwhile cause.
We also had the priviledge of having lunch with Brother Geoff who is an Australian Marist brother who for the last twelve years has dedicated his life to working with the Blind and disabled of Hanoi to allow them to recieve education, support and training. He indicated they have a 100% employment rate of their students who live with them at the school until they can support themselves. He will also shortly begin a new venture and commence living in the Highlands close to the border of China where they will work and offer charity to the very disadvantaged and maginalised poor in this area. It was such a privilege to give to him the money your students had raised by holding the BBQ earlier in the school year.
Our good deeds done, we moved on to the Vietnamese Women's Museum which was very interesting and really revealed the culture of Vietnam and the struggles Vietnamese women overcome on a daily basis. The museum included a wealth of information on daily life, weddings, motherhood, religion, fashion and their role in the war as fighting machines. What tough women they are! I think we could all learn a lot about how to make do with so little.
We then returned to our final hotel of the journey made ourselves at home and headed out to the water puppet performance. This was quite an experience and is very difficult to put into words! It is unique (although Lindy explained that she had seen exactly the same performance four years previously). All I can do is urge you to make the trip so that you too can experience this phenomenon.
The Water puppet theatre of course just happened to be in a very busy shopping district and so for one final time we made some time to make sure presents had been purchased for everyone back home who supported our holiday travels. In Hanoi they break the street names up into what they sell so they have Bag Street, Shoe Street, Plastic Street, Souvenir street... the list goes on. I should also mention there is Dog Street, Cat Street and Rat Street but they don't sell these as pets ... if you get my drift.
We then enjoyed a leisurely stroll to our restaurant - even more delicious food and we finished at our Hotel where your lovelies are all tucked into bed. This really has been the trip of a lifetime with many memorable experiences. Well done to your students who at times struggled with heat, lack of sleep, exotic food (leading to all sorts of stomach complaints and vomitting episodes), sore ankles, sore throats... the list goes on. Yet despite this, everyone participated in every activity and made the most of every minute. It has been such an enjoyable experience seeing Vietnam with your group of young people. It has broaded all our horizons and allowed us to have a quick peek into a facsinating culture. But it is now late and Ms Simm has rattled on far too much.
So in the words of the great Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon (and goodnight Vietnam).
Well hello from Vietnam! We had a huge flight and arrived at the airport 8 and a half hours later! Poor Mrs Grant had issues with her visa, but we managed to actually leave the airport and see our Hotel for the first time. The beautiful Blue Diamond! We enjoyed a yummy dinner then tackled the Bien Ten market for the first time. We haggled hard and Ms Simm may have lost a bit of money! We then hit our rooms after a 19 hour day and slept like logs.
Day Two
Good morning Vietnam!! Today we started with an early start and a great breakfast buffet. Jess loved the noodles! We then commenced our journey to Long Tan which was a real eye opener. The traffic was super busy and there were bike riders everywhere. Our first stop was to pick up our guide Wombat who lived up to his name and was a crazy fun person who also had lots of knowledge about the battle of Long Tan. We then experienced the Long Phuoc Tunnel which was where the Viet Cong used to hide and shoot soldiers. It is now only inhabited by bats, spiders and very long millipedes. It is a wonder you did not hear the screams in Sale!! We then visited the Long Tan Hill to see where the battle was experienced and were able to view old photographs of the experiences of the Australian Vets. We then felt the emotion of a memorable ceremony remembering the fallen soldiers. We laid a flower each in respect. After lunch in which we witnessed the live animals soon to be sacrficed for our dining pleasure, we headed to the Central Post Office and the Reunification Palace for photographs. After this crazy busy day - did we rest? No! We headed straight to the market and others headed for a manicure! Following this, we headed out to our evening entertainment aboard a floating restaurant. We danced the night away to Vietnamese music and belly dancers and a Vietnamese man singing Careless Whispers to us! It was very moving. The weather is hot and humid but very nice after the cold of Sale. We are all well and happy and ready for a new adventure!
day 3
Another hot and steamy morning in Vietnam! Our day started as normal with a delicious buffet breaky then we hopped onto our party bus. We started the journey to Mekong River with a pit stop to a bamboo and coconut fiber manufacturer and was safe to say we felt like were on channel 99 watching sales commercials. After watching a scarf styled 27 ways we ventured to the mekong River where we hopped on boats and were on our way to unicorn island. On the island we tried various new strange fruit,sang songs, tried magical honey that suposibly fixed everything in your life and held huge SNAKE, yes A SNAKE. We then had lunch at a beautiful restaurant and ate elephant fish cooked fresh from the water running through the property. With full stomaches we then headed to the University of Science and Humanities where we got the opportunity to meet some amazing individuals. We shared our backgrounds and compared our similarities and differences while playing games and doing challenges. After a sad goodbye to our new friends we then went to a restaurant where we ate our weight in pizza and pasta. We haggled our way around the night market and Ms Simm made vast improvements on getting cheaper prices. We are now showered and ready for bed!
Day 4
Today Ms Simm is coming to you straight from Hoi Anh. It is quite late and so the students have been given the night off blogging to concentrate on a good nights sleep. This morning we started our day bright and early, packed our belongings carefully and headed down to our last buffet breakfast in Ho Chi Minh. We then checked out and headed to the Cu Chi Tunnels which were built by the Viet Cong in the war. Shammy our guide told us some amazing stories about the Guerilla warfare tactics of the Viet Cong including nasty pits of torture and shoes that made it look like Viet Cong were walking away from a point rather than to a point. Some of the bravest of us had a go in a tiny pit that the Viet Cong woud hide in with a lid covered over with leaves which allowed for excellent camoflage and sniper attacks. We even learnt that some of the soliders were female and their uniforms were black because of monthly issues. We then actually experienced what it was like in the tunnels. It was very humid and even the shortest of the group had to crawl along. After five minutes in the tunnel we really felt appreciation for those who would be in the tunnels for up to ten days - and apparently they did not even have a torch on their iphones!!
Cu Chi was certainly an amazing experience. They even had a gun range their where you could fire rifles. Unfortunately this was only offered to those 18+ and while Zak was sure he could get away with it - we were fairly certain it was not DOSEL approved. So we were content to simply listen to the dulcet tones of gun fire!!
Following this we drove to a beautiful restaurant that was set between two fast running rivers. The food as always was plentiful and absolutely delicious. Ms Simm is fast becoming a very happy Buddha! The restaurant was a temple style and so she fit right in!
We then drove the two hour journey to Ho Chi Minh domestic airport and bid Goodbye to our crazy and delightful guide Shammy Oanh. We also bid goodbye to our shy but hopeful Bus Boy who may have taken a bit of a shine to our dear Sophie! Not that she gave him any encouragement. Sophie was in fact unaware until Marty noticed with his eagle eye!
The flight to Danang was uneventful and quite speedy. Touching down in Danang was like entering another world. Although we arrived in darkness we were all amazed by the large resorts and the much cleaner streets. Our wonderful new guide Luat explained to us that 20 years ago Danang was like a very small country town made up of beaches and jungles. It is now very cosmopolitan and full of sights including a casino that the Vietnamese are not allowed to gamble at. It is just for foriegn tourists. The resorts were massive and cam with their own private beach. Such luxury! Our dinner was absolutely delightful once again and eaten in a restaurant with beautiful coloured lanterns in the trees outside. Wow - it was like fairy land. We then drove approximately an hour to Hoi An where we are not tucked up at the Lotus Hotel. Very beautiful and lovely villa style accommodation. Your students are all doing well. Hope all is well at home and all those Collingwood supporters are not too disappointed. Sorry about the photos on the blog. I will try and upload some as soon as some time comes along and it is not too late.
Signing out - Ms Simm
Day Five
Well we are half way through the experience of a lifetime and Vietnam just keeps getting better! This morning the students were very excited to have a 9am start which meant a later breakfast. Every one was looking foward to a sleep in only to be woken at 5.30am with the noise of a loudspeaker that provided continous commentary for aproximately 2 hours in Vienamese! Our guide later explained that this was a call for people to attend to vote in the election of the equivalent level of Government as our local council elections. Given voting is not compulsory in Vietnam, the Nation and our little poppets from Australia were awoken to calls to do your duty and come and vote for your local Communist party member! Classic! In any event some of us did not hear a word of it and only heard a rooster crowing and slept soundly until breakfast.
After a delicious breakfast which included all types of delicacies we moved on to the Hoi An Old Town and it was spectacular. It was a really wonderful cultural experience and quite different to Ho Chi Minh. Hoi An is a quaint area steeped in tradition and is a World Heritage listed area. It was easy to see why. The students first visited a Taoist Temple and were able to soak up the architecture and spendour and also understand the significance of the statues inside which included the Goddesses of Safe travels and the ocean and Fertility Goddesses. Luat, our guide, is truly a historian and was able to give the students insight into the various cultures that have shaped Hoi An, including the Japanese, Chinese and Portugese. As we entered the temple there were large coils of incense hanging from the roof. Luat explained that individuals could come to the temple, make a wish that was written in the middle of the coil, and the incense would burn for three weeks. At the conclusion of that time, the legend is the wish will come true. Unfortunately this may be too late a period for the Richmond supporters out there!
We then visited a traditional home of a Vietnamese family in a House that has been in the same family for seven generations and was built in the 15th Century! The current owner is an 80 year man who still delivers the dumplings made by his family to the local restaurants by bicycle several times a day. His own mother recently died at 100 years of age. The home is heritage listed and so no improvements including airconditioning can be made to it. It is entirely authentic. However, the Government recently assisted to restore some parts of the home and paidn 100% of these renovations. It was incredible to experience this and hear about the lives of these people and of the importance of family life.
After experiencing these joys we toured the streets of the old town and were taken to the famous, excting and exhilerating joys of the House of Yarly. A Coutour fashion house where 3 000 tailors are ready to tailor clothes designed for their customer from fabrics chosen by the client. Not only do they make them, but they deliver them in the same day. 16 students (including some very excited supervising teachers) had clothes made to them. These were then collected on the same day!! It was truly amazing that this could be achieved. Those who did not have an item made, bartered the time away in a very satisfying fashion and once again, those baggage limits looked worrying. At this point we have suggested Kyle start to offer suitcase space to the highest bidder - his current level of well under 13 kgs is raising a lot of interest!
We then enjoyed another spectacular lunch of Vietnamese cuisine and headed off to our cooking school for the afternoon. The cooking school was really something to remember and to talk about. We split into groups and each had a chef from Cooking school take us on a walk of the Hoi An food markets. This was such an eye opener and with good humour and much care the students were informed about how to pick the best seafood, spices and chopsticks. Quite a few magic knifes were purchased and these are so magic!! Let's just hope we remember to pack them in the checked-luggage, because there is no way these things will get through carry-on checks! From the market we headed by boat to the cooking school. Hoi An is such a pretty area and the boat ride was lovely and picturesque.
On arrival we were served a Mocktail which was delicious (not yum - ask your students about this) and we settled down to learn how to make rice paper rolls - including the actual rice paper, crispy omelettes, seafood salad and chicken and tomato soup. Our chefs taught us how to cook, and gave us the special recipes with patience and skill. It was such a fun experience. We were also cooking in beautiful surroundings in an outdoor pavilion. I overheard several students make career choices to become chefs in the Red Bridge Cooking School. We ate our own food and then enjoyed some other dishes the chefs prepared for us. It was a really memorable evening.
From there it was back to the Hoi An Old town where we got to see the beautiful overhead lanterns strung across the streets lit up. So prettyn and special. We strode with purpose to the House of Yarly to collect our brand new made-to-order clothes and then headed back to the Hotel where the students enjoyed a much yearned for and well-deserved swim as the day had been humid, carefully watched by our life-guard extraordinare Corey "Iron-man" Scholtes.
This sums up our day as best as possible, but in no way captures the true magic of it - signing out from Vietnam. Catch you all in the morning!
Day six
The day started with a nice and relaxing rise and breakfast at the beautiful hotel. While checking out of the hotel Xav and Marc put their pool skills to the test but we will admit there wasn't many balls successfully put in the pockets. We begun our trip to Hue with some knowledge of the area from our belovered tour guide Luat. We got the oppertunity to see the stunning coast line along the way. Our first stop was at a little place which had some of the original standing building/walls built at the time of the Vietnamese War and got to take some candid tourist photos on the hill overlooking the water. We then stopped at a fishing village where many of us got to try iced coffees with condenced milk, super healthy. We had a few stops along the way to our final destination and you could say that the ice coffee may have been responsible, hey Soph!!!! With the luxury of toilets we all settled comfortably into lunch and enjoyed a five course meal at a local Little Italy restaurant. Our Dragon boat ride had to get postponed till tommorow morning because Sale decided to come visit early and bring us rain. Everyone was happy to have a relaxing afternoon chilling out with the choice to go shopping, resting or venturing out to the bridge. We walked through the hustle and bustle towards dinnner at the Tropical Garden,where they had a traditional band that played us music while we devoured our yummy dinner. On the way back to the Hotel we got our dance moves out and danced through the fun street of Hue. We are now back at the hotel and are heading bed to prepare for another jammed packed day in this amazing slice of paradise.
Day 7:
Hello - Ms Simm blogging with you from Hanoi in the very first few hours of what is actually Day 8! What what a packed and eventful day we have had. Our first port of call was a Dragon Boat ride along the Perfume river. What a beautiful river this was. Luat assured us it smelled just like Pomello's, not too sure about that, but what I can tell you is there was more shopping to be had on the boat! Who would have known there were so many places to shop in Vietnam. I think some of us may be determined to break the record of making a purchase at every location we attend - let me tell you it is entirely achievable! The Dragon Boat was so interesting because by day the owners of the boat use it to carry tourists like us, but by night the Dragon boat is their home where they sleep, cook and live! Amazing. This Dragon boat carried us along in idyllic scenery until we reached our destination of the Thien Mu Pagoda. Wow, was this something to see. It is a seven story Pagoda and location of a group of 65 Buddhist monks all trying their best to make it to Nirvana, mostly novices, some as young as 7 years of age. As we walked through beautiful gardens and ancient bonsai, Mr Scholtes noticed some statutues in a garden that looked like a living painting. The statues included Monkey, Monks, Pig and Oxen. Luat told us the fascintating story of these characters - and it became clear they were reliving their childhood memors of Monkey Magic on ABC television! Do you all remember that parents? Amazing - it gave the television show so much more meaning!
It was an absolutely beautiful spot overlooking mountains and the Perfume river and I think we all thought of converting to Budhism for a brief moment - Ahh - just kidding!
From this location our bus drove us to the Imperial City where the Emperors of Vietnam lived until they finally abdicated in 1945 due to French domination. This is a Palace and town of approximately 6-7000 people within three walls and a moat. It actually gave me an idea for the new CCS buildings - a moat could be very effective and a real talking point! We visited the Palace with the Emperors throne that was extremely impressive, the Reading room and the Opera House. This was a beautiful and amazing place to visit and we could all clearly imagine the Emperor and his 500 concubines and one Principal Wife holding Court there. Although it turns out that it was not necessarily a great thing to be an Emperor because they tended to frequently behead them or send them to exhile in Africa. So while having lots of women around would be interesting - the time to enjoy them was limited! (I hope this is not too inappropriate). Luat also told us some wonderful and interesting stories about Buddah. My fun fact for the night is Buddah was actually born from his Mother's armpit! I think this could catch on??? I think it sounds less painful - although I guess it depends on how it is possible to emerge from an armpit?
From here we had lunch at a wonderful restaurant that included carrots and pumpkin carved into the shape of birds, pagodas and swans. The Vietnamese certainly know how to do food presentation!!
We then returned to Hue for a small amount of free time, and early dinner and a very sad farewell to our most wonderful guide Luat. What a tremendously knowledgable, fun and interesting man he is. If any of you intend to visit Vietnam - I have his contact details. He would definitely be the one to see.
Our flight to Hanoi was thankfully uneventful and we are now all tucked into our new Hotel in Hanoi with our new guide Belle. Our flight was quite late and we arrived at our new Hotel at 11.15pm. Very tired students are on board but they are all buoyed by the thought of a boat ride tomorrow (did you see what I did there?) On the way Belle has already told us some interesting facts about Hanoi and North Vietnam. Did you know they have started to farm rats? The rats are farmed in the country so they are fed on rice and corn rather than the sewer rats we may be more familiar with. Apparently rat restaurants are all the rage. I suggested the kids try this new delicacy but no one was overly keen. Strange. We have another massive day tomorrow with a four hour bus ride (so the wheels of the bus will go round and round a lot!) to Ha Long Bay. We then also have a four hour boat cruise. With a wake up call at 6am - it is time for this blogger to Tam biet.
day 8
This morning started with yet another early start with a call from the front desk at 6am. We hopped on the bus after a yummy breaky and started our 4 hour journey to beautiful Halong Bay. Our first stop was at the workshop for the disabled, this place showed us the ongoing effects of Agent Orange used in the Vietnam war, as well as showing the stunning artwork and handmade items made by these talented individuals. We all had the opportunity to buy something and refuel with some food before continuing on our journey. Our next stop was at a pearl farm, we got to see the process of making the pearls, naturally as well as inseting the needed resources to grow pearls. Ms simm made a purchase of pearls to go along with her stunning bag Christian.
Upon arriving we climbed on board of our very own ship for the afternoon. we were spoilt with seafood from prawns, food, clams and much more while driving down seeing the scenery of the breathtaking landscape of Halong Bay. Each student as well as teachers had the oppertunity for a photo shoot with Catholic College Sales very own Andrea Simm which resulted in photos that would be on nothing less worthy then a magazine cover or postcards. Our boat stopped at an island where we got to get out and explore two amazing caves which showcased natural formations and the historical value of Vietnam. On the way back some people enjoyed reading in the sun, sunbaking or even just taking in our surroundings.
We headed to our hotel where we checked in and had some free time. Corey took whoever wanted to for a relaxing swim before we headed out for dinner. After another amazing dinner we got to go to the night market and explore what the local town had to offer. We are all now ready for bed and preparing for another full on day in paradise.
Day 9
Well how about that - it is day 9 and what will really be the last day of this Blog given tomorrow we will be airport bound. What an amazing experience we have all had full of culture, spectacular food and splendid shopping. This morning we awoke early and drove back to Hanoi. This time we took the freeway in order to reach our next destination in time and so it was a much quicker trip. Only 2 1/2 hours. Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh's Tomb and what a solemn and amazing experience this was. The students were all told before hand that while in the Mausoleum they could not point, talk, and had to walk in pairs. Given we were surrounded by army officers the students performed to perfection. I am thinking of trying this in my classroom! So there was Hoi (which is what you call him once you have visited his tomb - first name basis) embalmed and lying in a massive marble coffin in the middle of an even bigger tomb, as if he was fast asleep. Our guide explained to us that he actually asked in his Will to be cremated and his ashes placed in three urns symbolising Past, Present, Future.... but no, instead he was embalmed and put on show for millions of people to walk past. We were told that there can be up to a million visitors every weekend! It was a solemn, incredibly interesting and quite scary experience. We then saw the Presidential Palace (only from the outside, you can only visit it if you have Prime Minister status) and from there visited a beautiful Pagoda and an amazing Temple of Literature which was the site of Vietnam's first University. Now students come to the temple to pray to Confucious and rub his foot which is said to assist with good exam results. Male students need to rub the foot in a circle with their right hand nine times and girls with their left seven times. I can tell you, everyone of our students solemnly had a go and several said they felt more spiritual afterwards!
From there we moved to lunch and what a special lunch it was. We went to the Koto Restaurant which was opened by an Australian man to assist the homeless to become chefs and wait staff. As such he gives those young people who do not have a home a future. Our meal was spectacular and full of delicious morsels including some of the best sweet and sour pork I have ever had. Your students then performed magnificently by donating a very large tip to the workers there to help support this worthwhile cause.
We also had the priviledge of having lunch with Brother Geoff who is an Australian Marist brother who for the last twelve years has dedicated his life to working with the Blind and disabled of Hanoi to allow them to recieve education, support and training. He indicated they have a 100% employment rate of their students who live with them at the school until they can support themselves. He will also shortly begin a new venture and commence living in the Highlands close to the border of China where they will work and offer charity to the very disadvantaged and maginalised poor in this area. It was such a privilege to give to him the money your students had raised by holding the BBQ earlier in the school year.
Our good deeds done, we moved on to the Vietnamese Women's Museum which was very interesting and really revealed the culture of Vietnam and the struggles Vietnamese women overcome on a daily basis. The museum included a wealth of information on daily life, weddings, motherhood, religion, fashion and their role in the war as fighting machines. What tough women they are! I think we could all learn a lot about how to make do with so little.
We then returned to our final hotel of the journey made ourselves at home and headed out to the water puppet performance. This was quite an experience and is very difficult to put into words! It is unique (although Lindy explained that she had seen exactly the same performance four years previously). All I can do is urge you to make the trip so that you too can experience this phenomenon.
The Water puppet theatre of course just happened to be in a very busy shopping district and so for one final time we made some time to make sure presents had been purchased for everyone back home who supported our holiday travels. In Hanoi they break the street names up into what they sell so they have Bag Street, Shoe Street, Plastic Street, Souvenir street... the list goes on. I should also mention there is Dog Street, Cat Street and Rat Street but they don't sell these as pets ... if you get my drift.
We then enjoyed a leisurely stroll to our restaurant - even more delicious food and we finished at our Hotel where your lovelies are all tucked into bed. This really has been the trip of a lifetime with many memorable experiences. Well done to your students who at times struggled with heat, lack of sleep, exotic food (leading to all sorts of stomach complaints and vomitting episodes), sore ankles, sore throats... the list goes on. Yet despite this, everyone participated in every activity and made the most of every minute. It has been such an enjoyable experience seeing Vietnam with your group of young people. It has broaded all our horizons and allowed us to have a quick peek into a facsinating culture. But it is now late and Ms Simm has rattled on far too much.
So in the words of the great Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon (and goodnight Vietnam).
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