christmas

Hello folks

Hope you are all well and that you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
1 ½ hours later and we FINALLY made it home to bed bringing in Christmas. I had a fabulous Christmas which consisted of me sitting in a very western restaurant for 6 hours with my friends and basically jus sitting and eating and then waiting until we felt hungry again so we could eat some more! It. Was. Awesome.

I had the opportunity also to experience a completely unique Christmas eve experience. I was lucky enough to witness - not the actual game, but the aftermath - of Vietnam def Thailand in an Away game of great importance, apparently :S!

It basically consisted of my friend Georgie and I trying to get home to her place - a meer 10 minutes away from the centre - through what I truly believe to be about 600 people, supporting VN with there flags and general excitement and there songs and there banners and pots and pans and everything else that helped create sound.

I think I should briefly explain… The Hanoi that I am most familiar with consists of Hoan Kiem Lake and surroundings. H K Lake is obviously a lake and thus round but the road circling it is one way. The effect is good during normal hours with limited, or even just peak hour traffic, but throw in a large celebration and everybody decides to meet at H K and circle as many times as they can. Basically everything becomes a complete standstill.

So as Georgie and I tried to make our way, against the traffic home, there were hundreds upon hundreds of people all on bikes all with flags and singing and cheering and then there were these two western girls trying to pick our way through all the traffic., One being rather tall and wearing a Santa hat and cheering “Vietnam Number 1!!!!” as loud as they could. The effect was also very interesting. AS people began to get annoyed with the traffic and thus be lulled into silence, the Santa hat wearing westerner would come along, singing my song, and I would get large groups of previously silent VN cheering and screaming all over again. I don’t know if they got into it because I was western or because I was cheering for Nam or what, but it was a fabulous outcome.


Everybody got together and generally spread the Christmas joy on Christmas and continuing on until the Saturday when everybody came and crashed our humble abode… Everybody arrived in little old Song Cong and slowly we made our way to our street. We started with the Pho Bo that I have been raging about just non-stop and I am pleased to announce that our Pho was voted the best by all of the gappers. :D

Dinner wasn’t very traditionally Australian… but very Vietnamese and we were able to dassle people with the menu. Naturally a heavy night of drinking was had also, just in the spirit of Christmas.

So our “party” was a success and everybody got a chance to experience the “true” Vietnam that Bridget and I have experience for the past 4 month. Now however, we have finished and our school is now actually on holiday’s - a little early - for TET.
Theo and Mum arrived safely and we are now enjoy peace and quiet in Halong Bay.

I think that is enough now, so I will love you all and leave you

sleep out!