ribob 'Vietnam International triathlon' which included a 1500 metre swim, a 40k bike ride, and a 10k run took place on Saturday the 23rd August, and I found myself agreeing to be part of a relay team, meaning I 'only' had to do the 40k bike ride. now I just want to say that temperatures reach the 40 degree mark here and my ride was at 1500, so for those of you thinking a 40k bike ride doesn't sound so bad, think again... I had to drink so much much water for the race to keep hydrated, I could have filled three swimming pools in one trip to the bathroom! Our team, aptly named 'Hallo Motobike' (the single most heard phrase a tourist hears in Hoi An), consisted of Liz (Australian swimming teacher), Me, and Loc, (one of my vietnamese colleagues). Loc was the star as he not only ran the 10k at lightening speed, he ended with a real sprint finish, where I had been waiting after my ride and my free 
massage. The massage seemed like a good idea at the time, but with muscles so cramped up, I wasn't sure what was the most painful, the massage itself, or the last 5k of my cycle! I think I came 78 out of 100+ in the cycle, which considering my brief 3 week training, wasn't half bad. Some of the professional racers had those special carbon bikes and were obviously well into this kind of thing, so I wasn't too disheartened when several people overtook me on the first 5k of my ride... I had been fortunate enough to borrow a half decent 'racing bike' for the day of the race, and to show how nice people are here, they bike was given to me for free by one of the owners of a local cafe/restaurant, who was friends with a friend of Liz. I offered them some money post race for the bike, but it was so nice that they just let me turn up and use the bike. When I returned the bike the next day, I think the guy's wife thought I had just finished the race there and then, as she instantly sat me down at a table and began wiping my face with a towel, it took me a while to explain that I had actually raced yesterday, and the sweat on my face was just a normal days sweat in this heat!
There was a gala dinner that evening with some awards, which consisted an extortionate mount of food, and ridiculously overpriced beer at a big hotel here. I get a little critical of the dinner here simply because the 10k run had been routed just yards away from the hotel and through the opposing local village where the level of poverty is so low, the cost of one night at the hotel could probably feed a family there for a month... still that's the so called progress through tourism eh?!
All in all, the day was fun and I never thought I would be taking part in a Triathlon, in Vietnam or anywhere else!!!Regards from Vietnam
in Hoi An. Having another good friend here this week has encouraged me to do more tourist things. So, after a return to My Son (world heritage site of ruins) this time a one-hour motorcycle ride away, we headed out to 'Cham Island' which is an island with a total population 891 people. I think that's what the guide said! The weather was fantastic which made the snorkeling and sunbathing on the beach an even better expereince, and despite a settled sea crossing, one of our passengers ( a Vietnamese girl) was just constantly sick throughout the journey. The other major event of the week would have to have been on Wednesday night / Thursday morning 00:00-04:00, when a meteor shower was reportedly happening. A few of us hit the beach at midnight, and with a cold beer sat for 2 hours watching an array of shooting stars, some quick flashes of light, and some stars left trails of light behind them! Being sat on a quiet beach with only a handful of local people around, and the sea lapping on the shore only feet away, it was yet another memorable experience that will keep my memories of Hoi An fresh in my mind for a long time!
To more social matters, I came across a really unfortunate case of a family from the North of Vietnam, who have three children, all of whom are disabled, one boy with cerebral palsy, who cannot walk, and do very little for himself, one boy, who is physically able, but has some developmental issues, and the youngest and perhaps most poorly child is the 2 year old son, who has hydrocephalus. Unfortunately the child has such a large mis-shaped head, that despite a recent operation, the damage caused already suggests that the child will not survive very long. This case was published in an Australian magazine I think... and really highlights the problems people face here because of poverty, and poor access to health care... I did not think it was right to put a picture on here , but those of you who would like to read further I suggest going to the Blue Dragon website at 
Ok to today's main theme, On Saturday I went to Da Nang, to meet my friend Sarah, who was out here visiting me (and seeing Vietnam). Sarah called me to say that her plane was going to be late by 2 hours, and as I was sat in the 'Big C' supermarket at the time, I decided to check out the cinema there, and ended up watching Hancock to pass the time. To the point now, I was in the supermarket to pick up some shopping supplies for Sarah's visit, and this was now the third visit I had made to this supermarket. There are some interesting observations I have made from these 3 visits to the place. Firstly, there are not so many non-Vietnamese people in this supermarket, so you invariably have peoples attention thrust upon you. Secondly are far more comical is the amount of attention you receive and the level of intrusion you feel. Let me explain... ...As I have alluded to in past blogs, there really is very little privacy here, in all levels of society. Most houses are open planned with full view into homes almost 24 hours a day, street cafes are plentiful and people ask direct questions in conversation including 'how old are you?' 'are you married?' etc etc... so me as a 'youngish' male foreigner walking around a local supermarket I found myself being observed from all angles, by shoppers, staff and kids galore! Every time I reached for an item off the shelf I could see people looking to see what I was buying! I have found some people in Vietnam just go that extra mile when it comes to being nosey, and the supermarket just provides such people with more opportunity to be so. On more than one occasion, as I passed down a random isle, the oncoming families, couples or groups of friends, would slow down, stop next to me, look in my basket, and on one occasion, actually picked up items from my basket and began discussing amongst themselves, the content of my basket!!! On another occasion, 3 staff members and a security guard watched me take 10 minutes to choose a bottle of wine, and then as if some comedy movie, all 4 leaned over in unison as I passed them on the way to paying! I think I need to start putting some really obscure items in my basket to discourage them from rooting through strangers property!!! I am now used to the different level of intrusion here in Vietnam, and am looking forward to returning to my now 'local' (1 hour bus ride away!) supermarket!
or sunrise (see picture). I am slowly growing used to the early nights and early mornings, just because this place comes to life from 0500... After spending more time with Hong and her family, they have begun to ask me to join them for a bite to eat, to time to time. One particular day they were eating lunch and called me to join them. Hong's boyfriend was really keen for me to try some warm white looking thing in the middle of the food... as I was being polite and wanting to eat this thing, a could see the others struggling not to laugh, increasing my suspicions of what the food might be... after taking some small bites I could gather form the gestures my hosts were making, that this was some kind of pig product, and I soon realised I was eating pigs brains... which were surprisingly good, and would have gone well with the pigs ear I ate in Romania! In another food related story, whilst going to eat with some of our staff from work, they asked us if we like to have chicken, as we usually leave the food ordering to them...which on occasion proves to be a mistake.. this was one of those occasions! After tucking into some very skinny chicken pieces, covered by salad, I found myself chewing on some very strange looking spring like pieces. The staff had ordered chicken, but not as we know it! They had ordered chicken bones! I quickly realised I was eating chicken feet... which explained the texture!!!! Not a pleasant moment!
