tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46807606146645298742024-02-24T23:29:14.860-08:00Dan in VietnamThe life and times of Dan's 8 month volunteering in Hoi An & Da Nang City, VietnamDan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-74763701340706843882008-12-25T04:52:00.000-08:002008-12-28T01:10:15.217-08:00Week 34 - The end... Da Nang, Da Lat & SaigonHey everybody, excuse the lateness of this week’s blog, but I’m sure everyone is well and truly busy with Christmas preparations anyway!<br />It’s December 23rd, and I’m sat on a bus from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Da</span> Lat, to Ho Chi <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Minh</span> city (Saigon) before flying home tomorrow. It’s been so hot here in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Da</span> Lat the last 4 days that I have been sun burnt, a very funny thing for me at this time of year! These last 9 days have certainly offered plenty of entertainment, emotion and true Vietnamese hospitality, that It will make my departure tomorrow even more sad than it would have been just a week ago.<br /><br />I had to finish up at the wonderful Hospital C rehabilitation department, with a presentation of what I have tried to do, and to complete an application for funding to return next year. In between the report writing, there was ‘end of day’ dance lessons in salsa for the staff, lunchtime drinking, and on the last day the department looked more like a restaurant with tables full of food as a ‘thanks to myself and Virginia (American physiotherapist). This week also saw a second invitation to one of my colleagues homes for lunch with his family – not for any special reason, just to be nice. Perhaps I should have not been surprised to find mountains of tasty food, and the entire family (in-laws included) there waiting. Whilst the food was being prepared my colleague, who also happens to be a great singer, dancer and handyman, helped me to make some more equipment for the hospital –an all action lunch!<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283789034349003330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPlqRQK8C8Ng7yfALQSmhJwQLACBTcxkqfGqw_hrVT9-fpty090TSv2eU2Mzri_sglSUkGyKefTrUPx67ap2i7MtjXgwKZla0WyomfiIjLnRDWsaPKmlUFuOiagqm-terxXcVTxv6D0l5/s400/DSCF4423.JPG" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhDjji86quD0UaDd9U8qssO1z7VA1zE6M3caDdAto4qSCZejYHe9jzgXOT6o7n8dCPBGSaW7BoxudOPTnj2rMZrzmCpPGYKPk8ebJjAnMp_8gZ0XCBSaMgZDQf5gr-mxyEekk8dn_GpOx/s1600-h/DSCF4424.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283792193060007106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhDjji86quD0UaDd9U8qssO1z7VA1zE6M3caDdAto4qSCZejYHe9jzgXOT6o7n8dCPBGSaW7BoxudOPTnj2rMZrzmCpPGYKPk8ebJjAnMp_8gZ0XCBSaMgZDQf5gr-mxyEekk8dn_GpOx/s200/DSCF4424.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIJypBZFPZGFJLskOVeMcjsiXaQD3RDszoKl7gLikeFKxNxnrsdEZ7vR-tryBVGHWcHWgpj7YtIU3FGgByB_eiHKheWs-dXW_mmZfV-vG7SaNt3Zqz2YnHqoUnVIl2Nt_X6cjVe4aOc6_/s1600-h/DSCF4425.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283792492992856866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIJypBZFPZGFJLskOVeMcjsiXaQD3RDszoKl7gLikeFKxNxnrsdEZ7vR-tryBVGHWcHWgpj7YtIU3FGgByB_eiHKheWs-dXW_mmZfV-vG7SaNt3Zqz2YnHqoUnVIl2Nt_X6cjVe4aOc6_/s200/DSCF4425.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283792987548222578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlSH1YqJs781zTse5RqEA1VQwTiD9TvXMnxOh4WMeLA9X31PNYCim0-ZVSm6_7a32lgSuQKn9C-qpF3oATUR7ZFsP-GXjs1bPf_D5Pb2BBNqQBsCqnCPWpJhd0P3RX1NNzoGkc0zl60Rn/s200/DSCF4427.JPG" border="0" />Saying goodbye was tough, and especially with my trainee (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hoai</span>) and my brilliant translator (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Nga</span>). I wanted to get them a little gift to say thanks for their hard work over the last month, so I thought I’d get a photo of us printed off, and bought a small little frame... the reason I mention this is because in the process of doing this I got to see the well most commonly used computer tool in Vietnam (in my opinion)... <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">PHOTOSHOP</span>!!!<br />I took my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">USB</span> with the 2 photos I wanted to print to the photo shop and in this little shop I saw 2 guys sat at quite old looking computers making the tiniest detailed changes to people’s photographs. If you see almost any photograph on display here in Vietnam, be it wedding photos, family portraits, or even just ordinary pictures with friends, everybody looks perfect... i mean, no spots, no wrinkles, not dark patches, NOTHING!!! The guy almost fainted when I told him i just wanted him to print my pictures, without him making any changes... The look on the guy’s face suggested that the idea that I wanted a less than perfect looking picture seemed like I had just asked this guy to give up rice and noodles for a month! Still, he eventually gave in and printed my pictures as I requested. This all took about 1 minute!!! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Un</span>-bloody-believable! I payed just 6,000 dong (20pence) for this service, and as I drove away I could see the guy returning to a more time consuming task of making a rather unfortunate looking woman (who had just entered the shop), look like Miss Vietnam, on all of her 100 holiday pictures!<br /><br />The last four days of my time here in Vietnam have been spent in the beautiful ‘honeymoon’ destination of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Da</span> Lat. I could talk all day about this beautiful place, with names of tourist places including, ‘Dreaming Hill’ and my personal favourite the ‘Valley of Love’. The nearby <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Lanbiang</span> mountain, the flower garden, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Prenn</span> waterfalls - with its three pagoda’s in the hillside are also must see places to visit. This weekend just happened to be one almighty festival with songs, dances, flower stalls and all manner of exhibitions going on, just to add to the fun! The hotel I stayed in also deserves a mention for being so nice, and empty! I had a different breakfast every morning, not at my request, but simply because they served what they happened to have in stock! The place was a little walk (20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">mins</span>) from the town centre, but a perfect location to avoid the tourist trade! With bicycles available for rent (but mostly tandem bikes) I would have to recommend hiring a motorcycle as the traffic is light and all the places of interest become easily accessible! This place as the pictures show, is well worth a visit, and a great way for me to end my time in Vietnam!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPD5EaEzc2eloWTrDZX4t9eKniiSQs1Ldhu1r2R_Apl2VnsEqJJ5u44q8t3pLkC9G1aNLir2c-497d4hthtV_IODlgvt8ijFoAR7PExjdvc7x1kV_83UMZmaorZ2PCaMpP62B0nN9dPdua/s1600-h/DSCF4590.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283789598264903922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPD5EaEzc2eloWTrDZX4t9eKniiSQs1Ldhu1r2R_Apl2VnsEqJJ5u44q8t3pLkC9G1aNLir2c-497d4hthtV_IODlgvt8ijFoAR7PExjdvc7x1kV_83UMZmaorZ2PCaMpP62B0nN9dPdua/s320/DSCF4590.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hcSKyjRLClLEqChWUp-BkiRQrkSTy36JyHeSONwNMQ6EG4x8Ui6_Vieb55I7lHM4blGb9BIaIS-FRi2X-pPu3LQnxnZo_9JMdjjvs20-Ayda43eAXiGGLlJ4Ky4wg-OcQb3ZtwUbMq0_/s1600-h/DSCF4533.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283790061687979522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hcSKyjRLClLEqChWUp-BkiRQrkSTy36JyHeSONwNMQ6EG4x8Ui6_Vieb55I7lHM4blGb9BIaIS-FRi2X-pPu3LQnxnZo_9JMdjjvs20-Ayda43eAXiGGLlJ4Ky4wg-OcQb3ZtwUbMq0_/s320/DSCF4533.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br />So onto the ‘big smoke’ of Saigon and a dinner with four of my friends from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Hoi</span> An, John, Michelle, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Eri</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Vy</span>, another stroke of luck with us all being in Saigon by chance! Here are some picures from my last night in Vietnam, the Xmas lights of Saigon. (with my Japanese friend - Eri)</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTItVzRFOnOPuybkg5MBdIeHeEwx6wlaToWrA31RgjAm_5TjeISMfWYNnNLKJGlO0uX2z1XsAE9cBNxACsCdxbOBYpaeH4rSW1HSLwF3Fre2tj3Ep66ESzWoEoH6LsU5OzQ7KeiKxYBMND/s1600-h/DSCF4611.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283794150953193554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTItVzRFOnOPuybkg5MBdIeHeEwx6wlaToWrA31RgjAm_5TjeISMfWYNnNLKJGlO0uX2z1XsAE9cBNxACsCdxbOBYpaeH4rSW1HSLwF3Fre2tj3Ep66ESzWoEoH6LsU5OzQ7KeiKxYBMND/s320/DSCF4611.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyN0QHTJsaRXjtHGXQFSD3KX_N0cTnLleuXRLmJPqhZ5F-3GE-SR_cz6W1BnUrZCRJy_isscloigkMWtRy8PJIQHv5MvnaxbkZpq_5i0BrJBam1y62tIFKherZC2tCG0A1J8ds48hQzIoS/s1600-h/DSCF4616.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283794440479888242" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyN0QHTJsaRXjtHGXQFSD3KX_N0cTnLleuXRLmJPqhZ5F-3GE-SR_cz6W1BnUrZCRJy_isscloigkMWtRy8PJIQHv5MvnaxbkZpq_5i0BrJBam1y62tIFKherZC2tCG0A1J8ds48hQzIoS/s320/DSCF4616.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br />I hope you have all enjoyed reading this blog! I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">ve</span> enjoyed writing it, and remembering the quite <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">bizarre</span> life I have led here over the past 8 months! </div><br /><div>Singapore Airlines even offered a festive <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">goodbye</span> as the airline staff sang carols and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">offered</span> all the passengers on the flight from Saigon - Singapore.. have a look for yourself! </div><div></div><div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxN_Ya_SEyMXYW0qZqNAbn33ur1cuWXPFCM5vTW3LT6KSGFpdKYuTclduRQN6zPrTRWfNxoPPLTeePlRtiOdw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />Regards from Vietnam<br />Dan</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-29835308015953756912008-12-14T08:05:00.000-08:002008-12-14T09:23:43.933-08:00Week 33 - Dressing a Buddhist Monk & a TV appearence!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279681812724716578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFMh96U4WvVNITGB_GDr5342jaqrHUwC6MKPVrIA4G7OS73rz5TE8nwZIvLWkgj3gJiqaM0Z5A22YyaFQAjPq_6J9cKziNpnKd-nKflceiqj_qtmIA7vbu_x9USdjZKsbacHIAhyfWh2e/s320/DSCF4368.JPG" border="0" />Hello Everybody!<br /><br /><br />There have been times here in Vietnam when life has surprised me, and there have been times when I have surprised myself becoming accustomed to the way of life here. This week both of these statements have been true of my daily life.<br /><br />Work at the hospital has continued to be challenging both from a cultural and professional perspective. (With only four <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">working</span> days let <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">until</span> I finish at the hospital, I have yet to complete the training of my trainee, my evaluation and summary reports, and write a proposal for funding <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">for</span> next year. A busy week lies ahead.) Still there has been plenty of adventure and incident to keep me going both in and outside of the hospital. As you can see from the picture and title above, one of our patients at the hospital is a monk, and we had very interesting 'dressing' session with him this week. He was trying to explain the kind of thing he is required to wear at the pagoda, now not being a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Buddhist</span> myself, I really had no idea what exactly his traditional dress would entail, so the only way we could figure out exactly how we could help him was to see the clothes ourselves. We have supported this man to dress independently though I soon I realised that he actually needed ass<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Khc8XMKUuyCP-qZqZD7usH0CdrSSj8D6A2w5dW5RC7ebnxQf1toAlwgioWb0knWr2VEaSS4U_C2mmWoofeUEpabTqvLox4keDUvPygXLGn-ARD445McVdccgJ6LKhRvt7bhNTklyUis6/s1600-h/DSCF4373.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279685346182396370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Khc8XMKUuyCP-qZqZD7usH0CdrSSj8D6A2w5dW5RC7ebnxQf1toAlwgioWb0knWr2VEaSS4U_C2mmWoofeUEpabTqvLox4keDUvPygXLGn-ARD445McVdccgJ6LKhRvt7bhNTklyUis6/s320/DSCF4373.JPG" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">istants</span>, before his illness, to wear the second piece of religious clothing.. a useful piece of information, before I had him starting an impossible task!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The physiotherapy students that have been on placement have now left, and we will get a new bunch starting tomorrow morning. The previous bunch were an interesting and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">inquisitive</span> lot, and were receptive to being grabbed for many of my demonstrations, so in tribute to them, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">here's</span> a picture of them all!<br /><br /><br /><br />The hospital staff have not been spared from having to participate in some of my demonstrations, and so in fairness to my volunteers for the 'patient stroke empathy' discussion we had last week, here is what they were required to do in the name of professionalism....<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279686720628234162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2axwC27KPqwQCh2ut80U3Fh52Tq-VyBpyJ3MQX0GWDcGzrnAA4GTVLQiJzkUqv9y0LtvdKgAOJIYRVJ1hYXmIo3YCnIJLm9zKCR-NvnmqEhx9B_91VG5xP6JRLAzgBk3Z8HuLle69eXWq/s200/DSCF4381.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279694519837517858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWS0_ubvvpdmPFaO4T-dXltgEgkgSDU8U3iZhzCLkWXr8Wx2HlRAPsPmaavIuUOVkCAZ-Jn0fsR1US7C43YObO-m7NvQuZSOM6NUu2gzFxvSI96JN0uNXmkYKcGzQC02e-zfzmjd5qHjF/s200/DSCN0561%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" />Now you may think I've been a touch cruel to use volunteers, but just to show that I am not just saving myself some embarrassment, here is my attempts to figure out how we could use household <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">implements</span> to help an upper limb amputee pull up her pants after using the toilet...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNYVlURpiV0cYIhXF4Dei3ngS58SmIqsOaFnFPKd1nf8Ien42ZQckd13vC-ei19XgGcPwushzJa-nJwYenY0gHdzTWeTFKXz18Va7c0MKnBu8ogGCDyMs2OOuooJ1GI44_pwBDVja2yNq/s1600-h/DSCN0536%5B1%5D.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279688062805909858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNYVlURpiV0cYIhXF4Dei3ngS58SmIqsOaFnFPKd1nf8Ien42ZQckd13vC-ei19XgGcPwushzJa-nJwYenY0gHdzTWeTFKXz18Va7c0MKnBu8ogGCDyMs2OOuooJ1GI44_pwBDVja2yNq/s200/DSCN0536%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279688254245353074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 128px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDK2sfxzuWb7A58m12NEP5CnBiZW405JIW6mWV65urJkoUqQybpv5DaDneuCc4UoLOLXzBUATsNw2gLA6cQUWmJuRw3IcBTgeIZPJI1G89x_SdGi3HFu_dDThQiZatRmGl-_hdK6SoFL5/s200/DSCN0526%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /><br />So to more social matters, Monday night was fun as I visited a cafe with live violin and guitar music played for a n hour or so, at my favourite cafe (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">KATYNAT</span>). The only odd thing was the decision to have 'Mr Bean' playing in the background on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">TV</span>! Most people were indeed watching the 'Mr Bean' episode! Thursday turned out to be a very memorable day as not only did my motorbike engine stop dead, in the middle of morning rush hour traffic, but I had to return to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Hoi</span> An and my former employers <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">CHIA</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">childrens</span> hope in action). The action started just 600 yards from my house as my bike just cut out, and after a very quick prayer to help me drift across the crazy traffic to the pavement I found myself pushing my bike back to the house, where the local bike shop then spent one hour <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">solidly</span> trying to find and fix the problem. After one hour's work and with my ignition switch now completely unusable ( kick start lever to start the engine now), the guy charged me a shocking 20,000 dong, - shocking because that is the equivalent to 66pence for all the work... mechanics around the world take note!!!!, With my bike in tact, I headed to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Hoi</span> An for the afternoon and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">un</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">beknown</span> to me - my TV debut. My former employer was accepting a very generous donation from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Nokia</span>, so there was a handing over and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">placque</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">unveiling</span> ceremony, which had a local <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Vietnamese</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">TV</span> crew present. The very next day after returning from lunch, one of my colleagues at the hospital told me he had just seen me on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">TV</span>, on a local news station! No speaking part but hey, TV is TV right?<br /><br /><br /><br />I headed back to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Hoi</span> An this weekend too for my final goodbyes to my neighbours there, and some watery goodbyes. I say watery as the beer kept on flowing and I was ready for sleeping by 9pm Saturday night! Here are some of the farewells....<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6nLY-BIHNHOn9tvp38Rxj4X_wFCuLWS-zHqwVvUS7v-KmyN3VldSJV8ZIUZ2YXDgEJsFWJxB1x4AcIPYlsbF9pCzwWsGVNlKch-hFewbQuf5cVSet0qHCIUgeJgtylviwJ_jgBkb_LTj/s1600-h/DSCF4404.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279693460274612866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6nLY-BIHNHOn9tvp38Rxj4X_wFCuLWS-zHqwVvUS7v-KmyN3VldSJV8ZIUZ2YXDgEJsFWJxB1x4AcIPYlsbF9pCzwWsGVNlKch-hFewbQuf5cVSet0qHCIUgeJgtylviwJ_jgBkb_LTj/s200/DSCF4404.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279692462008725378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmLQMfcttbPmVMWInovXf4oInv3vB00NhI2cgCEbxw8j6nz0jR4BgDKNaZv-XGplCppMnSABclE23jqEoTW24TXIpNeaSIPqOaBj37KfWAb3T1yYPDuYuO8DPRPfpTXocnyjQAufPVKe-/s200/DSCF4392.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279692953127542530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkL_-VgaSt1TnbCta4rAlMea7-AJr6IrycB-sDCYY1XZxdndEvSoPLU0Ci9EBYlC7Yf5qjAnQlq6BcvGqvw6DxuC-31cMLAca4C4R984PexY2eGq6mORm5oLbe_96NL1Rf1q19aIlH2_S/s200/DSCF4393.JPG" border="0" /><br />I must just quickly mention my day today, because after a breakfast goodbye with Miss <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Lai</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Thuy</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Hoi</span> An, and a walk on the beach, I headed back home to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Da</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Nang</span>, but didn't even have chance to get back to the house, as I was met at the hospital by three male colleagues who took me out for beers and lunch. We were <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">soon</span> joined by some other colleagues including Miss <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Huong</span>, which led to only one thing... yeah, karaoke! It was almost 6pm before I finally got back to home to relax. Just another typical day in Vietnam!<br /><br />The idea I'll be home in 10 days just seems very unreal to me right now...<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Regards</span> from Vietnam<br />DanDan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-68196575778885774432008-12-07T01:34:00.000-08:002008-12-08T03:15:42.994-08:00Week 32 - Down to business under grey skies!Hello everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div>This week I'd like to focus a little bit on some of the professional challenges I face working in Vietnam, where ready-made equipment (which can be a large part of me work in a hospital setting) - is not available. My <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">American</span> physiotherapy colleague (Virginia <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lockett</span>) has been a real inspiration for me when it comes to thinking about using local resources to make equipment. So I'd like to share a little of my work experience with you. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Of course</span> no weekly report is complete without the mention of a few social excursions, which I'll get to a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">little</span> later!</div><div><div><br /><div>The major event of the week has been my clumsiness as I dropped my lap top on Friday night and have broken my screen, which I just about continue to use, and hope it doesn't completely break before I get home to repair it! </div><br /><div>So to work, and here is a picture of my really fantastic translator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Nga</span>, who is my life line here in this job....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oBLw0gXZ8TU4ooR2p-0auIZ3aSw0JKghXj-AQBvwBocTrMHXIxE3TNJ9WdVAUKLeKX_RlfEquDyhzS64jtsci1zvh58SdwOD9sTAKRN9w2j0dE5kyysbnBKTCiMv6kEY2PF-yFVdeeBb/s1600-h/DSCF4351.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276982259468765794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oBLw0gXZ8TU4ooR2p-0auIZ3aSw0JKghXj-AQBvwBocTrMHXIxE3TNJ9WdVAUKLeKX_RlfEquDyhzS64jtsci1zvh58SdwOD9sTAKRN9w2j0dE5kyysbnBKTCiMv6kEY2PF-yFVdeeBb/s200/DSCF4351.JPG" border="0" /></a> Even with some of the staff speaking very good English, my trainee does not speak enough English to allow for in depth communication. But I must praise <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Nga</span> here because it's her ability to make the patients feel at ease that really allows me to get the information I need. So thank you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Nga</span>! She also looks after her young baby, and has been taking exams after studying! So to some of the little bits and pieces that I have been working on. Firstly we have many patients who have suffered from strokes (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">CVA</span>), so they have problems with one side of their body, including weakness, paralysis, or other complex difficulties. We also have patients who have had serious road traffic accidents on their motorbikes and have badly damaged arms and hands. You can imagine some of the difficulties people have if you can only use one hand or arm, and especially for some women here who are trying to prepare food, or dress (bra's!), it's a real problem. In England there is ready made equipment to help with these kind of problems, but in Vietnam these things don't exist, the materials are not <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">readily</span> available and to have equipment copied or made is an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">expense</span> that neither the hospitals or patients can afford. So it's a case of sitting down and trying to think of ways in which you can use everyday objects to create the kind of equipment you need. I have used 3 chopsticks taped to<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">gether</span> as a temporary 'dressing stick' but how to help two women that said they could not cut or peel food when preparing a meal, provided a tough challenge. As my planned trip to Hue got rained off, I took off round the markets with my friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Thao</span>, who ensured I didn't get ripped off too much, and we found some useful stuff to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">experiment</span> with. The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">barbecue</span> tongues are replacement dressing aids, as instead of using a helping hand ( grabber / pick up stick ), the patient can now reach down to dress their lower half, and the edges of the tongues are rounded to ensure materials don't get ripped... To be honest, most people can squat and have such flexible hips that they can always bend down to dress, but if their balance or strength is affected then they need extra reach on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">occasion</span>.</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276986436635794018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1W75ADxAd0l9-XjXlXMzg64i8HQsFjZYih4Wu4blSruJFxgBvAmCGwwyZH489L1OjezUqip18k9-Y6sEZnN-2zhoIM48HOpkUqgcfrIvs3Q6AIctKF6rylFyU7z3MkRlkyBWtAGZk2Z1L/s400/DSCF4358.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>The self made peeler was an idea that we concocted yesterday. The clamp design (clamp a peeler blade to a table top) you see in the UK and US was no good because people mostly prepare their food on the floor here, even thought they may cook it on a stove on a higher surface. This <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">explains</span> why people who have the use of only one arm, open jars by holding <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">the jars</span> with their feet or legs, and turn the top with their one good hand! So fixing a peeler to a plastic bowl, was not only cheap and cheerful (30,000 dong - £1/$2), but culturally adaptable... I must say though, that this is just test model and we'll see the results of the tests later this week. Attaching the peeler to the bowls (different shaped bowls with different depths will help us determine what shape & strength bowl is best for this activity), was fun as we used the as stove in my friends kitchen to heat a screw driver to burn into the plastic!! Awesome... I must admit I like to think of ideas for this kind of stuff, but people here really have the ability to just have a go at the actual making of this kind of thing!</div><div></div><div>To one more story of sheer brilliant invention by a Vietnamese physiotherapist working at a different hospital. A patient suffered a horrific work accident where an industrial saw cut off one of her arms, and badly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">damaged</span> the other, leaving her with movement only at the shoulder joint. Staff were keen for her to be able to at least try and use the full arm, but with almost no movement below the shoulder this would be difficult. A few different ideas were tried, including making a plaster cast splint with an attached spoon, see below...<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlW2eQRuYhAvLCFIyBHWLwDGOdswVV14BqbiMtfhR3ua86pBRuApytOUOMTrDRUdPfmMFz7iIdWyHkhYuny1-fLOlo5sFPWytJcVkBEXi6rA-BuBkDzNmZ12YYb2brpIgCfy-XIjViBdh/s1600-h/007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276990696250422994" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlW2eQRuYhAvLCFIyBHWLwDGOdswVV14BqbiMtfhR3ua86pBRuApytOUOMTrDRUdPfmMFz7iIdWyHkhYuny1-fLOlo5sFPWytJcVkBEXi6rA-BuBkDzNmZ12YYb2brpIgCfy-XIjViBdh/s320/007.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-H50XPs08VAH9dEO2pQDZtMhJpJNVnJOWY0JiiJUFfkvEa6JymsE4Ryfplgpi7mGZeJiTY-bK2QxwxzjHRGd-5VklCJB4uV_LWgGyX1h-XYcaF-eCqE2FgNbRLXykaK_r0VS59_SB6kZG/s1600-h/004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276990066859043234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-H50XPs08VAH9dEO2pQDZtMhJpJNVnJOWY0JiiJUFfkvEa6JymsE4Ryfplgpi7mGZeJiTY-bK2QxwxzjHRGd-5VklCJB4uV_LWgGyX1h-XYcaF-eCqE2FgNbRLXykaK_r0VS59_SB6kZG/s320/004.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-H50XPs08VAH9dEO2pQDZtMhJpJNVnJOWY0JiiJUFfkvEa6JymsE4Ryfplgpi7mGZeJiTY-bK2QxwxzjHRGd-5VklCJB4uV_LWgGyX1h-XYcaF-eCqE2FgNbRLXykaK_r0VS59_SB6kZG/s1600-h/004.JPG"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div>It was this second idea that was just brilliant! The straps are just normal <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Velcro</span> type material, which straps to the arm, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">gray</span> material is just ordinary plastic piping, that has been burned, cut and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">reshapes</span>, with one solitary screw and bolt to hold it. The spoon is held in place by a standard universal cuff... (<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Velcro</span> strap) which sits on the fingers.... simple <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">genius</span>!!!! The elastic band was designed to give some element of control via weight of the arm, to stop the patient hitting flinging the spoon around... and the end result was... see below...<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276992876259620370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnlj1R1mzXcJ3sQ7x-2OAL5kHSEpAuwVQ7L3H2bjsuWfLyPqL4ToLV0W-NBDOf_lKymr9F8fRiW9i39j12rQKjeTsjwArj0VMjT3KYzi7J75aM3EMRJ_8aVqfzMh4CxZp1ZGhLq9EvUBQ/s320/025.JPG" border="0" /> I hope this gives you a brief taste of the kind of challenges we (therapy workers & patients) face here in this kind of setting!</div><br /><div>To more social matters, the beginning part of my week began with a bang.. or should I say song as both Monday and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Tuesday</span> night I found myself at a Karaoke club, firstly with my neighbour from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Hoi</span> An, (Yen) and her student room mates from the University of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Da</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Nang</span>, female hall of residents. No pictures available thankfully, as though I assure you all the girls were between 19-21 they look younger and nobody wants <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Interpol</span> chasing them eh!</div><div>Tuesday night was with my new colleagues from the hospital - karaoke is really the only way to get to know your colleagues here!!! So after more renditions of the usual numbers, and the Beatles 'Hard Days Night' the night ended, here are some snaps...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtUvnR7I9rDR5OwaX4sa3E2Vymre2RRCvIvMq9Y22Ds4c3YwEz7E35U4KAnd_aS-Km_JG6RAOwHp6xtxvjwMwE2vRLgD8sQcaHXqq_Gu3pKdv6Ky_omVrCVIXns-QaXr3Nk8B_zWb7cG6/s1600-h/DSCF4340.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276994846553170002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtUvnR7I9rDR5OwaX4sa3E2Vymre2RRCvIvMq9Y22Ds4c3YwEz7E35U4KAnd_aS-Km_JG6RAOwHp6xtxvjwMwE2vRLgD8sQcaHXqq_Gu3pKdv6Ky_omVrCVIXns-QaXr3Nk8B_zWb7cG6/s200/DSCF4340.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZklItDLEmZhKoubXzLxxYpjTUI9x6AYbTSH13KXFmYGS2jyACHtywS3qUH7ZTw9Dke4LvU8bvGX0SQt9pmvDJ4iplbOtVNFzQ_S59gCXdZkM_ylGBnYESvp6II4KNz56gRoMx5v7jOjdi/s1600-h/DSCF4348.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276995559619769714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZklItDLEmZhKoubXzLxxYpjTUI9x6AYbTSH13KXFmYGS2jyACHtywS3qUH7ZTw9Dke4LvU8bvGX0SQt9pmvDJ4iplbOtVNFzQ_S59gCXdZkM_ylGBnYESvp6II4KNz56gRoMx5v7jOjdi/s200/DSCF4348.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276995199590755186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DY91zrx-frp00VWZ7quqEu_5jAUoGCN4QYC4X076YTlsc8KrCUi_E_o-1MVKVbDiD2vISP9NiLUmKPmYFxiWxaGy5cw-77DmboWO0vqio7fZgwZpYvQbCFqcvSgSMWUAY3ufTs3bbNlN/s200/DSCF4347.JPG" border="0" />One more thing to mention, on Wednesday lunchtime I got invited to a wedding.. yeah at lunch time.. I know.. so 4 of us left work at lunch well 11:15, and were soon stood outside a very posh <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">restaurant</span> indeed, the groom was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">clearly</span> a rich man (doctor from the hospital), everyone was wearing suits.. I had sandals and jeans on! Very different form the weddings I saw in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Hoi</span> an, where peopl<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">e</span> were sat around on plastic chairs drinking and having fun, loud fun!!! Here everyone was seated at fancy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">decorated</span> tables, there was music, lights, dancers, and even indoor <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">fireworks</span>! it was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">like</span> watching a West-end show, not being at a wedding! really unreal! Several courses of food were served as the wedding party moved around the hall, before people paid tribute to the wedded couple by singing on stage.. honestly... It was quite surreal. People had <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">already</span> handed their money envelopes in on the way in as is customary here! enjoy a couple of pics below...</div></div></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fh3bPtMyE1zVPeZNOB3LL-83CmjUKtPqZfgAMNdeHKzq8IasaJct5oKRqeF_5dNKNSQbd2gslC9EDMYnzadyrg48oq809r8KtGCuxo0fsf1gbM89j22aD1Gl6q-7fh3kGNTQ0BjrNyse/s1600-h/DSCF4307.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276997999019431970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fh3bPtMyE1zVPeZNOB3LL-83CmjUKtPqZfgAMNdeHKzq8IasaJct5oKRqeF_5dNKNSQbd2gslC9EDMYnzadyrg48oq809r8KtGCuxo0fsf1gbM89j22aD1Gl6q-7fh3kGNTQ0BjrNyse/s320/DSCF4307.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WzlUH-fWeEtKrEqSTSH1z0MhRgIrgBBeaxuubY2aaPjBTaC3A9TAueFywQf9ybKKMkju0-UrnhOANNFgAPdBWR3fICEzDljzgBEzvGfksXBQoSBbY-m0Ol-zmLl667d7TAp93kcYaUX9/s1600-h/DSCF4306.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276998567210269890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WzlUH-fWeEtKrEqSTSH1z0MhRgIrgBBeaxuubY2aaPjBTaC3A9TAueFywQf9ybKKMkju0-UrnhOANNFgAPdBWR3fICEzDljzgBEzvGfksXBQoSBbY-m0Ol-zmLl667d7TAp93kcYaUX9/s320/DSCF4306.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Ok</span>, I promise this is the last thing I will say! <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Yesterday</span> when I was coming back <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">from</span> the markets to my friend's place I was driving my motorbike with my friend on the back. When we got back to my friend's house and I went to turn off my motorbike engine, the keys were not in the engine, I know I know... I didn't realise the bike could still run with no keys, but here it was, and after retracing the short journey from the market I couldn't see the keys anywhere!!! Oh crap I thought!! what could I do??? The answer was surprisingly easy and worrying, at the same time. Just a few houses down the road was a shop that simply made me a new set of keys for the bike. They didn't have a key to copy to make a new key, they just looked at my bike, and within 5 minutes I has new keys! Phew I thought, but then I though if it was so easy to go and get keys made for a motorbike, then surely it's a bit easy to steal stuff... I jokingly asked if they could make keys for the passing <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Ferrari</span>! (just kidding!).</p><p><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Ok</span> that's it I promise! </p><p>Regards from Vietnam</p></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-63181529881846629962008-11-30T07:48:00.000-08:002009-01-18T11:44:44.741-08:00Week 31 - Kettles, washing lines & an 8 yr old's birthday party!Hello everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div><div>Well so much has happened this week, that is both interesting and funny that it's hard to exclude any of the events of the week. I'll try and stick to the things that will hopefully offer everybody an insight into working in a Vietnamese hospital. Firstly, below is the Hospital... <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274478985502626626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRimB9LGznrmPhuj3Wxvs5l9q2Jks24RLxcp4TN0bHVz6pidE3W7x-DpD79kCC5MyI086qnOAESiObOnBy1KtXboAqTsIAZf2WwpkkxIRRSnw5yH5ABssUo0txdid7LMsGso80FL3L3IX/s400/DSCF4284.JPG" border="0" /></div></div>So Monday 24th November, at 0730 I began my month's work at the very welcoming 'Hospital C' Rehabilitation department in Da Nang. As I mentioned at the end of last week's blog, I had battled the an entire colony of ants the night before, and after overcoming that battle, I was then faced with sleeping on a very Vietnamese style bed - solid wood, no mattress! I was fortunate enough to have a pillow, and a fairly thick blanket, not to keep me warm, but to protect my hips from severe bruising! Needles to say I woke up with a failry stiff neck, back and hips. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I was soon able to forget all about the bed, as I realised with no kettle, I would have to wait until the rice maker could boil water.. and there was not enough time for such a process! ( I went straight to the supermarket after work to buy a kettle!). I was soon sat astride my colleague's very large scooter (motorbike) that really wanted to test my patience as the engine liked to cut out any time I stopped withing the first 100 yards of starting it! This was also my first, (and very wet) experience of driving in a the rush hour traffic... ok, it's not quite Saigon or Hanoi, but Da Nang is Vietnam's 3rd largest city, and let me tell you, there are literally thousands of motorbikes driving around in the morning! It felt like the entire city was going to the same place I was. A good 20 minutes later I had somehow navigated my way to work, and I had parked my 'monster scooter' in the car... sorry 'bike park', and was walking into my new department. I was greeted by a sea of (22) smiling faces (and 8 physiotherapy students), and after a brief meeting, I was shown to my little OT (occupational therapy) room, with full view into the main physiotherapy clinic area. My OT in training staff member Hoai, was already preparing me some 'English tea', and I thought hey, "I'm going to like it here!" I was then presented with my own 'white coat' see picture below... (Me & Hoai) </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274483567814139922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g7hopUQg0xDd1OOQ-x8fi8UQ0PVUgEMK3UJmeXxsU4KHk3q2HLWUcvgHw41Hueyj0bUqx4xeGSd6-7-gptCXvs_uo3V6LYnqCG6n5r53FThHlQuFikEdCsEY7gbvq_QOqEHiOVX1gfPC/s320/DSCF4227.JPG" border="0" />Lunch was very kindly provided by staff members, for me for the first 2 days, but it was the after lunch activity that almost had me questioning my decision to take the job! So after a nice 'take-out' style rice, chicken, veg etc... I was ushered to the main room, where already there were three women (staff members) lay on the plinths, (a place where a patient lies on to receive treatment), covered in sheets sleeping! I was shown to a plinth and told to take a sleep... well, ok, I have been in this situation in stranger's houses here, but not in a work setting, and not on my first day.. so there I found myself sleeping with five female colleagues on my first day of work! Lucky you may think, but I assure you I was just worrying what they would think if the awoke, to found me either snoring or dribbling!!!! (no that I do snore of dribble... I was just thinking there's always a first time!) I was woken by one of the physiotherapists shaking me, and telling me I must return to work! This was quite a surreal moment, as when I was woken, I just saw this unfamiliar face, I couldn't really focus properly as there seemed to be big bright white lights everywhere! I though they might have smuggled me into some kind of strange laboratory! It's certainly one way to get to know your colleagues!!! I'd advocate a 2 hour lunch to anyone!!!!</div><br /><div>Wednesday I had to present to the department, about my role at the hospital, this proved to be a tricky task, not simply because of the very short notice I had to prepare, but also trying to describe the concepts of Occupational Therapy, via translation, and to a professional audience, of whom some had never heard of my job. I spent as much time trying to find interesting pictures and make culturally acceptable jokes, that would not be 'lost in translation'. I must say my wonderful wonderful translator (Nga), made this process easier, and there was only one point where I found myself quietly chuckling to myself, at on of my funny comments, though no one else in the room had the slightest smile on their face! (My University lecturers told me off about trying to funny in presentations...) here's proof of the event! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274499177697889010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUhRneQDQMgAZB9_I9ldAniyAhZhNmWa8euPigSqz1Uy8YChPN6NIQHTJ-3iGqGs3q0Jp_EIOopXw1B2qgNkxxXpT4bZ5Y_NQXKWP8OQ0jc31A1UVXjYT4mcPJF8brb1RoQGauHFACELX/s400/DSCF4222.JPG" border="0" /></div></div><div>Many of the patients I'm seeing at the hospital are stroke victims, or people who have had motorcycle accidents, and had major trauma. I have already met two women, who were involved in motorcycle accidents, and whose husband/boyfriend died in the accident. It's quite tragic, but with motorcycles the preferred form of transport here, it's not exactly surprising to find this situation. I want to mention just a little about the life of a patient and family member in a hospital here. The building itself is quite nice and clean, but the sight that greets me every morning is one that saddens me. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, here there is no nursing care to provide food, wash and dress the patient, or feed and toilet a patient if required. A family member/friend is expected to do this. So family members must basically live at the hospital, like the patient does. Sometimes the family member may well share the bed with the sick person. The other option is to take some kind of fold up bed, or sleep on waiting area chairs, and this is something I see each morning as I make my way to the rehabilitation department - families of patients sleeping, or just waking up after spending yet another night in the hospital waiting area, (which is not sheltered from the outdoors). I have seen a couple huddled together in a little bed under a stairwell, and it certainly explains the pieces of women's underwear I have seen drying in any of the toilets I have used at the hospital. It really can be a different world here! Oh and don't forget, you pay for your health care and stay in the hospital here!!!</div><br /><div>On to more pleasant tales, Saturday afternoon saw young Khoa have his 8th birthday party. His adopted mum had invited us, well actually he probably invited us, he often joins his mum on some of our social outings!!! So we know him pretty well. Some of the other kids from the orphanage joined the rather large gathering at a local restaurant in Hoi An to celebrate. The highlight of the party, apart from the karaoke, and present opening... was the 'pin the tail on the water buffalo' game, though sadly for me adults were not invited to play! here are some of the key highlights of the afternoon!<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAsgYuaGdHlOf09o0KE9sDMpLN6Ea150qwubOO0YIR8eSDLNfpK5afYk1P2fI61ByOF6yq_QZt4GwIRb8ahjzSU8-kXK7rvDlYAXI3XlolCCP3f2LaUd_jV2cVeTCsAAREK7rAAoPaVgi/s1600-h/DSCF4276.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274516714937291618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAsgYuaGdHlOf09o0KE9sDMpLN6Ea150qwubOO0YIR8eSDLNfpK5afYk1P2fI61ByOF6yq_QZt4GwIRb8ahjzSU8-kXK7rvDlYAXI3XlolCCP3f2LaUd_jV2cVeTCsAAREK7rAAoPaVgi/s200/DSCF4276.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTiWYHJ6l5YGEfKovWHGNP2ItLx4npGdfz_QXo9-x_0hPkqxr7aPjfZiI6xnb0Hcgq2OERrQrQYgy_6NGAxNBfwi_DVClslXXt4y2BdMuB3Y76CtcFm0zs_oc0WLpvHqoevdDIaor1keov/s1600-h/DSCF4258.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274517777698440754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTiWYHJ6l5YGEfKovWHGNP2ItLx4npGdfz_QXo9-x_0hPkqxr7aPjfZiI6xnb0Hcgq2OERrQrQYgy_6NGAxNBfwi_DVClslXXt4y2BdMuB3Y76CtcFm0zs_oc0WLpvHqoevdDIaor1keov/s200/DSCF4258.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274517141857982578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxUqvv3r11XCE6mr4xaV65iOpCapRx7aOR9W6l4JIivCyOl4T3hSq7ONGjC84YC-SCCHplcmi3Fy3V4EMqtxlVwz6sEjXc-yYEXkQZeOe91Kdi5e_SeXrqLm3_wYbGKQbi-vWAwroZUJC/s200/DSCF4265.JPG" border="0" /> Oh just one more quick story... as I was trying to explain to some staff at the hospital why we needed to ask a women who only had the use of one arm, what problems she might have whilst trying to dress herself, it became obvious that putting a bra on, would be quite a tough thing to do with one hand. So we had a quick brainstorming session about how this could be achieved, this required some practical demonstration! (Much to the amusement of my new colleagues!) See below...<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274518979662291266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsgXllJ2S4vmfHmq61SzybZtTOOVfBtv3K5GpYTFBveyrAp-IGriqmfoX3ENy8lJmPkSKKR39Ojr-3cMJmDkzVpU7poHgH_umy0wFnOKxm8QLo6ALThh7CKSI-YA761Ev6UzoIkeqjwSB/s200/DSCF4232.JPG" border="0" />Ok it's time for sleeping on my hard wooden bed!!!<br />Night<br />Regards from Vietnam<br />DanDan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-15035279685670325642008-11-24T05:23:00.000-08:002009-01-18T11:46:48.801-08:00Week 30 - Leaving Hoi AnOk folks, the title says it all!<br />I'm writing this blog entry from my new house in Da Nang City after my very interesting first day at Hospital 'C'. I'll write more about that next week...<br />Despite the amazing time I have had here, I have never really felt as part of the local community as I did in Romania, so I wasn't expecting to have felt such sadness at leaving Hoi An, especially as I was not leaving Vietnam, and so I'd be seeing most people again. However, as I'm about to describe, the week long party that accompanied my departure (that doesn't sound how I wanted it to), included street food, karaoke, a house party, drinking sessions and even salsa dancing!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272269158483868082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-vCIpIdNcIj1j__37SXn3VCOXESW_kDqaoVbV_uf0WO6Ah3bPTGxNa9OKFzbhYv3_iPopAyGs3vPu97uj_7kd4mFXLBpgAwzPUxlV9hu03ud7sn5zQNcA_mqtfD1dA0LCaMPsDJkkaSu/s400/DSCF4079.JPG" border="0" /> Monday and Tuesday were filled with busy days at work and casual drinks after work, Wednesday was the start of the party process as it was my official CHIA (work) leaving party. In true CHIA style the staff took us to a 'street food' cafe, with possibly the smallest plastic chairs I have yet to see in the whole of Vietnam. With my knees closer to my neck then they have been since the day I was born, I began to think that even Snow White's dwarfs would end up with 7 displaced hips after sitting this low for too long! The heavy rains made sure the small makeshift shelter that we sat under was stretched to it's potential.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbWEi8HtPDPc3l0IckvsXr9VeqpASXQWnvuGRZXaFo9RF5jguePyv17y2GkBx6fkFvYV77LPXe8I3nWvyd2cEl0asQVvHv5NMjJXn-1ghwXTAJYODBv0zixyciqjaJ7eD8DsaIaYUe_CT/s1600-h/DSCF4083.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272269929763740354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbWEi8HtPDPc3l0IckvsXr9VeqpASXQWnvuGRZXaFo9RF5jguePyv17y2GkBx6fkFvYV77LPXe8I3nWvyd2cEl0asQVvHv5NMjJXn-1ghwXTAJYODBv0zixyciqjaJ7eD8DsaIaYUe_CT/s200/DSCF4083.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272270318675691122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBOQydHtmE-789yhF1MQRHYxDfO1UT8gru1ID7Cg3urShs7OdP958sgp8YHu6F-dxE75A_b8JIlRXmM8hyphenhyphenQPZ237VeQmipU1mD9oNPf6awRgZjDh7Ke4zd1bC03yB9eWRdOMWD0O40qvo/s200/DSCF4085.JPG" border="0" />As we finished our meal, we were joined by Vi, worker from the orphanage, who arrived like a knight in shining armour... I describe her this way not because she was riding a horse or wearing a ridiculous outfit, but because my bicycle front tire was as flat as a Dutch mountain, and Vi let me leave my bicycle at her office before driving me to the main event of the evening- Karaoke. Now my Vietnamese colleagues, as reserved and 'shy' as they can sometimes be, become like 'wanna be pop stars' when they get a chance to grab that microphone and sing their hearts out! We were not disappointed on this occasion as the pictures show... my own renditions of "I'm a Believer" and of course Copacabana got reasonably high scored (deservedly so I thought!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJF-u5on4kQ5vAuGibx6JZsjH07wB3V6pO6GfX2yWGeEZchBgOo1CBBIy_WvIam-sXKbTS5S8P5hyphenhyphenjXbHXAniRnzj685dkjdEDd7nL4rdb0zillZR2LIU2yxdjRRbZ1VZwRkjGoAflBLHD/s1600-h/DSCF4145.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272271806141041346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJF-u5on4kQ5vAuGibx6JZsjH07wB3V6pO6GfX2yWGeEZchBgOo1CBBIy_WvIam-sXKbTS5S8P5hyphenhyphenjXbHXAniRnzj685dkjdEDd7nL4rdb0zillZR2LIU2yxdjRRbZ1VZwRkjGoAflBLHD/s200/DSCF4145.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2B2NqhXyX_qW8Hu9FiO6VTPCOsd2s3yxSEtiNLeoV3cnpPwxUGi-1qOSL-mk2gpZSyZ8EKc_ffXC_-1z9mLKEYGshgWiYnUcCZoyNyToVrpTp9Ejv-y2Yf0ugL6sdWzQ1MduI0w2yit7/s1600-h/DSCF4092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272270806901978866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2B2NqhXyX_qW8Hu9FiO6VTPCOsd2s3yxSEtiNLeoV3cnpPwxUGi-1qOSL-mk2gpZSyZ8EKc_ffXC_-1z9mLKEYGshgWiYnUcCZoyNyToVrpTp9Ejv-y2Yf0ugL6sdWzQ1MduI0w2yit7/s200/DSCF4092.JPG" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272271258766157314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-nwzC6V3VcbHpARlmdHi1ebPLXrfuGUX4EqUKHOQQ103CC8twK9-55OzLK2NGb0cht6GHpsmcisjoNyTJ6mxbiHkFlPwlnRtlJSgECLBwxAftRn1kAXONTKStJdonNz41Sd5DqxgufXI/s200/DSCF4097.JPG" border="0" /><br />Thursday evening, was a more relaxed affair at my home, as the NGO (non-government organisations) and the volunteering community, rocked up with plenty of alcohol to say bye, far too much alcohol! As you can see from the many pictures below, a good time was had by all, including little Khoa, who liked to play DJ with my Itunes music! though this consisted of him changing a song every 10 seconds.... much to the delight of the party guests!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj412awT2l7AiUoNvy44Q3vGaHMugZ8vLAEIAOgB-rhdXRyOTIuCr5GQ_svQakQX-hd0rx4Tf8765gd78nsFAqaVcP1SaL1NReOvJ_JF97Qrnbx1BXbEZvKd7t2dor1HJzWhOQ-LdVI6z3I/s1600-h/DSCF4188.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272272651528756050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj412awT2l7AiUoNvy44Q3vGaHMugZ8vLAEIAOgB-rhdXRyOTIuCr5GQ_svQakQX-hd0rx4Tf8765gd78nsFAqaVcP1SaL1NReOvJ_JF97Qrnbx1BXbEZvKd7t2dor1HJzWhOQ-LdVI6z3I/s200/DSCF4188.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuP9Bp4D-uo1JLQvL270fFb-1WUOTuX-yO_750hlb8Zxb5ADznJD57s9JLMpxPMqx6BmhHg3W14jSNG-ZsgklOzl5AkJ1Y5-KsKtO4T8y7Vj4bIsBlrk8iFx7L8jHWU-_IH0jYKUJCem8/s1600-h/DSCF4176.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272272329171095890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuP9Bp4D-uo1JLQvL270fFb-1WUOTuX-yO_750hlb8Zxb5ADznJD57s9JLMpxPMqx6BmhHg3W14jSNG-ZsgklOzl5AkJ1Y5-KsKtO4T8y7Vj4bIsBlrk8iFx7L8jHWU-_IH0jYKUJCem8/s200/DSCF4176.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272272992611794658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZoZhe4WP_A7ngR68ArIFGDDsr_aI70Y5KldNeEZNQ9od5WBzV1S2oXS3WPQmdwq23DEmlN6XtzvVOR0nXsnlRnDFFoOmtAQt1LGMw5vbUNWKsqB3BHNIxSAh0vqvZwaSSXzlCYk_7eOU/s200/DSCF4197.JPG" border="0" />Friday night turned out to be yet another surprisingly drink filled evening as the volunteers met as per usual at 'Treats' bar, and said further farewells to Julia & Seth (volunteers from the orphanage). After 20 of us managed to wangle some free french fries, as is now customary, myself Seth, Eri and Zoe (niece of Pete - yeah you guessed it - a volunteer) got down to some serious pool playing... well I say serious in terms of the faces we were making as we missed easy shot after easy shot... After excelling at pool, and in time to get another soaking from the latest monsoon rains storm, we headed to the salsa bar to where unbelievably there were actually people dancing salsa. The only other time in 6 months that people have been actually salsaing was in my first week, so it was kind of ironic to have this happen again in my last week! After dancing with anyone that would have me.. Eri, Julia, Zoe, Carmel, and the south American looking barmaid, who is an excellent dancer, the salsa was replaced with the most random songs. Seth (American) and Zoe (Australian) treated us to a classic dance interpretation of the song 'whip it, whip it real good', whilst I led the finale number - the Y.M.C.A<br />(luckily for me I don't have access to any photo's from that night so below is more pictures from the previous two nights - Me with miss Lai)<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272274624619439650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 241px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 321px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QLDrxc3H694zZp9PXzuBsYwj6q6pZJ3gNBBXKmOzJ-kgRI8s4W7CxPqZIezHMFrUP0mxurC7hh8nO1i0XFGHa-QwLUIbmh8W48fqU-0AjPIYdQkgSa4oA3RdRlP4MxcKLDpgUJLyYQKI/s320/DSCF4094.JPG" border="0" />Saturday was my day of packing and cleaning, though it did not turn out that way, after a very hearty 'Cargo' breakfast I strolled back to my home, and was invited into my neighbour's place (Cafe 43), to have a beer and chat. After an hour or so, and a full washing machine cycle later, I returned to cafe 43 to eat this time, before finally getting into my room to begin packing. Not long afterwards my friend Phuc, from the neighbouring hotel (Phuc An) is outside my home with his motorbike engine running.... Unable to refuse another invitation of drinks, we travelled all of the fifty yards down the road (on the motorbike), before stopping at a local food place on my street. We were joined by the driver of the car from the hotel, and another man. Way too many beers later I had been offered a free ride to my new house in Da Nang by the hotel car driver, as he was taking some guests into the city at the time... bargain!!! I wondered at what point he was going to stop drinking? When asking to use the 'bathroom' at this place I was directed to walk past the old woman washing up the plates I had just used, and into a very poorly concealed urinal... now I know men here will just stop anywhere to pee - day or night you will see some guy with his back to you just 'going for gold'.... but still, I was at a cafe here, I didn't want to be sharing this private moment with my neighbours and their friends, still when in Rome and all that... so I just smiled to anyone that was unfortunate to be looking my way as I managed pass some of the beer from my bladder!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272275331796617026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKqVpvpd2-mKwWGu30NiidLOs_y1jzIi3zRI3pNUWEbyYwwj91AzXcLGnW3HBAelNG8Dz66RkncRn4eXYx37aOROlTwayyCrnZHGHQ9nx5bKnqeiHiyhQilUe0vffYUX0NnasthKbgTQL/s320/DSCF4199.JPG" border="0" />Needless to say I woke up on Sunday with a stinking hangover, and a trip to the bathroom I could have done without... hours later I was finally packed and saying a big farewell to my wonderful wonderful neighbours that have fed me and looked after me for 6 months. (One of them even called me this morning to say good luck for my first day at work...) The taxi driver looked like he had sobered up from the antics of the previous night. On arriving in Da Nang my colleague help med me to unpack, set up Internet, get her spare motorbike fixed and feed me! So here I am in Da Nang City, with a house, a motorbike, a new job in a government hospital, and all of it unplanned for... Life can take some funny turns! The only thing I must say is that I only questioned the decision to move here once - after waiting two hours to boil water for a cup of tea, in a rice maker... this problem is now solved as I bought a kettle today!!! Ok well I also noticed we had a bit of an ant problem, and after my initial attempt to simply sweep them out of the house, the ants fought back, and went into a biting frenzy.. seriously!!! both me & Giang had ant bites!!! I was almost at the point of thinking the house was in an ants nest, rather than the ants nest being in the house, when the ants finally accepted my superior intelligence & big brush! and moved on! Of course they could be plotting their revenge as we speak... but now it's time for bed. Be sure to tune in next week for a very interesting description of life in a hospital here!<br />Regards from Vietnam<br />DanDan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-20402537950080165122008-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:002008-11-17T07:13:36.367-08:00Week 29 - When one thing leads to another...Hello everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div>As I prepare to enter my final week here in Hoi An and at my work place (CHIA), it's been a time to sit and reflect on life here.. or so I thought... that was until I found myself quite randomly in Da Nang on Saturday evening, being the only non Vietnamese person in a crowded hall full of University students, watching them perform in some kind of talent show!!! Now these kind of experiences you can never plan for! </div><br /><div>I'll get on to the events that led up to this weekend's adventures shortly, but first I'd like to share a few events from the week. My week day evenings have been pretty taken up with dinners, beers, football, and drinks with my neighbours. The kind of life could never have at home.. or maybe the kind of life I should have at home, instead of trying to work so much! Monday evening I found myself sat by the river in the old town of Hoi An. I was joined by one of Hoi An's longer term ;volunteers' Eri, a Japanese lass who is working here with some kind of conservation project supported by the Japanese government. As we sat comparing notes about our respective organisations, we noticed how the river was beginning to lap up to the path, and as a local boat filled with what looked like 200 motorbikes on it passed by, the water had now reached our plastic chairs and tables. With no rain in sight I was wondering why the water seemed to be rising. One look above, and the full moon was answer enough the high tide! This is a local spot, but a few tourists had sat down enjoying the very cheap (30 pence) beer. Though f they were getting that price I'd be surprised. Just ten minutes later, and the water had reached us again, and this shifting of chairs and tables every ten minutes continued for the next half hour... funnily enough the locals did not move their chairs once and seemed happy enough to sit around in the rising tide!</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269643771434248338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDNOFPNcWPcqrJJxioUSQql7XHpOgnMWbcTTzEsrnQwINr2K60uBcwscHSydMq0wR-u5gjm4c8CT8sKjSva_7axKvX0fTIF4ufM1cAH-wIVJXnJ0YyzOwY2xh_hHyN7Q-aKg5-v73dnXe/s400/DSCF4038.JPG" border="0" />Thursday night I took my Therapy Team (Van & Phuong- Physio's and Anh - Translator), to one of the nicer Western restaurants 'Cargo', where as a thank you and goodbye meal. The side of the building we entered on was completely dry, but the other side of the building had a foot of water by it! Finally after months of being taken to local Vietnamese places where I did not know what utensils to use, what food is actually edible, where to throw the bones away, or or what part of an animal's internal organs I was eating, the tables were turned. Now my colleagues were the ones who were not quite sure what to do... the pizza was easy enough to eat, though they needed some coaxing to eat it without the need for fish sauce! The spaghetti perhaps offered the biggest challenge, as we were sharing the dishes, and my colleagues quickly realised their chopsticks were going be of little help to them. They easily mastered the twisting fork method of spaghetti eating, and I was surprised when they refused the desert, because they seemed comfortable.. perhaps it was the rain that had sent the other diners running for cover that suggested it was time to leave. We got back to more familiar surroundings after dinner as we visited a local coffee shop, before the girls drove off into the night on their motorbikes!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269642649268779826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3tv4Dayvwn8VsE3pdJM3dkr41qofik33QTkAYoSnE4xoTVSFbcOM-IdrFe1B4AyWEHw_eal9WdX3XFuTrSNOq50qG4Bk0xYqd3KW4gV3kdFEikXKRHLFUIC-DrlRJu5ILSeHQzsYIzoN/s400/DSCF4043.JPG" border="0" />So onto the weekend's adventures. My new job begins next week, and my new colleagues were having their monthly lunch together (something that is done here where you celebrate any birthdays that month). I had an invite as did my American physiotherapy colleague _ Virginia and her husband David. 22 of us sat around having a fantastic sea food lunch, whilst we tried to get to know each other better. Everybody was very welcoming and shared their personal histories with me, and of course (as is the system here) I had to discuss why I was not married yet, and how willing people were to find me girlfriend in Vietnam. One of the Doctors - Ms Thuy - told me of a 'concert' she was attending that night, and thought nothing of inviting me along. After lunch my day consisted of relaxing in the coffee shops of Da Nang, with my Ben Elton book - inconceivable - (you should read it, I have not stopped laughing since I began it!). I had agreed to take my colleague Lai back to Hoi An after she had attended a wedding in Da Nang, so as she was still enjoying herself, I took up the invitation to attend this 'concert'. I was instructed to wait at the Institute of Medicine - "a funny place for a concert I thought". The security guard was in no mood for letting me in without an escort but this was no problem once Thuy arrived with her fiance, and her two young nieces. After being escorted up several flights of stairs in the main building, we turned off the main corridor and into an assembly hall. Every seat appeared taken and soon I had 200 smiling faces staring at me as we walked down the middle of the hall, and sat on front row! This turned out to be an early celebration for 'Teachers Day' (Nov 20th) where students, even University students, perform songs and dances of all natures, for their teachers. My host was actually a teacher at this school, hence the invite and the reason for being there. I won't talk too much about the performances of the students, but I must describe the scene a little, as there were several older men, trying to deal with the poor sound system, as one poor boy was left on the stage speechless as his microphone just kept making a terrible sound! The most memorable act had to be that of a group of girls, who not only chose to wear outfits that would not be out of place in any of the UK gay parades, but chose a 'rap' soundtrack that had more swearing in it, than a 50 cents concert! I just was pretty shocked by the swearing in the song, as normally you don't hear any kind of cursing here. I had to conclude that nobody in the audience actually understood the words of the songs! A quick call from my colleague, had me walking out of the hall, again followed by the eyes of 200 people, and a few calls of "hello, where you from?". An hour later and I was back in Hoi An having a beer with my neighbour, after taking Lai home, happy to hear that Liverpool had returned to the top of the Premier League!<br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269642984506197922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTE2UdsPD5sHsxS2vBudKhGi-ZO5JoBFSk30Q4IT7dN5lqcSXTrKiKzAARU-MrVmFFLar0APhdFk4ztpSSpT9-RqJtJ_wq51EZWfCIHePce8E00F3LdglnWRjBvUfq_1jN8p7TPHW6bTj/s400/DSCF4049.JPG" border="0" />My last full Sunday in and around Hoi An was a really nice one. I met my neighbour at 0800 to offer some tuition in English.. UK English ( not Australian English) as I keep making the point there! After some quick breakfast I met another worker, Vi, from the foundation that works at the orphanage here. We enjoyed a local coffee in the unexpected sunshine before returning home to collect my dry washing... washing can take a week to dry in the rainy season! After some sorting at home, in preparation for my move next weekend, I met my Japanese friend again, and we took a drive on a motorbike. (this week's pictures come from the drive around!)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269643318909230866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAAAdawvahQozuF7C0tcurVaks0bjLeOEFUvApQ2rpdc2WvyuQLJtRs4kOmQERnmLiZnD0Sh1kX7dKNdPGI2Li2a3GQmLbjjzwWSEJ7KwGazR1gBjwB8BzTe6LQlyTL5tlA3sB5zxSBPs/s400/DSCF4045.JPG" border="0" />Regards from Vietnam!<br /><div>Dan</div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-9526432199434917012008-11-14T00:15:00.000-08:002008-11-14T00:17:05.659-08:00Extra Blog - Home Visiting in Hoi An, VietnamHome Visits in Vietnam – insurance required?<br />The last home visit I took part in was in inner-city Manchester (UK). Conducted solely by myself, I set off from the concreted car park in the comfort of my Ford Fiesta, contemplating what the future in Vietnam would have in store for me? After leaving my community base, I made it no more than five seconds before hitting my first, of several sets of traffic lights. After driving past the 24 hour supermarket complete with McDonalds, past the endless construction of several storey high rise flights, seeing students with their Ipods and laptops waiting for the next bus, I faced the same dilemma as always, was there space to park the car? I stood outside my client’s home, and as usual I waited for the intercom response to come... I always hated waiting for that terrible buzzing sound that offers you a split-second opportunity to yank the door open, before repeating the performance four times, until finally gaining access... My last visit was now over, and the uncertainty and excitement of working in a ‘new world’ could begin.<br />Wednesday, this week, May 2008, and my first experience of a home visit, Vietnamese style. Myself, and three colleagues (physiotherapist, interpreter, & medical director), set off from the office on two motorcycles, with a set of weighing scales being wedged between me and my driver. With almost no cars in sight, but bicycles and scooters as far as the eye could see, I began wondering how this visit would go. Total compliance is not necessarily used here, so after a short ride from the office to the boat, via a crowded market place and too many ambling tourists (something you don’t see too much in Manchester), we arrived at the river! I was pretty sure no one mentioned swimming anywhere and I was relieved to see the girls loading their motorbikes on the boat. A short ten minute boat journey ensued, (so much for waiting 20 minutes for the number 86 bus!), with my watchful eye placed on the motorbikes, as I was sure they could simply fall off the boat at any time. Despite my fears, we arrived safely on the other side of the river to continue our journey into the unknown, (known to the locals as the DX province). Once back on the motorbikes, we journeyed through a rural landscape of rice fields at fair speeds, on ‘roads’ that were wide enough for one bicycle and a chicken, whilst local children continually shouted out ‘hello’ in English, making me feel like I was on some kind of regal visit!<br />Once arriving at our first destination, almost the entire village came see what we were doing, and there was not an intercom in sight! This open fronted home, now housed the four staff members from CHIA, the family, and almost the entire village, who I was beginning to suspect just found us very amusing! Especially with my pasty white English skin! The local people are so inventive with the possessions they have and this first family had attached a baby’s cradle to a hook from the ceiling, which was ingenious as the child’s basket could be swivelled or tilted in any direction, which assisted the feeding of the baby who had a cleft pallet.<br />Our second destination, again an open fronted house offered a warm welcome and a family gathering to meet a 13 year old boy who was unable to walk, and had to be carried to a toilet by his parents. I hear you cry “get a commode”, ah not so simple... due to cultural differences, and the boy’s personal preferences, but could we allow access with either aids or adaptations? With three different levels of flooring, an old wheelchair and no local ‘disabled living centre’ nearby, it was going to be a challenge! After taking some measurements and discussing the situation with the family, we agreed to return to discuss options.<br />The journey home was just as eventful, Van (my driver) carried out a serious of wild evasive manoeuvres to avoid suicidal chickens, cows and ducks that clearly needed more purpose in their lives, other than acting as road blocks! After the return boat trip and with my feet on solid ground again, I felt exhilarated at the prospect of facing these obstacles again, on future home visits.<br />To end on a more reflective note, as my profession demands, I wanted to share with the reader the striking and powerful scenes and experiences I was exposed to on this single visit, and how it has allowed me to consider the environmental ‘challenges’ that are faced here by many people. Travel if affordable, is best achieved on a motorcycle with relatively large journeys required to reach children, and for children to reach us. As many families do not have the money to afford a motorcycle, many children cannot reach schools and many parents can not work far from home, limiting their employability. On a more positive note, the style of these houses, with open fronts, (no doors, windows etc) encourages support and trust of one’s neighbours which is perhaps something that in western culture, has been lost due to the mindset of enclosing ourselves in houses with walls, doors and windows with curtains! Thinking about this issue and the western societal pressures to increase personal ‘wealth’ with materialistic items and money, it is perhaps an area in life where the Vietnamese people can remind us that in the face of adversity and financially uncertainty ‘wealth’ is not simply a concept that relates to objects and possessions, but to people and the coming together of a community.<br /><br />Dan Johnson<br />Occupational Therapist<br />CHIA (Childrens Hope In Action), Hoi An, VietnamDan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-37577584946165748612008-11-09T05:51:00.000-08:002008-11-12T06:28:11.001-08:00Week 28 - How many children is your job worth?Hello everybody!<br /><div><div><div><div><div>Ok I know it's Wednesday and I'm a few days late posting last week's blog, but as my social life has seemed to boom out of all control this last couple of weeks, I make no apologies. It's with some of my new found friends / contacts that this week's blog topic comes from. I have found out some very interesting opinions and pieces of information about Vietnamese life from my social exploits this week. Especially after this morning' kidnapping by my neighbours, where the guys from the nearby hotel took me for a morning coffee.. which actually turned out to be breakfast (I'd already eaten breakfast), then on to coffee afterwards... this all started at 0745, and considering I started work at 0800 I was relatively laid back about the whole thing! </div><br /><div>Just sticking to recent events in the last couple of days I must comment on the generosity of my friends here, as I think I have only paid for two meals in the last 5 days: this morning's breakfast, last night's dinner and lunch, and Sunday's breakfast and lunch were all 'taken care of' by one or another friend. I'm presuming this is just part of the hospitality of the people here, and not because I must look rough as hell as I have grown a small beard. Either way, it's all good from a volunteer's point of view! I'm not really as tight as this little paragraph suggests. I can hear serious laughter coming from the Ellis household at that last comment! Ok enough about the free food, and on to last week's fun and games.<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267774398878673666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEfeaIF6cSXagQpTn21-uuM8rbDg9dN-orHbVtbROp09VcA7D_iXi50OokrpOcl2aKNji3mmIVwjWZVu1UPjYfdQLo0fbEQW1nRiVBCS9SzAnQfn_NJgkujf-lsB70h-vSe7c0Hzau1TY/s320/DSCF4030.JPG" border="0" /> So after some recent late night beers in the nearby 'Phuc An Hotel' (excellent hotel with free bicycles... and pool, and it's on my street -this is not shameless advertising...), I had promised I'd go for a little drinking session with the boys out of work hours! So on Saturday, despite me feeling a little tired and ill, I joined the three guys for some rice wine, beer and plenty of food at a local place here in Hoi An. After plenty of funny discussion about why only the men seemed to be out drinking all the time, and several glasses of beer later, I realised we were getting back to home via the motorcycles.... I have to admit that it is very scary to realise how quickly I have stopped condemning the drink drive policy here, I mean people don't see it as an issue, and I don't personally drink a lot and drive a motorcycle... I'm dangerous enough when I'm sober on a motorcycle!<br /><br /><div>So after drinks Saturday afternoon, to coffee and breakfast Sunday morning. As I have mentioned things are now almost official with my move to Da Nang City. I currently live in the beautiful little town of Hoi An, 1 hour from Da Nang by motorcycle. I am finishing with my NGO (Non-Government Organisation - Childrens Hope In Action -CHIA), working with disabled children, to move to a government-run Hospital in the centre of Da Nang - I have been invited to volunteer there for one month to introduce the concept of my profession (Occupational Therapy) to the rehabilitation staff, by some basic training, presentations and practical demonstrations of what I can do for the patients. If this period is successful there may be some opportunity to return to this hospital for a longer period, and in a paid capacity, because I can no longer afford to be generous anymore!! (hint hint for Xmas present expectations). </div><br /><div>This will be an interesting challenge as working within Government institutions can be riddled with bureaucracy. I'm not saying it's all bad but there are some serious issues to consider here in Vietnam. Through a very interesting breakfast discussion I was informed that one of the major benefits of a government job, is life long job security, and a pension. now the pension is only received after 30 years of service, and as women have an official retirement age of 55, then you better have a job in a government job by the age of 25, or your luck's out! Also in some parts of this system, I was told there is a policy of Government employees only being allowed to have 2 children. I know I know... this sounds pretty extreme at first right? I mean what happens if you get pregnant again after having 2 kids... (birth control is about as well used here as a husky dog in the Sahara desert!) Well the answer is you might well lose your job. On further investigation, you ask yourself why would people normally have big families in the first place? Well considering family dynamics are very very different here, and lots of families live together, parents kids and grandparents... your kids are the people who are going to look after you when you are old.. no free health care here, or homes for the elderly. But of course if you are going to get a pension, then you don't necessarily need the kids to be looking after you (at least not financially)... I'm not really sure what I think of this kind of situation, and today one of my Vietnamese colleagues said this was not true of all Government positions. Still coming from a land such as the UK where I personally, and somewhat controversially, feel that human individual rights have gone to the other extreme, (where someone robbing your home can sue you for injury they receive in your home), I'm not entirely shocked by this recent revelation!</div><div> </div><div>From Sunday morning's coffee and breakfast to Sunday evening's street entertainment. Whilst waiting for the evenings football antics to begin on TV I could see some kind of little stage being prepared at the end of the street. being the curious,( ok well just plain nosey) I wandered up the end of the street, past several of my lovely neighbours.. see pictures below...</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwYAB9n47HURyOPfticoO7hvGM9qr2FsRi6KHBxAupLlBIRGjeNM3Tftwwd1k79RO140tRTTJEi7jXOtVuKFIloXYoCuuB4L8ye59vwY56QqZERSCE6LCHvN5hVprlLtX99W2iZg7Un9_/s1600-h/DSCF4028.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267776940913703170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwYAB9n47HURyOPfticoO7hvGM9qr2FsRi6KHBxAupLlBIRGjeNM3Tftwwd1k79RO140tRTTJEi7jXOtVuKFIloXYoCuuB4L8ye59vwY56QqZERSCE6LCHvN5hVprlLtX99W2iZg7Un9_/s320/DSCF4028.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBKxkMWyH3dcbbz5d1KjVfGmSTQsMrrcmtvY_vRel6UkR58keg6iL0m0Hka-yde5PiHettlPC2ILZjLutUBGz3hoWLR1B5K1UPVdtce_1DrFwDaIpD3YMvuvVIZ10fiRNe2nSA8XsXfQH/s1600-h/DSCF4029.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267777147533346914" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBKxkMWyH3dcbbz5d1KjVfGmSTQsMrrcmtvY_vRel6UkR58keg6iL0m0Hka-yde5PiHettlPC2ILZjLutUBGz3hoWLR1B5K1UPVdtce_1DrFwDaIpD3YMvuvVIZ10fiRNe2nSA8XsXfQH/s320/DSCF4029.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>At the beginning and end of most of the small little districts there are little archways / gateways, and our neighbourhood had just had our newly painted, I soon realised it was for some kind of celebration (60 year anniversary was my best guess) and so in true Hoi An wisdom they closed the road off at one end, leaving several cars and vans near the hotel, stuck trying to get their vehicles through the other end of the street, which is so narrow that it's like trying to get squeeze the titanic through your bath tub... somewhat scary is how they actually manage to do it here! anyway, I digress... the celebration was really typical here... a stage, with a bunch of flowers, a women in a tight long shiny traditional dress, and then random people appearing and singing as if it there one shot at international stardom. The front of the stage was hardly rocking, as people are not encouraged to show public emotion... and that applies to the singers of karaoke who sing the kind of emotionally charged songs, with the expression of a funeral director. I have often wondered why with so many karaoke songs here being about 'lost love', 'remaining alone for life' or wandering the mountains and seas for the only chance of happiness' people aren't jumping off the bridge into the river more often! Now I realise because there is no emotion to drive this extreme behaviour...<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267775711231566322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgwpNZ2QLuyTXD_IF52DBDlKxDWChfykIOERi2jXwMD1T3DA_hW6JJaA3qmHamm8SE2D3ILlmCVS_d1D5AUftRBAu52k7v22Q2Ehbr0XUyY1JKkk3YZn7X63Rv1OehPjpJ1S8T6QolgUI/s320/DSCF4036.JPG" border="0" /> I often joke about the nature of these near suicidal songs (which you can hear around town almost every night), with my neighbours from across the road. I continue to try and find a happy and jolly Vietnamese Karaoke song, that leaves people with the same kind of feeling as a drunken version of the YMCA or TIMEWARP. So far I have only found songs that sound like a Celine Dion number on slow play!!! The search continues!<br /><br /><div>Ok I think that about wraps it up for last week's action. </div><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan </div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-27580381655856900202008-11-03T04:42:00.000-08:002008-11-03T06:07:41.381-08:00week 27 - Motorbike Madness, Dungeons & Dragons, Dinner Parties<div><div><div>Hello everybody, </div><div>Well thanks for the comments from last week's blog, and I'm pleased to say the weather did improve this week, at least here in Central Vietnam. Unfortunately the Ha Noi region (North Vietnam), they suffered the worst flooding in 25 years, leading to over 50 deaths, and that included in the city of Ha Noi, which was seriously affected. I continue to learn about the difficulties people face in this country, and also continue to be amazed at the resilience people show in these kind of situations... there seems to be very few pictures of people in emotional distress at the situation. this however, may be due the government control of the TV stations, or the societal and cultural behaviours, where expression of 'raw' emotion is rarely displayed! I can't say with any certainty what the answer may be???</div><br /><div>This week's most memorable event here in Hoi An, had to be my second motorbike accident! The first accident I had was on my birthday as I have mentioned where I managed to ride my motorbike into my Vietnamese colleague's restaurant, dislodging one of the beams holding the outer roof up. Obviously that would take some beating, in the embarrassment stakes, I definitely eclipsed that feat on Thursday night. As I was collecting the bike from my next door-but-one neighbour, I had to push the bike over a little ramp in the neighbour's yard. unfortunately, instead of putting the bike into the neutral gear... I had unwittingly put it into first gear.. so when I pushed the bike up over the ramp (standing next to bike), I hit the throttle (gas) and the bike jumped forward onto the street! In my panic I tried to pull the bike back down, but by doing this I simply pushed the gas more! Having managed to narrowly avoid mowing down an unsuspecting tourist stood directly opposite, by the local hotel, I pulled the bike back down on to the road, and was now facing down the street. The roar of the bike engine had not only drawn the attention of all the neighbours, but the hotel staff as well (3 of whom I had only just had drinks with 24 hours earlier)! The bike now continued to drag me down the street for about 10 yards, where I was finally able to pull the bike to the floor, or should I say the bike pulled me to the floor. Luckily I had a rather large helmet on that night, the 3rd one I tried on that night - thank the lord!<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264429937379356066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1gfJNu7CXG2FChWvAkXW_xV1zfT8-noqysYNSqQclDyS50R7ya2D65YSDS1GVKnl3CmfH0qznkXoxp_btoBa-JF21Av57E2VjZC5OlVHyNRllnb6rjgAUT7FQb4w2pj5Cy-xot-sAO1a/s400/DSCF4027.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>The neighbours rushed to my aid, and I had several hands on me checking I was ok, where as I was just bothered that I had broken my neighbour's bike! The bike appeared fine, and I felt ok, so after composing myself and trying to restart the bike, and drive off with the little dignity I had left, I continued on my way to Da Nang - one hour away! On getting there I realised I was a little more damaged than I realised, but after a stop at the city centre pharmacy they had given me what I needed to clean myself up... (Mum & Dad I really am ok...) The security guard at the Big City supermarket helped me cut open the antiseptic bottle, and stopped locals from having a good nosey at what I was doing, sat by the fountain washing my cut feet... (everyone here is so nice!!) The return journey was less traumatic and I just simply drove home very slowly, partly out of shock and mostly because I knew that the later I got home, the less chance I would have of seeing my neighbours, because they'd be in bed, and I wouldn't have to face any further embarrassment that night! On returning the bike the next day, my neighbour seemed genuinely concerned for me, and not the bike, and she even refused to take the rental fee from me... I wasn't sure if this was her way of saying, I don't want your money or your custom again, you crazy Englishman" - but apparently not, as I have been back on the bike most of the weekend, and my neighbour now only gives me the large helmet when I hire a bike!</div><br />Just a little side not here, for those of you that read last week's blog, you will no doubt be happy to hear that when we went to check on the boy's (Sy) progress with his new tricycle that we adapted for him, he was able to drive it independently, and can now be seen driving around his house, instead of sitting in a wheelchair for hours. The roads aren't too bad, which had been my biggest fear! We are considering adding a basket to the tricycle, should he build up the strength to drive the tricycle to the nearest shop, or even just take things from his house to his Gran's house (100yards).<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264431402787420338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCfNXZQe213THtmuWNx3ycFUYF30mO4MokspbnnCWclEAk3gfvWUrMebKj5r5t-svwSENQp2yo9BtGSnhhV4ds3k7m7pxUeS4RnVMqbc4jdFGuqpbLTLyS02Piu-6yljp8gbGSHUmMG7Z/s320/CHIA+children+002.JPG" border="0" />Despite the motorbike 'incident' I was really thinking about what I could write about for this week's blog, and then, as usual unexpected little events happen that often make me think! This week I just happened to be flicking through the channels on TV, and what did I happen to find... that's right - the cartoon 'Dungeon's & Dragons'. this was a cartoon where a group of young people get transported to a magical world, and basically spend every episode being thwarted by the Evil bad guy, from returning home... I used to get up religiously every Saturday morning to watch this cartoon when I was a kid... the point of mentioning this is to again highlight the Vietnamese dubbing system for TV. These cartoons, and some films will be dubbed with one single (usually female) voice, talking for each ALL the characters.. and this is done with a 3-4 second delay over the original language... the voice also displays no emotion at all, and sounds like the women is bored out of her mind! You almost feel hypnotised by the end the scene, because the voice is so monotone and flat!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264430369791133938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVE-6Rt8TaLocrqtDBEqJAwPLVvVanxGPoPxc3vHMef6cj0zj23-pLIzViNpJ0y24J9WTHp5M2Th8lUt8AYSB-qSeqp8ou9Hpl500Xz4D1IbRwsTsUj2rG-wZyH2-6oQxsC_af9oDLqb4y/s400/DSCF4010.JPG" border="0" />Saturday night turned into an unexpected delight because I attended my first real dinner party at Robyn & Pete's house (volunteers with 'Lifestart' foundation), Carmel (nurse for the same organisation), and two of Carmel's Australian friends, who's names completely escape me! They were very funny though and were volunteering in Ha Noi for 6 months. The guy had actually been here during the Vietnam war as a very young medic, and told some very funny stories of how the Australian's tried to prevent their soldiers from getting nasty diseases 'the clap'! Putting little flags on the places where the Vietnamese women had been tested,and the women who had been tested were given cards to prove they were 'safe'.... funnily enough, no-one thought about using condoms for this purpose!<br /><div>These were funny and interesting stories and were followed by discussions about multi-racial societies and the current Vietnamese dating system! (for those of you who are interested dinner was tuna pasta....) </div><br /><div>Another twist to this day had been that just that very morning I had been to Da Nang to visit my colleague from my current job at CHIA. She was showing me her home, as the possibility of a move to Da Nang is on the cards for me... I'll explain shortly... my colleague (Giang) introduced to me to her neighbours, and local shop owners to ensure I don't get ripped off! One of the neighbours, and old lady, spoke good English and explained to me that she used to work in one of the 'American bars' during the war! </div><br /><div>The possible move to the nearby city of Da Nang has come about as a local government hospital, has a very keen Rehabilitation Director, who wants to introduce the idea of my profession (Occupational Therapy), after she visited a rehabilitation hospital in Israel! So after a bit of networking I found myself meeting her, after just one phone call, to discuss a possible job! I will go to Da Nang hopefully for 3-4 weeks from the end of November, until just before i leave to come back home... if all goes well, there may be the possibility of a return to Da Nang for a few months! We'll see!</div><br /><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan </div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-41882546860680000502008-10-27T07:03:00.000-07:002008-10-27T09:45:12.244-07:00Week 26 - Singing in the RainHello everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>The more the astute of you who realise week 26 is the 6 month mark, I guess this is my 6 month anniversary of being here in Vietnam, and it's been every bit the experience I expected, and so much more!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>I can't really avoid talking about the rain again, even though last week's post was all about the rain and floods. Even as I type this the rain storms continue, knocking out my three favourite TV stations - HBO, Star Movies, and True Sports!!! Luckily no such disaster occurred last night as I watched the Chelsea vs Liverpool game (0-1 to Liverpool, but you all knew that right?). John my colleague (and Chelsea fan), and his girlfriend Michelle had cooked a meal, and I must say it was pretty tasty, a great warm up to the main event, as Liverpool broke Chelsea's 86 unbeaten games at 'Home' record. It had rained last night and was heavy enough to have me wear my rather large raincoat, which meant I drove all the way to John's house on a motorbike without realising I didn't have my helmet on! </div><div> </div><div>The rain has got to my brain I think! It certainly has got to my wardrobe in more ways than one, as just today as I pulled out a pair of pants (trousers) which I haven't needed to wear for weeks, and they had mould on them!!! In the wardrobe!! And I really don't have that many clothes to be throwing away! In fact, recently I notice that some of my clothes seem to be dirtier after being washed than before the wash! And don't get me started on how difficult it is to try and get clothes dry after washing! Thank god for some room to dry clothes in the house, because there isn't a radiator in sight! Today was a great example of how the weather affects my routine.... because the morning was reasonably dry, I decided to rush home at lunch to get some washing out, this meant having to settle for some bread (2000 dong - 8 pence) and some instant noodles for lunch at home... getting the washing out was one thing, but I then spent the entire afternoon watching the clouds swarm overhead, and I got so paranoid that the rain would come, I left work early to get my washing inside! You'll be happy to know I managed it... and now I won't have to wait a week to have dry clean clothes! The picture below shows you just what kind of fashion I have had to resort too in these desperate times! (see below)</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpajivoGzkfMuzE971ox3UPi2x7pDxShLft1ZOmIITxlzjQI8tJaDgaW4uMNK4pyUOD2p04dvlt7UVFfUhbdGk9lOP324QoHhhMZtQStZVoyqTaUfhgcpecJ5d_fHPhnQAkkU86nGDMOo/s1600-h/DSCF4024.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261865873791712098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpajivoGzkfMuzE971ox3UPi2x7pDxShLft1ZOmIITxlzjQI8tJaDgaW4uMNK4pyUOD2p04dvlt7UVFfUhbdGk9lOP324QoHhhMZtQStZVoyqTaUfhgcpecJ5d_fHPhnQAkkU86nGDMOo/s320/DSCF4024.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhLd0iD8rja4mL2YklCkH1nfm-eS-qub7-meR8Px_s3pPEnzAr6sI9E5CFQvMf3OgVIgqpm4hWfE3sPd9-jsqbabK5EbGRtgRfumHOQXDqzs-Kd_Q1n97K8fCwSjy1sL3bwHIo3W8kOPT/s1600-h/DSCF4021.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261865565081035618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhLd0iD8rja4mL2YklCkH1nfm-eS-qub7-meR8Px_s3pPEnzAr6sI9E5CFQvMf3OgVIgqpm4hWfE3sPd9-jsqbabK5EbGRtgRfumHOQXDqzs-Kd_Q1n97K8fCwSjy1sL3bwHIo3W8kOPT/s320/DSCF4021.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Tuesday night this week was yet another night filled with wet weather incidents, as literally seconds after I had arrived home and sat down for a beer with my neighbour, a rain storm began, and soon had the next door cafe flooded within minutes.... see below....</div><div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwx7szHA-E1Fp66SPKj7NsAnvLhx3S8aVDiQcxeR4y2NMXSGNJMthT-3_AUM1OU3__JuIowl7qJ_zYC29dtTA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The interesting part of this picture, is that inside the cafe, two girls had just finished their cooking class, and were just tucking into their food, as the water began to run into the cafe, within ten minutes the girls were eating their food in 3 inches of water around them! It was quite the amusing sight!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmH4swN9fAt6XpgjNGvlTX5IPCYJCCNNcPZso76jGdkWjQTffxZWW0OPAE8wZBx9puGEsMiuPRGKgd_ICnugDLdkFx4b4pqGwbHGVKXHdoAVI12YTQfiAK_VinmrwCJgut7oszV5zfG08/s1600-h/DSCF4003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261867992724785058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmH4swN9fAt6XpgjNGvlTX5IPCYJCCNNcPZso76jGdkWjQTffxZWW0OPAE8wZBx9puGEsMiuPRGKgd_ICnugDLdkFx4b4pqGwbHGVKXHdoAVI12YTQfiAK_VinmrwCJgut7oszV5zfG08/s320/DSCF4003.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNYv-zWtujB1P4_xVxuygsdB8SQ_Zl_aNYd4WQQwxNYqzwO211I6TbCZNpzmkYXloi8uEleA4-BF1TntYLNbGTlSCqziVCV8r0LGImxAlpQkVQVVZsGUmRNZjJ-XtGoyafz0p-hkiZhgK/s1600-h/DSCF4008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261867690938895234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNYv-zWtujB1P4_xVxuygsdB8SQ_Zl_aNYd4WQQwxNYqzwO211I6TbCZNpzmkYXloi8uEleA4-BF1TntYLNbGTlSCqziVCV8r0LGImxAlpQkVQVVZsGUmRNZjJ-XtGoyafz0p-hkiZhgK/s320/DSCF4008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div>Leaving the rain behind us for now, I'll just mention a few things that have been happening at work recently. As I mentioned last week, we now have two German volunteers who bring another cultural element to the mix, and add a fourth nation, to the now multicultural mix of Vietnamese, Australian, English and German. I must also say I admire their desire to try and offer their expertise through the use of a second language (English with Vietnamese staff), I have to admit I still struggle to understand the Australians as much as anyone! I think it's all the sun that goes to their head! Just kidding - but I have learnt a fair bit about the Australian mentality that is very different from my own!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, not that I like to use these blogs to publicise myself as an OT, but i do want to talk a little about my work, and my best achievement of the past couple of weeks has definitely been with a boy called Sy, who is a real trooper (works really hard) in physio. He has Cerebral Palsy and finds it difficult to walk normally and has to use a frame to walk by himself. I was told he walks a few hundred yards to see his grandmother, and having seen the state of some roads in the countryside here, that's a real achievement. few weeks ago I managed, quite randomly, to find a tricycle, which had some straps on it, and wondered if Sy would have the strength in his legs to use it. When Sy first tried to ride the tricycle, he just couldn't push the pedals hard enough to make the wheels turn, as his feet and legs are badly affected by his condition.... this was going to be a problem! This is a problem we have, when we put him on a stationery bike seat in the clinic. But in the clinic, we bandage his feet to the pedals... so, using this idea, we tried the same technique on the tricycle, and it worked! Now I know what you are thinking.... you can't bandage the kids feet to the tricycle every time he wants to use it! - and you'd be right, we couldn't do that so another solution was required! </div><div>The solution had to be something a little more inventive. So realising we needed to simulate the added support given by the bandages, I figured we could simply strap his shoes to the pedals, this would act in the same way as the bandage, but still would leave the problems of a shoe being strapped to the pedals. In the end, we bought some new sports sandals, (with the normal Velcro straps), and made some additional straps, out of additional Velcro, which we used to strap the sandals to the pedals... this would allow for the shoes to be taken off the pedals easily, in case of heavy rain! (see picture of finished tricycle below)</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnpEnmx70xpG3qHihAiO7Sj_YrEpRNKd5O7auHRv7xtLqiksMVPNfG3BtnzkFhSlb9ikJEd6zzOzWKII21MB77YvtbT6152O-CBV7nvKTCo9j9ovPva6geGSGkcHXH_vCWuGyu8w_56mU/s1600-h/DSCF4015.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261861520256933154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnpEnmx70xpG3qHihAiO7Sj_YrEpRNKd5O7auHRv7xtLqiksMVPNfG3BtnzkFhSlb9ikJEd6zzOzWKII21MB77YvtbT6152O-CBV7nvKTCo9j9ovPva6geGSGkcHXH_vCWuGyu8w_56mU/s400/DSCF4015.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFnWByxTmknF9poWbPiW1hgyMttBJTUFPmTaHToRWb-1CvYpptGncPcTOnf6hmUtt0gDHeTAf3S3Rgq0RKJvC5buOVNg_LG8kpVJBVll2zCWFKXOhLocSZh7wC3CHAMXuTt_REl3ecm2H/s1600-h/IMG_0290.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261861768031678866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFnWByxTmknF9poWbPiW1hgyMttBJTUFPmTaHToRWb-1CvYpptGncPcTOnf6hmUtt0gDHeTAf3S3Rgq0RKJvC5buOVNg_LG8kpVJBVll2zCWFKXOhLocSZh7wC3CHAMXuTt_REl3ecm2H/s400/IMG_0290.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div>Sy's father took the tricycle home today after we completed the final trials, and I hope Sy will soon by a little more mobile around his neighbourhood. We will go and visit him this week to see how he's going! I think the state of the roads where Sy lives may be the deciding factor in how mush he can use the tricycle to get around.</div><div>Other work stuff, has included more visits to An, a boy with Muscular Dystrophy, who was hit, in whilst his wheelchair, by a drunken motorcyclist, breaking his femur bone. This has left An with a plaster leg cast for almost 6 months, as surgery is not an option. This leaves him unable to sit up, which contributes to the already existing weakening of his arms and chest muscles. Our major contribution to An's situation has been to design a specially shaped (triangular) wedge cushion, which allows him to at least partially sit up, and coming up with fun ways for him to strengthen his chest and breathing muscles - by blowing up balloons, and my personal favourite, playing the harmonica, (which he told me he had done previously) - though i don't think his neighbours are so happy with the introduction of the harmonica. Signing a person's plaster is a very common thing in the UK, but not here. However, An allowed me to start this trend, and write on his plaster cast as you can see from the picture below!</div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261860981708902786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPLg30gGR7kCjmKaM0mU9xx3kru0BjUENyynk3H53X0c_ctjEcHVcltVIZOYdACK00mO7CAin7O-1LymnX5LBVNqRxthB4o-_C00y4nXfYooiSTVrE7tX91bpjJ06QQVrtk-tuv8C6VX5/s400/DSCF4019.JPG" border="0" /> So I promise I'll try and leave the rain out of the next weekly update. Here's to a dry week! Hmmm...</div><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-29738594128330078272008-10-19T07:02:00.000-07:002008-10-19T08:28:30.782-07:00Week 25 - Flooding in Hoi An & Singapore Airlines come to my rescue!Hello everybody, this week has been the most dramatic week of my time here in Vietnam, and possibly the most dramatic week of my life since I left England in August 2007! Now that's a big claim to make, considering I have been through a Romanian (Transylvania) winter, visited the Swiss Alps, and competed in a Triathlon here in Vietnam in the past 13 months. Still, the events of this week have kept me occupied for entirely new reasons...<br /><div><div><div><div></div><div>...firstly, I will get to telling you all about how close I came to be returning home next week, but first I must try my best to convey the picture that surrounds me here in Hoi An, where we have had the first floods of the rainy season. The pictures will tell the story...<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzu7bFp3VJKsWbh4qledIUyPyWLkD4w-H-KRyHYg1rh1L6ofXDFaYv1awxhEclSWvS-4xS6VgL7PlrfwNcc7A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />I have never personally been in a place that actually flooded, so forgive my dramatic descriptions of the floods here this week. Heavy rains last weekend left the river overlapping the footpaths by the river, but after 2 more days of intense rain, the old town, was almost swimming under water, see picture blow, the contrast between last week, and this week's flooding...<br /></div><div><div><div><div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258868697342944322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmJFEy8tnkgX3XEpr2p_xrHO1QtEFTj6jd5vGRVGm8xVm-R3PIyToxSgXAA-o6QPW3PjQHkRp-rtA6VKKXETG9R47YpFhrE66_26VD1pDhbPdazI_kWuUrt9fkNqFCY-0S4UpwD8dOTs8/s400/DSCF3836.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258869603122159202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-Z3oTAN3Wq-LMJGn4MycdN-q3Ewn_58wfhnSV-rNcr1lZXBENClr1TZeCcUuuWSGsrv1Rsp4-HmblT8DSHmVaWe26nNoIfzve3PqeZvtuIc_RuSI72WdDS-M2rtAMNYPiLlU9dBJW-6S/s400/DSCF3948.JPG" border="0" /> ...and locals had already begun to use boats just to get out of their homes, and travel around the affected streets. People were telling stories about how they had been forced to rush to move everything they had up stairs (if the had an upstairs), and my colleagues were telling me how they would be unable to go home, as the boats that carry them and their motorbikes across the river were not able to load up anymore... It took me a little while to actually make it to the river in daylight to see the extent of the problem, but the speed of the flood was what was so surprising. I had been at the river side Thursday morning, but by Thursday evening the markets were completely flooded and the river had risen to well above the 1 metre and covered the ground.. entire streets had begun to disappear.... see below...<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258872420075568690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yHoaZ197UO2V8oTU2O9Ml58Cc2x1ia5e15dU5UogqAibmvEv_RB4Sb3cJy-g9TUIIkLp0aiYK85g8AUfkTXxAvLFedUw31xnpD-Fezmsost92g1YlVcux0YEwCJCmHPjF56a-cvavF36/s400/DSCF3922.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258873187609818514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKD7RawH9OONwJKZFgte1Y3pIyA0i1hJFn0LgHCAPgt43tHtPme9VKBTAhaJZi4Tx50As2T-CGnplDdlA5dDs_fDEqmbA5My1XbRJUp_NeL4KWSNl6z65iMi3_7dI31_YtbEPer7vHDJD/s400/DSCF3931.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div><p>As the pictures show, life here gets pretty tough with the water level stranding people in their homes, though I guess it's a fair excuse why you can't get to work in the morning! Still, the people of Hoi An have taken this in their stride with the kind of acceptance and resilience that puts most of us to shame... I can honestly say I'll never complain about it raining so much in Manchester (and that's a lot of rain!!!) after seeing the conditions here during rainy season... despite the tough conditions and serious inconvenience caused by the flood, the locals continue with life as though the flood hasn't happened, and you'll still see plenty of smiling faces around the place, non more so than the old ladies giving tourists boat rides through the flood water... see below...</p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxnIQsx6HoYQGunFJPi4nShaSSdv-yexIy4yIzg2qJTFepmOz-Mxl8voj3-mwW21gtdnohWX6J_z6jwKk-WuJaBg_4wY_WBlP_yqLFcJWLNeN1K-SU_BWWQIKXU4B3R7A8ohavtAjiGnm/s1600-h/DSCF3985.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258874760830245490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxnIQsx6HoYQGunFJPi4nShaSSdv-yexIy4yIzg2qJTFepmOz-Mxl8voj3-mwW21gtdnohWX6J_z6jwKk-WuJaBg_4wY_WBlP_yqLFcJWLNeN1K-SU_BWWQIKXU4B3R7A8ohavtAjiGnm/s320/DSCF3985.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYCdz65zVTYCl5jPwc8TotWmmcsKWghqyBQBVW2l8PKHV1urxUEKbnAvFyh0G3QbHW9ndAu6KLYep7wv1BPoGzRZwpew6UTmaC_AhViixjmP4uXPrs4NVVLL4mJsKScHHK45AW4FATpDt/s1600-h/DSCF3966.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258874562519640834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYCdz65zVTYCl5jPwc8TotWmmcsKWghqyBQBVW2l8PKHV1urxUEKbnAvFyh0G3QbHW9ndAu6KLYep7wv1BPoGzRZwpew6UTmaC_AhViixjmP4uXPrs4NVVLL4mJsKScHHK45AW4FATpDt/s320/DSCF3966.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYCdz65zVTYCl5jPwc8TotWmmcsKWghqyBQBVW2l8PKHV1urxUEKbnAvFyh0G3QbHW9ndAu6KLYep7wv1BPoGzRZwpew6UTmaC_AhViixjmP4uXPrs4NVVLL4mJsKScHHK45AW4FATpDt/s1600-h/DSCF3966.JPG"></a></p><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYCdz65zVTYCl5jPwc8TotWmmcsKWghqyBQBVW2l8PKHV1urxUEKbnAvFyh0G3QbHW9ndAu6KLYep7wv1BPoGzRZwpew6UTmaC_AhViixjmP4uXPrs4NVVLL4mJsKScHHK45AW4FATpDt/s1600-h/DSCF3966.JPG"></a></p><div>Heavy rains will continue to batter this part of Vietnam, often made worse by the storms in the China Sea, yet this was all part of the experience that I 'signed up' for as I wanted to experience living through a 'rainy season' such as the one here. The more serious issues of flooding are that of the water-born diseases, and there have been plenty parts of this town, where it is clear sewage water has mixed with the rain water, and piles of garbage float by, not a pretty site, but a common one! I'll leave this part of the week's events by showing a few more pictures from Hoi An this week....</div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAktap6PNN9u-P3HToR0J2gZCRVfOUZqMmFyczD5120VqYs0XJCF5tL6XH4m6l63fkf4gHpy4rJMi7lwSAZmZiRK0MXDj6oUI7biNNYNienV3DBTwmIBzXPKCkF7lGSVf1w6QTywYXcR-/s1600-h/DSCF3947.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258876720764837218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAktap6PNN9u-P3HToR0J2gZCRVfOUZqMmFyczD5120VqYs0XJCF5tL6XH4m6l63fkf4gHpy4rJMi7lwSAZmZiRK0MXDj6oUI7biNNYNienV3DBTwmIBzXPKCkF7lGSVf1w6QTywYXcR-/s200/DSCF3947.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258876997673451282" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxYWZPmLROtucge4KhLb3QgP0c72h72f4DJfMWbeVCIyyVJKbWxG3KPZDBsMfoElKp6WgbCtk_0sBoFtf2bR8QWZM3S-ZyJwh6eIugoYBc3BE_rMyeRTUWXcIVhjZ_1gjPm1itbfUTQFY/s200/DSCF3974.JPG" border="0" /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258877432501487250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="150" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFnhu5xkeroD0Bz_EoaXmfeRVTlm6bXc9rFzhKfmplhXmZBd9cr_ccF-YZAvmrqme8elKwWyBuaSxjFN8CB3B582niLwhFt7H4-92FChGn_BfUzdlCAN4XcLIf2gATQvXltvEK0Ae_2LJ/s200/DSCF3984.JPG" width="315" border="0" /><br />To the other big event of the week now, and here is where I must do a little bit of free advertising for Singapore Airlines... I have no problem singing their praises, because without them, I would be packing my bags right now, in preparation for coming home in just 5 days. Let me explain... My 6 months is actually up this week, and my visa is due to expire, so my plan was to extend my visa, and then extend my flights by one month to November... I was told I could change the date of my flight for free, just once! When I called to extend the flight, I was informed that my ticket had a 6 month expiry date, meaning I could not extend it past October 25th... 'Oh bugger'... was the more polite form of what I was thinking right then. How could I possibly finish my work in less than a week?, and was I to forget the chance to go and work in one of the government hospitals in Da Nang before I left?, not to forget the chance to say goodbye to people!</div><div>The Singapore Airlines office in Saigon (who were my real saviours) confirmed this was the case, and I should speak to my travel agent in UK, and the UK based Singapore Airlines office.. My travel agent, (Trailfinders) told me there was nothing I could do, and this rule was written in my contract with them... hmm...., but the Manchester based Singapore Airline office, told me they would need 48 hours to see if they could let me extend my ticket.. ( typical of UK based call centres) the guy was nice enough, but the "please call back" line did not fill me with confidence. The Saigon office then stepped in and emailed me to say they had contacted the London office to plead my case! (so I now had 3 different airline offices on the case). The very next day I received a call from the Saigon office to inform me of the good news that for a mere £132 I could extend my ticket to December 31st... the only catch was that I could only fly home between December 24-31st! That's a big catch considering my Gran's birthday is December 24th! Still, I will be home on Xmas day, and could I ask for more than that?? No, Of course not! So I will be home on December 25th... (so don't think you can strike me off your Christmas card list this year!) I promised Singapore Airlines I would give them some hefty praise so here's a picture for them.. and I would say this anyway, their service is the best I have ever had on long distance flights! Thanks Singapore Airlines!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5izJrxmQq2qX4TekJQwchGjLBp4Pg0sG1jNS4r2xvhPPKqHxF-Tehz34dhXX3lNuf7x_tpCt7rXjFJM_0U-NJ3PxmcG2hyw4RPxOTMYBQLqndlTMWbRhpNcHb9IM7-6fZSR8rT9-lB2I/s1600-h/images%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258884896211740818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5izJrxmQq2qX4TekJQwchGjLBp4Pg0sG1jNS4r2xvhPPKqHxF-Tehz34dhXX3lNuf7x_tpCt7rXjFJM_0U-NJ3PxmcG2hyw4RPxOTMYBQLqndlTMWbRhpNcHb9IM7-6fZSR8rT9-lB2I/s400/images%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258884134162169634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirM1JA6Dkdy3_pm3rRXeQjtkBTce0zosq4KFdjaWLPLsXH4iCrGtbX90oDX6onBk8lblb_cyoRceBasY7sPMTN8q7wd25EqvkWuhgCDXt0MaE5jsvtEIIqETsXVGlLQToOAu_rUbENr7nJ/s400/images%5B2%5D.jpg" border="0" /></div><div></div><div>Regards form Vietnam <div>Dan</div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-30955229704877374602008-10-12T07:29:00.000-07:002008-10-12T08:39:15.786-07:00Week 24 - ...and the rain finally came...<div>Hey everybody, <div><div>I have been waiting to experience 'rainy season' for a while now, and after several heavy storms this week, the 'non-stop' rain finally arrived. Thursday was a relatively warm and sunny day, whilst Friday allowed me to play that much loved English game of 'get caught out by the rain storm'. A seriously heavy storm woke me early on Saturday morning, and it has not stopped raining since, more to come on that note... </div><br /><div>This week I have spent more time in Da Nang than I have in Hoi An, for a number of reasons. Monday & Tuesday I had to go and try to arrange to obtain some specific (cerebral palsy) wheelchairs, after the shipment arranged by the wonderful 'wheelchairs for humanities' group, arrived three weeks early! The guys there were amazing technicians, and have grown from fixing and maintaining wheelchairs in their garage, to delivering specialised used wheelchairs all over the world... I had to give them a mention, because I really was overwhelmed by their experience, good nature, and very helpful attitude, especially as we needed to find a way past the obstacles of obtaining equipment from local Government officials! Thursday I returned to Da Nang, with my colleague Vy, to visit some special education schools as we are trying to develop a very basic 'play therapy/education' room for our children at CHIA. The places we visited, (Sacred Heart & Village of Hope) were two incredible institutions, who catered for mainly hearing impaired children, but Sacred Heart also catered for disabled kids with Cerebral Palsy. Both places had associated vocational training programmes, but the one at Sacred Heart had managed to have hearing impaired kids working and managing public shops, in the a main street in the city centre....including, Internet cafe, copy shop, and a cafe...truly amazing, especially in this context! I also spent most of this weekend in Da Nang, but i'll come to that later. </div><br /><div>At work we have begun to have some kids start in our 'Play/Education room' and in addition to that we have had three new staff member start this week. A Vietnamese girl called Giang, and two government assisted German volunteers, Karl & Corinna. Karlis a Doctor, whilst Corinna is a teacher and has additional training in therapy related techniques for children. Considering the entire organisation was made up of 14 staff, (volunteers included), 3 new starters is a big deal. We also celebrated the birthday of Van (CHIA physiotherapist), with another big cake at work!! any excuse!!! see picture below.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256291530145108274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgPbgIhnnFyGLR5cWSkutheXvhvHFpgFWbDSq45NjIqOepda_DkVDQkVLq7gWLyHiFXYDfJ7vMGO2k3q4p8N44ci-VC5Ly0fM5uzW52Rs-81Vj6rCtFIcR7tHdRpvJvXhHhagjtN7ZKvA/s400/DSCF3913.JPG" border="0" />So back to this week's main event, (and I don't mean the England football team's 5-1 win yesterday). Whilst collecting the wheelchairs, as previously mentioned, I met a woman, (Linh) who was working for another NGO near Da Nang. By chance she was in Hoi An for the night, so I met with her, and some of her colleagues at a local coffee shop here. I needed to get a young local couple to ride their motorcycle with me, to find the damn place!!! Everybody seemed nice, and so I agreed to meet up with Linh this weekend in Da Nang, during my now weekly trips there each weekend. Given that the weather was pretty severe, riding my motorcycle along the coast road presented a few challenges, including trying not to end up with a mouth full of mosquitoes!</div><div> </div><div>Linh met me and took me to her home, where I met her house mates Nguyen (female) & Phuoc (male) see picture below....<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256291726634463522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJyNZPkBPI9J8NGPGFYcR4ED5byi4LJAX5CS3tATOhIPWOBDjQKW_FVXW2ta3DBtJTuz8ITbqSCK8iCdEHiwTAN-XF2VXS4nzg5deOrLhBgkIhDPivN_7ZLTK_KPtXRZEFnEj8RPbenQb/s400/DSCF3918.JPG" border="0" />After having some impromptu English classes and watching the rain fall, we finally headed out into town for a bite to eat and what turned out to be 3 hours of karaoke! The food we ate was a new experience to me, not just because I couldn't pronounce the word for what I was eating, but because it seemed very different to anything I have eaten here before... (examples include a prawn in a jelly substance, wrapped in banana leaf). The karaoke session was also a fun time, with hits such as 'Copacabana', 'Don't let the sun go down on me', 'With or without you' and 'mack the knife' being completely ruined in the name of entertainment.... I have to say in my defence that they don't have any modern songs on the karaoke play lists here!!</div><div>When we finally called it a night, we drove home with the idea of getting some beers and watching the football, as Phuoc was also a fan, but the TV station had other ideas! Ah Well... So after illegally kipping (sleeping) on their coach, (laws here do not allow non nationals to stay in the home of locals), I was awoke by yet more torrential rain, and Nguyen leaving for work on her motorcycle! Sunday was spent eating: breakfast, lunch and more... plus drinking coffee, or in my case tea, as I have never gotten over my strong dislike for the taste of coffee, and being stared at by interested locals who eyed me with what felt like suspicion, and then usually followed these stares with kind smiles. The last meal we ate together today was just 30,000 (£1) for all four of us.... now that's what I call living the local life! I managed to get back to Hoi An after over an hour <span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">of</span> driving at just 20kph, through rain and wind, and what seemed like small rivers running across the road! (mum, you've seen me drive so you know I'm careful here!)</div><br /><div>I'll also just share with you pictures of my next door neighbour's puppy... he's tiny!!! (look below)</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256291270119048146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsD9XYemKoKq00-2CATREuk5HDHNa_arrHFGeh6-tU0DTP2yQgn43rhXjWSXXsWF7wHH_bchk71E04B00CrHDJs4gQN9VdbSVNjSfWb1UzNCM5674IOOafx9BwEFBJ6bJIP1BCpbV78Is/s400/DSCF3909.JPG" border="0" />Ok, time is ticking on, and I need a good nights sleep... <div>Regards from Vietnam!</div><div>Dan</div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-26387938049252196852008-10-06T07:41:00.000-07:002008-10-08T08:43:47.257-07:00Week 23 - The folks are in town & A weekend in SaigonHey everybody,<br />Hope you are all settled down to read this one because it's going to be a long one, as the weekend in Saigon alone was so full of incident that I could write all night about it.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><strong><em>PART ONE: THE FOLKS ARE IN TOWN</em></strong></div><div>My parents arrived in Hoi An this week, for a quick 24 hours on a tour of Vietnam. Having been soaked to the skin with almost torrential rain in the north, their arrival in Hoi An coincided with a spell of pretty nice weather. Having met them for lunch in a rather flash restaurant (posh for me, as I normally eat street food for a ridiculous price of 12,000 dong (30 pence). After lunch we walked around the warm and sunny 'old town' taking in the bizarre sight of a river decoration turtle being transported over land (see picture below)...</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254802250709032994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAVZBXNy6LA4KNC8LaAborz4u7DReI0V00-TXrsuwiz4o6iyVSW6qb7mQY1xq-N4vW6kZ4vBGcvAR-qYQFFr-9D1B62QxeefLAqcx5mqzjK45h3UPa6G8aDdBCCziJzFuNImF3htMkSjM/s320/DSCF3834.JPG" border="0" /> After a relaxing coffee by the river we called in at my office, to introduce my colleagues to my parents. This was not without incident, as my neighbour, (who had very kindly offered to give my dad a lift on his motorbike) clearly got confused and left my dad standing alone outside the orphanage! Something was definitely 'lost in translation'. After finding my dad, and bringing him to my office for introductions, I dropped the folks off at their rather swanky hotel, with beautiful pool. I was quick to join them in their nice resort for an evening swim, before heading off into the nicely lit old town for a nice meal at the 'Before & Now' restaurant,, where the chef tried to convince us to eat the biggest sized shrimps & prawns I have ever seen... we politely declined and went for the more renowned pasta speciality. A short walk around the town at night was followed by a return to the folk's resort, before I left on my motorbike to come back to my house.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254805697663288306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjE9X6RurPJuU6uX1WC3T_cT3PLT8YN0Klh3Xfdk9IG3t7cEqslT2khAw0mdTNVoXoERnx8u4Ntfh-QnAhKgu4TRoL8iJWrl7RJXvJz9E6gV9CScHhjBKczXYQcis7w1pQGFlvSsyMXV5/s400/DSCF3851.JPG" border="0" />Breakfast was next on the itinerary, as I joined mum and dad at their hotel once more, for a bite to eat, before they were heading off to Nha Trang for 2 nights. It was a short but eventful visit to Hoi An, and my neighbours were telling my folks how lovely I was... no prompting required! Honestly! Though my work colleagues (especially Miss Lai) were far more interested in telling my parents about my social activities, or at least their version of my social movements, which weren't all complimentary! Cheeky buggers!!!<br /><br /><div><strong><em>PART TWO: A WEEKEND IN SAIGON</em></strong></div><div>Friday I flew to Ho Chi Minh City on Friday morning, but not before I faced the dilemma of how to get to the airport in Da Nang. I was desperately trying to find a cheaper way to get to the airport other than take a 200,000+ dong (£7) taxi. I was considering hiring a motorbike for the three days and leaving it at the airport over the weekend, when my neighbours very kindly offered to help me out. My neighbour two doors down, (who I rent the motorbike from) said I could have a motorbike for free, whilst my next door neighbour said she's come with me to the airport (45 minutes drive away) and drive the motorbike back. to Hoi An. HOW NICE!!!! This kind of help and generosity are the kind of things that I will always remember. So after arriving in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I did the local thing ans instead of getting the $15 taxi, I took the 3000 Dong (10 pence) local bus to the city centre, which took me right into the centre of the tourist district, and less than 5 minute walk from my hotel! Bargain!!</div><br /><div>Checking into my room took some serious persuasion on my part, as I had received no email confirmation and the receptionist was assuring me there were no single room available... we eventually realised, after a phone call to the other end of the country, (the booking agent) that because my name was written as Taniel, instead of Daniel.. clearly this was too much of a difference for the receptionist to realise I could be one and the same person!</div><br /><div>The reason for the weekend in Saigon was because my parents were there as was my good Canadian friend Jessica, who I first met in Bangkok in 2002. Jess was in Saigon with her husband Jason, who I hadn't met, I hadn't seen Jess since 2003... I'd arranged to meet Jess for lunch, but hadn't decided where to meet... I thought I'd just wander to her hotel, but she had exactly the same thought and began wandering to my hotel... rather bizarrely, in this city of 8.5 million people, (and 3.5 million motorcycles!) Jess saw me passing by on the street!! This was to be the first of a few strange (chance encounters). After a nice lunch and the opportunity to finally meet her husband, I returned to my hotel, but not before finding a large group of people gathered around a street corner. When I investigated further, it was none other than Jeremy Clarkson (TV presenter) and the 'Top Gear - television programme' team! (see picture below).<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254803406627678738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkD-9fddWzYF3iYJ3t5jr2RbmUqRj6MkHXSGnm-FACNRQTypzfD0Uv7AbKXHGn4Fer-xYKsnQK4LeVlu4oJIbgVEH1U4ZIjZy3TdZZhfSLoIBGJ0k8n6xKB6yBArY0uit3iiW8rdiwMfSk/s400/DSCF3854.JPG" border="0" />I went on to meet my folks later that day, as they arrived in Saigon, and enjoyed a free complimentary drink at their rather swanky hotel. Later that night I joined Jess & Jason and their cycling group tour, for their farewell meal, and after a great meal, we hit the city nightlife. the bar we went in was not exactly spectacular, and after only 30 minutes of being in the bar, who was to walk in? (yeah you guessed it - my new celebrity stalker) Jeremy Clarkson and the top gear team.... the world is too small.... and just to prove he is stalking me, he and the film crew were here in Hoi An last night too!!! Maybe I need a restraining order? now just a quick mention of 'street life' in Saigon, during a walk down the street to /from the bar, I had one guy step forward from the side of the pavement, put his finger to his nose and sniff... he was trying to offer drugs! On the way back from the bar, near my hotel, a young Vietnamese girl grabbed my arm, and began asking me if I wanted to have "good time for one hour" in a near by hotel room, needless to say she was 'working'! She spent a good five minutes grabbing hold of my hand trying to persuade me to have "good time" with her... but eventually returned to her area of the street!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6iXAiMMXF3oBcUO-sHJqAuk1yb2F7fJkIp7fmbXt0-ij5MiIYzKNfUGQu8W4A2LFM5ZgBUdB8hqJNbsCTZdjpjvSi2u-Akd9jhonA5w41INowGZ1PRhOtj2tquRwSNlNuVrOtNI0ud_8/s1600-h/DSCF3861.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254804503091241986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6iXAiMMXF3oBcUO-sHJqAuk1yb2F7fJkIp7fmbXt0-ij5MiIYzKNfUGQu8W4A2LFM5ZgBUdB8hqJNbsCTZdjpjvSi2u-Akd9jhonA5w41INowGZ1PRhOtj2tquRwSNlNuVrOtNI0ud_8/s320/DSCF3861.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaA3GNbv9Kt3rA0RAs3Dndf2SJKKIy0grLTyZwBMANYe2SXXQS6Ajesionj2I9L39XQPutfH4SLlSJ24y52lbVFRdp9apItn4V_GXZqItwbS_5qBmuHVvB8SUllzSp-OUbP5M9J0P3Liax/s1600-h/DSCF3860.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254804773406362482" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaA3GNbv9Kt3rA0RAs3Dndf2SJKKIy0grLTyZwBMANYe2SXXQS6Ajesionj2I9L39XQPutfH4SLlSJ24y52lbVFRdp9apItn4V_GXZqItwbS_5qBmuHVvB8SUllzSp-OUbP5M9J0P3Liax/s320/DSCF3860.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Saturday in Saigon was another eventful day as I met my mom and dad in the city centre, before we walked around and did some tourist things, like visiting the markets, where I had to barter with the local traders for my folks as they wanted some souvenirs. When I kept insisting that I was not offering enough money, I explained that I lived in Hoi An, so I was used to cheaper prices... one trader just said - "Hoi An - second hand"!!! Cheeky Bugger! Saturday night whilst me, my mom and dad were looking for places to eat, we randomly bumped into Jess & Jason and two of their friends. We all went for dinner together in a pretty nice restaurant where we all ate a serious amount of non-Vietnamese food!!! After saying good night to my parents, I nipped into the local bar 2 doors down from hotel, to watch the football - Man Utd played Blackburn, and needless to say Man Utd cheated their way to victory after disabling the Blackburn goal keeper! - but enough about that! The point of telling you this story was because this was a bar I had been in before, 5 months ago, and the bar girls were very friendly, and wore English football shirts (see picture).</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254802622844504530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIURkGbTXsHvWTbkQ8VpqBKKBX3klSzd_ARDgkCmNcFL6TRWiwr6qHaIj2InT8tgR5Rmczd4FvCv9isLXnhFRNCIvr0wOE876m2-wWXgOJc3ACnf8RcSBj8efeQq84dzBfmpPY7Km667R/s320/DSCF2510.JPG" border="0" /> They remembered me, or so they said, and as one them was finishing up her shift, she came chatting to me. I was desperate to get to a nightclub, after 5 months of a quiet night life, so when Thuy (the bar girl) agreed to take me to a place in town, we soon found ourselves heading back down the road, with her flatmate, and found a fairly obvious tourist style bar! I was pretty surprised to find a 150,000 charge for Vietnamese, (not for westerners) clearly designed to keep local people out... I got suspicious and my suspicions were confirmed as it soon became apparent that there were a number of 'escort/working girls' circling the bar, looking for an interested western customers! The drinks were pretty expensive too, so I was relieved to see both my Vietnamese friends drinking Orangina!!! phew!- As I was paying!<br /><div>We left the club after 3, and after a slow walk home, the girls said they were hungry, so we found a local street food cafe, and sat eating a huge bowl of noodles at 0400!!! It was a real fun and unexpected night, and I have to thank Thuy (in the Arsenal shirt) for showing me the night life!</div><br /><div>Sunday was a more relaxing day, as after lunch with Jess & Jason, I met my folks for a coffee in the afternoon, and a teary goodbye with mum, before getting the 10 pence bus back to the airport. All was going well, as I had arrived with plenty of time to spare... I was just contemplating my fun weekend as I took a quick sleep at the gate. Though my 'quick sleep' had overrun, as I awoke to a completely empty airport waiting area, and a realisation that all the other passengers had left.... fortunately I got to the gate as I could hear an announcement saying "this is the last call for passenger Daniel Johnson..." I was lucky to board the plane, and even luckier to be sat between two pretty Vietnamese girls. One girl I had a nice chat with throughout the flight, whilst the other girl appeared so scared of flying that she could barely speak. The plane was quite cold, so I gave the scared girl my jumper to keep her warm, and as we landed back in Da Nang, she leaned over and kissed me, saying thank you for the jumper... this is not normal behaviour here... as we boarded the bus to take us to the terminal building she was stood next to me, and again leaned over and whispered to me " you are very handsome"... I love this place!!! ha ha </div><br /><div>Being a fully fledged Hoi An Local - and being desperate to get home in time for the Man City vs Liverpool game...(an amazing come back from Liverpool, eventually winning 2-3), I took a motor bike taxi back home. The only problem with this plan was that the rain had returned to Hoi An, and I got soaked sat on the back of a motorbike for 45 minutes in the rain storm!! A crazy end to a crazy weekend!!!</div><br /><div>Enjoy the pictures below, from Saigon</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cbD34UQ2SghG9lE62h2QqmFGdLxhyphenhyphenhYeJSTONQqUlw-UPaZhz1g7yNrk3THdxFWpglXh2B2sreWpyXdpGsS-fwFxzxN5V9FiHN_s5P2p6v9YySi4J440rSE-6VAdCYfp4sXaqIIhN8N4/s1600-h/DSCF3885.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254808258148108850" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cbD34UQ2SghG9lE62h2QqmFGdLxhyphenhyphenhYeJSTONQqUlw-UPaZhz1g7yNrk3THdxFWpglXh2B2sreWpyXdpGsS-fwFxzxN5V9FiHN_s5P2p6v9YySi4J440rSE-6VAdCYfp4sXaqIIhN8N4/s320/DSCF3885.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxnw8yDrOWJi-k9ijwT7h1tcz8JFjXoZJFaCiB-SvQLI17iUTnbNmhlAvLa5914LiogfdKD38voVH0D2NuVInnmYb6EXd3BK2mCtLUfhDGNYepNmSEi_j_Ufn8To8HECIBvU5edW4I_52/s1600-h/DSCF3869.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254808513451380818" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxnw8yDrOWJi-k9ijwT7h1tcz8JFjXoZJFaCiB-SvQLI17iUTnbNmhlAvLa5914LiogfdKD38voVH0D2NuVInnmYb6EXd3BK2mCtLUfhDGNYepNmSEi_j_Ufn8To8HECIBvU5edW4I_52/s320/DSCF3869.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-21573924348975222882008-09-29T08:51:00.000-07:002008-09-30T10:14:32.405-07:00Week 22 Have you ever raced a cloud?Hey everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div>Well it's been yet another eventful seven days in Hoi An, and to top everything off my parents are arriving here tomorrow, so it's all go this week! This past week has been full of fun events with the return of my weekly tennis match (yet another defeat), a night time trip to Da Nang, a house mate's leaving party, more trips to see local life in action including a trip to a university student's hall of residence!, and the start of 'rainy season'!</div><br /><div>I'll start with the change in weather, because that has been the biggest change here in Hoi An this week. This also accounts for the fact that I now spend most of my day looking like a human condom... and that's because the local raincoats, are cheap and cover you from almost head to toe, but should you be like me and ride a bicycle, then the rain coat rides up over your knees and this requires you to look life a grandad and roll any pants (trousers) up over your knees! Not a sexy look I can tell you!!! See picture below!</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251487941891755698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6wGEd5-S0fKS6gPqEj31zy_z_bYw80CFU2i4L9dzUCFfzXMYv6831qYPqXFmj-GbTwuXG01gQdUHJh03svimkG1WZWRTivJ6SxGsqHhiJBwOTIGIGYLqRsDhppoMKELFBvaagstmsY3Q/s400/DSCF3822.JPG" border="0" /> During the week I took a trip with my friend Dung (see picture) to the city of Da Nang, where we were able to enjoy the 'city lights' and escape from the usual Hoi An scenery. Driving to Da Nang at night has it's risks, especially as it means you end up having a free meal consisting solely of insects that seem to fly towards your mouth the moment you open it! Still once in Da Nang, the city lights by the river give the place a nice feel and with a cinema, bowling alley , and nice coffee shops/bars it offers a change from the tourist trade in Hoi An!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlzVI9XG1Lpp0R7FGhhh116WHJnR_qUgjPB5Xt4ykeMTqN8rQLjekMMiQrOM5Uap5TzGyJlLbN11WkgGoz6joswEF87GDvGvjlfV-L0lUU0uA-Vj94BpuGXRACCfoC18UrRA1yMA8b784/s1600-h/DSCF3793.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251488364819324082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlzVI9XG1Lpp0R7FGhhh116WHJnR_qUgjPB5Xt4ykeMTqN8rQLjekMMiQrOM5Uap5TzGyJlLbN11WkgGoz6joswEF87GDvGvjlfV-L0lUU0uA-Vj94BpuGXRACCfoC18UrRA1yMA8b784/s320/DSCF3793.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VW0dqgWbjIDy5Xf1De824N8yFW4q7heNp4k3TW8zel6IV2DdQPjZnRfS8NBKsUDL5zchOVtCvlF6p3D7d_iMhhpYqeDSRd3YAayyWgMxJYYztClZQYnPxJkQkVkMfc8ccfHqAZ0b2c4n/s1600-h/DSCF3808.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251488758644383394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="242" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VW0dqgWbjIDy5Xf1De824N8yFW4q7heNp4k3TW8zel6IV2DdQPjZnRfS8NBKsUDL5zchOVtCvlF6p3D7d_iMhhpYqeDSRd3YAayyWgMxJYYztClZQYnPxJkQkVkMfc8ccfHqAZ0b2c4n/s320/DSCF3808.JPG" width="320" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div>The weekend offered the real adventure as on Saturday I returned to Da Nang to visit two friends. Firstly I met 'Vicky' who is someone I met through visitors to Hoi An (Florence & Valerie). Vicky ( real name Thao) was quick to invite me into her home in Da Nang, where I was invited to have lunch with her family, that consisted of her mum, dad, auntie, sister, uncle.... the family were very welcoming, and the food was plentiful and tasty! Vicky then took me to a nice new local coffee shop, which had a stage for live music (at night) and upstairs was a raised floor, that required you to take your shoes off to enter the room, and sit on the raised floor. It was very different from any place I'd been to before, and a place I hope to return to one evening!</div><br /><div>After waiting for the serious rain to stop I went on to meet my neighbor Yen, who is at university in Da Nang, studying tourism. She invited me to visit her halls of residence, so after a 20 minute motorbike ride, we finally pulled up to a huge tower block, of 6-7 floors, with up to 20 rooms on each floor, and 8 bunk-beds in a fairly small room! Yep no single rooms here, each metal frame bed, had a small fold down table for the students to work on, and all beds had the typical wooden beaded matting, you might use to lie on at the beach) no mattress on the bed people here just don't sleep on mattresses. This entire block was full with just females, as the male block next door was much smaller and housed only a few boys by comparison. The boys appeared to be outside playing football and volleyball, whilst the girls seemed to stay in their rooms during my visit. As time passed more girls appeared to wander past where I was stood with Yen, to obviously have a look at this strange foreigner, and at the point that I actually left, and was saying goodbye to Yen, I looked up from the ground floor, to see at least 20 girls on each floor looking down to see what was happening.... it was a particular funny moment, one that I'd have loved to have photographed, as it looked like a scene from a movie.... and I'm sure Yen spent the rest of the day answering questions from the onlookers!!! No I know some of you may not be surprised to hear that I managed to find my way into an all female student hall of residence, but I have to say it was purely for research purposes!!! honestly!</div><br /><div>The drive home was all the more entertaining because this was where I tried to 'race the rain cloud' home, and of course I lost drastically as not more than 20 minutes into the 50 minute ride home, the rain caught up with me forcing me to stop and wear my 'human condom' raincoat, and drive as slowly as is humanly possible on a motorbike, in several inches of rain. That evening we had a farewell dinner for Naomi my most recent housemate who had been volunteering at the Orphanage, the only problem was that she chose to have this dinner at the exact same time as Liverpool were playing Everton in the Mersey-side derby game, luckily the restaurant has a bar downstairs and the waitress was giving me updates on the game! she got a tip!!! especially as the news was good.. Liverpool won 2-0!</div><br /><div>Sunday proved to be an even more interesting day, as I travelled to the 'My Son' region with my neighbou<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDBW2cTtFnwHF1t6cGuROnCHxb71IDQoqHw0lHAXTKkwEBh5K3FNvB-7CDD7OYZ7yPKReDA3RUO1K9o_Bn80V3Wns3HyIPKaO-JV6KNfB1CqM-AwxFjQ2y4L8NHmfLlNiHkfLOf0lqvLx/s1600-h/DSCF3845.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251863595756191074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDBW2cTtFnwHF1t6cGuROnCHxb71IDQoqHw0lHAXTKkwEBh5K3FNvB-7CDD7OYZ7yPKReDA3RUO1K9o_Bn80V3Wns3HyIPKaO-JV6KNfB1CqM-AwxFjQ2y4L8NHmfLlNiHkfLOf0lqvLx/s200/DSCF3845.JPG" border="0" /></a>r - Tuyet - who works at the restaurant next door. he asked me if I'd teach her English, and invited me to spend the day at her parents house in the countryside. After a 45 minute motorcycle ride, at 0700, we arrived at her family home, to be greeted by her mother, and eventually her father and younger sister joined us, for breakfast/lunch. It was duck, in a curry, very nice, but with many parts of an animal that I would not normally including, liver, and attached arteries, and I have to admit I struggled to eat it all, just because of the floating internal organs! Nothing is wasted here! The beer at 1030 in the morning was clearly contributing to my tiredness, (the beer they had sent their youngest daughter (12) to the shop in the pouring rain, and for the second week in a row I found myself being invited to sleep (after lunch) in the house of a family I had only met just hours earlier! This time I was less uncomfortable at the idea of sleeping in the middle of the day, in the middle of this family's house, this time on a bed made up on the floor. I awoke to everyone else having disappeared, and the feeling that I'd slept for hours.... I came around to see the Tuyet's father grinning at me, and speaking in Vietnamese After fully waking up, I was shown the four very cute pigs in the back yard, that were being fed up to be eaten at a later date! More neighbours arrived to have a look at me, and after some more English lessons with both Tuyet and her younger sister, we ate again, more soup/curry, before leaving for home. We unfortunately got a flat tyre on the way home, but were fortunate to have been passing by the only 'repair' shop for 10 miles at the time it happened! I even got charged the local price! just 5000 dong (15pence) to get it repaired! Bargain. We did stop at Tuyet's grandparents house on the way home to deliver some of the mother's home made duck curry/soup, and her grandparents welcomed us in to the home, and offered Tuyet to me as a potential wife! It was a kind offer, and one that I don't often receive the first time I meet a person's family! The view from the grandparent's home was pretty spectacular, looking out towards the rice fields with the mountains of 'My Son' as a back drop! </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251490718936297986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4qBdVal3Wgc6ydv7qNIwkbWmulDEhL4DrUSTUZgWXWKTuN0SHrXEv6SNeqyUze1qB84HaydVHAlhgcDcXCmQYZDmgR0cV_A1eWW6EkBjnkRjvE7RppETNTkLmYTEiV2aw6fMLcRPgxiE/s320/DSCF3509.JPG" border="0" />This weekend will be one that lives long in my memory, because it was a weekend full of real life experiences, and mostly spent in places that belong solely to 'real life' Vietnam. There has been no greater privilege than to be welcomed into people's homes the way I was this weekend, (and to have the single daughters offered as potential wives)!<br /><br /><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan </div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-86571691239352042632008-09-23T06:41:00.000-07:002008-09-23T07:53:31.343-07:00Week 21 - A Day in Da Nang, Tin-roof weddings, & Open Air TheatreHello everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Here in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">quiet</span> little town of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Hoi</span> An, we have been having more interesting and unexpected events; that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">help</span> the weeks just fly by! Take this week just passed, it began with yet another farewell party. This time, Roz, a volunteer with the children's home 'Blue Dragon' who had been here nearly 5 months, returned home to Australia, but not before we all joined her for a leaving dinner just across the road at my neighbour's place 'Cafe 43' ( a must for all visitors to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hoi</span> An). Roz's 'best bits' are too numerous to mention here, but she was well known around town, for being the most focused cyclist in town, usually because she crash at any given moment, with the slightest of distraction. Roz also kept us entertained with her many embarrassing stories, no more so than the sun burned bottom story which was acted out for full <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">dramatic</span> effect! God bless you Roz, and we hope to see you again soon! Roz can be seen in a fare few of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">facebook</span> antics, and is in the centre of this picture below, (next to me). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249214898711691650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11f35PFn3UPIOWTWrAVT4wVISUSn6IthpQF8Ll3bqjGz_alnqWzuzbb_zoBGyHoN5P5OK25m38INjshUL0fLhL3TfHPInftPwP2cGSnI91aa8sNRDJIXtlBteavihwAtQvoopaErlesXc/s400/DSCF3778.JPG" border="0" />Wednesday lunchtime will certainly be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">remembered</span> as being the closest I got to going to a Vietnamese Wedding. I arrived back at home at 1130, for my regular 2 hour lunch break, ready to make my instant noodles, when I could hear this incredibly loud noise, and it seemed to be coming from right inside my house, from the kitchen! The 'noise' turned <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">out to</span> be some guy on a microphone with loud cheering echoing around the house... I ran in to the house to find the intruder, and on entering the kitchen I found the reason! No word of a lie, the space directly behind the house, which for 4 months has been a dumping ground for building materials, was cleared no more than a week ago, and there <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">in front</span> of me on this day, stood a mini-shelter, with a temporary tin-roof, lots of plastic chairs and tables with people siting all around, and a little stage, with great huge speakers, a man with a microphone, and a guy with a keyboard... I knew this could mean only one thing! Wedding <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Karaoke</span>. No sooner were my noodles boiling, than the loud and tuneless screeching began, from men and women, in between the numerous toasted being made from the stage... shouts of 'mot' '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">hai</span>' '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">ba</span>' (one, two three) were frequent followed by the swigging of alcohol. It's just amazing how people here don't place importance on the place they celebrate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">their</span> wedding day, the only thing that matters is the company, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">karaoke</span>!<br /></div></div></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249217941570050610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKbpPQP62V024tayj2EV0qLy1OhDLTkaNEyLHzmnCdxvIKuOhR8bNzOeH0NOsMNaOQO3UqE9xNpcLC5nW7i13sjuyWAbG7BE_XxG9sbIYBoIUWpD3KCdnUHim31GnwHWbjeaqcrcA7A5P/s400/DSCF3779.JPG" border="0" /></p></div><p>Thursday night was 'pub quiz' night, the only reason I mention this very non-Vietnamese event, is because our team won, even though it was by default, as the real winning team were disqualified for not writing their team name on the paper.. oh thank god for technicalities!</p><p>Friday night was another unexpected surprise as I joined my Vietnamese colleagues and friends, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Loc</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Binh</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Anh</span>, & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Lai</span>, to go to an open-air theatre performance. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">didn'</span>t even know there was a theatre of any description here. The play theatre as you can see from the picture below, was pretty large, and the 'natural seating' was damn uncomfortable, especially after one and a half hours without an interval! My bottom was killing me!! The interesting thing about this play, was not the performance, but more the reaction of the audience to either serious or 'romantic' moments. People just starting giggling and laughing, at what seemed to be very serious moments... this is something I have noticed here in Vietnam, and whilst there are times when it seems to me that people here 'appear' to be immature when dealing with anything of an emotional nature, I think that they just deal with with these kind of issues differently. People do not seem comfortable discussing very personal issues here, or even entering a conversation about anything of a sexual nature. Of course this could be that I don't know people well enough to enter into such topics of conversation here, and of course I don't want to generalise these observations to other places in Vietnam! Still I find this kinda thing interesting to talk about! (see the theatre <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">bel</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxX4ND47ibxxU1oLIG4lgQUSX372dkvsMPXi2hlkRyOj4IW6qkWG9G-hBHMNbL2289nkzHfLRqrCXVionZYYDwT-3RB5z2sBySlO3ayuhoZG19DkD6Ef3uITvCHuLt_S-XFLVqv52eNM6y/s1600-h/DSCF3788.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249222169563824978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxX4ND47ibxxU1oLIG4lgQUSX372dkvsMPXi2hlkRyOj4IW6qkWG9G-hBHMNbL2289nkzHfLRqrCXVionZYYDwT-3RB5z2sBySlO3ayuhoZG19DkD6Ef3uITvCHuLt_S-XFLVqv52eNM6y/s320/DSCF3788.JPG" border="0" /></a>ow)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhsoGlShNF4FAWyjbPiCFXkHYw3Zu1Xcysm1uooLmaSJ_9xfxZe98c6812DSC7HrYODg0Qa4V-JGSxCcBoXPMge_PAj1p9QjmiiHz9v6BNafxyZN1EijPNXik3PFzgbdByaVGDs_GA8QP/s1600-h/DSCF3789.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249222864509125938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhsoGlShNF4FAWyjbPiCFXkHYw3Zu1Xcysm1uooLmaSJ_9xfxZe98c6812DSC7HrYODg0Qa4V-JGSxCcBoXPMge_PAj1p9QjmiiHz9v6BNafxyZN1EijPNXik3PFzgbdByaVGDs_GA8QP/s320/DSCF3789.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p>On to Saturday's exploits. Before 0900 myself and my colleague <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Anh</span>, set off on our motorbikes to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Da</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Nang</span>, to visit another <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">colleague</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Phuong</span>. We arrived at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Phuong's</span> house, an hour later, and were greeted by her father and brother. I spent the morning talking with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Phuong's</span> brother and father, whilst I hardly saw <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Phuong</span>, as she was preparing lunch. Oh boy, what a big lunch. As it took a while to prepare, me and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Anh</span> were encouraged to do some home <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">karaoke</span>, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Phuong's</span> brother ventured off to one of the neighbours to find me an English <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Karaoke</span> CD! Luckily the food arrived just before I murdered any more old pop songs that seem to be the only ones available to sing here! The meal was different kinds of noodles with egg, shrimp, meat - anything you can think of! I was so full afterwards I could hardly move! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Phuong's</span> father insisted that after lunch I should have a lie down, (now, I really don't feel comfortable to actually sleep on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">someones</span> bed, the first time I go to their home...) after several refusals, I eventually gave in, especially after he has gotten a blanket and pillow, and placed it on the bed, which was in the same open-style room. Within minutes I was fast asleep, no worries, and I did not feel uncomfortable at all... I woke up to some more Vietnamese <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">karaoke</span> singing, from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Phuong's</span> dad, which including some pretty groovy moves! We eventually left to go to the city centre and catch up with another colleague, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Lai</span>. The 3 girls then took me on a shopping tour of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Da</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Nang</span>, including shoes and clothes! They wouldn't allow me to buy anything without their approval, and when I did eventually lose them and buy something, they told me how bad my choice was!!! Charming I thought! As a thank you, I took the girls bowling as 2 of them hadn't been before, and despite one broken nail, (not mine), we all had fun! The girls have now started calling me Miss Dan, as opposed to my usual 'Mr Dan' title. They find this highly amusing! The main thing I took from this day, was just spending time in the home of my colleague, and how relaxing everybody made me feel - to the point I slept for 2 hours in the middle of their house!!!</p><p>I don't have any pictures of this day so this picture of my & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Phuong</span> at my house warming!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249228735795840594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="320" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh54Zh5F3zMMzwNdBNnjZ52SyVtink-IhDJ1kNm8gt9MTpBjT1XbhVEB80tbHMXH3drpzpq4Lbia_01sIZbFQb1TPjkOyUYS_yozxVX2uWJXrfIUGRDsqgorewKLyp9j5xjP5vDgC3_QOd/s320/DSCF2747.JPG" width="240" border="0" /></p></div></div></div></div><br /><p><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Ok</span>, so that's enough for this week...</p><p>Regards from Vietnam</p><p>Dan</p>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-33493078420669752242008-09-14T22:04:00.000-07:002008-09-14T23:03:26.301-07:00Week 20 - Mid-Autum Festival - The Dance of the DragonHi Everybody,<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>This week in Hoi An has been a very unique week for me for a number of reasons. Firstly, there has been more rain than sunshine, (this is normal for me back home in Manchester of course) but a very unusual experience here - until rainy season starts in October! Secondly, because it has been 4-5 days of constant drumming in the streets, this drumming has a purpose, it is linked to the Mid-Autum festival, a national celebration in Vietnam, where kids spend 2-3 weeks, making dragon costumes, practicing drumming, and creating dance routines in for their Dragon. It's almost like Dragon Cheer leading at times, as they stand on each others shoulders, climb 15foot high poles and any near by balcony where tourists may then feel obliged to give money!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246118950440622546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmOg2wx0DCshCuq2jN9XmIDHoXyKhRnLanlNMRBoyor7Z7KYSIrKWkEzopJZKBjXSyrNLROMijpfFmCeBV45Zn6ebIqfbtsogh8d0CpcJmZ_zHrFH69b37fVG5gBVqxBy1BV93HcLHUQy/s320/DSCF3735.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246118565160718066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52aUmjsgDM01ukKTPRF0aTYgPdxFJ9Jpr-6dXwu_c0owo1OAyOlq3FTQGWeyNfltUKLbRo_AFOIyjVAqF0ChVPMPbWhcwqDGuZDM1BKbRK9ASesJQN_fGlI7PtMVh3yiBknAvd77hCes2/s320/DSCF3700.JPG" border="0" /> The entire weekend, kids troop around the place dancing through restaurants, hotels, bars, (anywhere that hasn't had the foresight to close the doors!) and get money for their efforts... here in Hoi An, the town does come to a stand still, as traffic builds up at major junctions to watch passing Dragons, big carts with drums are more common on the roads than cars, and where there is no escape day or night from these festivities. Any tourists here for a quiet weekend would have been sadly disappointed!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246119519742136338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="320" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVan6ZTYPxanMwK-5BpNKl2sG1lYypOdwInh5PO1cycyU9uUppFY1A5jBm0a61Oyy17ulMU_Yr9qjmET-QHE34U-8NLu4xTIv4SUg0ahsNhUpkR-22WlEAD_fWURlJ780UErCiu90Q83v5/s320/DSCF3727.JPG" width="240" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ty7MInOh1LlzkZKbHdtNCeqyOvkUwSmEhAW5ORJm00_JVhT2QUdUjOAavxiqmm12L5dy-iIKJbCI_caOhOyb83NZJP5dllVv1I9PwoUalDZ6CYLwbiTXlSxBN9Xz90wsvVMxap_kTuO3/s1600-h/DSCF3760.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246118184636028594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ty7MInOh1LlzkZKbHdtNCeqyOvkUwSmEhAW5ORJm00_JVhT2QUdUjOAavxiqmm12L5dy-iIKJbCI_caOhOyb83NZJP5dllVv1I9PwoUalDZ6CYLwbiTXlSxBN9Xz90wsvVMxap_kTuO3/s400/DSCF3760.JPG" border="0" /></a>We were lucky enough to have a private showing from the kids at the children's home my flatmate works at... they actually came into our house, dancing and climbed up to the first floor balcony in costume... it's pretty dangerous watching these kids stand on a board held up by their friends, and then stand on each other to climb into first floor windows, but nobody seems to be worried... and hey, considering that these kids spend weeks preparing, a few broken limbs seems to be small price to pay for such enjoyment! ( i have to say i did not see any injuries, and that includes watching 2 kids in full dragon costume climb up a self-made 20ft high pole!) I also noticed a second fashion of sorts occur here this weekend... where the dragon goes, so too does a masked child who collects the money, and many of the boys, opted to dress as women, with rather large false breast (this is Asia after all) , and hey people seemed to enjoy watching these 'boys' in action!<br /><br /><br /><div> </div><div>Despite the constant noise, I have to say it was a really impressive sight seeing all these young people getting involved in such an event and spending time preparing for it. I can not imagine teenagers on mass back home (in UK) putting so much time, effort and planning into something public like this, unless it involved getting drunk in the park, being abusive to the public, or playing hide and seek with the local police! (That could just be my negativity! sorry if you don't agree!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Lk6OCcEkKVjuEKDscmkLXzmj_ouPWjjpA3qLGhNPf9Ydm0zlMDnan_-WhCDVIfJYZSk2CVNXd8K8IRRgPhuQFop-sm6iYtm5fS2xK54tEpkRh92h7UvbbkLyF349S-8AK7FwfN-y6C9S/s1600-h/DSCF3753.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246117849125229906" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Lk6OCcEkKVjuEKDscmkLXzmj_ouPWjjpA3qLGhNPf9Ydm0zlMDnan_-WhCDVIfJYZSk2CVNXd8K8IRRgPhuQFop-sm6iYtm5fS2xK54tEpkRh92h7UvbbkLyF349S-8AK7FwfN-y6C9S/s400/DSCF3753.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Of course those of you that know me well, may already be surprised that I have yet to mention the biggest event of the week, indeed one of the biggest events in the football calender! Yeah that's right! In the midst of the dragon dancing and madness there was the matter of Liverpool vs Manchester United on Saturday! I watched the game and as I'm sure most of you will know Liverpool beat Man Utd for the first time in 5 years in the league! Well done Lads, and Rafa! This has certainly added to the magic events of this week!</div><br /><div>I also took yet another trip to Da Nang, (on motorbike) with my neighbour Yen. The reason I mention this is because we did this after getting caught in some fairly heavy rain, and I assure you this was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done, bungy jumping included! Driving in the rain here, means almost no visibility, (without a visor) and people still whizz past like they were trying to reach the bar before last orders! Having survived the experience I have to say I feel more confident on a bike, but would prefer to walk in the approaching rainy season!</div></div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTU8yUpKEPM2uXDXO_VPG9xoZHrdeEq6niPktiBtWVd1Cxl01UXh_F_AmC7fGzT7u8hBpsgPdVwtUA-HOgnTdc51Ba23O2ormyPXP0Df6npVF9efSyayosaIJ5kluL5eUVkO_zEhxRf7j/s1600-h/DSCF3765.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246119921133199042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTU8yUpKEPM2uXDXO_VPG9xoZHrdeEq6niPktiBtWVd1Cxl01UXh_F_AmC7fGzT7u8hBpsgPdVwtUA-HOgnTdc51Ba23O2ormyPXP0Df6npVF9efSyayosaIJ5kluL5eUVkO_zEhxRf7j/s200/DSCF3765.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawt4RDNqW07NI78ai4Rwti9BmchN7V5o3ah1-qFhQGqEc1XrLajxDAyPqV9zMCA3KDSGg3Pz2q9MJk-mgsugHTSuXGY2C-qrG1nzLR9gDvYx_VkK7x3kFdCb3WNzCHWOlBuousXgvYt1d/s1600-h/DSCF3772.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246122034328308210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawt4RDNqW07NI78ai4Rwti9BmchN7V5o3ah1-qFhQGqEc1XrLajxDAyPqV9zMCA3KDSGg3Pz2q9MJk-mgsugHTSuXGY2C-qrG1nzLR9gDvYx_VkK7x3kFdCb3WNzCHWOlBuousXgvYt1d/s200/DSCF3772.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246123127529116098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="146" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCQg2mx-uEiYvrmT_IGqk_-9exUF1mbN4av-jJ0WiFU0PBWDncDjSr5KZ7-hHW_TbP4y8YEt0-9S8IqJ8LOxPmnokdTU3fTI24_qdMP5v5OcjkNl0nHRp2fF7UPmJUys9JxiJj_q58tBF/s200/DSCF3755.JPG" width="200" border="0" />(Me, Caoimhe, Roz with kids from children's home)<br /><div></div>( Our private dragon showing at home)</div><div>(Me and my neighbour - Yen)</div><div><br /></div><div>I think that's all for this week, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story!</div><div>Regards from Vietnam</div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-7166750723876852122008-09-07T07:45:00.000-07:002008-10-17T21:40:50.437-07:00Week 19 - Public HolidaysHello everybody!<br />Well this week's main event has been the public holiday (National/independence day) which was on Tuesday 2nd September. Public officials (and us volunteers) had the day off, and whilst there may have been little in the way of any kind of festival or mass public celebration, I decided that I would celebrate by braving a motorcycle journey to the nearby city of Da Nang. My friend Dung came along and after a lovely drive along the coast road, followed by a nervous drive through the centre of the city to the park and lake, we parked the bike, and joined many other city dwellers sat by the lake. As it was a typically baking day... we got a drink (Dung had a Pepsi, which they poured into a plastic bag with ice, and a straw). Whilst sitting by the lake taking in the nice view, it took me a while to notice the dead fish floating at the lake shore.... nice eh! With me being perhaps the only westerner in the park, I was attracting attention, especially as I was with a Vietnamese girl, and I must admit it took me a while to relax, as it was clear people were talking about us, in a not so discrete manner.. nothing is done discreetly here! After a bit of sunning we headed off to watch the new Batman film 'the Dark night' which was great, before heading home, via a local noodle street cafe place... A late night (2300) drive back down the pitch black coast road, ensued, leading me for the first time in 4 months to feel cold.. it felt great!!!<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243297924607904834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4aZbS2sGPNLcU4Pw3Ee38jUWOTskOTZ31eNFfCNwIRrobqGMx7jhbkAKCzEeTGT77MLkmyPIdGqTEu6JKQTUPbifJ1VreIsaU7xXMV7rSt6wqR5-Jir1JN9mH09PJBO0iifHzKF0ZvD8/s400/DSCF3644.JPG" border="0" /> (Pepsi in a plastic bag)<br /><br />There have been more preparations for the mid Autumn festival (September 14th) with the sound of distant drumming becoming more and more common through the streets of Hoi An. Many dragon costumes can be seen in the shops, and kids are heard practicing drums all over.. apparently, kids will dance around in the dragon costumes and it customary to place money in the dragon's mouth.... hmm... this sounds like another money making scheme! Though perhaps a more genuine scheme than most here!<br /><br />This weekend has been taken up with the return of my French friend Florence, and another friend of hers, and I mention this because yesterday we headed to the beach at her insistence for the crazy time of 0430... so I have added a couple of pictures to this weeks blog... I have to admit it was worth it to see the entire sunrise, and have a swim at such an early time in the morning!<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243297698326168178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfvVUY_8e62ZaW9vBkY_R_nFBjEXgbytqevJfpZbUQ0voDjA2K_PBlMa-GH-vGVjwdw74lj9EmcF4HLsq-qlMbBKWF31oaTlVXd3QEyuXYc9KaZCVp2jy-9JjxwkeE3YTQ0ze5d9hssDd/s400/DSCF3662.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>(sunrise, Hoi An 0430)</p><p>I am wary of writing too much in this week's blog because my computer has recently started to just turn its self off, and it is obviously overheating, so despite my idea of sitting it on chopsticks to give some extra airflow, it is slowly dying a death, and I have been frantically trying to save all my photos in case my computer burns itself out! Any ideas would be welcomed by you technology wizards!</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243298152879004930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33A5zAXWptv2Ry-yz5CXTFTi_FgkIarIlOd5lDQaTF6NuNKJ10cBid9gIi0bhmQmFV_QtuwdU-VkVngGVfHZJNM1hcYZFcDmfzWl4FCXM1UIqC-8iCCzXx_rp66K2HaBXCI2-MOCrh7hK/s400/DSCF3647.JPG" border="0" /> (parking in the supermarket, Vietnamese style)<br /><br />I guess I should also mention I visited a Hospital in the city of Da Nang this week, with my American physio friend, and the purpose of this visit was to discuss the possibility of some work there, because the rehabilitation department wants to start delivering Occupational Therapy, so they were very keen to invite me to meet the director of the rehab department, when they learned there was an OT close by.... that's the kind of opportunity that can be available in a place like this, because I know if i tried to meet a hospital director back home, it would take a series of phone calls and probably a bribe along the way! (or an act of misconduct! - no reflection on Manchester Mental Health Trust there!). Oh and I also found another Occupational Therapist here in Hoi An, who is by chance working at the orphanage here... small world eh!<br /><br />Ok my final mention must go to the England football team, who once again underachieved against the mighty Andorra, winning 0-2. Come on, lets get rid of Lampard and Downing, and not embarrass ourselves against Croatia on Wednesday, especially when I have to get up at 0145 to watch the bloody game!!!!<br /><br />Regards from Vietnam<br />DanDan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-40496070582496453232008-09-01T19:55:00.000-07:002008-09-01T21:21:54.552-07:00Week 18 - Work, Coffee dates & Domestic ViolenceHi everyone, I appreciate this weeks 'title' may seem a little unusual, but after much thought I came to the conclusion that these posts should reflect my real experiences here, and whilst much of what I report on, has a comical aspect, many experiences here are not always funny or pleasant!<br /><br />Week 18 has been a busy social week, for a number of reasons, including Wednesday night's dinner and karaoke session with my great colleagues, which included my now regular rendition of Copacabana on the karaoke. The computer keeps saying I score only 85 from 100, but I think the wiring is definitely off, especially as myself and John scored a perfect 100 when murdering Elton John's 'don't let the sun go down on me'! Thursday night saw the return of the England vs Australia tennis match, which is pretty much having the same outcome as the cricket games between the two countries... (for those of you who don't follow cricket, it means Australia is winning every time!). Sunday night the whole nation of Vietnam was focused on the Miss Vietnam 2008 contest (won by Miss Da Nang) which was based here in Hoi An, with the most questionable outfits, interesting security arrangements, and freakishly tall Vietnamese women,- the likes of which I have never seen around, so I can only presume they are grown in special scientific laboratories for this single annual purpose!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241272957063334706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9s_Fuy4PCdSVG6WhjCRYVFJ68i6RQyqkoDiHETL5tO0uqgp9faJewTF2tzgnyXoRNQxEXJ4c7JBW50wulKMCbzw33slaB9DjNZsIvf6NuLC6ehtmULzzYaG8VZOz2G2EkIziI84nOnSNf/s400/DSCF2688.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><div>Now, despite my earlier reports that breaking down the social and cultural barriers, (to be come part of the community) feel like an impossibility at times, this week has allowed me to at least spend time with local people, and through talking over coffee, get a better insight into 'local life'. There were some sad departures too, as my fellow friends (and Triathletes!) Jo & Liz left Hoi An, along with another good friend and co-volunteer - Carole. After a very late Monday night goodbye party, Tuesday night offered me the chance to do the typical Vietnamese friendly thing of meeting up for a coffee (you all know I don't drink coffee, but you get the idea...) with a new friend of mine, Dung. I had previously met Dung, through another Vietnamese friend Bau, who was friends with Liz. Now the great thing here is that people are always asking you to go for coffee, and I am certainly not one to turn down the offer. So avoiding all the tourist style places, we drove /cycled to a really nice looking local coffee shop, where we began chatting about all kinds of stuff, when out of nowhere, a woman appeared to fall to the floor next to our table, it soon became apparent that she had been pushed to the floor by a man standing over her, with a couple of other people standing close by the pair. Suddenly in the middle of this coffee place, the man began to try and seriously beat the woman, as the other people tried to stop him, (I won't give any detail of what happened because it really was some of the worst violence I have ever seen between a man and a woman). This argument then spilled out on to the street, where more local onlookers tried to free the woman from this guy's grip, before she finally managed to run back into the coffee shop. The man then again ran into the coffee shop to find her, but could not and eventually left. I meanwhile had been trying to insist to the staff to call the police, but they continually told me there was no need to call the police and I should stay away. The most shocking thing was how public this entire event was, because I can assure you, here in Hoi An you do not see any serious display of emotion of any kind in public, by local people. Admittedly this man was drunk, but the reaction of other people really surprised me. And you have to ask yourself, why people would not want to involve the police in such a serious assault? I have heard stories of people fearing the police, which explains why people in motorbike accidents just get up, check they are ok, and ride off quickly. This would not have happened in a tourist area, not a chance... I am aware of many situations here where women are treated very poorly by their husbands, and women certainly are expected to make many sacrifices once they are married, whilst the husband appears (to me at least) to be able to continue as he pleases. I must say that I have met many very nice Vietnamese men, who clearly adore their wife and family, but this event certainly reinforced to me just how fundamentally different life can be here in Hoi An.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241272530682315266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJK7kgxYJ4JUbORMuEDtCBtQmmRPQFdp45B5oAn0b3dmTPhJgoad-lMw8QiwpeIVxwo8s3Lxkz7fwuBi8w8YXXN3eE9zb0dOqi32bzKSP6HbROeFVjuMT7g_xcfWyNe-fbj9yTz_Ji75r7/s400/IMG_0368.jpg" border="0" />To more work related matters, I have come across some more very touching cases this past week, including a family of 6, both parents lives near the beach and fish, with 4 boys, 2 of which have muscular dystrophy, one 11, and one 14. Neither can longer walk independently, and it is likely that with the form of the disease they have, both will have died by their late teens, early 20's. I visited them yesterday with our Physiotherapists to check and maintain a wheelchair we have provided for the older boy. Whilst we did this both parents were checking and repairing their nets for fishing, and the younger boy of 11 was sat on a little scooter board, (seat with casters -wheels) so he could at least push himself around.<br /><br /><div>A second case which really had me thinking, was that of a 21 year old girl with cerebral palsy, whose mother was blind in one eye, the father was almost completely blind, and had an amputated arm, and whose grandmother was allegedly senile... we were actually there to see one of her younger brothers to see if we could sponsor his education as the family could not afford to send him to school. This girl had been given a 'wheelchair' made out of plastic garden chair attached to a metal frame, by some guy who proudly documents his 'achievements' on some website, but this is not as good as it seems. Many people have come and donated things in good will, but this help has only worsened some children's condition because the person trying to help does not have any knowledge of what is required. This poor girl had very inflamed and scratched skin at the elbows where her arms rubbed against the plastic, and the chair offered no head support, which actually worsened her general body position.... </div><br /><div>The third case I want to mention is a particularly sad situation, and not one I came across though work. Its the case of a 12 year old boy who was born with HIV, his older sister and both parents have already died, (his sister at the age of 12), and he know lives a very isolated existence with his grandmother. He is not 'allowed' to go to school, because the other children's parents and even the teachers are scared that he will fight and pass on the HIV to other children. Even the other children who live close by, of which there are not many, are told by their parents not to play with him because of his illness. He already lives in a remote little village, but the isolation he faces is perhaps the saddest part of this story.</div><br /><div>Finally, I must share one of my other work cases with you, it is another boy with muscular dystrophy, he is around 15, could no longer walk, and had stopped attending school, he had already described how felt ashamed to go out places because of his 'disability/illness'. There is nothing wrong with this child's mind, and he enjoyed going to school and likes watching football and listening to music. I saw him maybe 2/3 months ago and he looked ok. When I went back to see him this last week, he was in a plaster cast form below his left knee, all the way up to and above his hip. You need to understand that his muscles were already wasting away, so being stuck in this plaster for three months, is really not going to help. The doctors at the hospital did not fix the fracture of his femur bone, they just put him in plaster... (this could have been due to him having problems with his breathing, so very risky to put him asleep for an operation), so now this boy can not even sit up, because the plaster stops him from bending over... he has to lie on a nappy to go to the toilet, and the reason for all this?????... a drunken motorcyclist hit the boy, on the road/pavement, whilst he was in his wheelchair.... the family can not force the driver of the motorcycle to pay or do anything, they simply must accept it and move on... and pay for the help at the hospital...</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241271996571211746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe_0DgLjnZ7BCP1eHrkIxhzmORftD9sSEDofQebcCrSdSIPgh0faNjhi-1NgyNttRKk79FFoKkfJhLGs_YDNINjDhwe5_EZoYqA34fDBxmeqWnIghG9j4Z5-RZ_-iQZCaMP-GfEEVnLuu/s400/DSCF2687.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>I simply hope this weeks email gives people a little insight into what life can be like for people in this region of Vietnam, just ten minutes away from the cafes, tailors and the beach, live the real faces of Hoi An, of which most tourists will never see. </div><br /><div>The pictures I have on this weeks blog are of kids I work with, but are not of the children who I have talked about, and I just want to say I have asked permission to use these pictures on my blog.</div><br /><div>Regards from Vietnam.</div><div>Dan</div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-14143084254703105402008-08-28T10:11:00.000-07:002008-08-28T10:55:08.915-07:00Week 17 - The TriathlonHello everybody, well I could about a few events this week, but one event stands out more than any, and that's simply because it was such an unusual and unexpected event I found myself taking part in. The T<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PtFr902A9McRO5VPKXCv3IKuLfLghQ_KpjfOou4lnhDHi-AfaGtc5G8Xtzl2Psb-4OwNZrhkxIHUIwyARR0NigQqPaD1ivUBSu8gW5nOwLPfjboaU8MTHXi_dXf0Gewld5AE0Y_1d7LE/s1600-h/DSCF3595.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239627856537716546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PtFr902A9McRO5VPKXCv3IKuLfLghQ_KpjfOou4lnhDHi-AfaGtc5G8Xtzl2Psb-4OwNZrhkxIHUIwyARR0NigQqPaD1ivUBSu8gW5nOwLPfjboaU8MTHXi_dXf0Gewld5AE0Y_1d7LE/s320/DSCF3595.JPG" border="0" /></a>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 <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRzzC_dVEPQXwBokzz4Sy5NVUbGaDQ0blNKStKnRpOBeNun9kRUXZl16z28mflCPuPNX0xuiEBQvdEkiyU62qXt3JvR0XtgV3aByN7vKZ7PdYRmniO7MKYPfBDGCaLbASTgRkDXAFcTKW/s1600-h/DSCF3624.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239626357302915154" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRzzC_dVEPQXwBokzz4Sy5NVUbGaDQ0blNKStKnRpOBeNun9kRUXZl16z28mflCPuPNX0xuiEBQvdEkiyU62qXt3JvR0XtgV3aByN7vKZ7PdYRmniO7MKYPfBDGCaLbASTgRkDXAFcTKW/s320/DSCF3624.JPG" border="0" /></a>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!<br /><div><div><div><div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239626689296486274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_cnSs-21yfWJu1sam65uEIPY0pLk3IdGBbFXkL9rpCEyf6wRssZaQkOAG_Q4EA3gJqyjW4U9UX8hJzRMTRyerPiuudd_Kzp5VfsaF363j07Udk3LrA-rNQ0jRiYQbGM840NdWJ41XdPK/s320/DSCF3634.JPG" border="0" /> 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?!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239628289207376114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcU_cNoPzTvNPki8lutDXYwtAEr4wX_mvCXasc23PXNqlzzffGkPMUz2VUhLYdBrq-dSi1VnRhTRspUMP_ynwg6WMBoO_PLVHzTTu2vL7avj9xTU3FTGXC-Uo7bdkIvnUC44P75KeaYyv/s400/DSCF3641.JPG" border="0" />All in all, the day was fun and I never thought I would be taking part in a Triathlon, in Vietnam or anywhere else!!!<br /><div>Regards from Vietnam</div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-4093576671338872112008-08-17T05:51:00.000-07:002008-08-20T00:36:21.202-07:00Week 16 - 'a little help from your friends' & the kindness of strangers.Hello everybody,<br /><div><div><div>As this weekend marks the start of the English football season, I could not go without mentioning how relieved I was with Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Sunderland yesterday, and 'come on' Newcastle let's hope you give Man Utd a good beating! Ok, now that's out of my system I'll get back to more Vietnamese matters, not that English football is not a part of life here... almost every game is on, I may never leave here!!!</div><br /><div>This week has been a really nice relaxing week and mainly because of the visit of my friend Sarah, (who I have known ever since November 2001, when we were both students at a Hospital near Manchester). Sarah now lives in London, after having some time in North Vietnam, she came to join me for a week of relaxation here <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235485972162959554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuexYw6fOmhOI59-DmOI61kuJKw_OqALXLCqV4mowslwnYQ-uvIMoeVIqoToOnaKdbRDD6a_pJNbUewoGQKtL0w4h2ghFdIVQl8Bbz4Ke9mH2jaRJpKTcbCXFNg5oxETP-WZ3F5IcSrqTs/s400/DSCF3481.JPG" border="0" />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!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235486337252689058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwtCid_v8_LB1FY-J4jPnzVAsQI0pFWKGk2kL1VRGyCOzXDjeTI7SjYqucNxPUcTNyznlWPIZFCKn6PX5ZMw-dhmeYDesvnYQ_OXNHRo9C3xj3SZ32O29BE9SQWlwUQtq2sc8D1AInnr7/s400/DSCF3554.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>The International Triathlon is just 6 days away, and after a practice 40k ride today on the course I am starting to wonder just what I have let myself in for! The smallest amount of wind on a pretty flat course had me peddling at the speed of a snail during the last 5k. Anyway, with my Australian swimming teacher friend (liz) doing the 1.5 swim, and my Vietnamese colleague (Loc) is doing the 10k run, I get to do the in between 40k bike ride. On today's adventure ride, one of the many locals who like to shout out 'hello' actually drove his motorcycle along with me for about 5 kilometres, and wanted me to stop for coffee with him, mid way through my ride, I tried my best to explain (through the sun-cream sweat that was pouring off me) that I was trying to train for a race! I had to settle for visiting his cafe some time in the next 7 days! hmm... </div><br /><div>Another example of random niceness, which I find is sadly lacking from everyday life at home, was again after another Saturday matinee movie trip to Da Nang! After dropping Sarah at the airport I decided to walk randomly to the supermarket, which took me through a park by a lake. Many people were sitting in the shade, under trees, and a few kids were sitting around laughing. One group of kids saw me, and like most locals, they were quick to shout over hello. When I responded with a hello of my own, they asked me over to sit and talk with them. They were a group of University students studying tourism, and despite ranging from 19-24, they looked between 14-18. Still we sat down on the grass and talked for a good half hour about whatever questions they could form in English! It was just another example of how friendly and nice some people are here! Unfortunately any trip to Da Nang is now not complete without the guaranteed full blown 'hostage style' negotiation about the price of a bus ticket. So after another good 20 minutes of shouting, being ignored, being stared at, and finally winning out to pay just 12.000 dong, I was able to finally sit in peace for the last journey home. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235486614885332130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3OLaFYhy7zb30A3OkIiMI7ZwaMZfz_oz77IvrrLknDObZqOREyYYl1QjFukgTn-4Sa_hOFenq30dISvN9Y8hMW4K7mmi0fnAshSXwAoiU9h3DMHjiDmPNBKPTGHWoDfG5rZ4cGC33nJs/s400/DSCF3494.JPG" border="0" />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 <a href="http://www.streetkidsinvietnam.com/">http://www.streetkidsinvietnam.com/</a> for more information about such cases.<br /><div></div><div>Regards from Vietnam, (oh and please leave a comment if you are actually reading this blog!)</div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Dan </div></div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-11017012230349952092008-08-11T07:58:00.000-07:002008-08-20T00:16:35.129-07:00Week 15 - 'Supermarket Sweep'Hello everybody! <div><div>Well another week passes by and finally the weather cools down here in Hoi An, we have even had 4/5 days with rain. Whilst the cooler weather has made our livers easier in Hoi An, I feel I must mention the floods in North Vietnam which have killed at least 100 people in the last couple of days. This is just an example of how delicate the climate is here, only a short burst of rain can cause instant flooding and fatalities, and whilst the same thing happens each year, there is simply not enough money for local people to better there living conditions, or indeed change the location of home to prevent the damage from this annual weather. I'm simply waiting for the rain and floods to come here, which people tell me they inevitable will.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233286115127213586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0pyVQ6hOmYFljJo1923q7y9pzr6hNidOC2nLDOHvbJUwRBBSL2CrrzE4tAnjczPAtrV3dxF94pXbCJ-pjWKEA4aXdpfnxEYmuAYJ9QBuF0oaeVucuFa2cdN657toFOHB02aGhv6psI34/s400/DSCF3467.JPG" border="0" /> 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!<br /><div>I managed to meet Sarah later that day and they'll be more of her visit in next weeks blog!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233286516095763858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-i3Eh4GibL6CEkeY0CTpz4pHdmWDGLVTu18dvVdv2v75JVHnnR9rYkyuO1VCpcIzUrCyBIapg84KJG5JI4ezspwkXgUltHgiO8ihA-9PXxRMRuuY-kdnmR4r1SPKAJMOJT_EtZ857wZbX/s400/DSCF3428.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>The other big news for me this week is not related to Vietnam, but I wanted to share it with you all! I wrote an article for an Occupational Therapy Magazine in the UK, the article was about my time and observations in Romania, and it was published in the OT News Magazine August Edition! </div><br /><div>Back to Vietnam, and my training for the 40k bike ride (as part of a triathlon relay team) continues. Unfortunately it still consists of me having to get up at 0500 each morning to go cycling because it's still cool enough to cycle for over an hour... I'm up to around 27k rides, and have about 10 days left to hit hte 40k mark!! The major benefit it that I get to cycle through little local provinces that no westerners pass through, so you feel almost famous, as throughout the entire hourney, there are cries of 'hello' coming from random houses or people in fields... I have perfected a royal riding wave, that doesn't distract me too much! </div><br /><div>I hope to return to a more tourist lifestyle this week, and hope that will bring a few more interesting tales for me to share!</div><br /><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan </div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-66774129557025870572008-08-06T07:40:00.000-07:002008-08-20T00:37:21.516-07:00Vietnam Week 14 - Pigs Brain, Chicken Feet & Local Buses<div><br /><div>Hello everybody,<br />Sorry for the small delay in posting this week's blog, but due to a busy social life, and an equally frustrating battle with my computer (I lost the battle!), this has been the first chance where I have been able to sit down with time to spare and write about my week.</div><br /><br /><div>Week 14 has certainly been an eventful one, and perhaps a significant week for me personally. I have eaten pigs brains at my lovely neighbours, as well as going to the beach at 0530 most mornings with my them. I have also agreed to take part in a triathlon relay team, and am preparing to do a 40k bike ride in 3 weeks, and just like in Romania, I have a tale to tell about using local transport! On a personal level I have come to make some realisations about how difficult life can be in a culture where there are many barriers to actually becoming part of the local community.<br /><br />Ok so to start with, I should talk about some of the activities with my neighbours first of all. As I have described, our house is surrounded by cafes, a cafe to the right, a cafe to the left, and one opposite! We need to take turns to eat at them all, so no one gets too jealous! As I described last week, I went to the beach with my neighbours from Laugh Cafe, and I have continued to do so for most of the week, I even managed to get up f<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231416966809239634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTwknARtD8xX5byOUHmzFAlPY6TddMu_rsPagIffYsIVYijYrQrjIHZuUq8WFo44warxZnp8hsxO2q4xdoHAOEdpTe-MpMPv3rypQn_rUrnt_YVpflXAZKWCgdHIiE-x9MZBnXM9zLKK4/s400/DSCF3449.JPG" border="0" />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!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231419112056764818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFb9kGp8UAnDAO-j_5z1TmknBSj5iDp2DqREU1h2G3nXbJW9lmhjjs2FOBW-ltxh8UqdUsAn_DMApYvYy_1WSPmDxX130c82GL59jv5MgIpUk2Sqv0UC1CGmQfzRxzzXb9qT3PYZ4WDwo/s400/DSCF3465.JPG" border="0" /><br />My next mini-adventure came about when I unexpectedly got a day off last week, due to having no electricity in work, (which is not uncommon) here. So I decided that as the city of Da Nang is only an hour bus ride away I'd do things the local way. My neighbour offered to take me to the bus station, and did so with me sitting on the back of her bicycle, she also spoke with the bus driver to make sure I got charged the local price of 10,000 dong (33pence). So one hour later, I was stood outside the main supermarket in Da Nang, despite the bus travelling at an average speed of 5 miles an hour! I was pleased with my discovery of a bowling alley, and an English speaking cinema at the second supermarket 'Big C'. Having bought some food to finally stock up my fridge with, I headed to the supermarket entrance to find a way to the bus stop. No motorcycle drivers were either willing or able to understand that I didn't want them to take me all the way home. Having been able to find the bus stop with the use of a one dollar bill, and a guy with a bicycle, the bus rolled right up after just 2 minutes. Having jumped on the bus I was ready for a peaceful ride home, especially after seeing some rain clouds gathering above. I'd been on the bus all of a minute when the guy who comes round to collect the fares, approached, he looked at me for a few seconds and then showed me a 50,000 dong note (5 x the local 10,000 fare) I laughed and told him no, and that I would pay 10,00. he said no and returned 30 seconds later with another Vietnamese guy, who spoke a little English. 30,000 was this guys offer, to which I again laughed and said no, trying to explain that I had already done this journey today and was not going to pay more than 10,000. I even had a piece of paper with with an explanation (in Vietnamese) that said I was living volunteering here and please charge me local prices. This had no effect, and they guy's next trick was to pretend that new passenger (Vietnamese girl) had paid 50,000. So he again said 50,000 which just made me lose it a bit, and I began to shout, and bang my seat, telling the guy to go away, because I would not pay him. The other passengers began to watch was what going on, and knew what was happening, but refused to help. This annoyed me further, and when the guy returned with a tourist by his side, who he had overcharged, and tried to get the tourist to convince me to pay more, I really began to shout! I finally just shouted 'go away' very loudly and turned away. The guy finally returned, and tapped me on the shoulder without saying anything and just held his hand out.... I gave him 10,000, and was happy to say very loudly to the entire bus, that I had paid the local fare! I just hate blatant discrimination... it wasn't even done discreetly, that's what ticks me off!!! 1-0 for moral crusade!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231418694470875970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHew21WwOQydd6kcYiL5JgjtLeisM2l4F03LMhSzqJv9-PUhyphenhyphenUsuTUojjB-pmuDodbIuffayh5uSJwCOxN9y2wPzUuMuen_tx1HB2JMtW7bCiNC7wcV5DqupH8zmlaTJAwmwjorxImeJxk/s400/DSCF3463.JPG" border="0" /><br />Despite spending more time with my neighbours I want to talk a little about how I feel about the culture here, and how it does not really allow for non-Vietnamese people to fully integrate. I have to say that this is simply my personal experience, and may be very different in other parts of Vietnam. Here in Hoi An, there is a constant stream of tourists, and the main trade is the tourist trade. It is quite a rural town, and many people in the surrounding areas are relatively poor, with many people fishing, sewing for the tailor trade, working in cafes or working in the rice fields. Everybody I have met here, is very nice superficially, but as there are no places where both local people and non-local meet, then it is really very little opportunity to spend time with local people. Most locals here go to bed very early too, because they wake up and exercise from 0500 onwards, and the few local people who are awake late, are working in restaurants. It's difficult to know if the difference in costs of living... (many local people would find most of the places here expensive to eat), or the difference in the typical daily routine, or the lack of social opportunities for people to mix are the reasons for this feeling. There is also an element of control from the government that may play a part in this situation. There are government rules about Vietnamese and non Vietnamese people staying in the same room in hotels, or in even private houses. Then on a more local level, this is a very conservative town, and people have their own opinions and suspicions about 'westerners' and what they are doing here. This is a very brief insight into this idea, but one I hope will make you think about the non-local people who may be living in your own society.<br /><br />Regards from Vietnam<br />Dan </div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-31013233176618060532008-07-27T05:38:00.000-07:002008-07-27T05:50:42.409-07:00Week 13 - As the heat continues...<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZjQvYIeXSdpLDmtNQby-vQu1kfq2_SJry_GU8Fj0MErzcyCHwHU9QoVm1psq865j1LEhKp94inK_3C8brgVooinBRkngqTM1RC3zchoqijVNfHbLYibIwttGkVb4aXJolWFy02h28TgL/s1600-h/DSCF3426.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227674410275432770" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZjQvYIeXSdpLDmtNQby-vQu1kfq2_SJry_GU8Fj0MErzcyCHwHU9QoVm1psq865j1LEhKp94inK_3C8brgVooinBRkngqTM1RC3zchoqijVNfHbLYibIwttGkVb4aXJolWFy02h28TgL/s400/DSCF3426.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Well hello there everybody!<br />As the heat and humidity just seems to increase, my activity rapidly decreases! I have now spent the last two weekends just sitting at home, reading/watching films, or at the beach either first thing in the morning or late in the early evening, when the sun doesn't bake me! In fact this morning i had arranged to meet my lovely neighbours, from 'Laugh Cafe' at 0530.... I managed to get up, and joined many local people for their morning exercise at the beach, though my neighbours were still sleeping... this is quite funny as they regularly make fun of me for sleeping in! The beach itself was just beautiful and the water was so warm, after some nice chat with the locals in the water, I took a stroll down the beach to dry off, where more locals where keen to practice their English, including a 65 year old guy who told me that he gets up every morning at 0430, heads to the beach and does yoga!<br /><br />There will hopefully be some disco adventures next weekend in Da Nang. So given that the only major social event of the week has been my (now weekly) tennis game with my colleague John, at 8pm each Thursday, I think it's more appropriate to talk about some of my work related activities this week. A little boy came into the clinic at CHIA this week with his mother, he was about 8/9 years old. After speaking with the mother through an interpreter, we found out that the little boy had been for some tests in Saigon, and the doctors believed he might have the Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. This is a degenerative muscle disease, that reduces a person's life expectancy. The family had just been given a piece of paper with the results of some medical tests, which simply had the word 'Duchenne' on it. No doctor had told the family what this disease is, and how it is going to affect the boy's life, he probably will be unable to walk in a couple of years, and eventually the muscles that help him breathe will start to waste. The family were unaware of w<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcslkVUkYdT28IJfGMQr-u5AWogYTnjm_OEu-oUsyLOhuUGIaeflCRtLImJK_JgIG8h_sqU08DVk-v0CZdPbcRc6qxYO5yxzwwwntwcRt-HUsRhfPqTtbuCl-1HqmQeAiRQpW5fK8YzMyi/s1600-h/DSCF2941.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227675189718413378" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcslkVUkYdT28IJfGMQr-u5AWogYTnjm_OEu-oUsyLOhuUGIaeflCRtLImJK_JgIG8h_sqU08DVk-v0CZdPbcRc6qxYO5yxzwwwntwcRt-HUsRhfPqTtbuCl-1HqmQeAiRQpW5fK8YzMyi/s400/DSCF2941.JPG" border="0" /></a>hat a major impact this was going to have on the boy. This leaves us at CHIA with a very difficult choice to make, about if and how we should discuss this with the family, and how will they cope with hearing such news that the little boy will become more disabled with time, and live a shortened life. This is not an uncommon situation here, as Doctor's do not talk with the families of children like this, and the family go on for years sometimes thinking that maybe one day the child will get better. There are other issues to consider here about the social and cultural beliefs held by some people in this country. Here in Hoi An, which is a small countryside town, the people who live in the areas around the town are not necessarily exposed to issues about health and disability. This isn't taught at school, and certainly many poorer families who have worked all their lives would have had no or little understanding of what disability is. I have been told that there remains some beliefs that having a disabled child is a result of some kind of karma or punishment on the family for a past bad act. I have also recently been told that some people in this area worry that exposure to disabled children can even lead to them having a disabled child themselves. It's such a different world here, and I still find myself getting constantly surprised by these kind of thoughts and feelings, that I have never been exposed to before.<br /><br />On a more social and friendly note, I must share with all, a nice story of neighbourly kindness. My lovely neighbours (again from the cafe next door) noticed my bag that I take my computer to work in was starting to break. They insisted on trying to fix it for me, and when they couldn't they went and bought me a new bag. This act in itself may seem nothing other than a little kindness, but when you consider the fact that the cook, (Hung) next door, is working 7 days a week, to support herself, and three of her younger sisters, (one of which is currently at University), getting me a new bag, really shouldn't be something that they should do.<br /><br />Anyone wanting to leave comments on this blog, please do.. and not just so I know you are actually reading it!!!<br />Hope all is well where ever you are!<br />Regards from Vietnam<br />Dan</div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-22688252735939060562008-07-20T06:05:00.000-07:002008-07-20T07:19:05.426-07:00Week 12 - 'Full Moon' celebrations, sunrise swimming & a traveller's tale!Another wide array of experiences to choose from this week, including the visit of the Hanoi street children (accompanied by my friend Phuong) from the 'Blue Dragon' organisation, the monthly 'full moon' celebration, visits from more travelling buddies from Ha Long Bay (Dorina & Sebastian) and a few other eventful, if not disturbing moments from the last seven days...<br /><div>I guess the full<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oLua1NioQKoppE9Gz6hdk-giukAxsGsaFfUZ3hpTBfxVgBx9kCwm4GQ_aSkuwwuZrh2KaWxinSs-HQeBtGzwM1bvl10YnF4ephFln_8BguFXwhK0qGhDTRCio1wp31-ScCwBKK_m1HVc/s1600-h/DSCF3398.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225099140634310194" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oLua1NioQKoppE9Gz6hdk-giukAxsGsaFfUZ3hpTBfxVgBx9kCwm4GQ_aSkuwwuZrh2KaWxinSs-HQeBtGzwM1bvl10YnF4ephFln_8BguFXwhK0qGhDTRCio1wp31-ScCwBKK_m1HVc/s200/DSCF3398.JPG" border="0" /></a> moon celebration was definitely the highlight, but I'll get on to that shortly. As last week's blog ended with the 15 hour bus journey with the Hanoi kids, I'll start with them this week. After they finished their camp in Da Nang, they came to stay with their Hoi An counterparts, and I soon found myself regretting having agreed to help them go swimming, as the kids, yeah the kids, decided they wanted to go at 0530 in the morning!!! No joke!!! So having promised, I went to the beach for an hour and it was so beautiful, and not too quiet either, the water was warm and we all had fun, especially trying to teach some of the kids to float and swim! I also joined the kids for a karaoke session on the Wednesday, which was entirely in Vietnamese, and some of the kids even thought I spoke Vietnamese after I sang a Vietnamese songs with one of them! Not sure what that says about my singing! The kids and my friend returned to Hanoi (up north) on Thursday and I have to say I miss them, despite only having to got to know them last week.</div><br /><div>Wednesday night was this month's full moon celebration here, and despite having been here for the 2 previous full moon celebrations, I had yet to go explore the old town during these nights. Basically, the<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlzvYwFIM6RogHX78tXmemRvLaBWIryggkuEKCXOhUG1YsJ0mo2Q516gc4qcY0wRmCybJ8_1YT5hQw22PESOpT5yk9ncuvdOO0BVpvNFYVg-RQ0ca7bRpx4XYXD-JiVQS8GC-nTHSoa5w/s1600-h/DSCF3417.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225099133257729618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 177px" height="226" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlzvYwFIM6RogHX78tXmemRvLaBWIryggkuEKCXOhUG1YsJ0mo2Q516gc4qcY0wRmCybJ8_1YT5hQw22PESOpT5yk9ncuvdOO0BVpvNFYVg-RQ0ca7bRpx4XYXD-JiVQS8GC-nTHSoa5w/s200/DSCF3417.JPG" width="150" border="0" /></a> entire old town, stops all traffic, including bicycles, making the area a pedestrian zone. All shops and buildings light coloured lanterns on their outside walls, and there is a boat with some monk-like chanting being broadcast by the river. Many local boats offer a cruise around the river, where there are even more flamed lanterns floating on the river. The scene is very quaint, beautiful, and gives the entire area a romantic setting. By pure chance, I was fortunate enough to have some female company too, in the form of Phuong (see picture). She was equally taken aback by the scene, being form a different part of Vietnam. For those of you planning a visit, this is one thing to definitely put on your itinerary, should you time your trip accordingly!</div><br /><div>I have often alluded to the dangers of motorcycle driving here, and Friday night this week proved the dangers of simply crossing the road. Whilst a group of us sat having our regular Friday night drink at 'Treats' bar, we heard a rather nasty sounding collision, which sounded like two motorbikes colliding, however we soon realised that a young western child had been hit by a local on a motorcycle, the boy had been flung up in the air, and the driver had sped off. The reason for the driver speeding off, was rumored to be that it is fairly realistic threat of jail for a local Vietnamese person for colliding with a westerner. The child had been unaccompanied on the road, which was dangerous enough, yet fortunately after a hospital check-up the child was just shaken and had no lasting damage. The issue here is all about the justice system, as you often see many collisions where people just get up, and get away, as no one can afford to have their bikes impounded by police, if the police get there quick enough. As families of up to 5 regularly travel on bikes here, and many tourist simply don't understand how to cross the road here (don't ever hesitate and let traffic go around you), accidents are a daily occurrence. </div><br /><div>One more thought for the week, an acquaintance of mine, (who shall remain nam<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaFHoaARHewjDTBKaQGnBQEX7lPaWqE_tb7Gkz6ATMdhxMIs4QTtNcUk-p_yR60gmokB3uiRV9jmCwjfXElFSxfRnm2-B3K3wYbE0K8u07jYsjCiEpoZ2xSueVCDwFFpT5I6qYlnQi1lJ/s1600-h/DSCF3409.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225099136815731954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaFHoaARHewjDTBKaQGnBQEX7lPaWqE_tb7Gkz6ATMdhxMIs4QTtNcUk-p_yR60gmokB3uiRV9jmCwjfXElFSxfRnm2-B3K3wYbE0K8u07jYsjCiEpoZ2xSueVCDwFFpT5I6qYlnQi1lJ/s200/DSCF3409.JPG" border="0" /></a>eless for this story) told me about his recent experience when trying to buy condoms here at a pharmacy. Sex is not something that is openly discussed here in the conservative town of Hoi An, and where public affection is never expressed by locals. So to buy condoms was always going to be interesting experience, especially as they do not have them on display! After the girl behind the counter had apparently tried to understand his rather basic explanation, he was given a yellow piece of paper, which had the question 'what is your illness/problem' on the top, and on the left hand side of the paper was the Vietnamese word, on the right was the English word. He searched in vain for the closest word, which was 'contraceptive pill' and tried to say "for men, for men", whilst the girl continued to look blankly at him... eventually her colleague joined her, who spoke a touch more English, looked at the paper, and pointed to the word contraceptive again with a confused look... he repeated "for men" and again tried in vain to demonstrate what he wanted, without being too provocative! When the second girl eventually responded with a "oh a pill... Viagra"... he was close to giving up, before a shake of the head, was greeted with a final gasp of understanding, and one of the girls ran off to the back room, and returned with a fair amount of condom packets! He bought them, with some giggling from the staff, and was quick to share his story with a few of us over a beer...a true travellers tale! </div><br /><div>One final piece of information, it's been around 37-40 degrees here this week, and by 4pm each day I am ready to sleep, because working in this heat is unbearable, and I truly understand why the people here don't ever seem to rush around!</div><div>Regards from Vietnam</div><div>Dan</div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680760614664529874.post-11595356938403328002008-07-13T07:21:00.000-07:002008-07-13T18:53:45.474-07:00Vietnam - week 11 - Holidays in Ha Long Bay & Hanoi<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5XZRJPvFpeNA4palDIX0XI3zbJriWUj6RHIo9U3ssfUKdy5SO5re4pjXTiMK1uKJv2PQs3Tod6WIGndhM7EPxS9ozalvq3uC1XpFTpfRJiK_q3H1oiQLrKvJsPaIDcrAtQTXm9qYJcJr/s1600-h/DSCF3321.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222531687563871170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5XZRJPvFpeNA4palDIX0XI3zbJriWUj6RHIo9U3ssfUKdy5SO5re4pjXTiMK1uKJv2PQs3Tod6WIGndhM7EPxS9ozalvq3uC1XpFTpfRJiK_q3H1oiQLrKvJsPaIDcrAtQTXm9qYJcJr/s200/DSCF3321.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Life during the past 7 days has been full of new adventures, relaxation and transport chaos. After my two days in the mountain town of Sapa, we (myself & Anne) headed back to Hanoi, on the overnight sleeper train, before catching the bus just 2 hours later to begin a 3 day tour of the Ha Long Bay region off the north coast of Vietnam. Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay is famous for the Island caves, and sailing around the rock formations off the coast of Ha Long City. This is also a typical holiday 'resort' for the North Vietnamese. The 3-day tour included one night on a 'junk' boat, followed by one night on Cat Ba Island (National Park) with a mountain walk /scramble, swimming in the bay, and some kayaking through caves! All this with a continually varying number of passengers, which was completely in contrast to the description from the travel agent, as to why we should book the 'deluxe' cruise, instead of the standard one. I'm fairly sure that there was no mention of the actual 'on board wildlife' (rats on the ship) which led to some of the passengers sleeping on deck, as opposed to the in the room with the rats. There was also little mention of the ever changing guides, or the lack of any 'power' in the cabin rooms, whilst the ship's engine was on. Highlights of the tour included, reasonable sea food (open for debate), stunning scenery, and the visit to Monkey Island, where the monkeys only appeared as we headed away from the Islands... probably laughing at our attempts to scramble up the rocks to find them! The continually changing tour guides continually lied to us about the itinerary for each day, and the conditions of the walks/treks that we were going to do, telling us that flip flops ('thongs' for you Aussies) would be more than suitable to scramble up wet slippery mountain paths! The lies continued to the point where I was pleading with the tour guide to get me to a hotel so I could have my first shower in days.... Still, despite my verbal swipes at the Vietnamese tourist trade, (most of which would lie through their teeth to make some money), I had a great trip, meeting lots of interesting travellers of all descriptions, and enjoyed being a tourist, even with an organised itinerary! My tip for future travellers here in Vietnam, is don't expect to always get what you pay for, or is described to you by the travel agents - then you won't be disappointed.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrLt_mUKATYKNdkulWvOnlqEOJv_YgGM8a8eC7Wa6_Gglvxe65TGjtvSyG-tWLdPqgD2BL-yb1Guue6RPiqCok-u0OHi7wTwatnGPjQ7ZA3rI7DQtgZg5qZoa5Zmflf1CgzLxtsSyhJ0m/s1600-h/DSCF3387.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222532096262738834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrLt_mUKATYKNdkulWvOnlqEOJv_YgGM8a8eC7Wa6_Gglvxe65TGjtvSyG-tWLdPqgD2BL-yb1Guue6RPiqCok-u0OHi7wTwatnGPjQ7ZA3rI7DQtgZg5qZoa5Zmflf1CgzLxtsSyhJ0m/s200/DSCF3387.JPG" border="0" /></a> After returning to the thriving city of Hanoi, myself and Anne checked into 'Prince 79' hotel, in the old quarter of Hanoi. This is a busy lively modern city that offers great food and entertainment, and provides near death experiences at every street crossing due to the sheer number and unpredictability of the motorcycles, whizzing through the streets! A short walk away was the city centre lake, where Hanoi comes to life throughout the day with people getting up from the early hours to walk, run or exercise in a number of ways around the lake. It remains busy all day with tourists and people just sitting around the lake reading, talking or simply relaxing. There is a water puppet theatre by this lake and each of the close by streets are themed into selling particular goods, some streets selling shoes, some clothes etc etc... it's almost like a game working out what type of goods each section of streets are selling. My time in Hanoi had a dual purpose, both relaxing with Anne, and my friend Phuong (who I met 8 weeks previously in Hoi An at work), and visiting the Blue Dragon organisation (working with 'street kids' - kids who either live or work selling things on the street). There is a branch of the Blue Dragon organisation in my town of Hoi An. My visit to this organisation involved a wonderful day of swimming with a group of disabled children, joining in an art session, at the drop-in centre, and then attending the 'monthly' birthday party celebrating the birthdays of any of the kids that month, and also showcasing some of the seriously talented kids, including some dancing (hip-hop style). This centre certainly had some impressive workings, and I had to admit I was certainly envious for the amount of local resources that were available in the Hanoi area, as opposed to a complete lack of any specialist health resources in Hoi An. There was also hugely noticeable regional difference between the people Hanoi and my town of Hoi An. Hanoi is a city with far greater exposure to the Western culture and this is evident not only in the variety of worldly food available, prices of food, clothes, but also in the far more 'open' dress code of the local people. Here the women dress with less restriction, as opposed to the seriously conservative style in Hoi An, where a females shoulders and chest are almost never exposed.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPm_dj0eZfS1D0EAtbSM-r7bXbYE7oDSaFSMX9AZWxblpYihcSgOyq31EWC4U3e_sSnfdydjGa1pFpsdRq5ecZoH0zWO_v7NPIxlwSHYnB_2BfQTbGVPMjyrNNp5rUrA9ig_gojNiDBw-/s1600-h/DSCF3405.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222532522899290882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPm_dj0eZfS1D0EAtbSM-r7bXbYE7oDSaFSMX9AZWxblpYihcSgOyq31EWC4U3e_sSnfdydjGa1pFpsdRq5ecZoH0zWO_v7NPIxlwSHYnB_2BfQTbGVPMjyrNNp5rUrA9ig_gojNiDBw-/s200/DSCF3405.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Friday's main adventure apart from another 'interesting' massage, where the women again joined me on the massage table hmm.... was taking the bus back from Hanoi to Hoi An, total journey time was from 18-30 Friday to 1400 Saturday, via a change of Bus in Hue. The reason for me doing this journey was to accompany my friend (Phuong) and some of the kids from Blue Dragon, on an overnight sleeper bus to a camp they were heading to this weekend. I was soon questioning the validity of this journey ten minutes in, as my sleeper seat did not fully recline and I had the very back seat which was shorter than all other seats. When you consider these are seats made for the Vietnamese public, you can imagine what I must have looked like trying to curl up like shrek one of the seven dwarf's beds.... still the rather funny kids we travelled with kept me entertained until I finally managed to sleep for a while. I left the kids as they they got off before me, and headed home for a much needed shower and shave!</div><br /><div>Completely by chance a Dutch couple I met during some of the Ha Long Bay trip, saw me here last night back in Hoi An, and left me a note with my neighbour, so we have just spent the evening together at the local beach, a nice end to a truly breathtaking week!</div></div>Dan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17945159697988503299noreply@blogger.com0