Friends Visit from Canada

Well I must apologize for the delay in posting. Things have been rather hectic around here between work, having visitors and taking trips. Plus once I get blogging out of your routine is it pretty easy to forget!

A quick recap of the last 2 months; I had 2 friends from Canada visit and we had the chance to travel to a small island in the south of Vietnam, Phu Quoc and spent one week in Cambodia. An old friend from Halifax stopped by while traveling Vietnam after teaching in Korea for a year. A short- term volunteer from Quebec came to work with me on a special project for a week. I escaped into the mountains for my last holiday weekend in Vietnam. I was going to try to recap all of this in one blog but think it will be best to blog each one separately.


Audrey & Mireille Visit Vietnam and Cambodia

My friend, Audrey, came to visit me in Da Nang for a few days before heading south to meet our other friend Mireille in Saigon. She happened to arrive in Da Nang during the International Fireworks competition! It was a two day competition with the Philippines, Spain, Vietnam, Australia, and China. We stayed in Da Nang for the first night of competition but headed to Hoi An for the second night of competition. China won, we didn't get a chance to see it live but seeing it on TV afterward, it was pretty spectacular.


So we rented a motorbike and headed to Hoi An for 2 days and one night.









In Hoi An, they were participating in Earth Hour. Even the restaurants had their power shut off and there were candles light up in the river. It was so beautiful.













With such a short time in Hoi An, Audrey was still about to get 2 dresses and a winter coat tailor made,












met and had a laugh with Ba Linh, a lovely Vietnamese lady at the beach

had some great food, and a midnight swim in the ocean!

Audrey left me in Da Nang to work for the week and to meet Mireille in Saigon. The plan was for them to spend the week touring in Saigon and the Mekong Delta and I would meet them on Phu Quoc Isand for a few days and then we would head to Cambodia.


So I left Friday after work on a flight to Saigon. Upon my arrival in Saigon the bus company called me to tell me that the bus ticket I reserved 2 weeks early was no longer available and all the buses going to Rach Gia over night were booked and I would have to wait another day to get to Phu Quoc. Long story short I ended up on a bus to Rach Gia that was supposed to get me there in time to catch the boat to Phu Quoc. It ended up being a 12 hour bus ride with many Vietnamese liberally sprawled out sleeping - at one point I woke up on the bus with 3 pair of bare feet 1)dangling in front of my face, 2) on my arm, and 3) laying over my legs! Haha....I wasn't quite sure what people meant when they talked about lack of personal space in Asia....now I know! Finally we arrived in Rach Gia which I wasn't so confident would happen considering my poor Vietnamese and their poor English when I initially boarded the bus.




After a 2.5 hour boat ride and 30 minute motorbike ride, I met Audrey and Mireille relaxing on the beach of our comfy 'resort', we had our own rustic bungalow on a small quiet beach.









After a shower and some food I had forgotten about exhausting trip there.

That evening we walked along the beach to a nearby restaurant and had a lovely evening of catching up.










The next day Audrey and I headed out for a snorkeling trip.













Our last morning on the island we spent relaxing at the beach and doing a yoga class courtesy of a podcast and Audrey's Ipod!!! Even another guest from the hotel joined in.



Then it was off on the boat to Ha Tien, a small Vietnamese town near the Cambodian border. We still weren't sure just how we were getting into Cambodia and on to Phnom Penh but we figured once we get to Ha Tien there would be some information for us.