Around the World

Friend A has left for Europe.
Friend R has just returned from Europe.
Friend L is now in Shanghai.
Myself? Leaving for Jinan very soon.

Will the 4 of us ever get to meet up? What globe trotting friends I have!

Mui Ne III

We are now at the red canyon. Why is it called the red canyon? Pretty self-explanatory right? Not many photos here as my camera fell and went kapuut after we had taken the photo below! For those concered about my camera, it miraculously recovered the following day.

Mui Ne II

It was not posed or intentional that both our hands are to our heads. The wind is just too mighty strong over at the sand dune that our hair have gone all crazy! If I hadn't kept my hair in check, I would have looked like a medusa!

Since we were there, we had to try the sand sledding. Basically we just have to sit cross-legged on a long plastic sheet provided by some little kids, the kid gives us a big push down the slope, and off we go! It was really fun! Even scare-dy cat me tried it! A few times some more! But it was a torture having to climb back up the slope after the descend as the sand is so soft that we just sink in when we try to walk. Look, the little boy has to pull my sister up! And look at me! I had to use all fours to get myself back to the top! So unglam! My unsympathetic boy just looked on as I scrambled back up! Hmph!

At the end our visit to the sand dune, there was sand everywhere. Face, ears, lips, mouth, pocket, bag.... Even after a shower, I could still find some sand on my body! Terrible! But I really love this place!

Colour Me Beautiful

Green...... looks too much like algae or leftover vegetables, so next!

Red...... makes me look like I'm bleeding, so next!

White...... will be stained if I drink coffee, no good, so next!

Yellow...... looks like I never brush my teeth often enough, so next!

Blue...... ok and 'safe' colour, but not one of my favourites, so next!

Pink...... I like!!!

So after thinking about all these while looking at the rubberbands under the blinding light of my dentist, Dr Mario, I finally settled on pink for my braces. So there!

If you are asking if it hurts, I would say no. But if you ask me if it hurts while I eat, I say YES! But somehow, the pain doesn't and hasn't spoilt my appetite.

Mui Ne I

Mui Ne is about 4 hours drive away from Ho Chi Minh and is a fishing village. There is nothing much to buy there even though it is a popular tourist spot. There are beautiful beaches, sand dunes and the red canyon to see. Just some photos of the sea first. More of the others later.

Klutz

In JC, I slipped and fell in my own home when I rushed to answer a phone call from 'Agent Ann'.

In university, I fell off the remaining 3 steps of the overhead bridge at the AYE.

When I was teaching in JWSS, I fell at the steps near the technical block. Good thing only a few people saw me then!

Yesterday, I fell by the dustbin at a bus stop. There was a damp (damn) patch!

The worst thing about a fall is not the bruise, cut or sprain. It's the humiliation! This girl, so big already, still don't know how to walk properly! But I always like to console myself that it's because my centre of gravity is too high......

2E1 '04 Gathering

They have all grown up! But they are still what I remembered them to be. XY is still so funny! All those who listened to his orientation camp stories were in stitches after that! CJ still a little quiet. M you need to eat more. JJ is not as shy as before. E is now a mature 'soldier'. The little boys I know have suddenly grew up to be fine, young men! The girls are still as pretty as ever. Must learn to fend off all the buayas in the school!

Though it was a short breakfast outing, I think everyone had a good time catching up. We should do this again! Take care everyone! Hope to see you all soon! Study hard!

Em for Brother

Em is for younger brother or sister in Vietnam. Sometimes along the road, the motorcycle taxi uncles will call out "Em em em" to beckon us to take a ride on their bikes. No thanks, I only trust my students and friends on the motorbikes.

My em, Tuan Anh, has now found a good job in an international company. It's a good chance for him to improve his english and spruce up his resume. Not many people get to work in such a big company. I'm so happy to meet him again. He's the sweetest brother I have! Why?

1. He took the effort to call up and check the venues for the water puppet show, and even brought us to watch it. In fact, it was his first time watching it! Unbelievable!

2. He helped me get a cheap local calling card so that I could easily contact all my other Vietnamese friends.

3. He remembers I love corn tea and bought some for me to bring back home, together with seaweed and guava tea.

4. When we went to our favourite restaurant, he ordered my favourite 'che' (sweet soup) without me having to tell him to do so.

5. He stopped by the road to buy one of my favourite snacks for me. Not once, but twice! When he asked me to eat it quickly before it turned cold, I forced myself to eat some even though it was just after our dinner and I was on the verge of puking. But you know how it is like 吃在口里，甜在心里 or loosely translated as "eat in the mouth, but tastes sweet in the heart"?

Oh, brother!

Me 我

Saw this on friend E's blog and thought it really interesting. So is this me? Go try it too! At the end, there is an analysis of your choices. Almost like a personality test.

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Happiness in Vietnam is......

1. seeing Tuan Anh, Son, Dung, Tyna, Hanh, An, Luan, Thao, Nam, Mdm Huong again

2. riding the motorbike without a helmet, zipping around in a 'bo zheng hu' manner and feeling the wind in the hair

3. drinking countless soda chanh (fresh lemon with soda water and honey/suger), coconuts, ca phe sua da (iced coffee with milk), tra da (iced tea)

4. eating all kinds of Vietnamese food from pho to banh to bun

5. staying in a nice clean hotel that's within budget

6. having the best travel companion (my sissy of course!)

7. taking nice photos and us having happy faces on almost all of them

Photos coming soon..... Please wait! Patience is a virtue.....

Finally...

I'm going off to the land of my brother and son! Haha! At last, I can go back to Vietnam and visit my old friends! Hopefully, my little bit of Vietnamese language has not gone rusty. So excited! So exciting! I'll be gone for about 8 days so don't miss me too much!