Toot toot tooter on a vietnam scooter

Oh man Viet Nam is amazing!

So wed night we went for a nice vietnamese dinner at the markets and then Krista showed me "shoe street" filled with shoe vendors.. I will be back! We walked after dinner to Fanny's which is a cute ice cream shop, yum!

Thursday I went to work out at the gym and swam in the pool here.. lovely weather :)
Had a great dinner at home, then took my 1st scooter ride W/ krista and I riding on the same scooter, driven by Dung her personal driver..... lol... not like that, just that she uses the same guy each time so its easier, and nicer for him!
We went to Blue Gecko which turned out to be an Austrlian bar-cool.. but WAY too smokey :( Also lots of older american/canadian (white) men with young hot asian girls-very weird!
We met 2 french guys there to pay for the race on sat! Biked home and bed!

Friday I did gym and pool again but it rained :( Couldn't work out too hard either had to save energy for the race on sat. Friday night we walked to a quaint place for pizza... I had a chixken n rice bake thing, was yum! home and early to bed!

SATURDAY- The day I will NEVER forget :P

So we get up at 4:30am.... meet friends to take a cab to FV hospital to catch our bus, the bus then goes to another stop to pick up a fwe more people and we are on our way heading toward the BLACK VIRGIN MOUNTAIN for our race!
I asked Krista all about it of course cuz she did it last year....... she said I'd do fine and it took them 45 mins up the mountain and 1 hours down... so prob!
Ok so I am set... I can do this... have my water and my ipod ready for this "hike" race up the black mountain!
Krista goes running when we start... I knew she would, hence my ipod!
So it starts with MANY MANY stairs and it just keeps going and going... finally comes to a temple and I swear the asians there thought we were all CRAZY for racing up a mountain!
After the stairs and more stairs came rocks and more rocks... ya very steep trek up this mountain.... I was sweating to death and stopping to catch my breath, as i got higher n higher it got harder and harder!
The mountains elevation is 996 m (3,268 ft) at the top! Which took me 2.5 hours JUST to get to the top..... man I was hating krista as I climbed :P (not really but I was not ready for this)
On our way.. I sort of trekked with some fellow Canadians and we would stop n break together etc.... anyways there was like a line up at one point and so we asked wzup and they were waiting on a territorial MONKEY that was blocking the path (only way up) and looked a lil mean!
One girl was terrified and so I was offereing to go with her past the monkey and we'd be ok.... well she took off before me and so the girl in front of me goes and I follow and the monkey runs at us.... straight to her, right at her face... she screams and falls backwards on the hard rocks.. as the monkey is right in her face... I grab her hand and pull her my way as the sneaky monkey grabs her granola bar that is in her backpack!
She was fine.... she was just scared the monkey would scrath her face... thankfully he did not and he just wanted her food- whew!
Ok survived that... now just need to survive this mountain!!!
SO happy when I made it to the top.. we rested and took pics and enjoyed the view... no rush now :P
Prob stopped for 10-15 mins..then headed down.... which in its own way was very hard as well.
Hard on the knee and ankle joints as we stepped down this steep mountain on rocks and cement like stairs... very strenuous!
They had stopped a few times but my legs were like Jello and so I couldn't stop or it hurt more... so I just kept going... down down down, past american group, past engligh girl who monkey stole her granola bar, past a father and lil son.. ya kids were beating me on the way up!
I just kept going... following along the power lines and luckily the poles were numbered so I sort of new or hoped that the end was near!!!
Noticed the poles at 89 ish and went down to 1!!! Very steep way down! I got to the bottom and an organizer game me some more water and said the rest is about 1km flat land- HOORAY!
I trekked it, passed 2 french ladies on the last bit in!
MADE IT ALIVE!!! So proud of myself!
Got water and went to find Krista who had been done like an hour ago :P
She was proud of me too... and she had realized on her way up that it was HARD and that it tooker them 1hr 45 mins to get up last year not 45 mins....oopsie :P I still love her!
Shaky legs, we sat and ate lunch they made us!
Krista won 2nd female over all!! Cheritein (her roommate) got 3rd overall... I was just happy to finish! :)
Bus back to town.... you think we'd go home and crash but no.... we shower and head to dinner with Hang a Canadian teacher here as well. Beautiful dinner w/ wine and now we are ready for bed!
Sunday- Soooooooooooooooooo sore.. wow... every muscle hurts.
We went to swim at the pool and it rained...but wet is wet. then we got ready and headed to YOGA which Hang leads! Intense, and very hot in there... was great... we needed that stretch!
Ate dinner at the BLACK CAT (top 10 in the world) it was ok! We then met up with Kristas friend who used to teach with them at CIS (Canadian International School) for dessert!
Sore and ready for bed.

Monday(today for 15 more minutes) I slept in and then went on scooter with Dung for 4 hours.... he took me everywhere to see the city and its amazing to see it by scooter and be IN the organized chaos!
We saw a bike crash right in front of us and had to stop so we didn't run over the lady.... everyone was ok :)
I went to markets, museums, shops, and the independence palace! Such a GREAT experience to ride around Saigon and see the local culture! I bought a few fun things.... gifts :)
Home to work out and pool, read one of many books I have on the go!
Came back to upload pics to facebook etc.
Krista and I cooked a stir fry dinner then went to fivi mart to buy kettle corn and we watched Slum Dog Millionaire - the FIRST time to see it for both of us... crazy eh!

Life is good.... so thankful for these traveling opportunities... I def would not be in Viet Nam if Krista was not here.... amazing how things work out!
Her life here is busy and good... I am happy to join it for 10 days!
Lots planned for this week.... spa day, massage and more yoga! Shop for fun things and new shoes of course and even a lil INK surprise for fri night!!!

I LOVE LIFE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL SEESTOR TRISH!!! (tues) Much love to you today and always!

Cam on (thank you in vietnamese) bye bye

Viet Nam

Hello to everyone and greetings from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

I flew out of Brisbane on tuesday and flew into Kuala Lumpur on wed morn, then flew KL to HCMC and arrived here 10am wed morning!
I had to get my visa and then come through customs and get my bags and I was set... I walked out to a huge crowd of people and saw a guy holding a sign with my name on it. He looked at me and pointed to his sign, I nodded in agreement! He came over and asked "are you michael?" I said "MICHELLE, yes" lol.... he crossed the busy pick up area and he motioned for me to wait while he went to get the car! Well it was hot out... sort of smelt of Urine and everyone was honking every 2 seconds.... lol ahh the sounds on Siagon!

We drove and drove... I needed a bank so I took my bank card out to show him and ask to stop for money.... we stopped at a lil ATM which also smelt of urine! Drove on towards Krista's place.... very cool sights.
MANY scooters of course, carrying all sorts of things from long 2x4 pieces of wood, some with a family of 4 or carrying a new born baby in the mothers arms, lots of women in high heels on scooters, so fun to see!
The telephone wires here are like huge masses of black wire... strung from pole to pole... I wish my camera was working to capture it all as I first came in.... I will def take pics of all this with Krista's camera during my stay!
I was trying to figure out if there were actual RULES of the road.. people were going every direction and scooters would weave in and out of cars and traffic... it was crazy and I thought NYC was scary driving.... it is not anything compared to here!
There were scooters on the sidewalk, on both sides of the roads going every direction... but somehow they make it work.. it really is ORGANIZED CHAOS!

I saw carts of food, candy, toys, balloons, cigarettes and more.. everyone had a push cart or stall that was parked on the sidewalk or road. Every other building seemed like a scooter repair shop. I even saw a man walking a med sized horse through traffic.
It is amazing to see this all... very different to any place I have travelled before and I like that!
I started to get sleepy and nodded off for a bit, was about 1 hour drive to Krista's,
We finally got there... I got out and paid the nice man who drove me! I then carried all my bags up the steps and went walking to find her building... found it, went in, up to 8th floor. Got her note on her door w/ her mail key... went down to her mailbox and got her apt key... nice work K!

Back up to floor 8.. inside her apartment.... thankful for A/C!!!! I dropped my bags, drank some water and was happy to be safe n sound at Krista's!
I took a nap and checked my email and waited for her to come home from school, I just woke up before she came in!
Soooo good to see her! She is so thin and fit, I am jealous!

We caught up and chatted and enjoyed sitting for a bit, then got dressed and ready for dinner out. Krista even braided my hair for me :) I was looking forward to that forever!
We took a cab to the markets and ate at some out door place. I ate some snapper and some veggies and drank water and guava juice! Yum. then we walked to see "SHOE" street.. so many shoes... I def want some! We went to FANNY's to get Ice Cream, yum.. I got Berry berry!

Cab home and off to bed.... well I went online and Krista went to bed! Good sleep!
Tomorrow is work out and enjoy the pool day for me!
Cheers

Worst Day Ever....

I know sounds harsh.... but let me tell you all about it....

It rained ALL last night... thunder and lightening.. and I had to run back n forth to get my laundry done. Finished laundry and cleaning and got to bed around 1:30am. Loud rain w/ thunder all night, restless sleep!

Woke up to of course MORE rain and it was a cold rain too, not fun at all! Took the bus into Clownfish Club to meet a friend for brekkie.... he was 30 MINS late.... oh bother.... he is lucky that he got us FREE breakfast buffet or I would have been mad to wait the extra 30 mins, thanks for free brekkie Will!  Yummy buffet, with all kinds of nice fruits and yogurts and eggs etc.. delicious!

From there I took the work Buggie (golf cart) to my place to finish packing and cleaning! Had to be out by 10am.... rain did NOT let up.... tried to carry all my luggage in garbage bags to the buggy under an umbrella... hard to do. Our buggy had NO rain covers on the sides... so rain came in from ALL angles.... sucked, I got soaked just driving!

I went by Ally's to drop things off to her that I was not taking from Hamilton Island and had to walk up a STEEP walkway in the rain in thongs (FLIP FLOPS) and they broke... good thing they pop back together:P

Said my goodbye to her.. drove into Clownfish Club to store my bags... which of course got wet in the moving process!

Tried to dry off and chill... blah!

Called home to Mum n Dad to say hi.. update them on my trip etc... phone cut out 3 times.. So Frustrating.... finally got to just say bye and talk soon!

Sally my boss took me to the airport for my 2:50pm flight... I wore a garbage bag over my body to the airport in the buggy... tried to get a ride in a van but they were all booked already!

Got to airport.... still pouring... and I was just READY to go.. ready to get off the island and start another adventure!

All flights were DELAYED and some were CANCELLED.. oh man.. I was praying I just get out alive.. lol.. no just get OFF this island TODAY!

Waited around and finally boarded my flight.. texting my friend RICH my flight info etc keeping him updated on my delay getting into Brisbane!

Flight was ok.... landed around 5pm in Brisbane... FINALLY! :) Free....

Got my bags which were SOAKED.... ya, still raining and they unload the bags in the rain so my stuff was all soaked :( Not happy!

Carry my wet bags... call Rich.. no answer... text a million times... NO reply :(

Called again and someone answered (thought it was his cell.. but seemed like a house number) and the guy on the other end said "I think Rich went to Canada" OH BOTHER...........

So upset, wet, tired, and a headache from this rain... made it the WORST DAY EVER!

Internet was NOT free in the airport either.. I waited around for an hour to see if Rich would call- nothing., so I booked myself into a dodgy hotel not far from airport!

Took shuttle van to my place- Kingsford Riverside Inn.

Room is fine, I am just happy to be out of the rain.... 

I called CVD to chat/vent about my day... always feels good to chat with her, she makes it all better:)

My lil hotel has free internet which makes things better and free brekkie :) so the night got a lil better!

I went to BP to buy a wrap and a Slurpee..... Slurpee's make things better too :)

Chillin here watching my fav show - Criminal Minds, still raining but at least I am inside with my clothes ALL over the room drying!

I got on FB to see that Rich had posted on my wall 5 hours ago that he got a NEW cell :P boys.... urgh

 I was suppose to stay with him, but I already paid for this place, so I'll meet up with him tomorrow! Thankfully! At least I don't have to bus around and carry my luggage around all day!

My next flight is tues night at 11:20pm to Kuala Lampur and then onto Vietnam to see KRISTA!

Rain rain go away! Hope its sunny tomorrow!

I was thinking of going to Australia Zoo, the Steve Irwin one but its $57.00 to get in- sheesh!

Much love to CAROLYN for making me feel better on my shitty rainy day!

:)

look in the sky...

Its a bird, its a plane... no its ME!!!!

Today I took the early ferry over to Airlie beach to go SKY DIVING!!!

Went to Airlie beach sky dive at Whitsunday airport.... did a 10 minute lesson and got some gear then went in  a plane and jumped out from 10,000ft!!!

It was amazing!! So fun, I laughed the whole time... also drooled a lil-Sooo funny! It was amazing, I was excited right before jumping and my instructor Matt was awesome, I called us team M&M!

I got video and photos of it all.... the photos are just stills from my video but still so fun!

My co-worker Will went with me, he jumped first and looked very nervous, I couldn't wait!

35 second free fall then parachute and I got to steer on the way down and we did circles in the air, so fun!

I watched 2 girls jump before us while their friend watched too.... I asked where they were from and she said WATERLOO....... ya SMALL WORLD! fo sho! One of the girls was in teachers college here so 2 came to visit... awesome!

Anyways.... def worth the money to jump... I knew I wanted to do it and here was the place... flying and jumping out over the WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS over the Great Barrier Reef in QLD was truly fantastical (as Dane Cook would say)

I wanted to jump again as soon as we landed on the ground! Smooth landing too... yay!

I am going to look to see if Ontario has any sky diving places so I can apply for a job one day :)

Working 3 more shifts here on Hamilton Island... counting down the days til I see KRISTA!

I am hosting a "smoothie movie" night tomorrow at clownfish club for us to hang out and watch a movie after work, and make smoothies-how fun!

Much love to all!

Happy Birthday to Marta and Angela R.

I'm soooo excited

I am ready for my next adventure!

I leave Hamilton Island on monday and fly to Brisbane to see my friend Rich from Cambridge, will be great to see him!

Then I fly to Vietnam to see one of my Bff's- KRISTA!!!!!!! I will spend 10 days with her, I can't wait!!

So work has been good... doing lots of TOURS this week, went to WHITE HAVEN beach.. one of the top 10 in the WORLD!!! Went snorkeling and swimming etc...

Went on a SAFARI tour last night... BBQ on the beach with campfire and songs and games etc... was fun! I found out that Australian marshmallows are different then home... smaller and weird feel, not the same :( and they had NO idea what S'MORES were... OH MY GOSH!!!!!  We explained it but its not the same!

Ally arrived on the island on monday, we worked together in Darwin for only a few shifts but have kept in touch since and so this week I get to show her around and introduce her to everyone etc... FUN!

We walked around yesterday and met tons of workers here... I mean its easy to meet people, but we went to meet some KEY people... that can give her free stuff :) lol....

We also went through the wild life park, not very big but cute to see Croc get fed, pet a dingo, feed the Cassowary and pet another koala! Also saw my FAV "Harry" the hairy nosed wombat... Soooooooooo cute I want to take him with me!

3 days off this week... seems silly cuz I am leaving but its good, I can clean my room and get my laundry done!

I called and booked SKY DIVING tomorrow!!! 9am.... jumping out of a plane over the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands!!!!!!!! Pics to come.. fo sho!

My laptop is crap, so I am sorry pics have not been up lately :(

I am excited for new places... lil sad to leave Hamilton Island, but these 7 weeks have been great, love meeting new people, but I also love to travel more and meet MORE new people!

So stoked to see friends from home though!! Missing friends and family!

I organized a "Smoothie Movie" night at work for me and my co-workers to hang out and laugh and enjoy before I go! they keep trying to get me to stay... but I am done :)

I love life.... taking it day by day.. enjoying all that there is to see and do!

Thankful for this great adventure... ready for another round- BRING IT ON!

Much love to all

HAPPINESS

Happiness has NOTHING to do with what we have and EVERYTHING to do with how we think" unknown 

I have been traveling now for 7 months!!!! I left home March 8, 2010... time flies!

I have given notice at Clownfish Club here on the island... my last working day is Sun Sept 19th and on the 20th I fly to Brisbane to see a friend from home, Rich!

I am happy to leave here... never stay too long in one place... antsy feet.. hey  I am here for a GOOD time not a LONG time ;)

I have enjoyed my time.... I hiked to passage peak, and I went to Reef world to snorkel and dive again, this weekend I am headed to Whitsundays pristine beach WHITE HAVEN and going on a safari tour tues night!

On monday a girl I worked with in Darwin is coming to work on the island... so even though I am leaving, it will be cool to see her for the week before I go and I can tell her all about this place and give her anything that I am not taking with me :) All good.

Tonight after work I went for a run, SO humid and it even rained on me a lil.... I had a 1/2 day off and was sweaty just walking around today. Felt great to sit and read today at lunch, be outside in the sun and finish my 945 page book that Brett lent me from Cairns!!

It was called SHANTARAM in case anyone wants a good book!

Tonight I watched BONDI VET (tv show) ya a hot surfer guy who is a vet..um ya that is HOT!

He was helping a lamb with a broken femur/leg and he named him LEROY bad bad Leroy brown and the lamb loved him.. and ran to him.. SO cute... and then he had to drop Leroy back to the farm and the lamb kept following him to his car.. too sad/sweet.... Leroy didn't want the hot vet to leave him.... aw... The vet said it was SO hard to drive away... he loved Leroy too! awwwww

I am sooooooo excited for Brisbane, for something/somewhere new and to find a good beach near by to SURF! I also want to SKYDIVE next week over the Great Barrier Reef!!

After a short visit in Brisvegas as its known.... I fly up to Vietnam to see my BFF Krista!!!! I am sooo pumped to see her and to see vietnam and to chill by the pool and enjoy sun and work out hard... Focus on Fitness.... focus on eating right!

Much love to all..... bring on work tomorrow- woot!

September... spring has sprung?

Well its is now SEPTEMBER and in Aus that is SPRING TIME! So  I am welcoming the spring and hoping its nice weather LOL.... good bye Winter and the lil bit of rain we had :P

Today was my day off and I was sooo happy that it was sunny n hot out... so I headed down to front street to the post office and the bank, then wanted to hit the beach with my book and enjoy.... but I got  a text from work and they asked if I wanted to do a babysit job.... and I am a SUCKER for money... and can never say NO... so I took it! 12-4. the baby was 5 months old and thankfully slept the WHOLE time :) So I laid on the balcony and tanned a lil, then ordered nice room service lunch cuz I was hungry and it was not cheap, I even ordered off the kids menu (healthier options).

Parents came back and over paid me which of course I LOVED... and I said I owed them money for lunch cuz I got room service and room charged it.. and that said "its ok" so I got OVER paid and a FREE lunch... I love life! :)

Thankfully they came back right at 4, so I had time to get back to my place to change and get my camera and meet down at the marina for a Twilight Sail trip!

It was in our staff book and I thought I should try it once... so I go and its not just a leisurely sail, its an actual RACE with the members of the island sailing club!!!

There were 6 of us total on our boat, 3 girls and 3 guys... so the guys did ALL the work and we sat and drank wine while enjoying the sunset/breeze/race.. LOL it was sensational!

All the people on my boat were KIWI so that was fun too :P After we walked past a parade and then had a BBQ at the sailing club.. so fun! I love this! Sailing was great and I am glad I tried it!

CONGRATS to my cousins Jeremy and Aliscia on their new baby boy ALEX!!! Aliscia is from Aus and now I have a lil Aussie cousin :) hooray!

Sept is filled with goodness..... Aimee and Trish's birthdays! My big trip to Vietnam to see Krista! Gavin's b-day and of course Angel & Cali (my cats) b-days too!!! Wish everyone could be here to party at once together!

Much love to everyone.. pics to come... of course they are always on FB too!

ENJOY SPRING... so far I have!

Canadians and Americans enjoy Fall/Autumn!