Family visits

Mum and Dad visit
In March Mum and Dad arrived in Vietnam on their first trip to Asia. They booked on a Macleay Valley Tour to take them from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang/Hoi An and Ha Noi/Ha Long Bay, but arranged to come a few days early so that they could also come to visit Vung Tau.

Bao and I met them at the airport on Saturday evening, after some delays caused by late connections and storms in Singapore, and took them into the city to the hotel and a brief orientation to the area. They seemed still very awake although their body clocks would have told them it was the wee hours of the morning, and they had been on the go since early morning Australian time.

The next morning we made use of Bao's past training as a tour guide to take them on a longer walking tour along Dong Khoi street up to the General Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, across to Reunification Palace and back into the city centre. Then we visited Ben Thanh market, before taking a taxi to Bao's family home for lunch. After that we returned to the hotel for them to check out and then embarked on the ferry to Vung Tau.

The weather stayed fine throughout their visit with us, but it was also quite warm. Notwithstanding this they never wilted! On Monday morning we had breakfast at Garden Cafe then I took them to the orphanage to meet the children, visit the babies and see the various facilities. While we were there we arranged to take Bi, Hoa and Phuong out in the afternoon for a trip up Big Mountain on the cable car. (In the months since then Phuong has left the orphanage because he wanted to find his father again. We have had no word about him, but hope that he is safe.)

On Tuesday morning we walked down to Back Beach and along the road to Imperial shopping centre. My brilliant plan was to treat Mum and Dad to cappucino at Highlands Coffee, otherwise I wouldn't have taken us so far. But when we got there it was suspiciously deserted and turned out to be closed! :( So after a quick look around the shopping centre we took a taxi to Coopmart, where Mum bought a bigger hat and we had Lotteria for lunch.

In the afternoon we visited the White Palace and then came back home for them to rest, while I went off to teach a class. The next morning we had coffee with Anne (My Huong), went to the ferry terminal to book seats for the afternoon trip back to Ho Chi Minh City and took a walk along the seafront to visit a pagoda.

That night Mum and Dad joined the group of fellow tourists who had just arrived from Australia, and then embarked on a heavy schedule of visits to Tay Ninh, Cu Chi, My Tho, and Ben Tre in the south; Da Nang, Hoi An, My Son temples and Hue in the centre; and Ha Long Bay, Ha Noi, Tam Coc and Hoa Lu citadel in the north. I am looking forward to seeing their photos!

I asked Mum if they would consider coming back. Her answer: yes, they would, but they want to see fewer temples and museums and more about how people live. That can be arranged!

David's visit
A month later David arrived to spend some days in Vietnam and then take a trip to Siem Reap. His arrival coincided with the Hung Kings Anniversary national holiday which meant that Bao and I were able to go up to Ho Chi Minh City to meet him, stay overnight and then return with him to Vung Tau. Our friend An joined us in Ho Chi Minh City and provided an extra set of wheels for us to get around and visit different districts. David enjoyed the time a lot, especially the food!

Again, I had a work commitment during his visit in Vung Tau, but Bao took David on our usual walking route up Big Mountain, and then we met later for dinner. The next morning I took David to meet some of the children, and he also took the chance to have a chat with the Director of the centre, Ms Trang Dai. Actually, oral health is a real problem for the children at the centre and in the community, so I hope that we can set up some initiative to assist them with this with David's help!