When we arrived back from New Zealand we stayed with our friend's Tom and Stacey while we looked for a new apartment. We decided to move into a slightly quieter area, with wide streets and lots of trees, but unfortunately apartments in that area are quite expensive - or cheap and nasty. We were very lucky that we could take our time and look for a really nice apartment, instead of grabbing the first one we found. In order to make ourselves useful, we went about some errands for Tom and Stace while they were at work. One of these errands was getting keys cut. It's really interesting to see how they do it.
We decided that paying someone else for a motorbike every month was a waste of money and instead, we decided to invest in one of our own. When we leave we should be able to sell it for almost the same amount that we paid for it - making it a good investment. We took the bike for a test drive and everything seemed fine, so we paid the money and went on our way. Unfortunately, things stopped working soon after and we had to basically strip the bike down and build it back up again.
After a lot of searching, an apartment falling through, and loads of estate agents - we finally managed to find a great apartment. Mel asked if anybody knew of any apartments in a Facebook group and luckily a girl replied and that's how we found our apartment. It has a huge balcony which is ideal for braai's and it has an open plan living area downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs.
Our friends, Marius and Andrea are leaving Vietnam to go work in Chile. Luckily they didn't leave before we got back from New Zealand, so we were able to go to their farewell and One Plus Beer Club. It's a typical Vietnamese beer club with cheap(ish) towers of beer and deafeningly loud music, but the view makes it all worth while. It's located on the 32nd floor of a building in District 1 and has a balcony which wraps almost the whole way around the building, providing an almost 360 degree view of the city.
Our new school threw a welcome dinner for the entire staff (teachers, administrators, drivers, nannies...).
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| Aoife (Eefa, it's Irish) and Mel |
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| Chris (South African from Hilton) and Ross |
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| Ross and Alex (the other grade 5 teacher) |
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| Alex, Ross, and Daniel trying to make the most of the free beer |
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| Aoife, Amanda and Aine |
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| Ankle deep in water |
Our favourite breakfast place is definitely a restaurant called Eden. They make the best flat whites (our favourite since we got back from NZ) and they've recently introduced an avo and feta smash on sourdough bread with poached eggs and bacon - deeeelish!
Our new friend Amanda celebrated her birthday and chose a restaurant we've never been to. The decor was really cool and felt quite magical. Driving home in the rain afterwards - not so much.
We discovered a road along the river near our house which is super quiet, as only people who live in the estate that runs along it can drive on it. There were plenty of runners and cyclists, since quiet roads in Vietnam are rather hard to come by. The one house had loads of cars parked outside - which was quite a sight, as cars are really expensive in Vietnam and only the wealthy can buy them. This family must be loaded!
There is an organic fruit and veg shop at the mall near our house. It also sells amazing cold pressed juices. Our favorite is beetroot, orange and passion fruit. Unfortunately all of their produce runs out super quickly, as it's such a popular spot, and the vegetables are of such good quality.
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