Life in Saigon

Blogspot has been down for a few days so I couldn't blog...

However, it's back up now so here is my first blog for a while.

Things are starting to look up a little bit on the job front, but not much solid yet. I have been teaching young kids last weekend, from 8 to 10am and should be again this coming weekend. It is Tet holiday early February, and schools close down for up to a month, so most are not looking for teachers now. But tomorrow I have another interview, so wish me luck.

I really want to go somewhere for Tet. Last year I went to Vang Vien in Laos and had a fantastic time. Unfortunately, with little money coming in I won't have enough to fly there and the bus takes 40 hours just to Vientiane! 20 hours to Hue, stop the night, then another 20 hours from Hue to Vientiane, I think it was 4 or 5 hours to Vang Vien. It has been suggested to go to Borneo, which would be great, but I have looked on the internet and can't find any cheap flights from HCM.

Life in HCM is ok. Today it is very hot and sunny, which is not something I would be saying if I still lived in Hanoi. I am staying in the Dong A1 hotel in the backpackers area, which is $10 a night, with wireless internet in my room. My room is a little noisy as its next to reception, which is staffed with television-watching staff 24 hours a day, but it's a big room with a big bed, wardrobe, en-suite with hot water shower, and TV with reasonable channels, including Discovery, National Geographic, 3 American movie channels, but no CNN, and the BBC picture is blocked here but I can still hear the sound, I don't know why. So I get the news from the German, Japanese and Australian channels and, of course, the internet.

So living in Saigon is certainly a challenge, especially trying to live cheaply, but I am quite enjoying it, especially the weather. I am spending some time with James and we are still trying to make www.CheapHotelsCambodia.com, which is taking up a fair bit of my time. I have met some ex-pats at the Cantina Restaurant and the one next door and I hope to make some new friends soon and get lots of work.