Teaching in Thailand vs. teaching in the Netherlands. Part 2

How it all started

I traveled through Southeast Asia for four months. I couldn’t get enough of Asia. But my money was running out… I decided to extend my stay by working in a hostel on an island called “Koh Rong” in Cambodia. Really nothing could Koh Rong there. Living on an island for one month, it was exactly what I needed. Honestly, I was just escaping from “real life” for a little longer…

You can read more about my island life in Cambodia here: http://reachelsingh.blogspot.nl/2014/01/one-month-on-koh-rong-island.html

I was trying to think of the moments that I really enjoyed teaching and trust me, there are many. I’ve always enjoyed my time studying and doing internships, teaching different grades and getting more experienced. The full time job after graduating was the bitter aftertaste that didn’t leave my mouth. Maybe I’m more ready to face it now? Maybe I was too young to be dealing with all those responsibilities? But even thinking about it made my heart race, like the nights I couldn’t sleep after long days of work. That same feeling that I had back then, it came back to me. I’ve learned many things while traveling, one thing is: follow your gut. This feeling definitely told me: DON’T DO IT!

“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life.” - Eckhart Tolle

There I was stuck on an island, not sure what to do next. It sounds horrible, but there was a strange sort of excitement getting to me. I was surrounded by clear blue water, white sandy beaches and travelers, mostly, very inspiring people. I realized how blessed I am. I can do anything that I want to, I can go wherever I want to go. The only thing I have to do is; make a plan, and just do it!

So I flew to Phuket -Thailand and did the TEFL (teach English to foreign learners) course. Other teachers and travelers had told me about it and it was the perfect way to gain more experience and get confident again. You can also do this course online but I don’t think you will learn as much. In this course you’ll practice what you’ve learned by teaching actual students. Besides, it’s more fun when you meet new people too. Easing my way into it, it felt good. I already knew that, no matter what, it WILL be an EXPERIENCE. Good or bad. I would never forget it and I would never regret it. I could always say; damn right I did that, and I’m proud!

You can read more about my TEFL experience here: http://reachelsingh.blogspot.nl/2014/01/there-and-back-my-last-month-in-asia.html

I have to say, I’ve always had the confidence to do it because of the support from my family and friends back home. I see travelers seeking for freedom but get lost somewhere, influenced by the feeling of uncertainty and guilt of leaving family members behind. My mom is a traveler herself and my parents always supported every decision I made. 

 

With the help of some (teacher) friends I had met in Phuket I was sorted with a job, a house and a bike within a couple weeks. I applied to one of the schools in Phuket by sending my resume and application letter through e-mail. We arranged a skype interview and before I knew it I had the job. I arranged it all online while being at home with my family. I love it when things fall into place like that! It gives me the feeling that I’m doing the right thing.

Sitting in a plane, knowing that you’re flying to the other side of the world, to start a new life for a whole year, it’s freaking weird. I am actually doing this. All by myself...

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough”

My non- B visa was arranged and I was ready to get my stamp to get into Thailand after a 17 hour long flight. The immigration officer looked in my passport and then looked at me again and asked: “You teacher?” I said: “Yes.” He put his hands together and gave me a ‘Wai’ which means many things; in this case, I respect you. He said: “Aaaaah welcoooome teachaaa, welcome to Thailaaaaand.” I couldn’t stop smiling. It was a good start of a new life. Thai people are mostly warm and welcoming people.

The lifestyle

Compared to the Netherlands I have a higher standard of life and I'm spending much less money. You can choose to live in a condo (mostly provided with a pool and/or gym),or you can share a house with some (teacher) friends. I've always been living with other teachers. It makes being far away from home and family easier, you'll never feel alone. Friends become your family. I've made some really special connections over time.

Unfortunately people come and go all the time. That's one thing that makes living in a place like this hard and is also the reason I have moved a couple times from place to place. One of the houses I've lived in was like a dream. It was huge! Surrounded by beautiful nature. It had two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a big living area, a dining area, a kitchen and we only paid 18.000 baht for the whole house. That's 9000 baht each. That is not even 250 euro's each!! In Holland I would have to be a doctor to be able to afford a house like this.

I love my bike. It gives me total freedom. I go everywhere on it. I rent my bike for 2500 baht a month which is about 60 euro's. Some people say it's better to buy a bike. It's definitly cheaper than renting but my bike get's checked every couple months. For someone that doesn't know a thing about bikes it's the safer option, I think. Yes, traffic is crazy sometimes. Just be careful, and get comfortable driving it.

In Thailand I almost never cook because I can afford to go out and eat. It's mostly cheaper than buying all the groceries yourself anyway. Friends and good food is the perfect combination.We order everything delicious on the menu and share! Massaman curry, pineapple fried rice, penang curry, pad thai, grilled spicy fish. Talking about life with our bare feet sticking in the sand...

Long weekends or holidays off from work is the time to travel around Asia or beautiful islands nearby. I never get bored of Thailands beauty.

I've been teaching in Thailand for 1,5 years now, and I still love it. I teach about 19 hours a week. I have two kindergarten classes. Both of them have English and Math classes. In each class I have 25 – 30 students. My working hours are like heaven compared to what I was used to. I have long breaks in between my teaching hours. In this time I can prepare my lessons, mark my books, get creative and make fun teaching materials, do whatever needs to be done, or just relax and drink coffee. I NEVER take work home with me.

We all know that teachers in Western countries get underpaid work incredibly hard. I have so much respect for all the teachers out there giving all their heart and life for the purpose of teaching. I hope some day we get a wake up call and finally see that education is what keeps countries going. Good teachers inspire and have an impact on this generation, our future. How can we underappreciate that so much?

In my next blog you can have a look in my classroom! I will write what and how I teach my kids in Thailand, Thai education and their culture. 

 

Teaching in the Netherlands vs. teaching in Thailand.

In July 2013 I quit my job to travel, it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I was a primary teacher in the Netherlands. I was teaching 9/10 year old students, I had my own very cute and cozy apartment in the vibrant city Rotterdam. I had a full-time job, a cat, a car… In my weekends I was hanging out with my friends, having fun, I was dating, I was working out and feeling healthy. I had everything a girl wants at 23. I finished my degree in Education and was very lucky to find a full time teaching job in Rotterdam. Even though, I realized this life was not what I expected and wanted it to be.

I was very excited to start my first “real” job as a teacher in my beautiful, modern and multicultural city, Rotterdam. The school was going through a lot of changes when I started working there because it got a score of “very low” based on the test - scores of the students. It was a time of hard work and many meetings. I had some experience teaching during my studies. But this was my first time working a “9 to 5 job” as they call it...

I woke up at 6.30 in the morning to be at work at 7.30 to prepare my lessons and get ready for the day. The students will come in at 8.30 and then you teach whatever is on the schedule for that day. Math, English, Geography, History, Dutch language, Arts.. The students have lunch at 12. In that time I quickly ate my sandwich, drank my coffee and finish a part of my never-ending to do list. My “break” was never longer than 20 min. The students come back at 1 o’clock. Then you teach again till 3.30. After 3.30 it’s time to mark, grade, make individual plans, make group plans, write reports, fill in scores, meetings etc. Most of the time I didn’t even find time to actually plan my lessons for the next day, so I had to be at school early to quickly read through what I’m supposed to teach that day. I never left work with the feeling that I had finished everything that I had to do for the day, there was ALWAYS something else that needed to be done. Often I’d left work at 5 or 5.30 with books and/or tests to mark at home. The part I enjoy most; being creative and making my lessons fun for the students, I didn’t find time to do this. I thought this is something I just need to get used to, it will all get easier after some time.

Rules, rules and more rules

Education is very organized in the Netherlands. There are certain rules we need to follow as teachers. We can’t teach classical, we have to teach in different level groups. These groups are based on their scores in the so-called “CITO” test. This is a national test that grades all students on their knowledge in each subject. Based on those scores we teach the students giving divided attention to “their needs.” It sounds great, but this way of teaching requires a lot of preparation and in the end, it’s based on scores. It doesn’t measure creativity, social interaction, critical thinking, leadership, flexibility, motivation, curiosity, humor, will-power, discipline, empathy and so much more qualities that are definitely something to focus on when we are educating the new generation to real life! It only measures their basic knowledge about these subjects. There is no room for learning about yourself, what compliments you, what makes you happy as an individual.

In the Netherlands we are trying so hard, too hard, we are forgetting the purpose of teaching. I can speak from my own experience that I was focused on “getting it all done on time” instead of really getting to know my students and enjoying all their unique characters. I need to learn about my students to know how to teach them. I didn’t realize until later that I couldn’t, purely because I was too stressed. I was working till late every day and even in the weekends. I was not enjoying my work anymore. In the Netherlands we love to complain. As a teacher it’s hard to get the respect you deserve from parents and/or students. Basically, you are working your ass off and no one will notice or say a thing. When you make a mistake, like we do as human-beings, you bet you’ll hear it! My sleeping patterns were becoming abnormal. It got to the point that I could only sleep 3 hours a night. Not being able to fall asleep, and waking up hours before my alarm clock, thinking about what I still had to do and what a bad day it was at work. I felt that I was failing; I felt that I had made the wrong decision to become a teacher.

When nothing goes right… go left.

So that was me, just graduated, started an incredibly challenging job at a very challenging school, just trying to get it all done and barely sleeping at night. I was so stressed, I started to get a rash on my arms, legs and even in my face and around my eyes. It was a lack of sleep and a lack of happiness getting to me. My body was saying: “no more”. With some thick make up around my eyes, hiding the red rash on my face, I just kept on going.

One day, just after the bell rang, three parents came into my classroom pointing their finger at me, with my students there, saying how their child failed the test and it was my fault. I never felt this disrespected and under-appreciated in my life. I totally broke. I couldn’t do it anymore.

I stayed at home for a week, did a lot of yoga and meditation. I took my well deserved rest and decided that I was not going to continue like this. All through this my co-workers and the school have been very helpful,they never doubted me as a teacher. I'm thankful for that.

I was happy that I had saved some money over the last 6 months of working, purely because I was too tired to go out and spend it. I had enough to travel for at least 4 months. I told the school I was going to leave. It felt so good. I needed time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

I hope it was a good read for you!

In my next blog I will write about my experiences teaching in Thailand. 

 

There and back: my last month in Asia

It's almost half a year since I left home. Time flies. Looking back I am so grateful for all the experiences I've had. Every destination feels like a new chapter of a really good story. That's why traveling is so addictive I guess.. Not really knowing what is going to happen next, the new great people you're going to meet, how beautiful the next destination will be... Living in the moment. Back home I was always always planning. Living from an agenda, making appointments. Traveling gives you the feeling of freedom, that the world is at your feet and not trapped in between four walls, that there are new possibilities everywhere.

Now that I have finished my TEFL (teach English to foreign learners) course, an other new chapter is about to start again.

It is exciting,  but times like these I actually miss my friends and family the most. Home is still the feeling of safety. There is always someone there to rely on when something goes wrong. While traveling I'll always have to face it myself and move on. It's a good thing but it's sometimes scary. But in the end, when I finally reached that goal or destination,  I have this great feeling of independence and I know I'll always be fine, even when the safety-net is gone. 

 

In the beginning of January I started the TEFL course in Phuket town Thailand.  I said goodbye to Koh Rong island and my Koh Rong family. The journey was horrible. After not using any atms for a month  I found out on mainland that my atm card was not working. I traveled for two days with almost no money, a bag of chips, oreo cookies and a bottle of water. But I made it to Phuket! When I finally had acces to money again I ate loads of food in this huge super modern supermarket. They had practically everything. I appreciated it even more after two days of being hungry. I fell in love with the bakery section. I just love bread and it's really hard to get good bread in Asia. All the luxury was overwhelmingly good.

 

My first night in the school-hotel something very special happened.  I just got ready to go out to have some drinks with the other students. When I walked outside my room into the computer-room I saw a creature walking on the tables. I thought it was a monkey but it moved so slow, I realised it was something different. I walked inside my room to get my camera and when I walked outside, it was still there trying to "run away" from me. I called my trainer Eric to tell him that there was animal in the school. When I described it, he told me it could be a slow-loris. A creature that is almost about to extinct and is very rare in this part of Thailand! He called the animal rescue team and he made his way over to the school. In the meantime the Loris was hiding behind the closet. I tried to give it some jam and sugar but it was so scared. I searched up some information about the Loris and I read an article: " top 10 cutest but most dangerous animals" .. I read that it's better not to touch the animal because it has toxic saliva.. And I did touch the Loris.. by the time the rescue team came I was sort of freaking out. I just waited it out hoping nothing weird would happen me. My biggest concern was the Loris. The rescue team captured the cute creature and promised to release it in the wild. And I know they will. These guys were the good guys. After all I was fine, nothing weird happened to me and the Loris is set free. What a great start of a new adventure!  

Here's a video of the Loris being captured: 

https://www.facebook.com/reachel.singh/videos/vb.100000811655905/613782415325475/?type=2&theater 

We started the course with 8 students. Which is a very small group compared to the number of students normally attend. We finally ended up with just the two of us. Me and Jean from the Philippines. What an awesome girl. She just made me laugh everyday. The rest of the group did half of the course online (cheaters!! ;) ) and 2 left because of other reasons. The first two weeks were doable and the last two weeks were really hard. Class in the morning, preparing your lessons and working on our projects in the day, in the evenings we were teaching. I passed the grammar and phonology test in one go (never expected that, it was really hard) and all my given lessons were satisfactory. Now I have an international degree in teaching English! Victory!!!

I managed to get a job in a language school for a few hours in a week. I was looking at apartments, thinking about buying a scooter, starting a life. I met some really cool people whom are also working abroad. Had some great days with these people. Barbequeing on a rooftop, going to fancy beachbars where free champagne was served. The "epic" girls night out (all the ingredients for a "girls night out" included: someone cried, someone puked, someone got angry, someone pied in public, half of the group went home early)  chill out sundays drinking cold beers in the best beachbar in Phuket. 

 

Life was treating me well. But for some reason I started to miss home really bad. I was looking for another job because I wanted to work full-time. I met so many teachers by now, they knew for sure there are many possibilities to start work in April/May. The schools have summer holiday now. But when I do start working, I'll have to commit to a one year contract. I have already been away for six months. The thought of being away for another year without seeing my friends and family scared me. So I randomly decided to go back to Holland. With the plan that I will return and start working here in Thailand for a year. But first I need to feel ready to start this beautiful life. To enjoy it to the fullest, I'll have to see my loved-ones first.

I learned one very important lesson while I was traveling. I will never force myself into situations anymore. When it doesn't feel right I should stop doing it. When I meet people or when I'm in place or situation that's making me feel unhappy, I will step away from it. Life is too short to waste time doing things you don't like or spend time with people you don't like. Life always treats me well when I'm doing the things that make me happy.

People asked me if I have changed. I wouldn't say i've changed, I just know more and more who I am and who I want to be as person. I am more confident, fulfilled , and I can always be myself around everyone and every new stranger that I meet. I'm not afraid of peoples opinions.

I thank my friends and family for being so involved and supporting. I am back in Holland and they're still there for me. Nothing's changed. I found a great group of people around  me that believe in me and my dreams. 

Now it's time to enjoy good bread and cheese, my own bed and shower, my huge selection of shoes, jackets, hats, shawls, broodjes kroket, stamppot, movie nights, cooking my own food and offcourse meeting my friends and family and hugging my cat!

One month on Koh Rong island!

It feels like it was a week ago when I first arrived on the island, instead it's already been one month, even more. In this blog I will write how life was on Koh Rong. 

Working in the White Rose Guesthouse:

I saw the sign "western staff wanted" and the next morning I woke up at 7.00 to start working! Actually.. most of the day talking and chilling with the guests and eating the delicious food from our kitchen. I was working in the guesthouse in return for a free bed and free food. I could eat whatever I want that's on the menu. So my mission was to try everything! One month of delicious food everyday. I'm a food-lover and I was in food-heaven! Omg, the nacho's... I will never forget those nacho's and of course the yummy chicken curry. Delicious foos combined with the most friendly people. Most of the staff working there are Khmer. Even though I couldn't really have a conversation with the girls, I had a great laugh with them anyway. Hugging, boxing, putting icecubes in each others shirts and a lot of smiles. My boss Lee is also from Cambodia. He is just as young as I am and running a successful guesthouse.  He is good with people, generous, always happy (sometimes hungover lol). The guests just love him. Jasmine, my German colleague and also one of my best mates on the island. It was always relaxed working with her. After work going out for one drink... ended up not remembering how much we had, ah well.. keep on smiling at work and people will forgive us for messing up their orders. At some point, during highseason, the island got crazy-busy and it started to feel more and more like work instead of a holiday. The guests were different, wining a lot more. I would like the island to stay the way it was three months ago. This easygoing hippy-vibe  going on (who cares your food takes one hour, this is Asia and you're on a holiday!!),  and more quiet time instead of party people all over the place getting shitfaced. I wish David the best. He will replace me. I think he will almost be just as hardworking as I was ;) he's a cool guy. Just what White Rose needs; a guy, who will tell people to shut the f up because people are trying to sleep. Even though it got busy, I 'm really going to miss this lifestyle and especially my white rose family. One love! 

Volunteering for "friends of koh rong":
After my morning shift  in the guesthouse (if I was not too tired) I would walk into the FOKR house to see where I could help out. I helped out with an art class, did a music class with the kids, helped out painting the house (see picture above, I painted some trees and the sea) and  I did some drop-in classes. The music class was so much fun. I had a class full of kids (about 25?) from the age of 5 up to 14 years old. I did the famous English childrens song B-I-N-G-O, the ABC-song and a Christmas song.   Soon it was x-mass holiday,  but since this island is 75% kids walking around, you could never get rid of them. Always playing, dancing, laughing with one of them in front of the guesthouse. The Cambodian kids are not only cute and beautiful, but they are also so happy! They will climbe you like monkeys, hug and kiss you.  I will never forget the girls working at FOKR. They are just awesome. I will miss having colleagues like them! 

My pets on Koh Rong ♥

There are not many cats on the island since it's ruled by dogs. Lee doesn't really like animals in his guesthouse (understandable) so I couldn't adopt a cat :( I am a cat-person but I love all animals so..... I couldn't help myself and started feeding two dogs the leftovers we had from the guesthouse. One mommy called "Lucky": she was so skinny when I first saw her. All her backbones were sticking out.Then I heard her life-story and it made me want to take care of her even more; she was living at the dive center and she got pregnant many times. Most of her puppies died of course, like most puppies do on the island. RIP: Megatron, Bongs' puppy. Died right next to me while I was watching a movie... they tried everything to save this puppy, but once puppies get sick, it's hard to keep them alive.
Lucky got very weak because of being pregnant all the time. The other dogs scared her away and no one was taking care of her after that. Such a shame because she's got a wonderful, warm personality (not aggressive at all like some of the other dogs there, eventhough she's been through alot!), and she has got the cutest face and eyes.

Then there is Hunter (not Jack, Tiara!! His name is Hunter!!) He's a totally black puppy with one blue eye because he's blind on that eye. On new years eve, right after 12 o'clock I suddenly see Hunter running my way, wiskeling his little tail like he always does when he sees me. He actually found his way through the big crowd and found me!! I picked him up and he started licking my face like he wanted to say; happy newyear, I love you (for giving me food ;) )

I'm gonna miss these two dogs!! I know they will be alright, Luke promised to take care of them. Thanks Luke! You're the best!

This is Hunter <3 . Lucky is sleeping in the back under the table.

Movie nights, crazy nights and beach chill sessions 

I spend many nights in the dive center, watching movies with Luke and the rest of the dive center crew. All of them are so friendly and welcoming people. If you go diving on Koh Rong, I'm sure you will have a great time with them. Thanks Luke,  for making my stay on the island so wonderful and always inviting me over to movie-nights, beer-pong nights and chillings on the pier, drinking wine and watching the stars.

I found out that I have a talent for beer-pong. This actually feels more like a sport than a drinking game! Just trying to hit balls in plastic cups. My first game I hit the last cup standing and I did it BLIND!! With my hand in front of my eyes! I couldn't believe it! Ever since  me and Luke were partners every beer-pong night. Classic nights out. Will never forget. 

A night out on Koh Rong was mostly in coco's but also a visit to my favorite bars with my favorite people: islandboys, Bongs. Vagabonds and mango's when it got very late..

My best lunch breaks ever: eat some fruit on the beautiful beach and take swim and a nap..

Every single day on Koh Rong has been wonderful. I miss it already. But now it's time for an other new adventure! I'm studying in Phuket- Thailand! I'm doing the TEFL course (teach english to foreign learners). I already had a crazy start. I will write this in my next blog. I don't know if anyone is still reading all of this, if not, I don't really care. It's the  memory that counts. By writing all of it down, I will never forget this crazy beautiful life I'm living right now.

What could Koh Rong?

Couple days ago I came back to Koh Rong. Arriving on the boat, looking at this beautiful island, it felt like coming home again. Now I am working and living on Koh Rong for one month. In this blog I will tell you about my first days of being an island girl!

The first day I checked into island boys. I stayed in this place one and a half month ago as well.I hoped to see some more familiar faces, but of course it's a place where people come and go. At first I felt a little lost, I had just spend three amazing days hanging out with my brother and mom. Now, I was on this island, I just know a few people. But there's no one that really knows you, like family or friends do. That's the only thing that makes travelling hard sometimes. In these four months I have met so many cool people and with some of them you have a really great time travelling for a while. At some point you have to say goodbye,  and that can be hard. But new adventures follow and new people. Offcourse I miss people and I miss home, but I get so many things back in return. Everyday I realise how lucky I am to have this experience.

I went to visit the school on the island, because I really hoped that I could work for the school while I'm staying here. There is a small organization, runned by a few hard working girls, called friends of Koh Rong. They organise activities for the Koh Rong kids and they teach them english.

Within two days I had everything sorted out. I really needed some free accommodation so I can survive till January and spending as less money as I can. So I started working in white rose guesthouse, which is right in front of the "friends of koh rong-house". The owner from the guesthouse also helps out at the school so I get the freedom to go and work for the school in the daytime. It's suddenly a very busy lifestyle but at the same time also very relaxed.

In the morning I start at 8 or 9 o'clock. I'm working with a really sweet girl from Germany and we change shifts every other day. We work till 12.00 and then we have the day off till 16.00. It can get really busy in the morning sometimes, since we are serving the best breakfast on the island. I never thought I would like working in a guesthouse/restaurant so much. But maybe it's just because everybody is so happy and relaxed over here.

 During the daytime I can choose whatever I want to do. I can go and take a nap on the beach, swim and read a little bit. (I mean, best lunch break ever!!) Mostly I hop into the Friends of Koh Rong house to do some one-on-one tutoring lessons with the kids. It's a class where every volunteer can hop in and teach them basic English like counting, colors and letters through fun (card) games. After that just see where I can help out, preparing stuff and helping out at art class or anything that needs to be done. 

Soon I will be giving music lessons to the kids! Right now I am writing lessonplans for that. It's gonna be so much fun!!

I start working at the guesthouse again 16.00 again till 21.00. In the evenings it's always very relaxed. I sit down with the people, have a talk, serve some drinks, play my own music through the speakers or play and sing some songs myself. My boss has two guitars so I am very happy that I can play guitar anytime I want and practice some new songs.When I'm done working I go out for some drinks and watch fireshows on the beach. I mean what could Koh Rong!? Life is good <3 

Vietnam adventures and.. what's next?

After all the craziness in Ho Chi Minh city I was longing for some quiet time on the beach. I headed for Mui Ne and at first I was really disappointed. The backpackers hostel where I wanted to stay was fully booked and it was the only hostel there. Mui Ne is packed with resorts and Russians. After walking for an hour I found a nice place with rooms for 10 dollar and decided to have some more luxury. I booked the backpackers hostel for 2 days later.

The next day I went on a trip to see the sanddunes, drove through it on a cart bike, so badass!!

Saw the sunset at the red dunes and slided down them. It's a good trip, costs only 7 dollars. (Riding through the dunes not included) 

The day after I hired a bike and just drove around Mui Ne, no plan, just see where I end up. It's the best way to actually see the place because this day turned out to be awesome. I parked my bike somewhere along a beach. There were only 4 people there, they were Vietnamees. The beach was filled with beautiful shells, starfish and little crabs walking around. I saw a lady selling drinks so I ordered a fanta and sat down on the beach. 

Within no time the Vietnamees people walked up to me, asked me where I'm from. They invited me over to come and sit with them at the house, they were drinking beer and barbecuing seafood. They couldn't really speak English but I had a great laugh with them anyway. Just sitting there, drinking a beer, eating, playing the guitar. I think they were arranging a marriage for me aswell... at some point I just told them I already have a husband. 

I was so happy that I could check in at backpackers, it's the best way to meet other people. And I did. Big thank you to the staff and aspecially Andy for making my stay in MuI Ne awesome. I liked it so much, I could not leave. I am definitly going back there one day and take some kitesurfing lessons.

In the sleeping bus from Mui Ne to Na Thrang I met two guys from Holland and one from Germany. I've been hanging out with them eversince. But first I was meeting my mom and brother in Na Thrang! I was so happy to see them after three months. After hanging out with them for three days, chilling on the beach, going out, I decided to go on a motorcycle trip with the three guys I met on the bus. I always wanted to do this and now I had find a nice crew to hit the road with! 

We were biking 950 km up north to Hoi An through the mountains. The scenery was so beautiful, this is the perfect way to really see Vietnam. 

The last day was really tough, it started to rain like crazy. The streets were floaded and we were biking through water that got up to our knees. The bikes broke down many times.. I was happy to arrive in HoI An after 6 hours of getting totally soaked on the bike. 

The bad weather didn't stop when we were in Hoi An. De hotelstaff woke us up in the early morning and told us to pack our bags immediately and move one floor up. When I stept out of the room the water was already half meter high and it would take only minutes for it to enter the room. We booked a bus to Hanoi for that day to avoid the bad weather. They told us the bus would leave at 10 o clock instead of one thirty so we had to hurry to take our bus in the morning. Going out of the hotel was impossible. They told us to walk there but we had all of our bags and the water would come up to my waist or even higher. There was a boat in front of the hotel so I insisted them to take us there with the boat. For whatever reason that wasn't possible and then I got a little angry because we were going to miss our bus. The hotelowner looked shocked when I raised my voice a little bit and then finally, after half an hour of not knowing what to do, he arranged some people to bring us to the bus. While sitting in the boat it was shocking to see how much damage this will bring. The whole street, about a km long I guess, was totally floaded from a meter to almost two meters high. All the shops and houses will be totally destroyed. At the end of the street the floading stopt and we got out of the boats and ran for the bus. 

When we finally arrived at the busstation we found out that the bus was leaving 3 hours later... ooohh Asia is a pain in the ass sometimes!

We ended our Vietnam adventures in beautiful Halong Bay. The weather was not that great, but it was ok. We had our own family boat, some wine, good fresh sea food and an incredible view.

 

A lot of adventures in Vietnam and the whole big adventure is almost about to end.. or is it not? I'm now starting to think about what I want to do. I booked a one way ticket for a reason. So that I have all the freedom to decide when and where I want to go.. no plans fixed yet, but I'm thinking about doing a one month course for teaching English in Vietnam. After that I want to teach English somewhere in Asia for a while. I miss home a lot but what is a year in a lifetime? I feel that now it's the time to get everything out of it and take as much memories and wisdom home with me as I can. 

Beach and big city lifestyle

My first night on Koh Rong island with the bonfire on the beach was so amazing! I thought; I can never leave this place.. On one side of the island you have a couple hostels, bars and huts. On the other side is a white sanded beach with the clearest water I have ever seen and there is nobody there... Koh Rong has the best barbecue squid I have ever tasted, and your spending your days there in between locals, unlike Thailand or any other island I've been to. After a few days you know so many people, it starts feeling like home. We went to the full moon party with the partyboat. The party was on Koh Rong Samloem, a smaller island right next to it. It was not to crowded, on a beautiful beach, cool people, fireshows. This was full moon at it's best I think. How it used to be 10 years ago. Dancing until sunrise... this was my first sunrise during this trip. It was magical. So many beautiful colored clouds, with a storm far away in the south and the full moon still shining behind you. 

Took the partyboat back "home" with al these great people I met. 

 After 10 amazing days I left the island and then got stuck in Sihanoukville voor another week. Almost everyday the same routine: rent a bike, drive up to Otres beach, swim, chill, have an Amok chicken, hang out at this bar called "blame canada", have some drinks in the night and spend almost nothing... it's a great lifestyle. After travelling and seeing a lot of stuff, this felt like the two-week-beach-holiday in between. It was so hard to leave this place. But I was very excited to go to Vietnam. New adventures, new people. Travelling is so good, I could do this forever.

Now I am in Ho Chi Minh city, what a contrast! It's crazy! So crowded! But I like it a lot. I am sharing a four bed dorm with a really cool girl I met on the bus. And crazy enough i've bumped into some other people i have met before too.
The first day in Ho Chi Minh we went to the war museum. A lot of pictures made during that time, and they are really impressive. A must-see museum! The next day we went to the floating market, which was ok.. it was a six hour busride and a 3 hour tour, so I mostly slept that day!

 I was looking forward to celebrate Halloween. Vietnamese people love Halloween. We got our face painted on the street. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. After the facepaint everybody wanted to take pictures with us! 

The street was so crowded that at some point you just couldn't walk through it. But it was good sitting and watching al these crazy costumes. People were cheering and applauding when they saw a good costume walking by. Great atmosphere! The clubs are really fancy and big, but I liked it more on the street. Simple, but good! Vietnam and Vietnamese people are awesome!