Updates and other stuff

Life is busy… Hwa is loving school and will finish in the middle of July and start again at the end of August.  I’m working more at ILA now with a couple of twin eighteen year old girls who want to study in New York,  best thing is their lessons are in the morning so I can work whilst Missy is at school and not worry about baby sitting etc.  When Mum and Dad were here we took some really nice short trips around Da Nang,  the best for me was visiting Ba Na Hills.

The only way to get up there is by cable car and it was high and spectacular.  Apparently the French had built houses in the hills years ago and it has only fairly recently been discovered and now is a tourist hot spot.   At the top are a couple of hotels and a building site – they are building a French styled theme area,   doubt it will add to the ambience of the glorious landscape but …

 

 

The enormous buddha at the top

This is what is going to be built at the top

 

This is where they are at .....

 

Well worth the visit though the pictures of the journey up and down in the cable cars don’t do it justice it was gorgeous.   We also went to Hue for the weekend.   As this is the ancient capital of Vietnam reviews from friends had been really good and I was excited to go.  It is 3-4 hours away from DaNang and we booked a coach which cost $3.50 per person each way ( apparently you can go for just $1.50 but I felt the luxury would be worth it for my parents :)   We didn’t know but we were getting a sleeper bus ( we went during the day) and it was most perculiar.   Getting on the bus you were given a plastic bag to put your shoes in and they weren’t joking every seat was a bed!   We had booked the upstairs back row, which was a bugger to climb up to but once there really comfy.

The view from my bed upstairs

 

It was so funny we giggled a lot especially me pushing my mum up by her bum up the wee ladder.

stylin' on the back of the bus

First impressions of Hue were ‘dog poo’  saw a lot and it thought it was a lot dirtier than Da Nang.   We a booked a trip but as we had arrived late we had missed the lunch part then got told off by the driver for having to get some sandwiches.   We drove for half an hour up incredibly bumpy trails and caught up with the group at the first temple.

So we were told that we had 10 mins at the temple so we took it – then we got told off ( again) for being late ( which we werent’) by this time I was getting a bit pissed off but fortunately there were no more telling offs after that.   We zoomed through another couple of temples

peaceful, tranquil etc etc

 

Am I allowed to admit I am a bit templed out?

Now I was told told these soldiers were life size and yet I was taller I love it!

 

Yes I was taller than every single one of them....

After what felt like fifteen temples although I think it was only three or maybe four we got on a boat which took us back down to the centre of Hue.   Everyone says the food in Hue is wonderful, shame we didnt’ find any… The saying goes that if a woman is born in Hue she will be a better cook than any other woman born outside.   End of day one part two to follow….

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