Star wars it is then!

I think I know what movie and games we'll be playing this flight!

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!

I do very manly opening fresh coconuts wit a large machete so the kids can drink the delicious juice inside. We're going to miss things like this!

The final bowl of noodles on the street!

We fly out of South East Asia in a few hours and suddenly it feels sad to leave this mental place.
The fitting final meal is a bowl of spicy noodles with all manner of protein and green bits... Lovely jubbly!

District two

We've traveled out of the mayhem of district 1 into the more salubrious expat community of district 2. Catching up with an old teacher friend Waq who has lived here for a few years.

An eccentric French neighbour's collection;

Will had his dreams made true with a motor bike ride around the complex;

Will and Zac

Lily and Zac having hugs

Waq and Zac

Teeth time!

Two days ago I visited the dentist for the first time in more than twenty years. Scared of the drilling and huge financial cost, I'd put this moment of for way too long. The reality of suffering more in the future if left much longer, and of course the cheaper prices in this corner of the world saw me front up to a very professional outfit around the corner. I naively asked for a clean and polish, but emerged two hours later with extra fillings, fewer teeth and only a £70 / $145NZ bill.
The young dentist used all sorts of pastes, drills, a mini x-ray machine etc and I was surprised how little the wisdom tooth extraction (and 6 injections) hurt.... Until the anaesthetic wore off.
The above price included another filling which I had this morning. I'm loaded up on ibuprofen and feeling pretty sorry for myself, but I'm really glad I got it done. My teeth aren't Hollywood white, but gone are a lot of tea and coffee stains and cavities from twenty years of neglect... It could have been a lot worse, I'm confident that I would need to add a zero to the end of the above cost if the work was done in NZ it the UK!

Princess Lily...

...loves chewing on bones... We stumbled upon this cool Street food area with the best house music I've heard in a long time... Happy days!

Rain, glorious rain!

We're at the park and it finally rains for the first time in weeks. All the Vietnamese people all run for cover despite the fact that there are just a few droplets per square metre... It's still 34 degrees! So refreshing!

Panic over, the spots of rain disappeared in a few minutes and kids came out to play again

Wow!

The kids fell asleep before 7pm (the first time in many days!) so we have crossed the (mental) road for a cheeky drink!

You can tell we're classy because we drink gin and tonic... out of a large plastic jar!

War museum

Let's just say that the prospect of walking a few k's to a museum did not enthrall the kids. Seeing tanks, helicopters, cannons and planes blew their minds as soon as we arrived!

Of course the effects of war are very sad on both sides, but it's hard not to marvel at the technology

Our street!

Plenty of hustle and bustle!

The psychedelic bar opposite our hotel

Bui Vien Street, Saigon

Will loves to play with his cars as millions of motor bikes go past

We'll Miss Saigon

This city has the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, but more open spaces and smiley faces...

We've moved hotels, right into the heart of the backpacker area. There are more hawkers and white faces, but rather than feeling like we're exploring a country, it actually feels more like we're on holiday at last. This might sound perverse, but this has felt anything but a holiday. I'm not complaining in a million years, I feel more relaxed and rested from teaching than I have in thirteen years and we're tighter as a family for sure. However, living out of a suitcase with two kids in tow has been more of an adventure than I'd expected... We are truly blessed that we've been able to have this experience. Sorry for the sentimentalism, here's our final stomping ground in Short Eat Asia;

Not so far from home!

One bed ain't enough for Lily Bell!

Dam Sen Water Park

A trip to the city would not be complete without the obligatory water park visit. Fortunately there is a public bus from door to door which took forever, but cost a few pennies, literally.

Saigon feels a bit more green and spacious than Bangkok, but with the temperature in the mid thirties, it's hard to do anything not water based (or air conditioned) in the day.

Bizarrely, they even have a hot pool;

Park life

We had the foresight to locate itself near this park. The temperature is finally doing below 30 degrees so it's time to burn off energy.

This lovely tree in the boulevard leading up to the park (thank you French colonists) looks as though it is melting like candle wax:

Spot Will and Lily:

A group of people just started playing La Bamba right next to the swings to add to the tropical atmosphere:

The 4x zoom on this camera dues not do this picture justice, but the moon rising over Saigon's tallest building, with bars catching breakfast amongst the trees is pretty stunning!