Let me preface this series of posts with a little bit of my life story: my dad is an expat Kiwi, living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. My parents have been married nearly 30 years, but are currently in a 7-year LDR, which is set to finish at the end of this year when my mum moves over here to finally live with him. This whole thing started when he took a job offer in Suva, Fiji, when I was 12. The schooling system there was dismal, so my two brothers and I stayed in Christchurch to finish our educations. When the coup got serious in Fiji, dad moved to Sydney, where he stayed until the end of last year when he moved to Vietnam. One of the perks of being an expat is a travel allowance for your family, which is how my big brother James and I were able to make it here.
So, onto the adventures! I'm sure blog readers and real-life friends alike were sick of my ash-cloud-related freakouts, but they were warranted, as our Jetstar (shudder) flight on Monday was cancelled because of it. Thankfully we re-booked on a slightly better airline, one that can afford both nice staff and proper navigational equipment, and made it to Singapore only a day late.
(The view from our hotel room, out onto THE most RIDICULOUS building I've ever seen. Who in their right mind would stay in this?!)
(The boardwalk-type area where we had dinner late on our first night)
(We came back to our hotel room to find these cute little cards, warning us of the stifling heat to follow the next day.)
(Hotel breakfasts!! When I am rich, famous, et al., I'm going to have a full-time employee to cook me eggs.)
(Chilling in front of Miu Miu on Orchard Rd, which is the fanciest shopping district in Singapore, pretending like I could ever afford anything there. I'm wearing a dress that I coveted for ages until Christie agreed to sell it to me, thrifted Chucks, my old leather satchel and a boater which was a gift.)
(As my dad is a ~frequent stayer~ sort of thing at this hotel, we got access to a fancy little lounge with unlimited Moet and tasty things. Vintage cheddar, chevre, brie, crudites and pesto- basically my dream meal right here.)
(James and I looking tired, sweaty and jetlagged, all of which we were significantly.)
(Anybody who knows me well, knows I am obsessed with Reese's products. You can't really buy them in New Zealand, so this store was a dream for me!)
This is kinda a boring entry, especially for a travel one, because we didn't really get up to a lot in Singapore. We were only there for one day, and so tired from travel that we couldn't be bothered doing much. This morning we flew into Ho Chi Minh City, and I write this from my dad's apartment. It's strange here, because of the whole communist thing it's absolutely impossible to access Facebook, yet blogs are allowed! I would've thought blogging would be far more dangerous to the regime but hey, what do I know.
But real-life friends, if you're reading this- please email me, even if just about how cold it is in Chch! My address is in the side-bar, and I'm so keen to catch up with all of you. The heat here is so intense that I can only be active for a few hours out of every day, so I have a bit of downtime to talk to y'all. Time for a swim... dying.
So, onto the adventures! I'm sure blog readers and real-life friends alike were sick of my ash-cloud-related freakouts, but they were warranted, as our Jetstar (shudder) flight on Monday was cancelled because of it. Thankfully we re-booked on a slightly better airline, one that can afford both nice staff and proper navigational equipment, and made it to Singapore only a day late.
(The view from our hotel room, out onto THE most RIDICULOUS building I've ever seen. Who in their right mind would stay in this?!)
(The boardwalk-type area where we had dinner late on our first night)
(We came back to our hotel room to find these cute little cards, warning us of the stifling heat to follow the next day.)
(Hotel breakfasts!! When I am rich, famous, et al., I'm going to have a full-time employee to cook me eggs.)
(Chilling in front of Miu Miu on Orchard Rd, which is the fanciest shopping district in Singapore, pretending like I could ever afford anything there. I'm wearing a dress that I coveted for ages until Christie agreed to sell it to me, thrifted Chucks, my old leather satchel and a boater which was a gift.)
(As my dad is a ~frequent stayer~ sort of thing at this hotel, we got access to a fancy little lounge with unlimited Moet and tasty things. Vintage cheddar, chevre, brie, crudites and pesto- basically my dream meal right here.)
(James and I looking tired, sweaty and jetlagged, all of which we were significantly.)
(Anybody who knows me well, knows I am obsessed with Reese's products. You can't really buy them in New Zealand, so this store was a dream for me!)
This is kinda a boring entry, especially for a travel one, because we didn't really get up to a lot in Singapore. We were only there for one day, and so tired from travel that we couldn't be bothered doing much. This morning we flew into Ho Chi Minh City, and I write this from my dad's apartment. It's strange here, because of the whole communist thing it's absolutely impossible to access Facebook, yet blogs are allowed! I would've thought blogging would be far more dangerous to the regime but hey, what do I know.
But real-life friends, if you're reading this- please email me, even if just about how cold it is in Chch! My address is in the side-bar, and I'm so keen to catch up with all of you. The heat here is so intense that I can only be active for a few hours out of every day, so I have a bit of downtime to talk to y'all. Time for a swim... dying.
so much reeses, oh godddd! yum!
ReplyDeleteI always feel so ignorant about what goes on in Asia, having never been, We did almost move to Vietnam one time, so I did loads of research and got really excited, but then it didn't work out. Enjoy your time there. It's 32 ish degrees here too, so I know what you're talking about!
ReplyDeleteSawasdee ka!
ReplyDeleteI come to visit you blog naka. ^-^
This post is really cool, even if you didn't get to see a lot of Singapore. I love reading about bloggers' travels. And the Reese's...wow...my sister is living in Melbourne right now and has told me how hard Reese's cups are to come by. I need to send her some!
ReplyDeleteThese photos are really lovely, and the story is very interesting. I haven't been to Asia yet but I imagine that it's quite the experience!
ReplyDeleteYou look amaaazing! I love Singapore! I lived in Brunei for 12 years, which is about a 2 hour flight away (and just as wonderfully hot! Mmm!)
ReplyDeletex
Lost in the Haze
It's pretty ridiculous in Singapore that they really hate chewing-gum and took me as their enemy just because I like it. Not to mention that everything in the island are in ordered already. Not so much to explore around.
ReplyDeleteIt may be difficult for new comers in Saigon to log in Facebook, but we all, Vietnamese and expats, use ultrasurf to leak through the network system. Please don't worry that cops are going to arrest you because they aren't. Using Facebook is NOT officially banned here. Yon can try ultrasurf by download it from ultrasurf.com.
Tom from http://www.saigonstay.com.vn