Apparently I’m not very good at updating this. My kind brother took liberty to inform me so here we go...another update! I think I’m still drunk from last night so my ramblings will be top notch quality. I’m sure being intoxicated by anything is the best time to write about life, the universe and motorbikes so it’s all good.
I took my motorbike out for the first time on Tuesday. I’d had it for 2 weeks and not touched it. Having a mix of fear and bad weather delayed me getting on it and whizzing round. It was getting ridiculous so I asked my housemate Zaak to give me a lesson and he agreed. At first I was terrible...seriously. I looked like a complete tit! I sat on it and didn’t know whether I was going left or right, whilst moving forward! In the space of 3 seconds I nearly hit a taxi and another motorbike. Due to my exquisite performance, Zaak thought it better to take me to Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, which isn’t too far from our house. There is a long road which is partly blocked at one end so there isn’t much traffic on the road. It was perfect for me to do a couple of laps on and within minutes I was a lot more comfortable driving round so Zaak jumped on the back and we drove round West Lake, which is the biggest lake in Hanoi and not far from where we live. We live in a great location. We’re round the corner from West Lake and the Botanical Gardens, I’m 10 minutes on a motorbike from work and 5 minutes walk to a local expat bar! Sorted. I haven’t dared the drive to work just yet. It’s pretty mental and very busy so I’m going to drive myself to the gym and get a bit more comfortable before I start ‘running’ so to speak.
Since my last update I’ve been out a few times. I had a really good night out on Saturday night, which is a rarity in my world because Saturday and Sunday and my busiest days. That’s the way it works in a language school as most of the students are at normal school during the week so don’t have the option to come then. The weekdays are more for teaching adults and then the weekends are for teaching kids. I’d booked the Sunday off weeks ago as it was my house mate’s birthday and had been told we were going to have a party. Whether I wanted to party or not, there was no way I’d have gotten any sleep and be able to teach for 6 hours on the Sunday. However, as time went on it was decided we weren’t going to have a party, but instead go to a place called Rock City, which is one of the few clubs in Hanoi. It’s a cool place and there was a night called Electric Hanoi on, which meant a load of fucked people dancing to hefty beats and spinning fire. It was a great vibe and I even got to have a dance to some drum n bass! We all partied til the sun came up but at the end of the night we all went our separate ways. I came back to the house with some friends and one friend managed to go home with my phone. I was woken up the following morning by my 2 housemates knocking on my door asking if they could use my phone to ring for food. Of course, I didn’t have a phone they could use. They then told me the reason they had no phone and it was quite possibly the best story ever to wake up to. After they had left the club they went to another bar, and then down to the river where they found a fisherman’s boat. They decided to steal this boat and take it out on the water...where ‘said’ boat then decided to sink! I’m not quite sure why but the boys had decided to strip down to their pants before taking the boat out so they had to swim back with nothing but boxers to hide their dignity. They lost pretty much everything they had on them but on the up side they did come back with a great story to tell and certainly gave me a good laugh the following morning!
I took my motorbike out for the first time on Tuesday. I’d had it for 2 weeks and not touched it. Having a mix of fear and bad weather delayed me getting on it and whizzing round. It was getting ridiculous so I asked my housemate Zaak to give me a lesson and he agreed. At first I was terrible...seriously. I looked like a complete tit! I sat on it and didn’t know whether I was going left or right, whilst moving forward! In the space of 3 seconds I nearly hit a taxi and another motorbike. Due to my exquisite performance, Zaak thought it better to take me to Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, which isn’t too far from our house. There is a long road which is partly blocked at one end so there isn’t much traffic on the road. It was perfect for me to do a couple of laps on and within minutes I was a lot more comfortable driving round so Zaak jumped on the back and we drove round West Lake, which is the biggest lake in Hanoi and not far from where we live. We live in a great location. We’re round the corner from West Lake and the Botanical Gardens, I’m 10 minutes on a motorbike from work and 5 minutes walk to a local expat bar! Sorted. I haven’t dared the drive to work just yet. It’s pretty mental and very busy so I’m going to drive myself to the gym and get a bit more comfortable before I start ‘running’ so to speak.
Since my last update I’ve been out a few times. I had a really good night out on Saturday night, which is a rarity in my world because Saturday and Sunday and my busiest days. That’s the way it works in a language school as most of the students are at normal school during the week so don’t have the option to come then. The weekdays are more for teaching adults and then the weekends are for teaching kids. I’d booked the Sunday off weeks ago as it was my house mate’s birthday and had been told we were going to have a party. Whether I wanted to party or not, there was no way I’d have gotten any sleep and be able to teach for 6 hours on the Sunday. However, as time went on it was decided we weren’t going to have a party, but instead go to a place called Rock City, which is one of the few clubs in Hanoi. It’s a cool place and there was a night called Electric Hanoi on, which meant a load of fucked people dancing to hefty beats and spinning fire. It was a great vibe and I even got to have a dance to some drum n bass! We all partied til the sun came up but at the end of the night we all went our separate ways. I came back to the house with some friends and one friend managed to go home with my phone. I was woken up the following morning by my 2 housemates knocking on my door asking if they could use my phone to ring for food. Of course, I didn’t have a phone they could use. They then told me the reason they had no phone and it was quite possibly the best story ever to wake up to. After they had left the club they went to another bar, and then down to the river where they found a fisherman’s boat. They decided to steal this boat and take it out on the water...where ‘said’ boat then decided to sink! I’m not quite sure why but the boys had decided to strip down to their pants before taking the boat out so they had to swim back with nothing but boxers to hide their dignity. They lost pretty much everything they had on them but on the up side they did come back with a great story to tell and certainly gave me a good laugh the following morning!
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A few days have passed since I wrote that and a lot seems to have happened since. I’m still getting used to how much can happen in a day in this country. I’ve been meeting more people and having more fun. I had a few days of serious homesickness but those feelings seem to have passed now and I’m loving every day in this country. I seem to have found the peace of mind I needed when I was in London. I want to learn Vietnamese so I can communicate properly here but at the same time I love the feeling of being in my own bubble. You get a lot of looks here but that is expected and I don’t worry about people judging me. Maybe I’m just growing up... I’m not sure. I don’t want to grow up too much though! I’m sure I’ll still have my fun, twattish qualities no matter how grey I get.
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Another new day...
I crashed my bike this morning. It’s a very common thing here and it wasn’t serious but I hurt myself and was left pretty shaken afterwards. I was on my way into work (it was the first time I’d taken my bike out during the day) and came to some traffic lights where the bike stalled. The lights turned green and I was trying to get my bike started again. As I was doing this a road washer came past and soaked me, as well as the road. I had no idea road washers existed but clearly they do! All of a sudden the bike revved up and took me with it. I skidded across the road, falling on my side with the bike landing on top of me. I haven’t broken anything but I’ve bruised my hip, leg and grazed down my left arm. If anything I was left shaken but I had to get up and out the road straight away as I was in the middle of oncoming traffic. Nobody stopped to help me and that’s a common thing in Vietnam. I guess they’re just so used to seeing people crash their bikes. I need to practice more as I’m not confident on it but I just don’t have the desire to go out on it yet I’m paying $40 a month to rent it. Tit bags. I seem to have found myself in a situation where I have £30 in my bank to last me the week. I’m not quite sure how this has happened but I have been doing a lot recently and drinking has been a big part of that. Figures, I suppose! You can’t have fun without consequence. Ying yang or something...
Hanoi seems to be the city of possibilities. I’ve met a few people who have been here for a short period of time and gone on to bigger, better things. I have had a few interesting opportunities approach me too. I’m not going to go into anything just yet as I’ve still only really just got here and I’m not sure what the next step is but watch this space. My contract with Apollo ends in September and I would like to go back to the UK for a visit then I’m pretty certain I’ll come back to Hanoi. This city is just on the cusp of becoming something big. A few people have said it’s like Thailand 20 years ago so now is a great time to throw some ideas out and stick your fingers in the pie...the pie of potential, if you like!
Well, there’s a selection of recent happenings spread out over a number of days. There will be more to follow but I thought it best to post this before you grow tired and forget I am here and I can write stuff.
Chào!
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