It finally happened. I got left. Almost daily, Barbara has breakfast at Tony Cafe right in front of our apartment building. Usually, us water bottles don't go because our friend Khoa, who owns Tony Cafe, sells fresh squeezed orange juice, Barbara's favorite, but today Barbara took me along because she wanted to save money by not purchasing an orange juice. Truthfully, I can't understand why she would do so since her meal is almost always paid by some friend who wants to practice English. Today, three people joined us at the table and insisted on paying for her meal.
Mind you, four people at the table equals 9 containers of beverages on the table since every meal in South Vietnam is served with tea. Even if you order just coffee, or just a smoothie, it is served with a glass of tea. Her friends ordered cups of Vietnam's favorite morning beverage, coffee with sweetened condensed milk, so, when everyone left the table, Barbara forgot me in the midst of all the glasses. At one point she turned back to the table with a look of, "Isn't there something I am forgetting?" but I could not get her attention since of course, I can neither speak nor move. So, after so many adventures with Barbara, I was sadly forgotten. Forlornly I tumbled into the trash bin to never be seen again. I will miss you Barbara. Thanks for the good times....
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Thursday, March 31, 2016
Remember the twins from blog #9?
We are maintaining our post at the school near the chom choms for quite a while now. It really is not very interesting here. Mostly all we hear are complaints about how hard everyone is working. Barbara always says hello when she visits the table to retrieve her chom choms, but she still can not tell us apart. It is quite sad for us when she arrives at the counter with her current water bottle. She feels badly visiting with a new bottle, but this is also the place where Mr. 5 gallon abides,and she must fill her individual bottle from here. You cannot imagine how hot is in Vietnam when the air con is turned off and when I see a everyone's bottles and cups getting filled with icy cold water, oh, I long for those days. We must say that we are a bit jealous, but in fact, the 5 gallon is a bright spot in our day. He is replaced every week and when all the workers go home at night, he reagals us with stories from his travels about the city. Tonight he told us.............
Bike riding in Vietnam
My big brother just came back from a bike ride with Barbara and he was white as a ghost (which is hard to become when you are opaque). I have spoken of the traffic before, but I have not told you the method for crossing the street when you need to travel in the opposite direction. Hint: It does not involve making a left turn across traffic. Most streets do not flow to a traffic signal, and people do not stop for us when we want to cross the street, so how do you think it is done? Any guesses? Only one choice is left to us. We must travel down the street the wrong way, against traffic, dodging those coming toward us, until we can merge into the traffic in the lane which is going our direction. Bicycles, motorbikes, cars, they all use this method of travel. It sounds and looks dangerous but think about it, it works very well because everyone can see each other.
Russian MIG airplane
Ever see a Russian MIG up close? One just flew by. Our apartment is on the 16th floor and I felt as if I could reach out and touch it! The Bien Hoa airport can be seen from our window.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Traitor!
Today at Barbara's school, I was happily abiding at the computer where she had been working when I noticed her across the room, tipping a water bottle to her lips. I was about to yell traitor, when I recognized the water bottle to be one of my production mates. I watched and waited for Barbara to realize that it wasn't me, and sure enough, as she was taking her final gulp, she turned and zeroed in on my position. You should have seen the look in her eye when she discovered her lips to be touching that of another. It was hilarious! She quickly put the water bottle down, grabbed me, and we skedaddled out of there. I don't know who belonged to that water bottle, but they will never know that it had been defiled. Seriously though, I don't know how Barbara ever mistook that water bottle for me. Couldn't she tell that it was a female water bottle, whereas I am a male water bottle? It's so obvious!
Vietnam's love afair with motorbikes
I went with Barbara to her favorite breakfast spot. I've got to tell you, the walk there was not fun. My little buddy was right about the traffic situation. The traffic at the marketplace was tame, but here in town, oh boy, what a nightmare! Due to the lack of traffic laws, walking in Vietnam, and in most of Asia I hear, is extremely precarious You see, pedestrians do not have the right of way in Nam, and crazily enough,
motorbikes and cars are not limited to the streets. Yes, this means a car can drive on the sidewalk along with the pedestrians. For instance, if Barbara wants to enter a shop, she has to look behind her before even taking a step to the right, because a motorbike or car may want to pass between her and the shop door. Barbara likens it to snow skiing down a mountain. The rules are the same. It is the responsibility of the uphill, or in the case of a road, the person in the back, to avoid the downhill person, but it is also the responsibility of the downhill person to remain on a constant trajectory. Sudden moves to the right and left are not advised. Barbara is a good skiier, and often skiied within a few inches of her friends within hitting them, so when she feels the breeze of a motorbike cutting close to her, she trusts them to not hit her, and is quite confident that Vietnamese drivers are very skilled because they have to be. Bad drivers would get themselves killed very quickly. And worse, they would kill thousands of little babies. You would have to see it to believe it, but whole families will ride on one motorbike seat with infants protected only by the parents between whom they are smashed. If a single parent and child are riding, the infant is seated on a high stool which is not attached, but only balances in front of the driver. Added to that, the Vietnamese do not allow their children to wear helmets because they are afraid of neck injury. Disregarding the fact that they are in a death seat!!!!!?????
The cutest kids
I went to school with Barbara today and I have got to say, these Vietnamese kids are the cutest kids in the world. I am not kidding. They are adorable! Barbara has some teenager students also and the girls are all beautiful. Oh, if only I was human!
BWOC
Hello, I am Big Water bottle On Campus. My little buddy has filled me in on life up until this time. I have been in Bien Hoa for quite some time, but don't really know much about the town. My home was in a convenience store on a shelf, where I really couldn't see much. My store is one of many down at the marketplace by the river. The marketplace is called Bien Hoa market and the river is called Song Dong Nai. There are probably a hundred little shops down here which sell all manner of goods, and just as many food carts and restaurants. I couldn't really see much of what was going on at the marketplace since I was tucked away indoors and most of the action is outside in the streets. So, as you can imagine, I was thrilled to walk around with Barbara and Pat for a few hours. All this time, I had been wondering about the rumbling noise I heard outside, and now I know...... the place is full of motorbikes. Since most of the shops are outside, people drive their motorbikes from stall to stall, gathering their goods, without ever leaving their motorbikes. Of course I did not know this because I was housed where people could only get into my shop on foot. As I cruise the streets, my little buddy informs me that Barbara does not have a motorbike and usually walks everywhere. He tells me to enjoy my peaceful walking tour of the marketplace and warns me that when we get into town, the traffic will scare me to death. I don't know, it doesn't look like a big deal to me.........
Meet my new big brother. Water bottle #12
Barbara's co-worker Pat lives directly above us so we do a lot together. Today we visited the fabric area by the river because an average sized American must have clothes specially made, as all the clothes in the shops are for short tiny Vietnamese people. It is also very inexpensive to have clothes made, so why not. Our friend Nhia, who works at the front desk in our building, has a mother will do the sewing. I don't know if you have ever been fabric shopping, but there is a plethora of choices and it is very hard to decide. Needless to say, we spent hours and hours at the outdoor market, and as the day wore on, it became hotter and hotter and the shops began closing their doors for siesta. After today, I finally understand the purpose of the Mexican siesta and most of the shops and restaurants close from 11 am until 4 pm. It is just too hot without air conditioning. In this heat, it wasn't long until I was drained of water. Pat's water bottle was emptied quickly also, so she bought a new water bottle for both Barbara and herself. I am a 250 ml bottle and the new bottle is 500 ml, so I call him my big brother, #12
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Home again in Bien Hoa First hint of quitting ila
I, #7 continue to go about my travels, mostly to and from the school. Sometimes I am left in the staff room and I hear things. MOVE THIS I know that most of the young teachers want to be in a party town like Saigon and they don't want to work in off-the-wall places like Bien Hoa I FOUND out that Barbara, Lila 50+ from South Africa, Pat 60+ from USA and Maurice 60+ from UK were all assigned here because YOUNG I'm not sure if you would be able to find this many 50+ in other places.
Also, all the teachers complain about the misleading job description which brought them here. It sounded so carefree. You only have to teach 16 hours and you get paid $20 USD/hour. However, the advertisement neglected to mention the crummy curriculum which requires at least 2 hours of prep time for each hour taught. Complaints escalated yesterday when the new manager visited our classes and told many of the teachers that they were doing everything wrong and must change. As all the teachers are putting in about 30 hours of unpaid weekly overtime already, and this would add another 10, many of them are thinking about switching to one of the other 12 schools in town. Of course, most people are just talk, but I think Barbara is going to do it.
I can't believe these fools working 40 hours a week when the job was advertised as 16 hours per week.
Also, all the teachers complain about the misleading job description which brought them here. It sounded so carefree. You only have to teach 16 hours and you get paid $20 USD/hour. However, the advertisement neglected to mention the crummy curriculum which requires at least 2 hours of prep time for each hour taught. Complaints escalated yesterday when the new manager visited our classes and told many of the teachers that they were doing everything wrong and must change. As all the teachers are putting in about 30 hours of unpaid weekly overtime already, and this would add another 10, many of them are thinking about switching to one of the other 12 schools in town. Of course, most people are just talk, but I think Barbara is going to do it.
I can't believe these fools working 40 hours a week when the job was advertised as 16 hours per week.
Water bottle #7 at home alone
Barbara took the bus to Cambodia and planned to fly back. I'm no fool, I know airplanes don't allow water bottles, so I volunteered to stay in Bien Hoa and save my life. I played it up real good that I was afraid of spilling on the bus ride so they never figured out my real reason.
It's too bad planes don't allow water bottles. Wouldn't you much rather ride on a plane than a bus? Can you believe a plane ride is only 45 minutes compared to the 7 hour bus ride. Well what do you expect for $15 compared to $150.
MOVE THIS DOWNI spoke too soon. After what I heard about the fiasco at the airport, I am glad I was left here in peace, and you know what, I will take the bus over the plane any day. The plane was almost missed and Arin's bag was presumed stolen until it was found to be stuck in the xray machine. No thanks, I want no part of that.
I had a very peaceful 4 days while everybody was gone, but I wasn't alone. I had a friendly mother bird building a nest right outside the window in the balcony planter. Barbara saw her before she left to Cambodia, and had hoped to see it finished upon her return, but the mother bird abandoned her efforts after a couple days so Barbara did not get to experience the joy of baby birds.
Oh boy, am I glad I was not on that flight. What a fiasco at the airport.
It's too bad planes don't allow water bottles. Wouldn't you much rather ride on a plane than a bus? Can you believe a plane ride is only 45 minutes compared to the 7 hour bus ride. Well what do you expect for $15 compared to $150.
MOVE THIS DOWNI spoke too soon. After what I heard about the fiasco at the airport, I am glad I was left here in peace, and you know what, I will take the bus over the plane any day. The plane was almost missed and Arin's bag was presumed stolen until it was found to be stuck in the xray machine. No thanks, I want no part of that.
I had a very peaceful 4 days while everybody was gone, but I wasn't alone. I had a friendly mother bird building a nest right outside the window in the balcony planter. Barbara saw her before she left to Cambodia, and had hoped to see it finished upon her return, but the mother bird abandoned her efforts after a couple days so Barbara did not get to experience the joy of baby birds.
Oh boy, am I glad I was not on that flight. What a fiasco at the airport.
Airport Siem Reap 9 10 11,die
Barbara's return to Vietnam was by airplane, so we I got abandoned because of course, water bottles are not allowed on airplanes. Barbara thought it would be really cool to have a Cambodian water bottle in Vietnam because the Cambodian writing is so beautiful, but is was not to be.
Angkor Wat 8 dies, 11 acquired Need to describe ankor
I knew it, I got left in the Tuk Tuk. Tiger is our driver and he speaks fluent English. DESCRIBE ANKOR
You know, I'm really angry about the whole situation because we shouldn't have even had to make this visa run! We are supposed to already have the work permit promised by the school. One day, while eating a school sponsored lunch in the Korean restaurant, one of the managers let it slip that the school has worked it out with immigration so that they only need the number of work permits to match the number of employed foreigners regardless of what names are on the permits, so they only initiate the work permit process when the numbers don't match up. Barbara and some of the other teachers have been livid about this work permit delay, and now, so am I. Before Barbara left the USA, she spent a lot time, not to mention stress, driving all over California acquiring documents and spent a lot of money on a Federal Bureau of Investigation clearance, fingerprints, etc, all the things that the school insisted were required for this work permit in Vietnam, just to discover that most teachers arrive with nothing other than a passport and just do a visa run across the border every 90 days.
Well, at least I got to see Ankor Wat instead of just getting a glimpse of the border by taking one of those all day visa runs offered by Vietnamese who drive carloads of foreigners to the border and back everyday. Barbara decided instead to combine her visa run with a short, cheap vacation since it is TET holiday and everything in Vietnam is shut down so people can return to their villages to spend time with family.
Barbara didn't need me anymore and I wasn't going back on the plane anyway, so after she drank all three of us because it was hot, hot, hot, and she left me in the tuk tuk. The driver, Tiger, gave me to one of his friends who has promised to recycle me.
Tiger driver gave Barbara a water bottle for our journey, hence, water bottle # 11 has arrived and she is beautiful! She is beautiful mainly because the Cambodian written language is very artistic.
You know, I'm really angry about the whole situation because we shouldn't have even had to make this visa run! We are supposed to already have the work permit promised by the school. One day, while eating a school sponsored lunch in the Korean restaurant, one of the managers let it slip that the school has worked it out with immigration so that they only need the number of work permits to match the number of employed foreigners regardless of what names are on the permits, so they only initiate the work permit process when the numbers don't match up. Barbara and some of the other teachers have been livid about this work permit delay, and now, so am I. Before Barbara left the USA, she spent a lot time, not to mention stress, driving all over California acquiring documents and spent a lot of money on a Federal Bureau of Investigation clearance, fingerprints, etc, all the things that the school insisted were required for this work permit in Vietnam, just to discover that most teachers arrive with nothing other than a passport and just do a visa run across the border every 90 days.
Well, at least I got to see Ankor Wat instead of just getting a glimpse of the border by taking one of those all day visa runs offered by Vietnamese who drive carloads of foreigners to the border and back everyday. Barbara decided instead to combine her visa run with a short, cheap vacation since it is TET holiday and everything in Vietnam is shut down so people can return to their villages to spend time with family.
Barbara didn't need me anymore and I wasn't going back on the plane anyway, so after she drank all three of us because it was hot, hot, hot, and she left me in the tuk tuk. The driver, Tiger, gave me to one of his friends who has promised to recycle me.
Tiger driver gave Barbara a water bottle for our journey, hence, water bottle # 11 has arrived and she is beautiful! She is beautiful mainly because the Cambodian written language is very artistic.
Bus journey through Cambodia 9.10 acquired
I have met some friends so now I won't be abandoned alone. They are property of Mekong bus lines and were given to Barbara on the two legs of her journey through Cambodia. Water bottle #9 was obtained on the leg from Ho Chi Minh to Phenom Penn and #10 came along for the ride to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Right now we are all staying in the most beautiful hotel ever named HNK. We are surrounded by carved wood on the walls and ceiling. You must see this hotel if ever you have the chance. It's one of the expensive hotels in Siem Reap, our friend Lila is here also and her hotel is only $9. Most of the hotels also include a free ride to or from the airport or bus station in their price. We opted for a ride back to the airport from the hotel. For our ride to the hotel, we caught a Tuk-tuk. I was warned to carry some Cambodian money called rials, but since the money is not allowed out of the country, it is very difficult to obtain. When I informed the tuk-tuk driver I did not have rials, he let me pay in US dollars. Later, when I hit up the ATM, the cash came out in US dollars. You may be surprised that US dollars is now one of the official currencies in Cambodia. The riels don't have much value and are used mostly for increments less than one US dollar.
All the drivers offers us tourists, for a price of $9 a day to fetch us and take us to the tourist spots.
All the drivers offers us tourists, for a price of $9 a day to fetch us and take us to the tourist spots.
Meking bus and more cries from my lost mates. 4,5 6 die--7 stays at hoe, 8 goes on bus ride
I, water bottle #6, am alone am on a Mekong bus with Barbara, headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her 3 month visa ran out so we had to leave the country for a minute. Last night we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City where we caught the bus this morning. The hotel was recommended by our friend Pat. Pat came to Vietnam after investigating the world's teaching opportunities and discovered Vietnam to be the best bang for the buck in wages vs. cost of living. At 60 years old, she flew to Saigon to take a CELTA class and began her new career as an international English teacher. The CELTA is an intensive 4-6 week class presented by the British Council that results in an English teaching certificate recognized by most 2nd and 3rd world countries. The trick is to take the class in the country where you want to teach, because at the end of class, all the local schools are banging down the doors to get to you.
Today's bus ride has been surprisingly pleasant. Water bottle #7 was left in Bien Hoa to await our return, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will never see it again since Barbara is coming back by airline, and you know their policy.... This is very sad for me that I must be abandoned in a foreign country where I don't know anyone. At least my other lost and abandoned mates got to stay in their home country of Vietnam. Listen to their cries as they were lost, one by one.
Water Bottle #4 Noooooo, I was sighed as Barbara accidentally left me at the rice restaurant. I don't know why she even brought me here since they serve iced tea anyway. Oh yeah, that's right. Someone informed her that they do not wash out the glasses after each use, but I say "So what! Let everyone share." I just hope I don't fall onto the floor with all these rats running around!
#5: Barbara promised me a viewing of Star Wars 7 and then she left me on the ticket counter and watched Star Wars without me. What a disappointment. I have been waiting forever for that sequel.
#6: Barbara carried me to her workplace in her backpack, then after her first class, she spotted Pat's bottle, thought it was me, and threw it on top of me. This guy looked exactly like me thus both our fates were sealed. As soon as she opens the backpack and sees us twins, we just know she is going to throw us both out. Oh...... she's seen us! Start praying! Hey, she's not throwing us out. Instead, she leaves us both filled and on top of the counter in the coffee area. Now we call ourselves the twins. We hang out together near the water cooler and the chom choms and other snacks provided by the school. We have been here for a long time. No one knows who we belong to so they're hesitant to toss us.
Today's bus ride has been surprisingly pleasant. Water bottle #7 was left in Bien Hoa to await our return, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will never see it again since Barbara is coming back by airline, and you know their policy.... This is very sad for me that I must be abandoned in a foreign country where I don't know anyone. At least my other lost and abandoned mates got to stay in their home country of Vietnam. Listen to their cries as they were lost, one by one.
Water Bottle #4 Noooooo, I was sighed as Barbara accidentally left me at the rice restaurant. I don't know why she even brought me here since they serve iced tea anyway. Oh yeah, that's right. Someone informed her that they do not wash out the glasses after each use, but I say "So what! Let everyone share." I just hope I don't fall onto the floor with all these rats running around!
#5: Barbara promised me a viewing of Star Wars 7 and then she left me on the ticket counter and watched Star Wars without me. What a disappointment. I have been waiting forever for that sequel.
#6: Barbara carried me to her workplace in her backpack, then after her first class, she spotted Pat's bottle, thought it was me, and threw it on top of me. This guy looked exactly like me thus both our fates were sealed. As soon as she opens the backpack and sees us twins, we just know she is going to throw us both out. Oh...... she's seen us! Start praying! Hey, she's not throwing us out. Instead, she leaves us both filled and on top of the counter in the coffee area. Now we call ourselves the twins. We hang out together near the water cooler and the chom choms and other snacks provided by the school. We have been here for a long time. No one knows who we belong to so they're hesitant to toss us.
monkeys 3 dies get 7,8
Oh man, I got dumped in the trash today. I was trying to explain my importance, but my cries fell on deaf ears. Why me? What did I do to deserve this?
I can't tell you how many times Barbara has left one of us water bottles at her workplace overnight. We don't mind because the sunsets over the river are gorgeous and the computers have tons of bootlegged movies that we can watch. We hardly ever get thrown away. The cleaning ladies do a great job keeping the floor clean, but when it comes to the tables, Barbara is the only one who clears them off, so pity the water bottles which do not belong to her.
Her de-cluttering began one day when she found notes belonging to another 50+ teacher who left awhile ago. The teacher, who travels with her teenage daughter went to work in Mongolia and then United Arab Emerites. I thought the middle east was supposed to be dangerous??? Maybe I need to stop listening to the media. Barbara deduced that the tables weren't cleared because everyone was too afraid of tossing out something important, so she began doing it herself, once realizing that none of it was important. Often there is left over birthday cake on the table too. Barbara does not mind this, because Vietnam has absolutely the best cake icing! She describes it as biting into a cloud.
Demise of water bottle #3: You dirty rotten monkeys! The school sponsered a fun staff bonding outing to Monkey Island, which ended up being less like fun and more like terrorizing, We bonded alright, because we were grabbing onto each other for protection, especially when the monkeys saw us with food. Pat, a 60+ teacher who is Barbara's best friend here, spotted an ice cream stand on the island and suggested getting one. Well, as soon as the monkeys noticed Barbara's, they began jumping on us to get at it, but she was not going to give up that delicious Vietnamese creamcicle. Unfortunately, that left me unguarded and one of those danged monkeys climbed up and grabbed me. As I was being dragged toward the alligator infested swamp, I saw Barbara fighting off monkeys and exclaiming,"Pat, I'm gonna get you for this!"
Let us introduce ourselves, we are water bottles #7,8 and we want to assure #5 that Barbara did not go thirsty as she was able to pick us up from the company supplied ice chest. We accompanied Barbara on the remainder of the excursion that included a hot pot on the beach, a ferry ride, a dinner at a seafood restaurant, and monkey free ice cream cones back in town. Barbara said that the rest of the trip was one of the best in her life. We're starting to get the idea that she may be a foodie!
Have you ever had a bonding outing go terribly wrong?
DELETE BELOW
I, water bottle #6, am alone am on a Mekong bus with Barbara, headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her 3 month visa ran out so we had to leave the country for a minute. Last night we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City where we caught the bus. The hotel was recommended by a fellow teacher, Pat. Pat investigated the world's teaching opportunities and deemed Vietnam to be the best bang for the buck in wages vs. cost of living. So at 60 years old, she flew to Saigon to take a CELTA class and began her new career as an international English teacher. The CELTA is an intensive 4-6 week class presented by the British Council that results in a teaching certificate recognized by most 2nd and 3rd world countries. The trick is to take the class in the country where you want to teach, because at the end of class, all the local schools are banging down the doors to get to you.
The bus ride has been surprisingly pleasant. One of my buddies was left in Bien Hoa to await our return, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will not be returning since Barbara is coming back by airline, and you know their policy. This is very sad for me that I must be abandoned in a foreign country. At least my mates get to stay in Vietnam. Listen to the cries as they were lost, one by one.
Water Bottle #3: Noooooo, I was sighed as Barbara accidentally left me at the rice restaurant. I don't know why she even brought me here since they serve iced tea anyway. Oh yeah, that's right. Someone informed her that they do not wash out the glasses after each use, but I say "So what! Let everyone share." I just hope I don't fall onto the floor with all these rats running around!
#4: Barbara promised me a viewing of Star Wars 7 and then she left me on the ticket counter and watched Star Wars without me. What a disappointment. I have been waiting forever for that sequel.
#5: Barbara carried me to her workplace in her backpack, then after her first class, she spotted Pat's bottle, thought it was me, and threw it on top of me. This guy looked exactly like me thus both our fates were sealed. As soon as she opens the backpack and sees us twins, we just know she is going to throw us both out. Oh...... she's seen us! Start praying! Hey, she's not throwing us out. Instead, she left us both full and on top of the counter in the coffee area. Now we call ourselves the twins. We hang out together near the water cooler and the chom choms. We have been here for a long time. No one knows who we belong to so they're hesitant to toss us.
I can't tell you how many times Barbara has left one of us water bottles at her workplace overnight. We don't mind because the sunsets over the river are gorgeous and the computers have tons of bootlegged movies that we can watch. We hardly ever get thrown away. The cleaning ladies do a great job keeping the floor clean, but when it comes to the tables, Barbara is the only one who clears them off, so pity the water bottles which do not belong to her.
Her de-cluttering began one day when she found notes belonging to another 50+ teacher who left awhile ago. The teacher, who travels with her teenage daughter went to work in Mongolia and then United Arab Emerites. I thought the middle east was supposed to be dangerous??? Maybe I need to stop listening to the media. Barbara deduced that the tables weren't cleared because everyone was too afraid of tossing out something important, so she began doing it herself, once realizing that none of it was important. Often there is left over birthday cake on the table too. Barbara does not mind this, because Vietnam has absolutely the best cake icing! She describes it as biting into a cloud.
Demise of water bottle #3: You dirty rotten monkeys! The school sponsered a fun staff bonding outing to Monkey Island, which ended up being less like fun and more like terrorizing, We bonded alright, because we were grabbing onto each other for protection, especially when the monkeys saw us with food. Pat, a 60+ teacher who is Barbara's best friend here, spotted an ice cream stand on the island and suggested getting one. Well, as soon as the monkeys noticed Barbara's, they began jumping on us to get at it, but she was not going to give up that delicious Vietnamese creamcicle. Unfortunately, that left me unguarded and one of those danged monkeys climbed up and grabbed me. As I was being dragged toward the alligator infested swamp, I saw Barbara fighting off monkeys and exclaiming,"Pat, I'm gonna get you for this!"
Let us introduce ourselves, we are water bottles #7,8 and we want to assure #5 that Barbara did not go thirsty as she was able to pick us up from the company supplied ice chest. We accompanied Barbara on the remainder of the excursion that included a hot pot on the beach, a ferry ride, a dinner at a seafood restaurant, and monkey free ice cream cones back in town. Barbara said that the rest of the trip was one of the best in her life. We're starting to get the idea that she may be a foodie!
Have you ever had a bonding outing go terribly wrong?
I, water bottle #6, am alone am on a Mekong bus with Barbara, headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her 3 month visa ran out so we had to leave the country for a minute. Last night we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City where we caught the bus. The hotel was recommended by a fellow teacher, Pat. Pat investigated the world's teaching opportunities and deemed Vietnam to be the best bang for the buck in wages vs. cost of living. So at 60 years old, she flew to Saigon to take a CELTA class and began her new career as an international English teacher. The CELTA is an intensive 4-6 week class presented by the British Council that results in a teaching certificate recognized by most 2nd and 3rd world countries. The trick is to take the class in the country where you want to teach, because at the end of class, all the local schools are banging down the doors to get to you.
The bus ride has been surprisingly pleasant. One of my buddies was left in Bien Hoa to await our return, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will not be returning since Barbara is coming back by airline, and you know their policy. This is very sad for me that I must be abandoned in a foreign country. At least my mates get to stay in Vietnam. Listen to the cries as they were lost, one by one.
Water Bottle #3: Noooooo, I was sighed as Barbara accidentally left me at the rice restaurant. I don't know why she even brought me here since they serve iced tea anyway. Oh yeah, that's right. Someone informed her that they do not wash out the glasses after each use, but I say "So what! Let everyone share." I just hope I don't fall onto the floor with all these rats running around!
#4: Barbara promised me a viewing of Star Wars 7 and then she left me on the ticket counter and watched Star Wars without me. What a disappointment. I have been waiting forever for that sequel.
#5: Barbara carried me to her workplace in her backpack, then after her first class, she spotted Pat's bottle, thought it was me, and threw it on top of me. This guy looked exactly like me thus both our fates were sealed. As soon as she opens the backpack and sees us twins, we just know she is going to throw us both out. Oh...... she's seen us! Start praying! Hey, she's not throwing us out. Instead, she left us both full and on top of the counter in the coffee area. Now we call ourselves the twins. We hang out together near the water cooler and the chom choms. We have been here for a long time. No one knows who we belong to so they're hesitant to toss us.
Our new home: Ca ho 1603 Pegasus Plaza, Bien Hoa, Vietnam 3,4,5,6,
"Why is Jennifer hopping around the hotel room in the middle of the night; is this some type of exercise routine?", wondered water bottle #4 and I? We heard her exclaim, "My leg has fallen asleep." and something about a hard bed. We don't get it, don't humans want their legs to fall asleep at night, along with the rest of their body???
The hotel maid kept putting out new water bottles every day. Today 4 of us moved with Barbara to her new apartment in the Pegasus Plaza. It is a small but bright 2 bedroom apartment for $350 USD per month. The Pegasus Plaza has a rooftop swimming pool, a movie theater, a bar, lots of cafes, and believe it or not, a gym named California Fitness. The school is also located here.
The Pegasus Plaza has both apartments and offices housed in its two towers. The towers are attached at the seventh floor which sports the roof top pool. Of course, we usually cross at the pool, and soon after moving in, we met our first local friend. A Malaysian man, Mahasnoor, approached us during a pool crossing and offered his friendship. Hasno's Vietnamese wife holds court nightly at the pool with her friends. She entertains everyone with her off-beat personality. As Hasno's Vietnamese is limited, he's been actively searching for English speaking friends to join in the fun. His wife is also bilingual, so now there is fun to be had at the pool by all.
The hotel maid kept putting out new water bottles every day. Today 4 of us moved with Barbara to her new apartment in the Pegasus Plaza. It is a small but bright 2 bedroom apartment for $350 USD per month. The Pegasus Plaza has a rooftop swimming pool, a movie theater, a bar, lots of cafes, and believe it or not, a gym named California Fitness. The school is also located here.
The Pegasus Plaza has both apartments and offices housed in its two towers. The towers are attached at the seventh floor which sports the roof top pool. Of course, we usually cross at the pool, and soon after moving in, we met our first local friend. A Malaysian man, Mahasnoor, approached us during a pool crossing and offered his friendship. Hasno's Vietnamese wife holds court nightly at the pool with her friends. She entertains everyone with her off-beat personality. As Hasno's Vietnamese is limited, he's been actively searching for English speaking friends to join in the fun. His wife is also bilingual, so now there is fun to be had at the pool by all.
Vinh Anh Hotel Bien Hoa, Vietnam
When Barbara was offered the job, she had a choice of a beach town, Saigon, or , what was described as " a small city outside of Saigon". Of course she chose the beach town, but as we commenced our taxi ride out of Saigon, it became obvious that we were not going to the beach, but to the "small town" of 1,000,000 people, Bien Hoa. The first thing we saw upon entering town was a giant Christmas tree in front of a 4 story mall which had the words BLACK FRIDAY written on the window. Barbara did a double take. Something about it reminded her of home. I'm not sure what?
Bien Hoa was the airfield during the Vietnam War. Barbara was a bit young to be involved in the Vietnam War, but some of her older friends and relatives were not happy upon hearing the name of this town again. Vietnam for the most part seems to have forgiven the Americans for their part in the war. You will find that a lot of Americans in Vietnam have chosen to come here because of what happened during the war. They want to give back.
All the young teachers want to live and party in Saigon, so Bien Hoa is where they placed all the 50 and 60 year old teachers.
The taxi dropped us off at our address, but it was a private residence, not our hotel, so she had to walk and walk lugging our suitcases all over town. And she was NOT happy. For this trip, she had purchased a matching set of luggage which included one of those giant sized suitcases. These are not conducive to hand transport.
Here's how the next hour went: The suitcases are marched along the street searching for the correct address. A nice lady who was working at an outdoor food cart takes pity and drives off on her motor bike to find the address. She finds the address and sends us off, but it ends up being the same private residence. We trudge back to her shop, where she gives up and places us in a cab to the school, because everyone knows where that is. It's in the only high rise in town. Eventually, we make it to our hotel.
Advise: Don't rely on addresses in developing countries. In advance of arriving, locate your residence on a map, copy down the phone number, and find a picture of the building to show to your driver.
What kind of luggage do you carry? Are you a light traveler or do you bring everything you own?
Bien Hoa was the airfield during the Vietnam War. Barbara was a bit young to be involved in the Vietnam War, but some of her older friends and relatives were not happy upon hearing the name of this town again. Vietnam for the most part seems to have forgiven the Americans for their part in the war. You will find that a lot of Americans in Vietnam have chosen to come here because of what happened during the war. They want to give back.
All the young teachers want to live and party in Saigon, so Bien Hoa is where they placed all the 50 and 60 year old teachers.
The taxi dropped us off at our address, but it was a private residence, not our hotel, so she had to walk and walk lugging our suitcases all over town. And she was NOT happy. For this trip, she had purchased a matching set of luggage which included one of those giant sized suitcases. These are not conducive to hand transport.
Here's how the next hour went: The suitcases are marched along the street searching for the correct address. A nice lady who was working at an outdoor food cart takes pity and drives off on her motor bike to find the address. She finds the address and sends us off, but it ends up being the same private residence. We trudge back to her shop, where she gives up and places us in a cab to the school, because everyone knows where that is. It's in the only high rise in town. Eventually, we make it to our hotel.
Advise: Don't rely on addresses in developing countries. In advance of arriving, locate your residence on a map, copy down the phone number, and find a picture of the building to show to your driver.
What kind of luggage do you carry? Are you a light traveler or do you bring everything you own?
No more airports! 4
We stayed in a teeny, tiny hotel room, but with very comfortable beds. Barbara prays that all beds in Asia are as such. Of course, I don't care because I sleep either on a wooden counter or inside a cold refrigerator. Barbara's last travel and work experience was in Mexico where not only the beds, but all the furniture was as hard as a rock, even the stuffed chairs!
It's just me and my buddy with Barbara now. The hotel has water bottles but they cost, so they will wait for another guest since Barbara has both of us.
In the morning, we are greeted and served breakfast by Bao Ahn, a Vietnamese gal who is hired by the school to help get the teachers settled. Barbara was enamored of the breakfast of noodles and exclaimed, "I could have these noodles every day." Water bottle #4, who was made in Vietnam, broke out in uncontrollable laughter upon hearing this exclamation. "Why is he laughing?" wondered I, water bottle #3.
Why do you think my comment about the noodles was so hilarious?
It's just me and my buddy with Barbara now. The hotel has water bottles but they cost, so they will wait for another guest since Barbara has both of us.
In the morning, we are greeted and served breakfast by Bao Ahn, a Vietnamese gal who is hired by the school to help get the teachers settled. Barbara was enamored of the breakfast of noodles and exclaimed, "I could have these noodles every day." Water bottle #4, who was made in Vietnam, broke out in uncontrollable laughter upon hearing this exclamation. "Why is he laughing?" wondered I, water bottle #3.
Why do you think my comment about the noodles was so hilarious?
Airport Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 3
Hello, I have been told that I am water bottle number 3. Since Barbara's last
two water bottles had to be abandoned before boarding the plane in
Shanghai, China, you may have feared that she would be without a water bottle, which is a horrible predicament for a Californian, but it is o.k. I was given to her on the China South Airlines
plane between Shanghai and Saigon, also
known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. You may have wondered how Barbara chose such an off the wall place as Vietnam for her first stop on the world tour. Folks, if you are a budget traveler and you want to immerse yourself in the local culture, start in Vietnam and take a job as an English teacher. Vietnam launched the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project and the county will absolutely hire anyone who has any kind of working knowledge of English. All you need is a TEFL certificate which can be earned online for an investment of a few dollars and a few hours. If you want more info, find Barbara's blog post Other countries are hiring also. Use this website: www.davesesl.com. which lists jobs throughout the world. Some jobs will even pay for airfare. Barbara didn't get one of those, but she got a free ride from the airport and 10 nights in a hotel. Look, there's a man standing outside of the tarmac with her name on
a sign. What do you know, he has given her a water bottle. Now there are two
of us.
Airport Shanghai, China
Oh, man! We got left in China. The airline would not let us go on the plane with Barbara. Whatever will become of us.........so sad!!!
Airport Seattle, Washington, USA
I had hoped to have a bunk mate join me while flying to Seattle, but the airline was too cheap to provide passengers with water bottles and only gave half-sized plastic cups of water. However, luck would have it that our plane from Washington to Shanghai was delayed for a couple hours, and to keep the passengers content, a snack cart was set up at the gate, thus my friend Water Bottle #2 joined me. Unfortunately, our travels together ended at the Shanghai airport, because Barbara was required to pass through customs and the airline would not allow us passage.
Bon Voayge Barbara!
I took three plane rides to get to my destination. What is your record?
Bon Voayge Barbara!
I took three plane rides to get to my destination. What is your record?
Airport in Sacramento, California, USA
Water bottle #1: "So you think you are going to travel on a budget", I say to Barbara as my buddies and I are being wheeled onto the plane, and see Barbara taking her last drink from a public drinking fountain. "Wait until you see how much you have to spend on bottled water." We are very popular in 2nd and 3rd world countries. There is no such thing as a public fountain and all drinking water is either boiled or bottled. I am the first of what will be many water bottles accompanying Barbara on this world tour. She is going to carry one of us everywhere she goes!
From Barbara: After 3 months in Asia, I haven't had to purchase a water bottle yet.
FYI: The first 3 months of blog entries are actually done in retrospect. After I had been in Asia for 3 months, I came to the realization that I hadn't had to purchase a single water bottle. Each one was either given to me by a friend or received at a festival, a Buddhist temple, a wake, etc. In light of this fact, I have decided to write this blog in the 3rd person told from the perspective of my myriad of water bottles. Why? Well, it's just a lot more fun to write this way. I'll probably switch to my own voice eventually, but for now, it's going to be the water bottles talking.
Budget tip: Get an airline branded credit card and start racking up points. That's how I paid for my trip.
Do you have suggestions on how to pay for flights?
From Barbara: After 3 months in Asia, I haven't had to purchase a water bottle yet.
FYI: The first 3 months of blog entries are actually done in retrospect. After I had been in Asia for 3 months, I came to the realization that I hadn't had to purchase a single water bottle. Each one was either given to me by a friend or received at a festival, a Buddhist temple, a wake, etc. In light of this fact, I have decided to write this blog in the 3rd person told from the perspective of my myriad of water bottles. Why? Well, it's just a lot more fun to write this way. I'll probably switch to my own voice eventually, but for now, it's going to be the water bottles talking.
Budget tip: Get an airline branded credit card and start racking up points. That's how I paid for my trip.
Do you have suggestions on how to pay for flights?
Journey through Asia as told by the water bottle
EEK! I was almost stolen by a six year old Vietnamese child! YIKES! I saw my life flash before my eyes as I was headed to Tony's lips, which would mean that I would soon be deposited in a landfill. I knew that if anyone else drank from me that I would be abandoned. Have you ever been thrown down a garbage chute? I have. Others like me have been stolen, kidnapped, commandeered and lost. You see, we are Barbara's water bottles. What do we have in common? We are all the water bottles which have---- We are her ------Barbara's journey through S.E. Asia. Our journey with Barbara begins at the airport in Sacramento, California, on DATE-----USA. This is the tale of her travels through Asia as told from the view of her water bottles as she flows throughout S.E. Asia.
Hello folks, I'm Barbara. I've been waiting 23 years to begin this journey. Why the long wait? I had 3 boys to get through high school graduation, and a bout with cancer, but now that everyone is on their way, so am I. At the beginning of this journey I am a 56 year old woman from California and I am a budget traveler. Yes, the American dream has passed me by. I did everything right, went to college, got a degree, got a job. But I did one thing wrong, and I did it at age 40. I gave up a stable job and moved to a new town forgetting that I was in America, the worshipers of youth. Never again did I get a permanent job, but 16 years of part time and temporary work and numerous failed businesses is not going to discourage me from fulfilling my dream of traveling the world, I will just have to do it on a budget, thus, I have become, the TRAVEL THRIFTY PAST FIFTY budget traveler. If you are in the same boat as me, or if you just don't like to spend a lot of money, you too can travel and I will show you how to do it.
This isn't a hotel journey from one tourist spot to another, but a guide on how to live a life among local people, while finding ways to fund it along the way. I have been traveling steadily for several years, remaing in each location for 1-6 months, meeting local people and learning about their culture.
The first paragraph is an example of how the first part of this blog will be written, from a 3rd person point of view. That's right, my water bottles's point of view.
Budget tip: Travel with a bank card which reimburses all ATM fees and foreign transaction fees.
Are you a budget traveler? What's your story?
Hello folks, I'm Barbara. I've been waiting 23 years to begin this journey. Why the long wait? I had 3 boys to get through high school graduation, and a bout with cancer, but now that everyone is on their way, so am I. At the beginning of this journey I am a 56 year old woman from California and I am a budget traveler. Yes, the American dream has passed me by. I did everything right, went to college, got a degree, got a job. But I did one thing wrong, and I did it at age 40. I gave up a stable job and moved to a new town forgetting that I was in America, the worshipers of youth. Never again did I get a permanent job, but 16 years of part time and temporary work and numerous failed businesses is not going to discourage me from fulfilling my dream of traveling the world, I will just have to do it on a budget, thus, I have become, the TRAVEL THRIFTY PAST FIFTY budget traveler. If you are in the same boat as me, or if you just don't like to spend a lot of money, you too can travel and I will show you how to do it.
This isn't a hotel journey from one tourist spot to another, but a guide on how to live a life among local people, while finding ways to fund it along the way. I have been traveling steadily for several years, remaing in each location for 1-6 months, meeting local people and learning about their culture.
The first paragraph is an example of how the first part of this blog will be written, from a 3rd person point of view. That's right, my water bottles's point of view.
Budget tip: Travel with a bank card which reimburses all ATM fees and foreign transaction fees.
Are you a budget traveler? What's your story?
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