Nu fik jeg nok af ”No, no, madam – You are too big!” – ..før jeg overhovedet nåede at kigge på noget tøj, trøjer der bliver hevet deforme efter et besøg på markedet & det privatliv man absolut ikke har, når man prøver tøj hér– fordi man imens bliver luret på, af fire vietnamesiske damer.. & lige som jeg fik nok, så opstod der et mirakel! Føj, hvor har jeg savnet ASOS! – det er jo ikke ligefrem en hemmelighed at ASOS & jeg har et meget intimt forhold.. Men nu har jeg fundet hendes vietnamesiske søster! – Zalora.vn, Wuhuu! Billigere & tøjet er mere unikt, når man rammer DK igen, yes – bonus! Gennemsnitligt koster kjolerne ca. 100 danske bobs, så dét er vist lige til at betale sig fra, & størrelserne er internationale – man skal have boet i Asien for at forstå dén glæde! Heh. Servicen er helt kanon – ingen decideret problemer med levering, betaling eller returnering af varer.. men nu er vi vist også lidt heldige med kontorets lokalitet i HCMC. Desuden, så har hjemmesiden showrooms i byen (bl.a. er der et i Bitexco Financial Tower, 2 Hải Triều, Bến Nghé, Quận 1), hvor man kan se & prøve Zalora tøj fra sidens eget mærke – på hjemmesiden er der dog en masse forskellige mærker, lige netop ligesom på ASOS. Nedenfor er nogle af de guldkorn, som jeg fandt på siden.. dog tog en skrabet pengepung valget om, at jeg blot skulle beholde nr. 1, 2, 3, 5 & 8, hvilket i alt kostede mig overskuelige 350 dkr.

Now, I got enough of “No, no, madam – You are too big!” – ..before I even got to look at the clothes in the shops, sweaters getting pulled totally deform after a visit to the market & the non-existing privacy while trying clothes here – because four Vietnamese ladies is looking at you at the same time.. and just as I got enough, a miracle happened!
I’ve missed ASOS so bad down here! – It is not exactly a secret that Asos & I have a very intimate relationship.. But now I found her Vietnamese sister! – Zalora.vn, Wuhuu! It’s cheaper & the clothes is more unique when I’ll hit Denmark again, yes – bonus! An average dresses costs around 14€ & the sizes are international – one must have lived in Asia to understand the joy! Heh. The service is great too – we had no actual problems with delivery, payment or return of goods.. but maybe we’re a little lucky, since the office is located in HCMC.
Moreover, the website has showrooms in HCMC (among them, the one in Bitexco Financial Tower, 2 Hải Trieu, Bến Nghe Quan 1), where one can see and try the Zalora clothes from the website’s own brand – on the website there are a lot different brands, just like at ASOS.
Above are some of the pieces that I found on the webside.. however, a ribbed pocketbook took the choice, that I only should keep no. 1, 2, 3, 5 & 8, which in total costed me manageable 47€.

Så blev det tid til, at jeg stoppede med at ride på eventyrs-bølgen, & så realiteten i øjne.. for der jo en eksamensopgave, som skal skrives under mit Vietnam exchange, & den skriver vist (desværre) ikke sig selv. Weekenden er derfor brugt på opgave research – & selvfølgelig lidt velfortjent selvforkælelse med tøserne om aftenen.

I går aftes fik vi os en ordentlig én på opleveren, da vi fik bestilt bord på restaurant Noir. Hér fik vi en fantastisk sanse-oplevelse idet restaurantens koncept er ‘spisning i mørket’ ved service af blinde tjenere.
Menuen kendes ikke, udover at du fået valget mellem en østlig eller vestlig menu, & herfra skal dine smags- & luftesanser således vejlede dig igennem en fem retters forret, fire retters hovedret & fire retters dessert. – vi valgte den vestlige menu & var yderst betaget af den gennemførte smagsoplevelse!

Når syns-sansen bliver udelukket skruer de andre sanser en ekstra takt op for niveauet, & lugte- & smagsoplevelsen var derfor helt exceptionel. Madens smag, dufte & tekstur var helt i top, ligesom servicen, & oplevelsen stimulerende ikke blot vores sanser, men åbnede også vores sind.

Af gode grunde har jeg ingen billeder fra selve restauranten, idet man her jo spiser i total mørke, men jeg garanterer jer for, at stemningen var fuldstændig fantastisk!
Jeg kan kun give restaurent Noir – dining in the dark, HCMC, mine varmeste anbefalinger! – selvom stedet blot åbnede for 8 mdr. siden, er det mere veletableret & serviceminded, end de fleste andre steder jeg har oplevet i Vietnam.

Så, hvis du er i HCMC så gør dig selv den tjeneste at besøge Noir! (-:

So, now might be the time for me to stop riding the adventure-wave, and face the reality, since an exam paper have to be done during my Vietnam exchange, and (unfortunately) it doesn’t write itself.. I have spend the weekend with a lot of research – and of course some well-deserved self-indulgence with the girls in the evenings.

Last night we got ourself a huge experience, since we had a reservation at the restaurant Noir. Here, we got a fantastic sensory experience, as the restaurant’s concept is ‘dining in the dark’ with blind waiters.
The menu isn’t known, except that you get the choice between an eastern or western menu, and from here, your senses must guide you through a five course starter, four course main course and four-course dessert. – We chose the western menu & was extremely impressed by the implemented taste experience!

When the visual-sense is excluded the other senses turn up to an extra level, & the smell & taste experience was therefore quite exceptional. The food’s taste, smell and texture was top notch, like the service, and the experience stimulated not only our senses, but also opened our minds.

For good reason, I have no pictures from the restaurant itself, since you’re eating in total darkness, but I guarantee you, that the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic!
I can only give restaurent Noir – dining in the dark, HCMC, my warmest recommendations! – Even though the place just opened eight months ago, it is better established and service-minded than the most other places I’ve experienced in Vietnam so far. So please, if you’re in HCMC do yourself the favour to visit Noir! 

Jeg bliver gang på gang overrasket over, hvordan Vietnam kan blive ved med at overraske mig med dets charme, & denne weekend var bestemt ingen undtagelse. Tværtimod. Vi ankom til P fredag aften & startede ud med at opleve mørke igen – for mit vedkomne var dette første gang siden min ankomst til H. Faktisk, var det en ret skræmmende oplevelse.. utroligt så storby-vant man kan blive på 0,5! Heh.

Da vi havde kørt fra lufthavnen i tyve minutters tid, endte vi langt inde i en skov ’in the middle of nowhere’ & fik meddelelsen om, at dette var vores destination. Vi var tæt på at tro, at vi var ved at blive røvet – eller det der var værre, indtil vi skyndte os ud af taxien & blev mødt af en sød franskmand & tre vietnamesere der bød os velkommen til ’Bo Resort’.. Vi må have set ret forvirret ud, for vi var helt rundt på gulvet, men fulgte dog med personalet.
Vi blev herefter eskorteret ned til to halv-primitive bungalows, som havde en charme & stemning, som man aldrig selv ville have fantasi til at forestille sig. Efter at have smidt vores baggage tog vi ned til receptionen/restauranten/baren/stranden for at få os noget aftensmad. Stedet var helt fantastisk. Så enkelt & charmerende – fuldstændig sjælefuldt! Møbler placeret på græsset front-row til stranden, lamper hængt op i træerne, natur lyde overalt, guitar-spillende personale.. Alt var fuldstændig perfekt idyl!

Jeg ville virkelig ønske at der var ord der kunne beskrive den vidunderlige stemning der er ved dette lille resort, men det er der simpelthen ikke – det var ganske enkelt ubeskriveligt.. men jeg håber, at I kan fange bare en snert af denne stemning via. billederne.

Maden var, jeg fristes til at sige; selvfølgelig, også virkelig god! So far, det bedste vietnamesiske mad jeg har fået de sidste 3 mdr. – & det siger ellers ikke så lidt.
Vi brugte fredag aften på at nyde stemningen & en flaske hvidvin. Lørdagen fløj også hurtigt af sted med at nyde resortets strand & natur, et cooking class til frokost & lækker mad med vin & en helt perfekt solnedgang til aften. Vi manglede virkelig at slappe fuldstændig af, & denne resort-perle gav os de perfekte omstændigheder til dette.

Søndag besluttede vi os for at opleve den østlige side af øen, eftersom resortet var på den vestlige ø-side. And, what a paradise!
Den vestlige side, som vi boede på, er den blæsende side, men den østlige side derimod er helt vindstille, med fuldstændig hvidt strandsand & koralblåt hav. Vi fik bounty-strand for en dag ved ’Paradiso’ beach bar på Bai Sao Beach & det var helt fantastisk!

Vi måtte desværre flyve til fastlandet igen i går aftes, for at kunne møde på arbejde i morges, men jeg er virkelig taknemmelig for, at jeg har oplevet denne fantastiske ø – & især Bo Resort, som jeg giver mine varmeste anbefalinger. Dette gælder både selve resortets charme, service & mad, men også de helt fantastiske medarbejdere som er her.. Tak for al guitarspillet! (-;

I’m really surprised how Vietnam can continue to amaze me with its charm, and this weekend was no exception. 

We arrived at P Friday evening & started the trip with experiencing dark again – for me this was the first time since my arrival to H I’ve experienced dark. In fact, it was a pretty scary experience.. Heh.

After driving from the airport in twenty minutes time or so, we ended up deep into a forest (‘in the middle of nowhere’) and got the message, that this was our destination. We were close to thinking, that we were being robbed – or worse, so we hurried out of the taxi and were then greeted by a sweet French man and three Vietnamese, who welcomed us to ‘Bo Resort’. We must have looked quite confused, because we were completely batty, but however we followed the staff.
We were then escorted down to two semi-primitive bungalows, which had a charm and ambience that you’ll never have the imagination to imagine.
After put our luggage in our bungalows, we went down to the reception / restaurant / bar / beach to get some dinner. The place was absolutely fantastic. So simple and charming – totally soulful! Furniture placed on the grass front-row to the beach, lamps hanging in the trees, nature sounds everywhere, a guitar-playing staff.. Everything was absolutely perfect idyll!

I really wish that words could describe the wonderful atmosphere that this small resort have, but it was simply just indescribable.. but, I hope that you can catch just a hint of this mood through the images below.

The food was, I am tempted to say; of course, also really good! So far, the best Vietnamese food I’ve gotten for the last 3 months – & that’s quite a title.
We spent Friday evening enjoying the atmosphere and a bottle of white wine. Saturday also flew quickly away with enjoying the resort’s beach and nature, a cooking class for lunch & delicious food with wine & a perfect sunset at dinner/night. We really needed to relax completely, and this resort-pearl gave us the perfect circumstances for this.

Sunday we decided to explore the eastern side of the island, since our resort was on the western island side. And, what a paradise at east!
The western side, where we lived, is the windy side, but the east side on the other hand, is quite calm, with completely white beach sand and a coral blue sea. We got a bounty beach for a day at the ‘Paradiso’ beach bar at Bai Sao Beach & it was absolutely fantastic!

Unfortunately, we had to fly back to the mainland again last night, to go to work this morning, but I’m really grateful that I’ve experienced this amazing island – and especially Bo Resort, which I give my warmest recommendations. This applies to both the resort’s charm, service and food, but also the fantastic staff who work here.. btw, Thanks for all the guitar playing! (-;

Såå, nu skete det; nu begynder jeg at semi-panikke lidt over at jeg kun har 41 dage tilbage i dette fantastiske land.. – Det er jo ikke fordi jeg ikke savner dem der hjemme, for hold k*** hvor jeg savner dem!, men her er simpelthen bare for fedt! Om det er lige præcis Vietnam der bare har tyvstjålet mit hjerte, hvilket det meget vel kunne være, eller om det er hele den her lær-dig-selv-at-kende fase, som bare er enormt god for mig, dét kan jeg ikke helt greje.. Én ting er i hvert fald sikker; jeg har det godt!, & jeg har alt for meget jeg stadig gerne vil opleve her nede sydpå..

En anden ting er; hold nu op, en hård uge! Nu skal jeg da ellers lige love for, at min praktik for alvor har fået raketfart! Hvilke arbejdsopgaver jeg sidder med osv., det syntes jeg desværre ikke er passende at breake online, men en lille fortælling om den her super fede virksomhed skal I nok få på et tidspunkt.. & så lover jeg jer for, at mine arbejdsopgaver er de bedste, hårdeste & mest udfordrende, som jeg kunne forestille mig pt! (-;

Jeg skal bruge min weekend, på at sove ud, på Phu Quoc & jeg glæder mig virkelig til at komme væk fra storby kaosset til fordel for en lækker strand. Heh.
Phu Quoc er en lille ø i Thailand bugten syd for Vietnam, så egentlig på Cambodja siden.. Vi skal bo i nogle lækre bungalows på stranden. Jubii for hotel-opgraderinger pga. lavsæsonen! – for egentligt havde vi bare booket det billigste af det billigste, pengene hænger jo ikke just på træerne, & så fik vi ellers en rigtig dejlig mail fra hotellet om, at vi nu kan se frem til to stk. ’Deluxe Beach Sea Front View Bungalows’, uden ekstra betaling, perfekt! – man har vel lov at være skide heldig.. (-;
Vores planer for weekenden er ganske enkle, da vi blot alle fire trænger til for alvor at slappe af og få indhentet det enorme søvn underskud, som vi vist alle efterhånden er ramt af. Derudover, så har hotellet, som vi skal bo på, snorkling ture og kano-udlejning, så mon ikke vi også skal have udforsket verden til søs.. Iih, jeg glæder mig!

So, it happened; Now I’m beginning to semi-panic by the fact that I only have 41 days left in this amazing country.. – It’s not because I don’t miss the people at home – damn I miss them! But this place is just too nice! Whether it is Vietnam that just captured my heart, which it very well could be, or whether it’s this whole go-to-learn-yourself-to-know stage, which is just enormously good for me, I can’t figure out.. But one thing I know; I feel good!, and I really have way too much I still want to experience here down south.

Another thing is; Wow, a tough week! My internship has really skyrocketed now! Which tasks I’m dealing with etc., seems to me not to be appropriate to break online, but a small tale about this super cool company you’ll probably get one time.. And I promise you, that my work is the best, toughest and most challenging that I could imagine at this moment! (-;

In my weekend, I have to sleep, and go to Phu Quoc and I’m really looking forward to getting away from the urban chaos in hcmc in favour of a delicious beach. Heh.
Phu Quoc is a small island in the Gulf of Thailand south from Vietnam, so really at the Cambodia side.. We will be staying in some nice bungalows on the beach. YES, for hotel-upgrades due to low season! – For real, we had just booked the cheapest of the cheapest, money isn’t hanging on the trees, and then we received a very nice e-mail from the hotel saying that we’re now looking forward to two ‘Deluxe Beach Sea Front View Bungalows’, without an extra fee, perfect! – Surely, you’re always allowed to be damn lucky.. (-;
Our plans for the weekend are quite simple, as we just all four need to seriously relax, and catch up on the huge sleep deficit that we’re all gradually affected by. Additionally, the hotel, that we are staying at, have snorkelling tours and canoe rental, so I think we also need to explored the world by sea.. Oh, I’m looking so much forward!

Nu er der efterhånden så mange der har spurgt til min næste lange rundrejse i slutningen af mit forløb, at jeg hellere må briefe jer alle én gang for alle, nu hvor der kun er et lille måned tilbage til jeg rejser rundt igen inden snuden vendes hjemad til dk (avs, hvor går tiden dog bare alt for hurtigt her nede sydpå!).

Min dejlige & enormt savnede kæreste kommer ned til mig den 2. Juli, & jeg kan slet ikke vente til at se ham igen! Vi har planlagt en skøn rundrejse sammen, som faktisk er vores første sammen af slagsen – utroligt godt gået af to rejseglade mennesker, vil jeg sige!
Hele turen, hoteller & transport, er booket, da vores tid er knap ift. hvor vi vil nå at hen, men hvad vi skal bedrive tiden med på vores destinationer bliver dag til dag ’hvad-har-vi-lyst-til’ beslutninger – ligesom vi bedst begge kan lide det – dét er nemlig rigtig ferie!
Vi starter med et par dage i Ho Chi Minh City, så han kan få et indtryk af min hverdag her nede, & få set alle mine nye favorit steder osv. i dette trafik-mekka.
Lørdag d. 4 flyver vi så til Ha Noi, Vietnams hovedstad, da dette er et must-visit, som jeg endnu ikke har besøgt..
Når vi får nok af storby-kaos tager vi Express bussen til Sapa, tidligt søndag morgen, for at trekke hele dagen, hvorefter vi har fået arrangeret et homestay med en lokal familie, som jeg er blevet sat i kontakt med hernede.
Efter en nats søvn, formegentligt blandt kryb & foran bålstedet, & efter endnu en dags trekking mandag, tager vi retur til Ha Noi mandag eftermiddag for at score os en god, og nok meget tiltrængt, nats søvn, hvorefter vi tirsdag morgen bliver hentet på hotellet til en drømme tur.
Herefter går turen nemlig til Ha Long Bay, hvor vi har booket en fire dages tur med én nat på en båd, hvorefter to lækre nætter i en strand bungalow på Cat Ba Island venter os. Dvs. fire dage med bl.a. kano- & snorkelture, solbadning & tiltrængt kæreste-tid!
Efter, formegentligt, at have slappet uforskammet meget af går turen retur til Ha Noi, hvorfra vi flyver til Da Nang & kørere videre til Hoi An, som bliver vores sidste destination, før vi flyver hjem fra Ho Chi Minh City torsdag den 16.
I Hoi An har vi været så uforskammet at benytte os ét hundrede procent af de lave priser her i Vietnam, & har derfor booket et super lækkert hotel helt centralt. Desuden har min kæreste også fødselsdag imens vi er i Hoi An, nemlig d. 11, så lidt ekstra lækkert var på sin plads. Heh.
Vi tager den sidste nat i HCMC, da jeg skal have hentet resten af mit habengut, som ikke skal med på rejsen, inden vi hopper på flyet til DK.

 Vi har begge gået og researchet lidt, reelt set nok mest mig – for jeg kan slet ikke vente!!, & har allerede nogle helt fantastiske bagtanker for, hvad vi skal opleve i løbet af de seksten dage vi får sammen. Jeg glæder mig helt vanvittigt! & jeg er sikker på, at vi får den dejligste tur! (-:

 Næste weekend tager jeg til Phu Quoc sammen med tre andre tøser – & så kan jeg krydse endnu en del af Vietnam af. Jeg ender derfor med, i store træk, at have set stort set alle dele af dette fantastiske land, inden min tur går hjemad igen.

Indtil nu ser afkrydsningen af mine besøgte, eller kommende, destinationer således ud;

Since so many people have asked to hear about my next long tour, at the end of my course, I think I’d better brief all of you once and for all, now that there is only a small month back, before I’ll travel again – before heading back home (awh, time just passes too fast here down at the south!).

My lovely & really missed boyfriend comes down to visit me on the second of July, & I cannot wait to see him again! We have planned a wonderful tour together, which actually is our first holiday together – incredibly well done by two travel-happy people like us, I would say.

The whole trip, hotels and transportation, are booked since our time is short compared to all the places we would like to go. Though, what we need to do at our destinations are day-to-day decisions, as best we both like it the best – that’s real holiday!
We’ll start with a few days in Ho Chi Minh City, so he can get an impression of my life down here, and see all of my new favourite places etc. in this traffic-mecca.
Saturday the 4^th we fly to Ha Noi, Vietnam’s capital, as this is a must-visit, which I haven’t visited yet.
When we get enough of the big city chaos we take the Express bus to Sapa, early Sunday morning, to trek all day, and then we’ve got arranged a homestay with a local family, that I have been put in contact with down here.
After a nights sleep, as among creeps & in front of the fireplace, and after another day of trekking Monday, we will return to Ha Noi on Monday afternoon, for a good – and probably very much needed, night of sleep, and then we Tuesday morning will be picked up at our hotel, for a dream trip.
Then we head off for Ha Long Bay, where we have booked a four day trip with one night on a boat, and then two nice nights in a beach bungalow on Cat Ba Island awaits. That is four days including e.g. canoeing- and snorkelling trips, sunbathing and indeed needed boyfriend-time!
After we have relaxed rudely for four days, we’ll return to Ha Noi to catch the flight to Da Nang & then driver to Hoi An, which will be our final destination before flying home from Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday the 16^th.
In Hoi An, we have been so rude, that we will use the benefit of the low prices here in Vietnam, and hereby we have booked a super nice hotel quite central. In addition, it’s my boyfriends birthday while we are in Hoi An, the 11^th, so a little extra luxury was appropriate. Heh.
We’ll spend our last night in HCMC, where I’ll have to pick up the rest of my stuff, that I won’t need at the trip, before we head back home, with the plane, to Denmark.

We both have researched a little – actually probably mostly me – I can not wait!!, and we already have some fantastic ulterior motives for what we need to experience during the sixteen days we get together down here. & I am sure that we’ll get the most wonderful trip! (-:

Next weekend I’m going to Phu Quoc with three other girls – and then I’ll be able to check-cross another part of Vietnam. Therefore I end up with, broadly, to have seen virtually all parts of this amazing country before I’m going back home to DK again.
Until now, my visited, or future, destinations looks like the picture above.