Monday, October 6, 2008

greetings from our last day in hoian, we are out of ammunition and are unable to hold our line so are being forced to retreat south we have engaged the enemy in close quarter fighting but they have proved to be our equal, troops continue to grow in confidence, nam is a little different from 2003 but there is still an amazing contrast between real poverty and tradition and the bustle of people on the move, people are still amazingly friendly and the trip is everything we hoped with the troops being magnificent and the parents have been blown away with their approach and character I , of course, suspected they might be, luckily it is not as hot as last time but still pretty sticky the general

Xin Chow From Vietnam

Hello Everyone Back Home In Invercargill


This is our last day here in Hoi An after an amazing eight course meal together we are all feeling pretty good , For the resturant staff at the dragons lcoal hangout the (Tien Dien) the whole tour preformed a haka in the middle of the street in Hoi An many locals come out wondering what the noise was about but were all entertained the we sang Ka Waiata which was really enjoyed by the staff and head chef since the dragons marketed the resturant to may many other people on tour and other tourists we have been asked back at 2pm this afternoon for free ice cream which I think is pretty cool

Then it was back to the hotel to strut our stuff and show off our latest garments purchased here and there was some stunning dreses and not to mention suits , The categories that were entered were

* Formal Suits
*Casual Wear
*Team Event
*Best And Worse Purchases
*Shoes


This afternoon we are flying south to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) so driving up to Da Nang then flying into Ho Chi Minh City for the final leg of the tour which will be awesome really good buys there including Bihn Tranh Markets which are really great for electronics and clothes


So Its Xin Chow From The Pho Hoi Riverside Resort ( Hoi An )


See you

William :)

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Unicorns Upstanding

Xin Cao everyone,

Vietnam is simply amazing, and not least of all Hoi An. The Unicorns (Thomas, Gavin, Roman, Liam, Tim, Cody and Atrayl), are having a ball, and not just because we saw Unicorns playing with a ball at the Water Puppets in Hanoi. Apparently, here in Vietnam, the word Unicorm is synonymous with Lion, which sounds a lot more dignified, but Vietnamese Unicorns are nothing like the Western ones let me assure you.

Hoi An is a shopping, cultural and historical Mecca for us tourists, and four nights here in the Pho Hoi Riverside Resort are well worth the money. Suits and dresses galore are being tailored for everyone, while Wes is still looking for another pair of underwear. As we are approaching the final leg of our tour of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), money for some is now being rationed, and rightly so, because the markets in HCMC are huge, we are informed, and much money will change hands.

Tonight a fashion parade and mass court-martial will happen back at the Pho Hoi. I myself am up for numerous charges, mainly worst buy on the tour, but some girls have really spent up here in Hoi An, so maybe that's the only salvation I will have when it comes to my defence.

So this is a big goodbye from the Unicorns here in the sunny (very sunny) streets of Hoi An.

Tim Lindsay

PHOENIX!!!!!

Hey guys,
Since we've been here, we have experienced so much of the culture, food, heat and shopping. Being an all-female group, we particularly enjoyed the shopping part, but that hasn't been the highlight or most important part of this trip. So far, we have jumped off a boat into the South China Sea, eaten lots of seafood and attempted to cross roads without being hit. We are in a country with no road rules. Well, they exist, but are not followed. Our accomodation has been amazing and we have been treated like royalty!!!! We went to a secondary school the other day, and that was an experience we will never forget. Did you know they have 3 shifts at school? 7am-10am, 11am-3pm and 3pm-6pm. The men did a haka and the Vietnamese students all jumped when Renata broke out into a war-cry! They nearly wet themselves with laughter! They replied to our Ka Waiata with a karaoke version of their school anthem. We had to get permission from the Provincial Govt to actually go to the school, so we feel very priviledged to get to experience that. Now, to the shopping... It is absolutely amazing here. Dresses are so cheap and tailor made, tuxedos are less expensive than back home, and shoes that are custom made for your feet. And there are many more knick-naks such as fridge magnets etc :)
We are all missing our families, but are not home sick thank God. We are the Phoenix group lead by Lynley Irvine and Leanda Davis. The Phoenix represents beauty and loyalty and our group has shown this on the trip because we have all bonded and our friendships have blossomed!!!
The students in our group are Kayla, Tara, Natalie K, Natalie B, Nina, Megan and Allanah.
We have many items of clothing to pick up today so we best be off
Bye bye from Hoi An where we are right now!!
xoxoxoxox

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Kia Ora From Hoi An

Hoi An is simply stunning , The weathers excellent the foods soo good I highly would reccomend the Tien Dien resturant which is pretty much the dragons hang out by now eating there most days and sampling some very tasty Vietnamese foods


We have bumped into many other New Zealand students doing the same type of trip as us which is really cool Auckland Grammar, Komo From Nelson to name just a few

Our resort we are staying in the Pho Hoi Riverside Resort is awesome the pool is huge and goes down a treat on these very warm 30Deg + Days we are right near the old town which is really good because there are some 500 Tailors around and great shoppin the best yet

The Dragons (Renata , Simon , Ryan , Willy , Thomas , Siaki , Spencer) , Were measured up for some very stylish suits yesterday after getting a special deal with the resturant manager who told us were to go and got us areally good deal ($100.00USD) for a Suit, Pants, Tie, Shirt all custom made and fitted which will be ready to pick up today , We are going for a fitting at 10.00AM this morning

Wes is a great leader and with out him and his knowledge and the other helpers on this trip we wouldnt be here so a big thanks for all your time and hardwork this trip will be remembered forever and already people are talking about wanting to comeback next year like myself which I think is awesome

I will upload photos later on today its juts the internet here is quite slow and cuts out so will head to an internet cafe

So its Xin Chow For Me

Willy (Dargon)

Visiting a School in Vietnam

A visit to a school was arranged yesterday by Mr Dong our travel agent. He had to go to the provincial government for permission and it looked unlikey but the permission came through suddenly late yesterday.

We were shown around and the ICT room had 300 hundred computers in it. A little challenge for us!

7000 students come through the school each day in 3 shifts.

When we walked into the assembly hall we were greeeted by hundreds of clapping students who were having a class in politics.

They were more than a bit surprised by the Haka and once again Ka Waiata by the group.

Wes was not completely sure that his teaching style would fit the Vietnam model but was quietly confident he could do it!

35 degrees and very humid today but it hasn't held back the shoppers!

Lynley

Unicorns unite

Today was the group's first full day in Hoi An - the Tailor capital of Vietnam. The small town has over FIVE HUNDRED tailors and suit shops, so we were spoilt for choice.
The first half of our day comprised of a few sights throughout Hoi An - including trips to Temples and a museum - with our lovely (although extremely knowledgeable and very talkative) tour guide 'Drew'. With an extreme case of blistering, swelling and sweating, the group trudged through what many considered to be the longest two and a half hours of their lives. But after that, we were free.
And there was no other way to begin our date with Hoi An than getting suits and dresses made. Nearly everyone - from Unicorns to Dragons - went out in search of the most affordable attire; a few spending all their money (and in some cases more than they had).
Overall the day was a great success, and our entire group are anxious to have a completely tour-free day tomorrow. We miss you all, but quite honestly don't want to go home... ^-^
Atrayl recommends the roast pidgeon.
Cody advises you don't.

Parting is such sweet sorrow:
Cody
x