June and July in Vietnam and Elsewhere...
Three months will be up next week and I head for home on 2 August. Can't say that this stint in Vietnam has been particularly taxing as the last few weeks have included travelling back to Australia for Mum's 90th birthday party at Tweed Heads/Coolangatta, a KOTO party and the ANARE (Antarctic) Club's midwinter dinner in Melbourne, a holiday with Peter in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore, a short trip to Thailand as well as the very first KOTO Saigon graduation ceremony at the Saigon Opera House on 14 July.
I also managed to squeeze in a weekend at Luang Prabang in Laos - always enjoyable! While eating at "L'Elephant" restaurant it's easy to imagine that you've died and gone to heaven....
Mum loved her party which brought together members of the extended family that I haven't seen for over 50 years! She's the happiest and healthiest she's been in years and well settled in to Darlington Retirement Community at Banora Point, NSW.
With Mum at her Darlington party
Mum and friend at the family party, Coolangatta Surf Club
Mum and another good-looking chick at the party
Great Vietnamese food at Huong and Van's party, Richmond, Melbourne
With Huong at the party
A bonus on the trip to Australia for Mum's 90th was flying through Melbourne and being able to catch up with Huong and Van, KOTO alumni, who are studying at Box Hill Institute of TAFE, as well as rolling up to the ANARE Club midwinter dinner. Both are studying well and have good part-time jobs at Sofitel Collins Street. I'm proud of them!
With Peter Koenig at the midwinter dinner
The day after Huong and Van's party, Peter and I flew back to Vietnam in time to celebrate my 65th birthday in Ho Chi Minh City with KOTO colleague, Brenda (who has just left Vietnam after seven years with KOTO to take up a job in Canberra!).
I've been staying in the same hotel in HCMC for years and management sent a lovely bunch of flowers up to my room on my birthday! That evening Peter, Brenda and I shared a long, tasty dinner at Camargue French restaurant in HCMC (with a couple of bottles of Cotes du Rhone in memory of my sojourn at Lyon...)
Birthday flowers from Spring Hotel, Saigon
With Peter and Brenda at Camargue (Slightly out-of-focus but we probably all were at this stage)
After a couple of days in Hanoi, Peter and I headed off to Kuala Lumpur and Penang which neither of us had visited before but will probably return to in the not-too-distant future. KL has some amazing architecture - both modern and colonial - as well as a great range of cheap food!
Our hotel in KL - the Royale Chulan
The Royal Selangor Club (formerly the Royal Selangor Cricket Club)
Yes, the Petronas Towers. I suppose everyone has to take a photo....
Peter at gardens at KL City Centre gardens
In Penang we stayed at Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion - a restored Chinese mansion from the colonial era that is exactly the kind of hotel we love to stay in. With only 16 rooms and perfect Feng Shui it really is an experience! Friendly staff and lots of little break-out areas where you can relax in privacy really make the place. We also had a great evening meal on the seaside verandah of the also restored "Eastern and Oriental Hotel" watching two ships come in to Butterworth/Penang under tug assistance.
Our hotel in Penang - the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
Hainan Temple, Penang
Khoo Khongsi Pagoda, Penang
Botanic Gardens, Penang
Shoreline Penang - the view from the Eastern and Oriental
A quiet beer on the Penang waterfront - looking towards Butterworth
The fabulous Customs House in Penang
After Penang we spent a few days in Singapore with friends Wayne and Junaidi and Barry who was visiting from Port Macquarie. It's worthwhile visiting Singapore every few years to see how quickly the place changes. The Marina Bay Sands hotel complex and the "Gardens by the Sea" may not be to everyone's taste but they are certainly impressive! Not too many bargains in Singapore these days but still a great range of food - from food courts to upmarket restaurants. A bonus in Singapore was catching up with our friend, Sze Tho, from Johor Bahru in Malaysia, who made the journey down from JB to spend a day with us.
A couple of tourists on the Singapore River
Singapore River sculpture
Peter and Sze Tho relaxing over a coffee
Science and Technology Museum, Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands Hotel with the rooftop "gondola"
"Gardens by the Sea" with plant-clad steel "trees" and conservatory
After Singapore Peter flew out of HCMC back to Australia and I spent a few days with John Salter and his wife, Nui, in Jomtien, Thailand (near Pattaya) before returning to HCMC for the very first KOTO Saigon graduation when classes 1 and 2 received their diplomas.
Time spent with John is always relaxing as two Southport State High School Old Boys reminisce over a drink or two....
The Salter Residence in Jomtien
In the pool with Nui
The bedroom in the luxurious guest suite at "Chez Salter"
John at home
The first KOTO Saigon graduation ceremony was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster ride especially as Mr Doan, class 1, made a moving speech about his life before and after KOTO. He is my hero...
Singing, break-dancing and re-enacting former lives before KOTO (an emotional experience for both trainees and the audience) made up the entertainment which was put on wholly by KOTO trainees.
Classes 1 & 2 on the steps of the Opera House, Saigon
Dressing up...
The Graduates
Tuan and Phan
Hang and Kha
Son, class 1, Ruth, chef-trainer, Brenda, training manager, Philip, Phi, class 1
Onstage at the Opera House
Opera House interior
Next major event was the Dream Bottle Ceremony for Class 21, the latest class at KOTO Hanoi. The trainees write down their dreams and aspirations for the future, put them in a bottle which is then placed in a special glass cabinet in the foyer of the training centre (where they can see it every day) and they get their dream bottle back when they graduate. Class 21 have only been at KOTO six weeks and are a small class with only 17 trainees but they're doing well.
With Ms Ha, Manager, Jimmy Pham and Cameron Hancock, Welfare Manager, at the Dream Bottle Ceremony
Class 18 provided the MC's (Mr Binh and Ms Ngoan) and the vocalist (Mr Long)
Passing on lighted candles at the Dream Bottle Ceremony
With Class 21
With Lam, class 19, and Bao, class 20, at the Dream Bottle Ceremony
So that's about it for another year! Working at KOTO and Blue Dragon is rewarding but it's always good to come home...
