The parents made it out of Murchison and getting robbed?

Well here we go again.

The last few weeks have been incredible. Let's start off with a recap on a work function. So a big thing they do at my company are "socials". So every 4-5 months every center has a social event (smaller centers often combine to boost numbers). Some centers will have a dinner or go to karaoke, but a common social event? Villa parties. Now this is exactly what it sounds like. Your center hires out a huge villa, drinks and food are provided and you go for it, and my social was no exception.

Monday night rolls around and I am buzzing, I get a grab over to district 2 (around 20 minutes from where I live) jump off and take a look at the palace that is ours for the night. 3 stories, 15 rooms, all with an ensuites and one large pool. The drinks are chilling, more beer than you could count and enough bottle of spirits to make Andre the Giant sway! The food is being set up and the excitement builds. The night goes as is expected with a few bumps and bruises along the way (not to mention a fall or two on the slippery floors). At around 2am I decide that I no longer want to stay so I phone a friend, jump on their bike and ride off into the darkness home!

Tuesday is as rough as expected but the show must go on and then four short days later the parents landed in Saigon! I drive to their hotel and as expected the tears start flowing. Five months, the longest time I have ever gone without seeing not only my parents but familiar faces and it was an experience to say the least! Having my parents who have only been to Australia (which let's face it, is only a bigger New Zealand) standing on a rooftop in the middle of South east Asia with me was incredible. To be able to show them the city that I have grown to love was something that I have been looking forward to since I got here. That night I brought them around to my apartment (on the back of a bike no less) and started showing them my routine.

First things first, drinks at our local pub. One thing that is the same everywhere, is a cold beer. Five houses down from my apartment is a pub that has watered us on more than one occasion, it truly is the local! Next mission some food. We head into the main district (district 1) in hunt for some Kai. Being the local that I am, I step out on to the busy streets without a second thought, until I look back and see the fear in my parents eyes and have a wee chuckle to myself. With food in our belly it was time for the first adventure. The world if Heineken.

The Bixtco financial tower is one of the tallest buildings in Vietnam and has a very distinctive sky deck (often referred to as the Tony Stark (iron man) building). For the next month they have an attraction set up called the world of Heineken. For the low price of 95,000 Dong (around $6.50 NZD) we were able to go up 68 floors and have an interactive Heineken experience. When we arrived we were treated to a brief history of one of the biggest beer brands in the world. Next we headed to the pouring room where we were shown how to pour the perfect pint, and thanks to my previous time behind a bar, I nailed it. After that there was a 4D viewing of how the beer is made. After that we played some games and were given two more beers along with some chips and told to enjoy the view, and from that far up, that is exactly what we did! It was absolutely stunning. A few hours later we jumped back in a taxi and headed home.

The next couple of days we did some classic tourist things, Bui Vien (the backpackers street), Binh Tan markets and street food eats as well as some extra goodies such as a trip to my favorite 2nd hand store and a Ice cafe (which was much needed after a 32° day!) as well as showing them my favorite spot to recover from the backpackers street and some more great food spots.

The week absolutely flew past and soon we were back at my parents hotel saying our goodbyes. Having them here was absolutely amazing. It was so good to be able to show them the life that I have created here, for them to be able to see that I have friends and that I am actually thriving half way across the word.

Monday rolls around and with my friend back from her month long holiday it was only right to investigate a happy hour. A very important thing to note is the name happy hour in this country is very deceiving. Not only is it longer than an hour (normally 3-4 hours) and its not happy, its glorious. Around 2am with tomorrows kindy class looming upon me i decided I had had enough so I called my friend to come and get me. He pulls up and i jump on the back of his bike like had done ten times before. We were just around the corner from my house when i felt a sharp sting at my neck, looking down all I see is the strap that was once attached to my bag flapping loosely in the wind, on that said bag is rolling along the road. It look me a minute to realize what and happened, but then it sunk in, i had been bag snatched. Looking up i see the guy that did said snatching. He stopped about 300m up the road and was looking back, probably deciding whether it was worth it to come back. Thankfully he kept driving and i was able to pick up my bag, not losing anything (except now my favorite bag is broken).

Arriving back home the full effect of what happened set in and i was a little shaken. However no one died so it was okay.

These things do happen here, but they happen everywhere. Thankfully Mum and Dad had left the country at this point, they would have been more upset and worried that I could have ever been. I have learnt my lesson, i need to make sure by bag is closer to me or under my bike seat if i am driving. Regardless i still love this country and bag things happen everywhere, I'm lucky I wasn't alone and he obviously had a hard time holding onto my bag (much like the All blacks trying to hold the ball against Namibia, am i right???)

Until next time!