The week that was

Well the time had come.

I had finished my last weekend at work and had started to plan my final week.

I had to think of all the things I loved the most about living in Saigon for the last eighteen months and squeeze them all into six days!

As you probably know, I LOVE a plan

When it comes to organising things I am all over it. Bookings, times colour-coordination EVERYTHING. The whole nine yards! I love it. Its defienetly a control thing. That way if it goes wrong, its all on me. I get to do it my way, no compromises. Just the standard stuff.

Anyway I made a facebook group and posted the following message.  

"Kia Ora Whānau,

As I assume you all know by now I'm throwing in the towel with Vietnam and heading back home. I know ya'll are a very busy and have very diverse schedules so luckily for you all I think goodbyes are like visits to Lilys, you cant just have one! So here's what I'm thinking

Monday 23rd : Head to all day happy hour at the boathouse in D2

After we have done a fair slog there head to the canal for some cheap and cheerful beers

Tuesday 24th : Heading to Lush for one last ladies night (love or hate it, it's free drinks!)

Thursday 26th : Street cocktails at Cocktail evil (123 Le Loi) which is also super cheap! And then from there see where the night takes us!

Saturday 28th : This will be my last big hurrah as I need to be at the airport by 9am to catch my flight! (Dancing with the devil I know). Thinking, heading to the pool for some sun and some cans before heading off into the night!

Obviously I dont expect anyone to come to everything (but honestly feel free! I wont be complaining) but I would love to see all of your faces at least at some stage!

If all else fails that whole week I will be slugging around if anyone would rather something less self destructive!

If you've gotten this far, chur to you! You've all made my time here pretty alright! So I hope to see you all soon ❤"

So with that being said the week was planned. The first event, All day happy hour at the Boathouse then drinks along the canal. Perfect. 

I was actually on time for once which was a nice surprise, so getting to the boathouse I was the first to arrive. I was absolutely okay with this but I was getting a little nervous. What if no one shows up. Knowing that I had set out four different events I didnt expect every single person to come to every single event but obviously I was hoping that at least someone would come! Sitting there for what felt like an eternity was rather sad!

After about 20 minutes my mates started to trickle in and around an hour later we had a solid group of at least fourteen people. Im slurping back my cocktails just happy to see my friends. Its at this stage that Ellie starts telling me that I need to eat. Eatings cheating though, so I tell her I'm fine, she keeps insisting no matter how much I tell her no. Yet we all know how stubborn I can be, so nothing but liquid is passing these lips!

We continue on and a few hours after we started on cocktails I decide its time to switch to beers, and its the most economical to buy a bucket of five, so thats exactly what I do. After opening the first one and being challenged to chug it, Ellie stands up and looks absolutly terrified. 

"Right guys if everyone could pay their bills, we need to leave soon for the surprise."

What the hell is happening.

She sits back down and looks like she is about to cry. I should have eaten. 

She goes on to explain that her Emily and Oren have been organising a surprise for around two months now and its finally coming together. I am speechless. Which never happens to me. EVER.

As we start to gather our stuff and head out for the surprise I have no idea what to expect. I am not handling this well. I'm giggling (which I dont do) and I'm sweating far more than what is acceptable. Ellie has seemed to calm down a little which is when she goes on to tell me how hard it has been to keep this secret, which obviously has been very hard not only for her, but the more people you involve the more room for error ya know? She said she nearly told me so many times and other people had almost told me as well. When I asked who, she responded with

"Dont worry, I'll tell you on the boat....SHIT".

So we were going on a boat! 

Two months she was able to keep it in and then stumbled on the last hurdle! I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! (Love you Ellie you mong!)

In the grab on the way to the boat I still dont really know what to expect. We've been on boat tours before but I was informed that this was not what we were doing! 

Arriving in District 4 I see the biggest, most flamboyant boat humanly possible (which thankfully was not ours) sneakily parked behind it was a far more suitable boat. A double decker of course and on board were all the people that I loved the most. I was honestly stunned. It was so amazing to have all the people I loved and cared about in Vietnam all in one spot. Even now sitting in my hotel room for the third straight day I cannot fully comprehend how special that really was. 

Since the secret was out of the bag I was able to be added to the group planning the whole surprise and let me tell you they had an uphill battle! After every time I posted in the group chat I had made, they screenshotted it, edited it and posted it again for their eyes only! constantly reminding everyone that it was indeed a surprise and there was a plan.

The boat was fabulous and I couldnt have asked for a better send off. After our time on the boat had come to an end it was time to head to BV and cause some trouble.

First on the list - TNR. Normally I would avoid TNR due to the fact that a few of my enemies tend to congregate there (Re: tong man story) but due to it being a monday (and I didn't really have much else to lose at this point) we make our way to District 1. We didnt stay too long though (mainly because of an incident involving a bucket and a long bathroom line). The only place left to go was Hairy Dog (well "The hair of the Dog") but hairy dog just sounds better.  

After agressivly dancing to Vinahouse and drinking far too many Vodka and stings it was time to call it a night. 

After such an amazing night with a great turn out I felt so guilty asking people to keep coming out for the rest of the week. But we pushed through!

Lush ladies night was a banger as usual however the hairy dog two nights in a row was a bit too ambitious.

Wednesday night was meant to be a quiet dinner and maybe one beer, which obviously it wasnt. After celebrating our favourite restaurant owners pre-engament with shots of patron the only thing left was plum wine brewed in bathtubs out the back of course!

Thursday night had to be my favourite street cocktail place! How can you say no to $2.50 cocktails??? The vibe is great! The staff are ideal and they have animals in the bathrooms! What more could you really jeed on a thursday night!

Friday was a rest day, I tried to push through but after four days in a row of late nights, sad goodbyes and far too many drinks I needed a rest. A movie night and a whole boatload of chineese food is exactly what was required. A night in with the family was truely a blessing.

I needed a break anyway as Saturday would be my last day and that was going to be tough!

To be continued...