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After Nha Trang we took the train to Mui Ni, a town on the coast famous for windsurfing and kite surfing. Whilst in Mui Ni I celebrated my 29th birthday (Christmas Eve). As a hostel we all got roped into Christmas Eve drinks by John the Ozzy owner. It was a good laugh as it meant we were thrown together with a whole bunch of strangers. As the night progressed drinking games were played, friendships formed and promises of spending Christmas together set in stone. One thing that was discussed many times (repeated drunkenly) was how this year I was going for a Christmas day dip and staying in the longest! In order for that last sentence to make sense you have to know that every year several families in the village of Millbrook and the lesser Dodbrook where I come from in Cornwall head down to the local beach to have a Christmas Day swim in the sea and of course it being winter the water is freezing. Now if you have ever been to one of these swims you will understand that there is an unspoken machoism that floats in the sea air, 'who can stay in the longest?' is on everyone's minds, whoever can stay in the longest will be the alpha male. I always refrain for this boyish behaviour mainly due to the insanely bad hangovers I have due to it being my birthday the previous night, this is generally excepted as many of the participants are the culprits of getting me into that state. This year however I had a distinct advantage over the others I was in Vietnam and would be swimming in the considerably warmer South China Sea. This year I would be ALPHA!!! Anyway after drinking games (instigated by Rach) came shots (instigated by Rach) and after shots came Vodka Redbull buckets (instigated by Rach) and after the buckets came several hours of hardcore dancing (instigated by Rach) and after that came bed (instigated by the fact my feet and brain were no longer talking to each other). I never made it out of bed on Chjristmas day, I didn't shower, clean my teeth, I didn't meet my 'new best friends' and I certainly didn't go for the Christmas day dip, so for another year Omega I remain.
From Mui Ni we headed to Ho Chi Ming City (formally Saigon). We spent a couple of nights there, in which time we both brought glow in the dark sunglasses thinking they were the coolest things ever only to realise they were completely useless and when on earth would we ever wear them. We sat on little plastic chairs in the street drinking cheap beer and having to retreat to the pavement every time the police came (the first time this happened we panicked and Rach downed her drink and I ran down the nearest ally to hide whilst everyone just got up and calmly moved their stools to the curb). And I took a trip to the Chu Chi tunnels. The tunnels of Chủ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The tunnel systems wereeat importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped achieve ultimate military success. I was riding solo on th of gris excursion as Rach was suffering from the night before and couldn't face being stuck down some hot tunnels with a hangover. Although I wasn't feeling great either I forced myself to get up and was comforted by the fact I had two tickets and therefore two seats on the coach where I could have a little nap and try and relieve my own hangover. However the coach driver had other ideas and decided that I would be best placed at the back of the bus in the middle seat, right between a young German family, Mum, Dad and two little boys. To be fair they were very friendly and we chatted for a while and even played a game of eye spy with the lads. But eventually tiredness took over and I dozed off. Now I'm not sure how long I was asleep for but when I woke up both parents had retreated to the windows with a child on each lap, leaving me with 3 seats, from then on in all smiles had stopped, conversation discontinued and eye contact was strictly forbidden. This continued for the rest of the ride there and back. I can't imagine what heinous crime I committed in my sleep for them to react it that way but what ever it was, Wolfgang and family I apologize. The tunnels gave an interesting insight into the Vietnam War, it demonstrated how ingenious the Vietnamese were and how scary it must have been for both sides. I also got the opportunity to shoot an AK47, I had never shot a gun before and what struck me straight away was how easy it was, you just aimed and pulled the trigger, it felt like firing a toy gun. It was a sobering experience.
The day after we left Vietnam for Cambodia, briefly stopping in the capital Phnom Penh before heading south to Sihanoukville for New Years Eve, where we sat on the beach drinking cocktails, watching the never ending fireworks explode in the sky for hours. It was a New Years to remember as I can't even begin to describe the sheer volume of fireworks let off, it was truly extraordinary. The next couple of days were spent on the beach eating fresh seafood and topping up the tan, smug in the knowledge of how cold and miserable England must be. Our smugness swelled when we decided to head to one of the islands off the mainland called Koh Rong, this place was paradise, sparsely populated with miles of untouched beaches and virgin rainforest, I literally lost track of time here. Its one of those places that you know in 5 years time will be full of condos and huge resorts, so I feel lucky to have experienced it in its prime.
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Jay By the way just to clear something up Dig's mum always puts all the boys to shame when it comes to staying in the sea the longest during the Christmas Day dip and I hear that this year was no different.
Judy( mum) yet another Christmas day goes down the pan! we missed your hangover groans but at least you weren't forced to eat roast turkey! all the girdlestones went swimming so the tradition and competition is still alive. you are correct, it has been really wet and miserable here so you can imagine how much I enjoyed reading about the awful time you were having on your paradise island! think I might have to join you sometime!
john stainfield John (dad) glad to hear that you maintained the dishonourable tradition of total drunkeness on your birthday followed by grump of the year the following day . Needless to say as you have never made it for the swim I took your place and stayed at home. I was of course needed to not cook the Xmas dinner so that ensured its success. In spite of all the rain the duck pond drained away so yesterday I had fun in the mud sticking patches on it. looking forward to meeting up in KK.