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Tết

Its Tết Nguyên Đán or Tết for the sake of ease.

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So again I wish you all:

Cung Chúc Tân Xuân ( best wishes for the new spring)

And

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới happy new year!

This is the year of the monkey.

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Me and the monkey

And with a new year, time for a new country: Thailand!

Adventure to Koh Tao via Bangkok

ok… I had to make some last minute plans today… and i dunno how it’s going to work out.

All times are displayed in Indochina time (ICT).

I’m currently still at the hostel (7feb, 11:00) checking out in one hour.

Then i still have a few hours to kill until my flight
I’m boarding tonight at 20:55, flight (FD 659) leaves at 21:35 (SGN) and lands at 23:05 (DMK, bangkok)

— 8 Feb —-

I have no clue what to do for 6 hours in bangkok because i have to be at the ferry around 5:30 *feb 8* if all goes well (i only have a verbal confirmation from some dude on the phone) i should be in Koh Tao at 14:30 and im definatly going to book a hostel there :)

Should be a few nice chillaxing days to kill and then i’ll backtrack my way back to bangkok.

I’m probably going to be a wreck by the time i’ll get there but i’d recon it’s worth it.

Keep you updated!

J

Saigon

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh city…
I would even say that this place is crazier than Hanoi. It’s more modern and a lot more commercial than Hanoi. No chickens running around here.

I’ve slept very good in my fancy hotel today.

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King king size

With a mini bar in my room and a beer for less than a euro a perfect place to retreat after three weeks of backpacking. Today its time to see more of this bustling city. The view at the rooftop bar yesterday was just amazing…

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Saigon from above

One more day in Vietnam and then on new year eve I’ll fly go Bangkok to go explore Thailand. My plans are still a bit uncertain and can change in a split second but that doesn’t ruin the fun.

OK… I’ve finished my coffee and egg, wrote the blog. Time to shave, checkout and check-in at my hostel, its back to dorms again… I can’t even remember what the word working means although this experience is completely different from vacation, living the life… That basically covers it all.

I’m also really happy that I’m meeting some familiar faces everywhere I go.

Keep you updated 😇

Charlie don’t surf…

First things first I needed transportation. A scooter, not the best one I’ve driven but it would have to do, no hills to climb anyway so anything would do the trick.

The harbor looked promising…

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Mui ne bay

My adventure started of visiting a surf shop, usually the place to be for some free advise and general tips about the local surf. Well was I wrong, the polite Vietnamese girl didn’t speak any English but could give me one hint. Malibu. So I set of to find this hidden spot, you’ll drive by if your not looking because its located about 1km Sandy road.

Kitesurfing…

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Malibu.. Full onshore

Only Kitesurfing… A local wanted to rent a board but since I was going to be the only guy in the water there… Not too smart, no sharks but enough fins from kitesurfers to make me think twice… In Holland I wouldn’t have any second thoughts…

I already gave up and just wanted to get in the water. So I found a windsurfing school, Russian owned… The price was insane.. 30 USD for two hours, but fuck it this is vacation Right?

I’d figure I can do this… Boy was I wrong. I basically got a 30$ lesson of humiliation. The gear changed and the same rules don’t apply anymore. Now it’s all about jibes and water starts.

I still got some surf, but was mostly in the water (the Russian thought I was born in the 60’s… He said he hadn’t seen anyone stand on the board and actually lift his sail up while standing on it in 20 years)

He was surprised that I even managed to surf it like that. But with wind of 20knots and 35knot gusts a 4m² sail and no experience for at least 10 years after one hour my arms gave out…

Still fun anyway. He said if I take a few lessons I’ll be flying in no time.

The strong wind also gave me second thoughts about Kitesurfing lessons so what then?

I found a Portuguese surf instructor. At the best break in Mũi Ne apparently.

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So if the swell is OK tomorrow… I’ll head in for a dip. Although all the Aussies I met said that I shouldn’t bother… I’ve surfed worse conditions in Zandvoort and still had fun!

The other options is wait for Stralya and Bali :-)

But no surf for over two months…
I’m having a serious withdrawal symptoms. :p

— I just reread this post… If it doesn’t make sense it’s either the booze the keyboard or my shitty way of expressing or a combination hehehe… But you’ll get the point.