Good bye Vietnam

The last few days in Hanoi were pretty frantic. We moved out of our house, off loaded most of our furniture to our friend Nam and sold our bikes. We packed up boxes to be sent to Thailand and had our house cleaned from top to bottom. The last week went very quickly and before I knew it I was teaching my last class. It was a little sad. I am not a big hugger but the Vietnamese seem to be so I frequently had students coming in for a big goodbye hug.

Our on last night in the house our neighbours put on a party for us; a feast of Vietnamese food. We left our house a few days before our flight to chill in the Old Quarter. Old grannies from the street came out waving to say goodbye. It was very nice. We had some farewell drinks with our expat buddies in town which was also great. They are mainly teachers and we had representations from all corners of the globe. It has been great to meet so many people from different countries around the world.

I went and said goodbye to Mr Tuan, Madame Dzung and Grandmere, the family we stayed with when we first moved to Hanoi. We have kept in touch and they have always been so welcoming to us. Gradmere is probably our favourite person in Vietnam. She is so damn adorable. At 80 + and with only about 3 teeth she always gives you the biggest and happiest smile. I sat and had a green tea with her and told her where I was going. She was very interested. Madame Dzung made me some dinner and I drank some wine with Mr Tuan. I also got a big hug from him when I left.

We finished our last night with a few beers and some Vietnamese spring rolls at a restaurant we often go to. The waitress was very sad when we said we were leaving and gave Celine her scarf.

It has been a great year and a half in Hanoi. The Vietnamese people are so friendly. We have learnt so many interesting things about their culture and despite our excitement about Thailand will definitely miss the place. We hope to come back and visit.