Langkawi is an island off the coast of Malaysia and you can get there by ferry or plane and it is not far from Thailand and is similar to Phukut but not as developed.  I went via a ferry from Penang during the TET holiday.  It took about 2 and 1/2 hours and it appeared to be quite an old ferry inside.  I decided I would be ok as I could swim, the water was warm and there were no great whites.  The only item I decided to take was my passport and I would take my sneakers off and my long pants if we had to jump ship. Anyway enough about that. When I arrived I noticed this massive bird.

I arrived there and immediately noticed that things cost more, taxis, accommodation.  I had a lovely two days cruising around the island on my hired motorbike and swimming in the ocean.

I went up a cable car that was at an angle of 42 degrees which is the steepest in the world.

I then visited the 7 waterfalls.

 

On the other side of the island is a beach with some black sand.  I then went up to the highest point on the island, 900m above sea level

 

 

I spent a week in Da Nang which is half way between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.  I was there for our yearly Habitat Vietnam conference which involved about 50 people.  It was a great week catching up with people I had met before and meeting new people.  I did my first presentation with a translator and it went well.  The advice that I was given was to keep it slow and short.  This is harder than you would think and if the translator doesn’t quite get what you are saying, you then have to word it differently.  It was also the first time that I have had my photo taken during a presentation that I was giving.

We had a Gala dinner the first night and celebrated Habitat Vietnam’s 15th birthday.  We then had a music video dance competition.  Yep, you heard it, we were divided into 4 teams and each team was given a music video and we had to create costumes and then dance to it.  It was hilarious.  We had a K-pop song (Korean Pop) and even though it was a draw between all 4 teams because we were allowed to vote for ourselves, I think we were the best.

We also had an interesting presentation on Asbestos.  It is currently still legal here in Vietnam to manufacture and construct with, so Habitat is working on educating people on the health risks.  We had a demonstration about what to wear if you are handling the material.

During the week while I was at our conference we had a company day visiting Hoi An and some nearby ruins.  The ruins dated back about 1000 years and are Hindu Temples which is interesting since the majority of the country is Buddhist.  They were rediscovered by a Frenchman and then some got taken to museums in France and Vietnam and then they were bombed during the Vietnam War.

From there we went to Hoi An and had a tour around and walked over the Japanese Covered Bridge and through a Vietnamese house that had architecture from Japan, China and Vietnam and the tour was conducted by an 8th generation relative who still lives there.  In the picture, the Chinese were on the left and the Japanese on the right.

We also visited a sculpture garden which was fascinating and all the statues were made out of marble.  Here is an impersonation of one of them:

 

Had a great ride in the middle of Ho Chi Minh.  We went off road, through water, dust, over pipes and around dogs and chickens.  We were a mix of Aussies, Kiwis and Danish.

There was confusion with the lady and the motorbike.  We didn’t know if she was stuck or waiting but through our excellent Vietnamese, we left her where she was…

You know it has been a fun ride when you get home like this

Everyday I am amazed at what the humble scooter can carry and be used for

 

It can be used to catch a few extra zzzzzzz’s

Not sure what this is about

It is like a walking department store

A few baskets

Motorbikes are great for carrying eggs and also resting in a hammock.

And if you don’t have access to a motorbike or push bike, then you carry it yourself…  These are pillows so not heavy, but some of the stuff they carry is very heavy.

Carrying Take Away containers

I have seen many more sights but it is very hard to catch them on film as either there is too much traffic, you are driving or you are crossing the road and trying to survive.  Enjoy