Freshgreen MIGRATION & travel BLOG

Hello all! This is Anh, the elder of Cathy’s younger sisters. I’m so tired because there hasn’t been much down time since getting here. So let’s start, shall we?

First, Michelle (the other sister) and I went to visit my friend Yvonne in Tokyo. She made us a cute welcome sign and rice balls for us to eat when we arrived (aww!).


For the next couple of days, we zipped around the city, going to Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ginza, etc. Visited an origami museum that Michelle adored. I adore all those vending machines! We met up with Aikawa, one of Cathy’s Japanese friends. He took all of us for kaiten sushi (conveyor belt style) which was very fun.


So after three days, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City and arrived early at the airport. But Cathy was there waiting for us already in the hot stuffy weather! We spent a few days there getting our hair done, experiencing pain and relaxation from a Thai-style shiatsu masage, eating and shopping. Michelle experienced some food poisoning and didn’t get to go down into the Cu Chi tunnels during a tour, but I did. Very dark and cramped.

Then we flew to Da Nang, after being delayed for about an hour. Cathy’s friend Eric picked us up at the airport and we drove to Hoi An to stay the night. The next day, we took a look at the old houses and temples around Hoi An while we had some clothes made. We took a little boat around the area and Michelle almost tipped it over while taking a picture! The beach was very windy so that wasn’t so enjoyable. We ended up staying late because our clothes didn’t fit properly, and our taxi broke down on the way home because it was overheated. We had to wait for anothe taxi in the outskirts of town with drunk guys walking around, but it wasn’t as sketchy as it could’ve been!

Now that we’re in Da Nang, things have died down a bit. We did spend the whole day in Hue yesterday, visiting temples and tombs, but besides that, it’s been less busy. I’m actually home alone right now while Cathy and Michelle are out carolling. Tonight we’re going to hand out presents at a orphanage and have a Christmas dinner at a French restaurant. I’m hanging out by myself now because my energy is at an all-time low. Haven’t fully adjusted to the time here in Asia, so I know I’ll be really messed up when I get back to Vancouver. We’re leaving to see our grandmother in Cam Ranh in a couple days and will spend New Year’s in Nha Trang. Then we’ll be heading home on January 2nd at 6am. Talk about a whirlwind trip!