It’s been over a month since I last posted a blog to which I blame the migration and sheer ease of settling in to an Australian lifestyle.

Gord and I are still in Perth, we’re still room sharing and still working. I can’t speak entirely for Gord, but I’m sure he would share similar views, Perth has been one of my favourite destinations on the whole trip. There is something truly special about Perth.

In Perth one can wake up to a sunny morning with barely a cloud in the sky, stroll to work or catch the free public bus to the centre, say pardon or excuse me and receive a “no worries” reply as you accidently block someone’s path. Every morning I’ve been happy to get up at the crack of dawn and amble down the street to work. I could wax lyrical about Perth, it would be so easy to do so.

What jobs are we doing?

I’m in IT support and Gord is a Keyboard Monkey (his own words!). He’s working for a small firm who receive letters and documents regarding court cases and he enters the required data in to a database. He describes his job as mind-numbingly boring, to put it mildly.

I feel bad that he’s doing that as I’m really enjoying my job at Aecom ANZ, I’ve got a great group of work colleagues that I’m sharing my spare time with also and with the job I’m always meeting new people. I’m just a support monkey, to try to paraphrase Gord, and our small team is the sole IT support for the whole building housing 500 staff. It’s not challenging and my brain is yearning for a challenge, but it’s so fast paced you can’t get bored.

Is the Australian lifestyle so much different to the UK?

Yes, it really is. I sense a work-hard play-hard ethic to life, this view has been met with great debate but even so, at Aecom we tend to share a Friday evening with the work colleagues around us.

It’s expensive here in Perth and I’m excited to check-out the East coast, especially after reports that most things are half the price to Perth. It’s very easy to spend $100 on a night out and still not feel the effects of alcohol.

The playing-hard ethic, this is something else – Sunday sessions. Read further in to the name given and Australians and those alike will go to a bar on an afternoon, usually when sport is involved and drink until well past dusk. Jeez, I hate working on a hangover. Hats off to them though!

Everyone is incredibly friendly here, the pleases and thankyous come out in force as well as a genuine feeling of a content state. The only times the level of content is questioned is when a foreigner is involved in a misdemeanour of manners; be it British, Asian or any other ethnicity.

The weather here is incredible. We’ve had 2 days of rain since being here – this will be a problem come summer though. The scorching sun makes for weekend fun at the beach, failing miserably to surf but happily soaking up the cancerous UV rays due to an uncovered ozone layer.

Have we done anything except work?

Of course! We generally don’t do anything on weekdays – I do a lot of overtime and don’t get home until 8pm most evenings. Weekends however are our own, so we try and experience the suburbs and sights around and outside of Perth city. As it has been a long time since posting my last blog, I’ll bullet point what we have done:

• Western Australia Australian Football Grand Final – Subiaco Oval Stadium
  • Bought tickets to the final – Swan District vs Claremont
  • Players run the length of 2 soccer pitches for 2 hours punching and kicking the ball and players (smaller than a rugby ball)
  • 6 points for kicking the ball in the centre goal, 1 point for the goals eitherside
  • Swan District won by 1 point, 100 to 99

• The Pinnacles Desert
  • 3 hours north of Perth near Cervantes
  • Phallus shaped rocks poke out from the ground to show a truely unique geo-rock formation
  • Stopped off at Lancelin on the way home for a beer. Awesome atmosphere in the small, full or character pub that overlooks the sea

• Perth Glory Soccer – niB Stadium
  • The well-known verteran Robbie Fowler plays for glory and is a hero
  • Disappointingly it ended 0-0 vs Gold Coast

• Fremantle and Cottesloe
  • Both have beaches, Cottesloe has crisp, white sand, traditional fish and chip shops and generally much quieter
  • Fremantle is the busier, but has a poor beach. The Little Creatures Brewery has a bar serving local brews with a young, yuppie hang out

• Scarborough beach
  • Fantastic spot to surf and jump waves
  • Failed miserably to surf but on the plus side Gord face planted in to the sand

• Subiaco and Innaloo
  • Our friends Mark and Kerry live in Innaloo
  • Mark and Kerry, a cool South African couple, have generously lent us a Holden Barina (Vauxhall Corsa) for us to use on weekends around Perth
  • Kirsty and Kristina, another cool Kiwi and British flatmate mix. Kirsty I know through work we have spent time chilling at the beach and Pinnacles
• Drinking hole highlights include
  • CBD, The Garden, Squires, The Queens

What’s on the cards now?

We’re still in Perth working for the next month. My contract has been extended with Aecom until start of November. Gord and I are going our separate ways for a month, housing issues, I’m moving in with Mark and Kerry and Gord with a work colleague. We only need it for 3 weeks and renting properties is usually for longer.

Mark and Kerry have some stories from their childhoods, but you couldn’t meet a more generous and cool couple as these guys. They have a Golden Retriever call Lexy, I can’t wait to move in!

The dates all tie in nicely to when Gord and I head to Adelaide to meet Claire, Loz and Karl for our next epic 3 week-long leg to begin – following the coast from Adelaide to Brisbane in a Station Wagon!

Theoretically, would I move here?

With one small doubt, yes I would. My health being the major factor – medical bills for private CF health care is pretty high. I’d need an excellently paid job to pay for them.

Although Australia has a reciprocal health agreement with the UK, sadly, it does not cover pre-existing medical conditions. Damn!

Realistically I’m not contemplating coming back out to Australia to work/settle for a long time. It could happen, but with a return to the UK for Christmas I do have plans to stay in the UK.

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

None, thankfully. I’m in reasonable health but still not fully content with how it’s behaving, especially with my cough. My main gripe is when I talk to people, I constantly have to clear my throat mid-sentence. I not only find this rude, but fairly disgusting too.

I don’t have my DNAse with me; it helps break down the waste in my lungs that’s left from constantly fighting off the infection. I’m getting a fair amount of exercise but still not enough. For the time being I am fine and don’t envisage any problems from now until my return to the UK.

Bearing no relation to a Persian, Gord and I have been in Perth, Western Australia state, for a week now and have had no regrets about picking out this city to settle in.

Perth is arguably the only major city on the Western coast with Broome being the only other contender. It is a very quiet city and as when you see a traffic jam of 10 cars on the road, this is at its busiest. I think free public buses and cheap rail transport answer the question of peak time traffic, something England could benefit majorly from. The free buses work fantastically well.

Enjoying the best economy of Australia, something we learnt the hard way, Perth commodities attracts much higher pricing for everything requiring a parting of money. Food, clothes, accommodation, and beer all enjoy an inflated price tag with a pint of the latter costing a mere £6… What?! Yes, my heart sank too.

What are we doing in Perth?

Landing at 7am from Bangkok we took the Connect Bus service (£8) from Perth International Airport to our hostel. Staying in a hostel called Britannia on William for 1 night, which located 1km away from the centre of Perth and it was alright. It’s expensive for what you get (£20 each a night with shared bathroom), but this isn’t Asia anymore and we are in the most expensive part of Oz.

Our intention was to gun for a job; most importantly one to start immediately, this was/is our priority. With settling in to an Aussie working life top of the agenda so was decent accommodation. Living in a hostel while working is not ideal, both on my health and working so on the day we landed from Bangkok we went out to view properties I had already earmarked on www.gumtree.com.au

Before we left Bangkok I’d been researching places to stay as well as applying for jobs via www.seek.com.au targeting mainly IT related jobs I applied for others without much prejudice.

Where are we staying?

I had arranged some flat viewings for our first day in Perth; it just so happened that the first viewing blew us away. Right in the Perth CBD, Wellington Place opposite a huge park we could move in the day after for $250 p/w including bills for the both of us. It’s a large(ish) flat which we are sharing with a starting out Thai family and a Frenchman. The apartment block has a shared swimming pool, Jacuzzi and gym.

On the job front?

A friend told me that jobs in Australia are easy to come by and we’d probably have one in 3-4 days upon arrival. This wasn’t the case but it didn’t deter us in tackling the hunt hard.

As I write this article I start work for Aecom, a massive company with fingers in all pies, tomorrow. Employing 45,000 globally they mainly run projects for governments and other bodies in Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations and Management – summed up in an acronym! I went through a recruitment agency called Hays who put me forward for an interview for a 2^nd/3^rd level IT Support role – I was offered the position and start tomorrow morning! I’m incredibly excited and the prospects if I apply myself could be hugely rewarding. I’m on an initial 6 week contract with extension opportunity.

Gord doesn’t have anything yet but he’s confident of a Data Entry/Document Controller position offer in the next coming days.

We actually both had job offers from Make-A-Wish as Street Marketers, collecting Direct Debits from shoppers to go towards fundraising efforts. The interview process was pretty original, amongst individual interviews we were given a questionnaire and a pen and sent amongst the public asking “If you had to choose a charity to donate to who would you prefer? Heart Foundation, WWF or Child Fund?” We had to ask shoppers and gather tallies of each – testing our confidence, manner and rejection skills! Paying $17.80 per hour with generous bonuses we declined the offer. My IT role pays a lot more and Gord’s potential pay in the pipeline is a significant amount.

One last job to talk about – Sales Assistant for Foxtel. I was offered a commission only role to knock on people’s doors selling Foxtel (Sky, in the UK) entertainment packages. I declined this position as there were inconsistencies in the pay structure between 3 people I spoke to. I’m Certainly not comfortable with mis-information.

Have we done anything else in Perth?

Apart from buying clothes on a budget and sharing them for job interviews to secure jobs, we have been doing a little bit of exploring.

Wellington Park- the park opposite is excellent to kick a Rugby ball around but we visited Cottesloe and Fremantle which are both coastal towns.

Our live-in-landlord, Kille, works at a Fish and Chip restaurant in Cottesloe and offered us free food if we visited. Taking the train to Cottesloe (£2) we had delicious, near English, food and stuffed like a Turkey at Christmas. On his lunch break, Kille drove us to Fremantle (Freo if you’re Aussie) and dropped us off in the town to have an explore. It didn’t take us long to find the Little Creatures Brewery and Pub! Offering Stout, Ales and lagers we celebrated our impending employments and relaxed by the sea.

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

No, I’m in good health. The Samitivej Bangkok Sukhumvit Hospital has done a good job! They gave me 2 bottles of Saline to spray up my nose which still makes me laugh when I do it – I look ridiculous!

Stepping off the plane that instant fresh, green countryside air hits you. I “breathed” a sigh of relief and ready to fully embrace this new chapter to the world trip.

What is on the cards for this round-the-world trip now?

Budgeting around Asia hasn’t gone very well. To our credit we haven’t stopped ourselves from experiencing different things and enjoying activities. We certainly haven’t been lavish, except the suits, taking cheap transport everywhere and paying the lowest prices for accommodation. Personally I blame both the Pound Sterling’s economic strength and my naivety (again).

We could have another month of travelling if the Pound was as strong as it was 3-4 years ago, but Asia is not as cheap as guide books suggest now. When providing a guide price for activities, food, accommodation you must assume the upper quartile price range or add on at least 30% on top.

With our Asia fund in near ruins, working in Australia is a must. I want to protect my £2,500 Australia budget for a bit of sightseeing whilst working. I have got to think of the 2 weeks that Claire, Loz and Karl come out to visit/holiday and during the England vs Australia Ashes series, for which we have tickets.

Working as a “Sandwich Artist” in Subway, farm hand on a remote sheep station or continuing my glittering IT career I don’t mind what I do. I must enjoy it, save money and have another first in our experience list ticked off. It will be totally different to travelling/back packing and I look forward to working again!

I am looking forward to settling down for a bit in Perth and working -  the real Australian way. It  would be a great  comparison to working conditions at home and the chance to  live in Australia!

Come on Australia!

Now for the math

Bearing in mind we were supposed to visit Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Zealand too; these countries aren’t possible due to a lack of funds

6 weeks is the amount budgeted for sightseeing in Australia, with the hunt for work on, I have 2 months working before Claire and friends come out to  see me for their two  week holiday. The holiday will start in Adelaide and end in Melborne, then Gord and I will need to  get back over to  Perth. Besides, we have Ashes tickets for the WACA!! 

Impressive Level of Overspend – How?

Exchange rate and:

• America – Transport, namely the RV, extra mileage and fuel
• India – Train ticket costs
• China & Hong Kong – Train ticket costs
• Vietnam – Amount of activities available

I have no regrets so far and haven’t held back on anything I wanted to do. That should be the case though right? Besides, working in Australia is going to be fun and I’ll have a Cashmere suit waiting for me back home

Bangkok is a totally different chapter in this round-the-world trip and it certainly wasn’t in my travel plans to end up in hospital. I had hoped to see Bangkok in a different light – with a backpack on my shoulder, a beer in my hand and walking through ambient red light…

Following on from my Ho Chi Minh blog post, upon landing at Bangkok airport a driver collected us and dropped us off at Samitivej Bangkok Suhkumvit hospital. From there I was admitted in for further treatment, initially observations, blood tests and X-Rays. What I didn’t expect was a full CAT scan on my body! I have never had one of those before. One can’t have a CAT scan without thinking that it may reveal other horrifying results – fortunately it didn’t!

What was my initial prognosis?

Firstly, I was told I had Cystic Fibrosis, well… dur, I don’t think that wouldhave slipped me by! I had blood taken from my wrist, apparently for oxygen levels, which seriously hurt as it took 3 minutes after the needle was inserted and wriggled around for blood to flow out. From there on in the following were tested:

• Weight – 80Kg * Before trip 88Kg – Lost 1 & ½ stone
• Phlegm/Mucus – Very green, viscous * Before trip – White
• Oxygen Saturation – 94% * Before trip – 98%
• Pulse – 60bpm * Before trip – 75bpm (woohoo, only improvement)
• Blood Pressure – 120/60, normal
• X-Ray – Centre of the lungs show obstruction * Before trip – clear
• Lung Function actual against prediction
  • FEV1 (force of the blow) – 90% *Before trip – 110%
  • FVC (total lung capacity available) – 95% * Before trip – 115%
  • FEF 25-75% (middle of lungs, most used areas) – 60% * Before trip – ?

Conclusion – I have early signs of respiratory tract obstruction, in English; mucus is blocking my airways but hasn’t reached a severe level yet.

OK it hadn’t got too bad which explains why my fitness level remained unaffected and exercise may have helped delay the symptoms. The obstruction though, evidently infected, confirmed by the doctors as the Pseudomonas Aeroginosa bacteria and is resistant to the Ciprofloxacin antibiotic I was taking. Resistance to Ciprofloxacin is BAD news, it is revered as a miracle antibiotic and signals bad times ahead if I have built a resistance to it, it will no longer work.

The doctors put me on Cravit (Levofloxacin) which after results of my sputum/phlegm/mucus culture indicates I am also resistant to this antibiotic. I was administered on Meropenem for at least 10 days. This meant I was to be in hospital for at least 14 days.

How am I coping?

Determined to show rapid recovery and my fitness levels I requested access to the gym to exercise almost immediately after being admitted.

Unfortunately I was treated as though I was seriously physically impaired, always asked to be escorted in a wheel chair, assistance in bathing, told to wear hospital gowns and a limitation to how much exercise I was allowed. Initially, I was only allowed to walk at a slow pace, only after begging was I able to increment the speed by 0.5mph per day until the 9^th day where I started to run, hardcore style! Now that felt good.

I’m struggling with the Travel Insurance imposed isolation to hospital grounds rule. I am not allowed outside, as doing so would be a “risk to my health”, seriously 14 days without breathing in fresh air?!

To combat days of boredom I scheduled a strict regime of chores, jobs and other tasks. Past hospital admittance has been savagely boring, so having a routine makes it feel like day-to-day business as usual. This gave me chance to apply for Graduate Job Schemes, job applications in Australia, research Digital SLR cameras and write more blog posts amongst other things.

Mentally though I’m doing well – I have Gord to thank for sitting through this hospitalisation with me.

I HATE NEEDLES. FULL STOP!

I faced a torrid time when it came to change my old IV antibiotic line to the other arm. They tried three times on my left arm to put an IV line in, each time they failed. They would push the needle in, realise it wasn’t in properly

so push further still to no avail. My hand still hurts after the third attempt; they pushed it so far in my whole hand went numb then tingled for hours.

Each attempt was painful and huge swelling ensued after. For the 4^th attempt

they said they would get a more qualified nurse to do it – great, have I been

having the trainees then?!!

Honestly I hate needles; there isn’t anything worse for me than facing needles in any shape or form. As a child I didn’t have a good experience, so having

three painful, swelling inducing failed attempts didn’t help. I’m embarrassed to say this but I have been reduced to tears many times by needles, it’s the

thought of it. It doesn’t hurt (most of the time) it’s the leading up to it and the worry. I’d rather a smack in the face than a needle, no joke – a real phobia of them.

Suffice to say that I wasn’t very chirpy or pleasant the next day.

Discharge, Yey! How am I now?

• Weight – 85Kg
• Phlegm/Mucus – Light yellow
• Oxygen Saturation – 97%
• Pulse – 60bpm
• Blood Pressure – 120/60, normal
• X-Ray – Centre of the lungs show minimal obstruction
• Lung Function actual against prediction
  • FEV1 (force of the blow) – 107%
  • FVC (total lung capacity available) – 115%
  • FEF 25-75% (middle of lungs, most used areas) – 80%

Excellent, showing reasonable signs of recovery, proving to the doctors that running 3 miles a day is not a problem, I am allowed out 14 days later!

Of course, leaving hospital wouldn’t be complete with one final scare would it? On the 11th hour the attending doctor stated that my latest sputum sample was tested positive for another infection; a floral bacteria. Having to endure a brief delay in my discharge, I was still given the all clear – being allowed to leave with added stress and worry about this new bug.

Onward with my travels and I will not see another hospital until my return to the UK!!

To whom I thank…

I am pleased with the level of care Samitivej has provided me, I would like to personally thank the nurses I could share a joke with for their care and attention, Dr. T as he introduced himself – for his friendly nature.

I also extend a thankyou to the physiotherapist, the man that got me running – Thanachat Sanchang. Not only did he help push me physically he provided the repetitive chest percussion treatment, traditional smacking of the chest, to help clear my airways.

Fortis, my travel insurance provider, has come through well with this hospital. The level of care I needed as a Cystic Fibrosis sufferer was definitely found here.

So thorough was the care, I was referred to an ENT specialist who commented that my sinuses were blocked, it turns out I have suffered for years with obstructed sinuses which is why my nose has always run even when I don’t have a cold. Prescribing nasal irrigation, squirting salt water up each nostril, every day I breathe much more easily through my nose!

Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise and previously known as Saigon, was named after Vietnam’s father figure Ho Chi Minh. He was a key figure in the Northern part of the countries defiance against America during the war by working with farmers and living the life of the average Vietnamese folk.

Having to go directly to Ho Chi Minh City by bus from Nha Trang to seek medical assistance so there wasn’t much room for sight seeing,

The few days I was in Ho Chi Minh City I did walk around the city a little and obviously eat at various restaurants. Being completely different than Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh is far more cosmopolitan, modern and business like. With new tarmac roads, pristine skyscrapers, shopping malls and selections of bakeries it reminded me a lot of Hong Kong,

There is no escaping the motorbike noise emitted from the millions of exhausts on the roads, but our stay in Ho Chi Minh was a pleasant one, even if under undesirable circumstances. The Travel Insurance company put us up in the Palace Hotel, eventually, which is a 4* with roof-top swimming pool. This stay certainly helped to temporarily ease my worries of hospitalisation. This definitely helped Gord, who has a natural affinity to food poisoning, was ill again for 2 days during our stay here; hugging the porcelain throne once again.

Sadly we didn’t experience Ho Chi Minh City in the right circumstances; I will return again one day.

How have the travel insurance helped so far?

I had huge difficulty in getting my point across about how Cystic Fibrosis sufferers with chest infections require a high level of monitoring, lung function testing and I.V Antibiotics that are strong enough to kill the infection. I was concerned that hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City didn’t have the relevant equipment and specialism to identify the level of care required or monitoring capabilities. Through the duration of my stay in Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh I stressed time and time again about this level of care.

HCMC provided no surprises in the level of care offered, SOS clinic wanted to give me IV antibiotics from my hotel bedroom, no lung function testing, no physiotherapist and no dietician to aid recovery and address my sudden weight loss. Annoyed at this situation and the fact that mid hotel stay the TI said I was now liable for all Hotel expenses (overturned after complaining) there was no obvious plan of action or solution as the days ticked on.

Suffice to say the current level of customer service, scenario satisfaction and effort received has been sub-par with 6 days after first reporting I remain untreated. One customer service operator though, Dave, shone through and really helped settle the issues at hand. His level of his commitment, I feel, requires recognition from me to his superiors.

Not only did the TI state that their medical team, specifically trained in aviation medicine, that I was not fit to fly after, ignoring the medical opinions of 2 doctors who physically examined me, but eventually let me fly to Bangkok despite no obvious improvement to my condition. Blatant contradiction, why the U-turn?

Arranging a flight for Gord and I to Bangkok, Dave had contacted Samitivej Bangkok Hospital for an appointment and also arranged a driver to pick us up from the airport.

After 6 days have passed hopefully now a viable solution to this mess is close. Will I be admitted to hospital in Bangkok or repatriated home?

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

Nothing much else to tell other than the doctors in Ho Chi Minh City confirming that I do have a chest infection and do require IV antibiotics. I’m still physically fit, able to walk around, swim etc but it’s the cough and nature of it that will remove these current capabilities if not treated sharpish.

I’ve been fighting this chest infection for 5 weeks as a result I have lost 8Kg, that’s 1 & ½ stone. That’s too much weight to lose on my frame, I can’t fight this alone anymore and I do need help. I’m resigned to hospitalization and IVs.

I hate needles, really, really hate needles and will run myself in to the ground to prevent IVs entering my veins – not this time eh?!

Sleeping onboard the joyous overnight sleeper bus, pardon my sarcasm, we arrived in Nha Trang at 6am. Nha Trang is well known for its diving spots out by coral reef, party atmosphere and pristine beaches on the surrounding islands.

Arriving at such a nasty hour of the back of just a winks sleep, we had to make our way to the guesthouse we booked in to. I have no idea what the name was, all I knew was that it was miles away! Nha Trang reminded me a little of Cat Ba island, with many westerners around it is either a huge expat community or its popular amongst travelers alike.

Marie and Cecile only had one night here before leaving for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), so we had to have a final goodbye. Not forever, but temporarily as I can speak for Gord here but having been such an awesome part of our trip in Vietnam we could never forget them and would like the chance to see them again in the near future!

Did we go diving?

Well snorkeling – does that qualify? I wanted to go Scuba Diving here butafter learning that Cystic Fibrosis sufferers can suffer from lung collapses when Scuba Diving I daren’t take the chance in Vietnam. Besides, I’m ill with a chest infection at the moment, it would be a dumb move wouldn’t it? So long as I’m fit in Australia and have the money, I’ll do it there.

So snorkeling, sure maybe not as exciting as scuba diving but I had purchased an underwater camera for this specific occasion. We chose Rainbow Diving centre in Nha Trang and paid £14 each for 2 dive site visits for half a day, 7am-1pm.

The dive boat was full of scuba divers and Gord and I went snorkeling with kids. Haha great, but it was unsupervised and we could go roaming, and roam we did. At the first dive site we saw Angel fish, colourful coral, tiger fish and other types of fish that shone brightly under the glistening sun.

Towards the end of the dive Gord and I realised that our faces started to really hurt. We couldn’t work out why, but when we swam in to a shallow, sunlit area we noticed tiny, translucent Jelly Fish. All around us were plooms of Jelly Fish swimming around; we had to fight through the masses with continual stings to our hands, mouths and faces. Thankfully we had wet suits on, but not balaclavas! Lets be honest, how funny is this story? They weren’t dangerous and are considered benign; it felt as though someone was plucking out my facial hair with tweezers!

The second dive, Jelly Fish free, sort of, was much better. A much larger array of fish, coral, crabs and the like meant I was able to get much better underwater snaps. Talking of snaps, I followed a fish for about 2 minutes and realised it wasn’t really swimming anywhere. I decided to dive down to get a much closer picture of the fish, I repeated this 6 times as I kept missing. Each time I dove down, the confident little thing swam up towards my camera, but on the fateful sixth dive just as I got the perfect picture, helaunched an attack and bit my finger! It actually drew blood but I found it both funny and a worthy lesson – Don’t piss off a fish.

What else is there to do in Nha Trang?

Drink, but sadly I can’t whilst on antibiotics and relax at the beaches, which is something we did on another day.

We ate out at a few good restaurants including an Indian and all were very impressive. We met up with Cecile and Marie for one last time to say our bon-voyages.

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

Big problem – my booming cough has returned as well as a full blown infection. I am 10 days in to my 14 day antibiotics course, Ciprofloxacin, and it is obvious these are not working now. I contacted my consultant back in the UK who advised hospitalization for I.V. Antibiotics is required, no other alternative. Contacting my travel insurance, Fortis, I started the ball rolling toward hospitalization.

First and foremost they require me to go to Ho Chi Minh City to be examined by a doctor who has the facilities to admit to hospital. Booking ourselves on a coach to Ho Chi Minh, I’ve just received the sudden realisation of what is going to happen to me, the trip, Gord’s stake in the trip and my desire not to fail.

This isn’t good, I won’t lie though I’m excited to experience something totally different but it doesn’t remove my anxiety about the whole situation.

Hoi An was our next stop from Hue and it’s made famous for the hundreds of tailoring shops all around the city. Coupled with the tailors, while you wait for your clothes to be made, are Spa resorts and genuine, yes genuine, massage parlours.

Hoi An is set up for a very relaxing city whilst the cash-strapped can indulge in having clothes made identical  detail of pictures from Next catalogs or any design you like from the internet or back home. I’m usually not one for clothes shopping, it bores me and I often have something in mind and don’t like trawling through racks of clothes, but designing clothes to how you like – now that’s a winner!

Where did we get the clothes made?

After walking from shop to shop, bargaining all day and looking for the martial we wanted our suits made from we chose Kimmy Custom Tailor. We didn’t go to Yaly or any of the other big names that are recommended on forums and websites because these were very expensive in comparison.

What did we have made and how much was it?

Gord and I wanted suits primarily, but I had a hunger for more, this is what had made:

• 4 piece suit made from 180 Kashmir (70%) and wool (30%), 2 x trousers, 1 waistcoat and 1 jacket – £100
• 3 x Highest quality cotton shirts – £15 each
• 2 x Silt ties – £4 each
• Thick winter woolen coat with double lining – £35
• 1 Linen shorts – £8
• 1 Linen trousers – £10
• 1 pair of leather shoes, Ben Sherman copies – £20

It is possible to have a suit made for about £40, but expect synthetic fibres

and poor quality stitching. I really wanted a suit that I could feel comfortable in, wear most of the time, last for years and look pretty darn sharp

I’m very impressed with how Kimmy handled our orders, fitting sessions and the main point, the quality of clothes and detail. Wow, the suit looks incredible and delighted that we chose Kimmy. Such a fine job, I am now a massive fan of the waistcoat in a suit ensemble!

I must point out here that if Marie and Cecile hadn’t been on hand to help point out flaws and colour matchings we wouldn’t have the end result we do! Thanks girls, its obvious that the French do have some sense of fashion

How do you source the tailor you want?

First and foremost, the fabric you want is the most important. This was our first problem when sourcing a tailor; I wanted a Blue/Grey colour that shines a little and Gord didn’t know.

1)      Source fabric you want and take a picture of it

2)      Bargain over the price and take note of guide prices from different tailors

3)      Ask how many fittings they take to get the clothes right. 3 is normal and shows quality of tailors.

4)      Ask how suits and coats are lined, i.e with paper or material and how it is stitched

5)      Finally you can pick the  tailor you are most comfortable with

6)      Expect to pay at least 50% upfront for all orders to secure business and cloth

7)      Give at least 2 days for clothes to be made, unless you want them to rush it

8)      Try to pay on credit card, this gives you protection if the clothes do not arrive or live up to expectation – Add on 3% though to the price, this is what the tailors charge

9)      The tailors will keep a record of your measurements for future orders, no need to visit them, simply email or call and provide a photo of the design you want.

Some tailors offer a postal service and will help your clothes make it through customs. Kimmy allowed us to put things we didn’t want to carry around anymore in to the box too. We sent back 10Kg which cost us £35 for 2-3 month delivery. We aren’t getting back to the UK until December so what’s the hurry?

Did we do anything but shop?

Actually, I didn’t! Gord only had the suit made and with fittings he didn’t have to visit Kimmy that often but the articles I had it took time. Loving to save money where I can and always up for a haggle, finding a suitable tailor for my wool coat took a long time before settling with Kimmy again.

We stayed in the Southern Hotel and Villa after finding a steal of deal on www.expedia.co.uk With a swimming pool, buffet breakfast and free shuttle to and from the hotel to the city centre it cost £6 each per night. The hotel was fantastic and provided the necessary respite when not searching high and low for clothes!

We also ate multiple times at the Khanh Hoa 2 restaurant on Ba Trieu Street. We ate there so much because when we did change eateries, not only was it more expensive but the quality didn’t match up.

If you visit Hoi An eat at Khanh Hoa 2 and try the local delicacy; Lao Cau, a stir-fried or noodle soup with pork. Delicious!!

Special Occasion Looms

It was Gord’s 23^rd birthday, bless him, and to celebrate Cecile, Marie, Gord and I went for drinks in the city. Before I let Gord loose upon the town I felt he needed a trim, to sharpen up. Buying him a hair cut, cut-throat shave (nearly literally) and a massage (no happy endings), I made sure he looked slightly presentable! Happy Birthday Gord!

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

Still taking the antibiotics and despite my cough getting better back in Hue, it appears I am on a plateau currently. I haven’t improved but haven’t got worse either. When I’m coughing I clearly still have an infection. I’m a little concerned that I’m not recovering well enough. We’ll see what happens in the next few days.

From Ninh Binh we took an overnight bus to Hue (£10), which was an experience in itself and stayed in the Sports 2 Hotel (£4 per night). Hue was pretty hot and being dropped off in the middle of city, at a random hotel, we had about 3km to walk with our backpacks and fueled only on 3 hours sleep!

Why stop at Hue?

Hue is the next major traveler city, avoiding Vinh, but is also near the coast. More significantly, during the war between the North and South of Vietnam, which involved the Americans, Hue was the closest city to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The DMZ was agreed between the divided country as a buffer where war was forbidden, however on the southern part of the DMZ, the aided American side, land mines were scattered with many still live and killing.

Hue is just another city in Vietnam to visit with the DMZ and the Citadel on offer. Gord, Cecile, Marie and I visited the Citadel together. Inside the citadel is often referred to as the Imperial Enclosure, which still has a city wall and moat system surrounding it. Inside the enclosure is the Forbidden Purple City.

 The Forbidden Purple City was reserved by the emperor for his private life which only his servants were allowed inside the city. In the city is a still working drum and bell tower and gardens. All of the buildings are in the process of being refurbished; I’m not sure whether I agree with refurbishment as it removes the authentic feel to Hue’s history.

Gord and I went on a tour of the DMZ, 90 km west of Hue, by coach. Waking at 6am we departed for a few stops enroute to the main part of the tour, Vinh Moc Tunnels. The underground tunnels were made to house thousands of North Vietnamese and the Vietcong. On the surface of the tunnels they created craters to look like bomb shelling to prevent further bombs from being dropped and smuggle weapons from the coast in to the tunnels.

I enjoyed the tour and found it very interesting, especially the part where they admit to using underhand tactics such as pretend funerals and arming women and children to fight. The Vietnamese said they could not defeat the Americans face-to-face so they used Guerilla Warfare and out thought the enemy’s brute force. Did you know that the war went on for 10 years? Technically there were no winners, but America’s fight against the spread of Communism resulted in a peace treaty and an American army retreat.

Where’s next?

Hoi An – famous for the hundreds of tailors, shoe makers and well, that’s it! We’re skipping Danang as we have heard it’s too busy a city with not much difference from Nha Trang.

We hope to get suits made in Hoi An, utilizing the cheap labour and material to have fine Kashmir garments that proudly sit in the wardrobe.

Referring to Top Gear’s Vietnam Special, Yaly is located in Hoi An and that was the team had the horrendous suits made for peanuts. We’re going to scope out Yaly and other tailors as there is no point in having a truly cheap suit made, only for it to fall to pieces days later. We want quality, besides this is my first custom tailor experience so why not indulge?!

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

The antibiotics I am taking have had a really positive affect against the chest infection. It appears Ciprofloxacin is doing it’s job. It has only been 5 days but I feel much better and have a clearer chest for it, I hope this continues and I can put this dreadful period of illness behind me and enjoy the rest of the trip. Happy days!

Our next stop was Ninh Binh which acted as no more than a jumping off point. South of Ha Noi by just 3 hours and along the very busy highway 10, the road that goes all the way south, Ninh Binh was naturally going to be our noisiest stop so far.

Ninh Binh was incredibly busy due to the amount of traffic, both motorbike and lorries, bringing the touting of a horn at least every 2 seconds, far worse than Ha Noi. The Ngoc Anh Hotel was a family guesthouse that we chose from www.hostelbookers.com, the website we always use to book accommodation, and we were given service rated at over 110%. Seriously, not only was a greeting with bottled water, attentive staff and a very early check-in this was one of the best stays.

I had a walk around Ninh Binh, but I fell ill with a dicky tummy after eating pork so I missed out on the only day we had available to see the surroundings of Ninh Binh, so my experience wasn’t brilliant. Gord however did manage to see some caves and I asked him to guest write for me. Please welcome a first in my blog, a special Guest Blogger, Gordon Clarke, talks about the surrounding area of Ninh Binh below.

What did you do and see in Ninh Binh Gordon?

“During Cavs convalescence (due to a complication that I am not going to go into) it was just myself, Cecile and Marie who ventured out to explore the area surrounding Ninh Binh. We had originally planned to rent bicycles for the day but as the weather was absolutely atrocious (the expression raining cats and dogs doesn’t quite cut it) we chose the softer option of getting a car and driver for the day.

 Our first stop was Tam Coc, known as “Halong Bay on the Rice Paddies” and for good reason. It’s a small village that sits on the banks of the Ngo Dong River that is otherwise unremarkable excepting for the fact that it is the jumping off point for stunning boat trips down the river.

For 60,000 dong each we were rowed down the river in a small boat by a couple of friendly Vietnamese people. The river wound its way under ancient bridges, through lily covered pools and past isolated shrines and temples, and all the while we were nestled between towering limestone karsts. Like stalagmites on steroids, these formidable rock formations rose sharply out of the landscape and played host to a variety of flowers and trees, as well as the odd adventurous goat in search of pastures new. If this weren’t enough the river then continued through the karsts themselves, millions of years of erosion having carved caves through the rock that were big enough for us to pass through.

It was a surreal and serene experience that was slightly marred by a sales pitch by our guides at the halfway point for a variety of handicrafts and t-shirts, we of course politely declined. Once we’d turned back an oar was quickly produced for me to assist with the paddling, it may be cynical but I can’t help but think that had we bought something I may have been saved from this ordeal.

Our next stop was Bich Dong just 2km from Tam Coc. It’s a temple set in a cave in the side of a mountain, accessible only by some steep and slippery steps cut into the rock face. It was generally unimpressive as the temple itself appeared to have been made out of breeze blocks, while I make no claim to knowing anything about ancient temple design, I’m pretty sure no-one was using breeze blocks back in the 14^th century. Free to enter and an interesting time filler, make sure to bring a torch as it’s impossible to see some of the steps inside the cave without one.

Our final destination was Trang An. Here we were again treated to a rowing boat ride between karsts and into caves, only this time there were far less tourists and the caves themselves were more numerous and greater in length. The caves were very narrow and barely had enough room for our small boat. It took incredibly skilful navigation by our guide to weave our small craft in between the hundreds of stalactites dangling from the ceiling, without damaging the rock formations or any of his passengers. For those who dislike bats this is definitely not the place to visit, as our presence would often startle them out of their hiding places and cause them to fly past us in all directions. If you only have time to visit one place in Ninh Binh then this is definitely it. It’s a little out of the way but one of the most unique experiences I’ve had in Vietnam.”

Thank you very much Gord for the descriptive insight to the peaceful respite to be had in the surrounds of Ninh Binh.

Where to next?

We’re off to Hue which is about 12 hours south of Ninh Binh by coach. We have booked ourselves on to an overnight sleeper bus, not train, which a first that I’m semi excited about. A small reservation I have is about the width and length of the reclining seats. Gord describes me as a man who must turn sideways to go through doors because of my breadth, naturally with the tight and narrow seats we have had on buses so far, sleeping may be a problem!

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

I’ve seen a little improvement since starting antibiotics, at least I’m not sounding like Bob Flemming from The Fast Show comedy series anymore! It’s been 3 days since I started the course and I do still have a cough and clearing my lungs but I feel a little better. The break I had because of my dicky tummy also helped I think, just lying down and sleeping. We’ll see, but I’m feeling more positive.

Cat Ba island is just off the east coast of Vietnam and is a chance to get away from the incessant horn tooting of Hanoi and relax. Cat Ba is also popular for the quiet scenic beaches and as a jumping off point for the cruises around the beautiful Halong Bay.

From Sapa we had an overnight sleeper train followed by a coach from Hanoi to Haiphong and finally a ferry to Cat Ba town, all of which totalled 20 hours of travelling and transfers. We hadn’t booked anywhere as you can’t online, chancing it we checked in to Tran My Hotel at $16 a night. It was a bed for a couple of nights but there was never any hot water so not worth staying here.

Cat Ba immediately reminded me of Goa with a laid back nature and food that makes you recline in the seat and say “ahhhhh”. We took this opportunity to relax and get to know our new travelling companions amongst sightsee at a slow pace.

What could a relaxee do on Cat Ba island?

Hire a motorbike – For $3 hire a bike for the day and ride around the island

Hospital Cave (60p) – Whilst riding the moto’s north from Cat Ba town many people are flagged down, by what someone described him as a hermit, a Vietnamese war veteran (American war) was posted to guard a cave. The cave, deliberatly excavated in the mountain, was home to Vietnam’s celebrated father figure, President Ho Chi Minh, for 6 months. Through a vast array of tunnels the medicine cave was also used to treat wounded soldiers during the 1960′s whilst being continually bombed.

Cat Ba National Park (£1) – A real trek towards the end of the trail, not to be done in flip flops, seemed like a walk through jungle. The landmark is a large scouting tower at the peak of the mountain. Traversing ground that is covered by insects, land crabs, colourful millipedes, the 3 mile walk to the top is challenging but enjoyable and rewarding.

Cruise on Halong Bay (£20) – Boarding a traditional junk boat there were 6 of us sharing a 2 day, 1 night cruise around Cat Ba and Halong Bay to swim, kayak and enjoy island beaches. Our boat did not have any seperate berths, rather 1 big dormatory, but we shared everything. The food served was fish, squid, rice and springrolls – I was disgusted by both but after only being offered this food I came to enjoy them! Be careful when swimming in the tranquil waters though many times did Gord and I see pretty jelly fish, in fact Gord came within 3 metres of one!

Cat Co Beaches – Avoid Cat Co beach 1 but head straight to Cat Co 2, climb over a make shift stone wall, that protrudes out to sea, to enter a more secluded beach. The water is warm, green and surrounded by spectacular scenery similar to Thailand islands.

Phuong Phuong Restaurant – Reading about this place in the Lonely Planet we had our first meal here and ended up eating here every single time. The tastes, ranges and price of food made this place difficult to beat. So many times we find a great restaurant and change only to be dissapointed.

Where next?

Ninh Binh. Apparently, the views are similar to that of Yangshuo. We have booked an overnight sleeping bus, so a new experience that I don’t think will be fun, is ahead.

How is the overall budget going?

Badly, Asia has been far more expensive than guides and forums suggested. I suspect economy and growth have increased prices of EVERYTHING. The Lonely Planet guide books are really useful on ideas for activities, accommodation and restaurants but the prices they quote need to be increased by at least 50%. We have had a few discussions on how to rectify the budget deficit but the trip is going to be changing a lot.

We are spending about £600 a month. Sure we could take it much slower, pick just a couple of places and relax at the beach for days on end but this is me and Gordon. Relaxing is nice occasionally but we like to DO! Its the DOing that costs. It appears we may be heading to Australia early to possibly work for 2 months. We don’t have to, but we like the way we are travelling and both want an awesome travelling experience in Australia which scrimping and saving won’t provide. We’ll keep thinking about it.

Cystic Fibrosis related problems?

I have given in. I have started my 2 week course of antibiotics – Ciprofloxacin. I couldn’t take the cough, I couldn’t shake it naturally and I couldn’t take the exhaustion. Feeling pretty low, but relaxed after Cat Ba island I thought there is no more delaying. I’m not enjoying travelling with the my current health so I had to do something about it.

I’m eating loads of western food and trying to put weight back on quickly to aide recovery. If the antibiotics don’t work, something I’m scared off, it could be curtains for my trip and a stint in hospital. I do not want this, but I was in hospital at this point 2 years ago for IV antibiotics so I am stupid for not taking them earlier.

In 4-5 days I will know more about how bad my chest infection is after the antibiotics have chance to kick in.