2022 - Year in Review

 After 2 crazy years of Covid, it was great to have a year where it felt like life was returning to normal.  Although there was no exotic holiday to a new country this year, we were very fortunate to be able to see family and do a bit of travelling.  

But first... with restaurants open again, we were able to enjoy going out for coffee / breakfast / lunch and dinner dates.  A particularly good one was lunch at Stoker to celebrate Bronwen's birthday.  

With the borders open again, our local cricket team enjoyed a tour to Cambodia.  Wish I could say that we played in the stadium in the background, but instead we were playing on the mud patch just outside.  Although we were beaten in both games, it was great to be on tour playing cricket.

The cricket season wrapped up with drinks, laughs and some awards being handed out.  Not sure how I ended up with Player of the Season, but I will take it! Nate and Alex took Best Batsman and Best Bowler. 

In June we had our first holiday overseas since the beginning of Covid. Back in 2019 we had booked to go on a 4x4 safari through Namibia and Botswana in June/July 2020. With the Covid travel restrictions the holiday was postponed twice. Although we finally made it to Southern Africa this year, the trip was cancelled in the end. Bronwen's Dad tripped and fell and broke his right leg on the day she arrived in South Africa. His condition deteriorated rapidly and we decided that we could not travel at this time. Sadly after an unfortunate series of events and 5 weeks in hospital, he passed away on 17 July 2022 at the age of 80. Even though it was a very stressful and traumatic time, we have a lot of peace about Dad's passing and we have a lot to be thankful for. We are so glad we were in SA from the first day Dad was in hospital and that we were with him right at the end. We love you Dad, and we know you love us. We miss you so much and you will forever be in our hearts 🖤

Even with the sadness of Bronwen's Dad passing, it was good to see family and catch up after a few years of being apart. Justin headed down to Cape Town and Hermanus to spend time with the family there, while Bronwen spent most of her time in Johannesburg and St Francis Bay visiting family there.  

Some photos of the time in Cape Town and Hermanus: 

We were introduced to the newest member of the family.

Some photos of the time in Johannesburg and St Francis Bay: 

Back at home, Milo kept us entertained all year round. 

He loves playing with his toys on the big bed...

...digging holes in blankets (and just about anything else)...

...snacking on fresh greens...

...and posing for selfies (sometimes, with a bit of encouragement). 

We also got to visit a part of Vietnam that we had not been to before: the Mekong Delta. We spent two nights in a place called Cai Be in Tien Giang province.  We had to take a boat to get to the resort, and at high tide parts of the resort were flooded.  Although it was a particularly high, high tide, it was very real reminder of just how vulnerable this part of Vietnam is to sea level rise.  

The resort that we stayed at (Mekong Lodge) has a great swimming pool to lounge about at...

...and the fresh fruit and fresh spring rolls are recommended!

With travel once again possible, lots of Justin's clients were anxious to meet in person.  Some of the travels this year included:

Tauranga, New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand

Sydney, Australia

Melbourne, Australia

Manila, Philippines

and Apia, Samoa.

Being in Samoa gave me the chance to go diving. I got my Padi Open Water certification just before Covid locked everything down, so it was good to finally put the training to practice.  It was also my first time seeing turtles whilst diving.

Whilst in Samoa there was also lots of excitement.  Samoa made it to the finals of the Rugby League World Cup. For a nation of just 200,000 people, they sure know how to show support for their team.  On the eve of the final it felt like every single car was out on the road waving the Samoan flag.  Unfortunately Samoa lost to Australia in the final, but it was still considered a massive achievement for this small island country.  

There was also some time to visit a few of the tourist attractions in Samoa.  This is the To Sua Ocean Trench.  This swimming hole is connected to the ocean by an underground tunnel.  A great spot to jump in the water and cool off.  

And this is the Sopo'aga Falls.

A few more photos taken around Apia. 

A tradition in Vietnam that most companies take part in is the Annual Company Trip. We alternate between an annual trip with the Maritime team (about 50 staff) and an annual trip with the whole company (about 200 staff).  This year was the annual team trip.  As we had missed out on the last two years, we tried to make this one extra special.  This year we went to central Vietnam.  We stayed at a resort in Dong Hoi, and enjoyed spending almost 2 full days exploring the mountains, caves and rivers around Phong Nha. It is a beautiful part of the country, and it was a great experience for everyone, especially considering that for most it was their first time visiting this area.   

And that is our year in review. Of course we can't finish without mentioning Ho Chi Minh City.  We did post a blog earlier in the year dedicated to HCMC.  As it is where we spent most of our time again this year, it makes sense to finish off this blog with another photo of this vibrant city.  And if you missed the blog earlier this year, have a look to see more of what HCMC has on offer.  

Wishing you all a happy and blessed 2023! 

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

In April we will have been here 4 years, and a blog post on the city that we live in is definitely way overdue.  Ho Chi Minh City (if you are visiting) or Saigon (if you have lived here for a long time) is by far the largest city that we have lived in to date with a population of almost 9 million people.  

(Cape Town = 4.6 million, Rotterdam = 600,000, Vitoria = 400,000, and Perth = 2 million). 

Trying to represent the whole city in one blog post is impossible.  You could write multiple blog posts just on the different coffee shops in this city!  So for this blog post I have picked a few parts of HCMC to focus on, and hopefully it won't be too long before the next blog post on some of the treasures that can be found here.  

Part 1:  Celebrating Lunar New Year (Tet)

Due to Covid-19, the fireworks displays that would normally accompany the Lunar New Year celebrations have been cancelled.  But the city did go ahead with another of the annual traditions: the flower street in District 1.  Nguyen Hue is a pedestrian street in the middle of District 1, and for 1 week during the Tet holiday it is transformed into a 750m long garden with flower displays and decorated with the zodiac sign for the year ahead.  As we are going into the year of the (Water) Tiger, there were lots of fierce and friendly tigers on display. 

Part 2: District 2 (Thao Dien)

District 2 is made up of 11 wards, of which Thao Dien is one of them.  This is the ward where we live, and so the one we are most familiar with.  What has amazed us is the amount of construction that is ongoing in HCMC.  So much has changed just in the 4 years that we have been here, and I am sure will continue to change in the years ahead. 

Whenever there is a national holiday, the streets get filled with Vietnamese flags. 

It used to be that large parts of Thao Dien (and other low lying parts of the city) would become flooded every time there was a spring high tide.  Although lots of work has been done to try and improve the situation, there are still areas that flood when the tide is particularly high. 

Some of the new construction includes the metro line (above), which will hopefully become operational in 2023, and huge number of skyscrapers that have been built.  The most striking of which is Landmark 81 (below) which is 461m high and currently the tallest building in southeast Asia.  It will move into 2nd place later this year when the 679m tall Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is completed. 

View of Landmark 81 taken from Thao Dien. 

Part 3: Binh Thanh (Truong Sa and Hoang Sa)

Thanks to urban rejuvenation and a concerted effort by the city to clean up this area, what was once referred to as the black river because of the rubbish and pollution floating down it, has now become a popular destination for early morning coffee meet-ups and evening sun-downers.  

Some of the coffee shops open before sunrise, and are a great place to meet before starting the day.  

Some of the side streets. 

A side canal with quite some litter still present, but considerably better than when we first arrived.  

Looking down Truong Sa street towards District 1. 

Part 4:  A selection of shots taken over the last 12 months

The view from our apartment

An old warehouse that has been converted into a brewery and restaurant

The upper part of Nguyen Hue Walking street when it is not being used for the Lunar New Year flower display.

Barges being used to transport containers from the deep water port (below) to the city center (above).

Until next time, Chuc Mung Nam Moi (Happy Lunar New Year)!