Been a very productive week… The painting and other associated stuff (skirtings, gap filling, cracks and so-on) was finished on Friday and benchtops went in today!
Really pleased with both!
First coat of paint is on
When too much white is barely enough! Natural white for the walls and natural white for the skirtings but with a satin finish. Hopefully compliments the cabinets which are, you guessed it, natural white in 2-pak.
Here’s a pic of the walls with the first coat on.
Handles are on
Choosing handles isn’t easy – you don’t want them too big but they need to actually function. With that – I’ve gone with brushed stainless steel square ones which look rather good I think!
Handles are only on drawers and beneath the sink so we can keep the clean lines for the cupboards.
Day 14 – Home time
All good things must come to and end, and sadly day 14 for Hannah, Deb and Glen meant we were voted off the trip and it was time to come home. Pretty uneventful trip home, again via KL, so no need to go into detail about that.
What I will say is what a great time we had and to sum up the trip as best I can.
Vietnam is an enigma in many ways. It’s quiet yet loud, small but overtly large in areas and poor yet capitalist. It doesn’t conform to anywhere else we’ve been in that it feels that everyone works as hard as each other – there are no passengers. The women do as much if not more manual work as the men, the children are well behaved and have that hard work attitude drilled into them from an early age.
My fear for Vietnam is that they’ll be exploited by the West in the next decade or so. Clearly there’s little in the way of money within the country, so to grow, they need outside help. Vietnam has what the west want: beaches, warm temperatures, an interesting culture and cheap (and desperate) labour. The resorts, golf courses and brand new international airport in and around Da Nang show where the country is ultimately headed. I just hope that Vietnam retains what makes it special and doesn’t become even more reliant on the tourist dollar to get them through.
If you’re thinking of visiting Vietnam, I’d do it sooner rather than later. I have no doubt that Vietnam in 2020 will be a great place to visit if you’re keen for a fairly cheap and enjoyable resort-style getaway, but if you want to get in and really see a country, I think you’ll be too late. Already people are saying that Cambodia is what Vietnam was 10-20 years ago and for the more intrepid traveller, my bet is that’s where the backpacking tourist wanting to see SE Asia will head.
My other tip for Vietnam is to do your research before you go. There’s heaps to see and do, but getting around isn’t always simple. It’s not necessarily a country made for tourists who are used to the luxuries that say Europe can offer – so make sure you’re fit and healthy before you go.
One last thing – on behalf of Deb and myself, a massive thanks to Laura, Ben and Hannah for being great touring companions. Not an argument was had and given we did almost everything together – that’s quite an accomplishment. We had a fantastic time and look forward to reliving the memories for years to come!
Day 13 – Hanoi
As I mentioned in the last post, Hanoi is insanely busy but not pushy like Saigon. It’s hard to put a finger on why it’s different, but it’s probably a bit more upper class in some respects and is certainly more beautiful. In the middle of the city is an enormous lake complete with a beautifully designed bridge that looks a treat lit up at night.
Since this was our last full day in Vietnam, we decided to see as much of Hanoi as we could and then have a special last dinner. We split the day into 2 – sight-seeing in the morning with a bit of markets action and then water puppets in the afternoon.
We’d seen on Top Gear that there’s a wrecked B-52 bomber from the war still in a lake in the city somewhere. We caught a taxi and made our way out there. We found a few interesting bits and pieces hidden in the backstreets of Hanoi – very much off the tourist track. Walking down tiny alley ways really opens the mind to what the real day-to-day life of a local is. Open-air butchers, markets, eateries, hair salons… it’s a microcosm for the greater Vietnamese way of life.