Soooooo yes it's true I never post on this blog and I'm awful at updating people about my whereabouts and what I've been doing.
It's been over a year in Vietnam since I bothered to post here and many many many things have changed. I met Nika for a start and she has really changed my whole direction and plans for being in Vietnam. So soon I'll be leaving Vietnam and moving onto Belarus. It seems like a really complicated move though. I'm first having to sell everything I own and find myself constantly taking calls for people wanting my things for half the asking price I put in an advertisement and then berating me for being unfair when I tell them not to bother me.

The other thing I'm trying to do is to get my motorbike repaired so that I can sell it for a reasonable price. I went to one mechanic who looked at it and looked at me and decided it was a job worth 2 million VND ($110) (That's a hefty sum considering the bike is worth $250)
I declined his 'foreigner rate' and went to another repair guy who offered to do it for 400,000VND ($22) but later decided it was more expensive because he had to refill the engine with oil. I'd say that's quite typical here that you ask to get a job done and end up having to pay 'extras' that are always added on in a cheeky fashion in the way that they are saying 'pay this or this motorbike won't go anywhere'

As many of you know I'll soon be going onto Belarus where no doubt some government office will find my blog and restrict me to saying 'life is good here and production is fruitful' as the government is pretty keen on cracking down on....well......everyone who even tries to comment on the way they do things. It looks like quite a cold place with no hills and very few tourists. It also looks like the kind of place where things are quite expensive if you don't tow the line. What I mean to say is a cheap night out would probably involve going to a ballet concert followed by eating potatoes and some vodka at home with possibly some meat as well. Otherwise I think you have to pay western prices as many of the clubs demand $10 just to enter. This isn't an attractive idea considering I'm only going to be getting $700 a month so it looks like I'll have to find substance in more proletarian activities rather than eating out and going drinking.

Then again I am looking forward to a change of scenery and a different culture to discover. I think things will be completely different. I'm kinda looking forward to ice skating again and the abundance of cheese that Vietnam is lacking. I know it seems strange but I've also missed using public transport. Again here it is a rather risky way of travelling unless you're taking the tourist train to Sapa. (2 weeks ago I was on the floor for a 22 hour journey back to Hanoi from Vientienne. The dearest bus driver had decided to sell my seat before I arrived.)

So now my main concerns are the best way to get a big box of clothes, trinkets and other various things to Minsk and how to carry my large sum of money into a country where I have no bank account and little desire to pay the huge western union fees that are no doubt charged for such a service. Therefore I purchased a fanny bag today and have decided to carry my life savings with me. Quite risky but I don't want to hand my cash over to the bank transfer service after last time (they overcharged me and almost refused to even deliver after the UK company had sent it)

As you can tell life is still hectic but I still seem to have a lot of time to just sit back and contemplate what to do. I hope all you in the UK are also having fun and enjoying life. I'll be back at Christmas (hopefully) so if you want to see me let me know.