nail art

 

I do not enjoy pedicure or manicure and only had one in my entire life. However, under persistent urging from Hien, I gave in and decided to get my fingernails done. Nail art... First, I picked the design, and the lady told me that the design is too simple and I should pick something a little more complicated as she can do any design I like. I told her I am happy with a simple design and she went ahead did my nails in less than 10 minutes. I cannot believe that this only cost me 20,000 VND, which is ~AUD$1.50!

marble mountains

 

 

 

 

 

The weather finally cleared up in the afternoon so we visited the marble mountains. Marble mountains is a cluster of 5 limestone hills not far from Da Nang city. We climbed one of the mountains which provided good views of the other mountains and the town. There are numerous caves you can visit up in the mountain.

scenic drive

 

 

 

There was not a single drop of rain for 2 weeks since we got here but it started raining very heavily this weekend! We had to change our plans for outdoor activities because of the rain so we decided to take a drive through the Hai Van Tunnel, a 6km tunnel. It's probably the longest tunnel we have gone through and the scenery at the other end of the tunnel was absolutely beautiful.

hien and hoi an

     

 

 

One of the reasons for our visit to Da Nang is to visit our friend, Hien, and her family. Hien was a student in Brisbane before she came back to Vietnam at the end of last year. She is now working in HCM city but flew back to Da Nang to spend the weekend with us. We went to Hoi An, a world heritage site, which is less than an hour south of Da Nang. Hoi An is not as impressive as we thought. It does have numerous shops selling souvenirs and tailors making made-to-measure jackets/dresses/pants/suits for a very small price. Hoi An is flooded every year! The photo with the different faces showed the levels of flood water each year. Everyone who visits Hoi An will try the famous Cao Lau noodles which is only found here. Pretty good. We are pleased to finally meet Hien's family and thankful for the home cooked food by Hien's mum. Look at the spread...we were so stuffed at the end of the night.

craft therapy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did a couple more craft sessions with the children at the Rehab Centre. The first one is making wooly sheep, which we have to substitute cotton wool with toilet paper. The final result is pretty good and the kids were absolutely engrossed and very proud of their artworks. The next day, we cut up potatoes into different shapes and sizes for them to do printing with these potatoes and water colour. Many of them are very creative but just never had the opportunity to display their creativity.

tears of sadness

While one family is celebrating with joy for receiving a wheelchair for their CP daughter, another mother with a CP son is crying out for help. If you like to help this lady and her boy, pledge your support NOW!

tears of joy

 

 

Wheelchair delivery! A mum with tears of joy when she received a wheelchair from AOG WR Vietnam for her cerebral palsy daughter. Many children in Vietnam are born with CP and most of the families cannot afford a wheelchair. A wheelchair significantly improves the quality of life for the CP child and the family. If you like to make a difference to the life of a CP child/family, pledge a donation to buy a wheelchair!

water and sanitation

 

 

 

We went out to a school in Nui Thanh district which is about 2 hours south of Da Nang. The AOG WR Vietnam team went out there to investigate the possibility of installing a water purification system in the school. Clean water will reduce the number of health problems face by the school kids. The common cause is usually poor sanitation and poor quality drinking water. The team assessed the best location for installation of the water purification system, accessibility of drinking water by the school kids and also the sanitation status of the school. Look at colour of the water in the water bottle held by the water technician. We were shocked! Don't you think it looks more like tea than water? That's the water the children use to wash their hands. I wonder if it's cleaner before or after washing your hands with the water. The condition of the toilets is not any better. The team is looking at ways to improve the current condition and providing health and hygiene eduction in this school.