Hi counselling dudes
I have just returned from Vietnam with my family where we took a one month holiday and wow, what a great place to travel. We explored Hanoi and all the awesome chaos of that city and then went swimming, kayaking and rock climbing at Halong Bay – out of this word. WE travelled south by train and checked out Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An. Each of these places has adventure a plenty but the kids just liked anywhere where they could swim!
In the South we stayed in Saigon which was busy but much more ordered than the North as the bombs didn’t drop like they dropped on Hanoi during the war. I took the family out to Nui Dat and to Long Tan where the Australian soldiers fought and died. We spent a few days cycling and paddling around the Mekong delta which is a must for any intrepid family – on one day my son cycled 30km, that was mind blowing and he was smiling at the end of it.
Diabetes wise the time changes are always a challenge but I adjusted my pump to local time as soon as I landed to make the transition as short and sweet as I could. The food in Vietnam includes a fair wack of sugar and lots of spices which are probably sweet as well so be ready for that. We were only served white rice and their was NO FRESH MILK ANYWHERE. I learnt to have some extra units at meal times. The veggies though are twice as fresh and three times as nice as anything you buy in Australia and I could feel my body just revelling in these. The food overall was AWESOME! Man, I miss it and my tummy tells me the put on a kilo.
Be sure to carry everything you need and don’t panic about fridges and the like, even the most basic hotel has a bar fridge you can throw your stuff in. I got to say though I discovered an new toy to carry insulin into keep it cold. I got it from Diabeties Tasmania before I let. A cold pack that when submersed in water retains cold for 48 hours. Wow! It worked just fine.
Hope to see more travel stories out there. How crazy can you go with a few syringes or on a a pump and pirated batteries! yeah baby.
All the Best
Dave Barnes
