Last Updated on December 18, 2017 by Christine Kaaloa

Do I look like a real Hanoian?

I’m back from Vietnam! Backpacking during summer monsoon season was wet and sweaty fun.  I think I lost 10 pounds of water weight and my skin has a pimply glow. Daegu heat was a breeze in comparison!

Nine days was not enough to see Vietnam and all it offers in crazy motorcycle mayhem. Now I’m back in civilization, where a warm bath and a bed without a silk liner, woos me…

I’m in Expacked’s Issue #84

Major shout out to Expacked for including my blog “5 Reasons to Join your Expat Community when Living Abroad” in Issue #84 of its newsletters. It’s both, an honor and fortunate new discovery for me.

Expacked is an online newsletter for Native English Teachers (aka NETs) in Korea. It’s an excellent resource for up-to-the-wire native English teaching news, as well as stuff your Korean co-teachers don’t always know (or want) to share with you, …even if it ultimately affects you!

If you’re an NET in Korea, check it out and subscribe to the newsletters.
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An End of NET desk-warming and my next SOLO trip!

During these past three weeks of August, there are only a few places you’d find most native English teachers:  on vacation, returning from vacation or desk-warming all alone at their empty school. At least the light at the end of the desk-warming tunnel is in view. The school semester opens its doors next Monday! Booo.

This means, I’ll resume my Korea blogginess after I’ve had time to catch up with blogs on my Vietnam adventure. I’m still in dream travel mode and with all the travel hub-bub being around the release of the movie, Eat Pray Love, I’m excited to still be a part of the travel community. Vietnam is my second GRRRL Traveler solo trip since Thailand and I’m looking forward to share my stories and photos with you!

* Currently, I have Sapa Trekking and Halong Bay photos up. I will be uploading photos from my travels shortly, so please check back for more updates.

Water buffalo in Sapa, Vietnam