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2. Trip One
4th
January 2004
Hello Everybody,
Chuc mung nam moi (My one phrase of Vietnamese, soon to
improve I hope! - Happy New Year!)
 So
I have entered the world of 'Leader Land' as the Intrepid
crew may call it, and so far so good. I tagged along with
a group down in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) where I was
the apprentice as we travelled through the Mekong Delta,
Hoi An, Hue and now in Hanoi.
I
think I decided I would like this job sometime in Hoi
An as I was travelling on the back of another leaders
motorbike and was discussing the pros of leader life -
free accomm, free food, free clothes and free beer...
not a bad deal at all.
I
saw it put into practice, especially in Hoi An, a small
sea side town big on tailor made clothes. I spent New
Years eve there. Started off in the usual traveller bar
but had a very artificial atmosphere, just all the gringos
waiting for 12 o'clock to pop around. So we (some of the
group) moved along to a small hotel where one of the locals
was the MC. Like walking onto a cruise ship, quite bewildering
at first. Lots of older, well mature aged gringos sitting
around tables singing songs, clapping hands, listening
to the local boy band under fairy lights. But very authentic,
all just wanted a good time, but it was like celebrating
the New Year with your parents (no offense Mum!)
Had
a good time none the less, there was no count down just
a couple of fire crackers, a dodgy Happy New Year song
and I decided to jump fully clothed into the swimming
pool. Managed to get half the group in as well. Good fun
indeed!
The
busiest time of year for Intrepid right now. I was meant
to be on the tour for another two days but another trip
is starting tonight and they don't have a leader so I
am filling in for a couple of nights (am shitting myself
just a little bit!) Then I have my very own first group
starting on Thursday. So my training is more or less over,
and what have I learnt..... I hope something, I mean what
can go wrong. Me, 12 different people in a foreign country,
it'll be a breeze.
Marlo
About
the Author
Marlo Perry leads tour groups around South East Asia for
Intrepid Travel.
Marlo is black belt in karate and likes finding things
to buy for under 10p.
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