Tuesday, December 12, 2017

I love early morning walks

We have two dogs now in our house.  I still live with my partner in a small village in Southern Vietnam. This is Dong Thap province, Lai Vung district, a small village about 3 kilometres away from Lai Vung and 15 km from Sa Dec city.

Below you can see a video with very little narration in human languages but we should just let the birds speak fro themselves.



The sourroundings looks and sounds a paradise, when alone. But there are some people that do not like dogs walking on the roads. Well, there are some people that also eat dogs, some that steal dogs and sell them for meat.  People do not eat dog because they are hungry. They often eat it when drinking. Eating dog meat is just a part of a stupid ritual for many.




It is very beautiful here. I very much enjoy this landscape during my lonely morning walks. My partner and her family are a bit worried about me going out alone that early. there are bad people out there, as they say. That is the other side of the coin. The other is fearless adventurer who sleeps in his tiny tent in Australian bushlands and roadsides. I am not too worried for myself. My life is risky anyway, I just need to be as careful and as I can but not let being careful disturb my life too much. Well, I chose a woman that likes to be at home. She hardly ever goes outside her home without her parents or other relatives, so, I should see it quite natural that she is afraid of the world out there.




A year ago she came to Ho Chi Minh city to meet me. That was the start.



Now we have two dogs: Kito and Mimi. Both of them are boys. My partner My Hanh took Kito when I was visiting Finland last May. She noticed that I like dogs and wanted take one. She has had a dog before but it had disappeard when outside.



My Hanh's brother took Mimi a week ago in order to have a watch dog and also for their small child. However, the dog did not like the child sho the brother asked the family to take care of the dog for a while. May be until the baby is bigger and can understand hwo to be with a dog. 

I was not too excited to have another dog. I know it will be quite tough for me to take two dogs for a walk.  Well, they formally asked me whether I want it or not but they ignored my "no" and took the dog.



I have two baskets on my bike so basically I could carry both of them. Mimi is very light but Kito is already big and heavy.









Saturday, September 30, 2017

My heart settled in Vietnam - I have a partner and a dog


Below, after the text, you can find some youtube videos and photos, telling about my life here.
If you are unable to see the videos here, you can go to my Youtube channel: timsippala


Tim walks, this was the name of this blog until this year.  Tim walks now locally in Vietnam, no more around the world: well, in Europe, South East Asia and Australia. I have never walked in Africa or Latin America.

I am enjoying the simple life in the countryside. We have lots of flowers here, beautiful green environment, nice rivers and canals. I enjoy my early morning walks with the Kito dog, and I enjoy th lovely vegan food that my love is cooking for me.  I came here from Ukraine in December 2016 and stayed for 3 month in this village and nearby towns of Lai Vung and Sa Dec. I wanted to stay but since I had promised to go back to Ukraine and Finland,  I spent about 3 months apart from my love.
Than I came back in June 2017 and found the little puppy that she had adopted for us.

I stayed another 3 months until the end of August. Then I paid a short visit to Thailand to get a new visa. This time I  managed to get a one year visa, so I can stay here until Spetember 2018 at least. Compared to Thailand, it is much easier to get a long term visa to Vietnam: either a tourist visa for maximum 3 months or then a long-term business visa or even a temporary resident card.

So, I came back from Bangkok and Pattaya and continued my lovely morning walks and simple daily routines. September was rainy since it is the monsoon season now here. Rice fields are flooding, so we can not grow rice there but people keep ducks there. We need a boat to go around the fields.

I have adopted the custom to take a walk in the morning, partly running and then in the late afternoon we go by bicycle, Kito sitting in the back in a basket.

I enjoyed my teaching in Ukraine but the city environment isn't for me so much, and the climate there is still a bit harsh for me. I feel much better here in the hot tropics.

As in life always, there are, of course some things to improve.  As a vegan I really do not enjoy living in a farm where they keep pigs, chicken and ducks for meat. And the pigs really smell. So, I wish I could some day get a place of my own and start growing fruits and vegetables, plant lots of flowers around the place. I would keep cats and dogs, of course.