I went to Vietnam in May 2011 (their summer) to teach English and despite the heat I had a fantastic time and met some great people.

The most amazing aspect were the people - they were easy going, friendly and eager to learn everything they could about all of us. The food is cheap, the taxi's are air conditioned and its very easy to get around.

The only problem we encountered was that we were thrown into a classroom within 10 minutes of arriving at the school with no idea of the level of the students. Lets just say that the first night was spent madly brainstorming and preparing lesson plans.

And you need to be prepared for intensive questioning from the kids - take lots of tourist books about your town or country plus photos of your local area.

I would encourage everyone to take on Vietnam. There are surprises every day and the traffic isnt as bad as it looks - its much more fun.......

P.S. If you are staying in the guesthouse in My Tho please say hello to the housekeeper Mrs Trinh (pronounced Ching). She is fantastic - ask her about her pumping karaoke system!

• Vietnam
• Mekong
• Asia teaching English