Heading Home

Back in Saigon I have shopped. And shopped. And shopped. I may have found enough cash in my pocket for a small number of small gifts. Still don't expect anything, because my budget was tight. I ended Monday with 25000 left. Luckily my hotel provides breakfast. For Dinner on Tuesday I had a baguette with cheese from a street stall. Yum. Spent the last few days relaxing. I am looking forward to coming home. Will be starting work on Tuesday. (The drive from Vancouver will take awhile) This morning I woke up and turned on National Geographic. It was playing Plane Crash Investigations. So Just in case I thought I would send a post! :) I have had the time of my life here in Vietnam and I wouldn't change any of it. I have met wonderful people and eaten amazing food. I have eaten so much rice, and drank tons of coffee. I have seen things that were only imagination before. I have witnessed a nation celebrating it's government no matter who tries to stop them. I have done the beach thing and the history thing. I have seen the jungle and the desert, in the same day. If you are looking for an eye opener, come to Vietnam. And if you love open road, adventure, and mtorcycles do an EasyRider trip! I'll see you all soon(ish) and can't wait to tell you everything. Putting pictures on Facebook will be top priority. Keep sending prayers and love my way as I will be in the air for the next 20 some hours. Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed my adventures. I will do another post about my flights once I'm in Vancouver.

Mui Ne Beach

Mui Ne is very small, very quiet. Our four day trip ended there and Julie and I decided to stay a few nights to take advantage of my last beach! Our resort was beautiful. So quiet. We shared a bungalow right off the pool. The pool is steps away from the beach. Needless to say we spent three days sunning ourselves. Because it is off season, the night life was minimal. We had amazing food, but went to bed early most of the time.. Up to watch the sunrise over the sea and then a swim. Our last night we were sitting at a local outdoor restaurant sort of cafe and Julie says to me "B, you have to turn around and see this" So I'm thinking it's a big old rat or another dead thing, but I look. The moon was rising over the few lights of the town and it was incredible. The dust from the red sand dunes made the sun a beautiful vibrant orange and the clouds looked black. It was a beautiful sight that if you missed you would have never seen again. Lovely Mui Ne. Caught a bus to Saigon and found a little hotel in District 1. $15/night for the two of us, so we were pleased. We went to see the War Remnants Museum, and it was eye opening.. Don't believe the American version of the war. War is always brutal and never heroic. Seeing the devastation (you can still see craters, it wasn't long ago) it is amazing to see this new generation rising from years and years of war. This generation of Vietnamese is the first to grow up without a war. This country is so little, but so strong.

We did a 2 day 1 night trip at the Mekong Delta, but after our epic Easy Riders trip, we were disappointed. There really is not much to see. We could have just done everything in one day. We had to get up early to catch the bus, so when we went to check out we had to wake up the guy at reception. He was still so asleep he only charged us $9 for the room! What a deal! When we were at the floating market we were getting on our boat and we saw video cameras. I wondered aloud to Julie if it was a documentary about the market. Even better! As we were going along we see a strange looking guy paddling along in a long boat with another boat following it. They were making a music video and we got to be in it! I never thought I would be an extra in Vietnam! We saw tons of different animals in Mekong: giant pigs, red squirrels. We saw how coconut candy is made (bringing some back, it's DELISH) rice paper is made, and walked over a big monkey bride! Also tried durian: WORST IDEA EVER. That stuff smells like a corpse with dirty socks on. One of the ladies on our tour bought some and left it on the hot bus. Needless to say our 4 hour trip back smelled horrible. Can't wait to not smell that everyday. Back in Saigon we did some shopping, and while we are in a lovely shop we hear someone behind us and it was Margaret & Rick who did the bike trip with us! We were so excited to see them!! After the initial hugging and screaming and being excited, we had dinner and then went to a local 'pub'. Saigon beer was only 10 000d (about 47cents) and so they drank as Margaret and I stuck with our Cokes again. It was their last day in Saigon and Julie's as well so it was an excellent way to end the trip. They flew out to Singapore this morning, and Julie caught a bus to Cambodia. I'm on my own again, but not for long. I ran into two Philippine women that I had met in Mekong, so we are going for dinner tonight. More later, but I'm almost done. :(

Easy Riders

Day 1 Start in Nha TRang at 8AM. Meet the couple coming with us: Margaret & Rick from Australia. Our tour guides are brothers: Bon (26) and Bob (23). I am riding with Bon, Margaret is with Bob, Julie and Rick are on their own bikes. It takes ten minutes to get out of town. Immediately there is a cool sea breeze pushing us towards the mountains. First stop, a fishing village. There are only a few houses as most people live on their boats. All the boats are blue. Why? Blue is lucky, like the sea and the sky. There are boys paddling in perfectly round boats. Bob informs us that they are very difficult to steer. When he tried he only went in circles. These boys dart through the water with incredible speed before jumping on the dock and shouting at us for taking their picture. Back on the road and the freedom is incredible. Vietnam is such a beautiful place with a variety of greens making up the backdrop. We stop again at a small place and at first are confused why we are here. There are some carvings, some people, a dog. Then Julie says MONKEY! My reaction is embarrassing: I jump up and down like a small child at Disneyland. I am so excited that Bon has to take pictures for me. Next stop is a brick factory. Two men and two women work there making 1500 bricks a day. Each brick takes four days to make. It is hot dirty work for very little money. 1000 bricks sells for about $25US. Lunch and dinner are finally the amazing food I have been waiting for. There are flies everywhere and the bathroom is a hole out back, but I scrape my plate dry and Julie makes fun of me for eating every single grain of rice. (No man left behind. We Were Soldiers.) In the mountains we stop and see where Agent Orange was used. You can still see the effects of a war that the Vietnamese didn't want. I am glad I'm Canadian as there is always a bit of American bashing. The last hour of the the 200km journey it starts to rain. By rain I mean torrential monsoon-like rain. The streets are flooded and we are literally driving through about a foot of rain. The bikes barely make it. Luckily we don't hit any of the hidden potholes. We arrive in BMTsoaked. Stay the night at a cute hotel in BMT (Ban Me Thuot). Our dinner is in a place so out of the way we have to go down a back alley (which is an incredibly steep slant and terrifying from the rain) and a flight of stairs. Worth it. Moths are falling on my head through the meal, but I can't help but shovel mouthful after mouthful of chicken, beef, pork, rice, and noodles in my mouth. Our wander back is enjoyable and Bon and Bob learn that I am in fact 20. The nickname begins: I am further referred to as Baby.

Day 2 First stop: Draysap Waterfalls. Two suspension bridges to get there freaks me out, but in the end it is worth it. The falls are beautiful. And there is a little cove where we are allowed to swim. The water is a beautiful clear color. The rocks on the bottom make wading difficult, but the swimming is amazing. The waterfalls are like a massage as we swim under them. It is incredible. Boys cliff dive from incredibly high peaks above. It is obvious they do this all the time. An old man in a beat up military unifom shows up and pretends to take pictures of us with his mango. He laughs and waves at us. His uniform hangs off him, yet is much too short in the legs. We wonder if he has been wearing that uniform for forty years. There are couples getting wedding pictures at the falls and a little girl is sitting on a bamboo swing. I ask if I can sit with her and she smiles and poses for a picture with me. As I get off we say thank you almost at the same time. Her mother is incredibly pleased. We walk to see the monkey house which is a giant hollowed out tree. It is excellent to take pictures in. We got to see how rice noodles were made, and passed numerous coffee plantations. (Some with little marijuana plants mixed in for extra profit). DaLat coffee is the best in the world, and from that weasel coffee is the best. If you don't know what weasel coffee is, look it up. The home stay is tomight and Margaret and I are terrified. Luckily it is slightly spruced up for wimpy tourists like us and I only see 6 cockroaches. There are two cows living under the house as well as chickens pigs dogs and children in the surrounding ones. It is a noisy night and only the boys get sleep. They are used to this life and noise. Bon doesn't even use his mosy net. While in the village Bon and Julie decided I need to learn to ride the bike. Bon gets me on the semi-automatic and off we go. I am an excellent driver, as long as we are going straight. I can't turn or stop, so after I crash into a small scratchy shrubbery Bon takes over. Everyone is polite and says it was good for my first try. The locals are DYING laughing at me. For the boys and Jules it is another drinking night. (Margaret and I, the passengers, are on water) The four of them polish off a small bottle of vodka and a not so small bottle of Jim Bean. Margaret and I have to herd Rick home so he doesn't fall into a rice paddy. After dinner, Bon and Bob try to trick me with puzzles, but I beat almost every one. Bob calls me the master, as I got some of them that in their five years of doing this nobody has ever got. Thanks Mom! Eight o'clock and after a couple games of UNO (I shark them everytime) we head for bed.

When drinking: "Excuse me. Everybody here? Everybody say: Mo Hai Bah Yo!"

Day 3 The geckos are the noisiest thing I hear before I sleep, but I am happy for it as they eat the mosquitoes. Before dawn, the rooster crows, the pigs wake up, the babies cry, and the cows start mooing. Remember I said they lived under the house? The house is on stilts. It shook. No time for the elephant ride, but we did get to walk amongst them. What amazing creatures! So gentle and curious. We went to a silk worm farm, then a silk worm factory. It is incredible to watch the girls pull the tiny threads from the cocoons and then use wooden machines to make beautiful fabrics. I will never again take for granted where my clothes come from. We pass rice paddies and I see a tiny boy holding a hoe twice his size digging right next to his mother. It breaks my heart. The kids are so excited to see us, because they have only ever seen people like us on TV. We are like superstars as we drive through town and they all run out to wave. At breakfast an older lady came up to me and said something in very broken English before touching my cheek and leaving. I am the whitest still, so I get the most stares. That's okay. We are in Da Lat: Bon & Bob's hometown. We have a free night so they can see their family. The four of us go to V Cafe, a French bistro with live music. The food is incredible. We feel so full after only a few bites because it is so much more filling than rice! Early night because we are leaving at 7:30AM for Mui Ne.

Day 4 Bob has made it back to the hotel sometime in the night, but Bon comes in at 7:15 and reeks of rice wine. (Which is the most horrid thing you can imagine. Smelling it could kill a small rat.) He was up late with his uncle. Yay for me. He's been on a bike for half his life though, so I'm not worried about his driving. I am worried that one of us is going to throw up. Him from the hangover, me from how bad he smells. The mountain roads are crazy with hairpin turns and no guardrails. Bob is making a sport of hitting lizards. I woke up in Da Lat fog. It is one of the coolest (temp wise) in Vietnam. We hit desert. And I mean hotter than the Sahara, deader than Texas desert. I have my SPF 60 on and my arms are still turning pink. It is so hot that I can't breathe. We are driving the fastest we've been on this trip, because we don't want to pass out. It is too hot to even sweat. There is no electricity here, so we can't even find a cold drink. We head farther and farther south and see sand dunes rising on either side. Then something strange in the distance. Lush green trees and rice paddies are growing! We have hit Mui Ne: home of sand dunes and China Sea white sand beaches. The hot desert air mixes with the sweet sea breeze and turns into the strangest mixture of climates I have ever seen. Literally sand dunes on my right side and lily pads on my left. The sand dunes are too hot for us to bear, so we don't trek too far. And now the trip is over. Our goodbyes are short. No point dragging out something unpleasant. Jules and I get a bungalow in Hai Gia Resort and immediately dive in the pool. Life is perfect.

Bike Tour

Four days, three nights. What an adventure. I am biking through the central highlands with a group called the EasyRiders. We started in Nha Trang, are now in Da Lat, and tomorrow end in Mui Ne. The jungle is amazing. It is like every movie you see, but better. I have pictures, but while it can tell a thousand words, I will never be able to describe the sound of millions of black crickets in a jackfruit tree. I can't explain the sweet sour tase of a slightly unripe passion fruit picked off the tree. The smell of the jungle and the feel of the cold damp breeze. It is more than magical. Today sitting in a restaurant a parade passed us getting ready to celebrate a Buddha holiday. There are beautiful colored flags and monks galore! Monks are in fact like regular people. They joke and wrestle and have a good time like everybody else. I have seen monkeys and lizards and elephants and everytime I jump up and down and squeal, the boys laugh at me. They are used to these amazing creatures and would be awed by things we find commonplace - deer, moose, gophers. (Gophers are apparently a BIG DEAL something about a British cartoon in the 80s) This tiny country is full of the most amzing things you can imagine - even the bugs are sometimes cute. At the waterfalls I saw one that looked like it had a pink blazer on with a bow tie and everything. And I finally found the food I was looking for! If you go down a street and up the next, down the steep alley and then down a flight of staris, you will find the most rowdy group of 'football' wannabes in the world. Everyone is a Man U fan of course. That is one thing that can bring any culture together. One that tears it apart? The war. We stopped at the place where the Americans used Agent Orange, and the devestation is still obvious. But as the locals say: Vietnam is shaped like a chili pepper because it is spicy. Nobody can win. Nearly every house has a flag in a united stand against any country that wants to pick a fight. These people are very happy the way they are and need nobody (US....) to tell them to change.

Tourist

I'm very bad at taking pictures. I forget to bring my camera with me, and then I forget to use it when I do have it. I do the beach thing. but don't go on tours. I eat any food I feel like and don't ever use the toilet at the train stations. I'm used to bugs crawling all over me. This morning there was a tiny ant on my face because our room is covered with them. There are tiny yellow spiders that crawl on me all the time and I have played chicken with a cockroach. (PS the Vietnamese cockroaches are about three times the size of all other ones: about the size of my palm) I had a caterpillar crawling all over me and even the sight of millions of silk worms doesn't make my skin crawl. I'm still a tourist (and a baby), but the bug situation is not a problem anymore. The heat doesn't bother me, I rarely have the AC on (I'm going to freeze when I get back). I can cross the busiest street in rush hour like a pro. It's kind of fun the way I am adapting to this crazy town. I know very little of the language. It is so difficult to learn. Mostly just Cam on (pronounced come on) means thank you. Everyone here is basically good with English. Surprisingly the people are more likely to speak English in a smaller city. In Hue and here in Nha Trang it is considered very excellent to have good English. The Vietnamese like to talk to tourists to find out the things they didn't learn in university: slang, common phrases, and swears. In Hanoi the people refused to speak English and often pretended to not understand you so they could get more money off you. Needless to say I have yet to meet a person who loved Hanoi best. I miss Hoi An. Nha Trang is really fun, but Hoi An was small and lovely, and the people were so friendly. I have completely gotten used to the constant honking of horns. Jules and I were just saying how shocked we were that we hadn't heard any all day. Believe me, it isn't because all of a sudden they are quieter on the roads. On the bus down here our driver lived on the horn. Sometimes he would hold it down for thirty seconds at a time to get his point across. We wanted to throttle him. Not a pleasant way to wake from a nap. Our bus driver would often take his hands off the wheel to open or close his bottle of water, but it was never actually a problem. These guys are excellent drivers. Texting while driving a motorbike - common. Talking to a Vietnamese man today he repeatedly used the term "stupid American". I find that is a common theme in the south. As is swastikas on headstones. The trees aren't as dense along roads because of "stupid Americans" and the buildings are more fragile for the same reason. It seems like the water hasn't quite passed under the bridge. Which I understand as it was not long ago. I see older men with missing limbs and I wonder. There were warnings in Hue and Hoi An not to head to far into the jungle because there could be land mines. It isn't an obvious hurt, but Canadians are definitely more welcomed than our neighbours to the south. I'm hoping to go on a 3-4 day journey by bike through the hills to find more of Vietnam. I don't have enough time left! I've already got planned the next three places I'm going, so I guess I'll have to start saving once I get home again. If I decide to come home. We'll see...

Sunshine & Beaches

Instead of doing the twelve hour journey from Hoi An to Nha Trang, Julie and I decided to stop over one night in Quy Nhon. It seemed like a cute beach town that has nice amenities for tourists while not being to touristy. We were right about the last bit. We were the only 'whiteys' on the bus here so when we got off we were literally bombarded with taxi drivers wanting to take us to our hotel. They were literally so close to us trying to look at the book with us so they could point where we should go. We kept telling them to go away, but they would not listen. We picked the guy in the taxi who stepped back and gave us room to decide. We stayed on the third floor of a little hotel just across the road from the beach. The room included a balcony with a sea view which was amazing at night. For dinner we went to a little restaurant called 2000. We were the only people there. All the girls were fawning over how beautiful and white our skin is. (That is something we learned: They don't cover for modesty, but for looks. The girls will say out right that they wear layers because they don't want to tan.) As we were walking through the parks to get home a rat darted in front of us! This time I saw it! What a dirty gross thing it was. Alberta is blessed with no rats! It was the size of a large gopher with a very long tail. So terrible. But I did have to see one I guess. A lady on a motorbike with her three kids pulled up to us and the young girl (she was 7 or 8) was so pleased to talk to us. She asked us lots of questions (she knew some English, but her mom had to translate our answers) and at the end sang us a song she learned in school! It went like this: "I want to be a teacher. I want to be a doctor. I want to be a firefighter. I want to be a vet. I want to be a teacher. I want to be a doctor. I want to be a firefighter. I want to be a vet. Teacher. Doctor. Firefighter, Vet. Teacher. Doctor. Firefighter, Vet." We were treated like movie stars here where in other places it felt more like monkeys. In tourist places they take pictures, poke at as, or just point, but here they say hi, wave and love just talking to us. It's really fun being so popular! This morning it is SO hot so we went to the beach and collected some shells. The sea was actually warm! We saw a few crabs and even a jellyfish. We are headed to Nha Trang now. Julie's plan is for us to go out and meet more people so that should be fun. Side note: In Hue I saw a guy that looked exactly like a McPoyle! (Sunny in Philadelphia) I got burnt at the beach, but now it is a gorgeous tan! And my hair is getting so golden. Fun fun!

Same Same but Different

Everywhere in Hoi An you hear the same thing: "Hello" "Where you from?" As you answer, the ladies bring their wares and try to sell you something. Anything from water to bookmarks, beads to hats. When you say no thank you they explain that it's free to look and when you say I already have they say "Same same but different" or sometimes "same same but better". Everybody says it so much that I find myself saying it all the time. I've dropped the phrases that I use in Canada because I've stopped hearing them. Instead I find myself slipping into Brit speak. (The boys are from London & Darby, Julie is from Glasgow). I say things like chuffed and never mention my pants in public. And then I say the local phrases. Using strange terms that Vietnamese people have adapted from tourists. In the market Julie and I are often asked if we're sisters. When we say no just friends they say we look the same. Our response? Same same but different. They think that's hilarious and we all have a good laugh. A beautiful young girl made me a pair of shoes today that I can't wait to get home and show off. These girls are amazing. I picked a design, leather, pattern, heel, etc. And in a day I had the most beautiful shoes that fit perfectly to my feet. Went to the beach the last two days. The beach is so beautiful. Palm trees and blue surf. It's amazing. My pale Canadian skin burnt, but already it's turning into a brilliant tan. That's right folks white Bethany is getting a tan (first time for everything). Hoi An is about pampering. I got a mani/pedi and a massage. Then lay on the beach for two days. I spent more here than in Hanoi and Hue combined, but I'll be living off sticky rice and noodles for the next two weeks. :) Shout out to the greatest lady on Earth: my mom. Happy Mother's Day! I miss you I love you and I can't wait to see you. Pamper yourself today! You are such an amazing person and there should be more days to celebrate you. xo

Continuing South

So I am in Hoi An. I don't really remember all that was in my last post. Hoi An is an artist town. Every street has six or seven girls calling after us "Where you from?" "You come my shop!" They make everything you can imagine. On the bus trip down, I met a lovely Scottish lady named Julie. We are sharing a hotel room to save money and it is great to have the company! Plus she is well traveled so it is nice to hear the tips she has. Yesterday we went to a tailor and got fitted for new clothes. I'm getting a dress and two shirts, she's getting a dress two shirts and two shorts. It is so fun having clothes made for you. I was flipping through magazines to see what I wanted and who should I see but Julia Dunstall. It was such a shock! I was reading a British magazine in a Vietnamese town and saw a friend from New York. How fun is that. So today I am going to get a pedicure for one dollar (such a splurge) and possibly a pair of shoes made for me. Shoes are of course my weakness. Everybody keeps giving me their business card so I come back to them. It's quite fun. I'm hoping to get to the beach today, but if we don't there is a pool in our hotel that I can always go in. The weather is blessed hot and I have been sweating the pounds off. Julie and I were walking through the central market looking for lunch when we found a British expat who now lives half the year in Hoi An! She told us all the great places to go and introduced us to the shops she liked. She lives in Australia half the time and Hoi An the other half doing charity work to send kids to school. The government won't pay teachers so tuition is pretty steep. About 1/5 of a persons monthly salary. Plus books and uniform and all that extra stuff. Hope all is well in Canada!

Heading South

Two days ago I woke up filled with fear and trepidation. I am leaving Hanoi and traveling by train to Hue. (pronounced hway) I go upstairs for breakfast as usual, but something is different. They aren't playing the usual music. They are playing English music. No big deal. Then, halfway through my breakfast, Sometimes When We Touch comes on. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. So I dedicated my day to Anna. I spend the morning packing. My backpack is so heavy. As I check out, the guy at the reception desk ask my plans, and do I need a taxi somewhere. I say I'm going to Hue on the train. He says sorry. (Anna moment #2) Is the train that bad? I am now wondering. Why is he sorry? My taxi pulls up and takes me to the station. There is still a few hours til I leave, but I don't want to push my luck. Also I don't want to lug my backpack around. Finally the time comes when I can board the train. My ticket says soft sleeper FOREIGNER. No fooling them. What I don't realize is that The soft sleeper is four beds in a tiny little room. I am to spend the next fourteen hours with two Englishmen and a Vietnamese father son combo. The son is probably three or four, still uses a bottle and doesn't understand the part that my bunk is my bunk. The kid is handsy all over my bed and his father is doing very little to stop him. Sigh. I sleep for a few hours and wake to the two Englishmen discussing the Egyptian plagues. We talk for the next several hours about the controversial topics you aren't supposed to discuss with people you just met: religion and politics. We also discuss our jobs, where we're from, the royal wedding, and what brought us here. It was fun, but I definitely could have used more sleep. The train ride seems to take forever, but in about the same time it takes to get to Castlegar from Calgary by Greyhound, I have covered half the country. We've gone by beautiful countryside, rice paddies, mountains, rivers, and little villages. Vietnam is a beautiful country. We pull into Hue about 8:00 a.m. and it is so hot. Luckily a van from a hotel is there offering free rides to it. The hotel is on my approved checklist so I hop in. As we drive, I learn that there is a festival going on at the citadel: the Festival of Food. Brilliant timing. I get to my hotel and see the room. The building has no elevator. I can get a third floor or a sixth floor. Although it's more expensive I give my poor heart a break and go for third. As if I can walk up six flights of stairs in this heat eight times a day. I quickly head out to the citadel. It is a ten minute walk from my hotel to the festival. Crossing the bridge is amazing. There are dragon boats and swan boats all along the river. I'm sweating to death by the time I cross. I head to a park situated right on the river and get a 7-Up. I sit in the shade and fall in love with the city. When I am finally cool enough to stand up again, I head across the street to where the citadel is. It is so beautiful. There are so many types of trees, it's so old and ornate and there is finally a breeze. I head up the stairs to the top of the wall where there is shade. It's so amazing. Everyone is preparing for the festival, which starts in the evening. I spend several hours there til the sun is high in the sky. I run into Raj and Ed, my English train mates and we plan to meet there at eight for the festival. Back to the hotel for a siesta. It was my first evening out. I don't feel entirely comfortable alone in the dark, but many people are out still. The streets are packed with people headed to the citadel. The food smells amazing and looks very strange. There is a snotty gooish sort of mixture with chunks in it that Ed tries. I'm not that brave. I walk by the pigs feet and chicken innards and get barbecue pork. There are singers and dancers and all sorts of things set up. It's quite similar to our taste of Edmonton. A genuinely fun evening. Today I think I am off to discover more of the parks around the river. Should be fun!

Adjusting

I don't know what clock my body is following, but I have woken up at 3:00a.m. Every morning since I've been here. Unfortunately this means that buy the afternoon the heat and the fact that I've been up for so long already means I am beat. Yesterday I couldn't even stay awake long enough to eat dinner. With lunch having been at !:00 I woke up starving! Breakfast of course isn't served til 6:30. Kill me. Luckily I had packed those fruit leathers. Thanks for the advice Char! They are coming in very useful in the wee hours of the morning. Today I bought a bus ticket to Hue. I leave 7p.m. tomorrow. I was going to walk to the train station, but as I was buying postcards from a girl, she said she would take me. And I'll be honest here: Anthony Bourdain is a wimp! My favorite part of this trip so far is getting on the back of those motortaxis and flying through the streets. The girl who took me had an adorable son and her family hangs out in the park looking for easy targets like me. She was great fun though. She was wearing a Burberry jacket, Dior jeans, and a Coach helmet. I doubt though, that Coach actually does helmets. Still: super cute and trendy. We chatted as she weaved the way through the packed streets. At one point my knee almost brushed up against a tour bus going the other way. There are some lines on the streets, signs and stuff, but rarely do people pay attention. Most street lights are turned off except for the very busy intersections. But even then, we went through a red light. The streets are a crazy thrill. I have one hand holding my helmet on, the other holding my purchases (yesterday a few things I had to buy ((gifts maybe?)) today pepsi and ritz crackers.) But nobody holds on. After driving those crazy mountain roads with Beki, this is nothing. As we flew down the streets we passed stores called Butterfly, Fairy, and Fermes (who needs Hermes right). There was a hotel called Charming and a street called Fried Fish. Hanoi is cute that way. Why have boring numbers when you can have Apple Cart Street. My hotel is on 22 Quan Thanh street, Quan Thanh meaning the bar. The breakfast buffet has an interesting assortment of foods including Oreos yesterday and today a marmalade that was orangey-yellow and tasted like marshmallow fluff. Must find out the name of that fruit. I'm hoping to see the water puppet show tonight. I'm going to try to make it for the 5:15 show so I'm not out too late.... Right now my plan is a nap, then head to the lake to do a bit of shopping and see the show.

Whelmed

So it has kicked in. As I was sitting at my breakfast table on the eleventh floor of my hotel it kicked in. The buildings are incredible. The houses are all four to five stories high, but so narrow! They look ridiculous. Every building is built either with a brick or concrete frame (depending on when it was originally built) and the front and back walls are gutted and rebuilt whenever. So I can see through many houses. It is a strange thing, but kind of cool. The buildings are so colorful. Lots of blues and yellows. Yesterday on my drive from the airport we passed rice paddies and I saw only one or two people per giant field. The growing of rice is all done by hand! They grow the tiny seeds to about two inches before hand planting them in neat rows in the field. In about 3 1/2 months they are full grown and picked to sell. Vietnam exports an enormous amount of rice. And the rice they don't export is sold in country or fed to cows and water buffalo. These people are amazing. Farming to us is combines and tractors and huge herds of cows, here it is backbreaking labour that women and children do and maybe a handful of cows. The animals here are skinny and strange. Nothing like our overfed world! The weather is gorgeous. A brief storm in the early hours of the day meant humidity like you can't imagine. The rain is hot and falls in huge drops on the street. It doesn't stop anyone from their day though. All the motorbikers wear ponchos to keep them and their parcels dry. Yesterday I saw a girl riding a motorbike, her father sitting in the sidecar with a wicker chair on wheels contraption in front of him. He had twenty foot rebar curled around him. Must be building something somewhere. It is amazing what people carry on the back of their bikes. Thousands of bottles, five AC units, three kids. Streets are a little crazy. Lots of honking as people drive on the road, sidewalks, and the wrong side of the road. Today on one of my rides, we went the wrong way down a one way street and my motor taxi driver was the one honking at everybody. Truly amazing that nobody gets hurt. My hotel is a modern building built five years ago, it is stunning. I can't believe I can afford the beautiful hotel room I am staying in! I will have to thank my travel agent when I get back! The fruit has been the best part of my eating experience so far. Dragon fruit, watermelon, and some strange citrus fruit. All so sweet and juicy. Nothing like the fruit we have at home. I was talking to a lady from Queensland at breakfast and she laughed that there was still snow on the ground at home. This weather is quite the difference from Edmonton and my hair is so happy! I don't think it will be happy to go back to dry Albertan air so I am eating up the great body while it lasts. Humidity is heaven in a weather pattern.

Underwhelmed

I know it is a strange thing, but I am completely underwhelmed by the craziness of my situation. I cannot believe that I am sitting in the Hong Kong airport (25C and humid) drinking starbucks. I woke up sometime between that world and this world and looked out my window. I could see the snowy mountain peaks of either Russia or Kamchatka. Flying over a country that I only have heard of because of the game Risk is crazy. We chased the sunrise and left it in our dust. The sky paled to dawn, faded back to night, sprung into a glorious sunrise then back to night. I have seen the sunrise 2 1/2 times in six or so hours. Dinner was at 3:30 a.m. your time. I had the vegetarian pasta. Yum. Breakfast was a choice of frittata or beef fried noodles. Tomorrow my breakfast will probably consist of a noodle dish and tropical fruit dipped in chili sauce. Heaven. The guys sitting next to me were very nice, which is good because we were at close quarters for a deathly long time. I can't wait for my king size bed! There is a very cute old couple skyping at the table in front of me. Using iPad2. Techie people! It's 7:30 now and the shops are opening in the airport. Maybe I can find something to snack on that has more substance than my popcorn twists. I'm not sure how these Asian women do it, but they all stepped off that 15hour flight looking as perfect and pressed as they got on. That is a skill I must acquire soon. There are showers here at the airport, but there wasn't enough time between flights to take advantage. More adventure to come!

Why Vietnam

Biggest question I've gotten once the initial shock wears off: Why Vietnam?

Four words: Anthony Bourdain - Medium Raw

He wrote about pho so well that I have spent over one quarter of the money I made last year to try it.

Also, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone in three distinct ways: Live with no toilet paper, Find out what communism means in modern societies, and Get six million vaccinations.

I will literally be off the map for five weeks. Facebook, Twitter, and most blog/social networking sites are blocked. This blog will hopefully run by e-mails sent to my dad and posted here.

I cannot promise that there will be posts every day, every week, or even at all. If you are family (this includes Kendall & Sarah) you will know who to call to find updates. I will hopefully be able to communicate with Mom&Dad.

I'm on an adventure (I am even bringing my adventure kit) and probably will not miss you. You should not expect presents as I am BROKE. I do, however, promise that if there is a moment that I think of you or wish you could see what I see, I will take a picture of that moment and tell you all about it.

I'm on a get-away. I literally want to get away from: school, work, you(friends&family), and most of all MY CELL PHONE. I am shutting it off April 20th at 7:00a.m. and leaving it at home. Feel free to e-mail either bethany_316@hotmail.com or bethany.r.hansen@gmail.com (not sure which I can use there).

I'm on a journey. I will be independent, self-sufficient, self-reliant. I have no safety net to run to. I will be alone. I will come back different, but the same.

I'm on a trek. I am not bringing practical shoes. I must travel approximately 1146km in 30 days. I'm often too lazy to walk to the Petro Canada across the street.

I'm on a sabbatical. A rest, leave, Sabbath Day. I am going to live in the moment and not worry about the next. I will rest until I finds peace. I will rely in God who has taken care of me since I was a child. And when I'm scared I will remember what my mom taught me when I was so young and so scared of the dark: God will command His angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways. Psalms 91:11 It's the first verse I remember learning, the verse I still whisper to the noises in the dark. I'm not afraid.

I hope that my travel journal does not bore you, but I fully expect that my stories may shock, horrify, and worry you. Thank you for your support. I'm just over a week away and it's starting to sink in. Keep sending your prayers, well wishes, and good thoughts my way.

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
 -Dr. Seuss