The heat is on in Saigon and....I haven't been here since 'nam!

---

Could it be true? All those times of saying "I haven't done that since 'nam" have now come to an end, because, well, I'm in 'nam! Yes, today is one of those days where you are reading my blog thinking OF COURSE Ashley is in Vietnam today. Nha Trang, Vietnam. I mean, duh. Where else would she be? Let me start by saying we sailed out of Hong Kong after spending two glorious days in "The City of Unending...Stuff." That's right, I have decided that if you don't find what it is you're looking for in Hong Kong, it just doesn't exist. Every little chotchkie item you may find in your house and wonder, "Where the hell did this come from?" The answer is Hong Kong. It is the chotchkie capital of the world. I must say, it was a pretty awesome city. Much like NYC, just with a lot more asians. Kind of like Canal Street. But nicer. But not as many fake bags. Oh, I don't know. It was very very clean for the most part, and very safe to walk around. I spent some time shopping, but I did find much better deals in Shanghai. I also went to the famed "night market" where there was a lot more "night" than "market." There was a whole lot of nothing to buy there. I thought it would be super shady and sketchy with fake bags galore, but to no avail. Bummer. But all in all, a great stay in Hong to the Kong, but I must say that I do prefer Shanghai because of the shopping and cooler hotels.

We also did a show last night in one of the restaurants onboard called "Viva Las Vegas." Don't ask me why we're on a freaking world cruise that goes literally everywhere EXCEPT Las Vegas, and they choose that as the theme. But they did. So I pulled out a song I've never sang before, "Ring Them Bells" which went over great, and also did "Big Spender" with Christina, and then sang "My Funny Valentine." We are doing the show 8 more times throughout the next couple of weeks, so at least we're getting to perform almost every night instead of having these long breaks. I also decided that I am going to write a murder mystery show in hopes of performing it with some castmembers in the same venue since the ship is on this whole dinner theatre kick. Oh, just when I though In case you were wondering, my dvd's are all fab!! Days at sea are suddenly brightening up because of my new dvd collection thanks to Shanghai and it's movie piracy.

And now about Vietnam. Well. Vietnam is.....uh. Well. See. Uhhh. The funny thing about Vietnam is....








Kidding. Our first stop was yesterday in Nha Trang. It IS exactly how you picture it. Pretty run down, a small market, and people just selling...well, junk. More fake bags (not good ones), shoes, souvenirs, just....everything. I almost got run over 42 times because everyone drives scooters and motorcycles and there are no traffic lanes or laws. Everyone just goes. Crossing the street is....fun. We all run across at full force yelling "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! MY CAREEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!" Fun. OH so fun. I did buy a bunch of pearls!!! They have REAL pearls here, necklaces, rings, earrings, all for like 10 bucks. All the passengers were buying it like they were M&M's. I bought a bunch for presents and a pretty ring for me.

Today was Saigon and it was much better. The traffic laws were still the same---so, uh, there weren't any. I had the best day. OMG. Lunch was amazing at this place called Lemongrass. For 4 of us to eat and drink, the bill was like 40 bucks. So cheap. EVERYTHING here is cheap! Gorgeous silk dresses are like 60 bucks. They would be like triple that in the states. Everything silk there is super cheap...love that. THEN, the pinnacle...we hit up the most beautiful day spa and I paid THREE DOLLARS for a pedicure!! AND...10 DOLLARS for a 75 minute hot stone massage. It was the BEST massage of my life. And I've had some great massages. But this little Asian man cracked me in joints I didn't even know existed. He brought me tea, he walked on my back, it was 75 minutes of complete bliss. 10 dollars!!!!!!! I think I am going back tomorrow to get like 5 in a row.

WHAT A DAY!!!

Anyway, love and miss you all. Write please. MUAH!

Ashley :)

---