Suits, Buddhas, and The Funky Monkey

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So we're about to bounce and dip out of our 4th Vietnamese city, Nha Trang. We spent the last two days in utter relaxation... Beach, mud baths, more beaches, then beach fires, then a boat cruise that included to much food, snorkling, and even more beach, then sleeping, then more beach.... I think you get the idea. We honestly have very little to share from Nha Trang except that we didn't like it quite as much as Hoi An. We spent our first day trying to see the city on moto bikes which was an epic saga of Alex and me losing each other twice, getting lost in the city forever, running out of gas twice, and all around being tired and frustrated! One of the few redeeming factors of our first day in Nha Trang were these incredible Vietnamese sandwiches on every corner for 10,000 dong which is about 50 cents US! We also have had to take a serious break from too much Pho after a rough alleyway Pho soup incident repleat with flies, an old man coughing on us for like ten minutes, and the most questionable beef ball of our lives. This led us to eat Mexican food one night, Indian the second, and eggs every morning... I know how very lame of us. The second and third days though recovered very well and in many ways redeemed Nha Trang in our minds.

On the second day we went on a harbor cruise with our intrepid emcee The Funky Monkey who doubled as our guide/ karaoke master. Long story short we saw four islands, met a bunch of really fly people, went snorkling, ate an entire table full of food, and well.... Alex and I may have sung Backstreet Boys You Are My Fire (hello, alex here, josh requested it) accompanied by a man on pots turned drum set and the Vietnamese version of Jimmy Hendrix on guitar. Alex claims the song was my idea, but we all know who the real closet Backsteet boys fan is right. After that tough day on the boat we decided that mud baths were definitely in order. We went to these "mud baths" which ended up just being slightly viscous muddy water that we wallowed in like our swine counterparts. We had a lot of fun though in the high pressure sprayers that we cleaned off with afterwards and the mineral water soak/ hot tub.

Our last two days in Hoi An were also unbelivably fun and classy. We decided to order suits on our second day in Hoi An which is the tailoring capital of Vietnam. Every street was lined with tailors and we couldn't help ourselves. I have never felt so classy in my life as I picked out the exact style, fabric, and quality of suit I wanted. We both ended up getting a three-piece suit and two french style shirts for ourselves! When we tried them on the next day we honestly have never looked so good! Oh P.S. Kennedy's a strange package may be arriving at your house in a month, it is not a bomb and does not have any SARS in it.

While we were in Hoi An we also rented moto bikes and took a trip to marble mountain. We drove about thrity minutes outside of Hoi An to this mountain turned sanctuary that specialized in its marble. This mountain is peppered with caves and beautiful pagaodas and was one of the most spiritual places I have ever been. Our favorite place on the mountain was the largest cave at the very top. We walked into this pitch black cave, feeling very much like Indiana Jones, and had to feel our way around this bend until suddenly the cave opened up into this huge naturally lit cavern. This cave had been turned into a sanctuary and had a huge statue of buddha. It was one of those places where the natural and the supernatural unite beautifully. Anyway, Hoi An and Nha Trang have been good to us, for the most part, and we're leaving tonight on yet another overnight bus to Saigon and beyond.

We starting a new corner in these publications we're going to call Alex's Corner so here it is:

ALEX'S CORNER

Hello All. Yes, Josh does have a travel companion on this trip. I don't know what he's told you to this point (No, I don't proofread his entries). He typed up this entry while I took a stroll down the street and purchased a straight edge razor shave, the beard was getting out of control. (BTW, Josh isgrowing out a killer mustache!) While I don't have a blog of my own, I am in charge of the camera/picture taking so I would like to think I am contributing to the updates, once the pictures are uploaded. Anyways, thanks for keeping track of us! Enjoy living vicariously through as much as you please! Big shout out to my family woot woot! In future entries, this corner will consist of deep thoughts, quotes, (maybe venting about Josh? though I haven't had any problems, I'll vouch that he's a great travel buddy!), and getting the last word in. I love you guys, til next time!

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[billnjeanna]

Back in Mirabella after 4 days on Bainbridge including a Birthday party for your Dad with Salmon and barnes sauce of course on Sunday