Adventures in Compromise

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So good to be with my girls!! So much to catch up on! Marriages, cross-country moves, fertility, boyfriends, jobs, spirituality, Iraq...why does everything exciting happen after I leave the country?? We chit-chat, walk, ride bikes and eat. Everything is so effortless with good friends and the trip is instantly an adventure.

Of course, we didn't always have the same idea of adventure and due to poor planning, we overlooked the fact that the country is almost as long as the United States. Whoops! Do we fly or bus to the next destination?(fly) What is the next destination? Do we visit the gruesome war stuff (yes please!) or shop? TV on or off? A/C high or low because, man, I'm like freezing my butt off! Yes, the joy of traveling!

These pics here were taken in Hoi An, a walkable city nestled between the ocean and a river bank with a quaint old historic district that feels a bit too touristy, but is charming nontheless. We made friends with a local guy named Phi, who guided us around for a couple days for a nominal fee. If you're in the area, give him a call - He took us to a great tailor shop (there's about a thousand of them) that the locals use. I got 4 shirts custom-made for $55.

On day 4, our decision-making luck runs out and we reach a stalemate on how to spend the next 3 days. Deb is craving some easy-going days on a island beach. She's got a guide book and an article about this unspoiled tropical island and our hotel can book the flight. I want to see the Mekong Delta and anything that it may have to offer...which I know nothing about so I couldn't really make a convincing case. We kiss and say good-bye with a plan to meet back in Saigon in 4-days time.

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Photos

Deb, Erica and Dena
Yeah! I met up with my friends from New York who came a loooong way to see me. Ahhh..familiarity. The accent came right back and the swearing began at once!

Street Food is the Best Food
Corn on the Cob pushcart. Boiled in the stalk, then taken out. Brushed with spicy fish sauce before it's handed to you.

Tasty (?) Tiny Clams
They're no bigger than a pebble. You remove the little sucker with a blade of grass or toothpick. Um...no really, you have another. But thanks.

PHI!
Phi (pronounced Fi) entertaining the entire boat with his wooden stick game. No one was able to beat him.

Custom Made for You in One DAY!
Here's how it works - you open up a magazine; point to a pretty outfit; pick out a fabric from the hundreds around you and then they make it for you in one day flat.

Comments

[Ron]

Thanks for Blog
Happy you met your friends. I love VN and will be there to work again for the summer. Would love to visit Banda Aceh one day. Keep up the good work for the people!