It is time to descend the highlands and return to the coast. But first the inevitable transportation adventure. From Da Lat I take a bus to Nha Trang, an ocean side town about 11 hours north of Saigon. The road is windy, swithcbacks most the way. My seat companion rolls and stuffs orange peels up her nose which I admit I find odd. I also take offense because it's one thing to know you smell but entirely another to have someone else point it out in such an odd manner. But by hour two I realized that my companion's world does not revolve around me and my attempts at hygiene because I understood as another woman threw up for the third time that citrus must counteract car sickness in some way. Note to self: must learn ... read more

Saigon can only be digested in increments and so I had to get out for a few days. In Vietnam, making money is the ultimate goal in their rising economy but unfortunately this new love for capitalism has brought with it an increase in swindling and a decrease in morality, particularly considering tourists. Vendors in the street sell pirated everything and their uniformed brothers are no better: organized tour companies have found a skill in wording advertisements so I think I'm in for an adventure but really just purchased a seat on a rickety bus or overheated boat. And though I've found it difficult to temper by cynicism, overall the experience of getting cheated and taken is one I am glad to have had. I'm telling myself it's all for educational purposes... So, back to my ... read more

From the air it looks like any other city: straight roads branching out from a cluster, houses compacted into exact squares, the lines etched with a razor from this vantage point. Skyscrapers and houses break up the landscape and rooftops here look like rooftops anywhere. Only, the river is brown. And not brown like a mild layer of dirt, but brown like milk mixed with coffee. It's a filth that marks the land as used, that tells me I am definitely not in Kansas anymore. The plane bumps as it lands, all the passengers forced to lean to the right. Can planes this big roll over like a capsized boat in water? Heat hits me as I step from aircraft to landing passageway; sticky and thick in my lungs like I'm wearing a mask. And the ... read more

Open a champagne bottle. Take a firm grip and feel the tension in your body as you slowly push out the cork, every muscle ready to fight or take flight. Feel the slight perspiration on your palm as sweat starts to form. Sense the pressure from the champagne trapped within the glass as it pushes up on the cork, trying to take control from your slick hands. Right before the edge of the cork approaches the lipe of the bottle there is a moment where everything pauses, tensed, suspended and it's a 50/50 chance that you are in control. -POP!!!- The cork flies out like it was sent from a cannon, shot to some unknown place and the clear, crisp, bubbly froths out onto the floor, watering the ground like the great celebrations in honor of ... read more

Walking, running, laughing, skating, bicycling, kissing, yelling, crying, watching, loving, hating, whispering, eating, smoking, drinking....LIVING. That's Amsterdam and if you can't keep up, no worries; there's always another party to go to. Welcome back, to all my faithful readers! It's been awhile and I know you're waiting anxiously, fingernails bitten down to nubs to hear an update about me and my travels. Well fellows, I will end the suspense and commence! I have been joined by my mother and together we have flitted, like the beautiful butterflies we are, across Belgium and up into the Netherlands, adding to our luggage chocolates of all kinds, frites sans mayonaise, beers, and pastries galore. First was Brussels and with it snow. I realized as I stepped in my third puddle of suspiciously yellow liquid that it had been awhile ... read more