Munich 2008 December 24-25, 2008 We awoke to another day of winter wonderland in Portland this morning. After nearly two weeks hoping that the weather would clear and be a typical PDX rain for our departure, we realized that was a bit unrealistic. Good thing we still had the chains on our car! We left plenty of time to drive the icy, snow-packed freeway to the airport, making the 20 minute trip in about an hour. We saw all of the warnings about delays and long lines and so came prepared. Yet the lines were relatively short and the people were pleasant. (Of course the people were pleasant - it’s Portland! And Christmas Eve!) I found a used book at Powell’s to add to my collection of travel books. I’m always a bit more ambitious than ... read more

I am hiding from a monster bug right now. Thu just walked out from the bathroom area and said that there was a giant cockroach above the sink. She asked Matthew to take care of it, but after looking at it he said that he has a policy when confronted with bugs that could reach back and punch him in the nose - live and let live. I’m hoping having all the lights on will scare it into a little hole. Today was nice - the first day we could sleep in! We still got up before 8AM, but it was great to be able to sleep until we woke up on our own. This morning a large chartered bus arrived to take us to the beach, but first we had to go to Thu’s grandma’s, ... read more

Another early morning this morning! We took the elevator to the top floor, the ninth, in our building to the hotel’s breakfast buffet. It was an odd combination of foods that didn’t match - eggs, toast, rice, stir-fried veggies, pho but with pork (I’ve never seen that before and neither has Thu), and little bits of chicken that I think were supposed to resemble chicken wings. We picked it over - it wasn’t good, but it was food. After breakfast we met downstairs. The plan was to go see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh. Sadly, when we arrived we were told that the body is closed on Mondays and Fridays, so we couldn’t see that. Instead, we could see the museum, which is housed in a huge building built in 1990 (I think). An ... read more

We awoke early and were downstairs in the lobby of our hotel at 6:30 in the morning, ready to eat breakfast and check out, off to the next adventure. We ordered pho or chao or wonton soup (wonton being a type of noodle here, not wontons like we’re used to) and ca phe sua da (which hasn’t been really good since we left our village café) for breakfast. We assume that the hotel actually ran out onto the street to buy things like pho - isn’t that convenient? Anyway, we left and started to head out of the city of Hanoi. The trip was long, filled with pictures taken out of the side of the window of the moving car. About halfway to our destination we stopped for a restroom break, snacks, and a little shopping. ... read more

Day two (? -- Monday) in Vietnam: We awoke and headed to the shower in the house that Thu's father, Bac Phuc, built for her (most of the time it is used for her uncle's wedding business -- he lives in the house next door and his business studio is also nearby). Thu said "The shower's not working, so I guess that's what the bucket's for." It was a bucket with a scoop. No problem. We had a toilet that worked and a sink that turned on (although it drained onto the floor), and growing up with a crazy I was used to military-style showers. I can shower in a bucket. For breakfast we headed to a nearby cafe with some members of Thu's family (now that I have their names written down I am starting ... read more