Woke up and had breakfast with Quynh... eggs and bread. Drank too much coffee... proceeded to sweat through everything I wore.
Went with her cousins for lunch, then met up with Brandon and Bob from Oregon to go to the War Remnants Museum.... kinda unpleasant...
We packed up and checked out of our hotel... Quynh yelled at the hotel staff in Vietnamese for 10 minutes because they overcharged us... they removed the charges. Went and had dinner with Hue, Tong, Bob, Brandon, Huong and Thuong before heading to the airport. Got to the airport in Saigon around 9:15 pm and boarded for Tokyo around 11:40.
Landed in Toyko about an hour ago... 7:45 am local time.
Only wore a t-shirt on the flight... much colder here than in Vietnam.... not sure what 2 degrees celcius is, but it's much colder than the 27 we were experiencing at the airport in Saigon.
Beds on the (Lack of) Sleeper Bus were too small, so I took a long nap after we checked in to the hotel.
View from the hotel
Woke up when Quynh's aunt and cousin stopped by to take us to breakfast. We went to the big market in Saigon and Quynh bought a bunch of snack foods. I bought Bun Bo Hue... only had one bowl.
Bun Bo Hue in the market
Took another nap after the market, then Quynh's cousin, Tong, took us to a cool lunch spot for the biggest ban xeo I've ever seen. Ate too much and went home to sleep it off.
Giant Ban Xeo
Found a scale the other day and realized that I've gained 8 pounds since arriving in Vietnam... Probably need to declare a New Year's resolution.
Woke up after my second food coma of the day to go have dinner with Tong and Thuong. We went to a cool place that specializes in Hue food, but presents everything in a really fancy way... really good stuff.
Don't pay attention to the Chubby one in yellow
more food... cool presentation
Leaving Vietnam tonight... going to miss it... Really going to miss Hoi An.
Lots of flying to do... 6.5 hours to Tokyo, 10.5 hours to Seattle, 6 hours home to Atlanta.... Bought a copy of "The Quiet American" off a street vendor the other night.... lots of typos and some of the pages haven't been cut. I'll be reading that during my travels.
I'll probably update a couple more times... probably in Japan, then once I get home... mainly because we're at 1,967 views on this blog and I really want to get up to 2,000.
Little Lyle Lovett reference... You know, I'm Julia Roberts and Quynh is Lyle Lovett.... maybe not.
Woke up this morning and went to the breakfast buffet at the hotel... actually really good. I forgot how much I enjoy bacon.
Went to the beach for a while and pretended to kayak to humor Quynh for some pictures.
Checked out of the hotel this afternoon and headed to Nha Trang... Sat on the beach for a while and got some food at a restaurant on the beach.... That's where we are now. Views are great.
We're going to hang out here for a while, then go get some dinner before our 8pm sleeper bus to Saigon.
Lots to write about... I'll try to do it chronologically....
After playing Jesus in the church production we went back to Quynh's aunt's house and had dinner by the street. We grilled beef on a marble slab over hot coals... It was awesome.
Too good
Christmas is different in Vietnam... no big present exchanges and the kids had to go to school.... I did receive presents... Quynh's aunts made me a suit, a winter coat and a really nice shirt... I don't deserve them, but they make me look so good I couldn't decline. Quynh and I spent most of the day walking around the city. I got a massage and Quynh got a mani-pedi... We went to the church again and watched Tom's piano recital... He played jingle bells expertly.
Jingle Bells
Missed seeing the family on Christmas day, but Quynh's family was great. At the end of the night Quynh's family got together and sang all types of songs while her uncle played guitar and the mandolin... It was nice.
(Partridge) Family night
Spent the day after Christmas saying our goodbyes and trying to take in the city one last time. We woke up and had Bun Bo Hue with Trang and Tom... it was a good start to the day. We went to see Quynh's uncle and went around the city with her aunt and young cousin.... went to a pastry shop and had a lot of good stuff. Everyone went to her others aunt's house for Cao Lau... Best ever. We went home and packed up the rest of our stuff to leave town.
Bun Bo Hue
Quynh's
Mine
Hated having to say goodbye. Quynh's family has been great, and Hoi An is probably my favorite place I've ever visited. It's got beautiful beaches, great people, everything you'd want from a big city with the feel of a small town... I can't describe how cool it really is. I will definitely be returning.
We boarded a sleeper bus at 6pm to head to Nha Trang.... not quite what I was expecting. Perhaps it was wrong of me to expect extravagance on a 12 hour bus ride with lay-flat beds that only cost 7 bucks. My feet were too big for the foot space under the seat in front of me, there was an asshole Frenchman above me with a miner's light on his head that kept blinding me... when he finally fell asleep he was the loudest snorer I'd ever heard. Quynh was the only Vietnamese speaker on the bus, so when they allowed on too many passengers she had to be the person to tell the driver/staff that everyone was mad... that happened to be in the short time I managed to sleep. The remainder of the trip consisted of me trying to sleep while the woman behind me kept saying "Is the driver falling asleep?!? Oh my god! What's going on?!?" over and over.... she was an idiot... nice enough, but an idiot. Booked another sleeper bus to Saigon tomorrow.
About as comfy as it looks
The hotel came and picked us up this morning and let us check in about 7 hours early, so that was nice. The room is nice, and the bathroom is great. Spent most of the day at the pool. It was a little cloudy with a nice breeze so I never got too hot. Fell asleep out there for a while.... Burnt.
View from hotel room
Ordered room service and watched 'Black Swan'... both were good. Calling it a night.
I didn't think they were serious........ They didn't think I'd say "Yes"......... Worked out well.
Click on the video to go to YouTube and watch in high quality.
I didn't get a chance to edit this down... got more good footage on the camera.
Quynh's aunt and uncle asked me to do this, and I really thought they were kidding.... and they kinda were. I just thought I'd have enough good stories to make it worth it.... I was right.
Quynh's uncle was originally cast, but thought that with my facial hair (I have some) and skin I would make a more convincing Jesus.
Almost 2,000 people showed up....
It actually took a lot of practice for me since I don't understand Vietnamese very well.... The camels were never on stage during practice, so that messed up our timing a little, and one of the disciples was late on stage- won't name names.... incapable. Took 300 pictures with people on my way to change.
Had a blast... I'd played comedic roles many times, but was aching to try a more serious character... just wish the director (nun) would have let me wear sandals instead of black and neon yellow nikes... Still fun.
I miss everyone back home, and it's really strange being away for Christmas for the first time. I'm very lucky, though, to be around a lot of people who want me to have a memorable holiday.
Another full day....
Slept in until 9:30 today. Quynh's aunt came home with more Banh Mi (at our request) for breakfast, then
we headed to Da Nang.
I like Da Nang a lot. It's a pretty big city, but it's no Saigon.... it's just comfortable and clean. Took some pictures of cars in town for Mookie, the went and picked out some dresses for the twins. Quynh wasn't crazy about them, but I think they're pretty. We stopped to eat at a fancy restaurant that serves rice in a clay pot that they smash.... it was very good.
I tried to shut my eyes for a while when we got back... had to go to Quynh's relative's house warming party. Boy do they know how to warm a house. There were 7 or 8 packed tables on the main floor, and there was a catered 5 course meal. It was awesome.
Quynh's uncle busted out the guitar whenever he got sick of the menu and came to serenade me. I was really impressed with his knowledge of old rock music and christmas songs. I was most impressed by his rendition of Mel Gibson's favorite Beatles song, "Hey Jew"........ let it out and let it in
Went to watch Trang and Tom rehearse their Christmas show. It was awesome.... there must've been 350 people or more just to watch the practice. Hopefully going to their show tomorrow will help me miss the Holidays less.
Stopped by to see the twins on the way home and gave them their dresses (which Trang made boxes for from scratch)... They loved them.
Now It's midnight, so I'm going to bed.
Fancy Place in Da Nang
She's the only person that does a better impression of Quynh's Mom
Woke up this morning around 7:30 on my own.... Went with Quyhn's aunt to have some Pho for breakfast... so good I had to get a second bowl.
Went back home and waited for Trang to get out of her final exam... Around 9:30 we went souvenir shopping. Got a lot of really cool stuff... No, it's not for you.
Beautiful day.... about 80, sunny with a breeze...
After we shopped we went to her aunt's house for some Mi Quang... now I can strike it off the list of foods I still need to try.... it was so good that I had to have seconds (spotting a trend?)
Trang needed to study, so Quynh and I went to the beach alone.... Taxi again.
Weather was great for about 10 minutes. Clouds rolled in, wind started blowing and the sky got dark even earlier than usual. Accidentally dropped Quynh's camera in the sand.. keep getting error messages. On the plus side, the lady at the restaurant we go to recognized us (me) and gave us a good deal.
Got back home and shut my eyes for about 3 minutes then we hit the road to get some food with her Cousins. The place we ate was beautiful.... on the river.... Got some kind of mollusk dip for everyone, 3 redbulls and some other stuff all for about $6.50... I expect these prices stateside for my return.
Went to Tom's practice... he's a hilarious dancer. During a break, a song started playing that had these lines: "I'm a freak. Shake your booty, it's what I need. Shake your booty, it's so unique. Shake your booty, this freak's gotta eat....." Went with the family to go get some steak.... you roll the slices in spinach and dip them in a sauce of salt, fresh chili peppers and lime juice... it was really good... Filled up fast.
Hi! Quynh here... gonna do a short post with mostly pictures (surprise, surprise).
We walked around the city a bit to take pictures of Hoi An during the day. Every photo is so beautiful, mostly because I am a good photographer (haha) and a bit because the city is so charming from every angle.
Got some good souvenirs, excited about those :)
Also included are landscape pictures from the past few days
rice paddies in the country side
Hue
Hoi An
I love the colors of the walls
view outside the window of one of my aunt's places
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Woke up at 7 again this morning to go visit Quynh's grandfather's grave. We drove through the mountains on the way and caught some of the most impressive views I've ever seen. Really unbelievable.
Her grandfather's grave was pretty. The cemetery was on the countryside and had pretty views. Saw a bunch of water buffalo there. Quynh's family let me know that I probably shouldn't pet them, but I really wanted to.
Humidity is not exclusive to Georgia... worked up a nice lather. Quynh must sweat 100% deet, because I got eaten alive by mosquitoes and she didn't.
Decided to go visit Hue (the city, not the aunt)... Stopped for food, but the restaurant didn't have Bun Bo Hue... we went to another place instead. No Bun Bo Hue there either, but we did have some other noodles that were good and some pork with some crispy skin..... I'm fat.
Hue reminds me of Saigon in a lot of ways.... Tons of people, big city feel.... There is a really cool temple by the river that I really enjoyed. Very intricate architecture, and great views.
Got back right at 7 to meet Quyhn's family for dinner at a restaurant in town. Interesting scene... Heavier chick in blue spandex shorts and shirt with Tiger Beer written all over it. Five or six tables of guys heavily drinking beer.... I had a glass of Red Wine from the Dalat region of Vietnam.
I ate hot pot and some goat.... I took the first few bites thinking it was beef. Not bad. In fact, I ate almost an entire plate.
Went to Tom's christmas play practice.... Later that night I came up with the greatest christmas present ever for mom and dad.... It will be revealed at 8:00 pm et on Christmas Eve.
Went out to eat with Tom and his parents... Had wonton soup... Full.
Tom had the traditional Vietnamese dish of Salisbury steak and fries...
Came back and fell asleep while Tom played 'Hobo 4' on the computer.... He's a hobo that does disgusting things to people after escaping from prison... looks fun.
Woke up to eat egg rolls and the biggest shrimp I've ever seen. Completely stuffed.
Woke up at 7... Quynh and Trang went and got us banh mi and coffee in a bag... Banh mi was great. Verdict's still out on bagged beverages.
Drove to the country to visit Quynh's grandmother's grave site....
About an hour drive.
Stopped for Xao on the way.... spicy soup with beef... first time. Really good.
Her uncle still lives there and owns a pharmacy. Her aunt gave me some candy.... it was a cough drop.
The grave was really pretty. Met more family members.
Stopped for more food on the way home.
Got back and went to the beach with Quynh... Took a taxi... my legs are too sore to pedal.
Gave Quynh a tiny crab... Stayed for the sunset... really pretty.
