My freaking feet are always wet whenever I use the bathroom!

Wrapping our last week here in vietnam, Jamie and I are doing Ha Long bay and Sapa. With no pressure on time, we decided to do a 2-day 1-night cruise on Ha long bay which includes kayaking and cave exploration. This is our first organized tour and of course, we are surrounded with English speakers. The rest stops they bring us to are filled with handmade artworks and not only are the art beautiful, the prices are also beautiful. $2 for a bar of Snickers.

Life for us in Vietnam has been simple and near stress free. Here, Jamie is everyone's friend and as a "friend" they want him to buy cigarette lighters and ride on their motorbike. He's very popular with the locals and constantly get waves and "hello's" from kids. For me, the sun rays has found a familiar skin texture to exposure and by the 2nd week, im as dark as a local. Paired with a pair of sandals, tourists started taking pictures of me and touch my hair. The locals here constantly ask me either if I'm a Vietnamese tutor, or where I go to school for language, or if I'm a tour guide for Jamie. Now I have started saying "hello" to tourists and offer them tour plans.

On a serious note, it doesn't seem like Vietnamese people travel as much here as Americans travel in the States. Maybe they just don't have the money or that they take for granted what they have in their backyard. What I've appreciated most here is the how creative and simple the children are. It reminds me of when I was living here and how it was so exciting just to play outside. A good day is when chained dogs have been harassed and general havoc have been created throughout the neighborhood. If You want to go fishing, collect a few branches and ask the the lady down the street for a piece of mesh and you got a fishing net! Give us a can and we'd be happy playing "slap the can" with our worn out slippers. The only tv that was available was at our neighbor down the street. With no invitation, my siblings and i would crowd in their house to watch Russian tv shows with Vietnamese subs. Oh, we were dirty dirty kids! I still see the same excitement and dirt on these kids and that's one thing I'm glad haven't changed about Vietnam.

The Pictures are of Hue and some details of the Imperial Palace. The last two are taken in Hanoi. A Water puppet show that Jamie had a hard time staying awake for and a cute alley with Vietnam next top model. Next stop, Sapa and then out of Vietnam to Laos. I am a lil hesitant about the language,'so hopefully some sign language will be useful. What I miss most about America: a bathtub and shower unit where the whole bathroom floor isn't wet after someone showers.