Hi all,
For those who are familiar with Vietnam, yes, I decided to skip Na Trang. It just sounded too touristy and in a negative "how much can we drink and party" kind of way. I've met too many British and other European folks who are primarily here to drink and be obnoxious, so I decided to avoid the area (or else I might kill one of them).
So today I flew from Saigon to Da Nang where I was greeted by Harmony's lovely friend "Jimmy" - thanks Harmony!! He took me to the post office so I could mail H'Thuyen the toys and then we had lunch together. His English was great and we had good conversation about life in Vietnam.
Then I took a bus (minivan type of thing) to Hoi An, where I'm at now. It's about 45 minutes from Da Nang. It was a great ride - finally got to experience how the locals travel and had a fun experience. I was told the cost was 20,000 dong (a little over $1) but I was sure it was only supposed to be 10,000. After a week in Vietnam, I was feeling more confident about sticking up for myself when being taken advantage of. So I successfully asked some locals on the bus - in Vietnamese - how much it was supposed to cost and they said 10,000. So every time the driver's helper (who collects the money) hounded me for 20,000, I kept saying no, 10,000 and that's all I would give him. Eventually he gave up. :) It sounds silly to argue over less than a dollar, but the amount isn't the point. It's the fact that westerners are always told a different price. So I was packed like a sardine on the bus and had a grand time. When I got off, I rode on the back of a motorbike (with a helmet) to my hotel - I'm no longer scared of them, which is good since it's usually my only option for transportation!
Within 10 minutes of arriving at the hotel, I met this wonderful New Yorker, Sean. He's seriously only like the 2nd American I've met in 2 weeks and it was very refreshing to be able to jabber away in my normal English. The thing is, even for other travelers (minus Canadians) I have to speak slowly and clearly b/c we're either dealing with different accents or for the Germans, etc English as a second language. So what a relief! We chatted for a while and then went to one of the clothing shops, which Hoi An is known for, and had our measurements taken for clothes. He ordered a bunch of nice suits and I ordered two skirts. Then we had a lovely dinner together. Too bad he's leaving tomorrow - he would make a great traveling companion.
Tomorrow I'm going to some ruins at My Son and then will wander around some old French buildings that make up a world heritage site. Then on Friday I signed up to take a cooking class! That's it for now. :)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
First round of photos!
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=44171258457450204/l=5956761009/g=51030638/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
I'm not going to put these up on the blog - I think I'll just do snapfish and maybe some on facebook. Enjoy!
I'm not going to put these up on the blog - I think I'll just do snapfish and maybe some on facebook. Enjoy!
Back in Saigon
Hi all,
Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to visit H'Thuyen - according to authorities, because it's on the border with Cambodia. More info on that when I return. For now, I'm back in Saigon and tomorrow will fly to Hoi An. I have a cold so am just taking it easy today.
Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to visit H'Thuyen - according to authorities, because it's on the border with Cambodia. More info on that when I return. For now, I'm back in Saigon and tomorrow will fly to Hoi An. I have a cold so am just taking it easy today.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Mekong delta
Hi all!
I'm actually still in Saigon - my plans to visit Thuyen got pushed back a day so I leave tomorrow at 6:30 am. For anyone I haven't told about this - Thuyen is a former client's (from NC) oldest daughter who lives in a small village in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I decided to not rent a car and driver (with Kyle's help) but instead am taking the bus with Kyle's consultant who will act as my interpreter/helper for any difficult situations. His English is so-so but I feel very safe/relaxed knowing that he's coming. The car/driver was going to be $250 whereas the bus will probably be like $10 at the most. It'll take more time of course (8-10 hours?), but I don't think a ton more. Either way, it's basically a day's travel. Thuyen has 3 children and so besides children's vitamins, I'm taking a bunch of toys: a soccer ball, this play fishing pole set, a bunch of play cars, a stuffed animal, and a wooden car that's also a shape sorter. I'm also going to leave the family some cash - Kyle told me how to do it so it's not insulting to the family. I'm so excited! I can't imagine I'll have access to the internet (though you never know!) so you probably won't hear from me again until Thursday.
Now to catch you up on the past two days. Yesterday was *awesome*! I did a tour of the Mekong delta region. It took about 3 hours to get there, but it was about 5 times better than the tour of the tunnels the day before. After we got off the bus, we got on a boat and visited a floating market. Basically, it's a bunch of boats that line up to sell products (mostly produce) whole sale. The people are middle men and they live on their boats. They display which product they're selling by hanging one (pineapple, potato, etc) on a stick at the front of their boat. Then buyers drive up in their boats and purchase large quantities of products from them.
Next we visited a place where they make coconut candy and other kinds of candy too - yum! We got to try all kinds and I bought (and already ate) some banana and peanut candy. We also got to see how they make puffed rice - I never quite knew how they made rice krispies or rice cakes, etc but now I do. They made it in a big pot - J and K it was just like the large pot they used to make kettle corn at that farm we went to. I asked to try stirring it and the guy let me and he laughed when my whole body moved instead of just my arms. :) I had a flashback of trying to making fufu in Ghana. After that we went to a village for lunch and then got to ride bikes around the village to check it out. Finally we got to ride in a smaller canoe-like boat down the river which was cool. My pictures from yesterday are awesome...
On this trip there was a guy from Spain so I practiced my Spanish a bit and we hung out and talked on the bus to and from the Mekong delta. On the way home we got in a very lively debate about affirmative action, which apparently they call "positive discrimination" in Spain - basically he doesn't agree with it and I do.
Today I went to the Vietnamese traditional medicine museum. Dr. O or Bretta if you're reading this, you would've loved it. There was lots of info on the history of traditional medicine in Vietnam and what the different herbs are used for etc. It was too far of a walk from my hotel so I had to give in and ride on the back of a motorbike. Here they have helmets for the passengers though and I didn't feel too scared - I ended up taking 3 rides today and I'm used to it now. Jacqui - I had pho for lunch at that place in your book and it was yummy! It was also fun because a 13 year old girl and her dad sat down next to me and we had a lovely conversation b/c they wanted to practice their English. They were so sweet - the dad insisted on buying my lunch! Afterwards I briefly stopped by reunification/independence palace which is the former president of South Vietnam's palace. The North Vietnamese army tanks crashed through the gates here in 1975. At this point my throat started hurting and I was feeling really tired so I hopped on a motorbike and came back to my hotel to take a nap. Hopefully I'm not getting too sick since I'm leaving tomorrow! I'll write again when I can - likely on Thursday.
I'm actually still in Saigon - my plans to visit Thuyen got pushed back a day so I leave tomorrow at 6:30 am. For anyone I haven't told about this - Thuyen is a former client's (from NC) oldest daughter who lives in a small village in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I decided to not rent a car and driver (with Kyle's help) but instead am taking the bus with Kyle's consultant who will act as my interpreter/helper for any difficult situations. His English is so-so but I feel very safe/relaxed knowing that he's coming. The car/driver was going to be $250 whereas the bus will probably be like $10 at the most. It'll take more time of course (8-10 hours?), but I don't think a ton more. Either way, it's basically a day's travel. Thuyen has 3 children and so besides children's vitamins, I'm taking a bunch of toys: a soccer ball, this play fishing pole set, a bunch of play cars, a stuffed animal, and a wooden car that's also a shape sorter. I'm also going to leave the family some cash - Kyle told me how to do it so it's not insulting to the family. I'm so excited! I can't imagine I'll have access to the internet (though you never know!) so you probably won't hear from me again until Thursday.
Now to catch you up on the past two days. Yesterday was *awesome*! I did a tour of the Mekong delta region. It took about 3 hours to get there, but it was about 5 times better than the tour of the tunnels the day before. After we got off the bus, we got on a boat and visited a floating market. Basically, it's a bunch of boats that line up to sell products (mostly produce) whole sale. The people are middle men and they live on their boats. They display which product they're selling by hanging one (pineapple, potato, etc) on a stick at the front of their boat. Then buyers drive up in their boats and purchase large quantities of products from them.
Next we visited a place where they make coconut candy and other kinds of candy too - yum! We got to try all kinds and I bought (and already ate) some banana and peanut candy. We also got to see how they make puffed rice - I never quite knew how they made rice krispies or rice cakes, etc but now I do. They made it in a big pot - J and K it was just like the large pot they used to make kettle corn at that farm we went to. I asked to try stirring it and the guy let me and he laughed when my whole body moved instead of just my arms. :) I had a flashback of trying to making fufu in Ghana. After that we went to a village for lunch and then got to ride bikes around the village to check it out. Finally we got to ride in a smaller canoe-like boat down the river which was cool. My pictures from yesterday are awesome...
On this trip there was a guy from Spain so I practiced my Spanish a bit and we hung out and talked on the bus to and from the Mekong delta. On the way home we got in a very lively debate about affirmative action, which apparently they call "positive discrimination" in Spain - basically he doesn't agree with it and I do.
Today I went to the Vietnamese traditional medicine museum. Dr. O or Bretta if you're reading this, you would've loved it. There was lots of info on the history of traditional medicine in Vietnam and what the different herbs are used for etc. It was too far of a walk from my hotel so I had to give in and ride on the back of a motorbike. Here they have helmets for the passengers though and I didn't feel too scared - I ended up taking 3 rides today and I'm used to it now. Jacqui - I had pho for lunch at that place in your book and it was yummy! It was also fun because a 13 year old girl and her dad sat down next to me and we had a lovely conversation b/c they wanted to practice their English. They were so sweet - the dad insisted on buying my lunch! Afterwards I briefly stopped by reunification/independence palace which is the former president of South Vietnam's palace. The North Vietnamese army tanks crashed through the gates here in 1975. At this point my throat started hurting and I was feeling really tired so I hopped on a motorbike and came back to my hotel to take a nap. Hopefully I'm not getting too sick since I'm leaving tomorrow! I'll write again when I can - likely on Thursday.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Agent orange
So I'll write another post - I'm trying to download my pics and it's taking a while. (I have free internet at this hotel!)
Today was another "war day" where my day revolved around the Vietnam/American war. I took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, which are the tunnels that the Viet Cong dug and used during the war. They're only 70 km away but it took 2 hours to get there b/c of the traffic. Ugh. Plus, when we got there, there was some issue with the tickets and our group got separated and our guide was spazzing, so there was a bit of an annoyance factor. It was interesting to learn that there was something like 200 km (?) of these tunnels and 16,000 people lived in them. We looked at some of the entry ways from above ground as well as all the different kinds of booby traps used on the American troops. Then there's one tunnel they let us climb through. I'm pretty sure they enlarged it for the tourists (and added lights), but even still, it kind of freaked me out and I got out early. I think I only made it through 80 meters. They also talked about the "American war" from their perspectve of course. We watched a "documentary" at one point that was basically propaganda - at one point it talked about "American killer" heros. Oh and I can't forget this part - they had a shooting range there where tourists could shoot machine guns and so on. Really? Seriously? Throughout the whole tour you could hear the guns being shot in the background and I kept thinking, is this supposed to create a more authentic environment?? I found it disturbing.
On the way back to Saigon we stopped at a workshop where people with disabilities were making crafts - mostly beautiful items from eggshells and seashells. These people had all been affected by agent orange - the chemical we sprayed all over Vietnam during the war. Thousands of people have been negatively affected by this chemical, such as adults with cancer and children born without body parts. I bought a platter, which is lovely and I was happy to support them, though of course it'll need to find a home in my backpack. This part of the day's trip made the numerous hours on the bus worth it. Yesterday I mentioend comfortable bus trips - today's wasn't as comfortable. But mostly b/c I was sitting next to a very large Polish man who could've used a shower!
Then I went to the war museum which had some excellent photos, though sad of course. I really knew very little about the affects of agent orange until today - but I'm super clear now after viewing dozens of horrific photos of children born without body parts, or with Downs or cerebral palsy, etc. There were also exhibits on the history leading up to the war as well as examples of weapons, which I wasn't too into.
I'm not going to lie, I had pizza and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. After a week straight of Asian food, I needed a little break. Tomorrow I'm taking a tour of the Mekong delta and the next day it's to the central highlands to visit H'Lem's daughter!
Today was another "war day" where my day revolved around the Vietnam/American war. I took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, which are the tunnels that the Viet Cong dug and used during the war. They're only 70 km away but it took 2 hours to get there b/c of the traffic. Ugh. Plus, when we got there, there was some issue with the tickets and our group got separated and our guide was spazzing, so there was a bit of an annoyance factor. It was interesting to learn that there was something like 200 km (?) of these tunnels and 16,000 people lived in them. We looked at some of the entry ways from above ground as well as all the different kinds of booby traps used on the American troops. Then there's one tunnel they let us climb through. I'm pretty sure they enlarged it for the tourists (and added lights), but even still, it kind of freaked me out and I got out early. I think I only made it through 80 meters. They also talked about the "American war" from their perspectve of course. We watched a "documentary" at one point that was basically propaganda - at one point it talked about "American killer" heros. Oh and I can't forget this part - they had a shooting range there where tourists could shoot machine guns and so on. Really? Seriously? Throughout the whole tour you could hear the guns being shot in the background and I kept thinking, is this supposed to create a more authentic environment?? I found it disturbing.
On the way back to Saigon we stopped at a workshop where people with disabilities were making crafts - mostly beautiful items from eggshells and seashells. These people had all been affected by agent orange - the chemical we sprayed all over Vietnam during the war. Thousands of people have been negatively affected by this chemical, such as adults with cancer and children born without body parts. I bought a platter, which is lovely and I was happy to support them, though of course it'll need to find a home in my backpack. This part of the day's trip made the numerous hours on the bus worth it. Yesterday I mentioend comfortable bus trips - today's wasn't as comfortable. But mostly b/c I was sitting next to a very large Polish man who could've used a shower!
Then I went to the war museum which had some excellent photos, though sad of course. I really knew very little about the affects of agent orange until today - but I'm super clear now after viewing dozens of horrific photos of children born without body parts, or with Downs or cerebral palsy, etc. There were also exhibits on the history leading up to the war as well as examples of weapons, which I wasn't too into.
I'm not going to lie, I had pizza and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. After a week straight of Asian food, I needed a little break. Tomorrow I'm taking a tour of the Mekong delta and the next day it's to the central highlands to visit H'Lem's daughter!
Spar Spangled Banner
Occasionally I've questioned my decision to travel alone. Not for safety reasons, but b/c it seems as if everyone in this part of the world is traveling as a couple or in a group. There are TONS of tourists everywhere I've been, but as you can tell from my postings so far, I haven't found one particular person to travel with. I like to call this the "New York factor" - the same reason why it took me a year to make friends in NYC. It's like when there are a bizillion people around, it's actually harder to meet people.
But any lonliness I was feeling was put to an end tonight - thanks to a hilarious elderly Vietnamese man who sang the Spar Spangled Banner for me. No joke - I have it on video. I decided to go across the street to the park to chat with some of the Vietnamese people hanging out. It's very common here for people to hang out in the evening for many hours - either lounging on their parked motorbike or playing sports. In this case, a group of guys were playing what looked like hackeysack, but with a shuttlecock, and lots of people were sitting around watching and talking. So I popped a squat and soon enough someone started talking to me - in fairly decent English. (I've only got 2 Vietnamese words down so far!) So we talked for a while and then when I started to go, this elderly Vietnamese guy and a group of girls in their late teens and twenties stopped me. Suddenly, this guy - who had a guitar - started belting out the Spar Spangled Banner. Then he asked me to sing with him, so what the hell? Why not? I let it rip. Then another elderly man came up to me and started talking in near perfect English - turns out he was an interpreter during the war. They were all very kind and I said I'd try to meet them there again tomorrow. As I crossed the street, I peered into the main tourist bar on the corner and saw loads of foreigners drinking and not a Vietnamese person in sight. Blah! If I were traveling with others, I'd probably be in that bar with the bunch of them, but instead, I got to hear an elderly Vietnamese man sing and made some new Vietnamese friends. Afterall, I did pay a shitload of money to travel to Vietnam and that could've been any bar around the world.
But any lonliness I was feeling was put to an end tonight - thanks to a hilarious elderly Vietnamese man who sang the Spar Spangled Banner for me. No joke - I have it on video. I decided to go across the street to the park to chat with some of the Vietnamese people hanging out. It's very common here for people to hang out in the evening for many hours - either lounging on their parked motorbike or playing sports. In this case, a group of guys were playing what looked like hackeysack, but with a shuttlecock, and lots of people were sitting around watching and talking. So I popped a squat and soon enough someone started talking to me - in fairly decent English. (I've only got 2 Vietnamese words down so far!) So we talked for a while and then when I started to go, this elderly Vietnamese guy and a group of girls in their late teens and twenties stopped me. Suddenly, this guy - who had a guitar - started belting out the Spar Spangled Banner. Then he asked me to sing with him, so what the hell? Why not? I let it rip. Then another elderly man came up to me and started talking in near perfect English - turns out he was an interpreter during the war. They were all very kind and I said I'd try to meet them there again tomorrow. As I crossed the street, I peered into the main tourist bar on the corner and saw loads of foreigners drinking and not a Vietnamese person in sight. Blah! If I were traveling with others, I'd probably be in that bar with the bunch of them, but instead, I got to hear an elderly Vietnamese man sing and made some new Vietnamese friends. Afterall, I did pay a shitload of money to travel to Vietnam and that could've been any bar around the world.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Vietnamese Rumba
Yes, Vietnamese rumba. But before I get to that, let me finish telling you about Phnom Penh. Yesterday (Wed, 11/11) I wandered around the city, first by the river where there's a lot of action. Then I went to "Wat Phnom" which is a pagoda/respite on the highest point in PP. It was kind of interesting to see people praying and there were monkeys climbing around. Plus it's in this park/plaza type area which was good for people watching and stopping to gulp water every few minutes b/c it's so frickin hot. Then I made my way over to the main city market, which was similar to the others I've seen in Cambodia and other developing countries. I bought a traditional Cambodian silk scarf and some silk pillow cases. I couldn't resist - and they're not heavy to carry.
Next it was on to the National Museum (pottery and bronze artifacts) which was semi interesting, though I don't get too excited about that type of thing. Probably would've been better if I had hired a guide, but I'm always reluctant to do that b/c it costs money and half the time you can't understand their English. (I always overhear the guides talking to others.) Later on in the day I was planning on going to the president's royal palace, but they closed it early because his motorcade was coming into town. So I didn't see the palace, but I did end up seeing the president - twice. Millions of Cambodian school children - and a few tourists like me - lined the streets waving flags to welcome him. :) I then wandered around all the nearby plazas, checking out monuments and people watching. It was quite lively. During dinner I met this German woman who's also traveling alone and we went to see this film she had heard about, which was about the Khmer Rouge. It was interesting b/c the filmmaker had footage from when the KR evacuated PP and interviews with people soon after. So it was a busy day, but no crazy stories to report.
Today I took a bus to Vietnam. I woke up kind of late b/c my alarm didn't go off and was slightly panicked b/c I needed to locate an ATM to be able to pay my hotel bill. I was told that I would be picked up at 6:45 and I got back around 6:35. Well the owner was slightly panicked b/c the minivan (which would take me to the bus) was already there and he was waiting for me. It seems as though everything in Cambodia is either on time or early! Definitely opposite of my experiences in Latin America and West Africa! So I got the bus - a nice air conditioned "better than grayhound" kind of bus - and made it to Saigon in 6 hours. I have to say that I'm shocked that I haven't ended up on anything resembling a chicken bus, tro-tro, or any other type of transportation where I'm packed like a sardine in with 50 others. I'm kind of sad b/c those experiences are always so fun! There were lots of Cambodians on the bus too, but surely there must be a not first class option. Every day I think about how much more developed this part of the world is than I expected. I think I can safely say it's more developed than Guatemala or Ghana. At least their tourist industry is for SURE. They really get it and have a knack for catering to western tourists.
Tonight I had my first real Pho (noodle soup)! What I've had in the U.S. is good, but I feel like now I can say I've had the real thing. I took a picture of it. :) Afterwards, I headed over to see this "water puppet show" which is a traditional art form in Vietnam. I read about it on the back of a map that I picked up at a travel agency. It was really good and I got a lot of pictures/videos. Then I wandered. Saigon is much more developed than Phnom Penh and it's such a happening place - it's honestly a lot like NYC! The motorbikes are even more insane than Cambodia. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't gotten hit by one yet. It's so crazy I can't even explain it. At most intersections there aren't lights or walk signs for pedestrians, but you need to cross with *hundreds* of motorbikes speeding around you every which way. You just move forward slowly, one "lane" at a time and everyone (hopefully) moves around you. Occasionally I piggyback off the boldness of a Vietnamese person and just scoot across right along with them. I tried to get some video of it b/c it's truly insane. At least more people wear helmets here than in Cambodia. While I was wandering, I stumbled upon this large group of youth - maybe 200 kids or so - who were doing some sort of team building activities I think. They were in circles, with a leader inside each, who was yelling funny commands for the kids to do. It looked like summer camp in the U.S. and all the kids were giggling. There was also an outdoor aerobics class going on nearby. I think I'm going to try to join it tomorrow! Later on in my wandering, I came across this outside "gym" of sorts where people were playing tennis, badminton, various martial arts, basketball, lifting weights, running, and various dance classes! So this is where I saw the rumba class. It was pretty entertaining to watch! The Vietnamese seem to be seriously into exercising. Also, it's obviously a very metropolitan area - lots of cultural activities and action in just my short walk.
That's it for now - it's only 9 pm and I'm exhausted. I cannot wait to sleep in AC! BTW, I got a SIM card for my phone. If anyone needs to get a hold of me, my digits in Vietnam are 01265066280. Peace!
Next it was on to the National Museum (pottery and bronze artifacts) which was semi interesting, though I don't get too excited about that type of thing. Probably would've been better if I had hired a guide, but I'm always reluctant to do that b/c it costs money and half the time you can't understand their English. (I always overhear the guides talking to others.) Later on in the day I was planning on going to the president's royal palace, but they closed it early because his motorcade was coming into town. So I didn't see the palace, but I did end up seeing the president - twice. Millions of Cambodian school children - and a few tourists like me - lined the streets waving flags to welcome him. :) I then wandered around all the nearby plazas, checking out monuments and people watching. It was quite lively. During dinner I met this German woman who's also traveling alone and we went to see this film she had heard about, which was about the Khmer Rouge. It was interesting b/c the filmmaker had footage from when the KR evacuated PP and interviews with people soon after. So it was a busy day, but no crazy stories to report.
Today I took a bus to Vietnam. I woke up kind of late b/c my alarm didn't go off and was slightly panicked b/c I needed to locate an ATM to be able to pay my hotel bill. I was told that I would be picked up at 6:45 and I got back around 6:35. Well the owner was slightly panicked b/c the minivan (which would take me to the bus) was already there and he was waiting for me. It seems as though everything in Cambodia is either on time or early! Definitely opposite of my experiences in Latin America and West Africa! So I got the bus - a nice air conditioned "better than grayhound" kind of bus - and made it to Saigon in 6 hours. I have to say that I'm shocked that I haven't ended up on anything resembling a chicken bus, tro-tro, or any other type of transportation where I'm packed like a sardine in with 50 others. I'm kind of sad b/c those experiences are always so fun! There were lots of Cambodians on the bus too, but surely there must be a not first class option. Every day I think about how much more developed this part of the world is than I expected. I think I can safely say it's more developed than Guatemala or Ghana. At least their tourist industry is for SURE. They really get it and have a knack for catering to western tourists.
Tonight I had my first real Pho (noodle soup)! What I've had in the U.S. is good, but I feel like now I can say I've had the real thing. I took a picture of it. :) Afterwards, I headed over to see this "water puppet show" which is a traditional art form in Vietnam. I read about it on the back of a map that I picked up at a travel agency. It was really good and I got a lot of pictures/videos. Then I wandered. Saigon is much more developed than Phnom Penh and it's such a happening place - it's honestly a lot like NYC! The motorbikes are even more insane than Cambodia. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't gotten hit by one yet. It's so crazy I can't even explain it. At most intersections there aren't lights or walk signs for pedestrians, but you need to cross with *hundreds* of motorbikes speeding around you every which way. You just move forward slowly, one "lane" at a time and everyone (hopefully) moves around you. Occasionally I piggyback off the boldness of a Vietnamese person and just scoot across right along with them. I tried to get some video of it b/c it's truly insane. At least more people wear helmets here than in Cambodia. While I was wandering, I stumbled upon this large group of youth - maybe 200 kids or so - who were doing some sort of team building activities I think. They were in circles, with a leader inside each, who was yelling funny commands for the kids to do. It looked like summer camp in the U.S. and all the kids were giggling. There was also an outdoor aerobics class going on nearby. I think I'm going to try to join it tomorrow! Later on in my wandering, I came across this outside "gym" of sorts where people were playing tennis, badminton, various martial arts, basketball, lifting weights, running, and various dance classes! So this is where I saw the rumba class. It was pretty entertaining to watch! The Vietnamese seem to be seriously into exercising. Also, it's obviously a very metropolitan area - lots of cultural activities and action in just my short walk.
That's it for now - it's only 9 pm and I'm exhausted. I cannot wait to sleep in AC! BTW, I got a SIM card for my phone. If anyone needs to get a hold of me, my digits in Vietnam are 01265066280. Peace!
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