I have taken more than 600 photos (mostly b/c in Vietnam I didn't take more than 10 photos). This trip was purely devoted to seeing the sights and sounds of VN without standing behind a camera lens.
Since the beginning of our journey in VN, I've had the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse sitting on my chest. No fevers or chills, just a terrible, deep, hacking racking cough that seemed to tear out my lungs. Good news, though. My cold is almost gone.
Our last days in Vietnam included a trip to the beach city Nha Trang, where weather was cool, and the waters clear. The ride home on our bus was loooong, totaling at 13.5 hours from Nha Trang to Saigon. Although the trip was supposed to last only 8 hours, congested traffic and competitions with the free-ranging motorbikes prevented us from reaching our destination at the appointed time. Thus, we all ended up with pancake buttocks.
We arrived in Saigon at 7:30 p.m. and went directly to Que Huong Restaurant where we enjoyed dinner (buffet style) and conversation with some of the seminary students (UCC seminarians who attended class taught by M. in Cambodia in March). Afterwards, I took a ride around downtown w/ Bu, who drove me on the motorbike to Nha Tho Duc Ba and to the Buu Dien. We also purchased durian (sau rieng) for the last time (40,000vnd per kilo at 2.8 kilos for one durian)!! It was DELICIOUS.
Although we missed the opportunity to eat xoi bap (made w/ hominy), we really did enjoy the wonderful fruit.
After cleaning up and repacking for the final trip home, we closed our eyes for some rest at 1:30 a.m. and got up at 2:30 a.m. to check-out. We departed from Dong Phuong hotel at 3:00 a.m. and arrived in plenty of time for our flight at 6:30 a.m.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to use regular restrooms again. I have missed them terribly. It has been suggested that I produce some sort of writing related to our missing "American standard."
Some possibilities:
- A dictionary of terms regularly used in reference to WCs
- A picture book w/ large-print descriptions
- A how-to guide
- A short story
- A prose poem
I must also apologize to many of my friends in VN for not being able to reach you. We did really travel non-stop the entire time we were there, and the borrowed cell phone battery only lasted about one day, so it was difficult to contact everyone. It is not possible for me to apologize enough to everyone, and I can only say, the next coffee is on me! Cafe sua da, va co le them mot vai khoai tay chien... yumm!
Next post from HAT shall be from the humble abode in Berkeley.
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