WildSide...

Lady-boy robbery...foiled in Nha Trang!!!!

lavaladyak — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:10:00 GMT

I got off the night bus from Hoi-an to Nha-trang at 7am....I officially hate the night bus now!!! I checked into the first hotel the bus stopped at...I got the cheapest room for $8 on the fifth floor...no elevator. I was getting my exercise for sure! I got to take a nap, and hit the city!

Because it was my birthday, I treated myself to a manicure, a shampoo, and style! A shampoo in an Asian salon is quite different...they massage your head and it only costs a 1.50!!! I had seen a nice restaurant on my way to the salon...there I met a young waitress named Bach Duong...I told her it was my birthday and she went above and beyond to make it special!!!! I tried the local specialty...claypot catfish, which was amazing!!!!!!! I walked on down the road back to the hotel...feeling like my birthday couldn't get any better, when I met an Italian dive instructor! He pulled me into a bar embarrassing the hell out of me, yelling silly phrases in broken English, there at the Le Cabranon, I met Ute, Sven...and a few other Americans. I got to play pool, badly, and ran off to the Sailing Club for some dancing...the energy in this place was phenomenal!!!! I had one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time!!!! The only thing that was not so cool was almost getting robbed by lady-boys!!! The Italian Dive Instructor was walking me home to the hotel...which proved to be lucky for me!!!!! Moto drivers were offering us rides all along the way...so when another moto pulled up, no big deal, but what was odd was that there were two on the bike...my brain registered that these women were wearing a lot of make-up, and were by themselves? Very unusual!!! They started off with the usual pitch "Want Moto ride?"...they started toward us and the Italian started shoving!!!! These were actually guys!!!! I had heard about this scam where these nefarious individuals would get near you...you didn't have to be on the bike...and they would distract you by INAPPROPRIATE touching and lift your wallet, loose money, cellphones..etc. I think if I had been alone that I would've lost my purse and had a couple of bruises...instead I had a tall Italian guy whose friends had just been robbed like this a couple of days before!!!! I was delivered out of harm's way and my next few days in Nha Trang were uneventful, thank goodness.

I was then on my way to Mui Ne in search of the sun.

Hoi-an....

lavaladyak — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:48:00 GMT

The bus ride to Hoi-an was quick and painless. I found a place right away and was off to explore this small city...almost immediately, I found myself in a shoe shop buying some sandals, they outlined both my feet, I got to pick out the leather, I even got to modify the style a bit! My custom sandals cost $15! The shoe shop sent me down the road to their sister store, a tailor shop...these shops made up the rest of the city! It was like heaven! I got measured, fitted, and completely pampered in this city...I ended up with a bunch of shirts, and a grey wool suit with a deep purple silk lining! I even got a shirt copied!!! The tailors were great...especially Tony's!!!! I was very happy with their work!

The part of the city that I was in was not that modern at all, narrow alleys, ancient walkways...gorgeous bridges. There was some flooding, and the rain had followed me down too. The people were wonderful...very relaxed, but still doing the sales pitch...which what happened all the way through Vietnam.

There is a small cafe called Re-Treat where all the people wear my giveaways....pins that say Alaska!!!! I gave a little boy some Alaska wash-off tattoos...he had sold me the cutest clay whistles! I had even tattooed the front desk staff the day that I left!!!

My last day in Hoi-an I was determined to find the beach...I tried to rent a motorcycle and was DENIED! Because I was leaving that day...oh well, I ended up on a rickety bicycle with some crappy brakes. The ride was a bit longer than I thought it would be...2km? I don't think so. I raced down the pot-holed road, watching out for the cows!!! The beach looked like it would've been amazing in the sun...I was hypnotized by the waves crashing! I got the hard sell from a few ladies on the beach...in the harsh wind with a light rain, they were out there hawking fans and little stuff like that. Crazy. I had to get back to the hotel and I got to race with motos!!!!! It was hilarious!!!! I really didn't want to leave...next time I'll bring more money!!!!

Danang rhymes with Dang....

lavaladyak — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:11:00 GMT

...as in "Dang, the bus is really leaving me here!" I was the only one to get off in Danang...should've been a sign! The bus stop guy at the local tourist agency was less than helpful...he tried to steer toward a $15 hotel!!!! I said no thank you and was on my way to one of the Lonely Planet recommendations, Hoa's place, leaving my bags behind. I had picked up a card at the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel...and went to find a moto driver...I actually had to hunt for one! So different from the other cities. I found a guy and we haggled a bit...he quoted me a distance in kilometers...and I still haggled him down a bit. Almost the same instant I hopped on the back of that bike it started to rain! We DROVE FOREVER!!!! I got soaked in my jeans, tennis shoes...and when we got to the place I was Shocked!!!! It was a clapboard place, far from much else. Deeply disappointed, I felt that I should see the famous China Beach and walked down a few yards to take a peek. It would've been beautiful, if the rain wasn't stinging my eyes. I went over to a stand to ask about a plastic pullover that all the people wear...instead I got a girl that wanted me to buy bracelets so she could go to school...she would not leave me alone! My moto driver found a plastic pullover of his own and off we went to take a look at other options...and this time it wasn't just rain but blowing sand stinging my face!!! It looked like there was a storm a coming!!!! I peeked over at the Marble Mountains and promised myself that I'd go, rain or shine...in sandals.

I looked again in the Lonely Planet and found another hotel nearby on the river, the main selling it had cable...and an eerie resemblance to "The Shining"! Or "The Grudge". And was that blood on the walls? It was the cheapest, if not, the cleanest option. I found a place to eat...and rats the size of housecats.

I decided that after a nice breakfast to see the Cham Sculpture Museum and met a waiter named Ken, he said that I looked like a rockstar with my pink hair...I decided to stay another day and give the people a chance to grow on me!!! He actually sat down and practiced his English with me!!!

I found a moto driver and we went to the Marble Mountains, it was spectacular!!! I loved it!!!! I bought postcards because my battery was dead in my camera...good choice considering. I walked in ancient caves...there were quite a few!!! It was lovely. What wasn't so lovely was my moto driver trying to hustle me for 500,000 dong! We argued for twenty minutes about the price...and short of telling him to...do something not so nice to himself...I found my composure and paid him a fraction of the price! I don't know how I did it...I was that angry. I finally got the Cham Sculpture Museum, and that was lovely too.

I was also met a nice lady and had a conversation with a phrase book/sign language...she was a lot of fun! I bought some kind of weird coconut jelly dessert from her...delicious!

I was VERY happy to get out of Danang and get to Hoi An!!!!

Sick in Bangkok...

lavaladyak — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:06:00 GMT

Hi to all my friends...I've been thrown for a loop in my travels by getting sick and will be coming back sooner than expected. I'm disappointed, to say the least! I'm completely exhausted and funds have been drained by my doctor visits...so going home is the only option for now. I haven't even made it out of the Kao San area to visit my friends!!! I will try to write up more since my journal is about six cities behind!!! I look forward to seeing some familiar faces soon.

The end of Hanoi

lavaladyak — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:28:00 GMT

I met a few other travellars in the hostel...they all said the same thing...get out of Hanoi and the people are different. I was really happy to hear this because I was sick to death of being hunted down by all the hawkers!!! I met Kasie on my last day while I was at the post office mailing some packages...that I don't think are going to make it to Alaska and Washington!!! It was wonderful to meet another travellar and hang out and speak English AAAAALLLLLLLLL DAY!!!! She advised me to not speak when the hawkers came up to me...then that way they didn't know where I was from.

While I was waiting for the night bus to Danang...some French tourists and I saw an old lady get hit by a cab while riding her moto!!! It was shocking...nobody stopped to help her!!! Just us tourists!!!! The French were well-prepared and brought out one of those shiny blankets to wrap her in...the shop owners (who finally came out) put her into a taxi!!!!! And away she went. Very odd. And sad.

We then were all herded onto the night bus and crammed into these tiny seats/beds...and the driver honked the horn all night, which is what they do on the big roads...it was so exhausting!!!! Nobody spoke English around me...it was all very sad after spending the day with Kasie. Off to the Danang experience...which was mercifully brief!

Hanoi...the return

lavaladyak — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:41:00 GMT

I was so exhausted by the time my evil cabbie got me to the hotel that I decided to stay an extra night at the expensive hotel....because being up half the night was enough to seek a bed at any price!!!! I had to stay in Hanoi because of my desire to see the Perfume Pagoda and I had already paid for two days with the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel (lots of fun!!! I recommend it!) I got a refund on my Mt. Fansipan portion of the trip...and used that toward my tour, my room, and my hop on/off bus ticket down the coast! The cities that I chose were Danang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, and Saigon for $50.

My tour of the Perfume Pagoda was eye-opening...we went on a rather long ride out of the city into a ghetto-type area...the poverty was just astonishing...the villagers in the Sapa area were better off than these people. There was a lot of flooding and some roads were just small lakes. Our driver drove like he stole the bus! We almost hit a dog, a lady on a bike, and we bottomed out when he took a pothole too fast which caused us to lose our spare tire. The driver tried to get it to fit in the back, it was too big for that, so he jerry-rigged it closed WITH STRING!!! A very nice Korean family (a couple and their grandfather) and I got to breathe in fumes and dust for the rest of the journey there...and back. I got the hook-up from the Koreans with cookies, Almond Roca, and drinks...they were prepared!!!! We got to the dock and there were women all over us trying to get us to buy this and that...the Koreans had to buy Cone Hats to block out the sun since there was no shade on our boats. They were very cute!!! The men had pink ribbons on theirs...hilarious! The scenery on the ride over to the base of the mountain was breath-taking, limestone karsts jutting out like teeth...our rower was in some kind of hurry and we passed the other boats. The butterflies were huge along the way...dark...and no, they weren't bats! The nets on the river were held afloat by empty plastic jugs...to catch dinner. The town at the base of the mountain was flooded and we were actually right above the sidewalks!! We got to a traffic jam of boats and the old Korean man almost fell into the water and we all had to help him up! The base of the stairs that go all the way up to the temple were ancient...just amazing to see! We toured the base Pagoda first and I got kicked out of the temple! I had forgotten to wear my zip away pants instead of my shorts...we had lunch before some of us took the cable car up the mountain and the others walked. Before we all went our separate ways the guide instructed us to stay away from the dogs and monkeys because they might bite!!! Nice.

I was still sore from my homestay experience...and took the cable car up, but pride wouldn't let me take the car back down the mountain! We were so high up that it was almost difficult to look down. The cable cars were surprisingly modern! After a brief and painful walk, we entered the cavern...it was so huge!!!! We were allowed to take pictures of the Buddhas but we could not give the pictures away...we were told to hang onto the photos forever. The Buddhas were gorgeous! So gorgeous, they didn't need the neon halos with the hearts radiating from their heads...kind of tacky, but its not my Pagoda. After a brief turn inside...I started my descent warily looking around for wild monkeys...there were hawkers everywhere, as well as trash, blue tarps covering what looked like homes without walls.

People were selling photos of a caged red squirrels and a chained monkey...very sad. I sat down about half way and had a nice cold water with a lady and her baby...she was very sweet!!!

I really wish that I hadn't lost all my photos. We made the trip back with the same rower...the guide rode with my group and he told us to give our rower a 10,000 dong tip...which is about, .75!!! The ride back was stinky but uneventful...and I returned to the Hanoi Backpacker Hostel for a space-age shower...the facilities were really clean for the amount of people that they served!!!

Sapa to Lao Chai (the village)...then to homestay.

lavaladyak — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 22:17:00 GMT

The homestay experience...was absolutely grueling to get to!!! My group, my guide (Zoum, from the other day), and I went walking from the hotel to the village. The vision of the rice terraces got even closer and I took a million photos of the walk down...we were accompanied by some of the Black Hmong women with babies on their backs, goods for sale, and produce. Once we got to the trail we had difficulty on the slope...I had wrapped myself up in all kinds of layers because my Malaysian friends said it was so cold...as the day cleared up, it got hot! Oh so hot! I shed my layers pretty quickly as we walked down into the valley, stepping aside the water buffalos and their poo.

The walk was difficult to say the least! After we had a break at a shack, we headed up the valley and had lunch in Lao Chai...wonderful, wonderful food! The facilities were rather expansive...I was surprised at the size of the restaurant...and I realized that this was a major business, the guided tours...that point was drilled home by the stops we had at the shops! We did get to see the indigo barrels for the Hmong clothing, drying chips for incense along the way, and, of course, the unhulled rice drying in the sun. The weather was so beautiful and the sparse bamboo patches groaned in the breeze...it was so lovely! It would've been better if I didn't feel like I was going to die of exhaustion!!! Or my heart would beat regularly again...instead of like galloping horses!!! The hills were incredibly steep...we started down and the path gave way to rice terrace walls...one girl fell off and got into the mud up to her thighs! She then had to find her shoes...poor thing! While we were climbing around...the Hmong women were helping us along, later when the path became a dirt track the women left us...thus, began the hustle to buy their wares! "No, I don't have any money" really didn't work...I already had a million pillowcases from my other village visit! We finally made it to the homestay which was a family farmhouse...it wasn't too rustic. The upstairs loft area had an array of beds, 15 maybe? And they all had mosquito nettings above. We all french fries for a snack and then some of the folks napped. Dinner was fabulous, we were all served rice wine...which I politely declined...conversation was interesting the group was 2 Danes, 3 Canadians, 1 French guy...I talked to the French guy a bit...that became embarrassing as I looked down at my neck pouch and saw tampons sticking out...classic! So much for being the cool American...

After dinner the music started...along with some weird Thai video to go along with it...yes, the family we were staying with had a HUGE tv....so much for the authentic experience. We all started dancing in this farmhouse in Northern Vietnam to techno...other homestay guests congregated to our farmhouse to party it up!!! It was so much fun!!! I met some more Malaysians...sweet people! Our guides were toasted on rice wine and dancing like crazy!!!

The next morning we had crepes with a chocolate sauce...delicious!

We walked up the valley again through a bamboo forest (breath-taking!!), the trail was muddy and the Hmong women helped us again (different ethnic group). We also went at slower pace with shacks along the way to get us out of the sun. We peaked at the waterfalls, gorgeous, the water made grooves in the solid rock at this point...I took the opportunity to give my guide my knife, he really loved the spring action on the blade!!! I had some other giveaways that were less expensive, but he was a good guy! I almost didn't make it up that last hill...I forget how many kilometers we went exactly...I should've written that down. I stayed one more day in Sapa and was sorry to leave...it was really beautiful, green, and yet, cold. I took the night train back to Hanoi, which arrived at 5:30 am...I got ripped off one last time by the cabbies of Hanoi. I don't think there was an honest one in the bunch!!!!! More on that later.

Sapa...cont.

lavaladyak — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 01:02:00 GMT

The second day in Sapa, I decided against going to Mt. Fansipan because of "lady issues"...terrible timing! Camping, hiking...with no toilet? No thank you....any other time and I'd be lacing up my boots!!

Instead I went on a half day tour with a guide named Zoum to Ta Phin village where the Red Hmong group live...I did a bad thing and bought candy for all the villagers!!! Zoum was from the village and "guided" me toward this unusual behaviour (not the first thing I would've done!) I was popular with the women...they kept touching my hair! I got to see an ancient cave tucked away at the end of the village. The poverty was just stunning...babies running around without diapers, children with split pants exposed to the elements...it was not warm here until about 11am when it got scorching hot but the ride over I could've used some gloves! I toured the entire village and learned a few things...like the beaded hats that the babies wore symbolized the sex of the the baby! Some of the villagers did have cellphones, curiously enough....interesting dichotomy...does Vietnam have some kind of socialized cell phone plan or what?

I did get cornered in a farmhouse by the women to buy their wares...how could I refuse? I now have a million pillowcases being sent to the U.S.!! There was one lady who looked wizened...absolutely ancient...she was only 60!!! She and I hit it off...she posed for a few photos...I'm just heartsick that I might've lost it!!!! I got to take some one-handed video too...while I was on the back of the scooter!!! It was pretty cool...Black Hmong men and women riding scooters down these winding roads...guess I'll have to do it all over again!!!!

The rest of the day I wandered and enjoyed some culinary surprises...more of that wonderful French cooking! I was keeping an eye out for dog meat!!

Brief note November 30th 2008

lavaladyak — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 00:57:00 GMT

Sorry about the delay! I got caught up in all the action of the trip! I was going to use my photos to help me remember where I went and who I met...but tragedy struck...a little girl in Mui Ne (down the coast near the bottom of Vietnam) probably deleted all my photos today!!! She was taking videos of me sliding down the red sand dunes!!!

Sapa, first day

lavaladyak — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:47:00 GMT

The ride up out of the clouds was amazing! It was cloudy and gray in Lao Cai...and bright and sunny up above...I checked in...and had a crappy hotel breakfast...I wandered over to "Baguette and Chocolat" in search of some real nourishment and was not disappointed! The coffee was just right, the au pain chocolat was very nice too! I even ordered a takeaway lunch! I trudged back up the hill a bit and inquired about getting a motorbike! Now, this is a prime example of how things are done in Vietnam, I asked how much to rent for half a day...100,000 dong...then I noticed the petrol was nearly gone! I asked about getting it filled up...and at this point some little Hmong girls got involved because the guy didn't speak very much English...there were different prices depending on how I wanted to fill it up...me or the guy...I asked for the guy to fill it up and the Hmong girls were unanimous that I was lazy! I just didn't know where it went! I could also hope for the best and fill it up elsewhere! Crazy.

The guy took two...I'm not kidding...Aquifina bottles filled with a greenish liquid and popped up the seat! That was different...then I got a lesson on how the automatic bike works...I kept killing the engine!! I sort of got the gist of it...and hopped on (with a helmet fastened) and the girls quipped that I must be an American to hop on a bike like that!! I headed up the road, which was paved for a bit...and turned into a dirt track! I heard that there were some waterfalls up the road...(the little Hmong girls were helpful in that regard). I almost got creamed a couple of times by the potholes, death ledges, construction trucks, and a buffalo! The track was quite dusty in some areas...just when I thought my nerves were going to fail me...I spotted a roadside house, and the waterfalls!!! I got refueled by Nescafe and some roasted chestnuts...I was served by a sweet lady with a pretty baby girl! I was allowed to take her picture and the lady was kind enough to take mine. I got my photo of the waterfalls and headed on until I hit a construction zone, which I don't like in my OWN country and turned back...going a lot faster!!! I think I even let out an American "Yee-Haw"!!

I stopped by the moto shop and he sent me to Cat-Cat village...and that ride was hairy! I drove thru the town of Sapa...and found a road with just a few bricks here and there! The ticket to get into the village was 15,000 dong, 5,000 for parking, and 30,000 for the show...the Hmong really know what they're doing! The village was totally worth seeing...but one of the songs, a love duet, was played with blades of grass...I found it EXTREMELY hard not to feel embarrassed for the couple! And after the song the audience got its OWN blade of grass! Hilarious. I walked along a suspension bridge next to a more brillant waterfall than the other. Walking back up the steps totally winded me...and I got to take a closer look at the little farmhouses all around while catching my breath...I was stopped at the shack at the top of the stairs by a guard...he was looking at something in my hair! I thought it was one of the huge spiders that I saw...but no, he just wanted to handle my pink hair!! LOL!!! Even the Hmong women and girls were handling my hair! A very eventful first day!!!

The train to Lao Cai and bus to Sapa

lavaladyak — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:33:00 GMT

Okay...but before I get to the description of my beloved Sapa...let us talk about getting there!

I almost missed the night train!!! I rode on a motorbike with my big pack in the front with the driver while wearing my little one and carrying my slash-proof purse! The van didn't stop at my hotel!!! We had to catch it...I was squeezed into the van with some other lucky souls...we were very late by then and we had to wait at a train crossing...all the while I was thinking there goes my train! The van was parked like a mile away and I had to pack all my stuff myself. We waited and waited...finally I got my ticket but nobody else did!!! Very fly by night feeling to it all. I finally got on the train...which was made for little Asian people!!! I felt like a moose...I finally got to my bunk which was very dirty! I wrapped myself up in my hoodie while I slept...and it was a good thing that I wasn't tall because my bunk wouldn't have had anymore room! I did meet some very nice Dutch ladies that said that the rest of Vietnam was very different than Hanoi...good news!

I slept off and on the entire ride north and finally arrived in Lao Cai at 6am...I found my bus company and was off in a bus all by myself until 6:30 two couples came on (one couple was from Malaysia..very nice) ...7:00 nothing...7:30 nothing!! We had to wait for the other train!!! We finally left for Sapa from Lao Cai around 7:45...the ride up to the hotel was amazing and scary...at times it was just one lane!!!! The rice terraces run up the whole side of a mountain..so lovely!!!! I took a lot of photos, more than on my last trip. As soon as we hopped off the train we were all mobbed by little Hmong women!!! They loved my pink hair!!!!

Don't worry more to come!!!!

Hanoi

lavaladyak — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:48:00 GMT

I was in some kind of weird hell for 12hrs...where "Baby Mama" played on a continuous loop with other "okay" movies. My first flight I sat next to an ex-soldier named Hong (who was 65 years old) and she told me these brutal and graphic stories of her war experiences...which I won't share here. I thought it was amazing to hear firsthand about this ugly bit of history from this little old lady.

I was then herded off the plane with the others and corralled off to the customs desk. I am so glad that I had someone pick me up from the airport because I was so delirious with lack of sleep and the time change that I probably would've paid any amount to get to my hotel!!!!

My first day was raucously noisy and I had no problem crossing the road due to my previous training in Thailand! The crosswalk signals are no guarantee that the traffic will stop. Traffic here doesn't obey too many rules...just go-go-go!!! I didn't get far before I was stopped by a tout for a hairdressing shop...a hot stone massage sounded lovely...I followed the guy thru an alley way and up some rickety stairs..yes, I had my doubts, but my back hurt of my massive backpack!!! It was awesome and very cheap!!! I also went back over the course of the next couple of days...I'm a sucker for somebody else washing my hair and massaging my head at the same time.

Hoan Kiem lake is beautiful, with young lovers on benches all around. The area is rife with peddlers though...and they will chase you down the road!! I got an eyeful in the markets and I got my leg slapped by a fish trying to make his getaway!!! Yes, live fish (catfish, snakeheads,& tilapia) and snakes in little pools! The smells are kind of awful really...

I had some very unpleasant experiences with hawkers as well as the cyclo drivers...the tricycle with the seat in the front...I got ripped off right away by some old guy saying that we could decide on a price later...I gave him 5$ and he called me cheap...this old man totally made a scene and I gave him another 5$ to shut him up!! Even when you do decide on a price like a dollar for three blocks they try to make a scene...I was paying my cyclo driver and he tried to do the same thing!!! He even tried to get the bell hop into it...I had to get tough and tell him off!! Not fun.

I went to some great museums like the Vietnamese Fine Arts Museum, where I was lucky enough to see Francisco De Goya's sketches on War that was donated by the Guggenheim Foundation...simply amazing!!!! I also went to the Temple of Literature and got my moto driver as a guide...not as cool as I hoped...I also went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where Uncle Ho is guarded like a hawk, I was searched, my camera had to be checked in, I had to stay in line...very much the Communist society on that point! I got to see the Water Puppets...so much fun!!!! I really wish I had some little kids with me...for that 45min anyway! I got some great footage of my ride through the city...I'd hang on with one hand while shooting with the other..sounds dangerous but its not!!!!

The bugs in Hanoi were kind of creepy...I killed a couple of spiders because it was me or them! Fight to the death with my sandals...I also caught and released a benign looking flying beetle-it was green and was so big that you could hear its wings flapping together when it flew!!! I also killed a gecko (although it was bigger than a regular one) that had the misfortune of being too close to my window when I opened it up quickly...I left a big tip and a yellow post-it pointing to the carnage...cowardly? Maybe.

I left my hotel Sunday evening for Sapa...but more on that next chapter!!!

False Alarm; SNAFU; the fly in the ointment...whatever

lavaladyak — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 18:22:00 GMT

I'm sure this has happened to SOMEONE you know! A mild-mannered PERSON that gets overly excited at the prospect of a bitchin' adventure coming up...suddenly this smart, efficient co-worker/friend/general ally, forgets how to tell time!!!! The PERSON arrives 15hrs early to their flight and HAS to be TOLD that they are too early...the shock...the horror...and a slight whisper...."really?"...then the PERSON looks at the ticket and there it is the "p", as in P.M.!!!!! The PERSON suddenly cannot look the attendent in the eye...and slinks away. Yes, I'm ready for the comments...bring...it....on! Also, the PERSON almost fell over when their backpack tilted too far to the right...that issue will also be addressed tomorrow IN the a.m., just before the p.m. flight leaves. Sheesh!!!!

Is this a sign?

lavaladyak — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 18:14:00 GMT

I got the passport...finally! I got it back from the Thailand consulate on Friday...I leave tomorrow on Tuesday....but now Hanoi, Vietnam is flooded! There are stories on the New Hanoian about people fishing in the streets! I bought some iodine tablets to purify water...and curiously, some tablets to neutralize the taste? Okaaay. There has been some loss of life according to the bbc...so it is serious. I contacted my hotel and they reassured me that everything is fine...but would they really warn me if it wasn't? I'm going to throw caution to the wind on this one and just go...because I've been working toward this goal for months upon months! If it is really crazy...I'll hop on whatever takes me out of a bad situation; raft made out of pool noodles, styrofoam bowls, and my bathrobe as a sail or something.

A LOT of people are going to be reading this...and I've got to say thank you so much! To all my co-workers on Capitol Hill thank you, specifically, for making an unbearable situation bearable (especially you, boo...the one I protected from the sugar-crazed children of the corn with my fists on Halloween!), to all my ex-co-workers in Alaska that still like to check up on me, my friends (thanks for the couch!), my family, and Stephe, Landlord/Mentor (your advice was priceless)! I hope to add some cool photos along the way for people to enjoy!!!

Planning the escape...

lavaladyak — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

I have 2 1/2 weeks to go before I leave for Hanoi...and I don't have my passport back from the Thailand embassy! I'm trying to compress my usual suitcase of stuff into a backpack, which I've never done before, and I'm trying not to lose my mind!

I did book a hotel in Hanoi and they would pick me up from the airport if my airlines would quit changing the arrival time and flight number...yeah, just a little bit of stress!

Currently trying not to get fired before I leave...(where the heck did I put that patient?) I don't hate people yet, but I can see the logic behind it! I am looking forward to getting out on the road and leaving this work mess behind! Unemployment here I come!!!!!!