Airplane, Japan, Taipei, Vietnam, and MOPEDS!!!

Okay, sooooo much has happened since my last post. First of all, Happy New Year, and thank you to everyone who commented on the last post. Alright, let's start at the beginning.

After I wrote last time, we pretty much just went to bed. Aahh...sleep. It was good. I awoke to the phone ringing, and Kenai sat up in bed beside me and said, "Telophome," and them fell back over asleep. Once we were all up, we had breakfast in the hotel, muy yummy. Later we swam and then rode a trolley to the beach. No surfers, waah. But lots of fun rolling around in the sand and building various structures out of it.

A bit more hanging around in the room, and then it was time for the airport. We somehow managed to cram all 7 of us and our 12 bags (yes, 12!) into a taxi van thing. No problem actually, the van was huge. The real fun started at the airport when Soleil, Quest and I were chaarged with the duty of not only moving and managing all 12 bags, but also keeping trackof Elan and Kenai. Quite a task, let me tell you.

When we finally boarded the plane, I was seated between Elan and Kenai. Elan was asleep before we even took off. Kenai lasted a bit longer, and he and I watched a movie. Then he was out. Anne came to check on us and moved Kenai to the floor, telling me I could do the same with Lonny if I wanted. I did, and pretty soon I had a whole row to myself. That was nice. I watched the first ten minutes or so of about three different movies before deciding it simply wasn't worth it. I fell asleep for about twenty minutes I think, before Elan woke up demanding his seat back. Tried to sleep after that, but to no avail. I kind of spaced out for awhile before I realized that I wasn't staring out over water anymore. It was a very well lit series of islands. No, I thought, it couldn't be...could it? so I checked the flight compass thingy that tells you where you're flying and sure enough, JAPAN!! I was flying over JAPAN!! I got so unbelievably excited. My first ever view of Asia! JAPAN!

After that, sleep was no option. I compulsively checked the compass, Tokyo, Shanghai, New Delhi! I didn't pass over all of these places, but they were all referecned on the map! It was so cool!

The layover in Taiwan was neat. (I'm in Asia! I'm in Asia!) More bag and kid watching, but I also got to listen to the foreign conversations around me and read teh signs in Taiwanese, it was really, well...different!

Super short flight from Taipei (Taiwan) to Ho Chi Minh City. Three hours was nothing. I sat with Sol and Quest and we played Mad Libs. Yes mom, they did come in handy. We also watched Accepted, which was very funny.

This is an insanely long post and I'm sorry, but hold on tight, because I haven't even reached the best part yet! VIETNAM! From the first view of the country I got, I could tell it was very different. It's hard to explain without making it sound negative, but I'll try. The airport facility wasn't as clean or as new, some parts were actually leftover from the Vietnam war. Wild huh? Customs was an unusual breeze, and then on to the HEAT! In answer to the humid or dry question, HUMID. Very. The first great adventure was getting our selves and our bags out of the airport and into just one sedan taxi. Not at all as huge as the other van in LA, we were all sitting on top of each other. I didn't care much though, I was busy staring at EVERYTHING. It really is a different world. Everything is open, the streets are more narrow, the driving is well, terrifying. When you think a brake is necessary, just use the horn! It evidently serves the same purpose. If I had been watching the road, I would have feared for my life. Haha

When we reached the house, I was shown everything. It's really huge. my room is at teh top, which I like. I'm across from Sol and Lon's room. Pretty bland afternoon, I called Mom, and then showered and took a very long nap.

Anne woke me at about 7:30 in the evening so I could eat and sort of get on Vietnam schedule. Then Pete took me for a ride on his motorbike!

It was unbelievable! At first I was scared I would be smeared on the pavement, so I held on to his waist super tight. Once we rode into the city and picked up fruit (green oranges, don't ask, and a large thing called a "bui" I have no idea if I spelled that right) I felt confident enough to shift my grip to the back of the bike seat. Soon I was holding on with only one hand. It was so much fun! I kept thinking I am in moped traffic! In Vietnam! Wow!

Then sleep and this morning I ate one of the green oranges and some bui. both very yummy. This is entirely too long. Bye for now!
Loves,
Hillary