Remembered forever...

We took another night bus back to Hanoi which was even worse than the first one I had been on! That night we had made plans to go to a water puppetry show, to get a real taste of some culture! To say the least it was quite interesting...almost a bit creepy! I'm glad we did it though!

This was the band of musicians during the show.

The next day we went to see Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body at his masoleum. We went through quite the ordeal to be able to see him. First you get your bag checked. Then you go to another station and you have to leave your camera. Then you walk a long way and stand in line. There are guards with guns all over the place. Cailin and Chelsea got yelled at for being too loud and having their hands in their pockets! There was a lady who looked to be about 100 years old, who was earnestly bowing and speaking to the case with Ho Chi Minh's body.  His body was so real and alive looking. It gave me chills down my spine. Do we have someone in our nations history who we think is so great and did amazing things that we would want to embalm them and remember them forever? Hmmm.

I will say that at first I was a bit nervous about being in Vietnam, thinking that I wouldn't want to say I'm from America, in case there were still alot of bad feelings, but I was told it was fine. I didn't find the Vietnamese people to be quite as friendly as Thai people, for whatever reason.

I found myself missing home while I was in Hanoi because we would always pass this big cathedral that would have all these Easter banners hanging up. Easter is a time that I love at home because of the family time, the services and the biggest thing; the Chancel choir music!

I also had my first experience on a sleeper bus! Unfortunately, it wasn't as glorious as it had showed in the pictures at the travel place we bought our tickets from! We arrived in Hue, Vietnam very early in the morning and I found myself low on sleep again. We got surrounded and harassed by about 10 men, wanting us to stay at their hotel. I knew I was low on sleep and it was early in the morning because I found myself snapping at one of the guys saying, "Can you just give me a minute, I just woke up!"

That afternoon we rented motorbikes and drove about 20 kilometers to check out the countryside. I'm starting to have a small obsession and liking for motorbikes! I love being in the open air checking out the scenery!

When we got back to our hotel the power was out and they said it would be out for a few hours. I have found this happens alot throughout southeast Asia. Power is constantly going on and off.  It was in Hue that we started a bond with a group of about 15 people that continued to travel together for the next week and a half.  I met people from Germany, Iceland, the UK, Australia, Holland, Switzerland, and France.

Next we were off to Hoi An. It was a struggle traveling with such a large group, going from hotel to hotel trying to find space for all of us. Chelsea, Cailin, myself and our new friend Carly from Canada said let's just find our own! We ended getting the last room this hotel we had, which we all agreed we thought it was where the workers of the hotel lived! It was quite shady and simple, but the Mennonite in us couldn't pass up this cheap offer! Hoi An is known for making good, cheap, tailored clothes, so we went out and had a few things made for us.

One thing that I have loved on my travels is meeting all these other travelers from around the world and hearing their stories and view on things in life. I love how they are usually all very open minded and are very keen on exploring the world to gain new experiences and learn about new things. I feel all of them agreed that it is the relationships in life that matter most; not the material things. I feel they care about the world and the people in it. In many talks my heart has been warmed to hear others talk about wanting to do something in life to help other people.

Part of our big group decided to rent motorbikes and head to these old ruins in the jungle called My Son. It was around 50 km away. Again, it was a great ride out there, driving in and out of little villages and seeing nature. It was soo hot at the ruins that we didn't stay as long as anticipated.

Next we were off to Nha Trang, Vietnam. Carly and I walked around the town for a while and found the best iced coffee at a little stand with a bunch of locals, so you knew it was good! This coffee rivaled the potency of Linda's coffee! We decided to relax on the beach for a while and then impulsively I decided to go parasailing! In my normal life I am not one to do very adventurous or potentially dangerous activities....it must be something in the air here! There you are....strapped in....you look behind you and see this big parachute....in front of you there is a big rope that is attached to a boat in the water. They tell you that when the rope runs out and it starts tugging, then you start running on the beach until you will be lifted up. This whole process takes about 3 seconds....I was NOT ready for it! Before I knew what was happening I was being shot up into the air....screaming! While screaming the whole time, I was taken back by the amazing view from so high up! Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this because my camera got stolen that night!

Here we are with our friend Anthony from Liverpool. We traveled with him about 2 weeks total. We had alot of fun with him and enjoyed when he would do his American accent!

We rode on his huge cable car across the water to this island that had a waterpark! We were all pretty excited because it was very hot out! It was kind of a break from reality. Again, I don't think of myself as too daring, but I did try my luck on quite a few big slides!