"Every time I hear you say hello, all I see is yellow"

After arriving back in Hanoi, our group of 15 split up and went out into that crazy capital city to find food. We were taking an overnight train to get to Hue (pronounced hway) that night, and they didn't provide dinner. I went out with the young British couple and the solo british girl (all of who I would later give up trying to hang out with, as I didn't click with any of them!). Basically, we all grabbed various types of food and/or alcohol for the long 8 hour ride. I grabbed Vietnemese version of ramen, lol! Now, I've never been on an overnight train. The longest was one hour when I was little, just for fun. So this was really new for me. I bunked with the older british couple and the Iranian woman living in Australia. They were all really cool, and I liked hanging with them. We called it a night before all the others I think, going to bed around 10ish. (I didn't have jet lag, but I wasn't sleeping well, so I was really tired most days) Before bed, I went to the bathroom like most everyone in the world does. That bathroom was the grossest thing I have ever smelled. Period. I wanted to gag, and I have a pretty high smell tolerance honestly. Just, gross. After that, I was ready to go to sleep. Climbing up to the top bunk was fun though, being only 5'3, lol! Think: rock climbing. What can I use to pull/push off of to get up? Heh. Anyways, I slept great till about 4am, when the advertisment sign in the room turned on! >.< You have GOT to be kidding me! Needless to say, I didn't sleep any more. Around 8am, we pull in to Hue train station for a full 5 minutes before the train pulled away again. Made our way to the hotel, where I had a beautiful room all to myself!!! It was the nicest hotel the whole trip, and even though it was only for 1 night, I was in bliss. Oh yes, happy me! I went and grabbed breakfest with the three younger british folks, walking around before coming back and trying to check out the pool. It was freezing, so that was a no-go. We went out to lunch at a Buddhist monestary though, so that's okay. The food was amazingly delicious, and I didn't walk away hungry! It was all vegetarian and glutton-free friendly, which was pretty amazing. We then spent the afternoon walking around old tombs and former palaces. Our guide was amazing, telling us her personal story from during the Vietnam war, things he had seen and events he had experienced. He was lively, amazing and just the best guide I have ever had anywhere. That night, I wandered by myself. I had dinner in this great litle restaurant overlooking the street from the second floor. Yummy nummy food! Then I meandered down to the river side to check out the bridge, nicknamed the rainbow bridge. At night, it lights up various colors. It was pretty, and the riverside walk area was full of folks. I stumbled upon a local market too, which made me really happy. There were stall after stall of toys, clothes, shoes, scarves, trinkets, and art work. Why yes, I was very happy! After returning to my hotel, I layed in bed and just watched tv. It was delicious! Don't ask me why, but I now equate watching tv with vacation. (I watch online shows or movies, but not regularly or often.) Yeah, I'm weird. The next morning, we boarded a small bus and began the four hour drive to Hoi An, the beautiful river/ocean side city you have all seen so many pictures of. It's the gorgeous town where all the buildings are painted yellow? Yeah, that one. During our drive, we had to make our way up, over and then down some mountains. I don't know about you, but I LOVE mountains. Like Woah crazy love! So I sat in my single seat, listened to my podcast book and just enjoyed the drive. We stopped at the top for a bathroom break, where the Vietnemese woman were so anxious to sell to us, that they practically came on our bus to start selling stuff before we got off! Crazy? Just a bit. I ignored them as politely as I could (Warning: Do not engage at all costs! Avoid partaking in verbal communications! They will latch you in this way!) and just walked around taking pictures. Walked up to some old American bunkers, ohing and ahing in my dorky way at the history in front of me. After another 2 hours on the bus, we finally arrived at our destination. This time I was rooming with the Iranian woman living in Australia. She was nice, though took for-freakin'-ever in the shower. Our whole group went out for lunch, which was really nice. I then walked around with the solo british girl, which was nice. We got along okay, but not great. We explored this gorgeous little town together. Almost all of the buildings are painted this beautiful yellow, with flowers and plants overhanging the porches. The streets were alive with motorbikes and women trying to sell fruit to the tourists. The river bordered the town, and the beach meet it as well on the end. People were friendly, and everything was done by bargaining. The better you could bargain, the different bag you would get (quite tricky of them, as this would then tell other vendors what kind of buyer you are!) It was a really lovely little town, though limited to mostly tailoring shops for clothes and shoes. After walking around and getting lost (whoops, my bad!), we enjoyed a swim in the pool. Touch cold, but we pushed through and both did laps. I had been missing swimming more then I knew honestly, and really loved that! I went back the third day after that while staying in Hoi An just to enjoy the swimming pool. Dinner was at a little local place, where I enjoyed some fun conversations with the Aussies. They were a riot, and I really liked Maria! Probably old enough to be my mom, but her and the other three were just down right cool and fun. They got my sarcasm and knew my quietness didn't mean I wasn't interested in the conversation. Sadly, I think my dinner didn't agree with me, as the next day I wasn't feeling well. See, I had decided to go on a bike ride with the Aussies in the morning. It was nice, though a bit disappointing, as we spent more time biking somewhere then actually being there. After returning, I walked around for a bit, but my stomach began to hurt progressively worse. Around 4:30, I managed to return to my room where I changed into pj's and just layed in bed. I slept from about 5pm to 8am! I don't know what hit me, or why, but oie it hurt and man it knocked me out. My last day I was determined to see more of the town, so I grabbed my good camera and simply walked. The town was quiet for once, with no motor bikes honking or crowding the streets at 9am, no street vendors and shop owners asking me to buy something yet. It was still sleepy and quiet. I loved it. I got to watch it wake up, and just walked everywhere one block at a time. Almost the whole town is dedicated to custom tailoring, so shop after shop were full of fabrics and sample clothes. Some stores were dedicated to shoes and making shoes, other's to hats and handbags. It was a delight to the eyes, full of colors, designs, and shapes, with delightful sunshine lighting the way. Right to sunburn for me. >.< Whoops? I even bought sunscreen in the US, since Korea doesn't sell it, just for Vietnam! Oh well, my shoulders are almost all back to normal now. That afternoon I went for my swim, read my book, and just took in the gorgeous day. Some of us gathered for the final night in Hoi An at a local place to have dinner together. It was a great way to end our three days here. The next day we were due to fly to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon for 2 days! More on this later. Love and all that jazz, Rita