I keep meaning to update, and then putting it off…by now I have a ton of little things to tell you about.
First, we’re finally moved out of our hotel and into our home! It took forever—we only moved in last Wednesday, which means we were in Bien Hoa hotels for about a month and a half. Definitely not what I expected.
We ended up settling on a “studio” in a brand new building, just a block away from school. We chose the fifth floor, which has a great view and the largest balcony (although it’s still only big enough for two small chairs). There’s also a rooftop deck just above us, which is perfect for early-morning yoga. We share the kitchen on the first floor, which I mind far less than I thought I would. It’s sometimes a little awkward, and I’m pretty sure the family who owns the house pities Joey for having a wife who’s such a poor cook. But those funny, awkward interactions are part of what we came here for.
(sunrise from our balcony)
So far, I’m in heaven. Whereas in the hotel (sans sunlight) I was sleeping in easily until 11 or 12, here I wake up no later than 7. Joey tends to sleep until 9, so I have a few hours to enjoy the sunlight (and the sunrise, if I wake up a bit earlier) and the quiet. And the coffee!! I’ve missed coffee so much. It’s a pain to make it by the cup, but it makes me smile every time I sip that wonderful stuff. We’re still waiting for our couch to arrive, but the change in morale is already huge.
We also went into Saigon the other day to meet up with a friend from college! He’s currently a junior at Queens, and has been studying in Hong Kong this semester. He’s doing some travelling before he heads home, and stopped in Vietnam on the way through Cambodia and Thailand. It was so nice to see someone from home!
(Joey Smith and Joey H)
We went with Joey H to Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum—I hadn’t been to either of them since my trip last May with Queens, and my second visit was very different. The War Remnants Museum in particular was a really shocking, emotional and draining experience for most of our group last year, and certainly was for me. This time I think I felt more sadness and disappointment in the things human beings do to other human beings than utter shock and horror. I intend to talk more about the war at some point, and the damage done by Agent Orange, but that will take more space and thought than I want to devote to a short update post. If you’re interested, Joey took some pictures the first time he visited (be forewarned, some of it is very graphic).
We also paid a visit to our favorite ice cream place. Their menu has grown since the last time we were there—I’m pretty sure it will take us the entire year to get through it. This time I ordered the sushi, which was adorable AND delicious!
Right now, we’re trying to decide what to do for Christmas. We were planning to go to Da Lat, a town in the central highlands that’s popular with honeymooners. It’s a moderate bus ride away, and promises a cooler climate (sweaters and scarves, even!) in addition to mountains and waterfalls.
We ended up with almost a week off of work, though, and Da Lat is really only a few days worth of touristy stuff. We could spend a few days at the beach, but we could just as easily go to Cambodia and mark off some of the spots on our list.
We’re casually talking about going to Cambodia—tomorrow! Increasing the number of stamps in my passport from two to three. No biggie. Without any real planning (or much money, either), we may be walking through Angkor Wat in less than 48 hours. This is one of those times that I feel overwhelmed (in a good way) by how incredible it is to be here.
In the end, I think we’ll just head to Saigon after our classes tomorrow morning and spend some time perusing our options at the many tour companies in the Pham Ngo Lau area. I’ll let you know where we end up!
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