Saturday, July 25th - Monday, July 27th

Sorry for all the blog entries, but just trying to catch up. Scroll down for previous.

We spent a fabulous 3 days in what felt like heaven. We took a walk down the beach and came across some hard working Vietnamese rummaging through their catch of the day. They had those little round boats that you see in story books. We took quite a few pictures and will share. Again it was like going back in time. Every morning, we'd start off with a wonderful buffet breakfast...5 star the whole way. Believe it or not however, the coffee still wasn't good. Maybe the Vietnamese are not big on coffee or perhaps they like it light and cold. I'm not sure but that's one of the things I miss from home. Alex & Franca finally treated themselves to a massage and enjoyed it just as much I did. We met a family that had travelled throughout asia together. The wife was a dentist and was kind enough to take a good look at Portia and Reuben's teeth. She could see that Portia's love of Apple Juice has taken a bit of a toll. Needless to say, we've already had to pay big bucks for her teeth due to the lack of nutrition and sickness in the earlier stages of life. Reuben didn't want to show his pearly yellows so Portia got him laughing. The dentist could see that he was lacking fluoride and would need drops. We made the mistake last time. Many may think it's too early to bring a child to a dentist at 1 or 2 years, and infact Portia was about 2.5. She had to have alot of work done but much of the damage happened way before we came in picture. She had to get a few caps put on and told her it was "teeth jewellery" and that others would be jealous because they couldn't afford it. We apologyzed to her since we couldn't afford the gold or the diamonds. I kid you not, this is what we told her and she smiles proudly. Anyways, this time around, I'll be booking an appt. for Mr. Reuby, as soon as we land. Anyways, while in Mui Ne, we also met another wonderful, down-to-earth family while we were there. Their daughter Becka and Portia became instant good friends. Within hours they were walking hand in hand talking about favorite characters on their favorite shows. Lisa and Craig also had a 3 year old son that was absolutely adorable. They live in England so everything they said sounded so classy and intelligent. We shared some chuckles and even managed to have our last dinner out with them. We started off at an Italian restaurant called Good Morning Vietnam so the kids could eat while we enjoyed some drinks and pizza. It was like being in Italy. We ate there the night before and I tell you the food is absolutely delicious and their Tiramisu is one of the best I've had. Totally recommend it to any future travellers. After Good Morning Vietnam, we moved to an Indian restaurant right next door and our palates exploded. It was phenomenal! We tasted a bit of everything. Thank you Christine and Craig for sharing your food experiences with us. We had many different plates and shared amongst ourselves. I've never had such a good Indian meal. By the time we left, we had to roll down the street. Another experience Alex had was going to the bar with Portia and asking for a Coke Light (that is what they call Diet Coke) and within minutes he received a coconut. You could see how there could be a mix up and I tell you we had many such instances. Infact, Franca and Alex have had to become my interpreters since no one seems to understand a word I'm saying. Actually it works both ways. Franca always laughs when someone tries to talk to me, since she says I always give this dumb, lost look. It comes to me naturally. Also another thing, since we were sleeping in huts and lets face it, there and nooks and crannies, little geckos and friends would get into the huts. Franca told me she couldn't sleep well since she kept hearing things and was afraid a snake would come in. Of course, Alex was making fun of her but on the last night, he was like a baby. I was heading into bed and was about to turn off all the lights and he started begged me to keep some of the lights turned on. One of many stories I hold over his head.

Okay, so the Big Burper (driver) came back with a vengeance. A vengeance I tell you!! He came to pick us up at 7:30 am on Monday and within moments he started. Every time he burped, Franca and I had to look away from each other since the giggles would overcome us. Even Alex had to look away. As well, time and again, he would raise his hand and wave. We didn't know what he was doing or who he was waving to, but we took the time back to Ho Chi Minh to analyze the situation. After much thought and discussing the many different scenarios, it was a unanimous vote and we all finally agreed that his hand must of been going numb, due to constant honking (oh, yes, there are HUGE HONKERS here in Vietnam) and that he had to wave it around to shake some life back into his poor hand. Along the way, we saw an individual on a moped with a cage full of dogs. The driver explained in his broken english that they would be killed and eaten. I know it's hard to wrap your mind around these things, but you know there are countries out there that wouldn't even think about eating beef, let alone killing a cow, like India for instance. Anyways, it gives a new meaning to Hot Dogs, I know. We finally arrived 4 hours later. Apparently we took a short cut this time.

Within moments of arriving Alex was raring to go. We packed up and off we went to the Backpacker's area of Ho Chi Minh. Alex had a fitting, while Franca and I chose some some styles of clothing to have tailor made through one of their many extensive catalogues. I loved the whole experience and the costs were ridiculous. Depending on the material chosen, you could have a suit made for as little as $50 US. I know, it's beyond comprehension. You could tell these teeny, weeny women perhaps never came across a western girl before. They took one look at me and you could tell they were contemplating on getting a second measuring tape. After our fittings we walked around aimlessly and stumped upon a knockoff store where Alex did some damage. We also found and bought some Vietnam hand made articles which we stocked up on. We then decided to hit the Tax Centre again to stock up on more baby food for Reuben who is eating us out of the hotel, but not before stopping at the donut place. Heather, I have a fitting with the tailor on Wednesday so if doesn't go well, you will be held partly to blame for sharing your suggestion! LOL!! We ended the day at this amazing, did I say amazing, Chinese restaurant for dinner. They had about 3 people waiting on us. The manager, or we assume the manager, wore a name tag that said Captain. We thought that was very noble of him to take his job so seriously and wanted to ask if he ever met Captain Kirk. We received our plates lickety-split. The Saigon Beef Noodles, Barbequed Pork, and every other plate were delectable. The plates reminded me of the good foods that we had in China and only wish we had a restaurant like this back home. We came home and all passed out early. A full day but a good one.