Coasting

We just want all our friends and family to know that we're taking the utmost precautions in our travels. This means moving about with only the most reputable (if uncomfortable) bus companies, eating street cart food only if it's prepared in a pan on the sidewalk and not on the sidewalk itself, and staying in hostels with the most select clientele. I mean, just listen to the types of people barred from our hostel in Nha Trang: "drunkers, defected peoples, insane, persons not permitted by doctor to leave hospital." And our current sleeping spot in Saigon? "Prostitutes are forbidden from the rooms," says the placard on the wall.

We're about to wrap up our stay in Vietnam and head on over to Cambodia. We've spent the past four or five days traveling down the country's Route 1--imagine Route 1 in America if every single driver was experiencing road rage--and stopping along the way in cities of interest. Unfortunately we were subjected to another overnight bus and this time we were the last ones to board. I was stuck "sleeping" in a five-across arrangement in the back of the bus next to an Australian guy. With equally broad shoulders, we were unable to sleep on our backs at the same time. Jillian, meanwhile, was perched up in a bed next to a support beam, thus giving her exactly zero comfortable positions for rest.

First came history-rich Hue, the imperial seat during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) and that family's rule produced the Citadel and Forbidden City where only the king, his wife and concubines, and the court eunuchs were permitted entry. Jillian and I rented bicycles in Hue, which gave us the chance to explore the surrounding area a bit, including the country home/bachelor pad/tomb of Tu Duc, the fourth emperor in the Nguyen line. The brochure explained that these gorgeous grounds were where the emperor came to escape "royal and domestic problems." Was the queen really asking too much that the emperor put the toilet seat down when's he done?

Inside the Forbidden City, Hue

The tomb of Tu Duc, eternally escaping domestic problems

Next we came to Hoi An, which was sort of a smaller version of what we had expected to find in Hanoi on our first day: lots of French architecture. The Old City of Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, beside the fun of walking around these fun little streets, it's also a shopper's paradise. On at least a dozen occasions we commented that if Vietnam had been our last stop on this trip, we would have absolutely loaded up in Hoi An. Tailor-made suits and dresses; fabulous (and unbelievably cheap) rice paper paintings; traditional Vietnamese wall hangings; totally awesome authentic propaganda posters from the war. The list goes on. And Hoi An was a really wonderful place to explore at night when the cool ocean breezes sway the hundreds of paper lanterns hanging over the streets.

At the Japanese Bridge (16th century) in Hoi An

After history and shopping came the beach. Previously I hadn't thought of Vietnam as being a great place to catch some sun and sand, though I suppose the famous China Beach should have clued me in. We arrived in the city of Nha Trang fully prepared to hit the pavement and explore the local landmarks...but one look at the strip of sand a block from our guesthouse and we changed plans. So we splurged, spent the whole day under a thatch umbrella getting served drinks and food, and racked up a bill of, well, $19. In Vietnam, that's an expensive day.

And good, because we need to save our money for the hostels that keep the prostitutes out.

On the beach in Nha Trang