Would concubines ever use a squat toilet??

Be still my beating heart. Run like hell, my poor visa card.

After the madness of Saigon, we traveled north to a small fishing town called Hoi An. The three square kms of the "downtown area" are world heritage listed and are known for only one thing: tailoring. Endless rows of "cloth shops" line the streets. Inside, the tailors can make you almost anything your closet desires, to your exact measurements, in any fabric you can think of, and very cheap! I had to seriously restrain myself, and given that I've still got 5 months of traveling left, I didn't really do a good job of that! With the looming, yet thankfully still distant, knowledge that at some point I will be forced to brush my hair and return to the working world... I set out to get some work "staples" made. I got the most beautiful pieces - matching pant/vest suit, 3 work tops, a pencil skirt, and a dress (ok, that one isn't for work)... all for less than $200! They fit me perfectly, but hopefully I haven't lost or gained any weight since traveling! It was a really cool experience. Mars bought some work stuff too and we got all measured up then came back for fittings. Thankfully, I had no prior knowledge of this little slice of heaven, or I would have come armed with pages and pages of magazine ads (they can make anything from sight) and would have had to come home early due to bankruptcy! As a final nail in the shopping coffin, the other speciality here is the shops that make shoes!! I do not have the willpower for this! Since the sandals are so cheap, Mars and I experimented with designing some crazy sandals in even crazier colours. In the pic, the ladies are tracing our feet to make the shoe soles! Note to self: Come back armed with Prada clothing ads, and future lotto winings.

In between our "custom made" frenzy, Mars and I found an excellent way to spend the next day and save $$. While wandering the streets and the cloth shops, we ran into an older couple that was on the Cambodian leg of our tour. Having had enough of busses and 2 star hotels, they checked into a FABULOUS resort about 5km outside of town on the beach. Mila, just like my mom and aunt would do, told us to catch the free shuttle, hang out by the pool all day, and say "to hell" to anyone who questioned us! Of course, this not being our first time at this particular dance, we certainly went there. The place was gorgeous, the sun was scorching, and when we needed a break from the heat, we joined them in their suite for gin and tonics!

Being that it is a small town, Hoi An also has some great local places to eat. Our Vietnamese giude took us to one such establishment for our first dinner in town. when he said "local experience", he wasn't kidding! We walked up to what appeared to be a garage, where the empty spae was filled with locals sitting on children's plastic chairs and gossiping. Thus, we had set up our own table on the street! This place only serves one dish - chicken and rice with soup - and it was fantastic! It doesn't get anymore authentic than this... check out the old storage area behind us!

Leaving Hoi An, we stopped in for a quick swim at the famous China Beach, then got to hike to the top of the Marble Mountains where there was a really interesting shrine in a cave. Then we passed over one of the most dangerous highways in the country, but the view was great. (2 seconds after this picture was taken in the middle of nowhere, an old woman appeared out of thin air and was trying to sell us all bracelets... she climbed up the rock! They will find tourists anywhere here!)

Again went north, this time to Hue, a major battle ground in the the Vietnam war, particularly during the Tet Offensive. We did the usual palace tour, pagoda tour, and also took a nice boat ride on the Perfume River. We were on the water early, so we got to see all of the fisherman out on the water... their families live on the boat, so you could see the children inside the little hut and the women doing cooking or washing while the man paddled. Our dinner in Hue was... um... interesting. We went to a restaurant that dresses you up like the Royal Court, then you have a meal while the peasents "entertain you" with singing and music. Mars and I were concubines!! I have always wanted to be part of the English royal family, but somehow having springrolls with "King Andy and Queen Su" from Wales wasn't quite what I had in mind!!

After our brief stay in Hue, we boarded an overnight train to Hanoi. When this train - that looked like a relic from the communist revolution - pulled into the station, we piled into our "first class" cabins. Which were 4 beds jammed into a space the size of a closet, with a squat toilet down the hall that just had a hole where you peed onto the tracks as the train moved!! As we traveled through the rest of the train, we realized how lucky we were, as some rooms had 6 beds crammed with 2 people to a bed! We had a great night on the train with a few of our group members, drinking Vietnamese red wine (not bad, actually) and singing all night to songs on everyone's ipod! We are now in Hanoi, the capital, and it is so humid that I actually think my sweat is sweating. One of the stickiest, hottest days I think I have ever experenced anywhere on earth! Will write more about our adventures here soon....