Kepfram & Ellie's Travel Journal

We came here to get custom dance shoes for Ellie. She ended up with a lovely pair of shoes from the same shop a friend had used a couple years ago. I'd hoped to get some repairs done on my tire sandals or maybe a new/better pair, but that's not the kind of work people do here. I did upgrade the straps with some rubber strapping from the market here though. So, win? I was also able to get some repairs for my backpack, some pants hemmed, & I replaced all of my travel utensils with shiny new ones made of buffalo horn! 

Our homestay was nice. Another large family home with A/C, a fridge, private bath, & breakfast included every morning (we almost always chose beef pho & coffee). The best part might have been the free bikes that we used almost daily to explore the area. We easily got into the tourist areas and further afield to see rice fields and neighboring communities, including some swiftlet farms where birds are raised for their nests that get used in some special local foods.

We also saw the Bamboo Circus show. It was great.

Memorable foods here: pandan in iced tea, smoked duck noodles, green mango salad with prawns, Vietnamese honeycomb cake

Things I liking:

• Vietnamese food is AMAZING
• Vegetarian meals that are deliciously flavorful 
• Pho for breakfast 
• Vietnamese tofu
• Iced jasmine green tea
• Coffee: white, regular with sweetened condensed milk, iced coconut, & salted
• Coconut smoothies made with young coconut flesh, coconut milk, & coconut water
• An entire country that seems to live in flip-flops
• Almost ubiquitous wi-fi
• The sky is beautiful, sweeping clouds and wide horizons
• Bidets toilets as standard
• Thrift shopping
• Riding bikes

Things I'm not loving:

• A weak stream on a bidet
• Secret pork in meals
• Not having my own kitchen
• Moving weekly

Labels: Vietnam