Easy Day on the beach in Hoi An

Cousin and I had an easy day in Hoi An today.  First of all, my tummy wasn't up to par this morning so we slowed things down a little bit.  Joe wanted to get some custom shirts, and shoes made, so we went into a shop or two, and had a wonderful and very inexpensive experience.  I had some scarves made for a lady in my life when Joe was getting his shirts done.

We also took a trip by motor taxi to the beach, which was pleasant.  I wouldn't say it's the nicest beach ever, but it was pretty, though the day was a SCORCHER.  The lunch we ate was wonderful -- squid AGAIN, pineapple shake - AGAIN.

We came back into town and met a fella' from New Zealand for dinner.  We ate some MORE squid, and the dinner was a little lackluster, but the conversation was very entertaining. I did manage to buy some souvenirs for a few folks as well.  Pictures for today aren't so great, so excuse me!

                                                      Joe getting his feet measured for shoes

                                              On the motor taxi - like a motor bike

                                             At the beach

                                                  Joseph at lunch

                                                MORE SQUID

                                                       Yours truly

Hello from Hoi An

So cousin Joe and I have decided that Hoi An is so much more peaceful than Hanoi, and it is rightfully so.

Fewer people, smaller city, but definitely a good number of foreigners though. We took a 45 minute plane flight over here from Hanoi, and just kind of took it easy. I walked, and walked looking for places to buy stuff for folks, while Joe took it easy by the pool for a while. I think tomorrow and Wednesday will be days for touring though. .

                                              Welcome to Hoi An

                                            Folks riding their scooters back into town

                                              Sunset on the river

                                                 dinner time

                                              Feels like I am back in Korea

                                            no comment, but I am sober tonight

                                                walking across the bridge at night in Hoi An

                                                  view from the hotel room

                                               at Cafe 57

                                                 Having an amazing pineapple shake

                                                 some OLD Japanese bridge

Fun Weekend at Halong Bay

Cousin Joe and I had a pretty rockin' weekend on the waters here in Vietnam. . . . We were picked at our hotel by the Oriental Sails company and went on a 4.5 hour roller coaster ride to say the least.  I had never seen such craziness before while riding in any vehicle and I've been through quite a few countries in my time on earth so far.

We boarded a junk boat, and it was one of the nicest boats out there.  We toured around the bay area, did some kayaking, met some great people from Asia, New Zealand, Europe, and even a fella' from Bristol, TN.  We did manage to go into a cave yesterday for a  little bit as well.  That was pretty fun, but I've seen better caves back in good 'ole Kentucky.  It was beautiful to see the caves out over the water though. There are 1,969 islands around Halong Bay, and quite a few people live in the area as well.  The meals were AMAZING.

I'm guessing we were served seven or eight different courses for our two lunches and last night's dinner.  Breakfast was a little more laid back and I was definitely fine with that.  I got some sunburn of course, but it's not as bad as it could have been. Thankfully Cousin Joe does carry sunscreen with him and good amounts of it. The weather was nice, but pretty hot and humid, except for the ride back today.  We did witness a little storm of sorts during our crazy, crazy, ride back to Hanoi from Halong Bay. As I am sitting downstairs in the Cinnamon Hotel and I watching people sweep the streets after a downpour the just finished its recent damage on the streets of Old Town Hanoi.

Tomorrow we are off to an area known as Hoi An for a few days, before we hit Ho Chi Min City.  I am looking forward to something else.  The food has been wonderful here.  I'm not a fan of fried food, but I'm on vacation.  I'm still eating pretty healthy though -- just those spring rolls that it seems I'm having large quantities of lately.

                                           getting older and wiser !!

                                                view of the bay

                                                  this was our boat . . junk boat that is

                                          inside a cave

                                              with my cousin Joe

                                            just missed sunset

 

                                                      talk about a shrimp cocktail

                                                     these were spring rolls

                                            Joe doing some squid fishin'

                                            on the boat

                                                people live in these floating villages

                                                      fish anyone?

                                                       our diverse tour group for the weekend

First full day of Vietnam

Not much to talk about here -- got about 90 bucks stolen, but you live and you learn. . . Stuff happens and you just Keep Going!!!  Anyway, Cousin Joe and I had an interesting time, walking and observing the life of Hanoi today. . . Everywhere you like people are on those darned 'ole scooters though. . It was definitely a fun experience.  Food is very cheap. Lunch was not all that tasty, but dinner was awesome.

Anyway, here are some pictures to enjoy of the first day in Vietnam.

Never will I again. . . .

Choose a plane flight that puts me in Ghangzhou Airport in China. . . . First of all, I was just transferring there, and it took FOREVER to go through immigration, so I could get a temporary stamp on my passport. Then there were no cool places like Starbucks or Dunkin', or even McD's for a man to get his grub on. Thankfully I made friends with an Australian guy named Glenn, who had just finished a teaching job in Seoul.  We talked about our Korean ladies, learning Korean, Korean food, and plenty of other things that didn't involve Korea in them too.  Glenn was heading back to Melbourne, but he had two more dreaded hours of hanging out at the airport.

Of course, when I finally got wi-fi in a coffee shop there, I realized that one can't use Google, and it turns out that Facebook was blocked as well. I finally arrived here in Hanoi at about 11:15 pm, and got through their immigration line super quick (thanks to the lady in Korea who helped me get my visa process expedited since I was misinformed about something).  The driver was their waiting to pick me up with a sign saying "John Tower". About 30-40 minutes later, I finally arrived to see my super jet-lagged cousin Joe, who flew all the over here to Vietnam from Chicago -- he's out big time right now on his bed.

I'll keep you guys posted daily if I can. . . . Here are some pictures I've taken over the last few days as well.

                                           Two of my favorite little girls

                                             That one came out well

                                           one wild, but smart child

                                          notice -- one kid is actually paying attention here

 

                                             much better guys

                                           last meal together for a while

                                             snack on the flight

                                            some seat cover on the flight

                                             this is a machine for "clean drinking water" picture
                                           above explains it all

Thus a journey commences . . .

and there's a sad lady left behind. . . Today, I begin a journey that will span four continents (that all you will get to know for now).  The last week of my life has been pretty good though -- humbling in some ways. . . I passed on the teaching torch to a wonderful young man, who I got to know over the last few weeks and can now consider a little brother to me.  I have also been dating a wonderful little Korean lady, who smiles and smiles endlessly, which is something I am crazy about. A woman who can't keep smiling can't keep up with me.

The last few days of work were relatively easy, since the semester was ending this past week.  The new semester started yesterday, and I was required to be at work, just to help Nick, my replacement out.  Some of the little ones were so glad that I was sitting in and checking on his classes.  He and I are so alike it's unreal at times.  We're both workout junkies who love our protein and other various supplements.  He's actually marrying one of my coworkers in December as well.

Miss Annie, my new lady and I have spent a lot of time together over the last week or too as well. Most of the time as been spent at home just talking, or walking around the Gongju area and having nice chats like couples should do sometimes (in my opinion).  She was even  nice enough to help me buy a travel backpack, which ended up being a late birthday gift from her. . . I hustled to the ATM to give her cash, and next thing I know, she's telling me in Korean not to give her any money, that it was a little birthday gift.

Anyway, I have to be on a plane in about ten minutes. . . . If you need to contact me over the next 5-6 weeks, use this blog, email me (jtower27@gmail.com), or skype me (john.s.tower).

when I get to the first stop along the way to my first destination I'll post some pictures of my one of my favorite groups of kids ever. . . . Be back on this thing in about four hours, I think.