Bien Hoa

Okay, so Lacey, Uncle Loc, and I went to Bien Hoa about a month ago and for some reason we have forgotten to document the trip. According to Wikipedia, Bien Hoa is approximately 20 miles east of Saigon and according to my uncle it is the town in which he was born and raised.

We stayed there Saturday and Sunday and during that time we met Loc's childhood friend as well as his daughters. The two girls, Sue and Nu, 11 and 13 respectively, were enthusiastic in their attempts to communicate using gestures, drawings, and writing to explain games and activities. Being a town outside of the city I noticed that people were much more approachable and more good natured in their critical observations. Sue and Nu illustrated this different mentality, making sure Lacey and I had plenty of food, had enough shampoo, towels, pillows, blankets, and entertainment.

It was actually Sue's 11th birthday party when we arrived so we got to meet her friends.















Before that Uncle took us out for a drive on the motorbikes to see a memorial shrine. The town in general appeared larger and more crowded than I remember. The roads were nicely paved and almost every square inch was developed.






























And that was pretty much our trip. The next day Uncle was tired so we stayed inside and played Bejeweled. The kids have grown attached and now bug uncle every weekend to see if we can come back. We haven't seen them since.

Adventures In Food

So while we haven't been doing much in the ways of exploring and absorbing the city of Saigon, Lacey and I have been attempting to digest some pretty interesting cuisines. We have eaten so far:

• Dog
• Armadillo
  
• Lizard
• Frog legs
• Snails
• Pig intestines
• Cow tongues
• Blood pudding

We've been promised much more new and exciting tasties, but right now we're resting our stomachs with some good old fashioned pho. Mmmmm, pho.

Vivien

13 cards

Sorry for not updating in a while. Since the last time we posted we have gone to a beach resort some where. I don't know the name of the place but we got a lot of bug bites.

We went on a boat that had a window on the bottom so we could see the corals and the fishes and the garbage. We spent most of our time with Uncle Loc, walking around and taking pictures. Vivien still hasn't upload any pictures because we have been hosting ever since we came back to Saigon. Anyway, on the beach trip Vivien lost my swimsuit so I had to borrow her extra one to go swimming in the big pool. We played tag, tea party, and marco polo with My Chou, Tina, Belle, Mimi, Viet, and Dad.

The trip was actually a tour for the employees of Arrive Technologies. Vivien and I met a few of dad's workers. Vivien talked a lot with the only other non-Vietnamese speaking person on the trip, Carl. I think he was Chinese. Other workers talked with us, to practice their English. We talked about movies and actors. I didn't really like the trip because my mosquito bites were bothering me and I couldn't really talk to anyone except Vivien and Uncle Loc.

When we got back to Saigon we watched a movie, Mr. Bean Goes on Holiday, with Mimi, Tina, Belle, and Viet. We met Viet's family. His dad is a professor of Environmental Policy known internationally around the world. He told Vivien he gave a lecture in Berkeley a few years ago. I didn't have fun because of the bug bites and the heat.

Now Tina and Belle are here and we are trying to figure out what to do. It's really hot outside and where dad lives you have to ride your bike to get to wherever you're going. So we are just playing cards and trying to entertain ourselves. We kind of got in trouble because after eating out we went to Tina's international school to pick up her report card instead of reporting back to the maid. She's kind of scary because she yells a lot and talks really loud. Vivien says she doesn't like her.

Well, until next time,

Lacey

We're Here!

After 14 hours on the plane we finally arrived in Taipei, and man was it boring! We had to wait 8 hours for the next flight to Ho Chi Minh city. The plane this time was so much better. It was a lot like Singapore airlines and the food actually smelled and tasted good.


Lacey at SFO at the beginning of our journey.








Lacey at Taipei International Airport








Uncle Loc picked us up at the airport and took us out to dinner. Vivien got a new phone (not fair) which was actually Kim's old phone that she ruined in the wash.

In closing, it was a long trip, but it was worth it. I hope to spend time with dad, avoid mosquitoes, and go swimming a lot with everyone. Vivien hopes to travel around and go exploring.

Bye for now.

Leaving to VN

Oh my god...it's been so long and now I'm finaly going. we are going to the airport right now.My sister and I are going to die of boredom, but we'll find a way to make it fun.