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.
