Back in VN

After three months of traveling through South East Asia, Mike and I have returned to Viet Nam and it feels great. We had decided to spend the night in Sepon, a small town in Laos near the Vietnam border. I had my doubts, as border towns are never particularly lovely, and Mike seconded my feelings as we pulled into a dusty, poor and tiny town that looked like a nice stopover for lunch but not a place we wanted to stay overnight in.

Quick, think on your feet, off to Vietnam we go!!

After a brief budgetary skirmish with the transport thieves on the Vietnamese side of the border, throughout which we claimed (in Vietnamese) that "We are not tourists, we live here! You can not charge us this amount of money!", we made our way to Hue.

Arriving back in a country we've called home for nearly 2 years was an immediate relief, a fresh wind. We feel invigorated by our knowledge of the land, the language, the people, the food.

We've been running around like children on Christmas since we got here, declaring how nice it is to be on familiar ground. One would think we had arrived in our home towns.

To all those spreading (or believing) rumors that the Vietnamese are rude, thieving and rough; I urge you to come. Go to the markets and eat the local food. Bargain down the bus drivers. Smile and wave at the children. Keep your sense of humor while haggling for a price. Vietnam is lovely, it's priceless.

I feel like I'm home again.