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We're having fun in Vietnam! We've been in the city of Hoi An for a few days now. It's known for it's tailors and custom clothes, so we decided to take the opportunity to have a few things made. It was an interesting experience! Most everything turned out well in the end, although a few items took some effort to get there. I got a pair of shoes (the girl thought I was crazy because I wanted them mismatched - one red with brown stripes across the toe, the other brown with red stripes, they're really cute though!), a pair of sandals (which are super comfy, but I don't like the material that wraps around my ankle, which is my fault since I chose it), a pair of jeans (they made the wrong colour so they're this weird shiny denim, but oh well), a white button down blouse (I don't usually dress up, but I can't find button down shirts to fit me, so I figured it was a good idea to add one to my wardrobe, it fits like a glove and I love it!), and a fancy leather fanny pack (Jade has two and they're really cute, plus handy to carry around our cameras and stuff in. It isn't the best quality, but it will do for now.) If I had the money and luggage space I'd order a few more items, but I've also decided that sometimes not having so many options is actually better - it's bloody difficult when you can choose any size, shape, colour, fabric, texture....... Overwhelming!
Today we met up with a local girl (courtesy of couchsurfing.com) who took us to her mother's house for lunch. It was interesting to get out of the tourist area and see how the locals live. Lunch was delicious and it was pretty entertaining to sit there while her mom, and her mom's friend, then a bunch of neighbours, all looked at us and talked in Vietnamese about us and asked us questions which Chi translated as best she could. Chi's mom wanted to know why I'm not married..... No good answer to that. Then she asked if we could come back for her daughter's wedding in a couple of years. She also asked us how much money we make and how much we're spending on our travels. Chi told us that with a University degree she could make about 4 million dong per month, which is about $200 US dollars. Cost of living she said is about 1.5 million dong. No wonder these people never leave the country, it would take them years to make enough to afford a plane ticket, and the cost of food and accomodation in Australia or North America would be absolutely exorbitant for them! It's such a different world over here.
Chi and her mother's house is a concrete block separated in the middle into living quarters and cooking quarters, kind of like a row of apartments with the bedroom on one side and the kitchen on the other. Chi and her mother sleep in the same bed. The entire place would fit inside mine and Mike's living room. Chi's mother has lived there for over 30 years and will likely never leave.
Definitely interesting. This is what traveling is all about. Makes me appreciate Canada a lot, despite it's cold!
On the man front, I phoned Mike and told him I want to be with him. And I do. I actually feel really calm and good about this decision. I thought I would have some anxiety or second thoughts, but I don't. Strange. But great. We have some things we need to talk about and make sure we're on the same page, but I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we're able to figure it all out, or at least take a good crack at it, and be able to get moving in the same direction. I'm excited for a future with him. It's funny how things work out.
Of course I got a message from Nick yesterday. He's so great and I miss him already. He always tells me about his life, asks about my travels, comments on things I've told him, answers all my questions and asks some of his own. He's interested and attentive and no detail is too tiny to share or be shared. I love communicating with him and I'm sad that I'll be lacking that in my partner. But I really do think Nick and I will be better friends. This has been confirmed since this girl Jo from England came back to Sydney to be with him and it doesn't even make me jealous to picture him with another woman. In fact I can see myself hanging out with him and his girlfriend and being totally ok with it. That has to be a sign that he and I aren't meant to be lovers or partners. Again, it makes me a bit sad, I really did want the fantasy to become a reality, but it's probably better this way. I hope that he and I can eventually be friends... I know he'll be really upset when I tell him Mike and I are trying to work things out. (I haven't done it yet....)
Mike is planning to come to Thailand to meet up with Jade and I, and I'm super stoked to see him and talk to him and hang out with him. Hopefully it goes smoothly.
Anyway, we're hopping on another overnight sleeper bus for 12 hours, headed to Nah Trang from Hoi An. Laters..
Today we met up with a local girl (courtesy of couchsurfing.com) who took us to her mother's house for lunch. It was interesting to get out of the tourist area and see how the locals live. Lunch was delicious and it was pretty entertaining to sit there while her mom, and her mom's friend, then a bunch of neighbours, all looked at us and talked in Vietnamese about us and asked us questions which Chi translated as best she could. Chi's mom wanted to know why I'm not married..... No good answer to that. Then she asked if we could come back for her daughter's wedding in a couple of years. She also asked us how much money we make and how much we're spending on our travels. Chi told us that with a University degree she could make about 4 million dong per month, which is about $200 US dollars. Cost of living she said is about 1.5 million dong. No wonder these people never leave the country, it would take them years to make enough to afford a plane ticket, and the cost of food and accomodation in Australia or North America would be absolutely exorbitant for them! It's such a different world over here.
Chi and her mother's house is a concrete block separated in the middle into living quarters and cooking quarters, kind of like a row of apartments with the bedroom on one side and the kitchen on the other. Chi and her mother sleep in the same bed. The entire place would fit inside mine and Mike's living room. Chi's mother has lived there for over 30 years and will likely never leave.
Definitely interesting. This is what traveling is all about. Makes me appreciate Canada a lot, despite it's cold!
On the man front, I phoned Mike and told him I want to be with him. And I do. I actually feel really calm and good about this decision. I thought I would have some anxiety or second thoughts, but I don't. Strange. But great. We have some things we need to talk about and make sure we're on the same page, but I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we're able to figure it all out, or at least take a good crack at it, and be able to get moving in the same direction. I'm excited for a future with him. It's funny how things work out.
Of course I got a message from Nick yesterday. He's so great and I miss him already. He always tells me about his life, asks about my travels, comments on things I've told him, answers all my questions and asks some of his own. He's interested and attentive and no detail is too tiny to share or be shared. I love communicating with him and I'm sad that I'll be lacking that in my partner. But I really do think Nick and I will be better friends. This has been confirmed since this girl Jo from England came back to Sydney to be with him and it doesn't even make me jealous to picture him with another woman. In fact I can see myself hanging out with him and his girlfriend and being totally ok with it. That has to be a sign that he and I aren't meant to be lovers or partners. Again, it makes me a bit sad, I really did want the fantasy to become a reality, but it's probably better this way. I hope that he and I can eventually be friends... I know he'll be really upset when I tell him Mike and I are trying to work things out. (I haven't done it yet....)
Mike is planning to come to Thailand to meet up with Jade and I, and I'm super stoked to see him and talk to him and hang out with him. Hopefully it goes smoothly.
Anyway, we're hopping on another overnight sleeper bus for 12 hours, headed to Nah Trang from Hoi An. Laters..