Hello, like to buy something?

Pool time
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We finally made it to the beach! Hooray! Don't get us wrong, we certainly enjoyed our time in Japan, Korea, and China but we were definitely ready to sit on the beach, drink fruity cocktails, and waste the day away in a sloth-like manner. After Xian, China we spent several days in Shanghai. We stayed in the French Concession area so we got a little Western flavor which was nice. It was there that my margarita fast was broken. We just happened upon this Mexican food restaurant and I couldn't resist.

Where's my right arm?
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On our last day in Shanghai, a massive storm hit and flooded the city. Walking from our hostel to the airport taxi we had to wade through knee-high runoff alley water. It was quite pleasant. Upon arriving at the airport, we learned that our flight was delayed and that we would most likely miss our connecting flight to Vietnam. Unfortunately we did, so they put us up in a hotel in Guangzhou. Despite all of that we finally made it to Vietnam the next day.

So far in Vietnam we've been to Hanoi, Halong Bay, Nha Trang, and now Mui Ne. Hanoi was just like you'd expect: thousands of motorbikes honking their horns and zooming around cars and pedestrians. Despite the obvious absence of traffic lights, there seems to be an odd order to it all. After Hanoi, we went on a 2-night boat cruise around Halong Bay. We finally got to swim. Hooray! It was beautiful. The funniest thing about it all was that even on a boat in the middle of the bay, you couldn't escape the touts trying to peddle their wares. "Hello, want to buy something?" These women actually loaded up their rowboats with cokes, beers, Oreos, and Pringles and would row out to the cruise boats to sell to tourists. You had to appreciate their tenacity because rowing around all day in the sun can't be easy. We affectionately called them our pirates.

Our beach lobster in Nha Trang
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Nha Trang was a beautiful little beach resort town. We rented huts and lounge chairs right on the beach at this brewery for about $1 all day long. You can't beat that! We then had $6 fresh lobster on the beach from a lady that would grill it up right there for you. Needless to say, we really enjoyed Nha Trang. The only bad experience we had was going on a $7 boat cruise. Just because your boat CAN seat 50 people doesn't mean it should. I was annoyed being crammed on a tiny boat with other jerky tourists all day, but it almost became laughable when a kid got sick during lunch and vomited everywhere. Nice.

On the boat cruise (before the kid threw up)
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Right now we're in Mui Ne. It's another little beach town, but it's a lot sleepier. I went surfing for the first time yesterday and got smacked in the head by my surfboard. Ouch! Despite that, Jamie helped me get up on the board twice so I had a blast. We'll probably stay here another few days and then head to Saigon on our way to Phu Quoc, an island that is about 50% protected national park so it should be really nice.

Sorry for the long entry, but once again I've gotten behind. Don't be too hard on me....it's difficult to fit blogging into a long day of drinking cocktails and lying on the beach. Okay, I'll shut up. I guess getting hit in the head with the surfboard was your way of telling me to "Cork it and get a real job." Not yet, my friends, not yet. :)

Yes, I'm drinking from a real coconut!
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Cheers!

Cherisse