Turns out I'm not a very good pool player . . .

So, since my last post, we have left Hoi An, the tailoring capital of SE Asia. For more on how our tailoring experience turned out, read Joc and Vivian's blog entries. I refrained from spending too much money on the process, but our group as a whole spent a lot of time and money getting "cheap" tailored clothes made from scratch. It is a fascinating and scary process because you have no idea what you are purchasing, but fun nontheless. Aside from tailoring, we spent a wee bit of time at the beach and hanging out at restaurants and local bars. Oh! I almost forgot . . . we also had our first motorbike rental experience in Vietnam. From our previous posts, you might surmise that this was quite an experience. I thought it was fun and no one was hurt, so it was extremely worthwhile.

After leaving Hoi An two days ago, we flew to Nha Trang in a two-engine prop plane. We've since spent a lot of time relaxing--watching Wimbledon in our room, playing pool at a local pub, hanging out on the beach, and visiting local herbal mud baths. (On a side note, I irritated my ankle a week ago by hiking, not stretching and doing back flips off of our junk boat in Ha Long Bay. So, I am looking for a few days of down time to give my ankle a chance to let the swelling subside--almost there). Part of my Nha Trang experience has involved multiple rounds of "haggling" with a local boy over purchasing some of his postcards. He immediately challenged me to a game of pool with the condition that if he won, I would buy his postcards. I knew immediately that because he challenged me to this, there was no way I could beat him. Still, after a number of conversations with this kid (I thought he was 10 or 11, turns out he is just about 16), I decided to play him just to see how good he was . . . the short of the story is I will be sending 10 people a beautiful postcard from Nha Trang, Vietnam (if you'd like to be one of the 10, please send me your address!).

Carl being bested my a mini poolshark

Anyway, after a brief visit to Vietnam's favorite beach town, we are leaving Nha Trang tomorrow morning for a "very Bohemian experience" in the temperate mountain town of Dalat. I'm looking forward to some more beautiful vistas and potentially some mountain biking, climbing and golf, depending what my ankle allows.

I know I've been promising pictures for a while, but we have been struggling to find internet with decent speed that will allow for picture uploading . . . hope it is coming soon.

PS - I met a a 53kg female Rottweiler yesterday named Su Su. She is a large, gorgeous dog who is in way too hot of an environment for how large and black she is . . . still, despite losing a fist full of hair to my hand while petting her, she was happy to see me . . . I miss dogs.

written by

GoBlue on June 27, 2007 from Nha Trang, Vietnam

from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit

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wow carl i didn't know they had dog of that breed over there...very cool...any pic. of her?? send us a postcard the boys wolf love it....510 Tudor dr. janesville , wis 53546...tell everyone hi and take care...hope the ankle is feeling better soon....P.S. i love the pool story.....staci

written by staci on June 29, 2007

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