Take A Break, Have A Steak!

Regrets for our prolonged absence these past few weeks, but as everyone knows being virtually MIA while traveling means we're having too much fun (i.e we don't desperately NEED the computer/Jed's coping well with withdrawal). So we'll recap the last few weeks, which took us north through Vietnam and then into China, where we finally met up with Jed's good friends -- Alex and Matt.

Back to 'Nam . . . After the wonders of Ho Chi Minh City, we arrived in Hoi An, where rumors of perfectly tailored suits and dresses on the cheap lured us despite our best attempts to travel lightly and embrace minimalism. Here's how it all went down:

Jed and Jen walk into a tailor shop . . .

Saleswoman (eating tart green fruit dipped in chilli pepper): Can we help you?
Jed: Oh no, we don't need anything, we're just looking.
Jen: Well . . . maybe just one skirt.
Jed: I'll just sit in the corner and look through this GQ from 1987 while you design your skirt.
Jen: Okay, this will only take a minute.

10 minutes later . . .

Jed: Well . . . these fabrics are pretty soft.
Jen: And you can't even tell it's not real silk!
Jed: Maybe just one suit. A Fulbright scholar's gotta look sharp.

24 hours later . . .

Jen and Jed struggle to stuff their packs with:

1. one pair of silk pajamas (which the saleswoman couldn't help but giving Jed's butt a squeeze in)
2. TWO full three piece suits
3. two chinese/american fusion shirts (designed by Jen)
4. one skirt with cool front pockets (suggested by Jed)
5. one dress that unfortunately turned into a ball gown (blame it on the culture barrier, but for 20 bucks you can't complain -- anyone got a good ball to go to?)
6. one revolutionary jacket
7. one pair of pimp-tastic gold-plated "Nike" sneakers (designed by Jed)

A hop on a pair of motorbikes, a quick stop at the beach, and off to Hue -- "culinary capital" of Vietnam!

After six+ meals at six+ restaurants, we have only room for one line about Hue:

Worst. Food. Ever.

This was Jed's biggest letdown in Vietnam, having agreed to go with Jen only after ensuring a stop in this city. . . . Oh, and there was also an imperial palace in Hue. Jed took no longer than .12 seconds to point out that it wasn't nearly as impressive as the actual forbidden city in Beijing of which the one in Hue was a cheap Vietnamese knock off. Jen, by now used to this leitmotif, rolled her eyes repeatedly.

From Hue it was back on the overnight train and off to Hanoi / Sapa to round out our Vietnam tenure. We loved Hanoi, and not just because we spent our first day there apart (as Jen says, "to regain our independence.") C'mon people, one day apart doesn't mean we don't love each other. But 24 hours a day. With the same person. All the freaking time. Is a lot to ask. Especially when one of them is bossy.

Witness our difference in experiences:

Jen -- strolls around the city, buys a dress, buys tickets to the water puppetry theater, sits by the lake, writes and drinks tea.

Jed -- charges off to the north of the city to see West Lake and the pond where John McCain got shot down, sees the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a great place for dinner, and gets sidetracked drinking Beer Hoa, eating peanuts, and declining opportunities to smoke opium with old men on the sidewalk for four hours.

Five beers and a pair of water puppetry tickets later, Jen and Jed reconnect at the designated meeting spot for lunch -- energized by their "individual" (gender neutral) experiences. Yes, the five beers were before lunch, Jen would like to point out.

After spending the day traipsing through the narrow, tree-lined streets and checking out the various boutiques and bars both Jen and Jed agreed that Hanoi was a beautiful place. A very "livable" city that they would love to come back to.

Jen Crushes Communism!

Coming up next!

Sapa and trekking with Chi!
The worst bus ride ever (from Vietnam with love!)
The dynamic duo of Matt and Alex arrive in Kunming (becoming two of the tallest people in China)!