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Last night was the last time I had dinner with my Vietnamese family before jetting off.  While eating at the resort outdoors at sunset with the sound of waves hitting the beach, my mom’s favorite song (Stevie Wonders’ I Just Called To Say I Love You) began playing.  Granted it was just the instrumental version, but I thought that was a nice way to end things.

This morning we flew out of Saigon and I actually got choked-up and started to cry as we took off.  The moment we hit the air I said, “Good-bye Mom” and reflected on the week that I spent with family I have only seen in pictures.  After a few minutes in the air I saw a beautiful sunrise, which was another nice way of capping off this adventure.  I’m definitely ready to go home, but my heart is with my family.  It’s amazing how fate chose me to live such a blessed life in the U.S., and how they live a life of poverty in Vietnam.  I know for sure that I can no longer feel sorry for myself again.

The long portion of our trip (Hong Kong to San Fran) is a bit shorter going home, 14 hours instead of 17 hours.  But I do find it interesting that I will live a 30 hour Friday today.

My iced-tea and chicken-fried steak is near, not to mention picking up DogGeeding from the kennel.

Signing off from Hong Kong and about 20 hours from home,

Keither

It’s our last full day in Vietnam.  We will be leaving the resort abound 8:00 PM to make our 5:30 AM plane out of Vietnam.

Today started off with a walk down the streets of Mui Ne.

Check out the picture page or slideshow.

Some high-lights.

An alligator almost got me.

We found a Texas hat.  Why would they try to sell a Texas hat in Vietnam I don’t know, but my uncle got a kick out of it.

Snake wine does the body good?

• This resort is full on international flavor. Yes, there are lots of old men here wearing Speedos. They are so gross looking that in comparison I could possible pass for a half-Asian Brad Pitt. No, there are not any bare female breasts roaming the beach. However, I have discovered that in European magazines many advertisements have bare breasted women. When I first came across one of those advertisements I was worried that someone was going to mistake me for a pervert.
• Speaking of international flavor, it seems most of the visitors here are from Russia. However, there was a bus load of about 15 Germans that showed up, and each one was carrying a case of Heineken. The funny part is this place is loaded with Heinekens and I thought I missed drinking iced-tea.
• There is a German boy I keep seeing wearing a black mesh t-shirt.  He’s worn the same thing everyday. He looks like the son of that singer from Right Said Fred. Maybe he is?

• There is a guy here I call the Russian Bear. I would say he’s about 6’6″, over three hundred pounds, and in his late 50’s. Everytime he sees me, he always shakes my hand, smiles, and says something I can’t understand. In this picture I’m actually standing on something.

• One last international flavor thought. I know in the U.S. we sometimes look at people who don’t speak English with a bit of strangeness. It sure is interesting being in the minority here. Not just in Vietnam, but at this resort you hear a different dialect from every other person.
• Â It remains a challenge avoiding tap water. We have been advised by our travel doctor as well as many others to avoid tap water. That means drinks without ice, brushing our teeth with bottled water, avoiding salads since they are washed with tap water.
• This may be nothing new for a lot of you, but it is to this boy raised in the sticks of North Texas. In front of our room is a pot full of water with a scoop so you can wash the sand off your foot before entering your room. To avoid getting sand in the swimming pool, there is this little groove of water to clean your feet of the sand. For some reason those two things impress me.
  
• The night sky was very clear and I got a good view of the moon. It’s amazing that the moon I’m looking at in Vietnam is the very same moon I see all the time from my Texas home. The world is so big, yet so small.
• Even though I am very ready to go home, I’ve grown attached to my family. It’s going to be hard to leave them.
• I could kill for a chicken-fried steak right about now.
• Just a collection of pics from that last day.
  Picture Page or Slideshow