Vung Tao

I finally have a noticeable tan! After a few weeks I was expecting to be super tan but prior to this past weekend at the beach the only tan lines I had were on my feet... I have been wearing my tevas everyday. As you can imagine it is a very attractive foot tan.

Saturday morning we took a very speedy boat, like actually the fastest boat I have ever been on, to Vung Tao, a little city on the coast about 60  kilometers south of HCMC. It was really cool to travel there by boat, we started off in the dirty brown water and the closer we got to Vung Tao the clearer the water got. Unfortunately, the water at the beach wasn't the cleanest water I have ever been in but I tried to look past that! So we got to the beach around 11 and it wasn't crowded at all. Turns out this is because Vietnamese go to the beach in the morning and late afternoon when it isn't too hot. They avoid the sun because they want to keep a paler complexion, whereas we were all about lying out in the sun hoping to get tan. Isn't it funny how that works? I don't really know what else to say about the beach– it was the typical beach day. Swimming and lounging. For lunch I had avocado on crackers. The avocados are huge here and just like everything else they are super cheap.

 Vung Tao

 pretty flower in my hair

 me and Vy, our new program assistant. We have a new Vy and an old Vy.

 The beautiful sunset!

After the beach we walked around for a looooong time. We also walked up to the Giant Jesus statue. I wish more than anything that I had brought my running sneakers to the beach with me because I totally would have done intervals up the next morning. I mean how many people can say they have done intervals up to a giant Jesus statue. Definitely no one on my ski team. I am pretty sure it would have taken the interval of the year award (if such a thing existed). Just goes to prove that you should never go anywhere without running sneakers.

Sunday morning I woke up early and went to the beach. I wasn't going to only have one actual beach day. It was so much busier at 8 in the morning, like actually very crowded. Alex and I had brought our rambutans with us so we snacked on those and just relaxed. We headed back to the hotel around 10 to meet up with the group to go have a local brunch of banh khots. A banh khot is a little shrimp pancake. Picture a very thin pancake with a shrimp in the middle. Then you take shredded unripened papaya and carrot and roll it all up in a leaf of lettuce and dunk it in fish sauce, which although I have given many chances isn't my favorite. So I skipped the dunking and just popped them right in my mouth. So good. This bahn khot place was jam packed, it is where all the locals go to eat. Vy, one of our program assistants, was telling us that those were the best banh khots in Vietnam. You can't find them like that anywhere else. I feel like half of my blog is dedicated to the food I eat. I should really have just called it emmaeatsalot.blogspot.com. Maybe for my next adventure.










Now I am back in the city. We leave for the Mekong Delta tomorrow for 10 days then when we come back it is time for the homestay, then our three week excursion to the north, and then it is time for our ISP. Then it is done. When I break it down like that I feel like I have no time here. I don't want it to end! It will be weird to leave the city, I feel like I am starting to feel comfortable and get into a good routine. I have my favorite vendors to buy from, a good routine of waking up early and going running,  and I finally feel like I sort of know my way around our district of the city. But I am beyond excited for the Delta– it'll be such a different experience! I have lots of things to blog about but I think I will save them for the Delta since I won't have anything else to do... so prepare for multiple posts on street food, the Institute of Vietnamese Buddhism, the Vietnam Women Union, and the War Remnants Museum.

Pictures are thanks to Mikala's camera. But I have a new camera now so I can start documenting everything again. Electronics are not cheap in Vietnam, I had to dish out some big dong for a new camera. 3.4 million. Ahhh c'est la vie (right Jess?) Where is a Walmart when I need one. I mean half the stuff that Walmart sells is made in Vietnam anyways. I definitely missed their super low prices on electronics. Okay I am going to stop endorsing Walmart now. Next post is from the Mekong.