Flying South by Bus

So we have been on the road for a little over a week now and the fun just doesn't let up. Last night we had to stay in just to recover from all of the sun and fun. From Hanoi we took a sleeping bus south to Hue. This bus ride was wild, and we got the best bunks on the whole bus. We were in the way back were the isles ended so all five of our bunks were connected. We had made the wise purchase of some portable speakers while in Hanoi so we were able to have music during our journey and also able to introduce Adam, one of our Irish friends, to Mitch Hedberg. It was a nice night and the best bus trip I think I've ever been on, save maybe for one time in Costa Rica when I fell asleep on a lady's belly who was standing next to me and was woken by my sister with a bit of drool rolling down my chin onto her shirt. Now that was a bus ride.
The next morning we arrived in Hue and because we're a bit pressed for time with Drew having to leave in the beginning of August we continued on a regular bus (darn) a few hours more to Hoi An. This place was great. We stumbled upon a beautiful guest house for the same price as Hanoi with nicer rooms. Then, seeing that it was the transport of choice for the entire country and that if any place was going to be safe for us to participate in the Great Motorbike Race it was this place, we rented some motorbikes . The roads were small and pretty empty except for during the early evening. We made our way out to the beach and enjoyed some Tigers (the choice beer for Vietnam) while sun bathing and swimming as the heat intermitingly overwhelmed us. After a couple of Tigers we began to be surrounded by old women laying out mats on all sides of us. Aparently during the time before sun down many locals cruise out to the beach, hang out and like us have a couple of Tigers. Well they were unhappy first of all that we had our own mats and second of all that had already endorsed a friendly Vietnamese woman named Louise to buy our beers from. One old woman came up to Drew and told him she wanted one of his Oreos which of course he happily complied with and then later tried to demand a beer out of him (hilarious). Another woman a bit more disgruntled went so far as to kick some sand on Drew's towel for good measure. It's a competative market, and I guess you've got to get in where you fit in.
Later on we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed nice cold showers. From my travels in Mex and Costa, I was very aware upon my arrival that nothing helps to beat the heat better than as many cold showers as you can fit in. Then we headed out to get some grub. A meal in Vietnam has averaged us about $2-$4 a piece and it's great. Our restaurant was an open air bungalowish place with small waterfalls, streams, and bridges, very picturesque. That night we went out for some drinks and some billiards and ended up at an establishment hidden about fifty feet off the road down a small corridor. It consisted of a bar and a pool table and when we arrived the man was jamming to some Dylan so we knew it was a chill place to hang out for a bit. We played some pool and drank some beers and were having a great time. The man in charge, Mr. Hung, wanted to show us how to play the Vietnamese version of cut throat so we had a couple of go's at that. At one point when we had started to get a bit loose from all the Tigers the bar phone rang and Drew answered it. He quite a long conversation with the Vietnamese man on the other end, trying to ensure him that if he came by it would be time well spent. We later found out that it was the bar owner, and Mr. Hung was pleased that Drew had spoken to him because it assured him that his bar was making some Dong.
After Hunging out for a while we went to meet up with our Irish friends and watched the mens final of Wimbleton. We had a good time talking, playing pool and having a few too many. We were hurting the next morning as we mounted up on the motorbikes again to go check out My Son (pronounced Me Son, but we nevertheless let the corny dad jokes fly about going to visit my son). The ride out was pretty far. It took about three hours to get out there but the ride was awesome. As soon as we got out of town the rest of the way was slightly curved roads winding through picturesque rice fields and small roadside huts. There were tons of water buffalo crusing along side the road and beautiful mountains back droping the landscape. It really was amazing. Unfortunately My Son didn't live up to our expectations but you have to accept my son without expectations, unconditionally like any good parent would do (ha ha, yeah they were all that bad, not funny at all). Anyway the sun was blistering hot, literally. The next day I had fever blisters down my arm and had to pop them with a needle and let all the puss ooze out. Ash and I both got gnarl wife beater tans that could rival the best red neck. After the ruins we made our way back almost without a hitch. Ashley managed to crash her bike just as we were about to turn them in and hurt her leg a little bit, but thanks to my comprehensive medical kit, I was able to patch her up in a jif. After we returned the bikes we decided to take it easy. We had a nice dinner shrouded in a jungle landscape.