Home Sweet Home

Got back home around 6:00 this morning after 22 hours on the bus.  On the way to Vietnam, we "sat" in the back row of beds and ended up having 5 beds for 4 people so it was really pretty spacious. Decided to try that route again this time, but we had 5 people in 5 beds and the other three were men. It's funny because Lao bus companies don't mix the men and women, but the Vietnamese have no problem with it. It's not really as scandalous as it sounds because you can put your blankets in between to make a barrier, etc., but just not as comfortable. 

I've never had bed sores before, but I think I sort of have them a little now. It still hurts to sit down a little bit!  We only got off the bus 3 times in 22 hours so it was pretty much laying on your backside the whole time!! And, since it was a holiday weekend, the bus was packed! Usually there are three rows of beds single file with two levels (except for the back which has two levels of rows 5 beds across), which creates two rather narrow aisles. But with so many people traveling back they had people sleeping all down the aisles, and the section right in front of us had one guy sleeping in the aisle on the ground and another guy suspended in a hammock about a foot above the other guy! Getting in and out of the bus was just nuts! But I guess that is the price you pay for cheap travel!

Here is the best shot I could get of it...One row on the left, one in the middle and a guy in the hammock and another guy (you can't see) just below him sleeping on the floor.

Here are some more pics from the trip... For some reason, I'm having a hard time getting a lot of the pics to load, so this is just a sampling:)

At the Lao-Vietnam Border

A huge plate of food for about $1

Fruit in the market

Sone sporting the Vietnamese style hat - the trip everyone thought she was Vietnamese

Hanging out at the Culture Festival in Hue

Sone driving the motorbike down the beach

Corn Vietnamese style - with fried garlic, green onions and a spicy red sauce

Beautiful Sunrise

Holding the Sun :)

Jumping pic in the sunshine

Freedom! :)

Silly pic on the beach

One example of how much a Vietnamese person can carry on a motorbike!

Snow Angel?

Fisherman in the sunrise

Checking out the temple nearby