Dumb & Dumber

Do you remember Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in the movie Dumb and Dumber, cold, shivering and on a scooter. You do. Now that you have that image in your head.. picture Steven and I on a bike in the pouring rain, traveling 30 km between Danang and Hoi An. Steven tells the story

better than I .. but I will try

We rented a scooter to go back to Hoi An to pick up our goodies.. so we decided to stop at Marble Mountain on the way. We hiked up to the top, saw beautiful pagodas, crawled through caves and popped out on the other side of the mountain. When we finished, (with asses of steel now), it started to rain. I said to Steven.. you know, why don't we go back to the hotel and pick up your rain pants for me... all I heard was "I knew it!"..

He laughed, and being the gentleman he is, we take off back the 10 km, back to the hotel to pick up his pants for me.. while on the highway, I said to Steven.. you know, we really don't have to go back, as its fine for me back here. Not realizing that he was taking all of the rain in the face and was soaking wet from the trip. What is even better, he had to grin and squint to see, and to keep his helmet on.. I am still laughing as I write this, as it was pretty comfortable for me on that bike.. but Steven took it all. If you have the chance, have him tell the story.. it's hilarious.

We then had another great meal at the restaurant I spoke of last time. This time we had clams simmered in herbs and bbq'd shrimp. So Yummy!

We then went back to Hoi An and I am a terrible backseat driver and Steven was so funny on the bike making fun of me, I think we laughed the entire time. THe drive is along China Beach and if you can picture hotel after hotel, similar to Mexico but without anyone in them as they are being constructed, it is quite the site.

We picked up our wares, and were at first a bit disappointed as nothing fit, but they were quick and everything was fixed and ready for us by 7. The suit that we had made for Steven is spectacular and we will be ordering from this lady again and having work shipped to Canada. She has our measurements and it is so worth it!

We then had to drive back to Danang. Steven was quite impressed that I managed to get 2 winter coats, 3 suits into my backpack and had two bags squished between us and Steven had a bag on his front as we biked back to Danang. It rained the entire time and we laughed the entire way back.

Yesterday, the owner of the hotel and the IT guy (Chen and Ken), drove us to Hue (2 1/2 hour drive) and we saw the incredible Citidel that is over 1000 years old and only had been out of use for 60 years but was destroyed by the war . We could walk over all the ruins and it was beautiful. We spent 2 hours lost in its walls and Steven saw his first elephant. A great day!

We then when to My Khen pagoda which is along the Perfume River. We don't really understand what we are seeing but it is beautiful. We understand that each layer of the pagoda reflects anothe budha and I love watching the monks sing and pray in the temples.

We then went for traditional Hue food. It was various foods mushed with rice paste and steamed in banana leafs. I couldn't do the shrimp as it was the entire shrimp, in its shell with the head.. but Steven liked it. The rest of the food was great. We then went to the Emporer's tomb after crossing roads that were pure mud and we made it! It was stunning! The details in the tomb was all these designs made with broken pottery.. I could have stared at the walls for hours.

On the way back, we stopped at a fishing / seafood village where Chen said this area was the best seafood in the country and all the food is shipped to Saigon and Hanoi. We had a feast of fresh clams, oysters baked in various spices, seafood soup. We ate like kings and queens all under the generousity of our host.

I crashed on the way back and later Steven and I found a coffee shop and had coffee and fresh ice cream. A great day. Nora, I am drinking coffee now! I love the Vietnamese coffee.. its strong and almost like an espresso served with condensed milk :p I have one a day!

We fly to Siem Reep today and Steven decided we need to treat ourselves in Cambodia and we are booked into a 5 star resort for a whopping $65 a night. It looks gorgeous and there is a pool on the roof... I can't wait!