Time to Rock it from the Delta to the DMZ!

Hoi An, Vietnam -

We've made it half way up Vietnam to Hoi An, after a couple of nice days and nights in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hoi An is a quaint little city on the South China Sea.   They are known for their tailors and food, but it is also a great place to go to the beach and just walk around.

The majority of the buildings here in Hoi An are painted this shade of Ochre.  Reminded me of Jaipur, except it is a different color and there aren't people and animals defecating in the streets.

Scary Statue in one of the old Chinese Houses in Town

Don't mess with this guy...

As with most places I've been, they're always trying to sell you some wood carving.  I have to say this is one of the coolest ones I've seen though.

The Japanese Covered Bridge

There is a bustling market here in Hoi An and this woman is doing her part!

Mom dwarfs them though!

We also went out to My Son, to visit the ruins there.   The countryside, jungle and mountains were beautiful.  It was nice to see some green after so much grey in Laos.   Having seen my fair share of Ruins, this was a really trip for Mom.  However, what I found quite interesting were the craters left by American bombs back in the 60s that destroyed several of the temples and left a lasting mark on the landscape.

One of the craters is in the foreground.  There were many around the site that we could see.

Annnnd,  the things we've learned about bringing Judy to Asia .  With apologies for making fun of my Mom, I just can't help it.   It's so easy sometimes:

1. Mom thinks that Watermelon Juice is a magical elixir and has told me that she's going to make it more this summer no less than 17 times.
2. She really doesn't like Dragonfruit and also takes advantage of every opportunity to tell me that. 
3. She insists on trying everything (*applause*).  My favorite is when those things happen to be chilli peppers that she unknowingly throws in her mouth.  I hate to laugh at my mother when she's on the verge of tears, but it's pretty hilarious. 
1. She totally used yesterday's Pepper experience as an excuse to not achieve her stated goal of eating an entire meal with chopsticks.  Also an amusing thing to watch.   Then again, maybe she knows exactly what she's doing. Hmmmm...

At least I haven't taken pictures of the misery... yet.

Either way, the good news is that we've survived Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An so far.  Tomorrow we'll make our way further north to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.  

Really looking forward to it!