(Day 50)
We woke up this morning pretty late because we were out late last night wandering around the city. Vietnam is celebrating the New Year during this time period. Celebrations last a few weeks. There are thousands and thousands of pots filled with different types of flowers all over the streets here. It is a beautiful sight to behold. What makes this time even more special to me is that when we flew over to South East Asia, we were in the air on the passing of the actual New Year, so we didn't get to celebrate. Well, now we do. And the Vietnamese know how to celebrate, I can tell you that.
The first thing we decided to do was to figure out how we were going to make it to our next destination: Hoi An. We decided flying was the best option, but when we went on-line to try and book tickets, the website would not work. Thus, we decided to make a trip to the airport and buy tickets there.
After the airport, we went home for a bit and rested. Afterwards, we met up with some LDS friends who we had met in Phnom Penh: The Lichfields. Wade Lichfield and his wife London came to SE Asia to pick up their daughter Chloe from her mission. She had just finished serving 1 1/2 years in Cambodia, but speaking Vietnamese and working the majority of her mission with Vietnamese members. This family is awesome! Wade is an attorney and stake president in Florida so I was able to pick his brain a little bit about law school and the actual practice of law. He gave me the positives as well as the negatives which I was grateful for. As most of you know by now, I got accepted to BYU law which is the school I was shooting for from the get go. I'm extremely excited!
Anyway, we met up with the Lichfields at a great restaurant (which has a sister restaurant in Portland) called Pho 99. Wade was kind enough to pick up the tab for us. Chloe told us all about her mission and then began talking about all of the wonderful fruits that are available in SE Asia. I'll admit, at this point I felt a little guilty for not having been more adventurous in trying all the different fruits that are readily available here in Asia, but I promised myself that I would repent.
In fact, as soon as we were done eating dinner, we bought some fruit called "soursap" which actually tastes like skittles or Starburst. I am not joking. It was amazing!
We wandered around the city again, and then Chloe hung out with us while her parents went back to their hotel to rest. We went to...wait for it...Baskin Robbins for dessert. It was a lot of fun. It was good to finally have some feminine company. Don't tell the other guys, but I'm getting sick of hanging out with just guys. Women, you are all awesome! Don't let anyone say otherwise.
That night we watched the fireworks show. It was magnificent! I was not expecting much because my close-minded self didn't believe that anywhere else was able to do fireworks shows like the good old U.S of A, but the Vietnamese changed my mind. It lasted for a long time, and the fireworks were big, explosive, loud, and colorful. The Vietnamese crowd were very responsive to every explosion in the sky. The little kids would jump up and down giddily as the colorful displays filled the black sky. I was just as much entertained by the people's reactions as I was the actual fireworks show. It was a beautiful sight. Skyscrapers, friends, and a beautiful people. I smiled as I, again, realized how blessed I am to be alive.
I died in bed that night and resurrected in the morning, or so it felt.
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