It's been a LONG time since I posted anything but I promise...I do have a plan to get back on the horse and start writing...in fact, I might even write a book over the winter! Cha!
I just was searching through my email for something from somebody whose name started with an L and serendipidously, Lily Galli's name appeared in my "from" line. So I thought I'd share this email with you. This is an email that Lils sent out to all of her friends and family from when we were traveling around Vietnam.
It was wonderful for me to re-read this email in her voice and to picture her beautiful little face as she typed away at a cafe in Vietnam sharing her stories with her friends around the world. Thank you gmail for providing this little slice of sweet sweet Lily for me this Wednesday morning. Just what I needed!
I just was searching through my email for something from somebody whose name started with an L and serendipidously, Lily Galli's name appeared in my "from" line. So I thought I'd share this email with you. This is an email that Lils sent out to all of her friends and family from when we were traveling around Vietnam.
It was wonderful for me to re-read this email in her voice and to picture her beautiful little face as she typed away at a cafe in Vietnam sharing her stories with her friends around the world. Thank you gmail for providing this little slice of sweet sweet Lily for me this Wednesday morning. Just what I needed!
"We are in central Vietnam now - the exact place that flooded 3 weeks
prior - from a Typhoon, (doesn't look like it now) where the water
came up to the rooftops - a place called Hoi An. The beauty of some of
these 3rd world countries is how quickly they can recover &
reconstruct things.
We spent 2 nights in Nha Trang the beach capitol of Vietnam. You
don't even need to leave the beach for anything - they will give you a
massage, pedicure, manicure, tiger balm, jewelry, sunglasses, all
kinds of shit you don't need, but would consider (especially when the
women selling these things are 90 and have no teeth - you just feel
bad). Unfortunately, Kristi and I were not there best customers when
we wanted nothing, except to sit on the beach and relax. We just had
to ignore them or speak Spanish. Our last night in Nha Trang we ended
up going to some really fun clubs and dancing our asses off (you know
it's a good night when Kristi does the worm and I let my hair down and
do the booty shake from side to side). Of course this entailed heavy
drinking and dancing with some West Africans. At the end of the night
Kristi and I stumbled home, and a motorbike guy asked us if we needed
a ride. We were so sick of being touted that I (in a drunken stupor
started climbing a tree), needless to say I scared him off - he must
of thought we were crazy (poor guy). We booked a boat tour for the
next day that basically stopped off at four different islands where
you could could do gaper activities that become novelty & fun when
overseas: snorkeling, getting in the water and hanging out at a
floating bar for free happy hour drinks, free lunch, socializing, and
so on. I, however could not enjoy these activities, as I was too hung
over and then became seasick. Lets just say I cursed the fact that I
even decided to step foot on the boat. 6 long & sicking hours later
it was over. Kristi had a good time and it looked like a lot of fun.
That night we took a bus over night for 11 hours (although this bus
was not officially a sleeper bus we made it one) Kristi and I had top
the line neck pillows, virtually allowing us to sleep anywhere. Good
thing we had those neck pillows and took half a Valium, because the
bus driver blasted Vietnamese Christmas carols all night on volume
9000, with a running Vietnamese video of God knows what playing in the
background. Not to mention the bright lights that remained on the
entire time, and the jerky stops that flung our bodies out of our
seats. Before you knew it - it was morning and there we were in Hoi
An.
Hoi An is a dangerous place because you can make any article of
clothing - designer knock off stuff for practically nothing. You can
show them a magazine picture of a designer suite and they can
replicate it in hours. For an ex-fashion buff like myself this was
dangerous. A kick ass black fitted pinstripe suite, pea coat &
matching skirt, and tailored jeans later - I'm ready to get back on
the bus. Just to give you an idea - my suite only cost $50 bucks -
unreal (and it looks good!) Hoi An also has a beautiful beach and
buildings with immense character: yellow and turquoise buildings that
are hundreds of years old, french quarter style - with mold and moss
growing all over them. This town is quaint, and you can ride bicycles
everywhere - which we have. This town also has amazing wood carvers
and a tasty dish called Cha Lau (which is a lot like pho - but
specific to the area -they make a great vegetarian rendition). This
pace is charming! Kristi and I have mastered the art of froger -
where you walk very slowly across the street so the motor bikes don't
hit you. The truth is they will NOT stop - so you just have to go for
it and hope for the best. It's kinda fun riding among them now.
Tomorrow morning we take a bus ride to Hue (spend the day there),
and then take a bus overnight to Hanoi. After that - Halong Bay, we
are so excited for that.
Until later...
XOXO,
Lily"
Miss that girl...
