Good Morning, Vietnam!

There aren’t enough words to describe the jubilation I am currently feeling. After another lovely day at the beach, we made it back to town to go for a dress fitting at one of the three tailors we have currently employed to make us garments here in Hoi An, Vietnam. This is a place infamous for its tailors and ability to custom make anything you wish at absurd (cheap) prices. However, even if it did not have this as a draw, I am sure it would be on the map with its picturesque streets, French colonial architecture, leafy rivers, and beautiful beach.
Before we got here, Jordan had been saying she wanted to restrain herself from going crazy on dresses and I thought I would have no problem. I figured I had matured and would not blow my money on dresses and shirts and anything else that crossed my path. Famous last words (though probably not surprising) as I have truly gone crazy. I will leave Hoi An with double the wardrobe I had when I arrived. Four dresses and three shirts later, I am arranging my schedule around my three tailors and the different fittings to ensure each and every article of clothing lives up to its fabulous potential.
Spinning this positive into a negative, I am ready to justify my actions. First off, the cost of this splurge is perhaps 1/5 of what it would be in America. Second off, I am completely exhausted by the thought of wearing my current clothes a second longer. I thought it would be completely natural to wear the same thing day in and day out for five months as my family and friends often point out I lack complete fashion sense and tend to look like a bag lady.
The truth of the matter is that I was aching to wear a pretty dress. I still am even though I am wearing one of my creations. I will hold back on wearing my new clothes too often as I want them to still be fabulous when I touch back down in America, but I think a new chapter in my life has been created. I no longer want to dress in the same old dirty white t-shirts of my youth. It is time to dress as a naturally fabulous lady should (and yes, I am referring to myself as that naturally fabulous lady).
You might be wondering how I got here as the last post I made was taking place in Cambodia and the shared taxi. Perhaps you are even more perplexed as the last picture you saw of me I was dressed as an Asian pageant queen (note: those pictures were a goof and we did not wear them on the streets).
The mini computer and blogspot.com are not exactly the best of friends as every single time I attempt to post a blog it gets deleted and I become discouraged. I am not quite sure why this happens and my apologies for not being a more reliant blogger.
As it happens, we made it to Vietnam uneventfully and spent a few days rowing along the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is a gorgeous country and if it weren’t for silly things like visa requirements I could stay here forever. We also made it back to the beach at Nha Trang to enjoy monstrous waves and delicious smoothies. In fact, we spent an extra day at the beach and I am not sure if it was due to the landscape or the guy running the smoothie bar near our beach chairs. He was an incredibly flamboyant man who was very insistent we try his uber-healthy drinks.
When it was finally time to move on to Hoi An, we boarded another overnight bus and prepared for an adventure. Most people told us to go for the bottom level seats as they were more comfortable and one had less of a chance of falling out. I was imagining overnight sleeper cars in India with bunks, so when we got on the bus and realized it would be multiple levels of reclining chairs I was surprised (which I should stop being at this point in my Asian adventure).

The woman in charge gave us plastic baggies to put our shoes in and pointed us towards the back of the bus. She pointed towards a section of seating at the way back that looked more like one large mattress vs. the five individual chairs it was supposed to be. We attempted to steal two seats that looked more comfortable, but she quickly thwarted that plan and pointed us to the loft-like area that was more like a two-feet high alcove. We were about to complain when we realized the light bulb above one more “comfortable seat” was leaking water or some unknown substance. While we thought the experience would be rough, it turned out to be fairly comfortable. Good thing we were off to luxuries like tailor made clothing and could have happy dreams on the overnight bus until we got there…