Hear no evil, see no evil

God Lauren has been a sulky nightmare today, was like taking a toddler on a trek to the ancient ruins and it was her bloody idea to go. Ugggh. Good lord, I mean honestly, not a positive thing to say about anything and soo much whinging!

I put up with it for as long as possibly, but finally had to say if you don't have anything positive to say I don't want to hear it.

And then she panicked when we had to walk all of two hundred meters in the bush by ourselves, even though it was on a man made stone path and we'd been given instructions where to go.

I'm now even more glad that I grew up in the country, which seems to have given me quite a good natural sense of direction and an ease in nature or poorer environments.

Poor Lauren has been driven everywhere her whole life and as a result she has the most INEPT sense of direction I have ever known anyone to have. I was completely befuddled at how she couldn't even manage to find her way from our hotel room to reception. I AM NOT KIDDING YOU. Really!

That actually started to make me laugh in the end as even after six days she was still taking the same wrong turns!

I couldn't believe the behaviour on our tour though, a normally happy person had turned into a moaning, whining, terror. You really get to know someone when you travel with them huh.

Annnnnnyway, we are going to the beach now to keep her happy, but I've sneaked off to email on premise that I'm reconfirming our flights at reception.

She is missing 'Le Potato' I think, especially when she sees other couples and she says she can't sleep alone. Good god, I'd hate to think what she'd do if he karked it or something!

And then I had to put up with her eyeing every man in sight to see if they are paying her attention and flirting like mad with a geeky norwegian whom she somehow thought was hot.

She's also been getting really annoyed at how easily I talk to people and it's not my fault, it's just I'm not as fake and overbearing as some Americans tend to be. She thinks it's coz people here don't like American's full-stop, but they sure love your US dollars! I suspect perhaps i'm just more geniunely interested in people.

It's not all bad though, for some reason being around someone sulky makes me be more perky.

Got some GREAT jackets, suits, boots and shoes here too. And the scenery's soooooo different and beautiful. I really love the scenery. Not to mention the culture and the food is AMAZING.
It really is a remarkable place :)

Ah, feels good to get my gripes out about Lauren though, ahhhh. She doesn't like me emailing because she has noone to email herself so gets jealous and sulky, so I have to sneak off to do it!

It's because doesn't email any of her friends from home and the ONLY person she spends time with in Tokyo 24 hours a day, 7days a week is The Potato because they live AND work together AND have the same days off, which you know, I don't think is particularly healthy, but ah well if that suits them then that's all that matters hey. None of my business I guess.

Annnnyway, at least I've learnt a GOOD lesson and I will know next time to choose my travel companions VERY carefully preferrably single and not so insecure!

Vietnam REALLY is just soooooo great to see and soooooooo interesting though! I've met some GREAT people and am just soooo glad I came, will remember it forever. I really, really want to come back again at some stage as it's a country I'm really in love with.

I would say it's the people that make the place, at first, being in Japan so long I was shocked by their forward nature, but I really came to love their expressive personalities and overwhelming generousity by the time I left.

The scenery is just so different to anywhere I've been too though, sooooo LUSH and green. I love all the different plants and foliage, the beaches are great and flying over Ho Chi Minh you could see miles and miles of green interlaced with BRIGHT orange rivers.

It just looked the most amazing vibrant place with clusters of pink, yellow and blue houses sprawling everywhere.

And on our journey home at night it looked even better out the window as I watched endless streams of motorcycle lights snaking their way through the curving streets (I like how they're not straight) and I love how house lights look from the sky at night when they're not surrounded by streetlamps. Just beautiful.

Maybe that sums up Vietnam really, the simplicity and utter beauty of life and the people there. Or maybe that's what's so great about it, that you can't sum it up.

It's simply remarkable and constantly intriuging.

Maybe I'll see you there one day :)

p.s. did I say the food is AMAZING????