Hue

Earlier today at the Saigon airport, I had to race to the ticket counter to do a last minute check-in of a bag. My mom stressed out and started to rush me, as we only had five minutes until boarding. She said that even with my recovering bum foot, I was faster than three old ladies, so I had to hurry. I ran to the ticket counter with my mom's bag and approached the ticket agent, a young Vietnamese lady clad in a blue áo dà, the traditional Vietnamese dress. I took a deep breath, quickly fumbled through the English-Vietnamese dictionary in my head, and said in Vietnamese, "I'd like to check this bag in. There is some hairspray in it. The other ticket agent had said it was ok to have this item in the bag, but the security officer upstairs begged to differ." The ticket agent smiled at me and said it was alright. She then asked where I was from. I responded, and she said, "You speak Vietnamese with a very odd accent...but it's very...cute." At that point, I flashed a smile and she giggled. She asked what my Vietnamese name was and I responded "Quang Khoi." She then said, "What a handsome name for a handsome gentleman." I think the dê factor finally kicked in!

My mom, Di Minh, Di Minh Nguyet, and I are now in Hue. I really do like it much more that Saigon. It is calm and quiet in Hue, whereas in Saigon it's crowded and polluted. My mom is very happy to be here. We got lucky when we met a decent cab driver named Thuan to agreed to be our personal driver for our stay in Hue. I'm usually skeptical about these kinds of situations, but I could tell that this guy was decent, and my mom and Di Minh Nguyet could too. Thuan drove us into town and we checked into a nice hotel for a whopping $22 a night. Since it was cheap, I told my mom that I would get my own single room, and I did. It's nice to be able to blast the air conditioner all night long without having Di Minh freeze up like a popsicle. My aunt is sickly, not like my mom, so I didn't want to risk any chances.

My mom has very big plans in Hue. We are in her childhood home, so I can only imagine what's running through her head right now. We do have a full itinerary planned, so it is best to get a good night's sleep now, so that we will be ready for tomorrow's activities. Before I sign off, I will post some random pictures of Hue.