I want my bubble back! Or: Jag vill ha min bubbla tillbaka

Today I am sick of being a tourist. I'm sick of being yelled at, followed, grabbed, dragged, pulled, and pushed. UGH! All of it!
All of this I'm sure has been heightened by the new city I'm in: Danang.
The German girl I met in Cambodia described Saigon very much the way I feel about Danang. Constant noise at stupid volumes. Insane traffic. Rude people and someone, multiple someones, always in your face.

I'm tired of "being rude" if for one minute I don't want to smile and play games or answer the plethora of questions meant to trap and ensnare me into dishonest games.

I don't want to be on display anymore. "My western ways" of space and quiet, and respect for other people's body (there have not been any inappropriate touching-I don't mean to imply that, but there is tugging, pulling, blocking one's way, and literal in-your-face confrontation of whining and pretend begging), wishes, requests is screaming out.

I ended up going to the movies just to get a much lowered level of volume. I saw Harry Potter 7.1. Funny when you go to a loud movie theater for some peace and quiet. I need some solice and it's no where to be found, even and especially at the hotel. SO LOUD. All. the. time. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

*sigh* I found a cafe ran by the deaf :)....aaaaahhhh. Still loud but not as much. a bit of peace. It was fun to not have people constantly talking to me...it was like a family there, that little group. And I did do a bit of eves-dropping to see how many of the signs I recognized. I was able to understand quite a bit of it, if not the details, at least the main topic. I will come back tomorrow if I'm still in town even though, like the rest of Vietnam, I don't love the bland food.


I've also taken to pretending I don't speak English :). It works some times believe it or not. A few speak French and will give that a try but if I do a Nordic (i.e. Swedish) or Germanic accent with gibberish talk, I can get a little less attention.

I'm ready for a little more Laos and lot less Vietnam.

TMI

Guys may want to stop reading now and skip this post all together.

So until recently. Let's say about the last 5-6mos I've legally had to be on birth control due to another medication I was taking.

Birth control is wonderful for lots of reasons. It makes your periods light, or in my case, less than half the normal duration of time and with almost no bother otherwise (to avoid the other details). It also takes away the oh so many pleasantries that come with a regular menstruation. Not really too many food cravings, immense appetite, bloating, downer in mood and rationality, maddening insomnia followed by debilitating fatigue, and worst of all -for me- a severe case of BLONDE,(seriously, I'm just stupid for about 2-3days), etc, etc.

(Guys if you're still reading, you really have NO IDEA how little control we have over ourselves during this time. We understand before and after that our actions are ludicrous and out of proportion, but we can't do anything about it. Cut us some slack, huh? We really do try; we just chemically have no control!)

That being said, my lot in life has been a delight compared to many others. But after 5-6 months of being on "the pill" and barely noticing them at all, can I just say one thing:

REAL PERIODS SUCK!!!!!!

And mine haven't even ever been that bad. And I know the tells so well that I'm usually able to excuse them for what they are and very rarely have my world crash down on me. But MAN! Ugh, I used to put up with this all the time?!

So what's the good news about PMS-ing in a French-inspired town:

(cheese and spinach crepe)

If this is wrong, I don't want to be right!

Things really do taste better when you have a hypersensitivity to everything, including taste and flavor.

YUM!

(chocolate truffle cake)

Delish.

Buon Ma Thout....

If ever there was a place in S.E.A. that would be useful to have a travel buddy...
The city is modern, despite how far from everything it is. there's plenty of things to do here but most if it and far away, and requires a guide. A very expensive guide, which would be nice to split with someone. There doesn't seem to be a lot of traveler's, especially solo ones here. My hotel and the two major travel companies don't seem too forthcoming with information. I've had to drag snippets out of them but they have no interest in helping me book anything. And like I said, it's very expensive to do these excursions and the cost doubles if you are doing it on your own. Considering I still have quite some time to go here, I wasn't prepared to pay the high prices. Not to mention the men here are no the most pleasant, polite, helpful kind I've gotten to used to and taken for granted. They are brash and rude. They shout out and not in just a, "hey, it's a foreigner" sort of way. They do it to local girls too. They're crude and the attention is unflattering. I've also opted out of being stuck solo with a guide who may end up with the same attitude.



Had I not been so turned off by the new attitude/culture of this city with their lack of helpfulness and rudeness of males I may have got a motorbike and rode all around on my own.

I did go for a very long walk on day---
I just looked for a way out of the city until it turned into dirt roads and forest. It was quite nice.
I passed a Christian semitary. There plenty of people visiting, taking such good care of the graves, even sweeping the ground around them.

If I ever come back to Vietnam-who are we kidding-when I come back this will be a place to come with someone.
Almost no one here speaks English, and those who do speak English don't speak it well, but that actually makes it kind of fun. I ended up getting this delicious meal from a little shop by drawing pictures and acting it out with a few, rare friendly people. They had just as much fun as I did, I think :).

I did however have someone refuse to sell me mangoes today. THAT was devastating! I really wanted those mangoes. Yay, for friendly people who don't hate foreigners and tasty, tasty, street food.


By the third day I was able to finally pry some information concerning a nearby trek the national park without a guide and how to get there but by then I was-to my own discredit-burnt out on this city-and ready to bolt. So I booked a flight of that afternoon. (If I had waited until the next day to leave I wouldn't be able to leave until 1630 and didn't want to spend another full day here.) So quite impatiently and stupidly of me I skipped the National Park in order skip town.


I flew from Buon Ma Thout to Danang and ended up getting one of my favorite shots from the entire trip.

side note:
While chatting with a friend they other night she said, "it's not like you'll be back any time soon..." I was confused, and my thought was, "of course I will". It was then I realized that many people see this as a once in a lifetime thing. And this particular trip certainly was, but it's just the beginning of my travel, which I intend to continue through out my life. Yep. This was the first step that began my journey of the rest of my life filled with adventure and travel.

I'm So Cool

What's the coolest thing about in Southeast Asia?
Long, Blonde, Beautiful hair? Nope
Stunning, Sparkling, Magical, Blue Eyes? Nuh-uh
Pastey White with Freckles? Not at all

Although I have had a few people, mostly young children stare me down. It's funny because I'm the one who feels rude for looking away when people are staring. What's really odd is that they seem to forget that when they are staring directing into my eyes (which is why I feel rude looking away-cause then they can't see them) that I can see them in return, that I in fact can see them looking at me. That in order to not disturb their curiosity, I have to stare at them right back. And yes, I do get some attention for them and although blue eyes are rare in this area, they have been seen before. Nope. The coolest thing about me in Southeast Asia is......




.....my camelbak. Yep. The attention that little bag gets when people watch me pour water into it they can't get enough. They want to examine, and many are bold enough to ask to try it out. It's kind of fun.

Thanksgiving Solo

3 nights in Buon Ma Thout and oddly enough, Thanksgiving Day is my fist day alone so far this trip. I enjoyed scouring the market and shops for my Thanksgiving feast. This is what I came up with :


It was a quiet day, but only really stupid Christmas movies on. I was hoping for something fun and seasonal. I did catch up on a bit of sleep as my imagined Turkey coma set in. (Best I could do was KFC. If there is going to be a fast food restaurant around, it's going to be a KFC.)
but the view wasn't terrible.

Traveling Alone

Many people wonder what's it's like to travel by yourself, or more specifically by myself. Honestly, I haven't been alone much; like at all. I spent the very first night at the hotel airport by myself. Other than that I have either shared a room or was meeting someone early the next morning. So I guess it's more like I've been traveling with strangers than traveling alone. I've run into some pretty cool people too; people I would love to have as friends in my everyday life.

Of course they all happen to be the kind of people who will hop a plane to Asia all by themselves too, so we're already starting off on some pretty solid ground. :)

But to answer the question simply, skip the first verse of this song and you'll have the basics. Plus it's just a really cool song.



In about an hour I will part from my latest travel buddy and be on my own again, and really for the first time this trip...depending on who I meet along the way.

Many more blog entries to come, where you will be introduced to many of said friends. I just don't have time to type them out right now.

Buon Ma Thout by Bus

The bus ride was breath-takingly beautiful. Planted coffee fiends and every shade of green, all set in small, but plentiful and steep mountain peaks.




Every spare inch of yard was covered with drying coffee (I think that's what it was). I was passing through these small villages around sun set, which is when every one comes out and wraps them up in the tarps they are spread out on, into perfect neat little bundles.


Once it got dark, however, and I was still on the bus for several hours, I was really ready to be done with it all.