i finally got into the vietnam house after having a drink at the top of the Rex (can’t get enough of the elephant sculpture garden). i must say the waitrons at the vietnam house were almost as delicious as the food. they all were flawlessly dressed and had beautiful faces and clear shiny skin. oh yeah…the food was also very tasty, but the waitrons were so good lookin’…too bad they wereen’t on the menu. one thing though…i didn’t know “rain drops keep fallin on my head,” “memories,” “somewhere over the rainbow,” “endless love,” and the theme from flashpants were traditional vietnamese numbers. who knew???? after that, i went to apocolypse now for a drink. it was quite boring and no one was there. americam music on the juke and pool tables, but at least they had stoli (first time i’ve had a sip since leaving chip & anne. a thought: why am i the only black person in all of southeast asia??? i feel like i’m back in catholic school (hell, nyu for that matter — gary, you were german so you don’t count). one child kept pulling my curly hair and laughing as it sprang back. i guess they haven’t seen kink since the war????? then again, what black person would pay to walk through the leech filled jungle or a birdshit filled cave? nuff said. guess i better pay some money to harriet when i get back and take a ride on the underground rr when i get home. now that i’m on the color thang & to sound like chris rock…what the hell is up with all you white people trekkin’ all the way over here to collect some vietnamese babies. i’ve seen six white couples since i’ve been in vietnam with them. don’t y’all realize there are some po niggernese chillins in your backyard that need ejumacasion too???? now, back to the trip. wednesday, i went for a cruise on the mighty mekong river and viewed local life from the boat. everything is so simple here. they still use oxen to plow their fields and they do everything by hand. i went to a bee farm to see honey being collected, had tea ad had samples of all the local fruit. after that we road in sampans (small boats)through the canals. i went to see how coconut candy is made. my guide was a pushy local woman who kept pressuring me to buy things. needless to say, i’m a wimp and succumbed to her pressure. i’ll have lots of gifts for people when i get home. then, we went to see a local band. i was invited to try playing the danbau (instrument)…i think i’ll keep my day job (whatever that is). also on my way back to ho chi minh, we stopped at a rice paddy and i learned how the rice is harvested. i even picked some. thurs. (turkey day) i flew to da nang. went to a couple museums and pagodas, climbed marble mountain (it is made of marble). i’m proud to say that i was able to avoid the annoying children hawking their crude marble objects. but i didn’t get away b/c i was wisked to a marble factory and was pressured ino buying. these little people are sooooooo pushy!!!!! when you don’t by they lay on the guilt…that gets me all the time. i walked along non nuoc beach (china beach). now i’m in hoi an and strolling around and thought i’d send a v-mail. see ya in december, vicki p.s. sorry for any spelling/grammar errors, but this connection is too slow to go back to check