Bus rides, boat rides and biking, o my!

Posted from Daniel Chase (age 11)  8/28:

Bus rides, boat rides and biking, o my!

Today we took a tour of Hoi An that was 6 hours long.The first 2 hours were fun but then it got a little old.  Sometimes I think that when the motor bike company makes the bike they should disable the horn. What I'm saying here is that the Vietnamese use their horns a bit too much, a lot too much. The constant noise of honking is what I'm still getting used to. 

For some reason there are lots of Australians in Vietnam. We visited an Australian cafe in Hoi An and it was awesome! There was a playground in the back which had a trampoline.THAT was the awesome part. Also there was pancakes.

Some of you might know that my dream is to see or have a pet monkey.Not yet. Not in the third largest city in Vietnam. But I still hope to get one.

Anyway,about Hoi An. We foreigners have some bus advantages. Although I do feel guilty because when we got on someone was forced to move so we can sit down. The bus crashes through town at top speed and it only slows down to pick someone up. That was a bumpy experience. There is more to the tour than that, such as a boat or two, but this is all the patience I have for typing. 

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Posted from Daniel Chase  8/14

Airplane rides are fun, but not for the fourth time. Somehow escalators, elevators and airplanes got boring. 

Although the fifth flight was way more interesting because of two words: first class. That was luxurious. The first city we went to in Vietnam was Saigon.  Of course, there was a huge difference between Saigon and Da Nang.  Saigon was crowded and smoggy.  It also had amazingly crowded streets.  I was relieved that we were going to live in Da Nang for two reasons:  1. It's a beach city. 2. It's way less crowded and the sky is clearer.  

Do we live in paradise?  

Or not? (this is our corner bike-repair guy)

Today is Friday the 14th and we have been in Vietnam for 5 days.  We have already gotten a house and new American friends.  So far, Vietnam has been a fun experience for me.  I love the heat of the ocean and the soft sand.  We call our house the green house because the couch is surprisingly green, and lots of the decorations are green too.  It is 4 stories, although the 4th story is mostly the roof, which is pretty cool.  We looked at 8 houses before we decided on the green house.  

I feel like I almost got run over by a motorcycle a million times, except that I never did.  And I say motorcycle because 90% of the traffic is motorcycles, motorbikes or bicycles.  Why do I think I almost got run over by a motorcycle?  Because to Americans, the traffic of Vietnam is complete havoc.  Crosswalks are unappreciated, and it's normal to only barely dodge a pedestrian making his way across the street.