-^-for posterity-^-

the rest of da lat was beautiful. we ambled through a gigantic market. it was grey and solidly build and the roof was high. the stands were all butted up against one another and people sat inside watching potential customers pass. we bought a variety of things. da lat is famous for its strawberries and we were perpetually carrying a bag with us. it is also famous for its flowers. i bought some flowers and felt sappy doing so. it was nice. jam is also important. the jam is more glue like than it is jam as i would know it. oh, we also bought some dried deer meat.

the rest of the night was spent walking around the narrow, windy streets and enjoying the fresh air. imagine a place with no humidity and mild temperatures all year long. imagine a place that is the polar opposite of the mekong. if you threw a piece of gum on a tin-roof it would hold its place for centuries.

the architecture of the city is a strange combination of french, 60’s chintz and massive soviet buildings. the streets are euopean but the people are vietnamese. the narrow stairways that lead from one street to another and wind around the sides of curved buildings reminded me a lot of spain. the people sitting on the street corner pedaling all sorts of home-made food reminded me of the mekong.

the bus ride home was the final adventure. we all wanted to be home and no one wanted to sit in an ancient bus for 11 hours. no one wanted to watch the dog vomit any more. the bus was huge and square looking. it had one speaker for music that happened to be beside my seat. the music blared on and on and on and on. the seats were covered with floral cushions. the floor was some sort of mustard linolieum. the windows were large and you could slide them open. i spend most of the trip just enjoying the exhaust-filled breeze.

you can’t drive quickly either. it was only 90 miles until we arrived in saigon but it took us three hours without stopping. lots of bends, lots of slow moving trucks and plenty of horn honking.

we arrived in the mekong and the temperature was unbearable. after spending so much time in the frigid mountains of da lat, the heat of the jungle was suffocating. our bus drove off the ferry about a mile from long xuyen. our dog somehow sensed that we were close. he moved positions from the floor, where he sat, slouching, with his ears lowered and his tongue hanging out of his mouth looking like he was trying to find a way to end his life quickly and painlessly instead of bouncing around on this ancient soviet bus, to my lap. he poked his head out of the window and began to sniff. he smelled something and his tail began to wag. he smiled and his ears perked up. i was just about as happy to be home.