Home Sweet Vietnam

I had planned on keeping up with this blog when I got home. Not only was I surprised and touched by how many people seemed to really like reading about my adventures, but Bonnie inspired me to want to blog about the stories that I either didn’t have time for or was too tired to type on my stupid iPhone keypad.

Then RL happened. I’m grateful for the exciting work projects I’ve been blessed to have been placed in charge of on my return, but being thrown into that leadership mid-project-stream when the original leader is unexpectedly out of pocket has had its challenges, lol!

But I did want to showcase my wonderful lodgings that were my homes away from home. I was lucky to experience every last one of them when I was in Nam. When I return, I will be returning to Hanoi, Hoi An, and Saigon, and I will definitely be staying in all three places again. They were all perfect. If I planned to return to Hue, I’d definitely stay at the Hue Serene Shining Palace again.

I had the occasion to visit my parents last weekend, and showing the pics to my mom made me feel all nostalgic for these homes away from home. As I showed her the pics of the Hong Ngoc Dynastie in Hanoi, the overwhelming feelings I felt when I first checked in washed over me again: fear, relief, joy, trepidation, anticipation…there were so many as I struggled to grasp the concept that I was finally in this country I had only dreamed about, even as I was wondering if I would, indeed, soon die in a rice paddy, lol! I’ll never forget that first night, filled with so many conflicting emotions.