I Bought Some New Books...

"The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness - a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the wild..." - Jack London

Put that in your back pocket and sit on it for a bit...it's been in my mind for days...

Another gem:

"It should not be denied...being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and opression and law and irksome obligations..." -Wallace Stegner

I spent six hours on a motorcycle today with a man whose name I never got. He showed me some of Central Vietnam's coastline and it was glorious. Four more days in Vietnam before my holiday in Cambodia begins.

Sometimes the nights reach the same temperature as they do in the early fall in Beverly which is a nice feeling and reminds me of home. I was paddling a two person kayak by my self the other day - I sat in the back seat and kept imagining different people in the front.

I'm exhausted and really need to shower.

You're the tops,

Bea

Deep Thoughts.

- I have been walking through a lot of mud/animal poop the last few weeks.

- I now know how to find eels in mud pits, catch them, kill them, skin them, gut them, cook them and eat 

   them.

- I am thinking a lot about universal truths and how awkward the intersection of man and nature is.

- I don't use the zoom on my camera much because I can't help but think I am taking something out of 

  context and it's been drilled into me to always put things IN to context.

- I am learning to put things in perspective as well.

- A group of twenty-two year olds called me old the other day.

- I got on a plane a month ago...and will get on another one a month from today. Oof.

Short and sweet.

Hug and a squeeze,

Bea

This is fun...

I'm in Hanoi, Vietnam right now and heading to Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island for the next three days. I have been doing and seeing many wonderful things and being on the computer has been far from my mind. BUT I just had two cups of a coffee, the internet is free, and I have an hour and a half until my cheesy water puppet show starts so here are some highlights so far:

- Getting my Myanmar visa without a hassle.
- My first tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok.
- Getting lost on my bicycle in Ayutthaya, Thailand and not seeing another westerner for hours.
- Getting lost on foot in Ayutthaya, Thailand and getting a motorcycle ride to the ferry from the local I asked 
   for directions.
- Meeting and then travelling through Thailand and Laos with three really great Aussies (we have since 
  parted ways. Sad.)
- Jungle trekking for three days which included riding an elephant, drinking whiskey moonshine from a
  bag under a waterfall and eating rat for breakfast.
- The five massages I've had so far...
- Taking a two day slow boat down the Mekong River in Laos.
- Watching the sunset in Luang Prabang, Laos.
- THE MARKETS.
- THE FOOD MARKETS.
- Trekking in Sapa, Vietnam and doing a homestay in the Tavan valley with a Black Hmong family.

I'm very happy. The thing I miss the most are my jeans...and you of course.

Love,
Bea