Originally, we planned to take one more shore excursion at this last port. However, we changed our minds a few days ago. I think we are now tired of the feeling of moving so quickly from one thing to another without having much opportunity to see anyone who is not involved in the tourist industry. The tours have been fun and interesting, but enough now. Or perhaps we are just tired from all the very draining hot weather. Either way, we decided to stay behind. We ...

I have been looking forward to visiting Vietnam again since we had such a great time here a few years ago. Nha Trang is a resort city on the southern coast. They have no large berths for the type of ship we are on so we have to take a tender to get to and from land. I prepared with my Dramamine, but it wasn't necessary. The ride wasn't too bad and took only ten minutes once we got going. Another shore excursion from the ship kept us busy most of the day, but it...

What an amazing and often surprising week we have had. But now it is time to start the long trip home. This morning before Vinh picked us up for the last time, I wanted to mail postcards. I've had several ready to mail for a few days, but have not seen a post office to get stamps. I thought we would see one while we were out, but we haven't, or we didn't recognize it as a post office. I went to the hotel front desk to ask where I could buy stamps. The clerk res...

Today was the last full day of our volunteer experience and we had some loose ends to tie up. First thing on my schedule was to go to a pharmacy for a bandage and more snake oil. Since the hotel promised transportation anywhere we needed to go in town, I went to the front desk to ask if they would take me to a pharmacy. I started to explain that Philip had twisted his ankle yesterday and he needed a bandage. The desk clerks already knew all about what happened. ...