All over the place!

This post will be a bit all over the place...probably since I myself have been a bit all over the place too these past couple of weeks!

To start off with some exciting news, Zoe and I ran a half-marathon on Sunday! We "survived" the Hua Hin heavy half-marathon. Hua Hin is a touristy beach town about 3 hours south of Bangkok. The 21 km race started and finished on Hua Fai Lek mountain and most of the course was along backroads of this national park. I wasn't sure what the "heavy" in the title meant before the race. But now I know all to well that it means lots of hills :)

We are still nursing some sore muscles, but it was all worth it to get to run with some crazy fast and tiny Thai runners. Plus the post-run massage and ice cream didn't hurt either!

Now Zoe and I are on Koh Tao - an island in the Gulf of Thailand. We are on our third day of a PADI scuba certification course! We've been scuba diving the past two days and it is awesome! Koh Tao is one of the best spots in Thailand to get certified. The certification course is a combination of classroom and water lessons. In total, we go on about six dives!

Now backtracking a bit, last time I posted we were heading to Hue and Hoi An in central Vietnam. Hue ended up being just an okay stop - probably didn't help that we were exhausted from our night-bus experience. Also, Hue is known for ancient tombs and other historical things, and I wonder if we are a bit "overdone" on the ancient ruins touring after so much of it in Thailand and Cambodia? If Hue was less than enthralling, then Hoi An was on the other side of the spectrum! It is a cute and walkable town and is well-known as a "tailoring" town. You can get anything made here from dresses to suits to shoes. And, Hoi An is wonderfully situated just 5km from the ocean! Zoe and I made two trips to the beach - one by running (part of our limited half-marathon training) and one by bicycyling. It was fun to spend some time relaxing on a Vietnam beach. We lucked out by being in Hoi An for a special event about global warming. One evening, all of the businesses and restaurants and shops turned off their lights for one hour so that the only light came from candles. It was really beautiful and Zoe and I were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves at a candlelit dinner!

From Hoi An to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City), we caught a 22 hour sleeper bus...oh man, it was long! But HCMC was well worth a visit! We spent a lot of time at the different museums (particuarly the War Remnants Museum - about the Vietnam War or the War of American Aggression). It was really sad and awful to visit, but also important too. We also went to Cu Chi tunnels where VietCong soldiers basically fought the American soldiers from a series of impressive tunnels under the ground.

On our second day in HCMC, I ran into a friend from Seattle, Holly, who I had played soccer with in tenth grade. She is teaching English in HCMC. It was such a lovely surprise, and Holly was a great tour guide during our following days in the city!

Well, I am racking up the bill at this internet cafe so best be going...Next we are off to Krabi province on the west side of southern Thailand. Hopefully more adventures to come!

Thinking of you!
Kate