This is going to be a very short post- I have like 4 people in line to get on this computer. We are here safe in Singapore, after spending 3 glorious days at a 6-star hotel in Phuket, on the beach sunbathing, as well as going snorkling one day (with a shark apparently) and riding an elephant the next day!!!!!! So as soon as I don't have a huge line waiting behind me I'll write in more detail!

Since we've been at a hotel that charges to be on the computer I haven't written the last couple of days- my apologies!!! But I shall take the time now to catch everyone up!!!!

Wednesday (the rest of it): we met up with a couple of Vietnamese people we met from the other orchestra- at the Vietnam Academy of Music. Velvet, Trang, Qua, and "Santa" took us to some of the important things in Hanoi- including an Opera House, ice cream, and a park. We stood outside the operahouse taking pictures, until a guard asked us to step away. Trang later told me there was an important person inside. They bought us icecream...twice actually. Both times we walked by. First time it was white- they said it is flavored with rice, but the stage before rice becomes rice, which we apparently don't have in the US. Second time we got chocolate. I love chocolate. As I was crossing the street with Trang, a motorcyclist came flying out of no where and almost hit me- I was trying to get out of the way but Trang kept pulling me until she saw him. But I survived, so no need to panic! The boys split off (they were sleepy) while the girls took us to a park that they said was popular late at night due to the breeze blowing through as well as all the vendors. They walked us back to our hotel after that, and we said goodnight.

Thursday I ate chocolate pancakes (again) and left for the VNAM (Academy of Music) for a 2 hour practice. Trang met us there and invited Gretta, Evelyn, Lissette, and me to lunch at her house. After checking with Shuichi (our director) we walked to her house- about 2 minutes from the school. We met her mom, were offered some tap water (which we didn't drink), and went to the market to buy food. We left our bags up at the front, and went shopping. Velvet then walked into the store, screaming at Trang. Of course it was all in Vietnamese, so we just stared in confusion. She walked up to Gretta and demanded the cell phone she had lent her (while we were in Hanoi), saying "we're thru!" Gretta couldn't get it back to her, since she had kept it in the bag that was at the front of the store. So Velvet walked off. After we were back at Trang's house, Velvet was texting Gretta, trying to convince her to come get drinks with her. We are not supposed to split up, so we said no, since Velvet only wanted Gretta to go. Velvet ended up coming over and talking to Gretta outside, with Lissette there to keep Velvet from bullying Gretta into anything. They ended up walking a close distance to get drinks, while we called a taxi. We picked Gretta up, drank the sugar cane drinks, and headed back to the hotel, getting there 5 minutes before the bus was leaving. We went to dinner, got back to the hotel, picked up our dresses, and went to our concert. Some people went out with new-found friends, but I was sleepy so I went straight to bed.

Friday we went to Halong Bay. It took about 3 hours by bus, while we stopped halfway. We were separated into 4 groups, which ended up being about 20 people per boat, and one guide per group. Our guide was so CUTE! He was really shy, but friendly. We first went to the caves- walked around a bit while they talked to us about what rock looks like what animal. Then some of us went on to another cave, while others went back to the beach. On the way to the second cave we saw a huuuge spider, hanging from a web above the trail. Within this second cave we discovered....prepare yourselves...the door to Middle Earth!!!! And from the other side it was the door to Narnia! To the naked eye it looks like a square hole in a rock, but some of us can see it's true purpose. Anywho, we went back to the beach, took some group pictures, and got back on our boats. We were fed while traveling to a Floating Village, and stopped at one of the fish houses? I don't really know what to call it. It's basically a floating house that has holes cut into the floor with nets on the inside, where they've put the various kinds of fish they caught. One kind looked like small sharks, but after asking our guide we found out they're only fish. We got back on the boat, and went on. Gretta and I went and sat on the front of the boat, took our shoes off, and reinacted some parts of Titanic. And we have some epic pictures from it! This was my favorite part of the trip up to this point. We got back on the bus, drove back to Hanoi, and went to eat (at about 9 PM). Gretta, Lewis, Peter, Jared, and I got a VIP room- its a small room that the table is set deep into the floor, with cushions set around it for people to sit on, and surrounded by cloudy glass. It was amazing! So amazing we actually didn't notice when everyone else had gone. We knew our way back though, so we walked back to find out no one had even noticed we hadn't been there; not even our chaperone. Trang and Velvet met us back at the hotel, with those two back on normal terms. Trang gave us each sweet little cards she had written, and said goodbye. Velvet had us sign a book, and also said goodbye. I gave Trang a hug, said goodbye yet again, and went to bed.

Saturday I woke up at 6 AM, ate more chocolate pancakes, and rode to the airport. On the plane I was able to finish Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card...it was crazy! And apparently Stephanie has the sequel so I shall have to borrow it! We landed safely in Bangkok, and went to our 5 star hotel. I loved it! We got to stay there for 2 1/2 days, then came back to Assumption University. While we were in the hotel, a few of us went to the Emporium for lunch, gelato, and a movie! Well, we got the tickets to a movie. Sarah, Stephanie (the camera lady) and I went to get a massage- full body Thai massage. I enjoyed it- until she got to my shoulders and neck. I almost cried it hurts so bad. Next time I get a massage (hopefully in Phuket) I'm either going to have them skip my shoulders or just have a foot massage. We went to the movie at 7:40- it was Angels and Demons. We bought special tickets for VIPs or something- they turned out to basically be recliners but without the foot part, but it didn't turn out to be that awesome. The movie also sucked, although I was the only one out of our group of about 8 to think so.

Sunday we went to the Chatuchak Open Air Market- "the world's largest flea market". I think Shuichi told us it covers about 60 acres. It was hot, humid, sweaty, and smelled like an open sewer. It was fun to see all the stuff people sold, but I can only handle so many sensory things at once. I bought more present, watched my money, and walked around absorbing as much as I could. We went back to the hotel, Gretta and I ate Subway, and we drove for 1 and 1/2 hours to go play a concert that we SUCKED. On the way back though, spirits were suprisingly high, at least in the front part of our bus, while we had a mosquito killing fest, then went on to telling jokes. We went swimming in our SWEET outdoor pool, and went to sleep. I am coming close to curfew, so I will tell you about today tomorrow!!! (Today was Monday by the way)

Anywho, as I was saying...people have been getting really cranky! Especially last night, when the hotel(s) we are staying in screwed up. They put 3 people in rooms that fit 2, so everyone had to wait up while it was sorted out! I have been trying to take time alone so I don't kill anyone...or at least wait until we're at least 2 weeks into the trip!!!

Crossing the street here is insane. Once you learn the technique it's not quite as bad, but still scary if you look. No one stops for pedestrians, and there are countless motorcyclists. It is an ART to successfully dodge them! I've only seen one accident thus far, and that was 2 motorcyclists hitting each other.

It smells pretty nasty here, with all the traffic, and especially people dumping garbage and going to the bathroom out in the streets. I've seen workers go around picking up the garbage, but sometimes it takes a while for them to get there and it rots. Even our hotel smells a bit like a barn...at least downstairs in the lobby.

I just bought some presents for people, as well as a Ao Dai for myself- it's a Vietnamese Dress...and it's GORGEOUS! Well, it will be, as soon as she makes it. Yup- I'm having it tailored. And you know how much it is going to cost? 37 dollars. I'm sosososososo excited for it!!!!!!

Tonight we are going to the Water Puppet Show, which is supposed to be spectacular. I'll let you know how it is! Afterwards, one of the girls from the Vietnamese Youth Orchestra are going to show a few of us around. It should be fun! I'm hoping I feel a bit better by then- I think I'm getting dehydrated :(

Our concert today went okay, DEFINITELY not the best we've played, but for some reason we had to play 2 encores! We have another concert tomorrow night, outside...it's going to be insane. If I don't die of heat stroke I'll be suprised!!! This one will be for the public, while the one we played today was for the other orchestra and some members of a special group.

Hi! So this won't be too long of a blog- I'm going to try to get as much down as I can while we're waiting for the bus to come grab us for our practice. We are now in Hanoi, Vietnam. Everyone is friendly, and most of them are VERY aggressive when trying to sell you stuff. One lady was trying to sell me a fan, and I said no probably 20 times, yet she kept hitting my arm with the fan and was telling me I could get 2 for 50,000 dong (a little less than 3 dollars) which is a really high price here for what she's trying to sell me! I did, however, buy a few things in the shops we went to- but I'm not going to say what they are since some of them are presents!!!!

We ate at Moca Cafe today for lunch- Gretta and I shared a cashew chicken dish, along with white rice and green tea for me. Sarah got a coconut, and we all tried some of the milk as well as the fleshy part. It was pretty good, but I don't think I could eat a whole one. Thus far I've liked Vietnam more than Thailand, but I haven't seen much of Thailand!

Last night for dinner we ate at a seafood restaurant- things like coconut shrimp, octopus, some mystery meat we don't know, and egg rolls. People have been getting really cranky.

I have to go so I'll write more later!

We are here in Assumption University- having another day of kinda-rest before we get to travel tonight to Vietnam. Yesterday- after eating lunch and walking around a bit (getting a lot more photos) we went swimming in one of the pools here on campus. It was so amazing feeling! Afterwards we were walking back, with people walking by complaining about the heat, while we just enjoyed our cooler state! We're thinking of going again today.

Last night a small group of about 15 of us went to Lotus- pronounced Lota- and went shopping/peoplewatching. Lotus is similar to a Walmart or Kmart, only here in Thailand. I went to buy a camera memory card as well as a big bottle of water. We aren't allowed to drink the water here, or even use it to brush our teeth since chances are we'd get sick off it. I tried to use the memory card, but it doesn't work with my camera, so I went to bring it back. 5 people ended up trying to help me, none of them speaking English. The manager said something to me, but I said "I only speak english"'; she imitated me, then laughed...then said nothing else to me. It was strange.

After returning it I went to Home Pro- similar to Home Depo or Lowe's. That was where the people watching went on. There were about 3 employees in each section, and since it was close to closing time they were all sitting around. They stared at me as I walked by, every one of them! Or some of them would look at my feet, which made me wonder if something was falling off them or something, so multiple times I checked to make sure I had shoes on.

It is strange being in a country where you are a rarity, especially when I've always been part of the majority. Although, thinking about it later, they were probably staring at all my freckles- I wouldn't doubt if they've never seen that many.

After getting back I literally passed out on the bed. When I woke up in the morning I hadn't moved. It's interesting- after staying up for as long as I have been my body is already set to this time zone. Gretta didn't even wake up when I came back in, opening our squeaky door 4 times!

To get to Lotus we had taken a taxi. INSANE! There are no seatbelts. They do not follow the law, nor the speedlimit. The speedlimit was 25 km/hr, but our driver was going 120 km/hr, up to about 140 at one point. One of the things that cracked me up though was that even though they're driving like crazy people, they still use their blinkers. There are stray dogs everywhere- since it is illegal to kill dogs, and they don't want to waste the money to spay or neuter them. We almost hit a couple driving to Lotus, then almost stepped on one walking in.

I haven't gotten sick thus far, for which I am extremely thankful. We haven't really had much foreign authentic food yet, we've just been eating the stuff the University and the airlines give us. Apparently the first day we got here 3 or 4 people were sick. I'm dreading when it's my turn to get sick :(

Taipei, Taiwan!

We've arrived safely in Taipei! After a 12 hour bus drive, 12 hour plane flight (boarded at 3 AM Bozeman time), and losing a day (Saturday) in the time change! We are now waiting for the next flight to Bangkok, boarding at 8:30 and arriving at about 11 AM. Apparently today is a day to rest and recoup, before we start practices tomorrow. It is 7:15 AM here now, but my body feels like it is about 5 PM. Kinda weirding me out! So as a result, over the last 2 days I've gotten about 8 hours of sleep...which isn't too horrible considering!

I've only taken one picture thus far, so I'm going to wait a bit longer to load at least a few on. I just bought a journal, so I will be able to actually remember what happened each day! It has many Chinese paintings and writings in it, as well as some proverbs!

It is hot and humid even here in the airport where there is air conditioning. What we've seen of the plant life is blooming, and only a few white birds that I don't know what they are (I'd guess seagulls). I may have seen some whales or dolphins when we were flying in- I was looking down at the water and would see something come up out of it every few minutes as well as the white water.

I have wonderful news! My brother (who is a saint and letting me borrow sooo much stuff for asia) was able to find the cable to get the camera connected to the computer!!! So I should be able to get at least a couple of photos on here...that is supposing of course I am able to figure out how to work it
:-)

I am very sorry to those of you that will be expecting to be able to view pictures...we cannot find the cable so I won't be able to put them on :( I am very sorry! But I am going to try to write as much as I can of what's going on!

And it is coming inevitably closer! But first, the 12 hour bus ride, followed by a 13 hour flight. Who wouldn't be excited? It should be...fun though. I'm told we will be playing spoons. I hope not the entire time.

Here is the website our assistant conductors and director made- it shows a couple of the hotels we'll be staying in, as well as giving other info!

http://msuasiatour.org/index.html

Voila! Enjoy!!!

Asia!

Obviously, I'm not in Asia yet. I will be leaving around May 22nd, or whenever our flight is scheduled. I am going to keep everyone as updated as I can!