Good News–S. has arrived safely in Ho Chi Minh City!  I always feel better knowing she’s settled comfortably in a new location.  So, now all of you can cheer along with me at this milestone, minor as it may seem.  Actually arrival on Vietnamese soil may prove more significant than I can accurately appreciate  at the moment, especially since this will be our home away from home for some months to come.  I’m especially curious to hear her impressions of the place once she’s seen it in day light.  She did mention, however, that she’s not terribly thrilled with her current accommodations, compared with the hotel she had just left in Bangkok which was twice as nice for less than half the price.  Though that may say more about the extreme affordability of Bangkok than any inherent flaw in her Ho Chi Minh hotel.

At any rate, I did manage to accomplish one significant task toward my own eventual departure for Asia–namely the purchase of a Blackberry 8830 World Phone.  This will allow me to stay in telephone contact with friends and family in the US.  Mostly we will communicate via Skype, which is free, but it’s important I have the Blackberry for emergencies.  It’ also fairly affordable for text messaging  internationally–not to mention being able to send and receive email from virtually anywhere.  All in all a good purchase and one with which I’m excited to experiment.

I might also mention in closing that S. is fighting a case of bronchitis that sent her to the hospital before leaving Bangkok.   The illness left her alone in her Thai hotel room for several days, alone and clearly feeling fairly miserable.  It continues to throw her into coughing spasms that are painful to watch and listen to.

Oh, well, this is clearly not one of my most exciting posts of the past month.  However, I guess it does manage to keep readers updated with recent developments.  Stay tuned for more about Vietnam as seen via daylight.  In the mean time, there’s much to be said for safe passage.