Dressed to Kill in Hoi An, Courtesy of Ha Na Tailor

Red club! BTW Kat's shirt is an outline of Wisconsin with "curdlandia" written across it. LOVE IT.

In January I had what might be my most successful traveling stint of all time, with my sister and her best friend. Finding good travelin' buds be hard, amirite??

We were in sync in almost all things. Foods (all), bedtimes (early), fruit juices (again, all), music (OMG THIS ST. VINCENT ALBUM HOLY SMOKES), opinions regarding gazelles (majestic, obviously). It was a not really a surprise, though, that I was not really into the "let's make me new clothes!" thing, as we approached Hoi An - a city known globally as a custom clothier paradise. I'm not a clothes shopper on the best of days, and presented with unlimited choice? Well, that's just downright intimidating.

However.

All it took was one carefully dropped hint from my sister, and I was off to the races, too (although I managed to spend several hundred USD less on dresses and blazers).

Click through to see the fantastic clothes we got, custom made by Ha Na Tailor!

[p.s. Please forgive the wretched photography. These beautiful women deserved better, but all they got was me and my iPhone 5 camera. haha!]

Saigon Survival: How To Navigate Markets and Haggling

Ben Thanh Market is one of the oldest (and most highly valued) buildings in Saigon, and it's huge, crowded, and fascinating.

Learning how to haggle successfully has been one of the most infuriatingly difficult obstacles to enjoying Markets. But let me make one thing clear: Markets are the most interesting and reliable places to buy a wide assortment of things, all under one roof.

That means no jetting around on your moto/bike with increasingly heavy loads and/or slowly putt-putting along until you find the one half-hidden shop that you've heard has what you need! Meanwhile, central markets will often speak in a little English, and are quite anxious to help you... if they think they can make a profit.

Unwanted touching, a lack of common knowledge, and complicated social interactions outside your native language... there's a lot for an introvert to dread about going to Market in a new country, but you know what? It's totally doable. And the more comfortable you become at market, the faster you'll discover new things, people, situations, and more - Vietnam's bustling, dense, and outright sunny street culture is nowhere more reflected than in the local market.

At first, market is a hectic, nonsense sea of insanity, with people reaching and grasping like the zombie lake in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and you're certain you'll drown in a mass of soggy language difficulties and have no chance of escape.

But is that accurate?

Hội An: Ancient Town, Lovely Beach, Magic Atmosphere

Beaches, textiles, cacti, seafood, and old, old, old buildings are just a few of the pieces of the puzzle called Hội An - one of the oldest, and most immaculately preserved, trading port towns existing in SE Asia today... and definitely one of the most unique.

In July 2014 I visited with my good friend Lisa, after spending several (extremely mild) days in beautiful Da Lat and a bit in Saigon. It was only 700 km from the south-central highlands to this central port town, but the weather couldn't have been more different! We got a lot of variation on our trip together - a key characteristic of Vietnam.

Da Lat required me to buy a sweatshirt and scarf (a scarf, people), but there was zero need for them here. Although it was the beginning of the rainy season, we were blessed with three days of beautiful, hot, sunny days, and we took advantage of each one to the fullest, eating, drinking, biking, and walking our way around this sleepy and beautiful town.

The Genius of Traditional Vietnamese Hats

I only just realized:

Traditional Vietnamese Hat

=

The World's Best Men's Underpants

Ok, real talk.

After getting into my primary school classrooms and discovering that they were a) NOT air conditioned, as promised, and b) the teacher does not get a rotating fan pointed at them where they lecture (there are usually 5-7 fans along the tops of the walls pointed at the students, and one pointed at the teachers desk, but none at the blackboard area), I was compelled to write this post.

Let me tell you about how sweaty I get when I'm teaching. People, I sweat through my TIES. They are SODDEN, SOAKED MESSES when I get home. I can sometimes hardly pull them off. My shirt is even more of a mess - it looks like someone has picked me up and dunked the top half of me in water. I'm literally dripping sweat from my chin and nose all over English textbooks and little wooden desks for 4 hours a day, and it sucks. It's uncomfortable and the only thing saving it for me is that I'm going to drink four bottles of water in a row every hour.

But you know what's totally comfortable? My belly button to my ankles. I attribute it to two things: a) my slacks are way too baggy (almost shamefully '90's, I admit, and they need tailoring), and b) I made a stunningly intelligent decision on July 26th, 2012. That was the date I bought two new pairs of boxer briefs.

Comfortable, reliable undergarments are a thing of beauty. Let me share with you the world's most amazing men's underpants... an even more essential product now that I'm in the tropics. Stop reading now if that's not your bag.

You've been warned. Click the jump for comfort and, yes, seriously real (though not explicit) talk...

Vietnam and the Cost of Living

Some of you have asked me about personal costs and money living in Ho Chi Minh City. Here's a little more info for you, with some personal experience details. All denominations are in USD for the sake of easy comparison to you followers back home. The column on the left is always Chicago.

Note: All statistics come from numbeo.com (I don't know how well-reputed this site is, but the figures given largely fit with what I've seen, so I'm going to run with them and just post commentary) along with supporting anecdotal information from the sources listed at the bottom, combined with my personal experiences.

Meet the Shoeshine Boy

Yesterday, THIS GUY happened to me:

Normally I would have asked permission to take his
picture, but he was a total jackass. So I didn't.

This, my friends, is a shoeshine boy. Except in HCMC, they're more like Tourist Sandal Predators. I was walking along, minding my own business, when he ran up to me, knelt in front of me at a crosswalk and started supergluing my sandals. I was beyond surprised. I had no frame of reference. I shook him off, threw him 10,000 VND (about .50 USD) after he protested and got on my way.

But, oh no, this was not the end of this stupid drama. Not on this day when I've already had the most annoying day I've had since I got here. Of course not.

Reminder to Self: You're a Sweaty Bastard

Dear Diary,

7:30am: I leave my hotel.

• I walk 3/4 mile with my messenger bag.
• I spend 30 minutes perusing the air-conditioned supermarket* (post to follow!).
• I walk 3/4 mile home with my purchases - carrying one bag and another in my messenger bag.

8:45am: I return to my hotel.

RESULTS:

NEVER FORGET HOW SWEATY YOU ARE, BEN.