A ride on a fixie, a shamu outfit, and an evening out in Nha Trang, Vietnam

I planned on going to bed early last night but ended up staying awake till late. not for any fun reasons. my email has been hacked into a half dozen times (sorry mommy, here is yet another Viagra spam email)... but this time my bank account was hacked into. on the phone with bank America much longer than I wanted to be up for. shit happens. it worked out in the end.

wore two wetsuits on my dive today. I dont like being cold. I looked like a shamu marshmallow after i got suited up. dives today were better than yesterday - moray eels, dragon fish, sea snakes, and pipe fish. i got to swim thru caves with tons of (threatening looking) fish on both sides. my 'skill' for the day in my advanced scuba course was using an underwater computer to navigate us thru our dive and back to the boat. I am asian.. and female.. and therefore have no sense of direction. after a 40 minute dive I more or less got us back. f for effort.

after my dive I rented a bicycle to explore nha trang. mission hipsters may call it a 'fixie', but i call it a piece of shit bike that has no gears. i still rode faster than some of the motorbikes. road along the beach till i was no longer on the 'Nha trang tourist map'. made a u turn and spent over an hour looking for the big budda. it's one thing being lost, but it's another thing being lost amongst crazy Vietnam motorbike traffic... and then my chain dropped and I had to get off and try to fix my bike. an old Vietnamese man runs over and starts helping me. he fixes my bike, helps me wash my grease stained hands and gives me the biggest smile. I said 'thanks' gave him a smile and as I turned around - there was the big budda. sweet.

after a long shower was ready to call it a night but decided to go out just for a bit. its Saturday anyway. went to the sailing club- the 'nicest' restaurant that throws a beach party once a month. my thought process: the most expensive party will be the safest party. a beautiful view of the ocean, white sandy beaches, modern establishment, big sound system with a DJ spinning some kind of lounge house music (reminds me of xyz bar). I know I'm safe because everyone here clearly has money. feels very la jolla-esque.. maybe because the white couple in front of me includes a sculpted and manscaped gentleman and a woman with (fill in the every kind of job) done. this midori-sponsored party involves 'high priced' drinks (ie $5 instead of $1) and all kinds of weird entertainment (dragon dance, fire dance, fire juggling, etc). was attempting to sit solo and enjoy myself... but that didn't last long!