Day.... August 3!

It's us again! We're in a city called Buon Ma Thuot, one of the stops on the way to the coast. The good news is that neither of us have gotten malaria yet, we haven't been in a motobike accident yet, haven't stepped on any poisonous bugs, haven't been drowned by the rain (but felt like we went swimming), haven't gotten traveller's diarrhea or food poisoning, haven't been trampled by the elephant, or been kidnapped by a monkey! So I guess you could say, the trip is going well and our future's looking bright!
The last couple of days have been really busy ending in a sore bum! The last two days we've spent on the backs of motorbikes seeing Vietnam. We're with a group called "the Easy Riders" and while we travel, they stop and show bits and pieces about life here in Vietnam. So far we've seen flower greenhouses, jungle, how they make rice wine, the silk factory, coffee plantations, making pots for bonsei trees, minority villages, riding elephants, stopping in rice patties, stopping and watching a type of fishing, seeing waterfalls and staying in luxury hotels along the way. We've eaten silk worm larvae, bamboo shoots and whole fish! None of which we've particularly enjoyed!!! But it's all part of the experience right?
One of my favorite things about Vietnam is the children and the people! I know I've only been here a few days, but most of them outside the cities are so friendly. The children love to yell "hello" to us as we pass and they have such beautiful smiles! Oh they're so cute! And happy! Life here is so simple but so happy! The people work hard but love to play as well. We often pass kids playing ball or badminton and everyone rides a bike!!! The children are on peddal bikes and the adults use motorbikes. Often the children are riding bikes much too big for them. I have fallen in love with the children! I just wish I could speak their language and communicate with them! They all work so hard too! We often pass cows being herded by children and see children in the rice fields or they're watching their parents work.
In the minority villages, the people have literally nothing but the necessities! They sleep on bamboo mats! But they love each other! The village supports each other. Today we saw part of a funeral and most of the village was out for it! The people ride these tractor like things called "highland taxi's" (at least that's what our guides called them). I just love how simple life seems for them. They're happy to spend their day collecting food and returning in the evening. We also had a chance to ride an elephant today. The driver took us around a lake and then right through it! The water was so deep it came up to our feet! The poor elephant had to keep holding its breath and then lifting its trunk up out of the water to breath. Bradyn and I decided they are sure ugly animals! It was neat to watch how agile the driver was as he would take one step on the elephant's knee and be up up on it!
As far as adventure goes we went canyoning a few days ago where we go repelling through waterfalls and loving every minute of it. The trip also included cliff jumping, and watersliding in the waterfalls. The water was so dirty I'm surprised we haven't gotten sick! But life is good! One more day and we should have our bags. I feel so gross! We've worn the same clothes for a week! We have washed our garments using shampoo but then had to wear them wet because we had no other pair to wear! We're excited to see our bags tomorrow! The day after that we're going scuba diving! After that we're trying to decide because the transportation isn't working as smoothly as we had hoped. But we're having a good time and flying by the seat of our pants! All that really matters is that we get on the plane back home in time!