By the time you read this here stream of consciousness, I will be on a plane or perhaps already in the exotic far-away lands. Vietnam feels like an odd choice for our pre-honeymoon, at least for me – having spent half of my life in the Soviet Union, and the other half in the US, I’m used to the stories about Vietnam being all about “smell of napalm in the morning” and “Charlies in the trees”. That was half a century ago, though, so things have changed – I’m going to spend two-and-a-half weeks in the lap of luxury, eating awesome cheap food and getting awesome cheap massages.
I’m hoping for an easy trip with aghm, a very budget airline…and that I don’t freak out the way I sometimes do, when it suddenly occurs to me just how ridiculous it is to be hurtling through the air in a sardine can…
I’m also hoping to detox a bit from my addiction to social media, so I might be sparse and not answering comments as I usually do. I will try to stay true to form and post updates on the promos I got scheduled – if not on the blog, then at least on Twitter.
Please don’t forget to enter the free cover design contest or the free Goodreads giveaway – both end on 31 December. Otherwise, enjoy your various holidays, and see you in 2016!
Ana Spoke, author 
Have a great time!
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You’ll be glad you went to Vietnam. My experience is Hanoi and I love it. I’ve been lucky enough to visit my brothers family-in-law. The hospitality, attentiveness and generosity is great.The traffic is a revelation – imagine the chariot race in Ben Hur run with 100 times more chariots, at three times the speed and in all directions. If you don’t find crossing a city street exciting, you have iced water in your veins. Enjoy :0)
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Hope I love Hoi An a lot more than Ho Chi Minh – and you’re right about traffic. Imagine my fiance adding to the excitement by crossing a road with his eyes closed! He wanted to prove a point to me, but all he did was give me a heart attack…
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Safe travels and enjoy your stay!
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Thank you!
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Have wonderful pre-honeymoon trip but be watchful and careful over there while traveling. Enjoy exotic food and RELAX with those cheap massages while having Happy Holidays with your loving husband to be. ( who’s got the puppy while your gone?) Just got someone to buy your book today! Yeah! I’m entering both contests, so wish me luck. Merry Christmas early! Can’t wait to hear about Vietnam. Toodles!
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Good luck, Olivia! Thank you for spreading the word – you’re amazing!
Puppy is back with my ex – we have a very amicable arrangement of sharing the dog, approved by Josh 🙂 Much better than a kennel…
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Enjoy your trip! Looking forward to seeing what awesome insights you bring back upon your return.
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Thank you Jon 🙂
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While your there read “Up Country” by Nelson Demille.
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While you’re there
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I’ll look it up…reading Shantaram at the moment, one hell of a brick of a book…
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As I write this, the sky is BLACK! RAIN is beating down on my window and the WIND is threatening to blow down my fence. So, I may be a teeny weeny bit envious of your jolly holiday 🙂
Have a great time. xx
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Oh, no! Hope it clears up soon…I kind of cant quite believe it myself 🙂 First overseas holiday in four years…
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Put me in your bag… I won’t take much of a space 🙂 I wanna see Vietnam …LOL … Have Fun….n Merry Xmas in advance…. Alan
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I’ll post pics for you 🙂 Ho Chi Minh is nothing to get excited about so far…
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Okay… Thanks.. Sounds good… Yah Ho Chi …Tell me abt it.. Just a bunch of ppl selling dogs on street, traffic (motobikes)…. What abt Hanoi? Did you go there??
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Hoi An tomorrow, not going to Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh is not for everyone – noise, smells, broken sidewalks, and continuous extortion from locals…motorbikes everywhere, but no dogs, thank god.
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I grow some amorphophallus plants from Vietnam and would like to go there. But for the moment I will entrust you with the enviable task of scouring the Vietnamese jungle (which will entail side excursions, as most hoteliers have the good sense of building in populated areas) in search of rare and resplendent flora. Naturally I expect you to follow in the footsteps of Carl Linnaeus when naming new species. Latin binomial nomenclature is easy to learn (if you know Latin) and I am sure you will be elated at having mastered something new on your holiday-cum-botanical expedition. Make sure you are well vaccinated before you leave–jungles are fascinating, epidemiologically speaking, and often harbor the vectors of strange and unquantifiable diseases. Yet no matter how frightening these may be, they are mere annoyances compared to the perils of the publishing industry. Bon voyage, Ana.
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Enjoy it, Ana and see you (or read you) soon
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Thank you, Olga!
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One word of warning … don’t let anyone persuade you to undergo a foot massage there, which involves letting your feet be nibbled by little fish. A friend of mine came back from holiday and was ill for a few months due to that treatment.
PS I wonder if Isa will be visiting Vietnam for one of her future escapades. Hope you have an old-fashioned notebook and pen with you.
Wishing you a joyous time 🙂
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Thank you, Sarah! I’ve seen that before in Bali and it did not appeal…I’m pretty squimish…
Isa is going to India, so I’m going to translate some of these experiences into India the best I can 🙂 Got a notebook and a tablet handy!
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One of my blogging friends is from India. You might like to check out his blog, as he takes fabulous vibrant pictures that will really give you a flavour of the country. I’m sure he’d be delighted to answer any questions about India, if you were stuck on any research point.
https://keeppicturing.wordpress.com/about/
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Thank you so much, Sarah! Beautiful photos, and very lyrical/they tell a story…
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Have a great time Ana! I can’t wait to hear about it 🙂
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Have a lovely time Ana. I would say to you to ‘switch off’ from everything Shizzle related …… but I know you won’t.
I’m off to India on New Year’s Day, for a couple of weeks, and should do as i preach … but again, I know I won’t. I’ll b drafting out my next effort, ‘Soul Survivor,’ and possibly developing the idea for fictionalising (there’s obviously no such word, as it’s just been underlined in red on my screen) DAMP DOGS & RABBIT WEE.
Have a fun break!
🙂
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Oh my gosh have fun! Your blog is super cool by the way. You seem like a really interesting person 🙂
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Wow, thank you so much, Emily! I will post updates – so far less than 24 hours and already plenty of comedy material and ideas for the next book…
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Hello. I think Vietnam is a great choice for a trip. I hope you’ll be going to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.
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Oh, no! I’m not – going to Hoi An, Nha Trang and Mui Ne…
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Cool, I’ve heard good things about Hoi An and Nha Trang. I didn’t go to those places but I went to Ho Chi Minh City and Hue.
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HCM City was so crowded, dirty and loud! Hoi An is much more relaxed – just arrived, will start exploring tomorrow. Not sure where’s Hue?
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Haha, yes, Vietnamese cities are quite noisy. Hue is 2 hours north of Da Nang, which is about an hour (perhaps less) north of Hoi An. Hue and Da Nang are bigger than Hoi An, but less noisier and crowded than HCMC. Da Nang has really nice beaches and Hue is famous for the imperial palace.
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The cities and traffic are not for faint hearted! Today is raining, but tomorrow we are going to see Hoi An ancient city
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Haha, yes, the traffic can be quite risky, even just crossing the road.
I hope you have a great time in Hoi An ancient city tomorrow.
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Have a great time!! I’m anxious to read about your adventures!
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Thank you! Just made it to Hoi An, despite technical issues with the plane (don’t you just love those announcements!!). Magical place, amazing hotel, happy memories in the making 🙂
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How awesome! Feeling incredibly jealous! haha
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Reblogged this on sherriemiranda1 and commented:
Ana, be sure to let us know how your trip goes, what kind of food you ate, as well as any other details you think are fit to print.
I am hoping to someday put together an anti-war anthology. When I was getting my MFA in Creative Writing, I put together an Introduction and story list with descriptions of each story, several of them were from the point of view of the Vietnamese soldier. At that time, I discovered that THEY called the Viet Nam War, the “American War.” Makes sense once you think about it.
Anyway, I hope every part of your trip is great!
Peace, love & harmony,
Sherrie
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
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Thank you for sharing, Sherrie – I will! The war museum was horrendous…
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