We finally made it to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon! I apologize for such a long lapse between blogs, but the last two weeks have been a blur. We left Nicaragua on the 30th and spent the better part of 4 days on buses before reaching Mexico City. After one day of rest in the Salvation Army in Mexico City we hit the road again, catching a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, with layovers in Los Angeles and in Taipei, Taiwan. As soon as we landed in Bangkok and captured our luggage, which thankfully all arrived at the same time as we did, our contacts shoved us in a few tiny vans and whisked us away on a 2 hour van ride to Koh Samet, an island off the shore of Thailand.
Debrief on Koh Samet was interesting to say the least. For some it was a time of great relaxation and rejuvenation. Without delving unnecessarily far into the details, I’ll just say that for me, it was a very stressful and tiring few days. However, Koh Samet is beautiful; warm blue waters mixed with white sand and the excitement of being in the Far East for the first time created an amazing combination. Having only had a little more than 2 full weeks together as an entire squad since the trip began, it was great to see everyone again and pick up where we left off, forming friendships and spending time in worship together.
After Koh Samet it was back to Bangkok for a day before leaving for Vietnam. Given the nature of the government here, for our safety and, more importantly, for the safety of our contacts, I’m not going to post any info regarding what we’re doing while we’re still in the country. I will continue to write blogs and just wait until we leave for Cambodia before posting them. Until then, here are some pictures from the last two weeks to tide you over:
A future Hokie from Nicaragua….just give her a few years.
Airplane to Taiwan
Koh Samet, Thailand
Koh Samet
Koh Samet
Fishing boat in Thailand
And the best part of debrief….Dirtbikes!
