Hello my Wanderlusters! This is my first blog post since my arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, on the 19th. I caught a horrible and completely debilitating flu the day after my birthday, the 9th, and had to struggle to pack and clean out the loft I lived in for 16.5 years with severe bronchitis and a seemingly endless fever, sweats, chills and aches. By some miracle, I was able to board my plane on the 17th, and thankfully had my own row to sleep in for the big Los Angeles to Taipei leg of the trip. I literally drank an entire bottle of Musinex in order to stifle my cough, which was really really severe. With the intense Corona Virus panic everywhere, especially in South East Asia, I was terrified that I would get quarantined upon my arrival in Vietnam for two weeks, which thankfully did not happen. It took all of my acting skills to Jedi mind-trick my way into the country, and when I finally arrived at my sister’s home, I went directly to bed and slept for 17.5 hours straight. This past week, I have been held up in my room for the most part, trying to recover from my hellish journey and illness, and I am finally feeling better and relatively back to normal now. Thank GOD!!
My wonderful sister, brother-in-law and two young nephews have welcomed me with open arms to their beautiful home in the Thao Dien Ward district, D2 of HCMC. My suite is on the top left of the house with the private balcony. I have all the creature comforts of home- A 47″ flat screen TV equipped with an Amazon Firestick and VPN in my room so that I was able to catch up on all my favorite Netflix, movies and Sling TV while getting well. We have a wonderful housekeeper named Han, who is a phenomenal cook, and so generously made me a pot of her famous “Han-ton soup” to help in my recovery. I have only ventured out into town a few times, in short spurts, getting a desperately needed mani-pedi and a Sim card for my phone so that I have a local number and 4G internet service. My sis and I went grocery shopping yesterday at the MegaMart, Vietnam’s version of a Costco/Target, where I picked up the much needed supplies I was not able to fit into my luggage. On Sunday, we ventured out to our local American bar/restaurant, The Flying Pig, for breakfast and the Wilder/Fury fight which we watched with a bunch of fellow Expats. Other than that, I have really been a home body, getting over my jet lag, getting myself well and taking care of my two dogs who successfully braved the near 24 hours of travel in a crate.
I plan to start exploring my new city later this week and will continue to document my journey so that all my friends and followers can “Eat Pray Love” right alongside me… Until then…
WELCOME TO MY WANDERLUSTINGS... 