Lily in Saigon!

Welcome to Vietnam Liliana!! Dior and I were so excited to pick Lily up from the airport... we couldn't wait to show her around Ho Chi Minh City.

First stop Saigon Central Post Office to mail out her first postcards!

Lily quickly learned that I'm the pickiest eater.... Not necessarily what I eat but WHERE I eat. I pass on street food and am extra careful about my food places.

Even though I don't try it all its still fun to check out how its made!

Went on a stroll passed the gorgeous Saigon Opera House.....

Thrilla' in Manila!

After growing up with plenty of Filipino friends it felt really good to visit the Philippines. I was only able to visit the city of Manila so I did not feel completely immersed in the culture. Manila reminds me so much of America... or maybe that's just because we had a Krispy Kreme across the street! All of the people were very friendly and hospitable- everyone spoke in English in the city as well. The shopping was incredible ..... :)

Public buses in Manila

Shopping malls EVERYWHERE

ALWAYS happy to find a Starbucks :)

Year of the Snake

We celebrated two new years' for 2013.... Our usual January 1st and secondly our Tet new year in February. Tet is Chinese new year with the changing of the zodiac calendar. This is the year of the snake. To celebrate there are plenty of fireworks, parties, flower markets and best of vacation days!

Flower market in D1

Many people were dressed in traditional clothing to celebrate TET

On another note our friend Victor stopped by for a visit! Felt good to have a friend from San Francisco in Saigon!

Saigon Heat.. game clips!

Bến Thành Market

Oh you need a thingamabob or a whatchamacallit... don't worry you can find it at Ben Thanh Market. They've got everything... that place seriously makes me want to sing the Little Mermaid song. ". I've gadgets and gizmos a-plenty. I've got whozits and whatsits galore..."

so many fabric stands and tailors!

Dried EVERYTHING you can think of

Every style coffee

Candyland!

Any fish they can catch they sell... these are the more recognizable ones. A few stands later there were eels and stingrays!

War Remnants Museum

I underestimated the power of photography. The War Remnants Museum is essentially a gallery of photos from the Vietnam War. Before we went in to the museum we were able to see army tanks, helicopters and other military machinery that was left behind after the war.

 The first room of the museum was dedicated to war propaganda, the second room to war crimes and the third room to agent orange effects on the Vietnamese. There were several rooms after the third but by the third I couldn't handle it. I left the museum after the third room. It was very difficult for me to see photos of the Vietnamese suffering at the hand of American soldiers.

2013 Lookin' Good!

Dior and I had a home cooked meal then went upstairs to ring in the new year with David and Christian over delicious cupcakes and champagne. The guys did the dancing and the girls did the laughing... We had a good time staying in. From their apartment we could see the street packed with motorbike traffic, so glad we weren't stuck in that mess downtown.

Bumped in to Dior's teammates on New Years!

The team also had a press conference right before the new year to promote the new season! I am so happy Dior got his USF jersey number 33!!

This is a very small world... Dior's head coach Jason Rabedeaux was actually the coach at UTEP that recruited John Tofi in college!! Remember our Tofi family from Belgium...

Head Coach Rab

 We had our first two games (Preaseaon) against the Schiuan Blue Whales from China and we WON BOTH TIMES! Pumped to get the season going on January 12th!

Also I have to add that in Gilroy, CA I always make a stop at the bobba tea place and now I'm so lucky to have a bobba aka bubble tea shop across the street from my apartment. They even DELIVER :) Tapioca bubble tea please!

This is not my usual tea place... This is at the Vincom mall downtown!