We are now off the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea heading to Koh Samui, Thailand. Our last day in Vietnam, we visited a mall. Pretty much like any mall in any city around the world. Gap. Calvin Klein. Aldo. L’Occitane. But interesting to see the divide. A world away from what we saw the previous two days. Great people watching. There was a moment we passed a couple with their toddler in a stroller. The toddler looked at David as if to say, “look at us not having to walk, aren’t we special!” We both get a kick out of some kids reactions to the wheelchair – curious, amazed, jealous.

We bought a few things (I forgot to pack some items for me and tee shirts for David) and wandered a bit. It was nice walking on a smooth flat surface for a while. No curbs or seams in the walkway. Kind of a boring end to an exciting visit, but needed.

Like a ring around the city, there are what seems like thousands of tall apartment buildings on the outskirts where all the riders of the ever present motorbikes live. And many of them hang out in the mall. The air conditioned mall. It’s HOT.

I really liked Vietnam. The people were friendly and helpful. We followed the advice of other Americans and didn’t go to the War Remnant Museum or the tunnels used during the wars (French and American). They (rightly) refer to it as the American War. The tunnels would have been impossible for David and really impossible for me. Just seeing the photos of people stooping to make their way through made my heart palpitate! Even my Republican mother knew that the war with Vietnam was a huge mistake, so I didn’t need to see or hear about the remnants. I’m just glad that the people don’t seem to be holding a grudge.

Extra points for anyone who knows where the title for this post comes from. Hint: I saw Raquel Welch in it on Broadway.