I hear ya...what life? Not really, but I don't usually have any interesting news to share and have no way to post any pictures. KT will always be a part of my day and my life, I hope. :)

I've been to Viet Nam twice but we've done it self-tour both times. We're not really organised tour people. It is remarkably easy to self-tour in Viet Nam, easier than you would think. April is a nice time to visit. For ideas you could check out the Vietnam forum on TripAdvisor. Some people have recommended reputable tour companies they have used. One thing I would say is that if you do use a tour company you should use one based in Viet Nam, as overseas companies tend to add on a huge markup. You will need a visa to enter Viet Nam and you can either pay a lot and get one beforehand by sending your passport, passport photos and the application form (available online) to the Vietnamese Embassy in the US along with the payment (fairly expensive) or you can get it for less than half the cost by getting an approval letter from a Vietnamese travel agent, then taking the letter, appropriate paperwork, passport photo and USD 25 to the Visa on Arrival desk when you get to Viet Nam. If you arrive in HCMC the wait to be processed can be up to an hour, in Ha Noi it's not generally much of a wait. If you take USD to exchange for VND, take clean, crisp, undamaged and undefaced bills- they won't accept even a tiny tear in a bill. Don't use USD to pay for things- some will tell you you can, and some places will accept them but at an exchange rate favourable to them :-) You can also get VND out of an ATM if your bank doesn't have a huge foreign use/exchange fee (some do, some don't). Three star hotels are very nice, about the equivalent of a nicely furnished, clean ordinary hotel, and they cost about $30-50 a night. Often they include a simple breakfast. Just make sure there's an elevator, if that's an issue for you.Five star hotels have a lot of things you may never use (business facilities, gym, etc) and cost about ten times that (I kid you not). We've loved the three star hotels. What sort of things do you want to do and see? How long do you have to visit?

Oh thank you all so much. I just found out he has some internal injuries, some broken bones, his right hand was crushed. I think they were going to operate on the hand today. Hope they can fix the hand, he said "cops need their gun hand"....... It could have been so much worse. He is a nice, man, and a good provider.

Glenda, that was yesterday. I don't remember now, but I think it was a mini Snickers, or 2. TOSue, yeah, it was a biggie. I never go to the movie theaters any more. They are too expensive, and most are hardly worth seeing. And I enjoy the atmosphere here with "my own kind!" No problem about the email; take your time. Lisa, I think the book was so well written that I made good mental pictures of the characters. The movie brought them to life even more so. Serious though the topic was, I could easily see it again, just for fun. Jennava, yes, routine works well for me. In "real life" I am a planner/organizer. I don't like confusion, or failure to communicate. Curlysue, see the movie if you can. Maybe I should explain "my own kind," to those who may not know. I live at an Independent Retirement Community, meaning we are age 60 to ?? I so enjoyed hearing the laughter, and a gasp or two, during the movie and comments after, because it so resonated with us. Sue