Guest blogger: Dad

Thanks, Julia, for giving me the chance to 'guest blog' on JuliaBloch.com.  I write (although the posting will occur later) aboard the Halong Jasmine, a luxury junk boat now setting sail again after an overnight mooring in Halong Bay, Vietnam.  The setting is peaceful and beautiful.

I write with a mixture of emotion--tremendous happiness and gratitude for having spent a wonderful nine days in Vietnam with Julia and sadness that tonight I'm back on a NY-bound flight to return to the 'real world.'

Vietnam itself, as Julia has already written, is a fascinating place.  I joked before my departure that 40 years ago I did all I could to avoid coming here.  Who would have though that now it's one of the "in" destinations of choice.  Needless to say, my visit was informed by my vivid memories (albeit from afar) of what they call here "The American War."  Julia enjoyed observing the way I reacted to the country, the people and its history in this context.  Similarly, watching Julia take it all in without preconceived notions of the history was fascinating for me.

As much as the visit to this country has been a memorable experience, more lasting will be the time Jules and I were able to spend together.  For you JuliaBloch.com followers, let me report first-hand that the protagonist is in top form and is experiencing this around-the-world odyssey in full measure.  By the time I arrived, she was already a bit of a connoisseur of Vietnam street food and she was an adventurous eater (although we both, wisely, avoided partaking of dog).

Julia, with her excellent ear for languages, is picking up on a small bit of Vietnamese and the two of us regularly enjoy Hanoi-brewed 333 beer with the Vietnamese toast:  "Mot, Hai, Ba, Yo!"  And, of course, she is the consummate jumper, her latest feat of some 8 meters or so from the prow of the Jasmine.

What's most meaningful for me is how, in the nine days we had together, Julia made me a better, more patient, more open-minded traveler.  She is awesome travel companion and I will miss her more now that I have had the full flavor of her company for this extended time.

Thanks, Jules, for this incredible gift and an toan hanh trinh, Vietnamese for safe journeys!!

Lots of love from Dad