Philippines-Bound

I just asked the hotel lady if she knew an internet cafe nearby and she said there wasn't one. I don't necessarily believe this, but I'm currently seated at her computer behind the reception desk nonetheless. Hence, a speedy update...
The rest of Vietnam was good. I even got pretty good at crossing the street, no small feat to conquer. Contrary to all semblance of basic human instinct, the key is not actually to run for your life, but to walk so slowly that the billions of motorbikes who have absolutely no intention of stopping for you, at least have time to see you and swerve. The result is that you're surrounded on every side, every pace of the way by speeding bikes going all directions.
In Hoi An, I visited a fancy tailor and had 3 dresses made in less than 36 hours. They were so fast, that they'd take in the first thing while I tried on the 2nd and 3rd thing, and by the end of all the trying, everything was done. The last dress that was made just for me was the one I wore to my Bat Mitzvah some 18 years ago (thanks, Gram!) so it was quite an experience.
I also visited ruins at My Son and then took a bus up to Hue, which has a full-on backpacker hostel with free beer and boatloads of Australians, as well old palaces and tombs of emperors. I took a cyclo out to one of the tombs. I thought it would be a quaint, quintessential Vietnamese experience to ride in a little bicycle cart a couple of kilometers through the country. I had no idea how far, or how hilly, the route was and the cyclo driver failed to inform me. In fact, turned out he had never actually been there so I was either navigating by map, or as often as I was riding, I was pushing the rusty hunk of metal up hills in traffic. In the rain. Mmm adventure.
Speaking of rain, it's been doing that as long as I've been in Vietnam so as much as I've enjoyed it, my tan lines, or lack thereof, are not so sad to head off to the islands. And speaking of islands, there's some question as to how much electricity and thus internet will be accessible on the ones I'm headed to first, so if you don't hear from me, just go ahead and assume I'm fine. No news is good news!
Merry Christmukah. Love y'all.