Travel is good about making you humble. You have to learn to be okay with asking for help, for talking like a two-year-old, for making a lot of mistakes. Conversely, the simplest things become major achievements.
For example, Jenna and I just got dinner.
We dragged ourselves out of beds (where a 1-hour nap became a 4-hour deep sleep) and went downstairs to the street. Street vendors everywhere, people everywhere, the dense heat everywhere.
We walked around a few blocks, taking careful note each time we turned to try to avoid getting lost again. There were tons of kiosks of food, but seafood seemed to be the specialty and I barely felt like I could handle rice.
Passing giant kettles of churning chestnuts and sesame seeds, naked ducks hanging by a rod in their beaks, squids being slapped onto grills, and piles of jack fruit with ladies hacking away at their touch shells, we kept looking and looking for someplace we could stomach.
Finally, we found a restaurant that, although they advertised their shark fin soup, also had chicken on their menu. We were led to the back (air conditioning! Blessed, blessed air conditioning!) and seating at a booth amidst tables full of locals (a good sign).
We got two varieties of chicken-and-noodle dishes. We ate lightly, enough where it took some negotiating to convince the waitress that we really were done at the end. It was salty and heavy, but I ate it! And I felt a little better for it! And the meal only cost about $4.50, including tip!
We then walked back to the hotel, stopping off to buy Popsicles and water at the 7-11.
Despite the long afternoon nap, I'm totally ready for bed now. I could barely keep my eyes open at dinner. I am just glad that we don't have to be in the lobby tomorrow until 10.
Good night, my friends!
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