Finally..."Gidget Has a Glitch" is done.

        Tomorrow will be the release of "Gidget Has a Glitch".  I'm so relieved that everything is done.

        There were a lot of moments when I just wanted to roll in a ball and cry.  I'm not going to lie, this project was frustrating. To the very end, I was still thinking of things like "Oh, this could be a few pixels less or more" and I'm kinda embarrassed about the fact that I narrated the story (Gah! I sound like a kid!) 

         I think it's probably for the best though that Bright Bunny did spend more time on the book app.  If I had to released in July, only a few pages would have been interactive and now all the pages have some element of quirkiness for parents and kids to explore.  I just hope that the people that download my products enjoy it as much as I suffered to make it ;')

Oh Susan!

      I'm going to spend some time with Susan, hoorays!  We both graduated this year from university with matching commerce degrees but after graduation, she left Canada.  She swore that she was never going to come back.
        After a few weeks, she came back with her Persian prince for a short stay.  Oh Susan, she's so silly willies.

         Blah, Susan has a habit of being late.  I will record my boredom mmhmm and complain. I loooove her to death, but she takes a hella long time to get ready.  Susan is an wonderful though despite her lateness O.o She taught me tennis and she has the patience of an angel.  I, however, have the patience of a five year old or so I'm told.

        When Susan showed up, we walked to the Harbour Front to enjoy the lake. I also wanted to go to the Power House to look at some art and exhibits.  I love galleries, they're so fun and interesting.  Everyone has a slightly different and unique interpretation of what they see and it's usually better to go with friends.

This giant sculpture reminds me of a Halloween pumpkin.

There was enough seats inside to fit a tea party!

The blonde chika is Susan. I call this photograph...

Susan and cow.

          

Special Post - Hot Pot

         Every night that we wandered on the shores of Nha Trang, the beaches would be filled with families having hot pot.

Night view from our hotel

        Nha Trang has a few special dishes, one is known as seafood hot pot.  If you love seafood than  is something you definitely have to try. Hot pot consists of broth that simmers in a metal pot while various ingredients are placed into the pot in the center of the table and cooked.  The hot pot dishes in Nha Trang include mostly of fish, clams, shrimp and mussels with leafy greens.  They give you a side dish of noodles and fish sauce to dip and it's yummy.  Mind you, it's very hot in Nha Trang so you might have to sit under the ac or have four fans blowing at you.

Hot Pot

Day 14 : Hue - Imperial City (Hue Citadel)

        If you're in Hue you gotta go to the Imperial City.  It's a large place with many things to see and do. This place is massive. You will need a map and a lot of time to see everything. You can visit all the palaces with their many royal quarters.  The place built in 1804 and served as Vietnam's capital until  1945.  

Across from Hue's Citadel is Cot Co, also known as the big flag.

        When going to the entrance, there are large lily ponds.  A mote was built around the whole city and water comes from Hue's perfume river. 

We go in the side of the building to enter.

        We go inside the throne room.  Inside Tha'i Ho'a Palace everything is red and gold.  When I looked waaay up, I saw various poems on the wall.

Around the palace grounds I saw different statues of mystical creatures.  

The first one I saw was a dragon...

 and the second one is a...

hmm, I don't know what this is actually.  A doggy?

        In the Forbidden Purple City is where the emperor would do all his work.  It now looks like a large field of grass with  a few brick walls that survived the fire in 1947 and the fight during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Another wall.

        Although the Purple Forbidden City is in ruins, the rest of the citadel is really amazing.  Here's an example of what an internal gate to the main buildings would look like.  The are a few gates inside the citadel.

These are the gates to Hung Mieu, the temple dedicated to the parents of the Nguyen Emperor Gia Long.

The hallways in the citadel are very pretty.  They vary in styles too.

In one of the buildings we found a carriage.

 A noble would be carried in this by four servants.

Day 13 - Hue : On my way to Hue, eco-tourism, respecting the dead

        The drive from Hoi An and Hue was very scenic. The temperature was slightly cooler from other provinces we stayed.

Pictures of rice fields and mountains.

       I think that eco-tourism is a wonderful concept.  Eco-tourism by definition means creating responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.  

         However, just pass the billboard that promotes eco-tourism, I see this. As we continue to drive I see more areas like this with machines digging and cutting slabs of land.  Seeing something like this really stirs up all kinds of emotions.  At first I thought it's was funny because this is the total opposite of eco-tourism but then I feel kinda angry, kinda sad and a little disappointed inside.

A quick pic of the perfume river in Hue.

   We motorbiked it to our friends house.  We inter-weaved into traffic, dodging oncoming bikes left and right.  The worst was driving through the a round-about in the city.  I held my breath every time this happened because I was scared shitless.

        When we arrived, preparations were being prepared for the ceremony and feast.  Like other cultures of the world, festivals and events in Vietnam was dedicated to something or someone.  Today was a day to honor and respect our friend's ancestors.

This hanger for helmets is totally cool.

Everyone takes turn to bow in front of an alter to show respect for the deceased.

Outside, paper money is being burnt.  

          And then everyone gathers around the tables for a feast. Quite a few dishes were brought in.  Food was served with Huda beer and orange Fanta drinks.

Our starter was a salad.

It was made with so many things including mint, papaya, shrimp and peanuts.

Day 12 - Hoi An : My Son ruins and relics, snorkeling, Cham Island

         Out we go to My Son to see the ruins and relics.  My Son is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples.  They were constructed between the 4th and 14th century AD by the kings of Champa.  

The temples are made by a reddish brick which were fit together.

There are decorative art that were carved directly onto the bricks.

The buildings have their own unique shape
 but I have no idea what this building shape would be considered O_O.  

There were some relics left at My Son.  This is a statue of Shiva.

More relics...

Holy water was made by pouring water on this stone linga.

     
        When we reached the other temples, they were in ruins.  Bombs were dropped during the Vietnam War and destroyed almost everything here.  There are a few scattered pieces of brick from the walls and a couple fallen pillars.  It's such a pity.

       

        Looking out from the Harbour at Cham Island.  We took a speedboat to Cham Island.  Along the way, we did some snorkeling.  Every time we left an area by bus or boat, our guide would count the number of people AFTER we left.  Some poor soul would always get left behind.  It's funny until the person that gets lost is you.  Getting left behind sometimes happen and this is why you should always being a traveling buddy.

    

        Cham Island covers an area of 235km.  We will alter eat at one of the islands that surround these waters.  A feast is to be had, yay!  There are eight islands that are apart of Cham Islands and they are known as Hon Lao.

        

Some squid being baked in the sun.

After our dinner, we relaxed on the beach. 

Everything was perfect except...can you see what I see? Yup, warships!

Day 11 - Hoi An - Ancient Town and Night Market

We flew from Nha Trang  .. 

 to Da Nang.

Hoi An.

After we unpacked, we rented a bike and went to the Ancient Town.

This is the view from our balcony.  

You can see the river and t garden below is where the chefs get the herbs.  

There's about fifteen main areas of interest where the public can go into.  There's many beautiful places to see including the Japanese Bridge and a few temples, pagodas, meeting areas and houses around the town.

I like how this place had a pond in the circle of the house with an open roof, it's so zen XD

Night time in Hoi An.

         I felt like I was in the movie Spirited Away when I went to the night market.  Everything was so pretty.  Food stalls were everywhere and were cooking up a storm.  Couples are everywhere in Hoi An, holding hands or biking.

The lanterns shops here were so alluring. 

The lanterns were made out of paper and came in all sizes and colors.  

They lit up the streets and my spirits.

 There was a giant dragon lantern floating in the river O_O holy molies!