"Hey, how 'bout those zits on your face?" Kady asked loudly and not so much as a question.
I pouted, more out of morbid curiosity than embarrassment. Kady apologized, exercised her most determined self-control to keep her fingers off my face, and we purchased tickets to Halong Bay. By this point, Kady and I are more than well-acquainted with the whole HURRY UP AND WAIT!!! mentality of these travel agencies so we resisted the urge to walk briskly as we were rushed to the waiting point for the bus. I was downright sauntering, searching everywhere for some sort of reflective surface.
I mean, you learn to let go of most of the vanities you secretly harbor when it's more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit and you've been wearing the same clothes for 48 hours. But I still found it ironic that when I finally found a mirror... it would belong to the caption:
"Worst Idea Ever".
Kady and I hurried up and waited for at least an hour. Liz, the Australian joined us at around the thirty minute mark. When we boarded the air conditioned mini van and realized it was just the three of us... the clouds opened and the angels sang a song.
It was all worth it, I thought. This is our reward.
Kady told Liz her life story within twenty minutes and the other two hours and forty minutes belonged to the relaying of our best FauxFrenchie stories. (We would spend the rest of our trip quoting her but then nervously looking over our shoulder, convinced she would be standing there, no matter what country we were in.)
With not a terrible amount of trouble, we arrived on the set of a Disney movie.
But seriously, the hour and a half ferry ride from Halong Bay to Catbah Island reminded Kady and me what the heck we were doing in what her father would call this God-forsaken place.
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