Mekong and Mui Ne, the beautiful M cities of Vietnam

Day 54 - We started the day with a trip to the local bus station to book a bus to Can Tho (main city in the Me Kong Delta). As it is the only Vietnamese bus station we have been to I am not sure if this is normal. But the bus station wasn't a station so much as a collection of booths representing the various bus companies. Each one with a person inside yelling for us to choose his company. We finally selected using a scientific processes of elimination (ie the closest one). The bus ride turned out to be great. Since we were the only westerners, the driver dispensed with the "sane" driving that you sometimes get when westerners are the only passengers. We made the 4 hour trip in 3 hours. I think driver had a personal vendetta against every car, truck, or motorbike on the road. Oh, and we made a 1/2hr lunch stop. Eliza got to sit next to a brand new puppy. Those owner displayed hesitantly at first, but then after seeing Eliza's reaction let the puppy roam the seats.



When we arrived in Can Tho we were dropped at an seemingly random intersection, not the bus station as we were expecting. Since it was obvious we weren't going to convince the driver to actually take us to the bus station, we hopped into a cab. We enjoyed a nice lunch and a wander around the town. At dinner time we were scoping out the local restaurants when, much to my amazement, Eliza struck up a conversation with a couple of complete strangers. One hour later we are seated next to Sarah and Eitan from Israel. They were (and probably still are) a very nice couple. And they even bought us dinner to boot.




Day 55- So John convinced me that the best way to see the floating markets on the Mekong was by getting up long before the crack of dawn and hoping on a little boat captained by a much littler lady. 5:30 departure was as un-fun as it sounds, but was soon forgotten as soon as we watched the sun rise on the water.



25 minutes into the ride we came upon our first market. Really it is a massive jam up of small and mid-size boats, each selling one specific thing (pineapples, potatoes, rice, mango), with one tied to a string on a tall pole, as an advertisement to the buying boats.



Our driver expertly manuvered her way into the middle of the mess, purchased and cut up one delicious pineaple and then muddled her way back out. Runs of the sea are much the same as the way the area of the world drives cars and forms lines, if you think you can fit, give it a go. Rockier on a boat, but less lethal. The next 6.5 hours were mellow and lovely. After another market, we headed into some much smaller tributaries and had a chance to see just how much the delta is the lifeline of the nation, AND how much is still missing in the world of public health here.



All in all, John was not insane with the 5:30 departure (it was a reasonable temperature until about 8 am). Other things we learned today, when you find sunscreen at a market in HCMC for suuuper cheap that for once doesn't smell like sunscreen, it might just be lotion in a sunscreen bottle. Confirmation on this one to follow.




Day 56- Compared to a ride down next to an adorable puppy, the ride back to HCMC was much less eventful. Again our driver made it in record time, though I noticed he was passed once on the way up, something our driver to the delta never would have stood for. Calm evening due to mild sunburning the day before (see note on sunscreen bottle potentailly not filled with sunscreen).


Day 57 - Today we are headed to Mui Ne for some rest and relaxation. We opted for the open tour bus and lucked out with our selection. We opted for the "open tour bus" this time as it would drop us off nearer to our hotel. The "open tour bus" system is a way to travel from the south to the north (or vise versa) and hit up all the major towns along the way. You can either buy a booklet of tickets that gets you all the way to the other end of the country, or you can buy as you go. The booklet being cheaper in the long run, but less flexible. It looks like a good concept because you are guaranteed transportation from one place to the next. However, if you go with the booklet you are stuck with the same bus company all the way through. We tried to buy a regular seat, not a sleeper seat. That's right they offer a seat on the bus that is supposed to be used for sleeping. The bus company was out of regular seats, so we got a sleeper seat. The four hour ride was pretty good, as bus rides go. We were dropped of "about 800 meters from our hotel" according to the bus driver. After walking in the very hot Mui Ne sun for about five minutes, we arrived at our hotel. Seth, Eliza's friend in HCMC, had made reservations for us at a hotel he liked, so we new little about the hotel, save a name, before arriving. This hotel/resort turned out to be very lovely (http://www.baoquynh.com/index.asp). It was smaller than most of the surrounding resorts, but still had all the amenities one would need: common area with bar, pool, private beach access, and beach chairs under palm frond umbrellas. We promptly ditched our bags, lathered up in sunscreen, and hit the beach.





Hours later we made our way to a nice Indian restaurant for dinner. We knew we had picked a winner when, five minutes after we sat down, the place was packed with "locals" (local referring to the Europeans and Australians who live there solely for the kite surfing).


Day 58- Woke up with the intention of 45 minutes of lap swimming before breakfast. The first 25 minutes were great, but then the parents were done trying to reign their kids in and lap swim turned into a free for all. After breakfast spent the next 4 hours on the beach alternating beween staying completely in the shade and swimming in the ocean. It was great, but as many of you know, John as a limited "do nothing" tolerence and it was time to accomplish something. That something ended up being a haircut for John, in Beckham style. All the ladies took turns consulting the one woman who was doing the actual cutting. From what I understand of mens haircuts in the US, this was unusual as it was done entirely with sizzors and a strait razor for clean up. Much shorter and far cooler.





Day 59- Repeat Day 58 without a second haircut.




More pictures are up - we found a fast connection.





http://picasaweb.google.com/lizainasia2

http://picasaweb.google.com/jwwinasia4

http://picasaweb.google.com/jwwinasia5

Of motorbikes and the great learder Ho Chi Minh

Day 50 -


Let's begin with Asian flights and us just don't get along. The following is a list of positives about the flight: We booked a United Airlines flights, so some of the PA announcements were in English. Take-offs equaled landings and there was only one of each. Eliza asked for and received a Gluten free meal.

As we entered the plane we first noticed that we were getting on midway through the plane's journey. You could feel the first leg had been long or rough or both. The passengers all had the defeated look of "please just finish this" on their faces. Eliza and I had the aisle and middle seats in the center four seat section. As we sat down, Eliza on the aisle, I noticed an elderly Vietnamese gentlemen seated next to me. This guy had to be well over 90 years old and did not look any better for all his years. At first he leaned on the common armrest. I figure, he needs it more than me. Then he starts to lean into me. It is obvious that he is in some sort of discomfort and is now leaning in my direction to alleviate the pain. Okay, this in not good I don't want to spend the rest of the flight supporting an old man. I hoped he would lean the other way. Nope. Now the woman next to him, I am assuming his daughter, is helping him adjust or fix or whatever. He leans further into me, but I figure he'll lean away when she is done assisting. Nope. As I am sitting there, supporting his weight, I catch the overwhelming sent of medicated ointment. Oh crap, this can't be good. I discretely look over to see what is the matter, only to see her hand full on down his pants and rubbing ointment on this thigh. And this is the to much for me. I turn to Eliza, who has not noticed any of this. And before I can say a word, she says with a tone of disgust and annoyance any fourteen year old girl would be proud of "the kid behind me is kicking my seat". As I recall, my response went a little like so: "She's rubbing ointment on his thigh and he's leaning on me for support. Wanna switch". I think Eliza decided the kicking kid wasn't so bad after all as she promptly declined my offer. As luck would have it a seat one row up and across the aisle was vacant. After everyone boarded, I gladly took it.

As planes commonly do, we pushed back from the causeway and taxied to the runway. Just as we were beginning the initial takeoff stage (the one where you can feel and hear the engine revving up) a lady decided she needed something from the overhead bins. And not the one directly above her, the one located five rows up and across the aisle. Man did she get the attention of the flight attendant. He yelled in several different languages, one of them being "Lady, sit down", as he chased her down the aisle.

The airborne leg of the flight was not nearly as exciting. Unless you count when I confused kilometers per hour for miles per hour and meters for feet. "Man, we are flying really low and really fast, wait I bet those are in metric."

If you have been reading our blog on a regular basis then you are familiar with how the Asian people we have traveled with exit public transportation. Winner take all, first place really does matter, bigger is better (unless you can fit between someone and their rolling suitcase). Airplanes are no different. As soon as the plane touched down people got up, removed their overhead luggage, and stated moving toward the exit (only being forced into a semi-line by the physical space the aisle provided). All before the flight attendant can even get on the PA and tell everyone to remain seated until the airplane has come to a complete stop at the gate. As we taxied, Eliza shared with me the joke of the El Al airline PA announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated until the plane reaches the gate. And as a reminder smoking is only allowed in designated areas inside the main terminal. And to those of you standing in the aisle smoking, welcome home". It so happens we have come up with another version: "Ladies and gentlemen...yaddayadda. And for those madly pushing for the exits even though we'll be taxing for the next ten minutes. Welcome home".


And welcome to Vietnam!


Day 51 -


So I know we have previously talked about all the bikes and cars and crazy drivers and each time say this city is worse than the one prior, but not kidding, Ho Chi Minh Cty takes the cake. The tax on cars here is astronomical so nearly everyone drives a scooter, so if you happen to catch a red light you get the opportunity to see hundreds of them line up and jostle for the best starting position on the green. A piece of advice was imparted to us before we arrived, whatever you do walk slowly from one sidewalk to the other and DO NOT stop or speed up. Sounds simple, but you can watch your life flash before your eyes when executing.

We got to try it first this in the morning on our way to Ben Than market. As John was done with the Man-Bag, it was time to locate a nice knock off North Face to replace it. This market sells everything under the sun, including the kitchen sink, literally. After buying some sunscreen (which would turn out to be just lotion, easy to figure out when the side you used it on is completely burned) we headed off on the culture tour of the town. Started at the HCMC history museum (Americans are not looking so good here), headed to the Reunification Palace (headquarters for the south during the Vietnam war and the first thing to be taken over by the north when they can into Saigon, Americans looking even worse here), and rounded out the afternoon with the War Atrocities Museum (incredibly sad and American looks truly like the root of all evil here). Ended this 90 degree day with a mellow dinner.



Day 52 -


Took off walking again this morning, much more confident in our ability to cross the street and not be killed. Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral, turned out to be Easter Sunday and cathedral was closed (we missed Easter Mass) but it was quite lovely from the outside! After viewing the post office (a massive french style building), wandered into a restaurant that smelled like we were crashing a gourmet cooks BBQ party. Food was great and the view was better. Across the street was a chain link fence. On this fence a man had hung a mirror and a small basket holding some combs, scissors and razors. He put a chair in front of it and was running a small but highly successful outdoor barber shop! Following lunch we went on a pagoda hunt (turned out to be essentially hidden in the middle of an oddly shaped and poorly marked neighborhood).



This evening we met up with a family friend who has been living and working in HCMC for the last year and a half. Seth and Thuy met us at a delicious Vietnamese restaurant and ordered all sorts of good food. They also made a great list of places to see, both in Vietnam and South East Asia that we have been using since! As Seth is brave enough to drive a scooter in the city, we also got a story on traffic tickets (and how to avoid them) in HCMC.



Day 53-

Got up bright and early and walked over to the "Main backpacker drag", which is a two block square area filled with hundreds of cafes, tour companies and hotels. Located the one we booked a tour with and waited for a bus that would take us to see the Cu Chi tunnels. These are essentially a maze of underground tunnels comprised of living quarters, hidden traps, military defence and operation headquarters as well as hospitals etc. They were built by VietCong resistence in the South (some tunnels went directly under US Military bases in the area). The origional tunnels are very very small (they are little people) and the only tourists who actally fit in the origional tunnels were a 10 year old child, a petite Japanese toursit, and John. It was really cool to see how deep the resistance ran here, and how innovative the people were in their drive to stop the Americans. They have a "widened" section you can crawl/ squat through. It was sort of fun in a swealtering, dark sort of way until a girl in front of us freaked out and we had to back up to the nearest exit.


In the evening we headed over to "Saigon, Saigon", a swanky bar that was used by much of the international press during the Veitnam war as a base for reporting the events. We were looking to meet up with Amanda's friend Geradine and her husband here and going off a very old description, we could not find them. Finally, thirty minutes after we were supposed to meet, we figured out we had been sitting 2 tables away from one another, both watching the door for the other party to enter! Dinner was a blast, they shared with us many stories of living and working in Saigon. The winning story of the evening being the fact that in 2 weeks time their housekeeper used up a family sized detergent (they are just two people), confirming the suspicion that she is running a side laundry business out of their house. Time for a good nights rest as we are off to the Mekong Delta tomorrow!

Pictures to follow...sometime.

Hong Kong (not King Kong. One's an ape, the other a city)

Day 40 (Tuesday) -
The rest of the train ride past gave us a great view of the lush green country side. And, after surviving the 20hr train ride from Shanghai to Hong Kong, we began our cross town travel to Jimmy's apartment. To get an idea of what it took, let me list the transportation systems we used: one train station, six metro stations, three metro lines, one huge apartment complex plaza, two helpful huge apartment complex employees, one elevator, and one apartment belonging to Jimmy. Upon further review, it was only a half hour walk or a ten minute taxi ride.

We spent the next couple hours trying (with varying degrees of success) to do our laundry on Jimmy's fancy washer/dryer combo unit. The successes came in the form of extra-clean laundry (we may have run the wash cycle twice), and regular clean clothes (wash cycle only run once). Our failure came in operating the dryer. On this particular unit (for user safety I am sure) you can not open the door until the full cycle is complete. Which becomes a problem when you are standing shirtless, late, and nursing a sore toe after resorting to physical violence to solve your problem. Note for the impressionable youth who might be reading: resorting to physical violence does not solve problems, especially when dealing with a washer/dryer combo that might actually be 10% smarter than you.

Eliza and I met up with Jimmy (I in his shirt), Cody (another friend of Eliza's) and Nupur (yes, another friend of Eliza's) for dinner and drinks. We dined at a nice Cuban restaurant in SoHo. SoHo is reached by, what is reported to be, the longest escalator in the world. Before we arrived in Hong Kong, I read in our guide book that we were going to be in the same city as the longest escalator in the world. Needless to say (but I will anyway) I was excited. Spoiler alert: it is a series of escalators not one really long one. Stupid misleading guide book.
John, Nupur & Cody on the longest escalator.

Day 41 -
Today we headed off to the Vietnam Consulate in search of a tourism visa. The consulate is located in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong. The area is a collection of Cantonese shops and restaurants. There area is quite confusing because the street signs and addresses do not exactly point to what they are supposed to. After consulting two different maps and one hotel concierge, we located the consulate. The process of visa form filling out is some-what straight forward when you get used to the reverse date system and semi-logical form layout. Time, money, and our passports in the hands of a foreign government we ventured off to find more summer clothes. Which of course we need because, apparently, a fleece jacket and down vest are not going to be that useful in SE Asia.

John NOT fitting in the booth at lunch

And speaking of the weather. The weather here is really nice. Highs in the upper seventies and lows in the lower sixties. The best weather so far.

Day 42 -
We began the day by walking to Nathan Road to an area called the "Golden Mile" because of the ability of the occupants to make money. There you can buy pretty much anything. There are all kinds of shops selling the full range of tourist knock offs to jewelry stores with diamonds sparking in the windows. An interesting note here, the people that approach you here actually tell you straight up the the item is fake. "fake watch, handbags", "you buy here, good fakes" and so on. Gotta hand it to them for their honesty. We looked for a backpack for me (the man-bag is just not working), but apparently I am so out of style that even the fakes don't appeal to me. I guess extra zippers, bells, whistles, pockets, and big logos are in.

Then we wandered down to the "Avenue of the Stars". This avenue is a pedestrian only walk way right on the water front which has great views to Honk Kong across the harbour. The Stars are all Asian actors and actress like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. There are a collection of golden stars with the actor's hand print in concrete spread along the ground. One thing I learned is that hand size does not dictate Kung-fu skills.

John as Jackie Chan

Next up we toured the Hong Kong History Museum. A really interesting museum detailing the history of Hong Kong (shocking I know, who would have thought). Eliza was really happy because there was an exhibit on the history of banking in Hong king and Shanghai. Plus there were life size dioramas and she got to pretend to be a local shop keeper in 1891.

For dinner we dined inside the Element Mall and Kowloon Station complex. Basically Jimmy lives in a city within a city. Centered on the subway stop is a collection of apartment and commercial high rises, a hotel in the making, and a shopping mall. The mall is named Element and the rest of the apts have equally innovative and pro-marketing names as well (Jimmy lives in "The Arch"). Food was not bad at all. Located "nachos" on the menu (good first step), and when they arrived we realized it was a nice take on the nacho concept, Doritos chips (the spicy kind) with a cheese and meat sauce to dip them in. Step one in curing the Mexican food craving. A list of things you should not do at The Arch.

Day 43 (Fri) -
So apparently Hong Kong has a Disneyland. You would know this if you read in a guide book four months ago and have been telling your boyfriend everyday for the last two months. Welcome to my life. Middle of nowhere China on a train: Eliza will turn to me "Did you know there is a Disneyland in Hong Kong? Wanna go?" Initially I humored her, but after a month of this daily onslaught I started ignoring the questions. When that didn't work, I started saying "No, Disneyland Honk Kong is the last place I would want to go". Yeah, that wasn't the smartest thing I've done.
How could you not be excited at the prospect of this!?

So Disneyland Hong Kong is not the biggest of the Disneyland theme parks. In fact it is downright small. There is only one roller coaster (Space Mountain), so we rode it two or three times. They have replaced Mt. Toad's Wild Ride with a Winnie the Pooh ride. Because nobody knows who Mr Toad is. Also, when did Winnie the Pooh become Disney? The other "cool" ride is a Buzz Light year ride where you get to shoot down Emperor Zurg and his minions. You get points based on some inane scoring system in which I beat Eliza the first time (she claims that her score reset halfway) and Eliza beat me the second time (I have yet to hear the end of the bragging). A definite highlight was the car driving ride. The one were you get to drive a car (which is on a rail negating the need for "driving") unless you were a small child growing up and there for had to ride with your uncle while the rest of your cousins got to drive their own car. Ha, twenty years later and I am finally driving. Right-hand steering wheel sided and all (Hong Kong being a former British colony).
In his very cool red sports car, driving on the right.

After the adventure that is Disneyland Hong Kong, it seemed only right to meet up with Jimmy and Nupur for some end of week debauchery in the bar area known as Lan Kwai Fong. The brilliant plan of "drinks and appetizers" at every bar we went to would have worked, had "we" realized that Lan Kwai Fong is really a 4 block square area that is a cross between really swanky NYC style bars with frat row. So when each bar has spilled completely into the street and mixes with the ones around them, it is much harder to know where one ends and the next begins.
The LKF "scene"
Fun time all around and a chance to meet lots of Jimmy's HK friends.
Jimmy, Liza & John
Nupur & Liza
John, Nupur & Jimmy


Day 44 -
Today we made our way at the crack of dawn (1:30 pm) to the "largest seated bronze Buddha statue" in the world. So apparently there are larger standing bronze, or larger seated non- bronze, or just plain large Buddha statues in the world. I'll let you know if we run into any on our trip.

Joining us is Eliza's friend Nupur, who recently moved to Hong Kong and is therefore also an eager tourist.

To get there one can take a twenty minute cable car ride which give you a view of the surrounding islands and beyond, or hike for twelve hours. The cable car was a great choice on my part. Also, Eliza did not tell me about the hike option until after we were in the cable car. Must have slipped her mind.

The Buddha stature was indeed large and bronze and seated. A fairly impressive structure.

At the Buddha there is a working monastery from which you can purchase lunch. Buddhism, as part of its beliefs does not allow the consumption of alcohol or the eating of meat. Which brings us to the saddest sign ever:


After eating non-meat food and sipping on non-booze drinks we headed back to Jimmy's to make Mexican food. This particular culture's food is highly underrepresented in Asia. Eliza made a delicious meal with the help of Nupur and Jimmy. (I helped by clearing the plates of leftover food. Also, Jimmy's kitchen is not the largest place in the world.)

Day 45 -
Today Jimmy, Eliza, and I took the ferry to Lamma Island for a little stroll and some good seafood. Lamma island is located southwest of Hong Kong island and is known for it's really good seafood. In order to make people feel better about gorging themselves (okay, I suppose because it is a really beautiful island with no cars, spectacular views, and lush green vegetation) you can hike along the island. The hike takes you from one side of the island to the other (each with a ferry dock) and takes about 1.5 hrs. The path is clearly marked if you are paying enough attention to see the signposts. We missed one and had to backtrack at one point. At both ends of the path are small towns each with its own row of restaurants right on the water. The restaurants serve all kinds of seafood pulled from the bay in front of you. It was quite delicious. We had a six course meal which took us longer to eat than walk around the island.
This is us working up our seafood appetite.

Day 46 -
Once you have been to the hard to locate Vietnamese consulate, it is much easier to find it. In fact, after shipping home a 16kg package filled with no longer needed winter clothes, we went straight to it. This time around we spent more time in line to pick up our visas than we did trying to find the place, definitely an improvement! Passports back in hand we headed over to Victoria Peak, essentially the mountain (large hill?) that made the island of Hong Kong. They have now built a cable car that takes you up at a 17% incline (rough guess) from the heart of the commercial area. Pretty cool ride and really great views of the whole island on a 3k path around the top.
Celebrated Saint Patricks Day with some nice fish and chips for dinner at Dot Cod, where you get a 10% discount if you are a card carrying member of the HK Cricket association (we are not and therefore did not get the discount, we'll know for next time).

Day 47 -
So the one request my mother made (OK, maybe better phrased as one of the requests) before embarking on this trip was for John and I to see "Jewish Asia" (pretty small request overall). While perusing Jimmy's guidebook selection we located the Ohel Leah Synagogue in dedicated Hong Kong book. One long escalator trip later (well, lots of short connected ones), we arrived at the gates to both a huge apartment complex and one Jewish Synagogue. Then it got a bit stickier. The money belt/ leg satchel is great, but not the single most comfortable accessory ever worn, and due to the secure nature of Jimmy's building, we opted to leave non-essentials there. The lack of passports instantly made the synagogue guards suspicious. Twenty-five minutes of conversation, proving we were indeed Jews who just wanted to see the temple, later, we were admitted. And then left to roam the whole place completely un-checked. Hey, everyone has their own system.
Said Synagogue.
It get's two pictures due to the amount of talking required to gain admission.
When we were walking away from the temple John commented that he was quite glad he did not set off the metal detector, as his blond hair and lack of correct pronuncation of basic Jewish holdiays might not be for the best. (Hey, I am trying. Is it a "H" or a "Ch", nobody can tell me.)

Stopped by the botanical gardens and zoo on the way back to the subway. Lots of birds (lots and lots and lots actually, pretty much half the zoo) as well as some primates. All very large, clean enclosures, much happier than the Beijing zoo!

Somewhere around mid-China my cousin and I figured out that we were going to overlap 1 or 2 day in HK.
The cousins
Reina had been in China for the past week for work and her husband James arrived this morning to meet here and take a little vacation! They are a super cool duo and we had a chance to also meet some of her co-workers who were on the same trip. After a swanky drink in the Kowloon area we took the Star Ferry across the water to Hong Kong. A brief wander led us to serious, west coast style Mexican food.....it was amazing!!
Reina's two co-workers, Reina & Liza
John and James on camera duty


Day 48 -
Today we took a ferry to Macau, another "special zone" of China, and toured the former Portuguese colony. The two main attractions of Macau are its architecture and gambling. The buildings (at least the ones that aren't casinos already) are mostly European inspired.
In front of the new Lisbon
The casinos are also a sight to be seen. It is alot like Vegas, with the themed casinos, but only if Vegas was suddenly taken over by thousands of Chinese. Most of the day was spent wandering up and down the streets. We played one slot machine and Eliza won 20 patacas (about $2.50) which totally paid for our snacks on the ferry ride back.
Big money locale...sort of.

Also snagged a water shot of Jimmy's building, points for whoever guesses the right one (Not sure you can play Jen as you are a ringer).

Day 49 (Thurs) -
The highlight of today actually came this evening. We made plans during the day to meet up with Nupur and her boyfriend Robin, who was convinced to fly into town Thursday so that we would all get the chance to celebrate his birthday and see him before we get to India. As Nupur tends to work a bit later, we wandered out to meet up with Jimmy and his co-workers for a post work glass of wine. Turns out he works with some of the funniest European gents we've had the chance to bull shit over wine with so far this trip. After gaining some useful trip advise, we hoped in a cab and headed over to meet up with Nups and Robin. Somewhere pretty early in the night I convinced Robin it was best he wear a light up button (so everyone would know it was his birthday) and then purchased just the smiley face for him. We had a great evening of chatting and drinks, ending the night with John trying Hookah for the first time (not love at first puff) and a little bit of dancing. All around a great time.

Day 50 -
Most of today was spend packing and getting ready for Vietnam. We have really enjoyed taking over Jimmy's apartment and touring Hong Kong. It is by far the most Western city on our trip so far. The best part has been staying with Jimmy and watching "The Office" on DVD. Ah, American TV how you have been missed. Next up Vietnam.

And a banana picture for my sis