Author: Jessica Gail

This past week was our last in Vietnam. It’s hard to believe that out of the one month (!) we’ve been traveling thus far, we’ve spent three weeks in Vietnam. We could easily have travelled there even longer, but we have an ambitious itinerary set for the year and needed to make time to see other countries. Plus, our visa was only valid for one month.

After we left Da Nang we spent a few days in Hue in central Vietnam. We toured the imperial city, which is undergoing restoration after being severely damaged by bombing during the war.

After Hue we went to Phong Nha, a small town famous for its caves. We stayed at a really cool ‘eco-resort’ just outside the town beside a beautiful lake. We had our own tiny A-frame shack, and felt truly immersed in nature for the first time since we’d set off on our adventure. (To be fair, we weren’t really ‘camping’, we had a fully functioning bathroom in the cabin, but it felt very nature-y).

The first day in our little cabin was wonderful. It was so quiet and peaceful. We could hear birds and the steady hum of night-insects. Our conversation went something like this:

Oh wow this is so peaceful, you can hear the insect chorus and we’re surrounded by trees and it’s so quiet. Wow I just love this we should do this more often, maybe just stay here longer and – OH MY GOD THAT IS A SPIDER ON THE WALL. Why is it so big?? googles whether spiders in Vietnam are poisonous okay yes it is big, like, as big as my palm big but there is only one spider, we can just kill it and then move on with our lives. Byron attempts to whack the spider with one of my hiking boots oh sh*t that thing is fast. Okay maybe it will just leave us alone and… oh no…. *looks around cabin* there are six of them. We are outmatched.

The spiders were everywhere that first night. There was one on the wall right next to where we had been sitting, one on the ceiling, a couple on the ground, one behind a pipe in the bathroom, eventually we just stopped looking. We gave up on the idea of killing them – they were too big and fast and we were like 90% sure they were huntsman spiders which are apparently totally harmless to humans. So I decided I would think of them as guardians of the cabin, protecting us from the insects that could actually hurt us, like mosquitos. This helped somewhat.

Other than the terrifying spiders, our stay in Phong Nha was lovely. We took a motorbike through the mountains to Paradise Cave (I drove us there and Byron drove back, it turns out driving the motorbike is a lot of fun when there are hardly any other vehicles on the road).

I also had a couple days to myself when Byron went off on an overnight caving tour. I had intentionally opted out of caving, choosing instead to savor a couple quiet days by the lake, which I filled with reading, writing, long walks, and, of course, knitting.

Thankfully Byron returned from his caving expedition in one piece and leech-free, and we happily hopped on another overnight train, this time to Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city. Before exploring Hanoi though we had one more stop to make – a trip to Ha Long Bay.

Ha Long Bay is about four hours east of Hanoi by bus, and is absolutely beautiful. We took an overnight cruise there with three other guests – a man from Brazil, a woman from Peru who now lives in France, and her French daughter – plus our Vietnamese tour guide. Our conversations were a mix of English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese – thankfully everyone could understand multiple languages, even if no one was confident speaking them all, so we got along quite well despite the language differences.

Finally, we returned to Hanoi to spend our last two nights in Vietnam. And at last, at long last, I found a marvelous place. A place much hoped for. I found… a yarn shop!!!

A small one, to be sure, and the vast majority of the stock was not that exciting (lots of Michaels-quality acrylic yarns that I wasn’t interested in working with). But lo and behold I found treasure – fingering weight cashmere yarn in beautiful colors, for about $4 a skein. For those non-knitters, this price is absolutely unheard of in the US. You could easily pay $30 or above for similar quality yarn back home. Naturally, I bought quite a lot. I think it will become a sweater, we shall see.

Today we took a short flight to Luang Prabang in Laos. We’ve only been here a few hours but are already appreciating the relative quiet of the city and the beautiful sunset.

Knitting update: the hat is finished! Well, the knitting bit is finished. I haven’t yet weaved in the ends, but that’s really just a technicality.

This week I understood why people love traveling in Vietnam.

We spent the first half of our week in Nha Trang, a costal city with a beautiful beach and a great boardwalk that you can meander along for hours.

And meander we did! We walked all the way along the shore to a semi-ancient temple (we think). Honestly I’m not 100% sure of the history of the place, but it was clearly a tourist hot spot, and we were able to use the restroom and take some nice photos, so top marks all around.

Much to our surprise, we saw tons of Russian tourists in Nha Trang. Many of the restaurants were Russian owned, and most signs were written in some combination of Vietnamese, Russian, English, and Chinese (with occasionally some Korean thrown in, as with the sign below).

On our last day in Nha Trang we took a half-day tour to a nearby park where we hiked to see a small waterfall and swim in a few natural pools that felt lovely and cool in the heat. The pools were also full of those little fish that eat dead skin, so if you sat still you ended up with a little school of them darting around nibbling on your back or toes. It’s a very weird sensation. Not unpleasant, exactly, but a bit disconcerting. Like a mini pinch that almost hurts, but then fades immediately.

After Nha Trang we took an overnight train to Da Nang, also on the coast, but further north (there are two ways to see Vietnam – south to north, or north to south. We’re going south to north). While there were some things to see in Da Nang we mainly used it as a central point to visit other places nearby.

For ease of adventures, we decided to rent a motorbike. I know! A motorbike on these crazy roads? (See week two’s post for an overview of the insanity that is crossing the street in Vietnam). What were we thinking? The first day with the bike we took it pretty easy, driving along a costal road to see a huge statue and temples in the mountains. Byron expertly navigated the roundabouts (which are really just free for alls with everyone honking for all the other vehicles to get out of their way), and I took the bike for a tentative spin on one of the mountainous side roads.

Our second day though, we did a full on road trip. We biked out an hour and half or so to My Son, a Unesco World Heritage site with ancient Hindu temples. While the architecture was impressive, I mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet afforded by the surrounding mountains.

We then drove another hour and a half or so (it should have been shorter but our motorbike is actually just a fancy scooter and maxes out at 50 km/hour) to Hoi An, a pretty little city with nicely decorated streets, tons of shops, and beautiful lanterns that illuminate the river at night.

It was another hour back to our hotel in Da Nang, and in a shocking turn of events, I voluntarily drove us on the motorbike part of the way. I drove the bike! And killed neither of us! Victory is mine. Plus, I was only mostly terrified, as opposed to 100% terrified. So double victory.

We finished our time in Da Nang with a much-needed day of rest, including a walk on the beach at sunset where I found some cool shells amidst much trash and a couple dead fish (really, the beach in Da Nang is prettiest if you focus on the stunning scenery and don’t look too closely at the details).

Of course, the elephant in the room for most of our trip thus far has been the coronavirus. Everyone is concerned and taking precautions, but some of those precautions have become extreme. Vietnam has done their best to ban tourists from China for the next several months. Some of the locals we’ve spoken to are unhappy about this (less money from tourism), but for others this outbreak has amplified anti-Chinese sentiment. We’ve even seen some stores outright banning Chinese visitors. It’s unsettling to witness such blatant discrimination, a reminder of how easily fear can override basic human decency.

Our travels through Vietnam continued today as we headed to Hue via the most scenic train ride I’ve ever been on. This has only served to amplify Byron’s undying devotion to train travel.

Thankfully our slow travel pace has given me plenty of time for art and knitting. Sadly I have yet to find a yarn shop. We did see one store advertising “sewing and knitting”, which lifted my spirits for a few glorious moments, until I got closer and realized it was actually a tailor shop. Still, I shall not lose hope.

We started off this past week with a few days in Bali. Originally we had hoped to explore the area for a week, but alas with the Lunar New Year approaching flight prices to and from Bali were skyrocketing, so we elected to spend only a few nights there. Just enough time, we thought, to see what all the hype was about.

The area where we stayed (Canggu) was filled with Instagramers. You could not turn around without seeing immaculately dressed women posing for their friends or boyfriends, doing elaborate, costume-change-involving photo shoots in restaurants and on the beach. And there certainly are some lovely photo opportunities in Bali. We went to the beach every night at sunset to wade in the waves and watch the sky change.

In between all those lovely photo spots, though, there was an awful lot of trash. The five minute walk from our apartment to the beach was lined with construction debris, usually featuring at least one stray dog sniffing about for anything edible.

There were tons of restaurants nearby (many with excellent brunch and other western specialties), but they all lined a street that felt dangerous, rather than peaceful, to walk along, as the sidewalks were usually blocked by parked cars or street vendors, and the two lanes of the street itself were shared by cars and motorbikes with little interest in making room for pedestrians.

Although we may not have seen Bali at it’s best (and we did only see a very small part of the island), we took full advantage of the good food and our little oasis of an apartment, spending our days sheltering from the heat in the pool, or reading and sketching on our little porch between meals.

After Bali, we took what will be our last flight for some weeks to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south of Vietnam. Alas, much of the city was closed for the new year, but we did see plenty of the sights, ate some excellent Vietnamese food, and rejoiced in the plentiful options for bubble tea.

What I will remember most about Ho Chi Minh City, however, are the streets. Remember how I thought the little two lane roads in Bali were overwhelming? Well, this was a new magnitude of chaos for which I was wholly unprepared. Crossing the street was a nightmarish game of Frogger where you must simply step into traffic and pray that the cars and motorbikes will swerve around you or else slow slightly until you pass (you don’t step in front of buses, they don’t slow for us puny pedestrians). I feel about the streets of Saigon the way Byron feels about getting on an airplane – it’s an utterly ridiculous situation to be in and it’s entirely possible we’ll be killed at any second. Thankfully, Byron is totally unfazed by the chaos of those streets, and I’m unbothered by airplanes, so at least one of us is always calm during these parts of our journey.

Yesterday we took a long train ride to Nha Trang, Vietnam, right on the beach and near mountains, where we’ll spend the next few days. To my immense relief, this city is much smaller, and the roads far less crowded.

PS: One of the many perks of a 7.5 hour train ride on a sleeper car is that there is ample time for knitting – both the lace scarf and the hat are coming along nicely, though it’s still difficult to imagine needing a hat while traveling in a place where it is 90 degrees in January.

One week ago, my fiancé Byron and I left our jobs and set off for what we hope will be an 8-month trip around the world. We packed two giant backpacks and set off for Southeast Asia.

Our first stop was Doha, Qatar. It wasn’t on our original itinerary, but we were taking Qatar Airways to get to Singapore, and we decided a couple day layover would be prudent to break up the 12.5-hour(!) and 7.5-hour flights we’d be taking to kick off our journey.

Highlights from Doha included the dhow boats (above), excellent desserts, and the Museum of Islamic Art.

We then took another red-eye flight from Doha to Singapore. I learned that I do not function well on one hour of sleep when I’ve moved forward 13 time zones in two days. Thankfully, Byron lived in Singapore for a semester in college and so was able to lead sleep-deprived me around the city until it was time to sleep off the jet lag.

We’ve now been in Singapore for three nights, enjoying both vibrant city sites and nearby nature, and are preparing to depart for Bali in the morning. We spotted many marvelous animals and trees in MacRitchie Park, and kept running into bright lights and colorful art installations while traversing the city.

We’re also traveling with our friendly neighborhood sloth, Millie, who can be found on Instagram (@milliethesloth).

Packing tip for traveling knitters: pack deconstructed versions of clothing you will need later in the trip. For example, instead of packing a scarf, hat, fingerless gloves, and warm socks (all of which I’ll need in a few months when we leave Southeast Asia), bring yarn that can become all those things! Clearly this plan is foolproof.

Do you have sock yarn lying around you haven’t used? How about mini-skeins or leftovers you can’t bear to part with? Do you find mini socks too adorable to resist? Do you want a series of quick projects that will give you a feeling of accomplishment?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I highly recommend you make a garland of mini socks. Plus, if you make them in Christmas colors, they could totally double as little itty bitty stockings – you could even hang them on a tree.

Instructions for mini socks (you can also download a printer-friendly PDF in the sidebar)

CO 10 sts using Judy’s magic cast on. Stitches will be divided over 2 dpns

Shape the toe

Row 1: K10, pm for beginning of round

Row 2: (K1, M1R, K3, M1L, K1)*2 – 14 sts

Row 3: Knit

Row 4: (K1, M1R, K5, M1L, K1)*2 – 18 sts

Row 5: Knit

Row 6: (K1, M1R, K7, M1L, K1)*2 – 22 sts

Row 7: Knit

Row 8: (K1, M1R, K9, M1L, K1)*2 – 26 sts

Row 9: Knit

Knit the foot

Divide sts over 3 dpns, I recommend 13 stitches on the first needle (to make life easier when you turn the heel), 7 sts on the second needle and 6 sts on the third.

Knit until sock measures approx. 2.5 inches (including the toe) – I strongly recommend fudging this number to make colors line up nicely if you are using self-striping yarn.

Turn the heel – work wrapped stitches as you come to them

Row 1: K12, w&t

Row 2: P11, w&t

Row 3: K10, w&t

Row 4: P9, w&t

Row 5: K8, w&t

Row 6: P7, w&t

Row 7: K6, w&t

Row 8: P5, w&t

Row 9: sl1, K5, turn

Row 10: sl1, P6, turn

Row 11: sl1, K7, turn

Row 12: sl1, P8, turn

Row 13: sl1, K9, turn

Row 14: sl1, P10, turn

Row 15: sl1, K11, turn

Row 16: sl1, P12, turn

Row 17: sl1, K25 (you are now done making short rows – huzzah!)

Knit the body of the sock

Re-jigger the stitches so that they are evenly divided on your dpns.

Knit until body of sock measures about 3 inches. You can also knit for a couple inches and then do the last several row in 1×1 rib, totally up to you. When the sock is long enough for you, or you are nearly out of yarn in your mini skein, bind off all stitches. Weave in ends and block.

To turn the socks into a garland, I used mini clothespins and a length of scrap yarn. If you don’t have mini clothespins handy, you could also just tie the socks to the line, or make a crochet chain to attach them together. I also think it would be fun to add little loops to each sock and use them as Christmas ornaments.

Optional final step: do a photo shoot with your garland in a nearby park. Try act casually as you walk down the street carrying a bundle of miniature socks.

I have a tendency to be somewhat impulsive. Not about big things, necessarily – I’m not likely to upend by life on a whim – but if my impulse involves yarn or books and is unlikely to do anyone any real harm, well, let’s just say yarn stores are dangerous for me.

These adorable little balls of yarn are Havirland Pax Sock. They are soft and self striping and though I have many, many other projects on the go they have all fallen by the wayside this week after a trip to my LYS. In lieu of picking only one color, I bought their “Frankensocks Kit” which gave me ten mini-skeins with which to presumably make one pair of socks. However, I decided I would have much more fun using those mini skeins to make…. mini socks.

The are eensy, and they knit up so fast, and I am totally obsessed. It turns out each mini skein has the perfect amount of yarn to make two mini socks, each displaying the full color palette.

When I’ve finished all twenty socks, I’ll string them together to make a garland. I had originally envisioned this as a holiday decoration, but I’m fairly certain I’ll keep this up year round for quite some time. They are mini socks! I can’t get over it.

I’ll also post the pattern I improvised here once the garland is finished. After twenty socks it should be good and thoroughly tested (knocks on wood). In the meantime, I have 11.75 socks to go, and the charm has yet to wear off (knocks on wood again).

I’ve wanted to learn to work with oil paints for a long time. I love the colors, the look of the finished paintings – but I was always intimidated by them. My understanding was they smelled funny and never dried, and would thus get everywhere and ruin all my possessions. Also possibly kill me when the turpentine inevitably caught fire.

To get around this, I learned to work with water-soluble oils a little over a year ago. This felt like a great intermediate step, but I was still intrigued by working with the real thing. So earlier this year, I dove in and took a class with full-on, legit-artist oil paints.

Thankfully, I survived, though I did briefly fear for my life when I shattered a glass jar filled with solvent. And it is true that I got paint everywhere. Mostly on myself. Pro tip: red and blue oil paint that you can’t quite wash off of your arm makes for a very convincing fake bruise.

I present to you my early efforts, in rough order of completion. And I would strongly urge anyone who has also wanted to learn to paint to go forth and embrace the mess. It’s absolutely worth it.

In my first post I promised you failures. I am somewhat less than delighted to be able to fulfill that promise already, and yet, here we are.

I first started making sourdough bread this summer. I got a giant book with various bread recipes from Costco, and one chapter went over how to make your own sourdough bread, starting by making your own “wild” sourdough starter.

I was intrigued. I knew sourdough was supposed to be tricky, but I’ve always been very good at following directions, so I decided to give it a shot.

I filled a jar with the requisite amount of flour and water, “fed” it regularly, and soon enough it was bubbling up just as the book said it should!

My first loaf turned out beautifully, and I was convinced I was already a sourdough master.

I was wrong.

I’ve made maybe a dozen loaves since then, and my attempts have been very hit or miss. Some days I get beautifully risen, round loafs like the first one, other days my dough prefers to expand horizontally, rather than vertically.

Today was a horizontal sort of day. I knew something was up when after hours and hours the dough was still only bubbly, not risen, but I baked it anyway, just in case.

Whelp. Maybe it will still taste okay.