Meet the Cast

*** This blog was created to document our travel in Vietnam -- to keep our family members back home in the USA informed (and to prove that we were still alive!) At times, it felt like the upcoming trip would be a MTV Real World TV experiment -- so we based this blog on that theme. ***

Friday, December 28, 2011
Posted by Tootsie & TwoLively

What happens in Vietnam, stays in Vietnam. So, to protect the family name and dignity, we will be using aliases. Please refer to us as:

• Wizard of Oz (Oz)
• Glinda
• MarcoPolo (Marco)
• TwoLively
• Montezuma's Revenge (Monte)
• The Travel Agent
• Tootsie

WIZARD OF OZ
In the 2012 version, our title character is a computer wizard with a daring appetite. Vietnam will be a culinary adventure for him! And, as a twist to the plot, our wizard marries and departs from Oz (in an eco-friendly hybrid Prius) with...

GLINDA   
She's no witch, but she sure cast a spell on Oz! She keeps the Oz's GPS set on the straight-and-narrow. She's the yin to his yang... The Abbott to his Costello... The peanutbutter to his jelly... You get the drift... Speaking of drifting...

MARCOPOLO
Instead of drifting in unchartered waters, our Marco Polo traverses the world by navigating the skies. With his knees pushed up to his ears, he dreams of first-class. He is married to...

TWOLIVELY
She wanted to be Xena, 'cause who doesn't wanna be Xena? But, holding the title of Domestic Goddess AND Warrior Princess might make others feel bad. This spunky germ-o-phobe can be explosive...just like a bad case of...

MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE
Not one to heed advice from medical professionals (or the CDC for that matter), this willy-nilly traveler throws caution to the wind. Vaccinations? Antibiotics? Insect repellent? Pssssh! BUT: will the winds of fate catch him? Will he spend his vacation sight-seeing...strapped to the commode...or have other arrangements been made by his wife...

THE TRAVEL AGENT
Petite, smart, a Jill-of-All-Trades...she's the soothing Immodium to Montezuma's rumblings (but Immodium's kinda a crappy nickname, dontcha think?) This native-speakin'-hotel-booking-bus-scheduling-event-planner will hopefully (???) negotiate any precarious situation along the pothole-laden-unnamed-Vietnamese-road! She drives a hard-bargain with her shrewd negotiating skills. She can really stre-t-ch a dong (Vietnamese currency, of course.)

How do you follow childish snickers over the word "dong"? YOU CAN'T! You can only put one foot in front of the other... And speaking of feet...

TOOTSIE
This thoughtful traveler probably won't go toe-to-toe with anyone (unless it's over the last square of toilet paper.) Like a Gremlin, abide by a few rules: 1. Keep her rested 2. Keep her full 3. Keep her lily-white skin from parching, and 4. Never, ever, EVER wake her from her slumbers. In return, she'll toe-the-line, and keep in step. Her quest is to photograph her toesies on every new adventure, and you can read about her feet's feats right here...
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Will Oz's iron-stomach keep up with his quest for exotic cuisine? Will Monte favor sit-down or squat toilets? Stay tuned...