Spiritual guidance needed

Since arriving in Vietnam we've been feeling a bit up and down. Perhaps unsurprisingly it's dawned on us that what we're experiencing now is probably broadly typical of what we'll experience for the next four months: some very beautiful and/or interesting things and very friendly people balanced with the less enjoyable realities of life on the road in south east Asia: being stared at ALL the time, greeted by just about everybody (delightful but exhausting) and of course variable levels of hygiene and physical comfort. We had one day where we cycled over 110kms on a straight road through completely flat and boring scenery being beeped and shouted at continuously (for six hours) and not being able to find anything safe-looking to eat.

We're about to venture inland, hopefully for not more than a week, to ride along the so-called Ho Chi Minh Highway (a series of single-track, unsignposted roads apparently). We think the scenery will be nice, the roads very quiet, the settlements more spread out, and we're looking forward to more cycling. The downside is we may not be able to find places to stay (or even camp) and it may be very difficult to find food.

We've been doing a lot of talking and trying to develop a healthy philosophy about what we're seeing and doing. Yes, it's mind-expanding and character-building to see how some of the world's poorest people make the best of what they have, to eat what they eat, to smile back and be nice. But the language-barrier and the huge gulf in experience mean that interactions rarely go beyond hello, thank you, I'm from England, no we don't like Arsenal, yes Zoe does look the absolute spitting image of David Beckham, no my bike wasn't very expensive (lying through our teeth), yes I am going to lock it up even though you say there's no need, (pointing to mouth and raising eyebrows in order to ask) do you eat that weed you're fishing out of the river there, hello, hello, hello, hey, hey, hey, etc etc etc. The people most likely to speak a bit of English are those involved in tourism, who of course are a bit jaded and out to make money.

Zoe in particular finds it interesting being able to see lots of processes that normally take place behind closed doors or in factories (things being made, mended etc). So far it's all very visually stimulating though we wonder if even the novelty of five-foot-vases and whole slaughtered pigs being transported on mopeds and cute babies in bike baskets will wear a bit thin after a while.

Zoe has suggested we take it in turns to reply 'hello' (one hour on, one hour off) or get a tinny recorded message like many of the vendors on mopeds have, and I've even contemplated ways of drawing a fixed smile on my face to save my muscles.

We're aware this post might sound a bit spoilt bratty (and we haven't forgotten how lucky we are to be doing this) but right now we need some practical and philosophical strategies for really enjoying what we're doing and regulating the mood-swings. Any suggestions?