Vang Vieng, Laos

Nov 23- Happy Birthday!!! (Vang Vieng, Laos)

Today was a special day for Steph so we celebrated by spending a couple hours on a bus (damn...). After much waiting, we ended up leaving on the bus to Vang Vieng at around 11am (supposed to leave at 9:30). Then a ~3 hour bus ride got us to Vang Vieng just before 3:30, at which point we quickly found a hostel (cheap and nice, wooo!) and a sandwich and went to see if we could go tubing. We got to the tube rental place at around 4pm but discovered that it probably wasn't worth it to head out that day. Damn. Instead we ended up chilling in hammocks, watching the sunset, and drinking beer for a couple hours, pissed that we weren't getting shit-faced in a tractor tube (awesome scenery, mediocre sunset- nothing like NM for sunsets, bar none). After sitting for a while we decided that we were hungry and ate some mediocre pizza while watching Friends re-runs and decided to turn in for the night in preparation for tubing the next day. A few notes about Vang Vieng. Total party town (most everyone here is here to tube), there is lots of western food and nearly all the restaurants show old re-runs of either Friends, Family Guy, or very occasionally the Simpsons or Southpark.

Nov 24- Happy Birthday take 2 (Vang Vieng, Laos)

So today we were going to tube no matter what but decided it was well worth sleeping in (got up around 11ish). After some banana pancakes and a tuna sandwich (that's what Steph wanted so that's what she got) we rented a tube and set off for the river. We had little to no idea what to expect from tubing so it was nice that we were riding with some veterans in our tuk-tuk. It was really interesting hearing some of their stories before getting on the tube, like this one guy who apparently hadn't made it back to Vang Viang with his tube once after tubing every day for almost a week. Anyways, with no preconceptions, we got off the tuk-tuk, grabbed our tube, and were immediately given a free shot of lao lao (homemade rice whiskey made from sticky rice). The rest of tubing goes about like this: there are several bars a long the river, each blasting super loud techno or hip hop and each giving out free shots of lao lao. Some of the lao lao is good, some of it is bad, and some of it is just plain nasty (vomit inducing). The people there are largely Europeans and love to party. There are huge swings and slides and zip lines that you can ride into the river (which Steph gladly did). Buckets (like the ones you make sandcastles with) are sold with large amounts of whiskey and stuff to cover up the taste. So are beers. Everything is expensive (except for free lao lao). People get pretty wasted. Our time was pretty fun because we were able to meet up with the Irish couple we met on the Hanoi-Vientiane bus and hang out with them down the river. The only downside was that at about 4pm we discovered what time it was and had to have the tubes back by 6pm. Unfortunately, it is more than a 2hour float down the river. We tried anyways and failed, but had a good time failing (minus the fact that it had gotten dark and Steph was freezing and we were still floating down the river). After returning our tubes, eating a chicken sandwich, and showering, we met up with the Irish later for some more buckets. After a free bucket and one for only 10,000 kip, we parted ways and went to bed.

Nov 25- Riding Bikes and Seeing Caves (Vang Vieng, Laos)
Today we weren't that hung over but still got up pretty late. After some lunch and some wandering looking at tourist agencies to book at for the next day, we found one and booked a tour. Then we rented some bikes and road across the river to see a cave. Pretty cool, but nothing too spectacular. Then we decided we weren't caved out yet and rode to another cave nearby. This one was interesting because you had to leave your bikes locked up about 500 meters away and walk through a rice field to get to the ticket booth. Once at the ticket booth, it was probably another 500 meters or so to the cave itself. We had some guide show us through, which was ok, but the real star of the cave was getting to see a tarantula wasp hovering over this giant spider (Steph was reeeeeeeealllly excited). Apparently these guys paralyze the spider and then lay their eggs inside them. Once the eggs hatch the little wasplings eat the spider alive from the inside out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk. It was actually pretty awesome. After seeing the cave we returned our bikes and decided it was time to watch some south park, but failed and watched family guy instead.

Nov 26- Tube Caving and Kayaking (Vang Vieng, Laos)
Today we were on a tour group to go check out a cave via intertube and kayak down the river. We showed up at the agency early and were in the Tuk Tuk by 9am. We get to the river and cross and are about to go to this other temple-cave thing ("Elephant Cave"- named for the natural limestone formation that actually does look like an elephant) but our tour guide saw a bunch of other tourists coming and told us we wanted to be first in the other cave. We're so glad he did because the other cave was pretty awesome. The other cave is this super long cave that has enough water in all of it to allow you to explore it via intertube. We get on our tubes and put on headlights and start pulling ourselves on this rope through the cave. At one point we had to get up and walk (too shallow) but otherwise we could go through the entire thing on the tube. Our group went all the way to the end via rope and a bit of paddling at the end, but it was totally worth it. So awesome and probably our favorite cave adventure of the whole trip. After the cave we had a pretty awesome lunch and set off on our kayaking adventure. It was pretty tame kayaking, by no means hard, but this British couple did manage to flip their kayak which was entertaining (they ran into a bush... soooo funny... also ironic since they are now sitting directly behind me in this internet cafe in Luang Prabang I'm using... hahahaha). During the kayaking we passed the same part of the river we had done tubing and stopped at two of the bars but it was a bit more lame than actually doing the tubing. The one interesting bit was when Steph went of this enormous slide and hit the water badly, bruising her leg (ouch!). After some kayaking it was really nice outside and we had a beer and chilled by the river for a bit. After beer we wanted some good food and some TV re-runs, got both, and happily decided it had been a pretty damn good day.

Nov 27- Tubing take 2 (Vang Vieng, Laos)
Today we decided to take to tubing again.  We got up late (Vang Vieng is a lazy town for the most part, great for sleeping in) and grabbed some food and then headed out for tubing.  Pretty much the same as before, although this time we drank more buckets and got enough of a buzz going that we had to take the tuk tuk back (trying to get our full deposit back, but we missed it by minutes).  After some dinner and some food, we called it a night.

The "Hell-bus" and Vientiane, Laos

Nov 20/21st: the "Hell Bus" to Vientiane

So it turns out the "hell bus," as it is commonly known around here, is not really a hell bus at all. Minus about 3 hours of motos, taxis and waiting to get to the actual bus, the bus itself was pretty comfortable and it was only a 19 hour ride. We arrived at the ticket agent at 4:45, and were taken by moto to some random street corner where we waited for about 45 mins. Then a taxi grabbed us and squished 7 people and their luggage into a taxi and we took a ?30 min ride to the bus station. Once at the bus station, we stood around for a good long while and waited for a couple more people to arrive, and then we headed in. We bought our tickets, and then stood next to the bus for some time, then got on. Then we waited some more, and finally we were on our way! We had a quick stop for dinner, and a very twisty and turny ride through the mountains to the border (it was kind of hard to sleep). Once at the border (3am? 4am? i dunno), we just waited until it opened. We had a relatively painless experience going through the border (minus getting a horrible exchange rate for our last few remaining dong), we made it through, had some bfast, and kept going. We got to Vientiane a lot earlier than we expected (3pm!!??), then took a tuk-tuk into town and found ourselves a place to stay. We also had a car stop for us and let us pass (this hasn't happened in a very very long time...we were a bit confused at first, ha). After we had some delicious dinner close to the river side, and then we were told there was a festival in town (That Luang Festival) and that we could 'probably' walk there. We were pretty tired from our bus ride, but we decided we should check it out, at least for a bit. We should have taken the hint though, because it turns out the festival was about 3km away. After a lot of walking, we were pretty pissed and also tired, but we decided to press on. That Luang was beautiful; it is the national symbol for Laos and it was all lit up, and people were praying and making offerings. Other than that, it turns out that the festival was pretty much just like any other fair, with lots of food, loud music and games. We got stuck in a large crowd and after about 30 minutes of pushing and shoving, we made it to the exit alive. I got some cotton candy, which made me feel a teeny bit better, but we were still angry and exhausted, so we headed back to the hostel for some much needed rest.

Nov 22nd: Vientiane

We had heard that there wasn't too much to do in Vientiane, even though it's the capital of Laos, and this turned out to be true. We woke up , had some free hotel breakfast, a good skype session and ate some pretty good Indian food for lunch. Then we checked out Haw Phra Kaew, an old temple, and Wat Si Saket, a Buddhist wat with a whole bunch of Buddhas. Then we wandered and saw That Dam, a large stupa, had some smoothies and checked out a couple of bookstores (we've been reading a lot lately...). Unsatisfied with their books, we went back to the hotel for a nap, then found some delicious dinner at a street stall consisting of roast duck and noodles. On the way back to the hostel, we saw the concluding ceremony of the festival, where people play lots of music and walk around a temple with lit candles and offerings. Afterwards, we headed to bed.

Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Nov 16: Arrival in Hanoi

We arrive in Hanoi at 7:30am, after a little over 14 hours on the bus. As usual, we are greeted by a flock of people offering us lodging. We found a sweet place for $8/night, including breakfast, a/c, and hot water. Super satisfied, we ate some breakfast, and headed out to check out the city. Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, museum, and former residence. Ho Chi Minh's embalmed remains are contained in a large parthenon-looking building. Everyone forms a single file line, and get let in a few people at a time. There are guards everywhere, and you are not allowed to stop or take pictures. The room is dimly lit, and in the middle is a glass case with Ho Chi Minh. He looked almost fake. After that strangley humbling experience, we walked through the area that contained Ho Chi Minh's house, where he lived for from 1958 to 1969. We also saw his old cars. Afterwards, we went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which wasn't really a museum about him at all, but had a very interesting layout. Afterwards we wandered the streets and found a back alley market, where we ate some delicious Pho Ga. Next, we headed to the Temple of Literature, the oldest university, established in 1076. We walked through a couple of gates and ended up staring at a series of large tablets on the back of stone turtles. On the tables are carved the names of students who successfully passed on got their PhDs. (I think this should be done for everyone who gets a PhD these days). Afterwards, we headed to the Hanoi History Museum, where we climbed a tower and climbed into many old war machines (tanks, helicopters, torpedo launchers, etc) and looked at some pictures (the museum was under construction or rennovation, so there wasn't too much to see). Next we wandered and tried to book a tour to Ha Long Bay, which turned out to be a nightmare. Every other shop offers a tour. There are cheap tours and expensive ones, and who knows what you're going to get. We ready many horror stories about people being stuffed on to boats and being served shitty food. Finally, we decided on a company, and booked our tour. After eating some delicious grill-your-own-beef on the street, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Nov 17: Hanoi Day 2

We slept in rather late, and headed out to explore the Old Quarter, a congested and confusing area of Hanoi, with winding streets and lots of honking. Each street has it's own 'specialty' or something similar. One street is filled with motorcyle seat covers, the next with a bunch of shops selling lights, the next full of coffee, etc. We were in search of the famous Hanoi dish Bun Bo Nam Bo, or rice noodles with grilled beef, various vegetables, peanuts, dried onions and sauce. The lady cooked it right in front of us, and it was so amazingly delicious. Afterwards, we grabbed some coffee and then continued to wander until we found the restaurant we had been looking for in the first place (it served the Bun Bo Nam that we had already eaten on the street about an hour ago). We decided to have some more bun anyway. At this point, completely stuffed, we continued our explorations and found an internet cafe and hung out there for a few hours. Afterwards . We grabbed some tickets for a water puppet show (Hanoi is well known for these), and then went to find some food. We had saffron rice with various meat products (including cinnamon pork) and some beer. Then we headed to watch the water puppet show, which I thoroughly enjoyed and Phil thought was just meh. Then we went to pack and sleep.

Nov 18- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Today we got picked up outside our hotel at ~8:30 for our trip to Ha Long Bay, arriving at the docks around 11:30. We quickly went on board the boat and had some orange juice before setting out on our journey. While we were cruising we were served lunch of shrimp, spring rolls, clams, and some sauteed morning glories, which was all in all pretty decent. After lunch we went on top of the boat and got our first real look at Ha Long Bay. To be brief, Ha Long is amazingly beautiful. There are thousands of different sized limestone islands that our boat cruised between. With the wind in your hair and a beer in your hand, its really hard not to appreciate the sheer beauty of such a place. At some point we arrived at a small fishing village where presumably the boat crew grabbed some crab and fish for our dinner later that night. We had the option of taking a small boat into some caves, but it cost extra money and no one on the boat signed up for it. After a brief cruise, we arrived at a dock where we would get off and walk through the Surprise Cave. The caves were amazing to walk through, but really really crowded. One thing I should mention about Ha Long is that hundreds of boats are out there at the same time as yours, making it impossible to go to any major attraction without seeing a lot of other tourists (or to stand on top of your boat without seeing at least a dozen other boats). Anyways, the big surprise of the cave was a phallic looking rock formation which you can sort of see in our pictures (you'll find which one I think). It was pretty cool to walk through it and took about an hour (only because the massive amounts of people there). After the cave we got back on the boat and cruised over to a place where we could swim. Steph and others jumped off the top of the boat (see picture) and we ended up swimming over to one of the limestone island structures and found the tiniest beach I've ever seen (literally about 1 square meter of dry sand). We swam back to our boat, showered, and then had a nice dinner of crab, squid, chicken, french fries (don't ask, they're popular here) and morning glories. After dinner we had some time for karaoke, but none of us wanted to do that and instead we hung out with some of the other tourists on top of the boat. We brought along two super cheap bottles of vodka ($2/pint) since beer was really expensive on the boat. We shared our vodka with everyone and got a pretty good buzz going but eventually we wanted some more beer. Luckily there are local ladies in small boats riding around selling cheaper beer, which we happily purchased. The boat did not allow outside alcohol (they charged you for them even if you brought them from Hanoi) so we kind of had to sneak around drinking "dorm style". We even passed right in front of the boatmen, who looked annoyed and obviously could tell we had outside beers, but didn't make a fuss about it. We all got a nice buzz and talked till about 10:30 when we went to bed.

Nov 19- Ha Long Bay and Hanoi, Vietnam

Our second day at Ha Long started with 1 hour of kayaking around. It was really interesting to kayak around and get a little bit closer look at some of the limestone formations. After kayaking, we returned to our boat (with some passengers missing who were on a 3 day trip) and set off for our journey back to port. During this time we took one last look at the beautiful Ha Long Bay and managed to take quite a few pictures. After lunch back on mainland, we loaded into a minivan and drove back into Hanoi. Once back in Hanoi we had to find a new place to stay that night and ended up wandering around quite a bit, but ended up finding something decent. Dinner and a walk around town (and some famous Bia Hoi) was enough to put us to sleep fairly fast.

Nov 20, Hanoi, Vietnam

This was our last day in Vietnam and we had quite a bit to do. First things first, we decided we needed to send some letters and get some money, since we were really unsure what currencies they would accept at the Vietnam border. We had spent a long time during other days trying to figure out which banks would exchange our money but as it was currently Saturday we found our bank closed when we got there. Luckily there was a lady standing in front of the bank who, although giving us a horrible rate, exchanged some of our dong to US dollars. After the bank we ended up wandering around looking for delicious bun, but failed and instead settled for some noodles and miscellaneous fried foods. After lunch we spent quite a long time looking for an internet place, but internet games are reeeeallly popular with kids in pretty much all of SE Asia and as such many of them were completely full. On a long shot we managed to find one that had some empty spots. After a long internet session, we realized it was about time for our bus to leave, so we quickly went back to our hotel, grabbed our stuff and went to the travel agency...

Hue, Vietnam

Nov 12- Travel and the Imperial City (Hue, Vietnam)
Today we woke up early and prepared for our bus ride to Hue, Vietnam. The bus left at around 8:00am so we got there a bit early and loaded on the bus. This would be our first of several sleeper buses we were going to ride during our stay in SE Asia so we were excited to see what they were. A sleeper bus has about 30 or so seats which recline almost 180 degrees, except that your feet run under the next person's head (so your upper torso is not completely flat but slightly inclined). They are mostly comfortable, except that they were made with the Vietnamese body in mind, meaning that I was kind of cramped but all together not too unhappy. You tend to slide forward when you go over bumps, which is why they probably have seat belts (unlike pretty much all other forms of transport here). The bus ride was pretty uneventful and we arrived in Hue around 12:00. After finding a place to stay for the great price of $7 (other westerners were paying $10- ALWAYS bargain!), we decided to check out the Imperial City. The city was heavily bombed by the French, so much of it is in ruins. I think it was probably really beautiful when it was in good condition, probably even more so than the Forbidden City in Beijing, but as it was there was really only one place in the complex in decent condition. Having seen all that there was to see, we decided to checkout a nearby market. The market was pretty much the same as any other, containing fruits, veggies, dead fish, piles of intestines, etc. After the market we went to a grocery store to buy some snacks and headed back to the hotel to relax before dinner. For dinner we stumbled on this place that has the "best fruit shakes in Vietnam" and I have to admit they might be right. We also had some really good Hue-style Pho, which is pretty much the same as any other but maybe a little bit spicier (the broth was extremely delicious) and some crunchy noodles. Tired from a long day of traveling and full bellies, we headed to bed.

Nov 13- Tombs and Perfume (Hue, Vietnam)
The night before we had booked a tour with a place called the Mandarin Cafe for a cruise down the Perfume River to see some old emperor's tombs. The boat was slow but the ride was generally relaxing. Our first stop was to see a kung fu demonstration, which was pretty neat. The highlight of the show was definitely seeing a guy bend two spears while resting the points on his throat (look at the video- it was impressive). After this we checked out the Thien Mu Pagoda, which was nice since it was overlooking the river. After the pagoda we went to our first tomb, which was the tomb of Emperor Minh Mang. Emperors of Vietnam started construction on these tombs way before their death but most of them didn't get the chance to see them finished before they died. This tomb in particular was interesting because no one knows where on the tomb complex the Emperor is actually buried. Minh Mang had a coffin and whatnot, but that was only for show as he was paranoid that his enemies would rob his grave and uncover his body. Each tomb also has a large stone tablet, where the emperor's accomplishments are recorded. The second tomb was for Emperor Khai Dinh, the second to last emperor of Vietnam. This one was pretty awesome. Khai Dinh was a much more modern emperor and had visited Europe several times and as such his tomb was heavily influenced by French architecture. The outside is pretty cool but what is really amazing is his grave itself, located on the top of a small hill near the Perfume River. It is pretty decked out with gold and other precious items (like glass and porcelain) and also contains a shiny life sized statue of him (made of some precious metal but we forgot). It was pretty sweet. The third tomb was pretty much like the first tomb and belonged to Emperor Tu Duc. After visiting these tombs we headed back to Hue on the bus. Tonight we had another good dinner of some sandwiches (steph thinks we're sandwich whores and we probably are but they're really just that good) and some delicious Pho Ga (Pho with chicken).


Nov 14- DMZ (17th Parallel, Vietnam; near Hue, Vietnam)
Today we headed for the DMZ or the Demiliterized Zone. The DMZ is the important area stretching 5 km in central Vietnam which divided the North and the South. The idea was that no one controlled this area but a lot of important military bases and battles were all fought near here including the important Khe Sanh Air base. Our first stop along the way was a river which formed the southern boundary and contained an important bridge of the Ho Chi Min trail. Here we also could see the "Rockpile" which was a marine outpost accessible only by helicopter. Later we stopped at the Khe Sanh Air base. Khe Sanh was an extremely important base for both the North and the USA. For the US it provided a major outpost to control the 17th Parallel as well as a base for sending out planes for bombing missions. For the North it would prove even more important, as they laid siege to the base before the Tet Offensive as a distraction. Marines there called the base "Hell on Earth" and its really easy to see why. Under constant attack, life living in the bunkers must have been both terrifying and miserable. After some lunch we went to see another famous area called the Vinh Moc tunnels. These tunnels were dug by the people living just north of the DMZ and as such were subject to constant bombing by the US forces. In order to avoid the bombing, the Vietnamese peoples there dug themselves extensive tunnel networks 10 to 30 meters deep, much deeper than the tunnels at Cu Chi. These tunnels were also much wider and taller because they were for designed for civilians. After the tunnels we headed back to Hue. It was really interesting for us to get to go to the DMZ and other places in Vietnam to witness how the war affected the country and the people (of both sides). Arriving in Hue we decided it was time for dinner and had a great meal at the Mandarin Cafe. After the Mandarin we got some flyers for drink specials and went to a bar for a cocktail before calling it quits for the night.


Nov 15- Hue, Vietnam
Today was a relaxing day and as such we slept in (having gotten up at 5:30 the day before for the DMZ). We got packed and left our bags at our hotel and headed to find a place called Ninas for lunch (recommended on the internet). On our way I made the mistake of telling a cyclo driver that we were looking for Ninas, which he took as a sign to follow us for basically the next 20-30 minutes offering us help and making us more and more angry that he was there. Seriously, it was kind of creepy. At one point we just decided to turn down an alley that looked like it had a restaurant to avoid him and by sheer luck saw a sign for Ninas. Nina's was awesome (duck stew and cucumber salad and some noodles). Hue in general was an awesome city for food. After lunch we went off in search of the Ho Chi Minh Museum but found it was closed since it was Monday. Fail. It was now raining and we decided it was about time for a much needed coffee break. On the way to find coffee I suddenly had an urge to poop (in Nam you often just get an urge out of no where and its usually good to act on it) and I saw a nice hotel to stop in. Really the only reason I'm even mentioning this particular poop in the blog is because they had a bowl of rose water to make your hands smell nice after washing, which I thought was a really nice touch. Anyways, we found some coffee and started reading, during which it started pouring rain. This made us nervous that our bus might be canceled since Hue gets the largest annual rainfall of the country and we were now deep into Central Vietnam's rain season (it turns out we were fine). Eventually the rain stopped and we started walking in search of an internet cafe but realized that it was kind of late and we should probably eat and head to the Sinh Cafe to catch our bus. We bought new rain ponchos which were much thicker and better than our other ones in the hopes to keep our bags dry. We grabbed our bags and got all suited up but once we walked out of our hotel it had pretty much stopped raining, making our efforts meaningless (well, we have nice ponchos now....). We get to the bus and jump on board to start the long journey to Hanoi.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Nov 7- White People are EVERYWHERE!! (Hoi An, Vietnam)
Today was our last day with the Easy Riders and was particularly interesting for us arriving in Hoi An.  We got to Hoi An at about 3 pm and were immediately surprised by the amount of white people here.  Seriously, this town is FULL of white people.  Its crazy, its kind of annoying, and definitely a shock after spending 6 days in the country.  Anyways, after arriving in town Rocky an Hong took us to look at a few hotels.  Finding one (and finding that the Riders could get a cheaper price than us at the same hotel.... damn....), we put our bags in there and set off on our last ride with the pair:  to the ATM.  We got money and set off to the tailor shop that Rocky recommended (Kimmy's).  At Kimmy's shop, we were immediately sat down, had magazines with suits and dresses put in front of us and told to pick anything we wanted, literally anything, and they could make it for us.  Basically we can just point at a picture of an article of clothing and they will tailor it for you.  I designed a suit (with Steph's and the designers help) but had some issues paying what they wanted for it, so didn't buy it.  Steph ordered a jacket and dress (almost completely custom to her specifications- only the basic pattern wasn't her design) and we returned to our hotel to find Rocky and Hong for our last dinner together of street side chicken and rice (a Hoi An specialty and delicious).  After paying Rocky and Hong, saying goodbye and promising to write amazing reviews on different travel sites, we went to bed.

Nov 8- Small Victories and Costly Defeats (Hoi An, Vietnam)
Today we slept in (much needed) and wandered around the town waiting to go for a fitting for Steph's dress at the tailors.  There are tailors EVERYWHERE in Hoi An, about 300 we are told (for a town population of ~50k, thats a lot of tailors).  There are also a large amount of shoe shops, coffee shops, and relatively expensive restaurants (by our standards at least; expensive is anything over about $3 a dish).  The architecture in "Old Hoi An" is just old, which makes it really cool.  There are tons of neat wooden buildings and places that have been standing for 100s of years, which makes it really nice to just wander.  After taking some time to explore, we went back to the tailor to fit Steph's clothes.  The jacket was perfect and the dress looked amazing, but it made Steph's boobs look weird (hard to explain... they like... flattened her boobs... just take my word on it).  Corrections to the dress noted, we walked downstairs.  After Steph's success with her jacket, we got trapped into looking at their collection again and ended up talking to the Kimmy.  Kimmy is really convincing and managed to bargain me into buying the suit I designed yesterday (I had decided not to buy it the night before but Kimmy is just that good).  I did score a minor victory, however, in getting Kimmy to practically throw in a tailored shirt, tie, and good suit lining in for ridiculously low prices.  Steph also got trapped, but ended up buying another really awesome black dress, so small victory for her also.  After spending about an hour (or more?) at a shoe cobbler who is owned by Kimmy's sister, we actually scored a major victory by not buying anything.  If you haven't noticed, I say these are victories because these people are excellent at convincing even stubborn and cheap people like us into buying things we don't need and didn't think we wanted.

Nov 9- Fittings (Hoi An, Vietnam)
Today we had planned to get up early and go to the market, but instead just got up early and took an extra hour to get out of the hotel (woops!).  We first booked our bus ride to Hue and then went back into Old Hoi An to actually see the inside of some of these buildings.  We bought tickets that are good for 5 of the sites, which is ridiculous, since there are 18 places you can use them at.  As our guide book says, you'd need 3 days and 4 tickets to see everything in Hoi An, so its probably easier to just pick 5, which we did.  We saw an old wooden merchants house (that apparently gets flooded every year but still stands and looks amazing), a Chinese Assembly Hall, a pottery museum, an old wooden Japanese Bridge, and a temple.  We also made it down to the Central Market, which is your typical market full of fruits, vegetables, trinkets, and amazing food stalls.  Definitely the highlight today was the food stalls, where we sampled some regional Cau Lau noodles (awesome!!!) and the Vietnamese version of a buffet (also pretty darn good).  After perusing the market, we had some coffee and saw up close my "twin".  Seriously, this guy looked exactly like me, complete with glasses, belly and a pretty big but amazingly handsome and slightly ginger colored beard (just like me).  Novelty of that aside, we walked around town (pretty much what you do in Hoi An) and went for another fitting.  The suit looks good, but Steph's second dress is amazing (it fits very well and looks even better- what else would you expect from a custom tailored dress?).  After the fitting, an internet session (for jobs at the NIH and finding out how to make a call for an interview) and a mediocre dinner, we went to bed.

Nov 10- My Son Ruins, a boat trip, and getting lost (Hoi An, Vietnam)
Today we visited what is often quoted as the "Ankor Wat" of Vietnam.  It is a small ruin complex called My Son and is about an hour away from Hoi An.  I wouldn't say it was an Ankor Wat (our guide said not to compare the two either) but it was still pretty darn cool.  The buildings are all made from brick (as opposed to stone at Ankor) and what is left is pretty damn well preserved, despite the fact that oh... 50% of them were destroyed by American bombs.  We took the guided tour, which was not all that great but still ok, where we got to visit many of the temples and learn all about the Lingas, Vishnus, and Ganeshas etc. that are all around the ruins.  After the temples, we boarded the bus and headed for our boat.  The boat trip today was pretty "meh" but was still enjoyable.  We had a really small and slightly bland lunch and bottle of water on board and also stopped to see some people doing some wood carvings on an island (of course the workshop was attached to the mandatory gift shop).  After getting back to Hoi An, we were still kind of hungry and stopped at a place to eat some pancakes.  The pancakes were good, but the coolest thing about this meal was meeting a Chinese girl traveling alone through Vietnam.  She was from just outside of Guangzhou (near Hong Kong) and really good English.   I think she was the first single Chinese traveler that we have met on our entire journey.  Apparently single Chinese girls get about 15-20 days for holiday a year (married girls, she told us, only get 5!!!  Crazy!).  After lunch, we grabbed some coffee to kill time and headed back to the tailor for another fitting (lots and lots of fittings in Hoi An).  Final marks made on our clothes, we decided it was time to explore part of the city we haven't seen yet, and eventually get kind of lost.  Both Steph and I had completely different ideas about where we were, but a stop at a hotel for a map proved that Steph was right (DAMN!!  I hate it when that happens!  And it happens A LOT).  After some dinner, we decided it had been a long night of getting lost and it was time for bed.

Nov 11- Biking (Hoi An, Vietnam)
So today we went to Kimmy's to try on our clothes one last time and, finding they fit, shipped them to the States by water (air was 2x the price, water takes longer but whatever).  After this we decided it was time for a bike ride around, so we rented some bikes and set off to a Japanese tomb.  This tomb was really simple (it was pretty much just a grave) but also awesome because it literally was in the middle of a rice field.  It was really neat just to bike (and walk our bikes through some really muddy parts) through the rice field.  Also there are tons of rats in the rice fields.  After the tomb we went for some lunch and made our way to this shop we looked up that exchanges books called Randy's Book Exchange (clever).  Randy is... an interesting character.  He is an expat (ex-patriot- basically a term for any white person living semi-permanently in asia) and runs a book shop with tons of books.  We picked up the first two books of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and sold our Monkey Wrench Gang for 60,000 dong (kind of mad about this, as we bought his books at 170,000).  Talking to Randy and two of his other customers took a while, but eventually we left and took a bike around the less touristy parts of Hoi An.  Biking makes you hungry and while we were riding Steph see's this little cart and we pull over.  We each got 2 of these tiny dishes containing a sort of rice gelatin covered in an asian-influenced tomato sauce.  It was awesome and we both agreed we could have eaten several more, but alas, we had ordered their last 4 of the day.  Then it started raining.  Damn.  So instead of biking miserably in the rain, we decided to return the bikes and grab something more substantial to eat.  We semi-craved some western food and caved for a pasta dish with spinach and mushroom, which still tasted slightly of lemongrass.  We also had some wontons (Hoi An specialty) and some bun.

Da Lat and the Easy Riders

Oct 30: Off to Da Lat

So we have this cheap alarm clock. Our bus left at 7:30, so we set the alarm for 6:30. When it went off, I accidentally set the time back an hour instead of just resetting the alarm. When it went off 5 minutes later, the clock said 5:35. Elated, we slept for another hour. When we got up, we leisurely started getting dressed, and when I put on my watch, I realized it was 7:40, not 6:40. I gasped in terror, and we started frantically shoving things into our bags. Phil yelled "RUN!", so I ran to the bus station to try to stop the bus and he went downstairs to pay for the room (which we had tried to pay for the previous night, but the owners just wanted us to pay in the morning). While the owner painstakingly slowly counted Phil's change, I was sprinting to the bus station to try and catch our bus. I got there at 7:45, but unfortunately it had left 5 minutes ago. After yelling at me for being late, the guy called the bus driver and he turned around for us (thank god). I don't think it was a big deal because there was only one other person on the bus (ha). Anyway, 8 rainy hours later we made it to Da Lat, found ourselves a hostel and went out to get some food. At this point it was pouring rain and also very cold (since we were now up in the mountains) so we settled for a place just down the street, then got some amazing dessert (homemade coconut cake and chocolate tart) and some after dinner drinks (hot chocolate and a kaluha coffee) and went to bed.

Oct 31: not Halloween in DaLat

We began the day wandering DaLat to try and find a tour agency that would take us around to see the DaLat sights (also some pants for me and a jacket for phil. both of these were rather difficult to find). After eating our first of many delicious Vietnamese sandwiches, having a great cup of coffee, and getting soaking wet despite the fact that we were wearing rain gear (aka a 50 cent plastic rain suit that all the Vietnamese wear), we found the Easy Rider cafe. After reading a bunch of hand-written reviews and chatting with the guides for a few minutes, we were sold on a three day trip up into the highlands. We were so excited we planned to leave the next day. We spent the rest of the day wandering, eating many delicious meals in the form of snacks from street vendors. After checking out a sweet market, FINALLY finding some warmer clothes, and getting the shit scared out of us by a couple of kids in Halloween costumes (which made us rather sad, since we were not in costumes nor would we be attending any parties), we headed back to the hostel for some warmth and sleep.

Nov 1: Sad rainy day in Da Lat

We woke up, all packed up and excited to get going on our journey, only to notice that it was pouring rain. The EasyRiders arrived and also agreed that while it was possible to start our journey, it might be a good idea to postpone our journey for one day. Sadly, we brought our bags back to our rooms, had a serious internet session, got some coffee and food, had another serious internet session and then started to head back to the hostel. On the way back, we passed the EasyRider cafe, where it looked like they were having a party. We smiled as we walked past (thinking this was a good sign) when we were called in by our guide Rocky to join them (an even better sign). We were given several beers and told it was our turn to sing karaoke. After many attempts at resisting, I gave in and sang a horrible rendition of 'Hotel California'. After a few more beers though, we didn't care, and Phil grabbed the guitar and he played and sang, and then he played while I sang, and everybody loved it. After some more beers and rice wine we decided we were very happily inebriated and perhaps it was a good idea to get some dinner since it was 8pm. We grabbed some curry snails and clams from a street vendor and headed home.

Nov 2-7: EasyRiders and the Central Highlands

Well, we planned a three day trip, but ended up loving it so much we kept going for six days. We simply can't really describe how amazing this trip was, but we'll try.

First, meet our guides

Hong: 60 years old, and one of the original Easy Riders. He was a lieutenant for special forces in the South Vietnamese army, and was in Saigon in 1975 when it fell. He was then sent to a 're-education camp' for 4 years. Afterwards he hunted for treasure for a few years (and found it!), and also ran a gold mine before becoming an Easy Rider in 1992 and has been doing it ever since

Rocky: 30 years old, used to be a boxer (hence his name). He spent 6 years at University, but loves Easy Riders so much that he refuses to get a 'real' job. He's been bankrupt two times (both restaurants), grew up on a coffee farm, and has a super cute 26 month old daughter that can already read.

So, this is how the trip functions: 1) you put your backpack up in a giant plastic bag and it is strapped to the back of the nice big bike (way nicer and more comfortable than any of the other bikes we have been on). 2) depending on the weather, put on your rain gear 3) get on 4) go

As we rode through the countryside, we stopped a lot along the way. Rocky and Hong took turns explaining where we were and why we stopped. They always talked with the people we were visiting, who were always happy to chat with us (with Rocky or Hong as a translator) and show us their family, home, or business. This was amazing since having a translator provided a more intimate link with the people we hadn't experienced before. Every stop is a different story to be told.

Food we saw being grown/processed/harvested: coffee, tea, roses, tapioca, passion fruit, rice (of course!), pepper, pineapple, curry, mushrooms. We saw how many other things are made/grown: silk and silk worms, drums, rubber trees, incense, rice cakes, rice gelatin roll-things, how gold is mined (using a boat!), snake farm

We saw and met many Vietnamese people and how their families make a living: some simply farm one thing (70% of the population are farmers), some farm several things (they buy rice, make rice wine. sell the wine to make money, and use the leftover rice to feed to the pigs, who then get drunk and quiet hehe. the pigs grow up and then they sell them and use the money to support their coffee farm and/or buy more rice), some make one thing (drums, or incense, or rice paper) some collect trash and recyclables (including scrap metal: shrapnel, old bombs, bullets, landmines. Hong translated that the lady looked at the bombs, then looked at us and said,"thanks americans", ha). Many of them asked us why we wanted to visit Vietnam ("because we have nothing here"), or commented on Phil's beard (and/or tried to pick him up), or just simply walked out to the road to look at us. And of course, there was the ubiquitous wave and "hello!" by most of the children we saw as we rode by. They often get really excited when we wave back.

We also visited several minority villages which was just amazing. A lot of times, they didn't even speak Vietnamese so our guides couldn't communicate with them very well. One of our most memorable visits is when we purchased a jug of wine (it is dehydrated, and you add water to drink it) and went to visit a family. Turns out, they were having a semi-party because it was cold and rainy outside, and had just cooked some fish and some rice-field rat (the rat was actually incredibly delicious, apparently because it ate only rice). The women prepared the jug of wine (added straw around the top, put in a straw, and added the water) and we passed around the jug of wine between all of us. It is a matriarchal society, so the oldest woman takes a drink first (she later gave Phil shit for not drinking enough wine, then drank 5 times, and made him drink 5 times, all the while glaring at him and hitting him on the arm hahahahah) . Also, when they get married it is the woman's family who offers a payment for the man. Rocky guessed that Phil's family would get offered about 5 water buffaloes (apparently a lot, because he is so big and strong), and of course I had to counter with an offer of 6 water buffaloes. (Phil's view on this experience: First of all, that old lady was a beast. Seriously, she could drink with the best of them. Also, she pretty much gave me shit the entire time. I think she was trying to get me drunk so I'd stay with them in the village and marry one of her daughters, but Steph's offer of 6 water buffalos is just too good to pass up) We also visited a family that used old American war helmets for cooking (for some reason they removed the liquid when we arrived...perhaps so Phil could wear it?). Another time we just sat and chatted with a 99 year old lady (she thinks she's 99, but isn't sure). Apparently there are a lot of old people living in these villages--living to 100 is not uncommon at all. We also met the chief of another tribe, who spoke absolutely no English or Vietnamese, just some French. He was so happy and just laughed and smiled the whole time, and he also played traditional music for us. Oh, and we always gave the children candy.

We stopped at lots of battle sites, and Hong explained what happened at each one. At most of them there is a large monument to the soldiers who fought for the North. Monuments for the southern Vietnamese who died have either been torn down, or are just small concrete blocks with a cup of incense on top. We drove up along the Ho Chi Mihn trail, and saw some of the old trail along side the new road. Hong proved to be an excellent resource through all these sites and offered us a good perspective on both old and new politics (ex. communism in 1975 vs now).

We ate great food--every meal consisted of 4-5 dishes, usually a soup, some tuna, some pork or chicken, some shrimp, and a huge pile of rice. We always ate till we could barely move and the meal cost 35,000 dong each ($1.50). It was great. Once we had a 'hot pot', where they just bring a steaming bowl of broth, and you add a bunch of fresh fish and vegetables. We also had some pretty bomb spring rolls, make-your-own-spring rolls, and some great crepes.

And it was beautiful. We always had a great view: hills everywhere, sometimes jungle, sometimes fields, sometimes fields cutting into the jungle. We saw lots of rivers. The best part was probably the last few days on the Ho Chi Minh trail, when we were straight up in the jungle. It was raining, it was misty, and we were just surrounded by jungle. Simply amazing. (also kind of cold...maybe why we both got sick...)

Sometimes it rained. Which wasn't too big of a deal, especially because we had super-duper rain gear (Phil got a little screwed on this part. he didn't get any rain boots because his feet are too big, and his rain pants were not really that effective). Sometimes the roads got really pothole-y. And sometimes it was really windy (which was definitely the most scary, but it only lasted for a little while). We saw a couple of accidents along the road.

We stayed at nice places, which was great, especially after being in budget hostels.

We sang karaoke. Twice. (once when we were still in DaLat, and once with Rocky and some of his friends). Karaoke means you get drunk (take a shot after every song or so) and sing your heart out and dance and eat fruit. (Phil's Dad would enjoy knowing he sang both Johnny Be Good and Great Balls of Fire)

Our guides were awesome. They were always making jokes and laughing, and telling us great stories. Rocky was always dancing or singing (even while we rode). We learned and got to see so much. We probably saw about 5 other white people during the whole 6 days. Rocky told us it would be a shock to see all the white people when we got to Hoi An. I didn't believe him, but he was so right. In summary, there is simply no way to truly express how amazing this 6 day journey was but we are happy knowing that it will always be one of our most cherished memories of our stay in Vietnam.