Funemployment Adventures

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

A few notes post-Asia adventure

     We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...

     The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.

     Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.

     So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!

     We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...

     The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.

     Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.

     So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!

     We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...

     The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.

     Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.

     So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!

     We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...

     The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.

     Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.

     So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!

Full Circle

     Back in Hong Kong folks. We are heading for SF in a few hours and it's almost surreal. I'm not quite prepared for an end-of-the-journey post, so I'll save it for later. 

     We left for Singapore and upon arrival had a crab feast with R, M, and R's dad (thanks again papa R!). It was a LOVELY last night in Asia and arguably the greatest meal of the trip. We washed up at R's place and shared a few drinks before catching a few hours of sleep between our next flight. 

   Hong Kong was all about stuffing our face a diner and then resting...lots of resting. We are super thankful for our original host here, R, for taking us in for the day. 

   I'll get back to posting once we've reached Tahoe. 

-M

     Back in Hong Kong folks. We are heading for SF in a few hours and it's almost surreal. I'm not quite prepared for an end-of-the-journey post, so I'll save it for later. 

     We left for Singapore and upon arrival had a crab feast with R, M, and R's dad (thanks again papa R!). It was a LOVELY last night in Asia and arguably the greatest meal of the trip. We washed up at R's place and shared a few drinks before catching a few hours of sleep between our next flight. 

   Hong Kong was all about stuffing our face a diner and then resting...lots of resting. We are super thankful for our original host here, R, for taking us in for the day. 

   I'll get back to posting once we've reached Tahoe. 

-M

     Back in Hong Kong folks. We are heading for SF in a few hours and it's almost surreal. I'm not quite prepared for an end-of-the-journey post, so I'll save it for later. 

     We left for Singapore and upon arrival had a crab feast with R, M, and R's dad (thanks again papa R!). It was a LOVELY last night in Asia and arguably the greatest meal of the trip. We washed up at R's place and shared a few drinks before catching a few hours of sleep between our next flight. 

   Hong Kong was all about stuffing our face a diner and then resting...lots of resting. We are super thankful for our original host here, R, for taking us in for the day. 

   I'll get back to posting once we've reached Tahoe. 

-M

     Back in Hong Kong folks. We are heading for SF in a few hours and it's almost surreal. I'm not quite prepared for an end-of-the-journey post, so I'll save it for later. 

     We left for Singapore and upon arrival had a crab feast with R, M, and R's dad (thanks again papa R!). It was a LOVELY last night in Asia and arguably the greatest meal of the trip. We washed up at R's place and shared a few drinks before catching a few hours of sleep between our next flight. 

   Hong Kong was all about stuffing our face a diner and then resting...lots of resting. We are super thankful for our original host here, R, for taking us in for the day. 

   I'll get back to posting once we've reached Tahoe. 

-M

Show me the Angry Birds

     It took me quite some time to form my opinion of Vietnam. I'm not too sure why, maybe it was because of all the aggressive hassling within the tourism industry. However, after spending almost two weeks here I finally let myself fall in love with the place. Sia Gon (Siagon, or Ho Chi Minh City) was absolutely amazing. It was quickly added to the list of cities I could be an expat in. The hustle and bustle was really no bother. There were trees in the streets, friendly people, and cheap eats. There is more to do in terms of tourism as compared to Hanoi. I would recommend the Cu Chi Tunnels, the war museum, and if you are a fan of French Modernism - the Re-unification Palace. The war sights are depressing, scary, and one sided. However, as an American,  it was important to see because you got insight into why it was so bloody and how a soldier could have became so trigger happy by being forced into a conflict that still has very little explanation as to why we were there in the first place. The guilt will definitely surface, but I was honestly left feeling empty and angry, often asking myself why we do this to each other and what do we really gain in the end?

     We did a day trip into the Mekong. It was a tour, unfortunately, but it was the only way to really get down there with a little time and no local language. But for about $10 US a pop, it was worth it to get on various boats and cruise along the canals and rivers. It's a place I wish I had money for, or at least had a reputable (and findable) eco-tour. Maybe next time.

     I won't bore you anymore with our itinerary, as SE Asia really isn't about the itinerary but who you meet and the experiences you share. We met some amazing people at our last hostel which made me wish that I had the means to continue on traveling. We wandered around some lesser-known areas of the city and caught glimpses of everyday life outside of District 1. However, sharing some beers on a sidewalk under a monsoon sky reminded me of what really matters in life and why I will never stop traveling.

     Once you push through the bull shit of a developing country's tourism industry, Vietnam reveals itself as an enchanting place. I can write, post pictures, and send postcards 'til the cows come home, but the reality is you just had to be there.

-M

    

     It took me quite some time to form my opinion of Vietnam. I'm not too sure why, maybe it was because of all the aggressive hassling within the tourism industry. However, after spending almost two weeks here I finally let myself fall in love with the place. Sia Gon (Siagon, or Ho Chi Minh City) was absolutely amazing. It was quickly added to the list of cities I could be an expat in. The hustle and bustle was really no bother. There were trees in the streets, friendly people, and cheap eats. There is more to do in terms of tourism as compared to Hanoi. I would recommend the Cu Chi Tunnels, the war museum, and if you are a fan of French Modernism - the Re-unification Palace. The war sights are depressing, scary, and one sided. However, as an American,  it was important to see because you got insight into why it was so bloody and how a soldier could have became so trigger happy by being forced into a conflict that still has very little explanation as to why we were there in the first place. The guilt will definitely surface, but I was honestly left feeling empty and angry, often asking myself why we do this to each other and what do we really gain in the end?

     We did a day trip into the Mekong. It was a tour, unfortunately, but it was the only way to really get down there with a little time and no local language. But for about $10 US a pop, it was worth it to get on various boats and cruise along the canals and rivers. It's a place I wish I had money for, or at least had a reputable (and findable) eco-tour. Maybe next time.

     I won't bore you anymore with our itinerary, as SE Asia really isn't about the itinerary but who you meet and the experiences you share. We met some amazing people at our last hostel which made me wish that I had the means to continue on traveling. We wandered around some lesser-known areas of the city and caught glimpses of everyday life outside of District 1. However, sharing some beers on a sidewalk under a monsoon sky reminded me of what really matters in life and why I will never stop traveling.

     Once you push through the bull shit of a developing country's tourism industry, Vietnam reveals itself as an enchanting place. I can write, post pictures, and send postcards 'til the cows come home, but the reality is you just had to be there.

-M

    

     It took me quite some time to form my opinion of Vietnam. I'm not too sure why, maybe it was because of all the aggressive hassling within the tourism industry. However, after spending almost two weeks here I finally let myself fall in love with the place. Sia Gon (Siagon, or Ho Chi Minh City) was absolutely amazing. It was quickly added to the list of cities I could be an expat in. The hustle and bustle was really no bother. There were trees in the streets, friendly people, and cheap eats. There is more to do in terms of tourism as compared to Hanoi. I would recommend the Cu Chi Tunnels, the war museum, and if you are a fan of French Modernism - the Re-unification Palace. The war sights are depressing, scary, and one sided. However, as an American,  it was important to see because you got insight into why it was so bloody and how a soldier could have became so trigger happy by being forced into a conflict that still has very little explanation as to why we were there in the first place. The guilt will definitely surface, but I was honestly left feeling empty and angry, often asking myself why we do this to each other and what do we really gain in the end?

     We did a day trip into the Mekong. It was a tour, unfortunately, but it was the only way to really get down there with a little time and no local language. But for about $10 US a pop, it was worth it to get on various boats and cruise along the canals and rivers. It's a place I wish I had money for, or at least had a reputable (and findable) eco-tour. Maybe next time.

     I won't bore you anymore with our itinerary, as SE Asia really isn't about the itinerary but who you meet and the experiences you share. We met some amazing people at our last hostel which made me wish that I had the means to continue on traveling. We wandered around some lesser-known areas of the city and caught glimpses of everyday life outside of District 1. However, sharing some beers on a sidewalk under a monsoon sky reminded me of what really matters in life and why I will never stop traveling.

     Once you push through the bull shit of a developing country's tourism industry, Vietnam reveals itself as an enchanting place. I can write, post pictures, and send postcards 'til the cows come home, but the reality is you just had to be there.

-M

    

     It took me quite some time to form my opinion of Vietnam. I'm not too sure why, maybe it was because of all the aggressive hassling within the tourism industry. However, after spending almost two weeks here I finally let myself fall in love with the place. Sia Gon (Siagon, or Ho Chi Minh City) was absolutely amazing. It was quickly added to the list of cities I could be an expat in. The hustle and bustle was really no bother. There were trees in the streets, friendly people, and cheap eats. There is more to do in terms of tourism as compared to Hanoi. I would recommend the Cu Chi Tunnels, the war museum, and if you are a fan of French Modernism - the Re-unification Palace. The war sights are depressing, scary, and one sided. However, as an American,  it was important to see because you got insight into why it was so bloody and how a soldier could have became so trigger happy by being forced into a conflict that still has very little explanation as to why we were there in the first place. The guilt will definitely surface, but I was honestly left feeling empty and angry, often asking myself why we do this to each other and what do we really gain in the end?

     We did a day trip into the Mekong. It was a tour, unfortunately, but it was the only way to really get down there with a little time and no local language. But for about $10 US a pop, it was worth it to get on various boats and cruise along the canals and rivers. It's a place I wish I had money for, or at least had a reputable (and findable) eco-tour. Maybe next time.

     I won't bore you anymore with our itinerary, as SE Asia really isn't about the itinerary but who you meet and the experiences you share. We met some amazing people at our last hostel which made me wish that I had the means to continue on traveling. We wandered around some lesser-known areas of the city and caught glimpses of everyday life outside of District 1. However, sharing some beers on a sidewalk under a monsoon sky reminded me of what really matters in life and why I will never stop traveling.

     Once you push through the bull shit of a developing country's tourism industry, Vietnam reveals itself as an enchanting place. I can write, post pictures, and send postcards 'til the cows come home, but the reality is you just had to be there.

-M

    

Same same, but better

     So after about 14 hours of pure rest (with more to follow I'm sure) I'm finally ready to write. Hoi An was really lovely. A tourist trap, yes, but not one that you really care about being in. So you pay $1 instead of $0.50 for food. So there are whitties everywhere and people ask if you want to rent or buy things. Really, compared to what it's like getting out of a train station here this is child's play. The center of town and the surroundings are quaint with some French influence. The place is generally clean and the beach is an easy 20 min ride by bicycle. 

     We stayed in a cute little hotel for around $12 a night. This got us ac, a balcony, western-style shower, wifi, and hot water. A bargain if you ask me. I believe the place was called Phuong Dong, but don't hold me to that. I'll look it up when I get home as I plan on rating all the places I've paid to stay at. It is also worth noting that it is now the low season for tourists here so prices are cheaper and you often get good deals not only on hotels, but tourist attractions as well. 

     We spent time wandering around town, lying around on the beach, and catching up on news back home. The go-go-go portion of the trip is starting to quickly catch up on us and our energy levels are dwindling fast. Not to mention it is hot as crap in the south so the heat of the day really takes it out of you.

     You can also get clothes made here and I got two dresses (one for work and one for play) custom made for very cheap (around $35 total). The quality at the place I used seems legit, and the dress styles aren't too complicated so I can fix them if need be. 

     On the second day I was trolling FB and I saw that one of my close friends from uni posted a picture that looked exactly like the view from the beach I was at earlier that day. It turns out he was in Hoi An with some of his buddies so we met up for the day. It was great to see him, it's been almost three years!

    Him and his buddies showed us some kick ass cheap places to eat. One place sells these amazing thin pancake thingys (not crepes) stuffed with shrimp, been sprouts, and mushrooms. You fold some lettuce in them, wrap them with rice paper and dip them in this sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! We gorged on them our last day before heading to Da Nang for the day.

     Da Nang is a pretty sizable city. The big tourist attractions here consist of uber-luxury resorts that put up huge gates around there properties. This time of year they are literally empty. There is a lot of construction of new uber-resorts which, when the place is empty, seems a bit counter productive. They must make some serious cash though, because they are building more around every corner. We came here for the day for one reason: the Hai Van Pass. It is a canyon road featured in Top Gear (the Vietnam Special...Google it). They did it by motor bike and although I can't quite drive a standard bike, I planned on repeating the journey. 

     Thank goodness we looked at a map when we left the train station because it took us quite some time to find bikes, even just the ocean road. We locked our bags up (not for the faint of heart, the lady literally locks them together and away you go) and left the station. We wandered around until we found a road we recognized and set out to find bikes. We figured, like in Hoi An, there would be a ton of people by the waterfront trying to rent us bikes. This turned out not to be the case and we ended up convincing some hotel to rent us a bike (of course, they said that they wanted us to stay there first). We set out with a general idea of how to get to the pass. The pass is pretty empty these days, as trucks are not allowed on it anymore. Instead they take the tunnel, which doesn't allow motor bikes so you get the picture. We saw a couple of tourist busses, a few tourist cars, and one other couple on bikes aside from locals. The road was AMAZING...read: FABULOUS. They say it is dangerous, which I suppose if it were raining it would be, but I learned to drive on canyon roads, so I felt very comfortable the whole trip. There were more beautiful vistas than I could describe and pictures simply don't do it justice. It was one of those things that was completely worth the effort it took to figure out. Dad, you woulda loved it!

     We went about 3/4 of the way on the road and headed back, as our gas meter wasn't exactly working and I didn't want to risk getting stranded. No worries though, we had trouble anyway. We were almost down the road and we stopped for some water and one last glimpse of the beauty. When we got back to the bike to get it started we had the same problem we had in Bali, the damn starter wasn't working. Luckily for us, we stopped at a view that was a stopping point for most car tours. We got a guide to jump start the bike for us and we continued onwards, making it back with very little trouble. I guess that's what the guy gets for not telling us that the gas meter was broken. 

     We had the rest of the day to kill in Da Nang, which proved to be challenging. It was hotter than ever, we both had parts of us that were sunburnt, I was tired from the drive, and we had about 7 hours to kill. Let's just say you could do this part of the pass with about 5 hours (not 12)...so if you plan on doing it, look it up on Google maps, rent a bike on the beach road to avoid the chaos of the city, and give yourself 6 or 7 hours before your train leaves. We decided to just bounce around from cafe (which means wifi and non-alcoholic drinks...no food) to cafe until we found one that had a good vibe. It turns out it is the one directly across the train station...not something you would expect. This place had a staff around our age working, sold some snacks, and had beer as well so it was a win-win-win. A waiter there sat down and had several conversations with us to practice his english. He was awesome and he was in university to become a tour guide. We enjoyed our various exchanges and he even gave us some free dried shrimp to try (surprisingly good). 

  

   We asked him about good street food and it was the first honest answer we have gotten here. We had fried spring rolls that were then wrapped with lettuce, sprouts and rice paper then dipped in spicy sauce. YUM. After dinner we stocked up on water and snacks for the ten hour train ride to Nha Trang. 

     We've been in Nha Trang for a day and we will be leaving this evening. It's a nice beach town, and we are staying just outside the city, which I would recommend. The beach isn't exactly super clean (although not filthy). If you stay outside of town you can avoid the harassment and see how the locals use the beach (only in the mornings and evenings). We were going to go snorkeling today, as it is supposed to be the best here, but we are running out of money and we haven't slept too well (the lights in the train cabin didn't go off...wtf). Yesterday we went to the hot springs and mud spa. It was a bargain. Round trip and the entrance fee costed us $20 for the both of us. We went around 3pm which was good because the place was emptying out for the day (not that it was too crowded anyway, cuz it's low season). We paid for the shared baths and such, but ended up getting private everything. That was awesome! The mud felt soooo nice and made my skin feel fresh and clean. Much needed after so much sweating and dirty train rides.

     Today we leave at 7pm for Siagon (Ho Chi Minh City). We plan on wandering around the beach areas (even though it's a bit rainy) and getting some food. I'm a bit nervous for Siagon, as it's a huge city and people have said it's  a lot like Hanoi (which I didn't like). However, at least there is more to see there and we will be spending the day in the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we don't run out of money, as we only have a couple hundred between the two of us to get us through Monday afternoon. 

  Time for breakfast! Still missing home and excited to go back to Tahoe in less than a week!

-M

     So after about 14 hours of pure rest (with more to follow I'm sure) I'm finally ready to write. Hoi An was really lovely. A tourist trap, yes, but not one that you really care about being in. So you pay $1 instead of $0.50 for food. So there are whitties everywhere and people ask if you want to rent or buy things. Really, compared to what it's like getting out of a train station here this is child's play. The center of town and the surroundings are quaint with some French influence. The place is generally clean and the beach is an easy 20 min ride by bicycle. 

     We stayed in a cute little hotel for around $12 a night. This got us ac, a balcony, western-style shower, wifi, and hot water. A bargain if you ask me. I believe the place was called Phuong Dong, but don't hold me to that. I'll look it up when I get home as I plan on rating all the places I've paid to stay at. It is also worth noting that it is now the low season for tourists here so prices are cheaper and you often get good deals not only on hotels, but tourist attractions as well. 

     We spent time wandering around town, lying around on the beach, and catching up on news back home. The go-go-go portion of the trip is starting to quickly catch up on us and our energy levels are dwindling fast. Not to mention it is hot as crap in the south so the heat of the day really takes it out of you.

     You can also get clothes made here and I got two dresses (one for work and one for play) custom made for very cheap (around $35 total). The quality at the place I used seems legit, and the dress styles aren't too complicated so I can fix them if need be. 

     On the second day I was trolling FB and I saw that one of my close friends from uni posted a picture that looked exactly like the view from the beach I was at earlier that day. It turns out he was in Hoi An with some of his buddies so we met up for the day. It was great to see him, it's been almost three years!

    Him and his buddies showed us some kick ass cheap places to eat. One place sells these amazing thin pancake thingys (not crepes) stuffed with shrimp, been sprouts, and mushrooms. You fold some lettuce in them, wrap them with rice paper and dip them in this sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! We gorged on them our last day before heading to Da Nang for the day.

     Da Nang is a pretty sizable city. The big tourist attractions here consist of uber-luxury resorts that put up huge gates around there properties. This time of year they are literally empty. There is a lot of construction of new uber-resorts which, when the place is empty, seems a bit counter productive. They must make some serious cash though, because they are building more around every corner. We came here for the day for one reason: the Hai Van Pass. It is a canyon road featured in Top Gear (the Vietnam Special...Google it). They did it by motor bike and although I can't quite drive a standard bike, I planned on repeating the journey. 

     Thank goodness we looked at a map when we left the train station because it took us quite some time to find bikes, even just the ocean road. We locked our bags up (not for the faint of heart, the lady literally locks them together and away you go) and left the station. We wandered around until we found a road we recognized and set out to find bikes. We figured, like in Hoi An, there would be a ton of people by the waterfront trying to rent us bikes. This turned out not to be the case and we ended up convincing some hotel to rent us a bike (of course, they said that they wanted us to stay there first). We set out with a general idea of how to get to the pass. The pass is pretty empty these days, as trucks are not allowed on it anymore. Instead they take the tunnel, which doesn't allow motor bikes so you get the picture. We saw a couple of tourist busses, a few tourist cars, and one other couple on bikes aside from locals. The road was AMAZING...read: FABULOUS. They say it is dangerous, which I suppose if it were raining it would be, but I learned to drive on canyon roads, so I felt very comfortable the whole trip. There were more beautiful vistas than I could describe and pictures simply don't do it justice. It was one of those things that was completely worth the effort it took to figure out. Dad, you woulda loved it!

     We went about 3/4 of the way on the road and headed back, as our gas meter wasn't exactly working and I didn't want to risk getting stranded. No worries though, we had trouble anyway. We were almost down the road and we stopped for some water and one last glimpse of the beauty. When we got back to the bike to get it started we had the same problem we had in Bali, the damn starter wasn't working. Luckily for us, we stopped at a view that was a stopping point for most car tours. We got a guide to jump start the bike for us and we continued onwards, making it back with very little trouble. I guess that's what the guy gets for not telling us that the gas meter was broken. 

     We had the rest of the day to kill in Da Nang, which proved to be challenging. It was hotter than ever, we both had parts of us that were sunburnt, I was tired from the drive, and we had about 7 hours to kill. Let's just say you could do this part of the pass with about 5 hours (not 12)...so if you plan on doing it, look it up on Google maps, rent a bike on the beach road to avoid the chaos of the city, and give yourself 6 or 7 hours before your train leaves. We decided to just bounce around from cafe (which means wifi and non-alcoholic drinks...no food) to cafe until we found one that had a good vibe. It turns out it is the one directly across the train station...not something you would expect. This place had a staff around our age working, sold some snacks, and had beer as well so it was a win-win-win. A waiter there sat down and had several conversations with us to practice his english. He was awesome and he was in university to become a tour guide. We enjoyed our various exchanges and he even gave us some free dried shrimp to try (surprisingly good). 

  

   We asked him about good street food and it was the first honest answer we have gotten here. We had fried spring rolls that were then wrapped with lettuce, sprouts and rice paper then dipped in spicy sauce. YUM. After dinner we stocked up on water and snacks for the ten hour train ride to Nha Trang. 

     We've been in Nha Trang for a day and we will be leaving this evening. It's a nice beach town, and we are staying just outside the city, which I would recommend. The beach isn't exactly super clean (although not filthy). If you stay outside of town you can avoid the harassment and see how the locals use the beach (only in the mornings and evenings). We were going to go snorkeling today, as it is supposed to be the best here, but we are running out of money and we haven't slept too well (the lights in the train cabin didn't go off...wtf). Yesterday we went to the hot springs and mud spa. It was a bargain. Round trip and the entrance fee costed us $20 for the both of us. We went around 3pm which was good because the place was emptying out for the day (not that it was too crowded anyway, cuz it's low season). We paid for the shared baths and such, but ended up getting private everything. That was awesome! The mud felt soooo nice and made my skin feel fresh and clean. Much needed after so much sweating and dirty train rides.

     Today we leave at 7pm for Siagon (Ho Chi Minh City). We plan on wandering around the beach areas (even though it's a bit rainy) and getting some food. I'm a bit nervous for Siagon, as it's a huge city and people have said it's  a lot like Hanoi (which I didn't like). However, at least there is more to see there and we will be spending the day in the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we don't run out of money, as we only have a couple hundred between the two of us to get us through Monday afternoon. 

  Time for breakfast! Still missing home and excited to go back to Tahoe in less than a week!

-M

     So after about 14 hours of pure rest (with more to follow I'm sure) I'm finally ready to write. Hoi An was really lovely. A tourist trap, yes, but not one that you really care about being in. So you pay $1 instead of $0.50 for food. So there are whitties everywhere and people ask if you want to rent or buy things. Really, compared to what it's like getting out of a train station here this is child's play. The center of town and the surroundings are quaint with some French influence. The place is generally clean and the beach is an easy 20 min ride by bicycle. 

     We stayed in a cute little hotel for around $12 a night. This got us ac, a balcony, western-style shower, wifi, and hot water. A bargain if you ask me. I believe the place was called Phuong Dong, but don't hold me to that. I'll look it up when I get home as I plan on rating all the places I've paid to stay at. It is also worth noting that it is now the low season for tourists here so prices are cheaper and you often get good deals not only on hotels, but tourist attractions as well. 

     We spent time wandering around town, lying around on the beach, and catching up on news back home. The go-go-go portion of the trip is starting to quickly catch up on us and our energy levels are dwindling fast. Not to mention it is hot as crap in the south so the heat of the day really takes it out of you.

     You can also get clothes made here and I got two dresses (one for work and one for play) custom made for very cheap (around $35 total). The quality at the place I used seems legit, and the dress styles aren't too complicated so I can fix them if need be. 

     On the second day I was trolling FB and I saw that one of my close friends from uni posted a picture that looked exactly like the view from the beach I was at earlier that day. It turns out he was in Hoi An with some of his buddies so we met up for the day. It was great to see him, it's been almost three years!

    Him and his buddies showed us some kick ass cheap places to eat. One place sells these amazing thin pancake thingys (not crepes) stuffed with shrimp, been sprouts, and mushrooms. You fold some lettuce in them, wrap them with rice paper and dip them in this sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! We gorged on them our last day before heading to Da Nang for the day.

     Da Nang is a pretty sizable city. The big tourist attractions here consist of uber-luxury resorts that put up huge gates around there properties. This time of year they are literally empty. There is a lot of construction of new uber-resorts which, when the place is empty, seems a bit counter productive. They must make some serious cash though, because they are building more around every corner. We came here for the day for one reason: the Hai Van Pass. It is a canyon road featured in Top Gear (the Vietnam Special...Google it). They did it by motor bike and although I can't quite drive a standard bike, I planned on repeating the journey. 

     Thank goodness we looked at a map when we left the train station because it took us quite some time to find bikes, even just the ocean road. We locked our bags up (not for the faint of heart, the lady literally locks them together and away you go) and left the station. We wandered around until we found a road we recognized and set out to find bikes. We figured, like in Hoi An, there would be a ton of people by the waterfront trying to rent us bikes. This turned out not to be the case and we ended up convincing some hotel to rent us a bike (of course, they said that they wanted us to stay there first). We set out with a general idea of how to get to the pass. The pass is pretty empty these days, as trucks are not allowed on it anymore. Instead they take the tunnel, which doesn't allow motor bikes so you get the picture. We saw a couple of tourist busses, a few tourist cars, and one other couple on bikes aside from locals. The road was AMAZING...read: FABULOUS. They say it is dangerous, which I suppose if it were raining it would be, but I learned to drive on canyon roads, so I felt very comfortable the whole trip. There were more beautiful vistas than I could describe and pictures simply don't do it justice. It was one of those things that was completely worth the effort it took to figure out. Dad, you woulda loved it!

     We went about 3/4 of the way on the road and headed back, as our gas meter wasn't exactly working and I didn't want to risk getting stranded. No worries though, we had trouble anyway. We were almost down the road and we stopped for some water and one last glimpse of the beauty. When we got back to the bike to get it started we had the same problem we had in Bali, the damn starter wasn't working. Luckily for us, we stopped at a view that was a stopping point for most car tours. We got a guide to jump start the bike for us and we continued onwards, making it back with very little trouble. I guess that's what the guy gets for not telling us that the gas meter was broken. 

     We had the rest of the day to kill in Da Nang, which proved to be challenging. It was hotter than ever, we both had parts of us that were sunburnt, I was tired from the drive, and we had about 7 hours to kill. Let's just say you could do this part of the pass with about 5 hours (not 12)...so if you plan on doing it, look it up on Google maps, rent a bike on the beach road to avoid the chaos of the city, and give yourself 6 or 7 hours before your train leaves. We decided to just bounce around from cafe (which means wifi and non-alcoholic drinks...no food) to cafe until we found one that had a good vibe. It turns out it is the one directly across the train station...not something you would expect. This place had a staff around our age working, sold some snacks, and had beer as well so it was a win-win-win. A waiter there sat down and had several conversations with us to practice his english. He was awesome and he was in university to become a tour guide. We enjoyed our various exchanges and he even gave us some free dried shrimp to try (surprisingly good). 

  

   We asked him about good street food and it was the first honest answer we have gotten here. We had fried spring rolls that were then wrapped with lettuce, sprouts and rice paper then dipped in spicy sauce. YUM. After dinner we stocked up on water and snacks for the ten hour train ride to Nha Trang. 

     We've been in Nha Trang for a day and we will be leaving this evening. It's a nice beach town, and we are staying just outside the city, which I would recommend. The beach isn't exactly super clean (although not filthy). If you stay outside of town you can avoid the harassment and see how the locals use the beach (only in the mornings and evenings). We were going to go snorkeling today, as it is supposed to be the best here, but we are running out of money and we haven't slept too well (the lights in the train cabin didn't go off...wtf). Yesterday we went to the hot springs and mud spa. It was a bargain. Round trip and the entrance fee costed us $20 for the both of us. We went around 3pm which was good because the place was emptying out for the day (not that it was too crowded anyway, cuz it's low season). We paid for the shared baths and such, but ended up getting private everything. That was awesome! The mud felt soooo nice and made my skin feel fresh and clean. Much needed after so much sweating and dirty train rides.

     Today we leave at 7pm for Siagon (Ho Chi Minh City). We plan on wandering around the beach areas (even though it's a bit rainy) and getting some food. I'm a bit nervous for Siagon, as it's a huge city and people have said it's  a lot like Hanoi (which I didn't like). However, at least there is more to see there and we will be spending the day in the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we don't run out of money, as we only have a couple hundred between the two of us to get us through Monday afternoon. 

  Time for breakfast! Still missing home and excited to go back to Tahoe in less than a week!

-M

     So after about 14 hours of pure rest (with more to follow I'm sure) I'm finally ready to write. Hoi An was really lovely. A tourist trap, yes, but not one that you really care about being in. So you pay $1 instead of $0.50 for food. So there are whitties everywhere and people ask if you want to rent or buy things. Really, compared to what it's like getting out of a train station here this is child's play. The center of town and the surroundings are quaint with some French influence. The place is generally clean and the beach is an easy 20 min ride by bicycle. 

     We stayed in a cute little hotel for around $12 a night. This got us ac, a balcony, western-style shower, wifi, and hot water. A bargain if you ask me. I believe the place was called Phuong Dong, but don't hold me to that. I'll look it up when I get home as I plan on rating all the places I've paid to stay at. It is also worth noting that it is now the low season for tourists here so prices are cheaper and you often get good deals not only on hotels, but tourist attractions as well. 

     We spent time wandering around town, lying around on the beach, and catching up on news back home. The go-go-go portion of the trip is starting to quickly catch up on us and our energy levels are dwindling fast. Not to mention it is hot as crap in the south so the heat of the day really takes it out of you.

     You can also get clothes made here and I got two dresses (one for work and one for play) custom made for very cheap (around $35 total). The quality at the place I used seems legit, and the dress styles aren't too complicated so I can fix them if need be. 

     On the second day I was trolling FB and I saw that one of my close friends from uni posted a picture that looked exactly like the view from the beach I was at earlier that day. It turns out he was in Hoi An with some of his buddies so we met up for the day. It was great to see him, it's been almost three years!

    Him and his buddies showed us some kick ass cheap places to eat. One place sells these amazing thin pancake thingys (not crepes) stuffed with shrimp, been sprouts, and mushrooms. You fold some lettuce in them, wrap them with rice paper and dip them in this sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! We gorged on them our last day before heading to Da Nang for the day.

     Da Nang is a pretty sizable city. The big tourist attractions here consist of uber-luxury resorts that put up huge gates around there properties. This time of year they are literally empty. There is a lot of construction of new uber-resorts which, when the place is empty, seems a bit counter productive. They must make some serious cash though, because they are building more around every corner. We came here for the day for one reason: the Hai Van Pass. It is a canyon road featured in Top Gear (the Vietnam Special...Google it). They did it by motor bike and although I can't quite drive a standard bike, I planned on repeating the journey. 

     Thank goodness we looked at a map when we left the train station because it took us quite some time to find bikes, even just the ocean road. We locked our bags up (not for the faint of heart, the lady literally locks them together and away you go) and left the station. We wandered around until we found a road we recognized and set out to find bikes. We figured, like in Hoi An, there would be a ton of people by the waterfront trying to rent us bikes. This turned out not to be the case and we ended up convincing some hotel to rent us a bike (of course, they said that they wanted us to stay there first). We set out with a general idea of how to get to the pass. The pass is pretty empty these days, as trucks are not allowed on it anymore. Instead they take the tunnel, which doesn't allow motor bikes so you get the picture. We saw a couple of tourist busses, a few tourist cars, and one other couple on bikes aside from locals. The road was AMAZING...read: FABULOUS. They say it is dangerous, which I suppose if it were raining it would be, but I learned to drive on canyon roads, so I felt very comfortable the whole trip. There were more beautiful vistas than I could describe and pictures simply don't do it justice. It was one of those things that was completely worth the effort it took to figure out. Dad, you woulda loved it!

     We went about 3/4 of the way on the road and headed back, as our gas meter wasn't exactly working and I didn't want to risk getting stranded. No worries though, we had trouble anyway. We were almost down the road and we stopped for some water and one last glimpse of the beauty. When we got back to the bike to get it started we had the same problem we had in Bali, the damn starter wasn't working. Luckily for us, we stopped at a view that was a stopping point for most car tours. We got a guide to jump start the bike for us and we continued onwards, making it back with very little trouble. I guess that's what the guy gets for not telling us that the gas meter was broken. 

     We had the rest of the day to kill in Da Nang, which proved to be challenging. It was hotter than ever, we both had parts of us that were sunburnt, I was tired from the drive, and we had about 7 hours to kill. Let's just say you could do this part of the pass with about 5 hours (not 12)...so if you plan on doing it, look it up on Google maps, rent a bike on the beach road to avoid the chaos of the city, and give yourself 6 or 7 hours before your train leaves. We decided to just bounce around from cafe (which means wifi and non-alcoholic drinks...no food) to cafe until we found one that had a good vibe. It turns out it is the one directly across the train station...not something you would expect. This place had a staff around our age working, sold some snacks, and had beer as well so it was a win-win-win. A waiter there sat down and had several conversations with us to practice his english. He was awesome and he was in university to become a tour guide. We enjoyed our various exchanges and he even gave us some free dried shrimp to try (surprisingly good). 

  

   We asked him about good street food and it was the first honest answer we have gotten here. We had fried spring rolls that were then wrapped with lettuce, sprouts and rice paper then dipped in spicy sauce. YUM. After dinner we stocked up on water and snacks for the ten hour train ride to Nha Trang. 

     We've been in Nha Trang for a day and we will be leaving this evening. It's a nice beach town, and we are staying just outside the city, which I would recommend. The beach isn't exactly super clean (although not filthy). If you stay outside of town you can avoid the harassment and see how the locals use the beach (only in the mornings and evenings). We were going to go snorkeling today, as it is supposed to be the best here, but we are running out of money and we haven't slept too well (the lights in the train cabin didn't go off...wtf). Yesterday we went to the hot springs and mud spa. It was a bargain. Round trip and the entrance fee costed us $20 for the both of us. We went around 3pm which was good because the place was emptying out for the day (not that it was too crowded anyway, cuz it's low season). We paid for the shared baths and such, but ended up getting private everything. That was awesome! The mud felt soooo nice and made my skin feel fresh and clean. Much needed after so much sweating and dirty train rides.

     Today we leave at 7pm for Siagon (Ho Chi Minh City). We plan on wandering around the beach areas (even though it's a bit rainy) and getting some food. I'm a bit nervous for Siagon, as it's a huge city and people have said it's  a lot like Hanoi (which I didn't like). However, at least there is more to see there and we will be spending the day in the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we don't run out of money, as we only have a couple hundred between the two of us to get us through Monday afternoon. 

  Time for breakfast! Still missing home and excited to go back to Tahoe in less than a week!

-M

The south at last

I feel like our posts have been a bit negative lately when in fact our spirits are doing quite well. We headed on a night train yesterday to get down south. The night train wasn't too bad. A bit rocky and the toilets were suspect, but the bed was long enough to fit in and there was AC. I like traveling by trains long distances (except in the US, cuz Amtrak is awful). You get to see the country side and kill two birds with one stone (sleep and travel). Moreover, you would never sleep a wink during the night on a bus here, as the driver's hand seems to only rest on the horn and for some reason horns appear to be installed just as loudly on the inside as on the outside. 

We set out for Hue, the old capital. We didn't really plan on staying there (we've heard too many mixed reviews and have rolled the dice a bit too many times), but for some reason booked ourselves there. We clearly weren't thinking when we got the tickets. We spent about an hour in Hue to wait for the next train. This one only had beds as well, although it was 11am and we didn't need to sleep. It was still about 10 bucks total for us to go. Our car chose to stop using the AC and after a certain time (and the windows didn't open). We couldn't take it anymore so we went out into the hallway of train and sat on some kiddy stools for the remainder of the journey.

We met with a local, who turned out to be an architect which was quite cool. We discussed traditional life and the world of architecture and development in Vietnam. I won't bore you with the details though. After a beautiful beach and mountain side journey we made it to Da Nang, shared a ride with some Brits and made it safely to Hoi An. At this point, my expectations for Vietnam were at an all time low, simply due to the first three and half days of trouble and the overwhelming quality of the big city. However, Hoi An has been absolutely lovely. 

They say Hoi An is a tourist trap, but one you don't mind being stuck in. I would have to agree. The stores cater to western styles and touristy things, there are signs for massages, motor bikes, beer, ect. ect. But the thing is, it's a beautiful little town and the people are friendly, even if you don't buy anything. They have their own lives as well, seeing as we are here in the off season. There is a beach nearby with some islands to explore, a riverfront, good street food, and the rooms are clean and cheap. It's a huge relief and we are planning on spending a few days here before heading to Na Trang (sp). 

Anyways, I'm exhausted from the past few days so I'm gunna get going. All is well and I miss everyone back home!

-M

I feel like our posts have been a bit negative lately when in fact our spirits are doing quite well. We headed on a night train yesterday to get down south. The night train wasn't too bad. A bit rocky and the toilets were suspect, but the bed was long enough to fit in and there was AC. I like traveling by trains long distances (except in the US, cuz Amtrak is awful). You get to see the country side and kill two birds with one stone (sleep and travel). Moreover, you would never sleep a wink during the night on a bus here, as the driver's hand seems to only rest on the horn and for some reason horns appear to be installed just as loudly on the inside as on the outside. 

We set out for Hue, the old capital. We didn't really plan on staying there (we've heard too many mixed reviews and have rolled the dice a bit too many times), but for some reason booked ourselves there. We clearly weren't thinking when we got the tickets. We spent about an hour in Hue to wait for the next train. This one only had beds as well, although it was 11am and we didn't need to sleep. It was still about 10 bucks total for us to go. Our car chose to stop using the AC and after a certain time (and the windows didn't open). We couldn't take it anymore so we went out into the hallway of train and sat on some kiddy stools for the remainder of the journey.

We met with a local, who turned out to be an architect which was quite cool. We discussed traditional life and the world of architecture and development in Vietnam. I won't bore you with the details though. After a beautiful beach and mountain side journey we made it to Da Nang, shared a ride with some Brits and made it safely to Hoi An. At this point, my expectations for Vietnam were at an all time low, simply due to the first three and half days of trouble and the overwhelming quality of the big city. However, Hoi An has been absolutely lovely. 

They say Hoi An is a tourist trap, but one you don't mind being stuck in. I would have to agree. The stores cater to western styles and touristy things, there are signs for massages, motor bikes, beer, ect. ect. But the thing is, it's a beautiful little town and the people are friendly, even if you don't buy anything. They have their own lives as well, seeing as we are here in the off season. There is a beach nearby with some islands to explore, a riverfront, good street food, and the rooms are clean and cheap. It's a huge relief and we are planning on spending a few days here before heading to Na Trang (sp). 

Anyways, I'm exhausted from the past few days so I'm gunna get going. All is well and I miss everyone back home!

-M

I feel like our posts have been a bit negative lately when in fact our spirits are doing quite well. We headed on a night train yesterday to get down south. The night train wasn't too bad. A bit rocky and the toilets were suspect, but the bed was long enough to fit in and there was AC. I like traveling by trains long distances (except in the US, cuz Amtrak is awful). You get to see the country side and kill two birds with one stone (sleep and travel). Moreover, you would never sleep a wink during the night on a bus here, as the driver's hand seems to only rest on the horn and for some reason horns appear to be installed just as loudly on the inside as on the outside. 

We set out for Hue, the old capital. We didn't really plan on staying there (we've heard too many mixed reviews and have rolled the dice a bit too many times), but for some reason booked ourselves there. We clearly weren't thinking when we got the tickets. We spent about an hour in Hue to wait for the next train. This one only had beds as well, although it was 11am and we didn't need to sleep. It was still about 10 bucks total for us to go. Our car chose to stop using the AC and after a certain time (and the windows didn't open). We couldn't take it anymore so we went out into the hallway of train and sat on some kiddy stools for the remainder of the journey.

We met with a local, who turned out to be an architect which was quite cool. We discussed traditional life and the world of architecture and development in Vietnam. I won't bore you with the details though. After a beautiful beach and mountain side journey we made it to Da Nang, shared a ride with some Brits and made it safely to Hoi An. At this point, my expectations for Vietnam were at an all time low, simply due to the first three and half days of trouble and the overwhelming quality of the big city. However, Hoi An has been absolutely lovely. 

They say Hoi An is a tourist trap, but one you don't mind being stuck in. I would have to agree. The stores cater to western styles and touristy things, there are signs for massages, motor bikes, beer, ect. ect. But the thing is, it's a beautiful little town and the people are friendly, even if you don't buy anything. They have their own lives as well, seeing as we are here in the off season. There is a beach nearby with some islands to explore, a riverfront, good street food, and the rooms are clean and cheap. It's a huge relief and we are planning on spending a few days here before heading to Na Trang (sp). 

Anyways, I'm exhausted from the past few days so I'm gunna get going. All is well and I miss everyone back home!

-M

I feel like our posts have been a bit negative lately when in fact our spirits are doing quite well. We headed on a night train yesterday to get down south. The night train wasn't too bad. A bit rocky and the toilets were suspect, but the bed was long enough to fit in and there was AC. I like traveling by trains long distances (except in the US, cuz Amtrak is awful). You get to see the country side and kill two birds with one stone (sleep and travel). Moreover, you would never sleep a wink during the night on a bus here, as the driver's hand seems to only rest on the horn and for some reason horns appear to be installed just as loudly on the inside as on the outside. 

We set out for Hue, the old capital. We didn't really plan on staying there (we've heard too many mixed reviews and have rolled the dice a bit too many times), but for some reason booked ourselves there. We clearly weren't thinking when we got the tickets. We spent about an hour in Hue to wait for the next train. This one only had beds as well, although it was 11am and we didn't need to sleep. It was still about 10 bucks total for us to go. Our car chose to stop using the AC and after a certain time (and the windows didn't open). We couldn't take it anymore so we went out into the hallway of train and sat on some kiddy stools for the remainder of the journey.

We met with a local, who turned out to be an architect which was quite cool. We discussed traditional life and the world of architecture and development in Vietnam. I won't bore you with the details though. After a beautiful beach and mountain side journey we made it to Da Nang, shared a ride with some Brits and made it safely to Hoi An. At this point, my expectations for Vietnam were at an all time low, simply due to the first three and half days of trouble and the overwhelming quality of the big city. However, Hoi An has been absolutely lovely. 

They say Hoi An is a tourist trap, but one you don't mind being stuck in. I would have to agree. The stores cater to western styles and touristy things, there are signs for massages, motor bikes, beer, ect. ect. But the thing is, it's a beautiful little town and the people are friendly, even if you don't buy anything. They have their own lives as well, seeing as we are here in the off season. There is a beach nearby with some islands to explore, a riverfront, good street food, and the rooms are clean and cheap. It's a huge relief and we are planning on spending a few days here before heading to Na Trang (sp). 

Anyways, I'm exhausted from the past few days so I'm gunna get going. All is well and I miss everyone back home!

-M

Dear Ha Long Bay

How to do Ha Long Bay for under $60 US Roundtrip!

What you will need:

A blanket

A phone

Someone to help you argue and buy bus tickets

A travel buddy willing to kick scamming ass when needed

You can leave from the My Dinh or whatever the other central station is from Hanoi. This bus ticket should cost you around 100,000VD (or $5 US). The ride should only last about 4 hours, but if you get on a big bus, it will in fact take you forever because the bus driver will drive at around 4mph.  He does this for various reasons: 1. b/c the smart locals call the bus to pick them up after exiting the CF that is the bus station; 2. when driving a bus, one must pick up various sacks of rice and other provisions to drop off to the family en route; and 3. these bus drivers  want to fill the bus to the brim.  

A local will tell you that in order to get a proper bus from My Dinh, one must avoid all individuals and simply go straight to the bus station and buy a ticket inside.  But don't worry, these shady individuals will find you anyway once you buy your ticket and throw you on their bus b/c let's face it, you don't speak Vietnamese and don't know any better.  We are merely sheep being lined up for tourist slaughter.

An excellent and convenient way to get dropped off at Ha Long City is to be pushed off the bus in the middle of a rainy night at the side of the highway.  One might say, wouldn't it make more sense to just drop off the passengers at the center of town?  Nah, that would be too easy.  After all, we are rugged travelers and appreciate a heavy dose of confusion and fear.  When getting dropped off, simply ask, where is the taxi?  The bus driver will likely say, "right there silly, don't you see those moto drivers over there?  Yea, they're going to attempt to scam you."  Can you taste the happiness?

You then agree to the enormous price because it's raining and well where else are you going to go? They insist it is far but still open. Then all of the sudden, after about a mile of driving, the bikes will pull over and tell you that the ferry is closed, but how about a cheap hotel for the night? Oh how sneaky...

In order to ensure that you did get scammed then use your phone to call your local buddy in Hanoi. He will confirm that the ferry is indeed closed, so at least the drivers didn't lie about that. However, now it is time to settle the cost issues. This is where it is helpful to have your travel buddy through a shit fit. Don't let them scam  you by insisting and staring directly at them. It is common at this point that they forget how to speak any english at all, so be prepared for a stand off and don't budge.

Once the crisis of paying 500% too much has been averted it is advisable to find a place to stay. A cheap place, or well any place on the road you will be dropped off may, in fact, appear clean. However, this is far from the case. Be sure to pull back the sheets and inspect the beds to avoid being bit by various creatures in the night. Also, this late in the evening it is difficult to tell if the windows actually close, so be sure to check that as well. If you make the mistake of not checking, then it is advisable to use your sleeping sack to avoid these bites. However, if you don't know if there are bugs, chances are you will find out after already being bitten. 

At this point you have options. You are starving and aggravated. You can choose to up the price of your stay by finding the nearest busiest seafood place and feast, or you can take a gamble at a cheaper, yet completely empty option. I would vote for the former in this case, as it might be the best part of your stay here.

If you come at just the right time, you will wake up for your ferry the next day to find the sky pissing with rain, thus making it next to impossible to see a thing. However, don't cry, you can just walk down to the waterfront with a telephoto lens during a lull in the storm. Your pictures would be just as good if you were on the boat that day anyway, and it's free! 

Now all you have to do is catch a cheap cab ride to the airport, which happens to also house the bus station? This way you can catch a (hopefully) faster bus, although it will be smaller and you won't be able to have enough to leg room if you happen to be over 5 ft tall, but no complaining, it will only cost you $5US.

Please note that Ha Long Bay is a notorious scam artists' paradise. This loosely translates to a different experience for everyone. We got extremely unlucky.

-MV

How to do Ha Long Bay for under $60 US Roundtrip!

What you will need:

A blanket

A phone

Someone to help you argue and buy bus tickets

A travel buddy willing to kick scamming ass when needed

You can leave from the My Dinh or whatever the other central station is from Hanoi. This bus ticket should cost you around 100,000VD (or $5 US). The ride should only last about 4 hours, but if you get on a big bus, it will in fact take you forever because the bus driver will drive at around 4mph.  He does this for various reasons: 1. b/c the smart locals call the bus to pick them up after exiting the CF that is the bus station; 2. when driving a bus, one must pick up various sacks of rice and other provisions to drop off to the family en route; and 3. these bus drivers  want to fill the bus to the brim.  

A local will tell you that in order to get a proper bus from My Dinh, one must avoid all individuals and simply go straight to the bus station and buy a ticket inside.  But don't worry, these shady individuals will find you anyway once you buy your ticket and throw you on their bus b/c let's face it, you don't speak Vietnamese and don't know any better.  We are merely sheep being lined up for tourist slaughter.

An excellent and convenient way to get dropped off at Ha Long City is to be pushed off the bus in the middle of a rainy night at the side of the highway.  One might say, wouldn't it make more sense to just drop off the passengers at the center of town?  Nah, that would be too easy.  After all, we are rugged travelers and appreciate a heavy dose of confusion and fear.  When getting dropped off, simply ask, where is the taxi?  The bus driver will likely say, "right there silly, don't you see those moto drivers over there?  Yea, they're going to attempt to scam you."  Can you taste the happiness?

You then agree to the enormous price because it's raining and well where else are you going to go? They insist it is far but still open. Then all of the sudden, after about a mile of driving, the bikes will pull over and tell you that the ferry is closed, but how about a cheap hotel for the night? Oh how sneaky...

In order to ensure that you did get scammed then use your phone to call your local buddy in Hanoi. He will confirm that the ferry is indeed closed, so at least the drivers didn't lie about that. However, now it is time to settle the cost issues. This is where it is helpful to have your travel buddy through a shit fit. Don't let them scam  you by insisting and staring directly at them. It is common at this point that they forget how to speak any english at all, so be prepared for a stand off and don't budge.

Once the crisis of paying 500% too much has been averted it is advisable to find a place to stay. A cheap place, or well any place on the road you will be dropped off may, in fact, appear clean. However, this is far from the case. Be sure to pull back the sheets and inspect the beds to avoid being bit by various creatures in the night. Also, this late in the evening it is difficult to tell if the windows actually close, so be sure to check that as well. If you make the mistake of not checking, then it is advisable to use your sleeping sack to avoid these bites. However, if you don't know if there are bugs, chances are you will find out after already being bitten. 

At this point you have options. You are starving and aggravated. You can choose to up the price of your stay by finding the nearest busiest seafood place and feast, or you can take a gamble at a cheaper, yet completely empty option. I would vote for the former in this case, as it might be the best part of your stay here.

If you come at just the right time, you will wake up for your ferry the next day to find the sky pissing with rain, thus making it next to impossible to see a thing. However, don't cry, you can just walk down to the waterfront with a telephoto lens during a lull in the storm. Your pictures would be just as good if you were on the boat that day anyway, and it's free! 

Now all you have to do is catch a cheap cab ride to the airport, which happens to also house the bus station? This way you can catch a (hopefully) faster bus, although it will be smaller and you won't be able to have enough to leg room if you happen to be over 5 ft tall, but no complaining, it will only cost you $5US.

Please note that Ha Long Bay is a notorious scam artists' paradise. This loosely translates to a different experience for everyone. We got extremely unlucky.

-MV

How to do Ha Long Bay for under $60 US Roundtrip!

What you will need:

A blanket

A phone

Someone to help you argue and buy bus tickets

A travel buddy willing to kick scamming ass when needed

You can leave from the My Dinh or whatever the other central station is from Hanoi. This bus ticket should cost you around 100,000VD (or $5 US). The ride should only last about 4 hours, but if you get on a big bus, it will in fact take you forever because the bus driver will drive at around 4mph.  He does this for various reasons: 1. b/c the smart locals call the bus to pick them up after exiting the CF that is the bus station; 2. when driving a bus, one must pick up various sacks of rice and other provisions to drop off to the family en route; and 3. these bus drivers  want to fill the bus to the brim.  

A local will tell you that in order to get a proper bus from My Dinh, one must avoid all individuals and simply go straight to the bus station and buy a ticket inside.  But don't worry, these shady individuals will find you anyway once you buy your ticket and throw you on their bus b/c let's face it, you don't speak Vietnamese and don't know any better.  We are merely sheep being lined up for tourist slaughter.

An excellent and convenient way to get dropped off at Ha Long City is to be pushed off the bus in the middle of a rainy night at the side of the highway.  One might say, wouldn't it make more sense to just drop off the passengers at the center of town?  Nah, that would be too easy.  After all, we are rugged travelers and appreciate a heavy dose of confusion and fear.  When getting dropped off, simply ask, where is the taxi?  The bus driver will likely say, "right there silly, don't you see those moto drivers over there?  Yea, they're going to attempt to scam you."  Can you taste the happiness?

You then agree to the enormous price because it's raining and well where else are you going to go? They insist it is far but still open. Then all of the sudden, after about a mile of driving, the bikes will pull over and tell you that the ferry is closed, but how about a cheap hotel for the night? Oh how sneaky...

In order to ensure that you did get scammed then use your phone to call your local buddy in Hanoi. He will confirm that the ferry is indeed closed, so at least the drivers didn't lie about that. However, now it is time to settle the cost issues. This is where it is helpful to have your travel buddy through a shit fit. Don't let them scam  you by insisting and staring directly at them. It is common at this point that they forget how to speak any english at all, so be prepared for a stand off and don't budge.

Once the crisis of paying 500% too much has been averted it is advisable to find a place to stay. A cheap place, or well any place on the road you will be dropped off may, in fact, appear clean. However, this is far from the case. Be sure to pull back the sheets and inspect the beds to avoid being bit by various creatures in the night. Also, this late in the evening it is difficult to tell if the windows actually close, so be sure to check that as well. If you make the mistake of not checking, then it is advisable to use your sleeping sack to avoid these bites. However, if you don't know if there are bugs, chances are you will find out after already being bitten. 

At this point you have options. You are starving and aggravated. You can choose to up the price of your stay by finding the nearest busiest seafood place and feast, or you can take a gamble at a cheaper, yet completely empty option. I would vote for the former in this case, as it might be the best part of your stay here.

If you come at just the right time, you will wake up for your ferry the next day to find the sky pissing with rain, thus making it next to impossible to see a thing. However, don't cry, you can just walk down to the waterfront with a telephoto lens during a lull in the storm. Your pictures would be just as good if you were on the boat that day anyway, and it's free! 

Now all you have to do is catch a cheap cab ride to the airport, which happens to also house the bus station? This way you can catch a (hopefully) faster bus, although it will be smaller and you won't be able to have enough to leg room if you happen to be over 5 ft tall, but no complaining, it will only cost you $5US.

Please note that Ha Long Bay is a notorious scam artists' paradise. This loosely translates to a different experience for everyone. We got extremely unlucky.

-MV

How to do Ha Long Bay for under $60 US Roundtrip!

What you will need:

A blanket

A phone

Someone to help you argue and buy bus tickets

A travel buddy willing to kick scamming ass when needed

You can leave from the My Dinh or whatever the other central station is from Hanoi. This bus ticket should cost you around 100,000VD (or $5 US). The ride should only last about 4 hours, but if you get on a big bus, it will in fact take you forever because the bus driver will drive at around 4mph.  He does this for various reasons: 1. b/c the smart locals call the bus to pick them up after exiting the CF that is the bus station; 2. when driving a bus, one must pick up various sacks of rice and other provisions to drop off to the family en route; and 3. these bus drivers  want to fill the bus to the brim.  

A local will tell you that in order to get a proper bus from My Dinh, one must avoid all individuals and simply go straight to the bus station and buy a ticket inside.  But don't worry, these shady individuals will find you anyway once you buy your ticket and throw you on their bus b/c let's face it, you don't speak Vietnamese and don't know any better.  We are merely sheep being lined up for tourist slaughter.

An excellent and convenient way to get dropped off at Ha Long City is to be pushed off the bus in the middle of a rainy night at the side of the highway.  One might say, wouldn't it make more sense to just drop off the passengers at the center of town?  Nah, that would be too easy.  After all, we are rugged travelers and appreciate a heavy dose of confusion and fear.  When getting dropped off, simply ask, where is the taxi?  The bus driver will likely say, "right there silly, don't you see those moto drivers over there?  Yea, they're going to attempt to scam you."  Can you taste the happiness?

You then agree to the enormous price because it's raining and well where else are you going to go? They insist it is far but still open. Then all of the sudden, after about a mile of driving, the bikes will pull over and tell you that the ferry is closed, but how about a cheap hotel for the night? Oh how sneaky...

In order to ensure that you did get scammed then use your phone to call your local buddy in Hanoi. He will confirm that the ferry is indeed closed, so at least the drivers didn't lie about that. However, now it is time to settle the cost issues. This is where it is helpful to have your travel buddy through a shit fit. Don't let them scam  you by insisting and staring directly at them. It is common at this point that they forget how to speak any english at all, so be prepared for a stand off and don't budge.

Once the crisis of paying 500% too much has been averted it is advisable to find a place to stay. A cheap place, or well any place on the road you will be dropped off may, in fact, appear clean. However, this is far from the case. Be sure to pull back the sheets and inspect the beds to avoid being bit by various creatures in the night. Also, this late in the evening it is difficult to tell if the windows actually close, so be sure to check that as well. If you make the mistake of not checking, then it is advisable to use your sleeping sack to avoid these bites. However, if you don't know if there are bugs, chances are you will find out after already being bitten. 

At this point you have options. You are starving and aggravated. You can choose to up the price of your stay by finding the nearest busiest seafood place and feast, or you can take a gamble at a cheaper, yet completely empty option. I would vote for the former in this case, as it might be the best part of your stay here.

If you come at just the right time, you will wake up for your ferry the next day to find the sky pissing with rain, thus making it next to impossible to see a thing. However, don't cry, you can just walk down to the waterfront with a telephoto lens during a lull in the storm. Your pictures would be just as good if you were on the boat that day anyway, and it's free! 

Now all you have to do is catch a cheap cab ride to the airport, which happens to also house the bus station? This way you can catch a (hopefully) faster bus, although it will be smaller and you won't be able to have enough to leg room if you happen to be over 5 ft tall, but no complaining, it will only cost you $5US.

Please note that Ha Long Bay is a notorious scam artists' paradise. This loosely translates to a different experience for everyone. We got extremely unlucky.

-MV