Category: SoutheastAsia
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Kathmandu – it’s fun to say!
Originally we planned to spend five weeks in Thailand, but after two weeks, the rest of Southeast Asia got in the way. We decided to come back again to see an ancient city, and shop. The $3 1 hour foot massages were not planned. Now that we’re in Nepal, we only wish we had bought…
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Back to BKK
Our visa expires tomorrow and with it comes our flight back to Bangkok. Five days later we’ll be in Nepal. Hurray for extreme weather changes.
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1000 Words
We don’t have much to say about Sapa in northern Vietnam that the pictures cannot say.
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Bia Hoi
For 3000 dong (about 19 cents), you can get a cold mug of beer. It’s better than the beer you can get for 2000 dong. We did the math – that’s 53 beers for $10, 80 if you have no taste whatsoever. Of course, $10 will also buy you 13 liters of rice vodka, but…
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Cat Ba
Historically, Adam has been afraid of driving motorbikes in Asia and of seeing snakes in the wild. In the middle of Halong Bay, on the seasonally deserted Cat Ba island, the lack of traffic made following the windy and hilly island roads easy. In Cuc Phuong National Park, our “expert” guides informed us that the…
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“I think it’s a dog”
Relayed to us from a night-spotting trip in Cuc Phuong National Park, Guide: “I think it’s a dog.” Guide: “… or maybe a pig.” Guest: “Really? It sounds bigger…” Guide: “Maybe it’s a bear.”
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Made To Measure
Seemingly every town in Asia has a specialty handicraft from silk painting to embroidery to inlaid marble tables. We haven’t seen a shotglass in months (unfortunately for Cara’s kitsch collection). After 3 days of endless exposure, you swear you never want to see a miniature camel painting again. In the old quarter of Hoi An,…
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Same Same But Different
Spent 3 days motorbiking in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with the sons of coffee farmers. We went to the highlands to escape the heat and to immerse ourselves in hills of coffee. The surprising highlights of our trip quickly became mealtime with our drivers, “Rocky” and Loi. The first night after barrelling through a…
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Where you from?
This should come as no surprise. Internationally, George W. Bush is not a popular character, but despite our concerns everyone we’ve met is able to distinguish between Americans and the American government, at least long enough to extract our tourist dollars. We have been in Vietnam for a week. It is here, like everywhere, that…
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Roads Less Travelled
Cara was bitter. She was sick, stranded in the hotel room. Adam met Pirom, a clever 16 year old English student, who invited him for a Sunday visit in his family’s village. Adam consumed palm juice, palm wine, and ice cold beer. Adam ate mangoes, palm fruit, tamarind, and coconuts hand picked from their trees.…