Post by Dom:
We arrived in Guam two weeks ago, just in time for the Liberation Day festivities. It was 5:30am when we exited the airport. The moon was still high in the western sky as the sun began to rise in the east. We were so tired because we didn't get any sleep the night before. So, our first day was spent sleeping. But, the following day we caught the Liberation parade. We grabbed a spot in the shade of a coconut tree and watched fire trucks, marching bands, beauty queens and floats drive down the main road. Then we saw the fireworks later in the evening. It was a surprisingly good show.

It feels a bit strange coming back to Guam after being gone for 11 years. I am a tourist in my homeland. I can barely remember how to get around and I enjoy shopping for souvenirs at the gigantic K-Mart (which is open 24hrs, and often has large tour buses parked out front). I would probably ask for a refund if I paid $100 for an island tour, and K-Mart was one of the stops. But, I guess Japanese tourists are a different breed.

The fun part of playing the tourist has been hanging out at the beach a lot. The beaches here are very quiet. The sand is soft and white, and the water is warm & calm. Perfect conditions for napping under a tree all day. There is one touristy section of beach with lots of inflatable devices floating around in the water (giant swans, rafts, beach balls and a water bike with huge inflated tires). We tried to stay clear of that area.

We've also been enjoying filling ourselves up with the local food that I've missed so much. Empanadas, mango and fiesta food. A typical "fiesta plate" bought at a restaurant or food stand consists of red rice, chicken kelaguen, and some form of BBQ'd meat (chicken or ribs). But, we also had the privilege of attending an actual fiesta, and the food was as never ending. Each village on the island has a patron Saint, and a fiesta is held each year in every village (at different times) to celebrate it's Saint. We were celebrating Santa Ana. A (Catholic) mass was held, and afterward was the reason we were there... to eat!! Multiple tables were filled with meat & seafood dishes, salads, soups breads and desserts. There was even a whole roasted pig (with the head still attached), which Tony tried for the first time. We were in food heaven! Tony had to stop loading his plate up once it was clear the mountain of food he had would topple over at any moment.


After a few days of sitting on our butts all day at the beach, I decided we needed some exercise. So, we hiked to the top of Mount Lamlam. The mountain is 1,334 feet above sea level, but is "technically" the tallest mountain in the world if you count the base, which is in the Marianas Trench. From tip to base it is over 37,000 feet tall! It took longer to get to the top than I remember, but maybe I'm just getting old. Many sections of the trail were overgrown with sword grass. Good thing I wore jeans! But, it was worth the fantastic views from the top. We looked out onto the vast Pacific Ocean, while savoring the cool breeze. Large crosses are scattered around the mountain from past Easter 'pilgrimages' when the religious carry them up the mountain. We only spent about 10min enjoying the view. Then we had to head back down because a big rain cloud was headed our way. I kind of wish we did more hikes, rather than being lazy on the beach. On second thought... naaaaah. We've had a few rainy days, which were spent at the mall, watching movies, or just driving around listening to island music.

Visiting with family has been a lot of fun. Even after 11 years, we seemed to pick up right where we left off. My nieces & nephews that were babies when I left are now teenagers. And now I have MORE nieces & nephews... I think the total count is now 15. What's going on here!? Has it really been that long? Time really does fly way too fast. I can hardly believe our 6 month trip is almost over.

So, this brings us to the end of our journey. We get back to the U.S. tomorrow. After an overnight stop in Manila, we head back to Dallas for two weeks. Then it's back to California. At least we get to be lazy and watch the Olympics while we're in TX getting over jet lag. This adventure has been exciting, enlightening, educational (any more 'e' words I can think of?). It's also been scary at times. We've had to step outside of our comfort zone, and have actually found it to be freeing. We've met some great people along the way, and have had amazing experiences.

Being on this trip has made us realize what is REALLY important in life... family & friends... and Vietnamese coffee. We're so excited to get back to see everyone! This will probably be our last entry (unless we're bored in Texas and feel like blogging just for fun). Thank you for taking the time to read our stories, and follow along in our adventures. We feel like you all were with us along the way. Now get ready for us to talk your ears off about it when we get home. :) *d
GUAM PICS

Post by: Tony
We arrived in Manila (capital of the Philippines) at about 4:30 in the morning. The flight from Saigon was fairly short but the combination of leaving at 11 at night and the plane being late off the tarmac made for very little sleep. We were able to catch a cab easily but once we arrived at our hotel we were informed that they didn't have a room ready for us, and one wouldn't be available until noon. They held our bags while we went for some breakfast. We ran across the street for some pancit (a Philippine noodle dish) and coffee. While out we decided to check a few other hotels around the area for availability but were told the same spiel about no rooms being available until noon, or else they were way too expensive ($75 vs. the $20 we were planning to pay). After giving up our search we headed back to our hotel's common room to wait out the next 6 hours until a room was ready. Having not had any sleep the night before Dom and I were quickly dispatched to our dreams, curled up in balls on the couch located in the middle of the room.

Finally, our room was ready and we were escorted to a small prison cell of a place. It was about 8'x8' with no windows to speak of, walls painted a dark orange and floors a dark brown. The bathroom was large and all pastel blue expect for a dark forest green rug in front of the shower that looked as though it had been laying in the doorway of a college dorm's shared bathroom. We made it a point not to touch or step on it with bare feet for the remainder of our stay. This was a big change compared to the nice $20/night rooms we've been paying throughout our trip. We were not used to paying more and getting less. We decided to try and catch up on our sleep for the first day in Manila but that threw off our sleep schedule worse than it was, and we ended up spending a few days sleeping in. Once we felt like we were getting back to normal we decided to venture out to the one thing that seemed to be the "thing to do in Manila"... explore the COLOSSAL malls.

The malls in Manila are completely INSANE!!! Think of your favorite, over-the-top mall. In Dallas, you have the Galleria or Frisco Mall. In San Francisco, there's the SF Shopping Center. Now expand that mall by two blocks in every direction and three stories up... that is your average Manila mall. It took us two days to explore one wing of one mall. We gave up on that one and tried a smaller mall the next few days. The second mall was much smaller and only took a day and a half to walk around once. It was also the place to go for the least expensive food! Actually, Dom and I were in sticker shock for most of our stint in Manila. It was quickly apparent that we weren't in Southeast Asia any longer.

It was strange to see the contrast of children begging & sleeping on the street (filthy from head to toe), next to these gigantic malls with luxury stores. It was also strange to see very young looking girls (under 18) with much OLDER, fat white men. It's worse than in Thailand. At least there, the girls look over 18 and seemed to be enjoying themselves. While the young girls in Manila walk around with these old white men with their heads down.

Anyway, after a week (and realizing this was probably our least favorite city) we needed a change of scenery, and it came in the form of Boracay.

Getting to the island of Boracay was pretty uneventful as long as you don't count the additional fees that we had to pay along the way. We seemed to be charged for something or other every step of the way. "You want to take a ferry to the island, that'll be $4 for a transition fee, $7 for a terminal fee, and $9 for the boat ticket". We thought "Dang, $7 for a terminal fee... it must be new and extravagant or something". Turns out its an old run down building with a plastic sign above it that reads "TERMINAL". Hahaha! The 1hr flight out there was nice though, flying over other Philippine islands. Once on Boracay we checked into Dave's Straw Hat Inn. It was one of the nicest places we've stayed in, with the highlight being the staff. All were extremely welcoming and they even had a mascot, a golden lab/boonie mix named Freckles.

While in Boracay we visited a few different shopping centers (where the least expensive food seemed to be) and walked along the coastline taking in the beauty of the island. When it wasn't raining (which is seemed to be doing with great frequency at this point) we spent the days hanging out at the beach just taking in rays, listening to music and reading... enjoying the clean white sand & clear blue water. At one point we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner on the beach. We decided on a surf and turf all you can eat buffet. I think we paid $12 total. After dinner we stuck around to have a few drinks and listen to some live music while basking in the warm off-shore breeze.

After 5 days in Boracay we had to make our way back to Manila since we were flying out of there to Guam. We were able to book another hotel near our last one and were pleasantly surprised by how much nicer it was (albeit a bit more expensive). The trick seemed to be to book your hotel online instead of trying to walk in off the street! The price online through a travel site, $35. The price for a walk-in, $50! Go figure. We had to stay in Manila for a day before heading to Guam so we decided to check out another mall while in town.

The ride there was pretty adventurous. We hopped in this cab and started to make our way across town. The cabbie seemed to be driving a little jerky but I figured it was just bad skill behind the wheel. It turns out he was running out of gas... actually, he was out of gas. We were putting along down a main artery of the city when "kerplunk", the car dies. He tried a few times to get it going again but to no avail. So he apologized and suggested we grab another cab. We offered to help push him to the nearest gas station but I don't think he spoke enough English to understand what we were trying to get across. So, we paid him most of what the flag had on it and grabbed another cab around the corner. The mall that we went to was supposed to have knock-off gear as far as the eye can see and it did not disappoint. There were shoes and electronics for aisles and aisles. After checking out as much as we could stand we decided to catch a movie, The Dark Knight. If you haven't seen that movie yet, go see it. It was AWESOME! I won't be surprised if Heath Ledger ends up with a posthumous Oscar nod.

Anyhoo, the next stop is Guam! We're both really excited to spend some time in Dom's old stomping grounds. It should be a nice way to end our 6 month journey! -t
MANILA&BORACAY PICS

Post by Dom:
Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by the locals) was a really good time. Being Vietnam's largest city, it is a lot busier than Hanoi... and more modern and metropolitan. Neon signs, upscale hotels, international cuisine and designer stores abound. Tai (who most of you know from SF) was awesome enough to let us stay with him. He has a nice setup in a 2 bedroom apartment, and in a great location. It was nice to not be in the touristy backpacker section of town for once.

Eric & Myrthe (from Holland) also stayed in the apartment with us for a couple of days. We spent most of our time just hanging out...eating...and drinking. Tai took us to all of the good local eateries, bars and clubs. It was great having the inside track on what the best dishes are. Our first night we attempted to go bowling, but all of the lanes were full. So, we opted for playing games in the arcade instead. The next day we checked out the Zoo & Botanical Gardens with Myrthe & Eric. Tai stayed behind to get some work done. I was hoping for more gardens & less zoo, because I wasn't too interested in the zoo. But, it ended up being the other way around. We saw tigers, elephants, zebras & giraffes in spaces much too small. The most interesting part were the crocodiles. There is one section with so many crocs, they're lying all over each other... all with with their mouths open...just waiting for something to wander in. There are little mini bridges that are over the croc section, and the gate isn't all that tall. So, it wouldn't be entirely difficult for a clumsy idiot to fall in. Yikes!


The following afternoon was spent at the bowling alley (again). We actually got to bowl this time. I was horrible, and got the worst score. But, my whole life I've always sucked at bowling, so I don't know why I'm always surprised whenever I don't break 100. I always have fun though. We all played a few games of pool afterward (again, I sucked), before heading back to "Pad Tai". It was still too early to head out to the club, so we had some drinks & played Uno. Finally, something I don't suck at! I was getting sleepy after 5 games and a couple of drinks, but we all rallied and headed to a club called Lush. It's a nice club...just the right size...not too big. There are two levels, and we hung out upstairs and looked down on all of the action below. It happened to be ladies night, so all of the drinks Myrthe & I ordered were FREE! Maybe that explains why the place was so packed on a Tuesday. It was cool seeing how the locals unwind. The women get really dressed up (dresses, high heels). They didn't seem to do much dancing, a lot of standing around sipping cocktails and looking good.


A couple days later Eric & Myrthe met up with their parents in Saigon, and were traveling on to Thailand. So, we had to say our good-byes over some drinks. Tai, Tony & I started off by going to a couple of swanky bars. Then we met up with Eric, Myrthe, their parents, and their dad's business partners at Saigon Bar in one of the upper floors of the Caravelle Hotel. It's a nice open-air bar, and the live band was good entertainment...which, consisted of 3 scantily dressed women. Occasionally, some drunk guy would stagger his way up to the stage and dance provocatively in front of the band... as if trying to woo one of the singers. Later we went to a club called Apocalypse Now. It was ok, but the music was cheesy. The DJ on the upper level played a CD on a loop that kept replaying over & over again. But, he looked legit with his headphones on. I'm not sure what he was getting paid for. We only stayed for a couple of drinks, and then said our farewells... boo hoo. Those guys are really cool, and we had a lot of fun hanging out with them.

Our last couple of days in Saigon were spent hanging out with Tai and running errands. One day we took a combined Cao Dai Temple & Cu Chi Tunnels tour. We stopped at Cai Dai first. It's an ornate & colorful temple with intricate columns that have dragons wrapped around them. Several religions are practiced there, including Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism... and I forget what else. They hold a service everyday at noon, which we were able to witness. The leaders wore different colored robes (each color representing a different religion) and bishop-like hats. Everyone else wore white. Live music and singing came from the rafters.


The next stop was Cu Chi Tunnels. Tai was able to get the local ticket price for himself, and also for me (apparently I can pass for Vietnamese). Good thing I didn't have to speak. The local price was 90 cents, but Tony had to pay the tourist price, which was $5.00...sheesh! The tour started off in a video screening room, where we were going to watch a "documentary" about the tunnels. But, what we saw was actually an old propaganda film with footage taken during the war. It mostly painted an ugly picture of the American military, calling them a "batch of crazy devils" who shot at anything including "women, children, chickens, and even Buddha statues". The Vietnamese soldiers were called "American killer heroes". The more Americans they killed, the more medals they received. The film was both interesting & disturbing.

The tunnels are a huge underground network that are quite impressive. I just wish we could have seen more of them. They were used to aid the Vietnamese in traveling back & forth right under the noses of the U.S. military. A section of the tunnels even ran right underneath the U.S. military base. The entrances to the tunnels were ingeniously hidden by dirt & leaves. They were made just big enough for the slight body frame of the Vietnamese. So, even if a U.S. soldier were to discover an entrance, he probably wouldn't have fit inside the tunnel. We were able to go inside one section of the tunnels, which was neat. But, it was pitch black & so narrow in some parts that I felt suffocated. I had to use my camera flash as a light to see where I was going.

Surrounding the tunnels... scattered throughout the jungle, were booby traps. Basically, deep holes with metal stakes at the bottom... ouch! It was amazing to see just how serious the Vietnamese were about defending their country. Surrendering was not an option. Not only men & women soldiers...but, even civilians joined in the fighting. Along the tour was a shooting range, where (for $1.50/bullet) you could fire an AK47, M30 and even a Tommy Gun. We didn't shoot, but we hung out and watched for awhile. It was so freakin LOUD! I can't imagine having to fire those guns for long periods of time during a war. I'm sure many people lost their hearing.

On our last day, I decided I wanted to get a hair cut. I really needed one, and I figured Saigon would be a good place for it. I kept going back & forth on either getting just a trim, or going more drastic and chopping it all off. It's really hot out here, and my long hair was getting on my nerves. This indecision lasted all day, and all the way to the salon... up until I was sitting in the chair. I told myself that if the stylist didn't speak any English, then I would just get a trim... should be easy enough to explain that, right? But, what ended up happening is the complete opposite. The stylist did NOT speak any English. The receptionist had to translate everything. I decided to follow my "live in the now" motto, and with Tony's moral support I had him chop it all off! I even went a step further, and asked him to add red highlights. Meanwhile, Tony is sitting next to me getting pampered with a foot, neck & head massage. After the cut & color, the stylist flat ironed my hair, and I was happy to see that nothing was lost in translation. The red turned out a lot more red than I was expecting. But, it's kinda funky so I like it. It's funny that in Vietnam, with a non-English speaking stylist, I was more happy with my hair than countless times in the U.S. with no language barriers. Go figure. So, I walked out of the salon feeling sassy, flipping my hair around. It was so light & bouncy! I didn't realize how long & heavy it was before. Now let's hope I can style it on my own, or else I'll have poodle hair for awhile.

We're off to the Philippines next. We're really going to miss Saigon and hanging out with Tai. We were just starting to feel at home at his apartment. *d
SAIGON PICS

Post by: Tony
After Nha Trang we were off to Da Lat. Da Lat is a small town up in the mountains that the French used as a getaway during the "protectorate" days. As soon as we stepped off the bus it was very apparent as to why. It was at least 15-20 degrees (F) cooler in Da Lat than down by the coast. I was even able to wear jeans comfortably for the first time. It almost felt like fall in TX (all two weeks of it). A short cab ride after arriving and we were on our next hotel's doorstep. I must say, this place probably had the best value of all the places we stayed at in SE Asia (Dreams Hotel, Vietnam if you're curious). We were greeted by smiling faces and shown to our room which had ample space, a wardrobe to place our bags, a TV with cable, a super sweet shower with two shower heads and 6 shower jets, and a cheap mini-bar! To top it all off, a brand new sauna and hot tub on the roof level that we were able to take advantage of quite often during our stay. Oh, and a great breakfast with fresh fruit, baguettes, coffee, juice, eggs made to order...and peanut butter/jelly was also included. Dom was really excited about the peanut butter. It's not common in Asia, so having a PB&J sandwich was a real treat.

The next day we decided to see about renting some bicycles and poking around town. Our hotel actually offered them to us FREE of charge! They weren't the best or newest bikes that we had ridden but "never look a gift horse in the mouth", right? We were taken a little by surprise as to how difficult it was to navigate the hills around the area. They really don't look all that hard but, even with some gears functioning on our bikes, it was tough! Our first stop was a place called the Crazy House. It is best described as Alice in Wonderland meets Hunter S. Thomson... very surreal and strange. It started off as a small hotel, but is now just a tourist site. It has very few right angles, with unexpected twists & turns at every corner. You have to check the pictures out for yourself (link at the bottom of this post).

From there we headed over to a cathedral that was close by. We were hoping that it would be open so that we might be able to check out the inside of the place but it appeared to only be open for services and nothing else. It was still nice to look at... plus there were these two local guys there taking pictures of each other in front of the main door. It was fun making jokes about how it must be how they do Glomour Shots in SE Asia nowadays. Both guys had their hair spiked up with tight fitting collared shirts on that I think may have been bedazzled... not sure. After watching the photo shoot, we headed down to the lake and rode around it until we found the local flower park. It was a massive collection of flowers and Dom had a field day taking picture after picture of all of them. She was even able to get a sweet shot of a bee taking flight from a flower.

The following night we rented a motorbike to explore the outskirts of the city. We were hoping to find some waterfalls and a few other things that our guidebook said were not far away. We hopped on and headed out of town but were not successful in finding anything that was on our maps. It was still nice to just cruise around the mountainside though. It's so peacful out there and there's hardly any traffic so you pretty much have the whole road to yourself. On the way back we were able to spot a neat pagoda a little way off the main road. As we approached where we thought we might have to turn we were stopped to get a quick bearing and were quickly pointed in the correct direction by a local just hanging out on the corner. The pagoda itself is seven stories high and we were even able to climb all the way to the top of it! Next to the pagoda was a small temple that had some really neat dragons made out made of broken bottles, cups and other pottery-like things. It was also where I took notice of what looked like a swastika, only mirrored. It wasn't until a conversation with our friend Tai (who lives in Vietnam) that I found out that the symbol I noticed is actually a religious symbol and Hitler stole/perverted it for his use as the symbol for the Third Reich. Crazy!!!

After Da Lat, we headed to the beach town of Mui Ne. Our bus stopped for a bathroom break about halfway there. At first, we weren't sure why we were stopping because the buses usually stop at a place with a restaurant & bathrooms. But, we got out and all we could see is a long stretch of road and a bunch of trees. So, we figured maybe we were just stopping so people could stretch their legs. Dom & I got out of the bus, and minutes later we noticed that men were posting up in front of trees relieving themselves. Then, women and young girls started squatting everywhere in the grass. I guess this was the bathroom stop after all! Dom hesitated for a minute, but she really had to go... so, off she went behind a tree.

Mui Ne is less educational, but it makes up for it in relaxation. It has a very chill, surf vibe. It gets lots of wind, so kite boarding and wind surfing are very popular. We showed up around 11am which was about 2 hours sooner than we thought we would be there. Our friend Tai was coming from Saigon to meet us there, and his bus wasn't scheduled to come in until about 2pm so we dropped our bags at reception and had a bite to eat while we waited. Tai (many of you know him) is a good friend of ours from San Francisco that decided to move back to Vietnam a few months ago after having lived most of his life in the states. It was so good to see a another familiar face after so long. Our friends Eric and Myrthe (who we met in Nha Trang) were also in Mui Ne so we gave them a call and decided to meet up for dinner and drinks later that night.

In the meantime we settled in to the room and took some bicycles out to see what was around. We quickly realized that we had underestimated the scale of the long two lane road that made up the city. It was much longer than we anticipated. We biked for a good 5 miles and decided to head back. Dinner was fun, especially having someone that spoke the local language along to help decipher the menu. After dinner we headed to Jibes for some drinks. The place was not exactly hopping though... I think there were 11 people in the entire bar and our group made up 5 of them. After a few drinks we called it a night and went our separate ways because we were tired from the bike ride and Eric and Myrthe had to get up early for a bus to Saigon the next morning.

Being lazy and hanging out on the beach is what was on the agenda for the next morning. We just grabbed some chairs and watched the waves come rolling in one after another. At one point I decided to head out into them and attempt to body surf while Dom collected sea shells on shore and took pictures of the many kite boarders making the most of the windy day. Once the afternoon approached we rented some motorbikes and headed down to what was called Fairy Stream. I really had no idea what to expect. It ended up being a long stream that had some cool looking rock formations running along one side. What that had to do with fairies is a mystery to me. It was so shallow that you were able to walk in it and hardly get your ankles wet. The only downside to the journey was that we had to pass a field filled with vats of fish sauce (fish fermenting in huge pots in the hot sun). Talk about POTENT SMELLING! Mui Ne is known for their fish sauce, and there was lots of it. From there we headed to the sand dunes that were located just out of town. It was like being in a scene from Laurence of Arabia! There were people sliding down them on large flat pieces of plastic all over the place. Surprisingly, mostly locals were there... hardly any tourists. We just watched and enjoyed the scenery.


The next day we would be headed to Saigon. It would be our last stop in Vietnam and SE Asia, as well as home to our good friend Tai. He had graciously offered his extra room to us (as well as his living room to Eric and Myrthe!) and for that we were very grateful. Our adventure in Saigon will be posted soon, so check back!!! -t
DA LAT PICS
MUI NE PICS

Post by Dom:
Sorry, I know we're behind. It's been difficult keeping up to date with the blog. We're just having too much fun...and we're also a bit lazy. Nha Trang was our first real beach town in Vietnam. Our bus rolled in at 5:00am, and the locals were already up and at em...jogging and swimming at the beach. We had a crappy night's sleep on the bus, and our hotel room wasn't ready yet. So, we searched around for someplace to eat breakfast. After eating, we checked into the hotel and had a nap, then hit the beach. It was a very slow day. The beach in Nha Trang is nice, and caters to tourists...meaning bars, restaurants and lots of umbrellas and comfy beach loungers with cushions set up for our use (as long as we were willing to pay for them). We didn't paying mind because it kept the relentless vendors selling everything we didn't need at a distance.

Post by: Tony
We made it to Hué (pronounced Hway) pretty early in the morning on an overnight bus. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise that we normally wouldn't be awake for. It wasn't too horrible of a ride. We were able to get a few beds on the bottom this time so we weren't tossed around quite as much as the last time, but the sleep still didn't come easy. As soon as we stepped off the bus we grabbed a cab and made way to our guest house (Halo Guesthouse). We couldn't figure out if it was the name was derived from the thought of an angel's halo or the way locals say 'hello' (ha-lo). Either way, the staff there were extremely nice and welcoming.

Hué is a cool town...small, but busy. Our first day we rented a couple of bikes from our guesthouse and rode around the citadel located in the center of the city. It is surrounded by a moat that was cool to ride next to even if the traffic was a little hairy. Out here you just ride your bike in the middle of traffic with the rest of the motorbikes and occasional car. Inside the citadel there were a few ruins and museums. My favorite was the military museum. We didn't actually go inside but there were U.S. tanks and stuff parked outside. All of them were labeled with the corresponding battle in which it was seized and when. We also checked out the "Forbidden City", which was basically a small compound inside the citadel where the concubines hung out and held parties and such back in the day. There was recently a large festival in the city so there were still a lot of cool looking decorations set up that gave it a traditional feel. Later that evening we rode around the city (outside of the citadel). There were also a lot of decorations left from the festival along the streets as well that lit up the night. The most amazing were along the moat and were located strategically across from large neon signs on the other side of the water. The night air was cool and refreshing so we decided to park the bikes for a bit and take a short walk around before heading back to the guesthouse for the night.


The next day we decided to take a boat tour to a few royal tombs and the Thien Mu Pagoda. There were only about 14 people on the boat, a mixture of Vietnamese, French, American and Aussie's. We stopped by quite a few places on our way down the river. My favorites were the first and last. The first was a neat pagoda (kind of like a tiered spire). It had a small compound behind it and guarding the doorways were a few statues that were 8 feet high with REAL HAIR!!! Even the goatees were real. It was pretty entertaining. The last thing we visited was this cool gothic looking temple called Khai Dihn. The whole thing was done in shades of gray and was situated up the side of a steep hill. It looked very ominous.

After a few days in Hué we decided to head down to Hoi An. Before we hopped on the bus the staff of Halo Guesthouse asked if we had a place to stay in Hoi An. We explained that we had an idea but it wasn't set in stone. She hipped us to her friend's guesthouse there and said we would be able to get a nice room for the same price ($10 US). When she mentioned that she could call them and have them pick us up from where the bus dropped us we sealed the deal. She made the call and 3 hours later we were on the doorstep of her friends guest house.

Our first day in Hoi An was a pretty relaxing one. We just walked around town, which didn't take very long, and stopped in a few shops to look around. It's a really old town, with lots of charm (even though every other shop is a tailor shop). After a while we decided to take in the local cuisine. There are two different dishes that this town is famous for, White Rose and Cau Lau. We decided to try each at our first stop. White Rose was something like a steamed dumpling filled with shrimp and pork, topped with a little bit of fried garlic. Very good. The Cau Lau is a rice noodle dish with fresh herbs, pork slices and fried garlic. Also very tasty. The food was actually so tasty in this area that we decided to take a cooking class before we left. We learned how to make Cau Lau, Fresh Sping Rolls and Fresh Papaya Salad. The class was a lot of fun for both of us, especially eating all of the food!


The second day there was a little more active. We grabbed some bikes from this place across the street from our hotel and headed to the beach, which was conveniently located about 3 miles out of town. It was nice to get in some exercise as well as jump in the ocean for a little bit. I did have a small jelly-fish scare while in the water, but managed to snake my way out of it's path at the last second. From the look of the jelly fish, it would have been a pretty gnarly sting. Once back at our hotel we were invited to check out the tailor shop next door by the owner, Mr. Bu. This town is famous for it's tailor shops and the great clothes that you can have made for very cheap. Mr. Bu was quite the character. He stood no taller than Dom, was very friendly and VERY flamboyant... but most of all, a great salesman. Before we left Hoi An we were the proud owners of a few new clothing items (3 piece wool/cashmere suit & winter wool coat for me, and a jacket, dress and 2 skirts for Dom)... and paid a fraction of what it would have cost in the states (all custom fit).

On the night of the full moon we went into the heart of town hoping for a festival of lanterns that is supposed to occur every month like clockwork. We walked around the blocks of the town center over and over again until a local explained to us that it normally takes place on the one street that was completely ripped out of the Earth a few days prior to us arriving. Bummer. Apparently, they were preparing for the Miss World pageant, which the city was hosting. There was going to be no lantern festival this month so we headed back to the hotel disappointed. The following day we were scheduled to head out of town so we spent the night getting our stuff together and trying to figure out how to cram our new clothes into our bags (which were already stuffed to the gills). We managed it somehow.

So on to Nha Trang we go, on another sleeper bus. That story to come. :) -t

HUE PICS
HOI AN PICS

Post by Dom:
I mentioned in the last post, that Hanoi served as a home base for venturing out to Sapa & Halong Bay. Well, let me start with Sapa. It's way up north near the Vietnam/China border. So, we took an overnight sleeper train for the 9 hour journey. We shared a car with a retired married couple from Australia. They own acres of land and plant trees, and then sell them at markets. We learned a lot about the proper way to re-pot plants. Hopefully, it will help my not-so-green thumb. We chatted with them for awhile until we couldn't stay awake any longer.


We took a hiking tour one day and walked from the town out to some of the villages, with terraced rice fields as far as the eye can see. The views were spectacular. Our guide, Lily, is from one of the hill-tribe villages and move to Sapa town to earn money. She learned to speak English in just a few years, and speaks really well, albeit with an Australian accent. She has never been to Australia, but she has picked up the accent from listening to other travelers. She is 20yrs old, but said in the village she is seen as "too old" and nobody will marry her. So, now she has to look for a city man. A couple of Hmong tribe women accompanied us on the hike. One had a baby strapped to her back, but she was light on her feet and zoomed down the steep roads way ahead of us at times. The other woman was much older, and made a point of making sure I made it down the mountain safely by leading me by the hand. She looked about 60-ish years old, and has 12 children. Five are still living at home. I guess that's why they have to marry young...to get started on the baby making!

After Sapa, we took the night train back to Hanoi. The next day was Tony's birthday, and we spent it on Halong Bay...or, Bay of the Descending Dragon. We did an overnight boat trip, and spent the night on the bay. It was a bit pricey, but the boat was gorgeous...dark wood & really nice furnishings throughout. We somehow ended up with the biggest cabin on the boat. It was almost the size of a hotel room, with a king size bed. The beauty of the bay is difficult to describe, and pictures just can't capture it. It is mystical & magnificent...an incredible feat of nature. Around 3,000 limestone islands rise from emerald waters. They were created over millions of years, when the movement of the earth's crust forced the limestone above the water line. Caverns & tunnel caves formed in some of the giant rocks.


We got a chance to kayak through one of these formations on the tour. It was comical at first because neither Tony or I had ever kayaked before. We looked clumsy in the water as we tried to figure out how to steer. After awhile it started to get frustrating trying to get coordinated and not flip they kayak over, but we powered through it. But, it was still fun cruising through floating fishing villages. The people who live in these villages live on the water year round. Even though their houses are surrounded by water, they still manage to have dogs. They spend their days lounging in front of their houses, while fish are being caught in nets that are set up underneath the houses. The second day of the tour we explored some amazing caves. There were 3 caves all connected, and they all had really interesting stalactite formations. The caves were really huge. You could easily fit several large houses inside of them. They were lit up with soft colorful mood lighting, making it a great date spot.


The food on the boat was wonderful, fresh seafood. I had the best calamari ever. It was perfectly cooked & tender. It seemed to melt away in my mouth. The crew surprised Tony (and me) with a birthday cake & bouquet of roses. They even had candles on the cake, and everyone sang happy birthday. It was a very nice touch. There were only 5 other people on the boat, so we had a very nice intimate group. Not surprisingly, the other 5 were all Australian. They were all very nice to spend time with. After Halong Bay we headed back to Hanoi, where we have to catch our bus to Hue.

But, I'll end this for now because it's time to pack up for the next town.
SAPA PICS
HALONG BAY PICS

Post by Dom:
Hanoi is a sharp contrast having just come from Laos. With a population of 3.5 million, you can easily imagine the mass of motorbikes that swarms through the streets... especially in the Old Quarter, where streets are narrow and sidewalks are used for parking lots, which forces people to walk in the streets alongside the motorbikes (whew, long sentence). Crossing the street is nuts, and really gets the heart pumping (see it here). The Old Quarter is street after street after street filled with shops selling everything from shoes, handbags, and giant stuffed pink elephants to car bumpers. You need it? They got it somewhere.

Eating has been a delicious adventure. Immediately after arriving at our hotel from the airport we needed to find some food...and fast because I was starting to get grumpy. It was already dark, and we didn't want to wander too far. Our hotel recommended a tourist-friendly restaurant (with tourist prices). But, we wanted something more authentic (meaning cheap). The local places usually only serve 1 or 2 items. Instead of having a name of a restaurant, they have a sign posted describing what they serve... pho bo (beef noodle soup), pho ga (chicken noodle soup)...you get the picture. We walked down the street and the first two pho places were full. We finally found a place with some sitting room, but we had no idea what they served because there was no sign...and no menu. But, there were a lot of locals in there (which is a good sign) and we were starving. So, we took the plunge and went inside. We sat at small plastic tables (low to the ground) in little plastic chairs (think back to finger painting in kindergarten). We sat there for a few minutes, not sure what to do. Then, the "cook" looked over at us and held up 2 fingers. We nodded, yes! We didn't know what we just ordered, but we were getting two of them. It turned out to be a yummy plate of thick, doughy rice noodles, with ground pork, mushrooms and loads of fried garlic slices on top. We also got a plate of fresh herbs, and a small bowl of a light broth for dipping the noodles in. We still don't know what the name of the dish was, but it was good! The total bill came to $2 (which included beer). Our risk-taking really paid off, and it was a lot of fun.

We had pho the next day on a street corner...literally. The tables & chairs (again small & plastic) were set up on a sidewalk corner. Sounds like a great way to avoid paying rent. We must have picked a good place because minutes after we sat down, the tables filled up with locals. We had the chicken (ga) version, and it was light & savoury. We think we were overcharged because we're foreigners. But, oh well...it was good and still cheap compared to Western style restaurants.


Our last day in Hanoi, we were craving Western food. For lunch, we found a place with surprisingly succulent BBQ ribs. I couldn't believe how good they were. I really wasn't expecting much, but they were finger lickin good...and messy (as they should be). We met up with Myra again for dinner (3rd time on this trip) at a bar that served really good cheeseburgers and $1 vodka drinks. But, the really fun part was "quiz night". Apparently, it's big in the UK. Teams answer questions ranging from history & religion to pop culture. We started a half hour late, but managed to end in 3rd place. Not bad, considering we had already consumed several vodka drinks before starting!

I'm hooked on the coffee, which is already rich & strong by itself, but sweet condensed milk is added to really push you over the edge. I usually have at least 1 a day (on ice). It's great fuel for walking everywhere, plus it tastes like coffee ice cream! Bia Hoi (local draft beer that comes straight from the keg) places are everywhere, and I believe it is the cheapest beer in the world. It's a place where the men go to unwind, and usually nothing but Bia Hoi is served (except for maybe some peanuts to go along with the beer). But, Tony has been enjoying sampling all of the other beers too...basically, any beer he comes across that he has never tried before.

Ok, back to Hanoi...interesting city. Some very modern parts, mixed in with enough of the old Hanoi to get the feeling of what life was like hundreds of years ago. We took in some culture by visiting some of the sights & catching a water puppet show (it's cooler than it sounds). We caught up on a couple of movies (Horton hears a Who, and Narnia 2) at a modern multi-screen cinema where you get to pick your seats! School is out for the summer, so it was more crowded than we expected. The locals tend to hold conversations & talk on the cell phone during the movie. But, I was able to tune them out since I didn't understand a word they were saying. Hanoi was a home-base for us, after heading way up north to Sapa and then back down again to Halong Bay. But, I'll save those for the next post.

Oh, I have to give an update on Tony's stolen flip-flops. He spotted the thief at the airport in Laos. He was on our flight to Hanoi! Can you believe that!? The guy was sitting with a group of his friends (about 6 or 7 in total) at our gate. Tony waited patiently for the guy to get up, so he could get a closer look. Eventually, the guy got up to use the bathroom and Tony seized the moment and asked where he got the flip-flops. The guy said he got them in England, but Tony knew they were his because they had nicks & scratches in the same places. Tony explained his were stolen just the night before, and they looked exactly the same. Coincidence? I think not. But, Tony couldn't prove it, so he graciously let the guy walk off. I don't believe in coincidence, so I think we were meant to run into him. Maybe he will think twice before stealing someones stuff. But, then again maybe not. Either way, karma stepped in when we landed in Hanoi. After Tony & I got through immigration, we looked behind us and the guy & his whole group of friends were detained for some reason. Visa problems maybe? Whatever the reason, it was funny to watch them being escorted back through the airport.

My tummy is growling, and I'm feeling light headed. Time for lunch! *d
HANOI PICS

Post by Dom:
UNESCO Heritage listed Luang Prabang is hands down our favorite stop in Laos. It is a darling little town with red brick sidewalks & outdoor riverside restaurants. If the wind is just right, a flowery perfume from the frangipani trees fills the air. Monks can be seen at the wats going about their daily routine...washing robes, studying or reading. The streets are quiet, adding to the peace & tranquility of this town. We love it here.

It took a 7hr bus ride, winding through mountainous terrain, but it was worth it. Our bus struggled to make the journey. At one point I thought we were all going to have to get off and push it uphill. But, the little engine that could finally made it to Luang Prabang just in time for dinner. Our guest house is right next to the Mekong river. We have a balcony outside our room, where breakfast is served every morning. It's so nice to be able to stumble out of bed and have breakfast overlooking the river, while still in my PJs.

The main street in town is cute...dotted with shops, restaurants & bars. An outdoor market sets up at the end of the street every evening selling handicrafts, artwork, clothes, baguettes and even whole roasted pig's heads. It's a good thing too, because you never know when the urge for roasted pig head will strike. We have had some really good food here. The Luang Prabang style chicken stew, with lemon grass & Mekong seaweed is quite tasty. We're nowhere near being vegetarians, but we found a tasty veggie buffet for only $0.50. We get our meat fix during the day, then hit the veggie buffet for dinner. There are also many French bakeries, and I've made it my mission to try something from each one. So far, our favorite is the the apple pudding cake.

We're coming to the end of our 1 week stay here. We have been taking our time, seeing & doing things at a slow pace. It's been great & very relaxing. our first day was spent visiting a beautiful wat in classic Luang Prabang style with roofs that slope low to the ground. All of the buildings on the grounds are very colorful, with mosaics on the outside walls. We wandered around, in no hurry. It's nice not having any sort of schedule. After that stressful trip to the wat, we decided we needed to unwind with a massage. We went to a spa and got 1-hour body massages for $5. We try to get at least one in every country we go to. I enjoyed my massage, but Tony was a bit unnerved by the 15yr old transvestite who kept staring at him. He seemed innocent enough... wearing girls clothes (little skirt & tight shirt), tons of makeup, huge feet that spilled over the sides of his flip-flops, and a ponytail on the very top of his head. But, he had a big welcoming smile. He wasn't the masseuse (thank God). He just worked there, but for some reason he decided to watch as we got our massages. Every time Tony opened his eyes, he would see the boy staring at him with a huge grin on his face. I think he had a crush on Tony. Who can blame him?

After that experience, we stopped at a restaurant and had a much needed pitcher of sangria. It was loaded with fruit, and very refreshing. We finished it rather quickly, and went on our way feeling pretty good. Walking down the main street we bumped into Gemma & Darren (who we met in Si Phan Don). They were just sitting down to dinner, so we joined them for more drinks. They just finished the "Gibbon Experience". They camped out in a tree house high up over the canopy of trees. They had to zip-line everywhere in order to get from place to place. It sounded like an amazing time. We hung out with them drinking all night...or a least until 11:30 when everything has to shut down (by law). We literally shut the place down. We were the only people left on the entire street. The cops come out at 11:30 and make sure the restaurants/bars close. We decided to leave before getting the official boot.

We spent a day at Kuang Si waterfall. It is a multi-tiered waterfall that has pools of turquoise water at the foot of each fall. Some of the pools are designated for swimming. At the entrance gate of the falls is a sanctuary for Asiatic bears. They're so funny because they move around pretty slowly. Even when they're playing, it's like they're in slow motion. They're endangered, so it was cool to see them. The highlight of the day was getting to jump into one of the pools of crisp, cool water after hiking around the falls. Fantastic! But, the low point of the day was when I dropped my camera into a mini-pool of water. Kerplunk! It was completely submerged for about a second. I was soooo annoyed at myself. I'm such a klutz. After Tony & I frantically dried it off, we tested it to, but no luck. I really should not be allowed to own anything expensive. We let it dry out over night, and miraculously it worked the next morning. Canon rocks!!


Oh, almost forgot to tell the story of Tony's flip-flops getting stolen! We had heard stories of it happening, and have seen evidence of it (bare feet walking down the street). But, I guess we never thought it would happen to us. We were at an internet cafe, and it's customary at most places to take your shoes off before entering. A pile of dusty flip-flops usually crowds the entrance. We kicked ours off as usual and went inside. We were in there a little over an hour. We were in disbelief when we were ready to leave and Tony's flip-flops were nowhere in sight. We searched all over, even though we knew they would not be found. I walked up & down the main street trying to find the culprit, to no avail. So, Tony had to walk back to the hotel sans flip-flops. He was a pretty good sport about it, and said if that was the only thing to get stolen on this trip, then we would be lucky. I still couldn't believe it. It was likely another traveler who committed the crime. Honestly...who does that? I don't think it was a case of mistaken identity either, because of all the flip-flops that were left, there wasn't another pair that resembled Tony's. I don't know why, but I had a funny feeling karma would take over and we would somehow find them again.

We've been spending our evenings battling at Uno, while drinking Beerlao. Things couldn't be more mellow...just the way we like it. We've had the nicest weather this past week. After 1 week in Luang Prabang, we're starting to get into a groove. But, we leave Laos behind tomorrow and head to Vietnam. I'm really going to miss the relaxed atmosphere here. I'm excited for Vietnam, but I'm bracing myself for the more hectic pace of Hanoi. We have fallen in love with this country. I hope to make it back here again one day. *d
Luang Prabang Pics

Post by Dom:
This is going to be a short one because we only spent 1.5 days in Vang Vieng...which was enough. It's a teeny tiny town with spectacular limestone mountains that stretch along the river. There isn't much in the town itself, but a bunch of small restaurants & guest houses...most of which play Friends re-runs.

Our room was plain & not very interesting, but it did have a little balcony with an awesome view of the river and the mountains beyond. It was great for hanging out, drinking Beerlao. A small island directly across the river from us (called "the island"...how original) has nothing but bars that play old-school 90's techno all night. Luckily, our A/C drowned out most of the noise.

The main reason travelers come to Vang Vieng is to go tubing down the river (that's the only reason we stopped there too). I'm glad we did. The day started off raining...cloudy & gray. But, by the time we got our act together to go tubing the sky cleared up and the sun made an appearance. Our tuk-tuk dropped us off a couple miles up river. We set our inner-tubes into the river, and were only floating down for about two minutes before we hit the first bar...as in liquor, not sand bar. It was hard to pass up because there was already a large group of people hanging out, beckoning us to join in the fun. Of course, we stopped. We got a couple Beerlaos and laid out on the deck, soaking up the sun. A platform was set up high in a tree for swinging off, and jumping into the river. It looked REALLY high up (too high for the wussy in me) so I didn't jump, but Tony did.

After we tired of that bar, we got back in the water. We lazily drifted down the river, enjoying the blue sky (for the first time in days), fluffy white clouds and the scenic mountains. I don't care if it's the 'touristy' thing to do. It was gorgeous...and a lot of damn fun! We stopped at just one other bar and had lao lao cocktails. They were pretty strong, so we decided that would be the last bar for us. We heard that some people have drowned on the river, so we didn't want to be idiots. I'm surprised more people haven't drowned. Some...no, A LOT of people came back from the river looking pretty tore up...stumbling over their feet, missing flip-flops, missing clothes in some cases. We decided that was not going to be us.

Just about everyone else got stuck at that first bar, so we had the river to ourselves. Not a single tube to be seen behind us, or in front of us. It was very quiet & peaceful. We were really having a moment. Time seemed to stand still. It was...perfect. It took a couple hours to get back down the river. But, it was great timing because I was getting hungry! *d
Vang Vieng Pics

Post by Tony:
Our "sleeper" bus took off at around 8:30pm from Pakse for Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Inside the bus was a long line of bunk-beds on either side of the isle. In the picture that we were shown when purchasing our tickets they looked like they were going to be double size beds for all. Not so. We quickly come to the realization that it's more like a twin per 2 people. Good thing for Dom and I that we had each other to bunk with and are both as close to Lao-sized that an American can get. Otherwise we would have ended up having to squeeze into a twin sized bunk with a complete stranger for upwards of 10 hours. The space seemed just right for Dom, like they had a 5'1" Chamorro in mind when designing the bus. She even had extra wiggle room for her feet. I had a little trouble fitting, but not so much that it was going to prevent me from catching some "Z's". This was not the case for two dudes across the isle from us though. They were were at least 6'2" each and had to share the same size space that Dom and I did. One of them had to resort to hanging the majority of his body over the bed rail out into the isle. Poor guys... The worst of it was that in the bed directly underneath them was a local that was a little smaller than Dom laying spread eagle across the bed, happy as bees knees. Horribly ironic. As soon as we took off the karaoke started blaring. It's fascinating how no matter where we seem to be in South East Asia, the locals seem to love karaoke with a fierce dedication. Every once in a while I'll find myself humming along with a song that I've heard 4-5 times since we've crossed into whatever country we happen to be in at the time. Other times I find that I start to hum a tune that sounds somehow familiar, only to come to the conclusion that it's a local remake of a classic from the Beatles or Hendrix. It seems great music does indeed transcend language and culture. Eventually they ran out of karaoke DVD's to watch and we were able to get some shut-eye. We slept fairly well, at least as comfortable as one can while hurling down a bumpy highway in a lightning storm on a bus that had the thermostat set at "Sub-Arctic". Thank Buddha for Ambien.

Once we arrived in Vientiane it was like making it back to your very own personal little home town after years and years of being away. There was nothing but smiles and love for us and every time we turned around there was something tasty to eat. This area is well known for it's coffee plantations and it shows when we walk into a cafe anywhere in town. They are also well known for having a large French influence left over from being a "protectorate". Bistros and Patisseries are sporadic along the city streets and we made sure to investigate the quality of a few of them in depth. We had a night of uncommon splurging and went to a small French restaurant one night. It was extremely tasty and the fact that we had the whole place to ourselves (save for one old French guy that we suspected was an owner) made the evening all that more romantic. I had salmon-stuffed ravioli in a cream sauce and Dom had pasta with spicy sausage. We sipped the house white wine and peered out the front window at the city going by in the misty rain. For dessert we had something called Rhum Babba (not sure about the spelling of that). It was a small bundt cake about the size of a tea cup soaked in rum sauce, and topped with whipped cream and a few cherries. It was cavity inducing goodness. The next day we were also able to check out this Australian place near the Mekong River. I had "bangers and mash" for the first time! It's basically a super tasty sausage on top of a huge mound of mashed potatoes with onion gravy drizzled over the entire thing. Perfect beer food! Speaking of beer food, there's also beer gardens that set up on the riverfront each night but we didn't get a chance to check that out because of the rain. It's still raining sheets of sideways rain pretty much every evening like clockwork, which is when the beer gardens get going. Hopefully we'll get the chance to go when we come back through here on the way out of the country.

This capital is by far the most laid back of those that we have visited up to this point. The feeling on the streets is lax and less pushy than others that we have been to. There are still tuk-tuk drivers on each corner asking if you need a ride here and there, but instead of screaming at you from across the street they simply say "Hello?" as you walk by. You have a choice of just nodding a "good day" or if you are in the market for a tuk-tuk the negotiations are primed to start from there. None of them get out of the vehicle and shadow you for 10 feet as you pass by asking where you're from and where you're going... they're far too busy trying to relax in the back of the tuk-tuk for that, which suited me just fine. Most of the things that are worth checking out in the city are within walking or biking distance.

We were able to rent a couple of beach cruisers for a few days and explored the portions of the city that were too far to walk to. See Dom's sweet 'Hello Kitty' bike below. We went to see a Wat that is right in the middle of the city. Inside and all around the main building there were what seemed like a million Buddha images in little cubbyholes in the walls. I think the official count is somewhere just North of 10,000. We also went to a golden stupa that was supposed to have originally housed a "breast bone" of Buddha himself. I'm not sure that it's still there though... it's been rebuilt a few times since the Siamese destroyed it way back when. The French decided to rebuild it at the turn of the 18th century and then re-did it later because (according to the pamphlet we received) no one liked it. We also checked out Vientiane's version of the Arc de Triomphe. Unlike the one in France, it's not a pathway for cars, so you can walk and ride a bike through it and take all the pics you want from directly underneath/beside it.
Just about the only thing that we didn't get to do while here was rent a Vespa like Dom wanted. She's actually been toying with the idea of getting one when we get back to the states (one with classic styling). All the scooters out here have given her an itch to have the same petite (fuel efficient) means of transportation I suppose. We just so happened to find a French-owned general store that rents Vespas as well as huge (well, huge by SE Asian standards) motorcycles that are sort of Harley Davidson-ish... only Hondas. We continue heading North to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang next.

Vang Vieng is a small town with a little river that runs through it... and TUBING!!! I'm excited for that being that I haven't been tubing since I was a kid (in New Braunfels, TX). Luang Prabang is considered by many to be the most beautiful city in SE Asia and we're both excited to explore a place with such a large reputation preceding it. Hope everyone is doing well! We miss you all! -t
Vientiane Pics

Post by: Dom
If heaven on earth exists, then it's in Laos. We arrived just 3 days ago, and I'm already in love with the place. It doesn't matter that the rainy season has begun (early). I don't mind it so much. It helps keep the sweltering heat at bay. But, let me backtrack a bit.

We left Cambodia in a van crammed with 17 adults & 2 children, packed like a can of sardines. The A/C didn't work, so the windows were open. It was great until it started raining, which wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't in the very back of the van. The guy sitting in front of me sensed that I was getting the brunt of the rain, so he graciously shut the window. We got to the town of Stung Treng, where we had to wait for 2 hours before hopping on board another van. This one was luxurious compared to the previous one. There were fewer passengers and glorious A/C. We got to the Cambodia/Laos border and crossing over was surprisingly uneventful. We were prepared for the worst, as we heard that shifty border officials can make things difficult. But, the only thing we had to deal with was paying a $1 "processing fee" on each side of the border. This fee is complete B.S. and the officials pocket the money. But, the $2 total was well worth avoiding a confrontation with the local "mafia".

After yet another van and a small boat, we eventually arrived at Si Phan Don (which means four thousand islands). It's where the Mekong River fans out to form a network of channels, sand bars, rocks and small islands. We stayed in Don Khong...the largest of the islands. We spent the first evening having dinner with Gemma & Darren...a couple from the UK that we met while on our border-crossing adventure. They are hilarious and are coming towards the end of a 1 year trip.

We rented bicycles the next day, and had the loveliest ride around the island. We were greeted by smiling Laotian children, waving excitedly as we passed. They had the biggest smiles I had ever seen. Laos isn't called the "land of a million smiles" for nothing, and we saw evidence of that right away. We rode through lots of rice fields, rolling hills and tiny villages with the occasional herd of cows, water buffalo, goats, chickens or ducks blocking the road. There are hardly any cars or motorbikes, so we could ride around freely without much worry of getting run over. Later that night we had dinner with Gemma & Darren again, and swapped travel stories over drinks. Beerlao is happiness in a bottle. It is by far the best $1 beer around. Tony is loving it. There is also a local rice whiskey called lao lao. After dinner I was too full for beer, so I opted for lao lao mojitos. They're cheap, and man do they get you goin!

Our last day in Si Phan Don was spent doing a boat tour around the islands. Nobody else signed up for the tour, so Tony & I had the boat all to ourselves. We were a bit nervous at first, because our boat operator made us wait while he emptied excess water from the boat with a giant scooper...not a good sign. But, we figured it was just rain water that collected from the night before (or so we hoped). We attempted to see the endangered Irrawady river dolphins. The boat dumped us off on a small rock (already occupied by 10 other people) in the middle of the river. We sat there for an hour, all clinging to the rock...waiting to see a brief glimpse of a dolphin as it surfaced for air. But, apparently they weren't up for visitors because we didn't see a darn thing. Once in awhile a fish would jump out of the water and everyone would get excited. But, then we realized it was just a fish and excitement turned to disappointment. I guess we just had bad timing. At least we got a nice boat ride out of it. I was happy just sitting on the rock taking in the scenery. When my butt was sore & numb from sitting there for so long, it was time to leave.

We stopped at a couple water falls afterwards and they were both breathtaking. At around 3:00 it was time to head back up the river to our guest house. It took us 3 hours to travel 16 miles. We had to pull over twice so our boat guy could fix the boat. We were starting to wonder if a rescue mission was going to be required. But, the boat finally appeared to be in working order after the 2nd try. Just after sunset along the river banks, locals came out to bathe & fish for their evening meal (not at the same time).

After Si Phan Don we headed north to Pakse. It's a small city, but there are obvious differences from Cambodia. First of all, the streets are not accented with trash. Traffic is very light, and the pace of life is unhurried. We just returned from having a wonderful dinner of Indian fare. It was easily some of the tastiest (and cheapest) Indian food I've had. Tony kept saying "damn, this is good" every 5 seconds. Overall, we've been very pleased with the food in Laos. The local dishes are very similar to Thai food (which I love, and was starting to miss). Baguettes are ubiquitous ...a reminder of the country's French past. They're always served warm & toasty, and they make wonderful garlic bread. I can already tell that I'm going to get fat here. The coffee is the best we've had since starting our travels. It's rich in flavor and packs a mean punch. But, Vietnam is coming up soon, and I'm looking forward to the coffee there.

While in Pakse, we rented a motorbike and rode out to the Bolaven Plateau. It is a beautiful highland of forests, waterfalls, rivers and coffee plantations. We stopped at two waterfalls. The 2nd of them (Tad Yuang) blew me away. The entrance is at the top of the falls, where the river disappears over the edge of a cliff. A set of very steep steps carved into the rock took us down to the bottom of the falls. That's where the magic happens. The landscape down there is the greenest, lushest I've ever seen. The power of the falls (two of them, side by side) came crashing down, producing a constant fog-like mist. It is spectacular...and moving. Nature's artwork at it's finest. We stood there for awhile, staring in awe at the falls and it's surroundings...soaking it all in. Eventually, we started to get very wet from the mist and I didn't have a waterproof case for my camera. So, sadly we had to leave. But, we could have stayed there all day. If we ever go back there again I'm bringing a swim suit and a waterproof camera!

Next up is the capital of Vientiane. So far, Laos has made a great first impression on us. *d
Si Phan Don Pics
Pakse Pics