Sorry for the gap in posts, folks. I'm sure you have been sittring on the edge of your seats waiting for the next update :)
So, we left Pai and made the long trek down to the beaches! Finally! It was certainly time to stop moving and just chill. We have been lazily enjoying the sun (and sunburns), massages, fruity cocktails, 10-12-hour nights sleeps, and our super sweet hotel.
We're staying at the Dolphin on Ko Pha Ngan. It is kind of unlike any other place on the beach or, for that matter, any beach i have been to. From the outside it looks normal, but as soon as youy walk through the boundary, you enter a jungle paradise filled with extraordinarily comfortable cabanas, soothing lounge music (almost always great tunes), and the best, freshest food around.
Well, enough internetting for now. Must get back to doing nothing.
[rk]
P.S. Just finished the final Harry Potter!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Elephant hairs are prickly
Today we did a full day tour with Thom's elephant camp here in Pai. We spent the morning on a lovely bamboo raft cruise. And by lovely, I mean pretty pointless. If you ever come here, don't do the bamboo rafting trip.
But, the afternoon was rescued by our incredible elephant ride. Our guide was named john, as in Johnny Walker. But, not Jack Daniel's? Not cool... I'm not sure if he was refusing to tell us his real name or if it was just that he didn't speak a lick of English.
The weather was absurd. It actually was borderline torrential downpour. The rain was moving sideways at some points. Thankfully, our guide was using a broken umbrella to help "instruct" the elephant.
We were obviously concerned about and on the watch for animal cruelty. But, i didn't think it was bad. They did have sharp sticks to reinforce commands, but it looks more like a poker than a knife. No broken skin. And, I bet taking us for a ride is a lot easier than logging all day, which is what the elephants would be doing otherwise.
So, as you might expect, riding an elephant bareback is about as comfortable as sticking a giant bone up your butt, which is actually how it kind of works. Not to mention the rashes we got on our legs from his rough skin. I'm in serious need of a Thai Butt Massage... Thankfully they are on every corner.
Our intrepid team consisted of 2 germans, 2 texans, 2 scotts, 2 danes, 5 elephants, 5 guides, and us. We began our journey on a trail through the jungle. Well, it was at least a bit on the jungally side. Our elephant was pretty hungry, as they supposedly eat around 300 kilos a day. This meant that he would wander off the trail almost every 5 minutes to eat again, despite the nervous cries from our guide, who was sitting on his head.
Johnny was pretty great. He only freaked out and grabbed us to make sure we wouldn't fall
a couple times. The rest of the time, he sang lullabies to the elephant and tapped the melody on his giant skull.
We also learned a lot on our trip. For example, when a nearby elephant let loose a flood gate of pee, Johnny gleefully pointed and shouted "Change Beer!" which is a local brew that provides massive developing world headaches. I had wondered where it came from...
After a couple pretty scary traverses up and down steep ravines, my butt turned numb and the pain subsided. We then arrived at a river.
What happened next was amazingly fun. Our elephants slowly walked into the river and then bucked us each violently into the water. We commenced "swimming with the elephants." The elephants suddenly seemed like cuddly playthings that we could easily climb all over. You could sit on his neck while he bucked like in a rodeo. Or hold onto his face and tail, which he would lift up and launch you 10 yards. It was actually pretty awesome. Don't worry, we got it all on video and will post the youtube link as soon as we get back.
[rk]
But, the afternoon was rescued by our incredible elephant ride. Our guide was named john, as in Johnny Walker. But, not Jack Daniel's? Not cool... I'm not sure if he was refusing to tell us his real name or if it was just that he didn't speak a lick of English.
The weather was absurd. It actually was borderline torrential downpour. The rain was moving sideways at some points. Thankfully, our guide was using a broken umbrella to help "instruct" the elephant.
We were obviously concerned about and on the watch for animal cruelty. But, i didn't think it was bad. They did have sharp sticks to reinforce commands, but it looks more like a poker than a knife. No broken skin. And, I bet taking us for a ride is a lot easier than logging all day, which is what the elephants would be doing otherwise.
So, as you might expect, riding an elephant bareback is about as comfortable as sticking a giant bone up your butt, which is actually how it kind of works. Not to mention the rashes we got on our legs from his rough skin. I'm in serious need of a Thai Butt Massage... Thankfully they are on every corner.
Our intrepid team consisted of 2 germans, 2 texans, 2 scotts, 2 danes, 5 elephants, 5 guides, and us. We began our journey on a trail through the jungle. Well, it was at least a bit on the jungally side. Our elephant was pretty hungry, as they supposedly eat around 300 kilos a day. This meant that he would wander off the trail almost every 5 minutes to eat again, despite the nervous cries from our guide, who was sitting on his head.
Johnny was pretty great. He only freaked out and grabbed us to make sure we wouldn't fall
a couple times. The rest of the time, he sang lullabies to the elephant and tapped the melody on his giant skull.
We also learned a lot on our trip. For example, when a nearby elephant let loose a flood gate of pee, Johnny gleefully pointed and shouted "Change Beer!" which is a local brew that provides massive developing world headaches. I had wondered where it came from...
After a couple pretty scary traverses up and down steep ravines, my butt turned numb and the pain subsided. We then arrived at a river.
What happened next was amazingly fun. Our elephants slowly walked into the river and then bucked us each violently into the water. We commenced "swimming with the elephants." The elephants suddenly seemed like cuddly playthings that we could easily climb all over. You could sit on his neck while he bucked like in a rodeo. Or hold onto his face and tail, which he would lift up and launch you 10 yards. It was actually pretty awesome. Don't worry, we got it all on video and will post the youtube link as soon as we get back.
[rk]
Monday, July 23, 2007
Pai in the Sky
Holy crap that was a shitty trip. We arrived in Pai after a bus load of puking jews. I guess Jill rote about that in her last post...
Pai is a total hippie commune in the middle of nowhere thailand. It is actually pretty great. A beautiful mountain village at the intersection of burma, thailand and china. But, it took us a bit to get settled. Let me start at the beginning...
Back in Chiang Mai, after our super awesome cooking class, we asked our "teacher" about recommendations for a place to stay in Pai. She said she would take us to a friend on the way back tour hotel who would help us out, who knows about Pai. "Sweet," we said. Of course, that was our first mistake.
She took us straight to yet another travel agency. Her travel agent friend (named Meow, "like a cat") suggested a place called Muang Pai. This was actually the second time we heard about this place, as our hotel lady had also suggested it. "Hmm," we thought. "Since it has been suggested twice maybe it's really good. That was our second mistake.
So, it was bound to happen. But, we got suckered. We got pressured into it since our friend the cook had taken us there. It didn't occur to us at the time that maybe this place gets suggested so much because it gives the biggest commissions, not because it is actually good.
A few minutes before the bus came to pick us up at our hotel, i asked the receptionist how we can get to Muang Pai from the bus station. "You need to rent a motorbike," she says. So, i guess it's not walking distance form town. But, at least I get to rent a motorbike, right?
When we finally arrive after our arduous journey, we rented a bike (which was pretty sweet) and took off to the hotel. It was about 10 kilometers from town! Not too bad, except it was in the middle of nowhere. Our room was probably one of the worst we have seen.
Jill has a paranoid habit of checking under the pillow every night for bugs. We laid down to take a nap and there acutaly was a big spider! I couldn't believe it.
So, what to do? We are stuck in this resort. The only other people staying here are a group of oversized german tourists (farangs in Thai). If we bike to town for dinner, I can't drink. And, I'm not super psyched about driving back in the dark, sober or not.
My crack MBA training kicked in: This hotel is a sunk cost. We puked our way over a mountain to get here and we're not going to let this mistake ruin our visit to a cool place.
We lo0oked online for some alternatives and called up the Blue Lagoon. They said they'd hold a room for us. So, we got on our bike and rescued our crappy day from turning into a crappy evening.
Pai is a total hippie commune in the middle of nowhere thailand. It is actually pretty great. A beautiful mountain village at the intersection of burma, thailand and china. But, it took us a bit to get settled. Let me start at the beginning...
Back in Chiang Mai, after our super awesome cooking class, we asked our "teacher" about recommendations for a place to stay in Pai. She said she would take us to a friend on the way back tour hotel who would help us out, who knows about Pai. "Sweet," we said. Of course, that was our first mistake.
She took us straight to yet another travel agency. Her travel agent friend (named Meow, "like a cat") suggested a place called Muang Pai. This was actually the second time we heard about this place, as our hotel lady had also suggested it. "Hmm," we thought. "Since it has been suggested twice maybe it's really good. That was our second mistake.
So, it was bound to happen. But, we got suckered. We got pressured into it since our friend the cook had taken us there. It didn't occur to us at the time that maybe this place gets suggested so much because it gives the biggest commissions, not because it is actually good.
A few minutes before the bus came to pick us up at our hotel, i asked the receptionist how we can get to Muang Pai from the bus station. "You need to rent a motorbike," she says. So, i guess it's not walking distance form town. But, at least I get to rent a motorbike, right?
When we finally arrive after our arduous journey, we rented a bike (which was pretty sweet) and took off to the hotel. It was about 10 kilometers from town! Not too bad, except it was in the middle of nowhere. Our room was probably one of the worst we have seen.
Jill has a paranoid habit of checking under the pillow every night for bugs. We laid down to take a nap and there acutaly was a big spider! I couldn't believe it.
So, what to do? We are stuck in this resort. The only other people staying here are a group of oversized german tourists (farangs in Thai). If we bike to town for dinner, I can't drink. And, I'm not super psyched about driving back in the dark, sober or not.
My crack MBA training kicked in: This hotel is a sunk cost. We puked our way over a mountain to get here and we're not going to let this mistake ruin our visit to a cool place.
We lo0oked online for some alternatives and called up the Blue Lagoon. They said they'd hold a room for us. So, we got on our bike and rescued our crappy day from turning into a crappy evening.
The pulsating wrist band finally met its match
About 1 hour into our trip on the windy-est, longest road ever, I was feeling great--my nausea "relief band" cranked up all the way to 5, hair blowing in the air con, enjoying the beautiful scenery as we made our way from Chiang Mai north to the mountain town of Pai. I was feeling so confident that I turned to Rob from the front seat and said "I can't wait to write a blog entitled 'someone puked on the bus and it wasn't me.'"
Well, I spoke too soon. The road was beautiful, but a carsick sufferer's worst nightmare. Soon I joined the yacking Israeli guy--who I incidentally gave both of my reserved airplane barf bags to, further demonstrating my confidence--as our fellow travelers watched us puke in tandem on the side of the beautiful (and deadly) mountain road. I guess even the best technological advancement ever (or so I thought) has its limitations.
[jg]
Well, I spoke too soon. The road was beautiful, but a carsick sufferer's worst nightmare. Soon I joined the yacking Israeli guy--who I incidentally gave both of my reserved airplane barf bags to, further demonstrating my confidence--as our fellow travelers watched us puke in tandem on the side of the beautiful (and deadly) mountain road. I guess even the best technological advancement ever (or so I thought) has its limitations.
[jg]
Cooking up a storm
We took a pretty sweet cooking class in Vietnam, but it was nothing compared to our class in Thailand!
The Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School is the premier course, according to lonely planet. But, we booked a class with "Home Style," started by some former Cookery teachers. Apparently there was a big falling out and 4 of the chefs from the cookery school quit. One of them started up this school. For less money, we got a private class and we chose the 6-course menu! We cooked up pad thai, green curry, tom ka gai soup, spring rolls, vegetable stir fry and coconut-banana desert. Our only mistake was eating breakfast!
Afterwards, we went to the Sunday Walking Market. This was simply amazing. So much better than the standard Night Bazaar. If you ever go to Chiang Mai, make sure it is on a sunday. This market went on for miles and it was significantly less touristy. Lots of locals (we even saw some thai drag queens!). And, we got to buy lots more crap for me to carry.
[rk]
The Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School is the premier course, according to lonely planet. But, we booked a class with "Home Style," started by some former Cookery teachers. Apparently there was a big falling out and 4 of the chefs from the cookery school quit. One of them started up this school. For less money, we got a private class and we chose the 6-course menu! We cooked up pad thai, green curry, tom ka gai soup, spring rolls, vegetable stir fry and coconut-banana desert. Our only mistake was eating breakfast!
Afterwards, we went to the Sunday Walking Market. This was simply amazing. So much better than the standard Night Bazaar. If you ever go to Chiang Mai, make sure it is on a sunday. This market went on for miles and it was significantly less touristy. Lots of locals (we even saw some thai drag queens!). And, we got to buy lots more crap for me to carry.
[rk]
First stop in Thailand - Chiang Mai
We left Katie and Mike in Saigon and flew to Chiang Mai, a pretty big town in Northern Thailand that makes its mark with thai massages, night markets, and treks to remote villages out of town. We arrived in the early evening, checked into our clean and friendly guest house, and headed out to dinner for our first (of many) dinner that featured the country's signature pad thai (my favorite!). To Rob's delight, there was a huge Finlandia sign outside of the restaurant, which made our experience that much richer--at least for one of us:)
The next morning we set out for what would turn out to be a luxurious day. We decided to skip the trekking to villages because everything we read talked about disrupting traditional lifestyles and elephant reserves and "shows" where elephants do tricks and stuff - def not our speed. Instead, we had a $40 lunch (very expensive by Thai standards) in this chic, 21c-esque hotel (that's a hotel in the 'ville that you'll have to stay in if you visit and we're still homeless) called D2. Anyway, the food was AMAZING! Spicy papaya salad, green curry chicken, a thai bbq wrap (case, you would have loved it!) - and, the piece de resistance - a warm capaccino ice cream drink with chocolate chip cookie, just devine. After our decadent meal, we headed upstairs to the 3rd floor of D2 where we treated ourselves to maybe the best massages ever.
Funny that in a town where everything's supposed to be dirt cheap, Rob and I are the farangs (thai for foreigners) that pick the most expensive joint in town to get pampered. What can I say, we have good taste.
[jg]
The next morning we set out for what would turn out to be a luxurious day. We decided to skip the trekking to villages because everything we read talked about disrupting traditional lifestyles and elephant reserves and "shows" where elephants do tricks and stuff - def not our speed. Instead, we had a $40 lunch (very expensive by Thai standards) in this chic, 21c-esque hotel (that's a hotel in the 'ville that you'll have to stay in if you visit and we're still homeless) called D2. Anyway, the food was AMAZING! Spicy papaya salad, green curry chicken, a thai bbq wrap (case, you would have loved it!) - and, the piece de resistance - a warm capaccino ice cream drink with chocolate chip cookie, just devine. After our decadent meal, we headed upstairs to the 3rd floor of D2 where we treated ourselves to maybe the best massages ever.
Funny that in a town where everything's supposed to be dirt cheap, Rob and I are the farangs (thai for foreigners) that pick the most expensive joint in town to get pampered. What can I say, we have good taste.
[jg]
Friday, July 20, 2007
Hcmc or saigon?
In case you are curious, here's the deal with the name of the city.
When the US finally withdrew from Vietnam and the north declared victory, they renamed Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City. Almost all southerners still call it Saigon, while northerners and government officials call it HCMC.
[Rk]
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Mekong Delta
We booked a 2day tour of the mekong delta. It was pretty awesome (as it fueled apocolypse now fantasies), but really didn't rank that high compared to the rest of our trip.
Our tour guide (from handspan, a company that mike/katie used for halong bay) was an ethnic minority from the da lat area. His english was pretty good at first but deteriorated over time as we got more detailed. The good part was that nobody else booked for our day so we basically had a private tour.
We saw floating markets (wholesale and retail) and a tree nursary where we drank rice wine with a confuscious-looking 87yo man! We spent the night in can tho, the largest city in the delta, and ate at a touristy place by the river.
Our waitress (a cute girl who goes by 'But', was the first person who spent time teaching us vietnamese. She wrote down phrases and helped us with pronounciation. For example: to thank her for bringing the meal, we say "come on, but". Ironic since we were leaving vietnam in a day!
The next day was a bit better as we tooled around on a smaller boat driven by a 14yo boy. We saw cooler markets and went down a canal. We got off the boat and walked around the village, interacting with locals.
By 11am we were back on our bus to saigon.
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Our tour guide (from handspan, a company that mike/katie used for halong bay) was an ethnic minority from the da lat area. His english was pretty good at first but deteriorated over time as we got more detailed. The good part was that nobody else booked for our day so we basically had a private tour.
We saw floating markets (wholesale and retail) and a tree nursary where we drank rice wine with a confuscious-looking 87yo man! We spent the night in can tho, the largest city in the delta, and ate at a touristy place by the river.
Our waitress (a cute girl who goes by 'But', was the first person who spent time teaching us vietnamese. She wrote down phrases and helped us with pronounciation. For example: to thank her for bringing the meal, we say "come on, but". Ironic since we were leaving vietnam in a day!
The next day was a bit better as we tooled around on a smaller boat driven by a 14yo boy. We saw cooler markets and went down a canal. We got off the boat and walked around the village, interacting with locals.
By 11am we were back on our bus to saigon.
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Mr. Tien - The Painter
We forgot to write about our painter friend in Hoi An...
Rob and I had been looking far and wide for a painting from Vietnam as a welcome gift to us for our new home in KY (when we find one, that is). We walked from art gallery to art gallery, each one with the same rote paintings of the mona lisa (strange) and vietnamese families in rice paddies donned in cone shaped hats working the land. They were nice, but really nothing special, and we wanted special. And then we happened upon Hoang Trong Tien. Actually, Mr. Tien's gallery was the first stop on our art gallery tour, and we saw a painting of a tree under a color-rich sunset that we really liked. But when we asked the price, we were told USD$200. We decided to keep looking.
On our last day in Hoi An, tired from wandering from gallery to gallery in the beating sun, we couldn't help but still remember Mr. Tien and the sunset painting with the tree. Something about it got us, and something about the artist felt meaningful to us. We returned to Mr. Tien's shop to find his little girls having lunch. They asked if they should phone their father--he likes to do his work in another quieter gallery space in town--and after brief hesitation, we said yes.
When Mr. Tien arrived, sweaty from his several kilometer bike ride to meet us, we told him we still very much liked the painting, but that $200 was a bit steep for us. He then told us we could name our price. He said he prefers to sell artwork to people that he knows it means a lot to, that he'd rather sell his work at a lower price to people that appreciate it, rather than "full price" to people that don't "feel something" when they look at it. We were so moved. With all the touches of a professional and caring artist, he rolled up the painting (which we learned was painted in six consecutive days, only with his fingers, no brush) and asked us to take a picture with him for his scrapbook, which we also signed. As you can see on his website, his remarkable works start at $500 on the internet; he told us ours sells for $1,200. We paid $150.
When you come visit us in KY, we'll share Mr. Tien's handiwork with you...we love it!
[jg]
When you come visit us in KY, we'll share Mr. Tien's handiwork with you...we love it!
[jg]
We need more crap
We arrived back in Saigon! I am much more relaxed by this time and don't feel quite as overwhelmed as I did when we first arrived over a week ago. Nevertheless, this place is freakin' crazy! There is just so much noise, traffic, people, and more noise (worse than any city i've ever seen, including NYC, trust me).
The traffic still amazes me. There is no right of way, but rather a right to co-exist. Cars, buses, and motorbikes move almost effortlessly through masses of seemingly impenetrable traffic. The key is to move slowly and steadily. Don't stop short or dart quickly. I guess effortlessly is a bit of an understatement as more than 30 people die here a day in traffic accidents.
Anyway, Thuy dropped us off at our hotel at about 2 in the afternoon. We chose not to splurge and stayed in the backbackers' district. We're staying at the Giant Dragon hotel. The location works well, but it may be the worst place we've stayed to date. Just a tad too smelly.
We grabbed a bite at Lac Thien down the street, which is a carbon copy of a place in Hue, run by a deaf and/or mute family. Great stuff! The open beer bottles with a stick with a screw hanging out of it that fly the bottle cap across the room. We bought a couple to give as gifts.
We then went in to a Vietnam Airlines office to book our flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand! The next leg of our trip. We;ve been travelling with Katie and Mike as they wrap up their trip and I can't believe ours is not even half way done!
We struggled intensley over whether to go to Cambodia. We hear it is completely worth the trip, but we just don't have the time. We don't want to rush it. Rushing violates our travel philosophy of "taking it easy." So, we decided to head straight for Thailand. We'll get Cambodia on the next trip :)
We then headed to the downtown area tio hit a couple more shops because we always need more crap to put in my backpack. After over an hour of boutiquing, we stumbled upon a small shop that sells counterfiet watches. I picked up a Tag for myself and as a gift... Why not?
We spent the rest of the evening drinking and eating at the top of the Rex Hotel, with a spectacular view of the city. Afterwards we went to the Guns & Roses bar near our hotel because we just had to go. Talk about an american place. I even got change in dollars. We met a guy from Scranton, PA who is moving to Louisville! Small world. Jill hit the pool table, as she often cannot resist. There was quite a cast of characters, from germans to irish to Japananese...
[rk]
The traffic still amazes me. There is no right of way, but rather a right to co-exist. Cars, buses, and motorbikes move almost effortlessly through masses of seemingly impenetrable traffic. The key is to move slowly and steadily. Don't stop short or dart quickly. I guess effortlessly is a bit of an understatement as more than 30 people die here a day in traffic accidents.
Anyway, Thuy dropped us off at our hotel at about 2 in the afternoon. We chose not to splurge and stayed in the backbackers' district. We're staying at the Giant Dragon hotel. The location works well, but it may be the worst place we've stayed to date. Just a tad too smelly.
We grabbed a bite at Lac Thien down the street, which is a carbon copy of a place in Hue, run by a deaf and/or mute family. Great stuff! The open beer bottles with a stick with a screw hanging out of it that fly the bottle cap across the room. We bought a couple to give as gifts.
We then went in to a Vietnam Airlines office to book our flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand! The next leg of our trip. We;ve been travelling with Katie and Mike as they wrap up their trip and I can't believe ours is not even half way done!
We struggled intensley over whether to go to Cambodia. We hear it is completely worth the trip, but we just don't have the time. We don't want to rush it. Rushing violates our travel philosophy of "taking it easy." So, we decided to head straight for Thailand. We'll get Cambodia on the next trip :)
We then headed to the downtown area tio hit a couple more shops because we always need more crap to put in my backpack. After over an hour of boutiquing, we stumbled upon a small shop that sells counterfiet watches. I picked up a Tag for myself and as a gift... Why not?
We spent the rest of the evening drinking and eating at the top of the Rex Hotel, with a spectacular view of the city. Afterwards we went to the Guns & Roses bar near our hotel because we just had to go. Talk about an american place. I even got change in dollars. We met a guy from Scranton, PA who is moving to Louisville! Small world. Jill hit the pool table, as she often cannot resist. There was quite a cast of characters, from germans to irish to Japananese...
[rk]
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Dalat - we liked it a lot
We're a bit behind in blog posts, here's to catching up!
We spent the day a few days ago sightseeing in Dalat. We decided to bag our original plan to ride with the easy riders, a hip gaggle of young vietnamese guys who give motorcycle tours originating at the peace cafe in dalat. After running into a dozen soaked easy rider tourists, we were convinced our dae woo with air con was the right move.
Our tour guide in the dae woo was Thuy (pronounced "Twee"). He is such a nice man. Very good english, very kind heart. He was our personal driver and guide for the day. Took us to experience many sights just outside of Dalat. We went to coffee fields (always near and dear to my heart) and hiked down some slippery rocks to the bottom of a gorgeous waterfall. We got to see silk worms doing their thing (very cool) and then headed for the silkworm factory to see silk being spun on french-manufactured machines that are more than 100 years old. Tired from our morning activities, we then ate a fab vietnamese lunch (for a buck fifty per person!) overlooking picturesque forest lands.
But perhaps the coolest part of the day was a side trip we took to Thuy's house. He invited us in to meet his wife and two beautiful children, and to enjoy his lovely home. We sipped on homemade banana rice wine and enjoyed the most perfect avocados, with sugar on top, and snacked on dried cuttlefish dipped in chili sauce in between sips of wine. Beautiful:) We enjoyed Thuy so much we asked him to drive us the next day to Ho Chi Min City. The ride was uneventful...good air con, good company, and our own version of Vietnamese karaoke as we belted out Eagles' songs with our friend. A memorable experience for all.
[jg]
We spent the day a few days ago sightseeing in Dalat. We decided to bag our original plan to ride with the easy riders, a hip gaggle of young vietnamese guys who give motorcycle tours originating at the peace cafe in dalat. After running into a dozen soaked easy rider tourists, we were convinced our dae woo with air con was the right move.
Our tour guide in the dae woo was Thuy (pronounced "Twee"). He is such a nice man. Very good english, very kind heart. He was our personal driver and guide for the day. Took us to experience many sights just outside of Dalat. We went to coffee fields (always near and dear to my heart) and hiked down some slippery rocks to the bottom of a gorgeous waterfall. We got to see silk worms doing their thing (very cool) and then headed for the silkworm factory to see silk being spun on french-manufactured machines that are more than 100 years old. Tired from our morning activities, we then ate a fab vietnamese lunch (for a buck fifty per person!) overlooking picturesque forest lands.
But perhaps the coolest part of the day was a side trip we took to Thuy's house. He invited us in to meet his wife and two beautiful children, and to enjoy his lovely home. We sipped on homemade banana rice wine and enjoyed the most perfect avocados, with sugar on top, and snacked on dried cuttlefish dipped in chili sauce in between sips of wine. Beautiful:) We enjoyed Thuy so much we asked him to drive us the next day to Ho Chi Min City. The ride was uneventful...good air con, good company, and our own version of Vietnamese karaoke as we belted out Eagles' songs with our friend. A memorable experience for all.
[jg]
Monday, July 16, 2007
I can finally wear my hair down!
We arrived yesterday in Dalat. It is really beautiful here - amazing that the weather is like 20 degrees cooler than everywhere else we've been. Dalat is a beautiful mountain town, with waterfalls and day hikes abound. We had a nice dinner last night and wandered the streets to find (unsuccessfully) an ice cream shop. I guess it's not warm enough for ice cream; I'll take the trade off from sweaty clothes and an afro:)
jg
Another memorable bus ride
After sipping frozen cocktails in a caribbean-like resort in Nha Trong, we hopped back on a bus for another glorious 5 hour bus ride - this one even more "memorable" than the last. We were in a 10-seater van which proported to have AC, although with the hot air blowing out of the vents you would think it was winter (not 100 degrees). Rob was sticking to the vinyl seats like a cheap suit, and the guy in front of us was hocking lugies the entire trip. But, leave it to me, I slept like a baby, high on dramamine and receiving intermittent shocks from my new wristband that prohibits the "nauseous" message from traveling to the brain. Gotta love technology.
jg
jg
Sunday, July 15, 2007
How do you forget a 12-hr bus ride from hell?
It is now 830 am. I am sitting on the beach, drinking a mai tai and about to schedule a massage before a dip in a pool [Sigh]. The bus is just about a distant memory.
[Rk]
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On the road again
It's 5:30 am. We are on the night bus about to enter nha trang.
(My blackberry just got email service again, don't worry I'm not checking
work emails)
When we woke up this morning jill said: I don't think this night bus ting
is all that bad.... That's because she can sleep on a rollercoaster.
At about 12am we stopped for "dinner" at a rest stop. We were greeted by a
gaggle of small children selling oreo cookies, mentos, and bananas. I had
a banana.
There seemed to be lots of people eating Pho but there was no clear place
to get it. So all the foreigners enjoyed steak, egg, and cheese baguettes.
No joke. But jill wouldn't let me get the steak.
Anyway, if you're ever in country I highly recommend booking all bus travel
through sinh cafe. They are by far the best we've seen. Poor katie and
mike were not as fortunate.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
To pee or not to pee
We have spent enough time in Hoi An and certainly enough money! So, it's time to move on. We plan to head directly to the central highlands to cool off in a town called Da Lat.
The earliest flight down the coast is in a week, so that's not an option. So, we have to catch a bus. A 12 hour night bus! From 6PM to 6AM. It's time for a Nyquil holiday... Of course, the bus only goes part of the way to Nha Trang, a cheesy beach resort. We're gonna skip it because we plan to hit the beaches in Thailand. We're gonna meet up with our friends Katie and Mike and go to Da Lat together.
The problem is that there are no bathrooms on the bus. They stop about three times throughout the night. So, do i just not drink anymore water? But, i love water! Oh, what to do, what to do...
[rk]
The earliest flight down the coast is in a week, so that's not an option. So, we have to catch a bus. A 12 hour night bus! From 6PM to 6AM. It's time for a Nyquil holiday... Of course, the bus only goes part of the way to Nha Trang, a cheesy beach resort. We're gonna skip it because we plan to hit the beaches in Thailand. We're gonna meet up with our friends Katie and Mike and go to Da Lat together.
The problem is that there are no bathrooms on the bus. They stop about three times throughout the night. So, do i just not drink anymore water? But, i love water! Oh, what to do, what to do...
[rk]
15 Kilos Later...
So, we bought about 15 kilos of stuff. How the hell are we gonna get it home?
There are many options: Ship it by air (takes 2-3 weeks), ship it by sea (takes 2-3 months), buy a new bag (takes no extra time, but hurts my back a lot)...
We chose a compromise. We bought a brand spanking new, 100-liter North Face bag (100% knock-off) for $19. Packed up about half of it in the new bag and shipped the rest by air. It should be waiting for us at Jill's parents house by the time we get back. Or, we will likely never see it again :(
There are many options: Ship it by air (takes 2-3 weeks), ship it by sea (takes 2-3 months), buy a new bag (takes no extra time, but hurts my back a lot)...
We chose a compromise. We bought a brand spanking new, 100-liter North Face bag (100% knock-off) for $19. Packed up about half of it in the new bag and shipped the rest by air. It should be waiting for us at Jill's parents house by the time we get back. Or, we will likely never see it again :(
Great meals abound!
We had yet another amazing meal at a place called Tam Tam Cafe. I had fish with tamarind wrapped in banana leaf. Mmmm...
[rk]
[rk]
Fitting Fiasco
At around 5PM we went back to our tailors to get fitted in our new clothes. It was a bad idea, but we didn't have a choice. We were hot and sticky and so were the 12 other people who were getting fitted at the same time!
Crazy is an understatement. Picture girls crying because they don't look good in their dresses, small women screaming at each other in Vietnamese (either making fun of us or who knows...), and a small family eating dinner and watching TV in the back.
Jill's pants. Well, let's just say they didn't fit. The key to this entire process is finding a saleswomen who is nice. Jill was less lucky than me in this department. I think she got visibly upset when Jill couldn't sit down. Customer service first, right? Not so much...
But, that's why we went for the fitting. They still had plenty of time to fix it.
Crazy is an understatement. Picture girls crying because they don't look good in their dresses, small women screaming at each other in Vietnamese (either making fun of us or who knows...), and a small family eating dinner and watching TV in the back.
Jill's pants. Well, let's just say they didn't fit. The key to this entire process is finding a saleswomen who is nice. Jill was less lucky than me in this department. I think she got visibly upset when Jill couldn't sit down. Customer service first, right? Not so much...
But, that's why we went for the fitting. They still had plenty of time to fix it.
Cooking up a storm
We went on a most excellent cooking class this afternoon. It's called the Red Bridge Cooking School, which took place at a resort about 25 minutes by river from Hoi An (downstream!).
We started with a tour of the local food market. We saw all sorts of crazy vegetables and fruits. We bought a couple Vietnamese cooking gadgets. The fish section was crazy, though apparently not as crazy as it is at 2AM when all of the catch comes in.
Side Note: Our friends Katie and Mike took us to an AMAZING restaurant called the Mango Room. It is owned by the Head Chef, Duc. Duc is Vietnamese born, who was adopted by a family in Texas. He later traveled all over Latin America and Europe. Anyway, he told us that the fish market is first-come first-serve. So, they call him (at 2AM i guess) and he has 30 minutes to go down there or else he won't get fresh fish for the day.
So, then we went down to the docks and took a long boat to the cooking school. The class was great fun. We made clay pot eggplant and our own rice paper to rolling fresh spring rolls ... well, at least I made the rice paper, Jill had some issues :) We then learned about some other Vietnamese specialties.
Of course we then went in to the restaurant where they fed us the same meal that we all just prepared. Awesome! And it was all for $15!
[rk]
We started with a tour of the local food market. We saw all sorts of crazy vegetables and fruits. We bought a couple Vietnamese cooking gadgets. The fish section was crazy, though apparently not as crazy as it is at 2AM when all of the catch comes in.
Side Note: Our friends Katie and Mike took us to an AMAZING restaurant called the Mango Room. It is owned by the Head Chef, Duc. Duc is Vietnamese born, who was adopted by a family in Texas. He later traveled all over Latin America and Europe. Anyway, he told us that the fish market is first-come first-serve. So, they call him (at 2AM i guess) and he has 30 minutes to go down there or else he won't get fresh fish for the day.
So, then we went down to the docks and took a long boat to the cooking school. The class was great fun. We made clay pot eggplant and our own rice paper to rolling fresh spring rolls ... well, at least I made the rice paper, Jill had some issues :) We then learned about some other Vietnamese specialties.
Of course we then went in to the restaurant where they fed us the same meal that we all just prepared. Awesome! And it was all for $15!
[rk]
Leave it to me...
Leave it to me to fly around the world to a place that's 90 degrees and humid and decide to catch a cold! My throat felt scratchy on the way to Hoi An and then I had a full fledged cold by the next day. Good thing i came with a mobile RobVS kit! It's kind of like CVS, but it fits in my backpack.
But, don't worry. It's 2 days later, i slept for 12 hours last night, and i feel almost 100%. One more good night's sleep and I should be good to go. Unfortunately, that may have to wait as I don't think it's in the cards...
But, don't worry. It's 2 days later, i slept for 12 hours last night, and i feel almost 100%. One more good night's sleep and I should be good to go. Unfortunately, that may have to wait as I don't think it's in the cards...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Mama needs a new pair of shoes (or fifty)
Hoi An is really a gem of a town. Fabulous food, beautiful scenic views along the river, nice people...
Oh, and I guess I should mention the fact that you can buy any and every piece of clothing and every pair of shoes you've ever dreamed of...get it custom made...have it ready in less than two days...and pay less than you'd pay for merely window shopping at Macy's NY. Seriously, what a cool service these amazingly talented Hoi An tailors offer.
Here's the process: (1) choose one tailor shop of the more than 100 that line the streets of this relatively small town (ours came recommended, thanks for doing the dirty work, Katie and Mike); (2) look through hundreds of magazine pages (alongside a dozen other couture-craving tourists) to pick out your Sunday best; (3) choose your fabrics, your colors, your patterns, your stitching; (4) get your measurements taken by women who may be taking a bit too much pleasure in measuring, but hey, if the shoe fits; and (5) find out the damage, fork over the credit card, figure out how to get several kilos of new clothes home, and pray that you picked the right shop:)
We head back tonight for a first fitting, then tomorrow for a final showdown in our new threads. Wish us luck!
jg
P.S. We're staying at the Thanh Van hotel. It's great!
Oh, and I guess I should mention the fact that you can buy any and every piece of clothing and every pair of shoes you've ever dreamed of...get it custom made...have it ready in less than two days...and pay less than you'd pay for merely window shopping at Macy's NY. Seriously, what a cool service these amazingly talented Hoi An tailors offer.
Here's the process: (1) choose one tailor shop of the more than 100 that line the streets of this relatively small town (ours came recommended, thanks for doing the dirty work, Katie and Mike); (2) look through hundreds of magazine pages (alongside a dozen other couture-craving tourists) to pick out your Sunday best; (3) choose your fabrics, your colors, your patterns, your stitching; (4) get your measurements taken by women who may be taking a bit too much pleasure in measuring, but hey, if the shoe fits; and (5) find out the damage, fork over the credit card, figure out how to get several kilos of new clothes home, and pray that you picked the right shop:)
We head back tonight for a first fitting, then tomorrow for a final showdown in our new threads. Wish us luck!
jg
P.S. We're staying at the Thanh Van hotel. It's great!
24 hours on a plane wasn't enough
After 24 hours of travel and less than a full day in our first Asian destination, we decided to venture up to the middle of Vietnam, with plans to work our way back down to Saigon. What I imagined would be reminiscent of the the Wright Brothers' Kitty Hawk was maybe the biggest plane I've ever seen. And the funniest part is that there were like 50 people on it. It would probably cost us double the cost of our airfare to offset that carbon footprint...
After a short and pleasant ride (mostly b/c I was sound asleep before we even took off - jetlag's setting in hard core), we arrived in the Danang airport, which is about 30 minutes from Hoi An, the tailor-laden hotspot to which we were headed. "Look Robby, there's our guy," I said as I pointed to a young smiling vietnamese guy with a big sign that read "Jall Forsky" - what a photo op. We arrived at our hotel without a hitch and powered through after a long day of traveling to meet good friends for dinner.
Yup - I had to travel halfway around the world to see my dear friend Katie and her BF Mike. We had the most exquisite dinner served up by a vietnamese guy who was adopted by a Mexican American family, grew up in Texas, and then moved to Hoi An to fulfill his dream to open a restaurant as unique and warm as he is. The meal was one of the best I've ever had (bold statement, fellow foodies, I know but who new tempura anchovies could taste so good!) The meal was made even better by the good friends we shared it with:)
jg
After a short and pleasant ride (mostly b/c I was sound asleep before we even took off - jetlag's setting in hard core), we arrived in the Danang airport, which is about 30 minutes from Hoi An, the tailor-laden hotspot to which we were headed. "Look Robby, there's our guy," I said as I pointed to a young smiling vietnamese guy with a big sign that read "Jall Forsky" - what a photo op. We arrived at our hotel without a hitch and powered through after a long day of traveling to meet good friends for dinner.
Yup - I had to travel halfway around the world to see my dear friend Katie and her BF Mike. We had the most exquisite dinner served up by a vietnamese guy who was adopted by a Mexican American family, grew up in Texas, and then moved to Hoi An to fulfill his dream to open a restaurant as unique and warm as he is. The meal was one of the best I've ever had (bold statement, fellow foodies, I know but who new tempura anchovies could taste so good!) The meal was made even better by the good friends we shared it with:)
jg
Holy crap this is a crazy (and wet) town
It is kind of hard to sum Saigon up in words. Ordered chaos may be close, but doesn't give it justice. It's a pretty overwhelming place. Rural regions make up about 90% of the city's land area and only 25% of the population. The other 75% is crammed into the remaining urban 10%. Yikes.
Close your eyes and imagine what the Serengeti looked like during the days of the great migration: Thousands of zebra, wildebeest, and giraffe galloping in herds across the great plains of Africa. Now, imagine that instead of animals those herds are really small Vietnamese men and women on motorbikes and instead of the great plains they are on city streets.
Crossing the road is an adventure in itself. One strategy is to wait for a Vietnamese family and cling to them for dear life. We watched it unfold from a rooftop bar. You wait for an opening and you take a small step into the flow. Then another step. As you walk (slowly) the herd will split to the other side and envelope you. You continue until you make it across. It's actually kind of fun!
It started pouring about 3 minutes into our cab ride from the hotel. Of course, we forgot all of our rain gear. We went down to an area called Pham Ngu Lao, which is kind of the backpackers district. We intended to start a bit of a Lonely Planet walking tour, but decided to have some spring rolls and wait for the rain to stop. We then made our way to an amazing indoor market. Kind of the shopping mall of Saigon. You can get everything form t-shirts to souvenirs to lunch to a manicure to soap to bulk dried shrimp.
As we started off to find a lunch spot recommended by a friend, the rain started again. We tried to wait it out but eventually just started walking in the rain. After about 30 minutes of unsuccessful searching we made our way back to the hotel to grab something quick nearby. Mental note: Maps and street numbers don't really help in Saigon.
Close your eyes and imagine what the Serengeti looked like during the days of the great migration: Thousands of zebra, wildebeest, and giraffe galloping in herds across the great plains of Africa. Now, imagine that instead of animals those herds are really small Vietnamese men and women on motorbikes and instead of the great plains they are on city streets.
Crossing the road is an adventure in itself. One strategy is to wait for a Vietnamese family and cling to them for dear life. We watched it unfold from a rooftop bar. You wait for an opening and you take a small step into the flow. Then another step. As you walk (slowly) the herd will split to the other side and envelope you. You continue until you make it across. It's actually kind of fun!
It started pouring about 3 minutes into our cab ride from the hotel. Of course, we forgot all of our rain gear. We went down to an area called Pham Ngu Lao, which is kind of the backpackers district. We intended to start a bit of a Lonely Planet walking tour, but decided to have some spring rolls and wait for the rain to stop. We then made our way to an amazing indoor market. Kind of the shopping mall of Saigon. You can get everything form t-shirts to souvenirs to lunch to a manicure to soap to bulk dried shrimp.
As we started off to find a lunch spot recommended by a friend, the rain started again. We tried to wait it out but eventually just started walking in the rain. After about 30 minutes of unsuccessful searching we made our way back to the hotel to grab something quick nearby. Mental note: Maps and street numbers don't really help in Saigon.
Hello Saigon!
We have arrived safely in Saigon (extremely safely, mom).
Our flight was pretty uneventful although extremely long. I have never been good at time zones, but we left our JFK airport hotel at about 10AM on Monday, July 9. We connected in Tokyo at about 3PM on July 10 and arrived in Saigon at 10:30 that night. Japan airlines was pretty great, but not as great as emirates, which we flew to Tanzania last December. You couldn't play tetris against other passengers on the movies weren't on demand. I mean, come on people!
I would also like to send a special thanks to American Airlines which gave every graduating Haas MBA gold status. It made out trip quite enjoyable!
We splurged on our first hotel because we didn't want to have to negotiate the hotel scene after dark and also they picked us up at the airport. It was probably the smoothest developing world airport experience I've ever had.
Our flight was pretty uneventful although extremely long. I have never been good at time zones, but we left our JFK airport hotel at about 10AM on Monday, July 9. We connected in Tokyo at about 3PM on July 10 and arrived in Saigon at 10:30 that night. Japan airlines was pretty great, but not as great as emirates, which we flew to Tanzania last December. You couldn't play tetris against other passengers on the movies weren't on demand. I mean, come on people!
I would also like to send a special thanks to American Airlines which gave every graduating Haas MBA gold status. It made out trip quite enjoyable!
We splurged on our first hotel because we didn't want to have to negotiate the hotel scene after dark and also they picked us up at the airport. It was probably the smoothest developing world airport experience I've ever had.
Monday, July 9, 2007
The beginning...
So, here's our blog. We've never done this before but thought it would be a good way to keep in touch with all of our friends and family as we embark on our adventures.
I'm sure we owe you a detailed update, but suffice it to say that our lives have been kind of ridiculous over the last few months. Here are some highlights from the last 6 weeks (in no particular order):
I'm sure we owe you a detailed update, but suffice it to say that our lives have been kind of ridiculous over the last few months. Here are some highlights from the last 6 weeks (in no particular order):
- I graduated from biz school and now hold a full fledged MBA (for better or for worse)
- I proposed to Jill in Sonoma after drinking 4 bottles of wine.
- She said yes!
- So, we moved to Kentucky and it's pretty great (no joke)
- We started new jobs. I am working in quality control for Jack Daniels and Jill works in housekeeping at the baby elephant exhibit at the Louisville Zoo.
- We almost bought a house, got cold feet, and then lost it by the time we came around again.
- We found a place to actually host our friends for our wedding. They clearly don't do background checks.
Phew! That was a lot for 6 weeks. We're now off to southeast asia for 5 weeks and simply can't wait.
We hope to use this blog as the chief way of keeping in touch while we jetset and also once we get back to Kentucky since it may seem like a foreign country to many of you. Please check back if you're wondering if we're still alive.
[rk]
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