Last days in Hoi An, Hue, and rainy Sapa

It has been a few action-packed days since our last post in Hoi An. We enjoyed our last days there as much as the first. As you will see from the pictures, we took full advantage of our sweet ride, and wasted no time in getting lots of new clothes tailor made.

While we were there, we were also able to take an awesome cooking class by the river. We learned how to make all kinds of Vietnamese delicacies and are excited to make them for everyone when we get home.

After leaving Hoi An, we took the train to Hue, which is the ancient emperial capital of Vietnam. The train ride between both cities was absolutely beautiful as it literally cuts through the mountain and follows the coast line. The views were breath-taking and made up for the loud, questionnable dirty train. Hue was badly bombarded during both the French and the Amrican war so a lot of its main buildings have been destroyed. We still really enjoyed visiting the citadel, especially since the weather was unseasonably cool. It's the first time we had to wear a coat since we've been here!

After our many train rides up the coast of Vietnam, we flew from Hue to Hanoi on Monday where we spent the day shipping our Hoi An purchases and discovering the city while waiting for our night train to Sapa. Sapa is one of the most northern cities of Vietnam, and a great place to go hiking in the mountains. The weather is radically different from the rest of the country, and many ethnic populations live here. We are looking forward to spending a few days exploring the villages and spending time with my cousin Antoine who is working here for a few months. Hopefully the very rainy weather that welcomed us this morning will be over by tomorrow!

Historic Hoi An

I can't believe I'm saying this and know that I sound a bit spoiled but....we needed a vacation from our vacation. Hoi An could not have come at a better time. This town is magical and has a different feel than all of the other cities we've visited. Most nights and on certain days (which we can't seem to figure out) cars and motobikes are restricted from entering the Old part of town. It's very relaxing to be able to walk around town knowing that we will not be hit by a passing motobike. On this trip, we have also become accustomed to yelling over the noise of motobikes and honking horns while eating dinner or having a drink. Now, we can sit back and relax and take in the view. See below.
Main part of Hoi An (and its reflection in the river) from a restaurant that we visited last night.

Hoi An has some other great qualities. It's known for having some of the best fabrics in the world and the streets are lined with tailors looking to put you up in that new suit or copy your favorite dress for a fraction of what it would cost back in the states. Needless to say, the two of us have spent plenty of (or maybe even too much) time updating our wardrobes.

When we are not couped up in a tailor trying on our clothes or walking through the streets, we spend our time cruising the larger town on our awesome red motobike. We decided that it's the best way to get around since our hotel is a long walk from town and the beach is only 4km away.

I must say, the beach is paradise. It seemed like we were the only ones there. If you look closely, you can see Lo stretched out on the sand, enjoying her book.

pictures!

Finally were able to download some of our pictures so we thought we would post a snapshot of everything we've been seeing these past few weeks...
Tasting local fruits
Floating Markets in the Mekong Delta
Tuk Tuk in Siem Reap
Floating down canals in the Mekong Delta
Rush hour in Saigon
Profiles at Angkor
Rooster fighting at a Bangkok market
Canals in the Delta
Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon



At the war museum in Saigon
Beautiful Angkor


Leaning Buddha in Bangkok
Beach in Nha Trang
Adorable kids on Unicorn Island in the Mekong Delta
Angkor at sun rise
In awe of Angkor

Soaking in the sun in Nha Trang

We have just spent three amazing days in Nha Tran and are sad to leave tomorrow. After taking the night train from Saigon and nearly missing our stop at 6 am (language barrier definitely makes things a little challenging at times!) we wanted nothing more than to settle into one of these plush chaise lounges and do nothing but soak in the sun and float in the blue water.

We did as little as possible on this leg of the trip but did manage to spend an afternoon taking mineral water and mud baths, and escaping the boat trip from hell this morning. As a sidenote, if you ever find yourself in Nha Trang, at all costs, avoid the Green Hat boat and snorkeling tour! Don't let their advertising fool you - it's the making for a disastor. It was soo bad that at our first island, only an hour into the tour, we jumped ship and chartered our own speed boat to get us back to the harbour. I think the final straw was when they mentioned the karaoke and dancing that would take place later on.

Another highlight was some delicious Vietnamese noodles at a very authentic sounding place, Pho Cali. Don't let the cheesey Western name fool you, the place was amazing. It also helped us to perfect our chop-stick skills, as you can see below.

Tomorrow, we take the night train to Danang and then will drive to Hoi An where we are planning on spending a few days. It is famous for having tons of tailors and great fabrics, so we are already dreaming of a whole new wardrobe!

Mekong Delta

We just got back from the Mekong Delta where we spent the past couple days eating local fruit, visiting a coconut candy workshop, rice noodle factory and cruising down Forrest Gumpesque canals.
To get there, we decided to do a tour since the area is best explored with a guide. While the overcrowded bus was a little tough at times, we were happy to be around other travelers and really enjoyed our time. The first day, we took a bus to Ben Tre where we met our boat for the day. From there, we were able to explore islands and canals of the delta. We stopped to try local fruits at some of the orchards, listened to traditional music and even visited a coconut candy workshop. The highlight of the day was floating down canals in row boat (we have lots of pictures which we can post at our next stop!)
Our second day was spent visiting huge floating markets, exploring a rice noodle factory and then making the long journey back to Saigon. Overall, it was an awesome trip but we are most looking forward to getting to Nha Tran tomorrow morning. We will surely have lots to report on the night train we are boarding in a few hours and Vietnam's nicest beach. After two weeks of traveling, it will be a welcome break for us both.

Saigon, Vietnam

In DJ Adrian Cronauer's words, "GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!!!" Come on, you remember that hit 80s flick with Robin Williams. It takes place is Saigon, the city we find ourselves in and that's what I thought of when I woke from our 7th floor (no elevator) guesthouse in the heart of Saigon.

Sorry it's been soo long since our last post however the internet has been less than reliable in Phnom Penh. Since it's been soo long, let me give you a little update on what we have been up to. Phnom Penh wasn't the greatest - congested, dirty and loud. It seemed like all two million of it's inhabitants were on their motorbikes at the same time, honking their horn and weaving through traffic. The highlight of our two night stay was our delicious dinner at an Indian restaurant. It was appropriately named Mount Everest since the journey from our guesthouse the the restaurant was as difficult as a hike to its summit.

Today in Saigon has been delightful. We took a little walking tour through the heart of the city. Thanks to Will we stopped at Fanny, inarguably the best ice cream in Saigon and arguably the world! Our guidebook, Lonely Planet, tried to throw us a loop by misplacing it on the map but after much searching, we arrived on the oasis. Lo was more than overjoyed!

We were bold and each ordered three scoops! The salty caramel was my fav. I think Lo enjoyed the pistachio but the rest went down with no problem. I wanted more.....

We plan to hang around here for another day and then take a trip to the Mekong Delta. Next, we move northward to Nha Trang, a city on the cost with plenty of sun and beach. I can't wait to break out the beach muscles that I've been hiding all winter!

Seems like many were complaining about the size of the photos - hopefully this works better!

Hope you all have a happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Saigon!

Nous sommes a Ho Chi Min Ville depuis hier soir, apres un court sejour a Phnom Pehn et un trajet en bus de 10 heures! Nous n'avons pas beaucoup aime Phnom Pehn qui etait tres pauvre, sale et assez deprimant. Durant notre journee sur place, nous avons pu visiter un musee sur le genocide des Kmer Rouges qui nous a laisse tous les deux assez retournes. Nous nous sommes pas mal balade mais n'avons pas trouve la ville tres interessante.

Pour arriver a Saigon, nous avons pris un bus qui devait ne prendre que 6 heures, mais qui a finit par en prendre 10! Durant tout le voyage, nous avons eu droit a des clips videos des plus grand hits asiatiques, le tout a fond et en meme temps que le conducteur doublait tous les camions sur son passage en passant dans la file opposee. Autant dire que nous etions super soulage d'arriver enfin et nous sommes promit d'essayer le train pour notre prochain voyage!

Saigon me plait nettement plus que toutes les autres villes que nous avons vu jusqu'a present. On est nettement moins harcelle dans les rue et on a pu faire une longue visite a pied toute la journee (en evitant de se faire ecraser par les motos qui foncent a tous les feux rouges). Au passage, nous sommes alles dans un grand marche couvert ou j'ai eu un mal fou a ne pas acheter l'integralite de leur stock de linge de maison brode (c'est l;e moment si vous voulez passer commande). Apres cette visite, nous avons ete au musee de la guerre qui etait presque aussi deprimant que celui de Phnom Pehn. C'etait particulierement interessant de pouvoir lire les recits personels des Vietnamiens durant la guerre avec les Etats-Unis. Enfin, nous sortons juste de la cathedrale Notre Dame ou nous sommes alles allumer un cierge pour les compagnons de Papy malheureusement pas rentre avec lui de l'indochine.

Ce soir, nous allons allez boire un verre sur la terrasse d'un des grands hotel qui est cense avoir une vue magnifique sur la ville. A part ca tout va bien, nous prepaprons notre prochaine etape dans le delta du Mekong et nous nous regalons de la nourriture Vietnamienne. J'espere pouvoir prendre un cour de cuisine a durant notre sejour pour pouvoir obtenir des recettes! Nous n'avons pas eu de tres bonnes connections internet dpuis notre dernier post, mais on espere pouvoir envoyer des nouvelles plus regulierement a partir de maintenant!

Angkor What?!?

We are wrapping up our second day in Angkor and are just as sweaty, dirty and tired as the first. Visiting ancient ruins is hard work!

Siem Reap is the city closest to Angkor and our home until Thursday. It's as busy as Bangkok but much more pleasant thanks to its small, manageable scale and colonial charm. It has been a lot of fun and has given us a nice break each evening from our 10th century time travel through the ruins. What is most striking about the city though, is how nice and welcoming the people are. Despite the rampant poverty and unsalable living conditions, they are always smiling (and ready to sell you anything and everything with incredible persistence!).

Angkor itself has been incredible, despite the constant heat. It is hard to describe how grandiose the wats (temples) are, and none of our pictures will do them justice but we will attempt to give you some highlights.

Angkor is formed of dozens of temples built in close proximity by the Cambodian God-Kings. Each king tried to out-do their predecessors by building more impressive temples. This explains in part, the grandeur of the area. We secured a tuk-tuk driver (a trailer with seating attached to a moped - perfect for two) to take us around which has been really fun and practical. Without the help of our driver, we would still be out there trying to find our way home. Along the way, we also found out that drivers in Cambodia are entirely oblivious to on-coming traffic and that mopeds can easily accommodate a family of 4.

On our first day, we visited the largest wats, and were blown away by the size, intricate details and architectural features of the Kmer capital. We saw Elephant murals, entire walls carved with stories of Hindu gods, sky-high buildings erected to represent Mount Meru, and a lifetime supply of Buddhas. It is easy to imagine how impressive it must have been in its heyday, before mother nature and Kmer wars took their toll. The heat made the journey a little challenging but our (very attractive!) back-packer attire helped (see photo above) , along with an average 3000 gallons of water per day.

Day 2 took us about 50 km outside Siem Reap to see even more ancient wats, local villages and an entire river bed carved in Hindu symbols. As you can see, Matt even made a new friend along the way.

Tomorrow, we are planning on going back to Angkor Wat at sunrise and then visit local floating villages in the afternoon. After two straight days of temples, it will be good to see something different!

All in all, Cambodia has been really great and we are looking forward to heading to its capital, Phnom Penh, on Thursday. We are loving everyone's comments so keep on posting!

Je comptais ecrire un long compte-rendu en Francais, mais comme la connection internet est tres mauvais, j'ai peur de perdre tout ce que j'ai ecrit ci-dessus. Tout va bien malgres la chaleur terassante. Angkor a ete aussi spectaculaire que je l'avais esperé et nous profitons bien de notre sejour ici. J'ecrirais plus a notre prochaine étape mais je pense bien a tout le monde!

Our Last Day in Bangkok

After a delicious and terribly unauthentic Thai breakfast at the Shanti consisting of wheat toast, a big bottle of water and delicious fruit smoothie (check out the deliciousness to the right) followed by a few confusing sweeps in the guidebook to determine our plan for the day.....we decided upon Chautuchak Market.

To provide a little background, it's the largest weekend market in the world, covering over 35 acres with 9,000 individual booths, packing in an estimated 300,000 visitors each day! With likely chaos to ensure, we decided to get an early start and beat the crowds. Well, not really. Jet lag is a bitch and had us up at the crack of dawn again!

With no strategy in hand to tackle this tremendous market, we were lost within the first five minutes of being there - there were crowds and stalls stretching as far as we could see! Everything under the sun could be found there ranging from the smallest dollhouse items, authentic Thai foods, vintage Thai fashions (such as a girl scout outfit from Alabama that we came across), antiques, intricate wooden carvings, masks from far-off lands, adorable fluffy dogs (check out Lo trying to take one home), flying squirrels, colorful fish of every hue and singing birds. All in all, by far the coolest and most disturbing were the fighting roosters and baby hedgehog!

Now, after a few days in Bangkok, we are leaving to head to Siem Reap, the city near the magnificent and Seventh (I think) Wonder of the World, Angkor. This experience will likely change our perspective on life so get ready for some heavy and deep posts in the coming days!

They had warned me about this...

No pictures for today since the day was a little interrupted by some of the typical tourists ailments we had been warned about. In between seeing the grand palace and the leaning Buddha (which was really awesome!) i managed to almost faint of dehydration and get pretty sick on our way back to the hotel. Needless to say, i was super relieved Matt was here to take care of me! Feeling much better after sleeping through mostof the afternoon and eating some "real" pad thai for dinner. We are still in high spirits though and are planning on visiting Bangkok's largest market tomorrow!










On m'avais prevenue qu'il faisait chaud et humide a Bangkok, mais je ne m'attendais pas a ce que ca ai un tel effet sure moi. Apres avoir assez mal dormit a cause du decallage horaire, nous etions decides a profiter de notre premiere journee en allant visiter le palais et les temples touristiques. malheuresement pour moi, aujourdh'ui a ete rythmee par un evanouissement sur le bateau de notre hotal au palais et un premiere crise d'estomac dans le taxi nous ramenant a notre hotel. j'ai appris ma lecon et me suis deja mis a boire (beaucoup) d'eau pour eviter d'etre deshydratee. j'espere que mon petit dejeuner demain n'aura pas le meme effet sur moi!

safe and sound...

Well, after an epic 23 hour journey, we finally made it to hot and humid Bangkok. The trip was a little tougher than anticipated, and i'm not sure Matt would have made it through without a well deserved Sapporo on our Tokyo-Bangkok flight.



Below, you can find my pre and post trip photos... which speak for themselves! Still smiling but completely exhausted.