Well, folks, it's been a frightening day here in overcast Ha Noi (that's how the cool kids write it). Oh, not like that- we're pros at crossing the street by now. No, frightening like we spent about 4 hours thinking we'd lost all 900 photos we'd taken in the last two weeks.
We were making a valiant effort to upload some photos for you all to see- but the computers in the hotels here are all jacked up with no USB ports. We finally found one in the Prince Hotel, our current home away from home. We plugged the camera in, turned it on, and both felt a significant electrical shock- but thought nothing of it. The photo upload was unsuccessful- but when we turned the camera on an hour later, it wouldn't take pictures, and there were NONE on the memory card! Ack! Frightening, see?
Many trips back and forth across the city and many hours in an electronics shop later, we had our pictures back. It was a harrowing adventure, to be sure.
Anyway, enough of that- there are too many other juicy tidbits for you all- it's been almost a week since we last updated you! We left you in Hoi An- we did indeed get a nice stack of clothing tailored, some of us more than others, as well as some sweet sneakers. The sneaks were especially fun because we got to choose the color and material of each and every single component of the shoes- Arli was a little more reserved and sensible about her choices, while my shoes look like the Crayola box threw up on them. Of course, no photos to share with you because a) the USB thing and B) we shipped the whole damn lot SEAMAIL as soon as we got it- it won't be in our hot little hands for 3 to 4 months. Whoops. We do have a drawing of the shoes to share with you as soon as we figure our the photo thing.
After Hoi An, we embarked on the worst overnight train ride of the century up to Ha Noi. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration- there was some beautiful scenery between Danang and Hue, with excellent coastal cliffs and crashing ocean surf. The subsequent 12 hours were spent in a gross seat with the scent of durian lingering in the air, and someone's bare feet (complete with black toenails) propped up on my armrest. But we were experiencing culture!!! Right!! ;) Anyway, we ate a few yummy things, played a few rounds of poker, and had some scintillating conversation en route. So not all was lost, not even when we were dumped in Ha Noi at 6 AM sans hotel room.
We straggled along, and managed to find a nice little French-colonial-style place that was especially susceptible to Arli's expert bargaining skills. After a nap and showers, we set out to explore Ha Noi. It's a much prettier city than Saigon, with cuter streets lined with trees. The area we are staying in, the Old Quarter, is divided up, block by block, into various trades- clothing, tinwork, bamboo things, things made of cloth, hardwear, and other areas that we really can't figure out WHAT they do. Pretty cute.
We spent two days milling around Ha Noi, taking in Ho Chi Minh's old homes, a water puppetry show, a gay bar, and lots of weird street food. Then it was off to Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site with amazing karst cliffs popping up out of the ocean. Think those ancient Chinese scrolls you've seen in museums.
Halong Bay was BEAUTIFUL. I could not stop taking pictures- we will surely have to do some weeding out later. We spent the night on a junk boat in the bay, surrounded by these gigantic limestone cliffs- I can't even explain it. Being on the boat overnight was nice- we spent a good chunk of time lounging on chairs on the top deck, just watching. We kayaked around a little on the first day, and visited a cave, which was neat- the cave was pretty developed though, and you could see where most of the stalactites and stalagmites had been broken off as souvenirs. Everywhere i looked though, I saw some dark little tunnel leading off to who knows where, and it was all I could do to not go crawling down them...
Not much else to note of our few days in Halong Bay, without photos to emphasize. Arli went swimming a few times, despite the less-than-satisfactory temps, and trash bags floating in the water (all trash is swept into the water- sad). Once off the back of the boat (post gigantic jellyfish sighting!!), and once at the beach on Cat Ba island. She's a brave girl.
So anyhow, yesterday we headed back into Ha Noi for a few more days. We bummed around yesterday, finding a new hotel and drinking bia hoi (translation- fresh beer- brewed daily, available on street corners throughout the city for about 25 cents a glass). I spent some time poking through jeans shops, trying to find a great deal on some new Diesels or G-Stars. They sell 'em for $25 here- do you know what I pay for those in the States?!?!
Today we saw one of the coolest things we've seen the whole time we've been here: HO CHI MINH'S PRESERVED DEAD BODY. OMFG. It was REALLY HIM!! He was SO CUTE- his little hands were folded on top of his little black outfit, and his cute little beard was all nicely groomed. He was embalmed by the same dude who did Lenin- we can get you his digits if you want. Anyway, lots of rules and guards and stuff over there at his mausoleum- no hats, no talking, no breathing, no cameras. I really wanted a photo of him, but it was not to be. Very, very cool.
Anyhow- after visiting with Uncle Ho, we had to deal with the camera sitch, so not much else went on today, except that Arli ate a (fried) maggot on purpose. She said it tasted "earthy" and she did not like it. Now it's evening, it's raining (mysteriously it seems to be also raining in the hotel lobby where we are sitting), we are tired, and we're going to Laos tomorrow at 5 PM. Whoopee!!
We still miss you all- we've been having some homesick pangs this last week (well, I have been at least) resulting in some tears and consumption of more than my fair share of western-style fast food. But it's all good- home will come soon, and until then, the world is my home, eh? Be well, do good work, and keep in touch. Love!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Jackie Chan's Tunnel Vision
Hello! Still no photos for you, but at least we made it on to blogger. There is an identity-blocking website you can use to access 'forbidden' sites here... Ho Chi Minh you can't see us now!
On Sunday we went to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai temple, with our intrepid guide "Jackie". Jackie had long flowing hair that was both alluring and repulsive at the same time (you sort of wanted to run your fingers through it and then run screaming). Jackie worked for the Navy Seals during the war, and lived to tell the tale, quite emotionally, every day on his tours. The VietCong imprisoned him for three years after the US troops left.
The VietCong were pretty crafty - they dug miles of tunnels underground to hide from the French and then the Americans. We crawled through a modified, and widened for the American chassis, version of the tunnels. Pretty scary, even without the sound of B52s buzzing overhead. We saw bomb craters and survived demonstrations of lethal booby traps set by the VietCong for American troops. It was the War of American Agression version of Disneyland. Our visit culminated at the shooting range, where we unloaded a few rounds from an M16. That was Sarah's favorite part, obviously.
Prior to the tunnels we visited the Cao Dai temple - an ornate and colorful temple on beautiful grounds. The Cao Dai religion borrowed their favorite aspects of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and threw in some rather random appointed Divine Agents, or patron saints - Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, Vladimir Lenin, and Charlie Chaplin, to name a few. The worshippers all dressed in white robes and the holy men and women in blue, red or yellow robes. None seemed bothered by the throngs of tourists snapping pictures from the balcony as they chanted in prayer.
Monday was Mekong Delta tour day. Three hour drive up the valley, and then we took a river boat throughout the Delta. The floating markets were the highlight - loads of fishermen's boats selling everything you can imagine all bustling around the 'marketplace'. The shores of the muddy water were crowded with small houses on stilts, pretty much just how National Geographic portrayed it. We visited different areas that specialized in production of different products. We saw: a honey factory/bee hive, a rice factory, and the coconut candy factory. Rice paper and coconut wood chopsticks for all!!
We got back from the Delta, dirty and stinky, at 7:30PM, grabbed some Banh Mi sandwiches, and boarded the sleeper bus to Nha Trang. The bus was definitely a few decades old but otherwise pretty awesome, with a reclining bed for each person. Actually the best sleep we've gotten yet, as the prior two nights we had a discotech jamming all night right outside of our window and mattress coils jabbing us in all spots. Another highlight of the night- we stopped at a roadside cafe at midnight and used our first squat toilet! TP is unheard of here.
We arrived in the beach town of Nha Trang at 6 this morning, and spent the day in pursuit of Banana Shakes, hanging out at the (beautiful for this point in the trip) beach, and enjoying the (relative) peacefulness of small town life. Milestone: we finally built up enough courage to sit on plastic chairs out on the street with the locals and order Pho for breakfast. Delicious, and at $.75 a pop not a bad deal. Lunch was 'roll your own', a smorgasboard of vegetables, meat, and saucy stuff to create the Vietnamese version of a fajita. Loved it, waiting for dysentery to strike due to the fresh veggies in the rollies.
And now we're waiting to get back on the overnight bus at our home-away-from-home for the day, Brothers Cafe tour agency. We took uninvited showers in their bathroom this morning after our bus ride...did you know that showers here are in the same room as the toilet and sink? As in, there is no seperate shower stall or bathtub. You turn on the shower, and it flows onto the same floor that ou stand on to brush your teeth or use the toilet. Cool! It's like this everywhere- restaurants, offices, hotels.
Hoi An, here we come. Going to get some clothes made!
On Sunday we went to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai temple, with our intrepid guide "Jackie". Jackie had long flowing hair that was both alluring and repulsive at the same time (you sort of wanted to run your fingers through it and then run screaming). Jackie worked for the Navy Seals during the war, and lived to tell the tale, quite emotionally, every day on his tours. The VietCong imprisoned him for three years after the US troops left.
The VietCong were pretty crafty - they dug miles of tunnels underground to hide from the French and then the Americans. We crawled through a modified, and widened for the American chassis, version of the tunnels. Pretty scary, even without the sound of B52s buzzing overhead. We saw bomb craters and survived demonstrations of lethal booby traps set by the VietCong for American troops. It was the War of American Agression version of Disneyland. Our visit culminated at the shooting range, where we unloaded a few rounds from an M16. That was Sarah's favorite part, obviously.
Prior to the tunnels we visited the Cao Dai temple - an ornate and colorful temple on beautiful grounds. The Cao Dai religion borrowed their favorite aspects of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and threw in some rather random appointed Divine Agents, or patron saints - Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, Vladimir Lenin, and Charlie Chaplin, to name a few. The worshippers all dressed in white robes and the holy men and women in blue, red or yellow robes. None seemed bothered by the throngs of tourists snapping pictures from the balcony as they chanted in prayer.
Monday was Mekong Delta tour day. Three hour drive up the valley, and then we took a river boat throughout the Delta. The floating markets were the highlight - loads of fishermen's boats selling everything you can imagine all bustling around the 'marketplace'. The shores of the muddy water were crowded with small houses on stilts, pretty much just how National Geographic portrayed it. We visited different areas that specialized in production of different products. We saw: a honey factory/bee hive, a rice factory, and the coconut candy factory. Rice paper and coconut wood chopsticks for all!!
We got back from the Delta, dirty and stinky, at 7:30PM, grabbed some Banh Mi sandwiches, and boarded the sleeper bus to Nha Trang. The bus was definitely a few decades old but otherwise pretty awesome, with a reclining bed for each person. Actually the best sleep we've gotten yet, as the prior two nights we had a discotech jamming all night right outside of our window and mattress coils jabbing us in all spots. Another highlight of the night- we stopped at a roadside cafe at midnight and used our first squat toilet! TP is unheard of here.
We arrived in the beach town of Nha Trang at 6 this morning, and spent the day in pursuit of Banana Shakes, hanging out at the (beautiful for this point in the trip) beach, and enjoying the (relative) peacefulness of small town life. Milestone: we finally built up enough courage to sit on plastic chairs out on the street with the locals and order Pho for breakfast. Delicious, and at $.75 a pop not a bad deal. Lunch was 'roll your own', a smorgasboard of vegetables, meat, and saucy stuff to create the Vietnamese version of a fajita. Loved it, waiting for dysentery to strike due to the fresh veggies in the rollies.
And now we're waiting to get back on the overnight bus at our home-away-from-home for the day, Brothers Cafe tour agency. We took uninvited showers in their bathroom this morning after our bus ride...did you know that showers here are in the same room as the toilet and sink? As in, there is no seperate shower stall or bathtub. You turn on the shower, and it flows onto the same floor that ou stand on to brush your teeth or use the toilet. Cool! It's like this everywhere- restaurants, offices, hotels.
Hoi An, here we come. Going to get some clothes made!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Good Morning Vietnam!
We made it to Saigon! Vietnam is not a huge fan of Facebook or Blogger, it appears, so our posts for the next few weeks may be few and far between.
Highlights of our first two days in Saigon:
- Sarah bought a pink and purple ice cream from a cart, and ate most of it before realizing the rotting fruit scent she kept smelling was coming from her cone. It was durian flavored. Yuck.
- We were enjoying a half hour boat tour on the Saigon river, until our little boat broke down. We sat on the boat for almost an hour while our poor captain tried to fix his engine. We were eventually rescued by another boatsman, but left our struggling captain behind.
- We visited the War Remnants Museum, and learned more about all the horrible things the American military did here. We tried to keep a low profile amongst the schoolchildren.
- We learned, the hard way, not to take pedicabs around town. They are pretty awesome though - we got bicycled right into lines of traffic of hundreds of motorbikes heading straight for us.
- We've eaten lots of noodles.
Now we're off to explore Vietcong tunnels and fire an AK-47 today!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
And Away We Go
WE ARE LEAVING IN AN HOUR FOR THE AIRPORT!!!
She even drove us to the airport at 4AM. What a pal. Then we hung out in Minneapolis for two days with Stephanie and Oscar, with Laura as our fearless tour guide. They all showed us a great time, and we ate our way through Minnesota's finest cuisine. What an awesome city!
Now we're off to spend some quality time on airplanes, we'll be back online in a few days when we land in Saigon!
Holy Smokes.
We've spent the whole day weeding out the contents of our backpacks. I won't tell you how many pairs of underwear we are each now left with, but perhaps as they months roll by you will hear more about them.
Last night we had a little family gathering at the house to celebrate a few birthdays and say farewell to the traveling duo. Granny enjoyed a relaxing sit in our new massage chair, Grampy got to work cracking nuts, and all around a good time was had.
A thank you to our two most recent hosts in the Sarah and Arli roam the country saga! Danielle cooked us a tasty meal and baked the cutest Happy Travels cake ever for our overnight in Boston.
She even drove us to the airport at 4AM. What a pal. Then we hung out in Minneapolis for two days with Stephanie and Oscar, with Laura as our fearless tour guide. They all showed us a great time, and we ate our way through Minnesota's finest cuisine. What an awesome city!
As you can see, Oscar does an impeccable Golden Gopher impression, for you Minnesota fans out there ;)
And our latest news, Sarah is free of her hard brace!!! Wow. She has graduated to a soft brace for the next month. We are so proud of her and her C7.
Now we're off to spend some quality time on airplanes, we'll be back online in a few days when we land in Saigon!
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Storm before the Calm
I know you've been holding your breath wondering what the dynamic duo are up to in these precious few days before take-off, so I thought I'd fill you in with a brief weekly review:
I had visions of ten calm days of unemployed rest and and relaxation before heading out on our adventure... not quite so. Before exploring Asia we decided we wanted to see as much of the United States as possible. We hit Philly on our way north from DC, highlighted by a fun night in the gayborhood and an indulgent trip to Reading Terminal. Late Saturday night, after a stop in NYC to pick up a highly coveted pair of trekking shoes, we made it to Rhode Island.
Monday was a loong day commuting into Boston. We started at BC's suburban law campus with a morning Civil Procedures class and a tour. Then we made our way downtown to tour Suffolk and attend an invigorating Constitutional Law class. A drink with Jill and dinner with Leila later, we trudged back to the commuter rail looking just as tired as the poor souls who were just getting out of work.
Next began our pilgrimages to Connecticut. Wednesday was UConn law tour day - a beautiful campus in the not so beautiful city of Hartford. We loved the drive so much we decided to return on Friday for a tour of Newington O&P Certificate Program, where we got to see a lotta legs.
The hours in between pilgrimages were spent eating all our favorite American foods with the Katchpoles, including American Chop Suey, New England Boiled Dinner, and Meatloaf. We are getting our comfort food kicks while we can.
And that brings us up to date, folks. We will continue our tour of the US this weekend with a trip to Minneapolis. More updates to come, and I'm sure we're all looking forward to departure date on Wednesday when we will actually have something exciting to report!
I had visions of ten calm days of unemployed rest and and relaxation before heading out on our adventure... not quite so. Before exploring Asia we decided we wanted to see as much of the United States as possible. We hit Philly on our way north from DC, highlighted by a fun night in the gayborhood and an indulgent trip to Reading Terminal. Late Saturday night, after a stop in NYC to pick up a highly coveted pair of trekking shoes, we made it to Rhode Island.
Monday was a loong day commuting into Boston. We started at BC's suburban law campus with a morning Civil Procedures class and a tour. Then we made our way downtown to tour Suffolk and attend an invigorating Constitutional Law class. A drink with Jill and dinner with Leila later, we trudged back to the commuter rail looking just as tired as the poor souls who were just getting out of work.
Next began our pilgrimages to Connecticut. Wednesday was UConn law tour day - a beautiful campus in the not so beautiful city of Hartford. We loved the drive so much we decided to return on Friday for a tour of Newington O&P Certificate Program, where we got to see a lotta legs.
The hours in between pilgrimages were spent eating all our favorite American foods with the Katchpoles, including American Chop Suey, New England Boiled Dinner, and Meatloaf. We are getting our comfort food kicks while we can.
And that brings us up to date, folks. We will continue our tour of the US this weekend with a trip to Minneapolis. More updates to come, and I'm sure we're all looking forward to departure date on Wednesday when we will actually have something exciting to report!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The etcs, et cetera
Well, the last week has been about 4 weeks rolled into one. We finished packing and cleaning the apartment, had a gigantic party, and moved out. It is a good thing Llorin didn't see the place at 8:00 Sunday morning, because I think the Adams Mill Grill is cleaner at 8 AM on a Sunday that that apartment was.
The party was "off the chain", if you will. Arli and I forgot to take pictures. Oops. I think this masterpiece from Molly really captures the spirit of the night:
I think there were like around 50-60 people there at the height of the bash? Good times. We even had party-crashers and their etcs. Thanks guys! The jello shots were a smash success too.
So, after an exhausting weekend, we are now sort of homeless. We stayed two nights with the Euclid Street gang (thanks Mat, Sarah, Erin, and Joey!), and now we live with Megan, Michelle, Chris, Lance, and Rugby at Chez Shazam on Monroe Street. Hey guys, I ate a can of your baked beans! Sorry. I'll get you some more.
Yesterday, I went to have a second CT scan, and probs the last one I'll be able to get since I'm quitting my job and won't have health insurance, and even when I do, this will be a "pre-existing condition". Sweet. So, I haven't heard from my doctor yet, but the bone still looks wicked broken. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting, like some super-human bone healing shit, which is exactly where tons of drinking and eating pizza will get you. Which is exactly what life seems to have turned to the last few weeks. At least I don't eat pho every day. Sick.
Speaking of pho, that's what they eat in Viet-nam, and that is where we are going in less than TWO WEEKS. Holy crap! And since this is supposed to be our travel blog, I guess I had better mention something related to our trip. I bought some luggage locks yesterday, plus face wash. Oh and I also got a travel-size can of this:
The lady next to me in Target was saying something about a chocolate bar walking down the street, so I'm going to assume this is what she was talking about.She also said something about how she she did want other girls taking a bite of her man. Arli, how do you feel about that? Do you think this puts me at risk of getting chunks taken out of me in Luang Prabang? And would that make you jealous? Do they even LIKE chocolate in Asia?
Earlier last week, I noticed that while the shoe box for my new trekking shoes said "8.5" the shoes contained within were actually an 8.0. So that was annoying, and we have to exchange them at the store in NYC. Ugh.
Welp, aside from those thrilling tidbits, we have mostly been concentrating on saying "see you later" to our pals here in DC. Love you guys!
The party was "off the chain", if you will. Arli and I forgot to take pictures. Oops. I think this masterpiece from Molly really captures the spirit of the night:
So, after an exhausting weekend, we are now sort of homeless. We stayed two nights with the Euclid Street gang (thanks Mat, Sarah, Erin, and Joey!), and now we live with Megan, Michelle, Chris, Lance, and Rugby at Chez Shazam on Monroe Street. Hey guys, I ate a can of your baked beans! Sorry. I'll get you some more.
Yesterday, I went to have a second CT scan, and probs the last one I'll be able to get since I'm quitting my job and won't have health insurance, and even when I do, this will be a "pre-existing condition". Sweet. So, I haven't heard from my doctor yet, but the bone still looks wicked broken. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting, like some super-human bone healing shit, which is exactly where tons of drinking and eating pizza will get you. Which is exactly what life seems to have turned to the last few weeks. At least I don't eat pho every day. Sick.
Speaking of pho, that's what they eat in Viet-nam, and that is where we are going in less than TWO WEEKS. Holy crap! And since this is supposed to be our travel blog, I guess I had better mention something related to our trip. I bought some luggage locks yesterday, plus face wash. Oh and I also got a travel-size can of this:
Earlier last week, I noticed that while the shoe box for my new trekking shoes said "8.5" the shoes contained within were actually an 8.0. So that was annoying, and we have to exchange them at the store in NYC. Ugh.
Welp, aside from those thrilling tidbits, we have mostly been concentrating on saying "see you later" to our pals here in DC. Love you guys!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
