The Picture Blog: Thanks for Reading!!

As the Vietnam Blog reaches the end of its storied tenure, I feel it would be remiss of me not to give something back to my loyal readers who, week in week out, sit staring at their computers, just waiting, hoping, praying for the next Post to roll out.

Well, here it is, my final Vietnam post just to say Thanks For Reading! In return for your steadfast support, I give you a post that involves little to no reading at all! My favorite pix from the month+ that I spent on the road in Vietnam and Laos.

Enjoy.

The Open Road. That's what it's all about ya'll.
Outside Dong Hoi, Vietnam

Mekong Sunsets. Unbeatable.
Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos

Buffalo are excellent swimmers
The road from Sapa to Ha Giang, Northern Vietnam

Read on too see more attempts at photography

Saigon Food Blog: White People Like This

After more than a month of driving, busing, training, and merry-making my way through Vietnam and Laos, I had finally arrived in the southern capital of Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as Saigon. My former travel partner Dan, of NorthernVietnam and Laos fame, had been living and teaching in Saigon for some time, and was only in Hanoi for the summer program, much like myself. So when I got in to town and met up with Dan he asked me what I wanted to do with my 3 days in Saigon, and my answer was simple: Eat.
(...and the award for Paragraph With the Most Blog Links Ever goes toooo: That one!! Congratulations, you earned it.)

Food in Southern Vietnam is not quite the same as in the North, where for much of its history, food was regulated by the communist government, and there was not much of it to go around, much less to get creative with. But Southern cuisine is widely regarded as the more diverse and flavorful of the two, with a bit more pizazz and a bit more heat to it. I was ready to dive in and get as much of that Southern flavor as I could before leaving the country for good.

The One. The Only.

Saigon is crazy crowded, and where there are a lot of hungry people there are a lot of restaurants to feed them. But my top priority was a local lunch spot I had been hearing about before I even knew I'd be moving to Vietnam: a street side vendor run by a woman know to foreigners simply as The Lunch Lady. This woman has probably featured in just about every Vietnamese/Southeast Asia food blog you can find, and with good reason. Every day at lunch time she serves a different dish, rotating weekly through local favorites and regional adaptations. Her food is rich, the servings hearty, and her reputation widespread throughout the expat/backpacker scene.

Read on to hear how awesome the Lunch Lady is

Day 31 & 32 & 33 & 34: Inclement Weather and The End of The Line

Having well and truly enjoyed my time in Nha Trang, my journey was nearing its close, and there were only 2 more towns to check off my list before reaching Saigon: the mountain retreat town called Dalat, and the once-small fishing village turned action-sports mecca known as Mui Ne. I'd read about a newish road that goes straight from Nha Trang through the beautiful mountainous countryside straight into Dalat, so I packed up and headed out, looking forward to a scenic, hairpin-filled romp through the hills.

The last bit of scenery I actually got to enjoy...

The drive turned out to be anything but a romp. My ability to avoid inclement weather throughout my trip was a stroke of luck I was thankful for, but the trip to Dalat quickly ended that lucky streak. It was rainy and freezing cold, and any hope that I had of enjoying scenic vistas or entertaining roads was quickly shot; all the vistas were covered with mega-lame clouds, and the turns and curves that would have been a blast to drive in good weather were suddenly slick and treacherous.

As I approached one such turn, I applied my breaks in anticipation, and nothing happened... whether I was skidding or the breaks were too cold and wet to accomplish what they were intended for I still don't know, but within seconds I was in the turn and off the road, with only the guardrail and about 3 feet of rocky ground separating me and my bike from a sheer drop off a cliff.... thanks to my expert driving abilities, I was able to save myself from disaster, but a wreck that far from civilization would not have turned out well for our brave hero!

Read on to see how long I stayed in Dalat, plus: my inevitable run-in with The Law.

Day 28 & 29 & 30: Nha Trang: More Russians Than You'd Expect...

After a beach-side recovery from my megadrive from central to south, I was ready to get back on the saddle, though only briefly, to cover the 66 Km down to Nha Trang, Vietnam's beach town extraordinaire. A friend of mine from Hanoi, Becky, had moved down to the southern tourist trap just a few weeks prior, and had assured me I had a place to stay when I passed through, an offer that I'm always willing to accept. The drive - which saw my bike pass the 10,000 KM mark (!!) - was straightforward and pleasant, and in no time, Becky was showing me around her new home.

I'm the little blue smurf above the "N"

Nha Trang, like some other great Southeast Asian cities (*coughChiangMaicough*), is a popular tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors. The town is situated right on the coast, and bordered on nearly every non-beach side by scenic mountainous terrain. Its no wonder tourists flock here, but wondering is permitted when noticing one interesting quirk of the town: there's a whole lot of Russian around. Restaurants, clothing stores, travel agencies, even market stalls are littered with that indecipherable, backwards-looking script that Russians always seem to insist are words.

“Why..” you ask? Well so did I: seems the common political ideologies shared by communist Vietnam and the former Soviet Union did more than just provide this lovable 3^rd world country with cheap vehicles, weapons, and unsightly government buildings; it also struck up a tourism link between the two countries (that is, once Russians started having enough money to travel outside their frostbitten country). In fact, there are very few international flights into the small Nha Trang airport, but there is one that goes directly to and from Moscow... go figure.

Read on to hear how a retiree spends their time in Vietnam

Day 25 & 26 & 27: Megadrive/Gettin Jungley With It

Due to the previous day's failure to launch from the charming grip of Hoi An, it was necessary to make Day 25 the longest driving day of the trip, during which I had to cover 320 Km (about 200 miles). Though this may not seem like the marathon journey I'm prone to make it out to be, it was nearly 100 Km longer than any other drive I'd undertaken thus far, and quite an undertaking on roads of variable quality and a bike that tops out at about 80 Kph (50 mph).

I woke early, grabbed some market food, and headed out of Hoi An, this time with my passport most certainly IN my possession. The first hour and a half of Deja Vu Drive went as smoothly as it had the previous day (sigh...), and the following hour and a half provided similar predictability, and slightly different scenery. I neared my beach-side lunching destination right on time, but first had to stop at a museum in Son My village, the location of a brutal, controversial, and eventually well-publicized atrocity of war, referred to simply as the My Lai Massacre.

this plastic reenactment could actually appear comical... except for the fact that it actually happened.

Some brief background: the small coastal village called Son My, just south of the Demilitarized Zone, was suspected (or known) to be housing Vietcong supporters/members, and a small group of US soldiers were given vague directions to go take care of the issue, as soldiers are so frequently ordered to do. Something in the directions or the men's brains was off that day, however, and it resulted in the mass slaying of over 100 innocent villagers in My Lai hamlet; men, women, children, and elderly, without discernment. The place was torched to the ground, with the few remaining survivors left to pick up the pieces of their decimated families and homes, not to mention dealing with the subsequent bombings of the area, supposed to be attempts by the US Military to cover their transgressions.

Persevere

Like the rest of Vietnam, life today in rural Son My ticks along normally. The museum, a moderate flow of tourists, and an annual remembrance of the victims are the only traces of what happened, which is all probably for the best. It is now simply another story of innocent people meeting a tragic end, all at the hands of warring governments who decide it necessary to their Empire to put their citizens directly in harm's way. War is a sad, ugly, childish thing.

Read on for some less depressing stuff! Really, I promise...

Day 22 & 23 & 24 : Hoi An: Are we in Disney World?

The the day after my unexpected Hue Party, I awoke fresh and ready to leave town before any more locals could coax me into a day of drinking. Having taken in the compulsory sights of Hue, it was time to move to Hoi An, another historic town/tourist trap, but by most accounts a far more quaint and pleasant one than Hue. The drive, which rolls over Hai Van Pass and through the big city of Danang, is known to be very lovely. And lovely it was:

Bigger vehicles can take a tunnel through the mountain that'll knock 30 mins. off travel time. Worth it?...

Love a good hairpin pic

Hoi An is marketed as an important “Ancient City,” and indeed it was for many years, acting as a major port of call for traders from all over Asia and even as far away as Europe. As such, the city boasts a good deal of foreign influence – especially in its food and architecture – originating from long before the war, tourism, and modern development. More recently, it has become known for its pleasant Disneyesque ambiance and dirt cheap tailoring shops (of which there are too many to count), and is one of the most frequently visited tourist hot spots in Vietnam. I rolled in to town, easily found the accommodation that had been recommended to me (a bar/guesthouse hybrid dubbed The Sleepy Gecko), and headed for the beach. Despite the fact that Hoi An is not known for its beaches, it has a few nearby that are pretty fantastic.

The following day, I joined forces with a couple of French siblings staying in the dorm with me, and we made a trip to nearby Marble Mountain outside of the big city of Danang. Marble Mountain is exactly what it sounds like, only better. A few small mountains outside the city were found to be full of high quality marble stone, so naturally they threw a billion marble shops around it and started mining the hell out of it. The interesting part is, after they'd presumably taken as much stone from the mountain as they could, they turned it in to a tourist attraction so they could keep making money off of it (savvy, no?). While I wasn't expecting much, Marble Mountain turned out to be something of a sightseer's playground. There were loads of caves (not naturally occurring, but still cool) full of monuments and such, and lots of areas to climb around on and explore. We worked up quite a sweat hiking up to the top, and while the pictures don't do it justice, the views were amazing.

Read on for Marble Mountain Pix, and hear about yet another mishap – seems to be a running theme...

Day 20 & 21: Hue: The Mid-Trip Crisis

After enjoying Dong Hoi much more than I expected, it was time to continue on my way south. My next stop was the former imperial capital of Hue, which has turned in to a bit of a tourist trap thanks to its historical importance and location.

The drive took me through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the narrow region that once territorially separated North and South Vietnam, and saw a massive amount of fighting and destruction during the war. Though there are plenty of sights to see in the DMZ, my research told me that most are not all that interesting, and even less so without a guide. One sight however – The Vinh Moc Tunnels - is considered by nearly everyone as a DMZ must-see (DMZMC?..). So in the morning I strapped my bag to my bike and set off, with plans to make it to the Tunnels around lunch, and Hue by late afternoon.

"...there's a powder room on your left, and if you'll follow me through the foyer, out front is one of our newest Bomb Craters, just installed last week..."

The Vinh Moc Tunnels were dug by the industrious people of the area just north of the Ben Hai River, which lies on the “17^th Parallel”, dividing North and South Vietnam. Their villages came under extremely heavy bombing (approximated at 7 tons of bombs/resident) from the American forces, who were hoping to cut off a suspected supply line to the Northern forces/Vietcong in the south. The villagers couldn't stand the idea of leaving their homeland, and with really nowhere else to go, decided to simply head underground. Over a span of 3 years, they dug an impossibly elaborate tunnel system, and lived there for several years after its completion.

Down we go

Big enough to give birth in, but not big enough for me to stand upright...

It can be easy to distance ourselves from what the Vietnamese have been through over the last 100 years at the hands of foreign governments, obviously including my own. However, the perseverance and love for their homeland that these people have shown is truly astonishing – I have no idea what I would do, if put in the same situation (though it would probably involve running away to Mexico... but, of course, not Canada...)

read on to hear about a surprise party of sorts 

Day 18 & 19: Dong Hoi-in'

Our eventfully funstrating (see what I did?) trip to Laos had come to an end, and Dan and I sat in the massively boring town of Vinh (the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh, communist Vietnam's venerated liberator/demi-god) trying to decide what to do next. Dan's decision was reluctantly made but relatively straightforward: the passport fiasco had taken quite a toll on his bank account, and he simply did not have the funds to continue traveling, so a flight home to Saigon was the most efficient, cost-effective option. He had been hoping to see the towns of Hue & Hoi An, but it wasn't on the cards this time around.

My options were more varied, but after investigating train and bus options, I came to the obvious conclusion that I should just start driving south, and see what happens. So after bidding a tearful goodbye to Dan, I set off down the Highway 1, a lonesome drifter with no concrete plans to speak of. Man i'm cool.

just a man and his bike

I decided that I'd stay in the town of Dong Hoi, some 200 Km south of Vinh, and finally set off just after lunchtime. (didn't I say in a previous post i'd never leave at the hottest time of day again?.. woops) The drive proved more pleasant than expected. I got to see some fabulous scenery, and the first glimpse of the ocean I'd had in several months.

Ocean to the right, mountains to the east. Would you have taken the tunnel? Yeah.. me neither

In addition, while taking a short break to rehydrate, I witnessed a sword fight. No, not an elegant, choreographed duel like you see in the movies, but literally two guys chasing each other at full sprint, angrily brandishing 2.5 foot long sabers, which they were not shy about swinging at one another whenever they got close enough. Just when I thought I was about to watch someone lose an appendage, the brawl got broken up by several other guys carrying identical blades of their own. The main assailant was apprehended, and I got the hell out of there before they brought out the battle axes and maces...

read on to see if I stumble across any other dangerously violent activity. Plus: pictures of caves!

Day 16 & 17: Travel Marathon Revisited/Reversed

It was a bright Saturday morning, and time for me to bid adieu to the Bolaven Plateau and make my way toward the border (which had my bike) and Dan (who had my money). I had one last hearty meal of Laab (spicy pork & herb salad) and sticky rice, and got a good luck/safe journey bracelet, both made and delivered by Mama herself.

The drive was pleasant, if not as scenic as I expected, but definitely colder than I was ready for. I dodged a short rain shower in a cafe that served locally grown coffee (The Plateau is the first place the French brought coffee to be cultivated in Laos), and was back in Pakse by the early afternoon. I stopped by the bus station and booked a sleeper bus for that night headed north. The price was wwaaaaaaay more than I wanted to pay, but my only cheaper option got me to the midway point at 11 PM, and I was not trying to pay for a bus AND a room. After returning the bike I posted up in a cafe until leaving time at 8.

Bus snack. Just how i like my butter: extra chocky

The bus was comfortable enough, but way too fast, and I arrived at Tha Kek, my point of disembarkation, around 2 in the morning. Just where I want to be in a small town in the middle of the night: the bus station. Having already overpaid for the bus, I most certainly was not going to now go overpay for a room that I was only going to use for 3 hours. Luckily, there was a very cozy looking bench that I camped out on, and there were even several locals staying the night as well, which made the whole thing much less lonely/nerve-wracking than it could have been

In the morning, Dan met me at the station, and it was lovely to see his smiling face again. Sleep deprived but in good spirits, we hopped on a bus headed in our direction at 6:30 AM. This bus happened to be the slowest bus ever, but we eventually made it back to the border and our beloved bikes.

Happy to be back with our babies

Another scenic ride through the mountains and a not-so-scenic ride through the suburbs brought us back to Vinh by dusk. We were back in Vietnam finally, and ready to decide how we would proceed, something we'd not considered fully since having our plan derailed by the Lao government/passport debacle.

Tune in next time to find out what we decided to do, PLUS: a bonus video of Dan singing Call Me Maybe (warning: this video may or may not exist. But this is the only place to see it, if in fact it does exist, so you better come back next time and check, just to be sure...)

Day 14 & 15: The Abbreviated Plateau Trip

So here we are in Pakse, ready to get our mountain motorbike driving on in the Bolaven Plateau in Southern Laos, and suddenly Dan's passport is gone. No telling if it was dropped, misplaced, stolen, or used for rolling doobies by the doobie smoking hippies of Don Det. Regardless of how it happened, the thing was gone. So Dan headed to the soul-crushing mush that is Vientiane, and I headed to the Plateau to try to salvage some enjoyment out of an unfortunate situation.

The Bolaven Plateau is a (insert definition of a plateau) lying east of Pakse and the Mekong at an average elevation just over 1000 Km. The area has seen a rise in tourism in recent years thanks to some beautiful landscapes, a collection of impressive waterfalls, and gloriously cheap accommodation. We'd originally hoped to roam around the area with our own motorbikes for 4-5 days, then make our exit at the southernmost border crossing back in to Vietnam, but we all know what happened to THAT plan... (we all know... right??). Given circumstances, a shortened, solo version of the trip would have to be undertaken, for better or worse.

Well... at least the dude in the bungalow NEXT to mine had a good view of Tad Hang...

My first destination was Tad Lo, an area that actually includes 3 fairly substantial waterfalls (Tad Hang, Tad Lo, and Tad Suong), and is the hub of tourism on the Plateau. I grabbed a rickety bungalow by the river with a view of the falls, and immediately made my home in the hammock on the porch. Things were lookin' good, and though I was missing my buddy, I was definitely enjoying the solitude and the peacefulness of the environment I found myself in.

Read on to find out what seemingly inevitable disaster lies in store next

Day 12 & 13: Disaster In Pakse

We had an early, relaxing final morning on Don Det, and made our way to the mainland around 10:30 AM. We caught a van to take us up the highway to Champasak, once an ancient Khmer capital, and now a peaceful riverside town whose only claim to fame is Angkorian temple, Wat Phu. We arrived around 3:00, which gave us just enough time to head out to the ruins and see what all the fuss was about.

Sun shower and some really old buildings

Though it was obviously no match for the ruins at/around Angkor Wat, it was certainly impressive to see a structure over 1000 years old still standing. The stairs I could've done without... but some temples don't just give it away, you gotta earn it.

I love steep, shallow rock stairs as much as the next guy, but I felt bad for all the Asian ladies in their heels...

So with that checked off our list, we headed back to the guesthouse. Our room was pretty dingy, but given the price of $3.75 a night, we weren't complaining. On top of that, the food from the restaurant was super cheap (not necessarily common in Laos) and super good (not necessarily common in cheap hotels), so we were satisfied.

The next morning we woke early to catch a tuk tuk in to town, which the very lovable man in charge flagged down for us without us even having to ask him. By 9ish we were in Pakse, ready to quickly take care of our visas for our impending return to Vietnam, then rent bikes and go enjoy the mountains and waterfalls of the Bolaven Plateau.

Things are operating smoothly for our heroes. What could possibly go wrong now?.....

We get a ride to the Vietnamese Embassy, and begin filling out the paperwork for our visas. Then Dan realizes he doesn't have his passport.

Gone.

Well damn. Did NOT see that one coming.

We had no reason to use our passports since we had entered Laos, so we had no idea of where he might have lost track of it. Neither of us had any recollection of taking either passport out after the first day in the country, but we started calling guesthouses and restaurants regardless. None had seen the missing book, and with nothing else to go on, it was concluded that we were not going to be able to track it down. TOTAL BUMMER. Total.

Dan now had to trade a date with the Plateau for a date with Vientiane: Laos' capital, my arch-nemesis, and the only city in Laos with a US Embassy. While I wanted to be a loyal travel partner and accompany him, I was not going to make my 5^th trip to such a boring, expensive city, especially with it so far away and the Plateau sooooooo close. I offered anyway, but Dan rightly insisted that it would be a total waste of money for me, and I should just explore the Plateau on my own.

So with that decided, we made some effort to get organized, arrange onward travel (overnight bus for Dan, motorbike for me), and get movin. I rode out of town around 12:30, as Dan waited for his 8 PM bus. Once again, a hugely unfortunate situation but.... you know.

So it goes.

This Mekong Sunset was actually captured in Don Det, I just felt like this post needed a happier ending...

Tune in next time to find out what I forgot to do in the midst of the confusion in Pakse. Yikes!

Days 10 & 11:4000 Islands: Chill, Chill, Chill....

After trials, tribulations, and a whole lotta bus rides, we were finally on the most popular of the 4000 Islands, Southern Laos' top tourists destination. You might have noticed that we've reached day 10 already, and none of these days involved sleeping in the same town more than 1 night in a row. So we were happy to get the chance to slow down, chill out, and enjoy the culture and sights of a place that we had heard so much about.

Don Det and its neighbor Don Kone (Don means “island” in Lao) are well known for their laid-back atmosphere. The area has become something of a backpacker mecca, especially for those making the trip from Laos to Cambodia. or vice versa. When we arrived off of our 27 hour travel marathon, we were more than ready to test just how chill this place could be. With the Mekong sliding past our bungalow, and hammocks a permanent fixture, things were looking up for us battle-hardened heroes.

If this picture doesnt make you giggle then we have different senses of humor

Our plan was to stay 3 nights (nights 9, 10, and 11) then head back up to Pakse to get our Vietnamese visas done before forging in to the mountains. We planned to spend this time doing nothing in particular, soaking up the good vibes and enjoying the view from our hammocks. We also had heard that the kayaking tours are quite worth the $25 price tag (ouch), both from old friends and our new friend from the truck from Pakse, so we decided we would try it out the last day we were there. Seeing waterfalls, freshwater Irrawaddy Dolphins that live in the river, and mastering the mighty Mekong armed with nothing but a plastic boat and paddles seemed like a good way to spend a day.

Read on to see if it was a good way to spend a day, and see some pictures!

Day 8 & 9: Travel, Travel, Travel: The Road to Si Phan Don....

So Day 7 did not go quite as expected, and as a result, Dan and I spent the night in Lak Sao, a small town 34 Km from the border that we so unceremoniously were made to leave our beloved motorbikes at. Disappointed but undeterred, we woke up early-ish to go check out the schedule at the bus station for whatever vehicles were headed our way.

We showed up around 8:45 to find the bus station already very busy. We'd missed several trucks going in the right direction, but there was one leaving in 35 minutes that we could jump on. We hadn't prepared for such a quick departure, but the iron was hot and only getting colder, so it was time to strike. We grabbed a bit of food, then the truck drove us by our guesthouse to quickly pack up our stuff, and we were off.

A thoughtful man

The drive was pleasant enough, and though we still missed our bikes, we were thankful not to be driving through the rain on this cold wet morning. After a couple hours we pulled in to Vieng Kham, then immediately got on another truck headed down to the larger town of Tha Kek, which houses, among other things, a bus station with overnight departures to Pakse, the southern capital of Laos.

Read on to see if more misfortune befalls the daring duo, or if this is just a boring post about bus rides.

Day 7: Change of Plans

On night 6, we put our bikes and ourselves on the train to Vinh, and it must have been Official Take Your Young Children to Vinh Weekend, as our car was chock full of families and their kids heading south. We settled in to our 3^rd tier bunks (a huge improvement over the benches from the train to Lao Cai) and got some good sleep. We arrived in the morning, got some gasoline, some food, and some coffee, and headed off towards the Laos border.

Because there is not much to see between Hanoi and Hue/Danang/Hoi An, (aside from a very long stretch of highway separating them) we decided to go south through Southern Loas, which contains some fabulous natural attractions, affordable accommodation, and PEOPLE THAT CAN SPEAK THAI! Hooray!! So it would be a few days working our way down south, a few in the 4000 Islands region, on to the southern capital of Pakse to take care of Vietnam Visa stuff, then several more days in the mountains of the Bolaven Plateau. The trip would conclude by leaving through the southernmost checkpoint between Vietnam and Laos, which happens to be quite convenient to the Plateau as well as the citys of Hue, Danang, and Hoi An, our next destination.

We would be riding our bikes into Laos, as we had heard several 1^st and 2^nd hand reports of how easy and cheap it is to bring bikes across the border. We were eager for a change of scenery, and made our way as quickly as possible to the checkpoint, but the roads did not allow for very high speeds. Dodging pothole after pothole, and trying to get by big trucks on small roads was not our idea of fun. But once we got out of the villages and into the mountains, things changed drastically for the better.

The colorzzzzzzzz

Let's be honest: that guardrail wasn't gonna help anybody.

The roads were great and the scenery baffling, and we couldn't wait to see how things continued on the Laos side. We were in high spirits as we pulled up to the border. We went up to the office to get stamped out of Vietnam and pay whatever customs tax we owed for the bikes.

And then they told us that we could not take our bikes into Laos, and would have to leave them at the border.

Ssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

Fantastic.

What will Ian & Dan do?? Will they get out of this pickle? What about the bikes?? Read on to find out.

Day 5 & 6: A Bit Hanoi-ing...

Though we originally had a nice, relaxing, scenic 2-day ride back to Hanoi planned, it had to be scrapped, thanks to a certain highway construction effort 21 Km west of a certain national park.(if you haven't heard about it, go read here, urbody talkin bout it). Our only viable option was to call it a loss, and get back to Hanoi about 18 hours earlier than expected. So we turned our handlebars in the direction of the capital city we had been residents of for the previous 2 months, and were off.

The drive started nicely enough, but soon turned to boring highways lined by small towns, farms, and factories. It threatened rain all day, which actually made for a comfortable driving temperature, and once we got on to the bigger highway, the sailing was smooth for the 100 Km into Hanoi. We took a long lunch, avoiding a short but heavy rain shower, and got in around 4 PM.

Northern Loop completed (kinda).

Sunset view from our favorite bar in Hanoi. This is an old picture... but still appropriate for the post i think

We were disappointed to have not been able to complete our Loop as planned, but it was nice to at least be back in familiar territory, and we had a short list of things to get done (and a long list of things to eat) before we left town

Read on to find out if anything on our to do list was interesting!

There were just a few errands we had to run while we were in the big city, nothing exciting or interesting. Bike maintenance, currency exchange, and saying hey to certain friends were the priorities, as well as various restaurants and eateries that needed to be visited before leaving Hanoi for the foreseeable future.

I felt some of the biggest culture shock I've had since being abroad while taking care of one of our top priorities: see the new Batman movie in a real theater. And the theater was real. So real, I felt like I was back in The States, and it was... weird. And expensive. Not to mention the theme of the movie itself; if you haven't seen it, you should, and not just because of the effects. The whole “1%/99%” social phenomenon is one that peaked while I was abroad, so I'm a bit detached from it. Regardless, it should be noted that by a global standard, the USA is the 1%. Even the people in the US complaining about the 1%. You are the 1% to a lot of other people.

Some cultures who aspire to our particular version of capitalism admire our wealth; others don't. Still, it was a bit unnerving watching the movie in a country whose none-to-distant past involved class tensions, foreign invaders, and bloody domestic war. It's shaped the culture in many ways, often for the worse. I wondered what the Vietnamese people in the audience thought about watching the same scenario unfold in Gotham, especially as many of the victims were of the upper class (something the audience also had in common).

We checked all the boxes on our list, in plenty of time to say some final goodbyes to some of our best friends in Hanoi, then were off on the night train to Vinh, a town about 6 hours south of Hanoi.

The Plan: From Vinh, drive west to the nearby border crossing with Laos, and enjoy a glorious 10 days driving through Southern Laos's 4000 Islands and Bolaven Plateau.

Peace Vietnam, see you soon. Time to get our Laos on ya'll!!

Day 3 & 4: The Quest for Ba Be

Sleeping in was all part of the plan the day we headed for Ba Be National Park, in nearby Bac Kan Province. We grabbed a late breakfast, throughout which a few local truckers insisted that we eat the various pig organs and body parts they had on their plate, while also attempting to get us as drunk as they were. Though it could've been a good time, we had some highways calling our names, and couldn't afford to get wasted at 10:30 AM. We escaped, having only had 3 small shots of rice wine (not whiskey) and a bit of pigs foot. Bags packed and secured to the bikes, we headed down the road toward the our restful lakeside destination.

Ba Be National Park consists of 3 interconnected lakes, all surrounded by steep limestone peaks and a forested area that has a diverse wildlife population. Relaxing by the lake, swinging in a hammock, with ambient jungle noise in my ears, and not a single automobile in sight sounded like the perfect way to spend a couple days. With this restfulness in mind, we powered on through the once again blazing midday heat (I'm never leaving a place at 11 AM ever again. What were we thinking??) on winding roads, which provided beautiful scenery, but at a much slower pace than expected.

a lot of this. we weren't mad

After making our way through a particularly spectacular valley hosting a particularly rugged stretch of highway (if its made of dirt, do you still call it a highway?), I looked over at the mile marker on the side of the road and realized that we no longer on the road we were supposed to be on. Again, we knew we would be coming to a turn in our route, but without a good map, it was hard to say where exactly our turns would come, and we often depend on highway signs and locals to help us out. Neither could do so this time, and the very kind people we went to for help couldn't actually pinpoint where their town was on the map... Despite it all, they seemed cautiously confident that we should continue in the direction we were heading in the first place, and once we convinced ourselves they were right, we headed off.

Did we get the right directions? Read on to find out the not soo shocking answer, then later: a twist!

Day 2: Headed For Ha Giang

Well rested, energized by the beauty of the scenery we'd already taken in, and excited by the prospect of what was to come, Dan and I were ready to eat up some road on the second morning of our trip. After a pleasant breakfast and a cup of coffee, we checked out of our very comfortable room, loaded up the bikes, and hit the road. The weather high in the mountains was gloriously pleasant, with zero humidity and a temperature around 70 F. We dressed appropriately.

The jeans and long sleeves we felt were appropriate for the mountain weather felt less and less so with each kilometer we traveled down into the valley back to Lao Cai. By the time we arrived at the train station in town, we realized the temperature OUTSIDE Sapa was searingly hot, rising above 100 F, and the heat showed no signs of abating, as it was still only around 10:45 AM when we got into town.

so peaceful. minus the sweltering heat

As I mentioned previously, we were lacking a sufficiently detailed map, and finding our way from one highway to another could be a bit tricky at times (see Day 1) so we stopped quickly in Lao Cai to get our bearings and have someone point us in the right direction. In doing so, we ended up starting a pretty rowdy fist fight between 2 motorcycle taxi drivers, who were both trying to give us directions (and turn a small profit from the favor). As they exchanged blows to the head over $2.50 that we weren't going to give them anyway, we climbed back on our bikes, and set off towards what seemed like the right direction based on what the men had told us before the punches started flying. We still don't know who won the fight, but my bet is on the chubby one.

Did we start any more fights? read on to find out

Day 1: Welcome to The Alps of Tonkin

The second I arrived in my room in Sapa, a small mountain town in the far north of Vietnam, my plan for the day was clear: Shower. Eat. Sleep till 4 PM.

Doesn't sound like your usual travel itinerary? Missing some context? Alright, lets Terantino that opener real quick.

Previous to Day 1, Night 0 was spent on an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, with an arrival time around 6 AM, set to be in Sapa at 8 via leisurely motorbike ride through the mountains. Literally hundreds of tourists do this every night, and some might even describe it as the most comfortable train ride they'd ever taken. They didn't take our train -- the budget train.

Does it look grungy and depressing? Good.

OUR overnight train involved metal benches with token plastic cushions that had long lost they're cushiness. Our bench faced another, with a particularly good looking Vietnamese girl in it, but once it became obvious that she couldn't speak any English, and was somehow immune to my good looks and boyish charm as a result, she was suddenly very much in the way of my leg space. The train of course rattled, creaked, and lurched all night, and the metal curtains that covered half the window limited sightseeing, yet allowed in plenty of mountain air to make the journey a fairly chilly one.

read on to hear more tales of woe and misadventure!

New Beginnings: My Glorious Return to Blogdom

The Blog is Back

I have various excuses for why my blog, briefly revitalized in the Autumn of 2011, was so abrubtly and cold-heartedly abandoned. But you know what they say about excuses: Excuses are like (insert vaguely obscene body part here): everybody's got one, but nobody wants to read about yours.

So instead of talking about the past, I'm going to talk about the present. I am currently sitting at a shop that sells beer for 50 cents a bottle in Hanoi. I have just completed 2 months of working, playing, and living in this fast-paced city, sitting on the precipice of another 2 months of travel, and perhaps more.
Hanoi has been... different. At times fantastic and mind-opening, at times frustrating and bewildering, but not once has it been boring, and that certainly counts for something. I'm grateful for my time here (and the money that it made me) but totally ready to get out and see what the rest of Vietnam's got.

Takin the Long Bien Bridge out of town. So long Hanoi, hello open road.

The “plan” is as follows: 1 week in Vietnam's mountainous North, then back through Hanoi en route (yeah, I write in French. So??) to the Laos border. This of course will be followed by a couple weeks in Southern Laos, where the Mekong River is arguably at its most fascinating and scenic. From there, we head back in to Central Vietnam, then hug the coast for the next few weeks, making the well traveled journey south to Saigon. I say “we” as I will be traveling with my good friend Dan, another teacher I met my first day here in Vietnam. We both own motorbikes, small though they may be, and apart from a couple train rides, our entire trip will be made on our trusty Honda stallions.

This is my cordial invitation and urgent notice to you: Join me! I'm going to attempt to make up for my months and months of blog neglect (Bloglect if you will?) by delivering on as regular a basis as my predictably spotty internet access will allow. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your whatever-you-call-your-friends-on-Twitter people:

It's goin down.

Be there

Love,

ian

P.S. There will be pictures