Greetings from Luang Prabang, Laos!
We have so much to talk about, but first, here's how we said goodbye to Vietnam:
We had dinner at an amazing restaurant in Hue (our one fond memory of the city) at a restaurant run by a deaf man and his family. Not only was the food amazing, but the restaurant was also famous for its friendly staff and cool bottle opener- a piece of wood with a nail attached. They give you one to keep and write the name of the restaurant and date of our visit on it. The family had albums of pictures from all over the world with past customers and their bottle openers. Way cool- good food, a one-of-a-kind souvenir and a family that spoke a language that could be understood by any traveler.
We arrived in Hanoi at 6am and immediately didn't understand why so many people told us that they didn't like the city (more on this soon). We got Northern style Pho (still good, but different) and walked around the lake in the Old Quarter which was surrounded by people doing Tai Chi and playing badminton. That day, we had an extremely French experience in Vietnam: we got coffee and pastries at this AWESOME French cafe. I had a Mint Frap and my taste buds went all crazy because it'd been so long since I had Western food. We lunched at the Green Tangerine and had beef carpaccio and pork ribs and french fries (see Dan's post for pictures). We had coffee at another French cafe, then Italian food for dinner with a good childhood friend of mine who is doing research in Vietnam for the summer. After three weeks of only Vietnamese food, the day was an adventure for our tastebuds.
Then, we left for Ha Long Bay which completely lived up to its already high expectations. There were 13 of us and our awesome tour guide. We spent the morning in awe of the limestone and exploring the famous "Surprising Cave" which only got bigger and bigger as it continued. In the afternoon we went kayaking and swimming in the Bay, and that night, we slept on the boat. I felt a million miles away from the world. The next day was crawling with activity, to say the least. Another couple, Dan and I and our tour guide did a 6km trek in Cat Ba National Park. How do I even begin to explain how very rugged our "hike" was? Everything was covered in bugs- wasps, spiders larger than my hands, armies of red ants, butterflies, and about 50 species of bugs I had never seen before. It's pretty humbling when a rock wedged in mud is the only thing that is keeping you from tumbling down 2 km of limestone. To top it all off, the area is roaring with the sounds of the insects. You can only imagine how estatic I was about the whole thing. :) Another swim and a night in a hotel in Cat Ba was more than welcome after that. We were really sad to leave Ha Long and recommend it to any traveler; it really was one of my favorite things to do in Vietnam.
Our last day in Hanoi, the city itself and Vietnam as a whole really started driving us up the wall. We did our last Vietnamese food tour (everything was still delicious), but I'm surprised we even survived the city. The drivers are just as crazy as Saigon, but the major difference between the cities is that there are no sidewalks in Hanoi. It was impossible to get anywhere without fearing your life and no relief as it was always (and I mean ALWAYS) rush hour. We saw a tourist get completely side-swiped by a moto while he was walking. The cheating was also so much more blatant to me as all that the Northerns needed to do was speak quickly enough for me not to understand their accent. In conclusion, we were so over Hanoi the 2nd day.
Vietnam was an amazing learning experience, mostly thanks to my family. We really got a chance to learn about the country, the system, and the lifestyle thanks to the awesome conversations we had with my cousins. As nice as it was, Dan and I were really ready to get on with our trip. And let me just tell you, Laos is incredible. An hour flight out of Hanoi and we crossed into a completely different world. Luang Prabang is clean, adorable, quiet and so peaceful. We are staying in an adorable little guest house for $15 a night across from one of the 32 Wats in the city. I woke up at 4am this morning to the sound of drumming as monks walked through the city and received alms from the townspeople. The streets are quaint and clean, there's no loud honking and the Laotian people are friendly and sweet. Originally, we were planning on staying 3-4 days, but now we're extending it to 6-7. I am sure we will so much to post on again soon.
Miss you all!!!
7.08.2008
Vietnam in Pictures(Part 1)
Due to much clamoring of the masses, here is the first part of our long-overdue picture post. It contains some of our favorite photos of Vietnam with some brief explanations. Now that we have left Tina's homeland for Laos, I am beginning to gain some perspective on our experiences there. I truly enjoyed Vietnam, but to simplify my feelings: Vietnam is hard, while Laos is really easy. For instance, in Laos, I sometimes wait 45 minutes just to get my bill at a restaurant. In contrast, in Vietnam, I once had a waitress reach inside of my wallet while it was in my hand, as I suppose I wasn't paying my bill fast enough.
Once I figure out the rest of my thoughts, I'll make sure to post them.
Obligatory Tina in a rice patty hat pic.
A wonderful meal of "elephant ear" fish.
This is our crew. We don't mess around.
This is a non-alcoholic beverage made from the saliva and fungus produced nests of a special swallow in Southeast Asia called the Yen(pronounced Een(g) in Vietnamese). People collect their small white nests off the sides of caves and sell them for about $2500 per kilo. They have to be very careful to not over-collect the nests, otherwise the Yen numbers will dwindle. A medicinal soup is also made from the nests. Oh and I am planning to go check out an Yen cave in Thailand, as the Vietnamese government controls their Yen islands and told me to get lost.
One of the numerous snake in ricewine jars we saw throughout Vietnam. This one was extra special, as it was a cobra with a bonus black crow thrown in for extra aphrodisiac goodness!
We woke up at 4am to go to a floating market in Can Tho and it was beautiful. We saw everything for sale on the boats, from durian and dragonfruit, to baguettes, steaming bowls of Pho and even...
Babies for sale!
Although this family indicated it was selling chuoi(bananas) based on a pole with a chuoi sticking out of their boat, when we came upon them, they had a baby sitting on their scale. I asked Tina's Mom how much Vietnamese babies cost per kilo, but she said that it wasn't actually for sale. So, I responded by informing her of Branjelina's Vietnamese baby purchase and suggested that perhaps they came to the same floating market.
My third favorite fruit(behind durian and dragonfruit), chom chom aka rambutan.
I am frustrated with blogspot at the moment, as it is taking forever to upload pictures. I'll post the rest ASAP.
Once I figure out the rest of my thoughts, I'll make sure to post them.
Obligatory Tina in a rice patty hat pic.
A wonderful meal of "elephant ear" fish.
This is our crew. We don't mess around.
This is a non-alcoholic beverage made from the saliva and fungus produced nests of a special swallow in Southeast Asia called the Yen(pronounced Een(g) in Vietnamese). People collect their small white nests off the sides of caves and sell them for about $2500 per kilo. They have to be very careful to not over-collect the nests, otherwise the Yen numbers will dwindle. A medicinal soup is also made from the nests. Oh and I am planning to go check out an Yen cave in Thailand, as the Vietnamese government controls their Yen islands and told me to get lost.
One of the numerous snake in ricewine jars we saw throughout Vietnam. This one was extra special, as it was a cobra with a bonus black crow thrown in for extra aphrodisiac goodness!
We woke up at 4am to go to a floating market in Can Tho and it was beautiful. We saw everything for sale on the boats, from durian and dragonfruit, to baguettes, steaming bowls of Pho and even...Babies for sale!
Although this family indicated it was selling chuoi(bananas) based on a pole with a chuoi sticking out of their boat, when we came upon them, they had a baby sitting on their scale. I asked Tina's Mom how much Vietnamese babies cost per kilo, but she said that it wasn't actually for sale. So, I responded by informing her of Branjelina's Vietnamese baby purchase and suggested that perhaps they came to the same floating market.
My third favorite fruit(behind durian and dragonfruit), chom chom aka rambutan.I am frustrated with blogspot at the moment, as it is taking forever to upload pictures. I'll post the rest ASAP.
7.02.2008
You So Pretty, Like Model, Cheerleader
We have met and befriended our first lady boy. Holler. Quick recap:
Last Thursday, we left Saigon (after some awesome nights of drinking Vietnamese beer and singing karoke with my cousins and uncle- a priceless time) and went to Buon Ma Thout, where my uncle made us wild boar and porcupine. Yum. We saw some cool ethnic minorites and sweet waterfalls. Then, we headed to the city of Da Lat. Da Lat is awesome, as it was untouched by war and has really maintained its French influence. It's pretty awesome having been to Vietnam 11 years ago, then to Paris 2 years ago, then back to Vietnam because now I understand the French influence in the architecture and the city structure. There are large streets built around flower islands and many buildings might have well come from France itself.
Dan and I loved Da Lat, as it looked so much like San Francisco. It was even cool and foggy. We drove around Lak Lake, which was covered with kids flying colorful kites, and young lovers. We drove in a janky jeep up to the top of the city, and also rode up and down a "rollercoaster" to visit a waterfall. The rollercoaster was gheeeeeto and freakin scary, but we obviously survived to tell the tale. Our last night in Da Lat, we saw some tribal dancing, and said tearful goodbyes to my extended family. I now understand why foreigners rave so much about the Vietnamese people. They may have little to give, but will offer you everything they have. This has only been my 2nd trip to Vietnam and my family members have treated Dan and I to experiences we could never have imagined.
That morning, Dan, my mom, and I left for a day in Nha Trang, which was crawling with tourists and awesome nem nuong. Dan shall rave about how good it is in his post.
These past few days, we spent in Hoi An, a charmingly awesome city that has been our favorite so far. To get there, we were on a sleeper bus for 12 hours. Beds piled on top of each other with little cubbies to stick your feet. Asian people are so weird. On the bus we met a French couple; they are accountants in their early 30's. The man is Vietnamese and left Vietnam at 5 years old for Paris, where he has stayed since. They have pretty much had the same travel plans thus far so it's fun running into them and talking to them in 3 languages- Dan speaks to the wife in English, while I speak to her husband in Vietnamese. Then we translate to each other with our respective languages.
All throughout Hoi An, Dan and I kept talking about who we know that would love such and such place. It's a tiny little town with ancient Chinese, Japanese, and French influence. We spent the day visiting temples, the famous Japenese bridge, and museums with architecture that was incredibly unique. In addition, Hoi An is known for its silk and its tailoring, and where there's fashion, there's trannies. Out of the dozens of stores, of course I am lured in by the prettiest Vietnamese man I have ever seen. My mom and I each get a wool coat made, and Dan gets a silk shirt and a linen shirt.
Hoi An was crawling with tourists- more than any other city we have seen. And, since the people are so used to them, there was little begging, pushing, and pursuing from the sales people. We were happy to be left alone for at least a few days. I also fell so in love with the stores and restaurants that were devoted to helping the villagers. Hoi An is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site, which means money is invested in the city to perserve its history. We ate at a restaurant that help pay local children's school fees, and at another that helped keep the city's river clean. We went twice to a store/workshop that is completely run by people who are physically and mentally disabled; their work was amazing. On both visits, we also had to stop by the French bakery next door to fulfill ice cream and pastry cravings.
Today, Dan and I are on our own, as my mom has flown back to Saigon to be with her family until she goes back to America this weekend. We came to Hue by noon and are now completely over the city, and it's only 6:30pm. There is little to be impressed by; even the little things about other cities are more charming than Hue's massive citadel. Tomorrow, we leave for Hanoi on the Reunification Express. I think it's something like 13 hours in a sleeper train. I'm hoping it has chocolate covered frogs and every flavor jelly beans a la Hogwarts Express. We'll let you know :)
Last Thursday, we left Saigon (after some awesome nights of drinking Vietnamese beer and singing karoke with my cousins and uncle- a priceless time) and went to Buon Ma Thout, where my uncle made us wild boar and porcupine. Yum. We saw some cool ethnic minorites and sweet waterfalls. Then, we headed to the city of Da Lat. Da Lat is awesome, as it was untouched by war and has really maintained its French influence. It's pretty awesome having been to Vietnam 11 years ago, then to Paris 2 years ago, then back to Vietnam because now I understand the French influence in the architecture and the city structure. There are large streets built around flower islands and many buildings might have well come from France itself.
Dan and I loved Da Lat, as it looked so much like San Francisco. It was even cool and foggy. We drove around Lak Lake, which was covered with kids flying colorful kites, and young lovers. We drove in a janky jeep up to the top of the city, and also rode up and down a "rollercoaster" to visit a waterfall. The rollercoaster was gheeeeeto and freakin scary, but we obviously survived to tell the tale. Our last night in Da Lat, we saw some tribal dancing, and said tearful goodbyes to my extended family. I now understand why foreigners rave so much about the Vietnamese people. They may have little to give, but will offer you everything they have. This has only been my 2nd trip to Vietnam and my family members have treated Dan and I to experiences we could never have imagined.
That morning, Dan, my mom, and I left for a day in Nha Trang, which was crawling with tourists and awesome nem nuong. Dan shall rave about how good it is in his post.
These past few days, we spent in Hoi An, a charmingly awesome city that has been our favorite so far. To get there, we were on a sleeper bus for 12 hours. Beds piled on top of each other with little cubbies to stick your feet. Asian people are so weird. On the bus we met a French couple; they are accountants in their early 30's. The man is Vietnamese and left Vietnam at 5 years old for Paris, where he has stayed since. They have pretty much had the same travel plans thus far so it's fun running into them and talking to them in 3 languages- Dan speaks to the wife in English, while I speak to her husband in Vietnamese. Then we translate to each other with our respective languages.
All throughout Hoi An, Dan and I kept talking about who we know that would love such and such place. It's a tiny little town with ancient Chinese, Japanese, and French influence. We spent the day visiting temples, the famous Japenese bridge, and museums with architecture that was incredibly unique. In addition, Hoi An is known for its silk and its tailoring, and where there's fashion, there's trannies. Out of the dozens of stores, of course I am lured in by the prettiest Vietnamese man I have ever seen. My mom and I each get a wool coat made, and Dan gets a silk shirt and a linen shirt.
Hoi An was crawling with tourists- more than any other city we have seen. And, since the people are so used to them, there was little begging, pushing, and pursuing from the sales people. We were happy to be left alone for at least a few days. I also fell so in love with the stores and restaurants that were devoted to helping the villagers. Hoi An is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site, which means money is invested in the city to perserve its history. We ate at a restaurant that help pay local children's school fees, and at another that helped keep the city's river clean. We went twice to a store/workshop that is completely run by people who are physically and mentally disabled; their work was amazing. On both visits, we also had to stop by the French bakery next door to fulfill ice cream and pastry cravings.
Today, Dan and I are on our own, as my mom has flown back to Saigon to be with her family until she goes back to America this weekend. We came to Hue by noon and are now completely over the city, and it's only 6:30pm. There is little to be impressed by; even the little things about other cities are more charming than Hue's massive citadel. Tomorrow, we leave for Hanoi on the Reunification Express. I think it's something like 13 hours in a sleeper train. I'm hoping it has chocolate covered frogs and every flavor jelly beans a la Hogwarts Express. We'll let you know :)
6.25.2008
Surely, You Can't Be Serious!
I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.
Tina and I have been traveling all over Saigon and the Mekong Delta, and yes, we do things other than eat. However, some of the highlights so far have definitely been food related, especially the exotic edibles we've had the opportunity to try, like ba ba(turtle), pictured above. Although I've had little pieces of sea turtle in soup before, having an entire turtle that looked like Norman, my class pet in the third grade, made me a little squeamish. And that was before Tina's cousin, Huy, opened it up:
We quickly realized that this cooked version of Norman must actually be a Normina, as those yellow balls you see are premature turtle eggs:
The turtle meat itself was pretty good, but Tina's Vietnamese taste buds preferred it much more than mine. The eggs, on the other hand, were excellent. They tasted sort of like quail eggs. If you ever eat ba ba, I highly recommend asking for a female.
Hmm, that actually sounds sort of gruesome, so please disregard that suggestion.
We've also tried several different versions of se se(sparrow):
You can eat their little grilled bodies whole, including their legs, and they taste like the best barbecued chicken wings in the world. I just wish they had an option for buffalo se se.
Oh and I finally got to try the aforementioned "cat poop coffee", aka ca phe cuc chon(literally translated as civet poop coffee). Despite my excitement, deep down I feared that the coffee would taste just like normal Vietnamese coffee. Upon my first sip, I discovered a completely unique brew unlike any coffee I've ever tried. The taste sort of hit me in my nose, like a hoppy beer. I'll try to bring some back with me if I can.
Finally, we visited a monkey zoo, which was actually more of a human zoo for wild monkeys , but I'll post pictures of that next time. The one animal in a cage was our good friend, the civet, who is responsible for the wonderful coffee. Civets are sort of a cat/weasel/racoon animal that apparently love to eat coffee beans:
Tina's Uncle is supposedly cooking some Civet for us tomorrow. Tonight we get to eat snake!
More pictures coming soon.
6.20.2008
I Think I'm Forgetting English
So we've only been here for 3 days and it's been a whirlwind. Currently, we are in Can Tho (Dan just corrected me on the proper spelling of a Vietnamese word- I originally wrote To), which is a beautiful city in the Mekong Delta. We are waiting to get on a floating ship for dinner, and tomorrow we will wake up to see the floating markets by 5am. We are hoping to post up lots of pictures within the next few days, but for now, my words will have to do!
This morning we went to one of the four islands off of My To, where we saw monkeys, went on a kayak, saw a coconut candy factory (except that it was less of a factory and more of an outdoor work area) and the land of the Coconut Monk, who ate only coconuts for years and founded the Coconut religion, which died along with him in 1990.
I can't begin to explain how helpful my relatives have been, as they've taken time off of work to take us on personalized tours that would cost foreigners much more. Actually, I don't even think expensive tours can provide the caring insight that my extended family is giving us and I am extremely grateful. Oh and their English is even better than my parents!
Yesterday, we ate so well in My To- a 7 course meal for 7 people cost a whopping $35. Seriously. Then, we went deep into the Ben Tre Province, where my parents grew up. The guidebook mentioned the area, but we dove much deeper into the thick of things. There was an outhouse covered in rice paper for privacy and I peed with a tree frog right in front of my face. TMI much? It poured rain for maybe 10 minutes, which was fun- offroading in mud. We visited my grandparent's graves and my uncle's house where we watched people climb ladders made of bamboo to cut down coconuts- something that tourists in Hawaii pay money to see (my relatives were really amused by that fact). We ate fresh caught crawfish and rice porridge with banana flower, a very unique rarity.
Vietnam has changed incredibly since I came here 10 years ago. There are less beggars (due to government control), and much MUCH more development. It is especially interesting to explain America to Vietnamese people. Just as most Americans cannot imagine Vietnam, the Vietnamese are in awe that American stores all have private doors and that American freeways prohibit pedestrains and do not have people selling food on the sides, etc. It makes me wish I could take everyone back home with me to show them.
Lastly, I cannot even begin to explain what the streets are like. It's constant- there are no stoplights, no stop signs, and absolutely no flinching when people cross the street. At first we were terrified, but now I feel like a natural. There are little kids on motorcycles hanging on their parents that are totally calm. Dan took a ton of pictures so that we could post them. Our first day in Saigon, my cousin took us to a fancy coffee shop downtown (I felt like I was in Paris- more on that later) and when he went to parallel park his car in a tight spot, a policeman came and literally pushed the car in front of us so that he could fit. Awesome.
More to come within the next few days- we will be returning to Saigon to do all the touristy things there. By then, my English will probably be much worse off. Dan is totally making fun of me because I'm having such a hard time translating things into English for him (even my cousins are correcting me) because I've been using my Vietnamese so much. Until then, chao!
This morning we went to one of the four islands off of My To, where we saw monkeys, went on a kayak, saw a coconut candy factory (except that it was less of a factory and more of an outdoor work area) and the land of the Coconut Monk, who ate only coconuts for years and founded the Coconut religion, which died along with him in 1990.
I can't begin to explain how helpful my relatives have been, as they've taken time off of work to take us on personalized tours that would cost foreigners much more. Actually, I don't even think expensive tours can provide the caring insight that my extended family is giving us and I am extremely grateful. Oh and their English is even better than my parents!
Yesterday, we ate so well in My To- a 7 course meal for 7 people cost a whopping $35. Seriously. Then, we went deep into the Ben Tre Province, where my parents grew up. The guidebook mentioned the area, but we dove much deeper into the thick of things. There was an outhouse covered in rice paper for privacy and I peed with a tree frog right in front of my face. TMI much? It poured rain for maybe 10 minutes, which was fun- offroading in mud. We visited my grandparent's graves and my uncle's house where we watched people climb ladders made of bamboo to cut down coconuts- something that tourists in Hawaii pay money to see (my relatives were really amused by that fact). We ate fresh caught crawfish and rice porridge with banana flower, a very unique rarity.
Vietnam has changed incredibly since I came here 10 years ago. There are less beggars (due to government control), and much MUCH more development. It is especially interesting to explain America to Vietnamese people. Just as most Americans cannot imagine Vietnam, the Vietnamese are in awe that American stores all have private doors and that American freeways prohibit pedestrains and do not have people selling food on the sides, etc. It makes me wish I could take everyone back home with me to show them.
Lastly, I cannot even begin to explain what the streets are like. It's constant- there are no stoplights, no stop signs, and absolutely no flinching when people cross the street. At first we were terrified, but now I feel like a natural. There are little kids on motorcycles hanging on their parents that are totally calm. Dan took a ton of pictures so that we could post them. Our first day in Saigon, my cousin took us to a fancy coffee shop downtown (I felt like I was in Paris- more on that later) and when he went to parallel park his car in a tight spot, a policeman came and literally pushed the car in front of us so that he could fit. Awesome.
More to come within the next few days- we will be returning to Saigon to do all the touristy things there. By then, my English will probably be much worse off. Dan is totally making fun of me because I'm having such a hard time translating things into English for him (even my cousins are correcting me) because I've been using my Vietnamese so much. Until then, chao!
6.18.2008
The Artist Formerly Known as Saigon
Well, we've arrived and Ho Chi Minh City, or as everyone here still calls it, Saigon, is crazy! We rode on the back of motorcycles and almost died, but apparently almost dying is how one drives here. Tina's family has been great to us and they are showing us things that no travel book in the world could have led us to, so I am pretty happy. However, I still haven't found the elusive cat poop coffee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
Oh and our flights were actually really nice and I would especially like to thank all of our Korean friends for having such a wonderful airline in Korean Air. The seats were comfortable, the bibimbap was great, and the flight attendants were beautiful(even Tina said so). And don't worry Phil, I'm still pissed about Starcraft.
I'll do a bigger post with some pictures in a couple of days when we return from the Mekong Delta. Hopefully, we'll have eaten some strange animals by then.
Oh and our flights were actually really nice and I would especially like to thank all of our Korean friends for having such a wonderful airline in Korean Air. The seats were comfortable, the bibimbap was great, and the flight attendants were beautiful(even Tina said so). And don't worry Phil, I'm still pissed about Starcraft.
I'll do a bigger post with some pictures in a couple of days when we return from the Mekong Delta. Hopefully, we'll have eaten some strange animals by then.
6.04.2008
The Rough Cut
Vietnam in 3 weeksSaigon, Mekong Delta, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa
Laos in 1 week
Louang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane
Thailand in 3 weeks
This is really rough- (I still have a lot of reading to do on Thailand)
Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Ko Chang, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Samui
Cambodia in 1 week
Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh
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