Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay was absolutely fantastic! We booked a 3 day, 2 night trip from Hanoi for $45/person and it was one of the best excursions we've done. The boat ride around the bay was gorgeous - beautiful cliffs jutting up from the water and covered with green shrubs. Someone told us there are 3,000 of these little islands.

Our group on the boat was a lot of fun too. We had lunch on the boat, soaked up some sun on the top deck, and explored a cave. We went kayaking at sunset and won the kayak race :) We slept on the boat the first night, and hung out on the top deck looking at the stars and listening to music. A full moon came out, and it was so peaceful and beautiful.

The second day, we cruised over to Cat Ba island for some trekking. The trek was ridiculous! Not what we were expecting. We climbed to the top of the mountain, saw a bunch of huge spiders with yellow or red dots on them on the way. The last 30 minutes of the trek, we climbed over jagged rocks and essentially rock climb up the walls with no proper gear or safety precautions. I don't think this would be allowed in the states, but we had a blast.

After the trek, we headed to the beach. Not many people were there at 2pm but as soon as the sun started to set, hoards of Vietnamese came out. The Vietnamese play in the water fully clothed (jeans and t-shirts) and even some were carrying umbrellas to protect them from the sun! That night we hung out at an Aussie bar, played foosball, and tried to stay up for the Italy-Spain football match, but didn't make it. 2 girls on the trip from Holland were very disappointed when their team lost - Euro 2008 is an exciting event here and people are really into it. We will try to catch the final on the 29th.

Overall, we met some great people from all over the world and really enjoyed our time! Now we are off to Hue on the overnight train.

Sa Pa

Sa Pa is gorgeous with beautiful green mountains covered in terraces of rice paddies. We arrived after an overnight train from Hanoi. Immediately upon getting off the bus, we were greated by children from the H'Mong hilltribe who asked us where we were from, our names, etc. We were shocked that they didn't try to sell us anything at first, but after hiking with us down the mountain, we got the cries "Buy from me!"

Hiking was beautiful and fun. We hiked down from the clouds on the top of the mountain, across watefalls, and down the terraces into the villages. We saw lots of animals, butterflies, children following water buffalo, villagers farming etc. The traditional costumes are very pretty and the girls are stunning, but it seems like the village life takes are hard toll on the older women. We met a 20-year old who already had 3 kids. They hike every day for 2 hours to get to Sa Pa to greet tourists and then hike with them down the mountain to eventually sell us stuff. I ended up buying two terrible musical instruments just to get the kids to stop bothering me.

Overall, it was a beautiful trip but tourism has commercialized the town and the hilltribes. I think for a more authentic experience, you would have to travel on your own deep into the mountains for days.

Hanoi

After a short flight from Vientiane, we arrived to the chaos of Hanoi. Scams galore. The cab took us to the wrong address and made up a story about our guesthouse being full. Luckily we had been warned about this scam, but still had to argue for a good 5 minutes to get the cab to take us to the proper address. That put a bad taste in our mouthes - we've been scammed quite a bit since arriving in Vietnam, but we hear that this is the norm.

The cities have grown on us. We were first intimidated but the thousands of scooters, but now have become pros at crossing the street (just walk and they will avoid you). The old quarter is next to beautiful Hoan Kiem lake, and there is a street here for everything - jewelry, electrical wire, shoes, and even sonagrams! We ate pho on the street the first night and it was fantastic - costing only 75 cents a bowl. We sweated through our clothes but it was worth it.

We visited Hoa Loa prison - aka the Hanoi Hilton. It was eerie and quite upsetting. Built by the french to imprison Vietnamese during the colonial period, the prison has seen a lot of death and torture. During the Vietnam war or the American war as it is called here, the Vietnamese used it to house downed American pilots, including John McCain. Everything on display about the pilots showed how well they were treated - pictures of them playing sports, celebrating Christmas, etc. while everything about how the french treated the vietnamese was barabic. Obviously, we are seeing a different side of the story here and it has made us interested to learn more about the prison from the American pilots who were held there.

We explored the french quarter and the revolution museum and again witnessed another perspective on Vietnam's independence and struggle against occupation. We then saw a water puppet show which was absolutely hysterical. Crazy Vietnamese music with floating dolls in the water - this was perhaps one of the biggest scams of all - good thing we only paid $1 for a ticket.

We also checked out R&R Tavern, a bar run by a friend of a friend, intended to provide a bit of home cooking and atmosphere for veterans making the trip to Vietnam. We enjoyed burgers and beer.

Today we saw the Ho Chi Minh masoleum, where his body is embalmed (didn't go see the body, gross). We walked to the B-52 memorial where there is a downed American bomber in a small lake in the middle of the city reminding the Vietnamese of the Christmas raids on Hanoi. All in all, we have enjoyed Hanoi and have found some good cafes and places to hang out.

Vang Vieng, Laos

Our last few days in Laos were pretty adventurous. In Luang Prabang, we checked out the Kuangsi waterfall in monsoon rain conditions. Two problems: leeches and slippery rocks. I took a nasty spill at the falls and the bruise is still black. Luckily, we got our leeches off really quickly because the girl with us was bleeding for the rest of the day.

Vang Vieng was a western stopover point on the way to Vientiane. Not very cultural but beautiful and a bunch of young people go tubing down the river. We met some travellers from New Zealand and Holland and floated with them down the river, stopping off at bars with giant rope swings. At night, all the bars play Friends episodes non-stop and people lounge out on cushions and sit there for hours. We had some pizza and really got a kick out of American TV after not having seen it for awhile. We were laughing hysterically at the stupid jokes - I think we miss home a little :)

The bus ride was also hysterical - we upgraded to the special VIP bus which meant we had AC and had to listen to Lao music videos for 6 hours straight. Yikes. We passed through some amazing scenery and small villages with 5 huts and pigs running around. I wish we could have spent more time in these small villages.

Brennan has decided to become a monk

The spirit of the 60 temples he's visited has overtaken him. Haha - if so, wouldn't he be facing the buddha statue, wearing pants, and not wearing a shirt with a thai beer logo?

Luang Prabang, Laos

We took Lao Airlines from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang. A small airplane that Brennan loved, but it seemed not quite legit. The signage in the airport did not correspond to the flight at all, and then they finally posted a white sheet of paper to tell us our departure time. Glad we made it!

Luang Prabang is a beautiful small town on the Mekong River. Old french colonial buildings interspersed with palm trees are spread along the river along with cafes and slowboats. Yesterday, we took a boat across the river and explored the small village of Xiang Men where chickens were running around, the road was mud and full of potholes, and children were running carrying sticks with plastic bags attached to them trying to catch dragon flies. The kids liked seeing their pictures on the digital camera.

We hiked up Wat Chedi - a crumbling temple that had a wonderful view of Luang Prabang. It was a bit eerie to be there, the only people up at the temple, with crumbling walls and an old Buddha. We then hiked over to another temple in sort of a monastery compound, that was where the king used to meditate for 15 days before coronation. We met a ten-year old boy named Ing who took us to the cave where people drop off their broken Buddha statues. Just us and him and his friend with 3 flashlights, hiking into the depths of the cave. Saw some crystallized rock and a few bats. The kid then asked for a big tip so we gave him $1. That's a lot of money here!

We've had some nice meals for $6 total including beer along the Mekong at riverside cafes. Our guesthouse is wonderful - the best we've stayed in- with a view of the river, AC, private terrace, hot shower, and nice breakfast for $20/night. There is a "white man's way" road full of trendy little restaurants and cafes, but despite a few other backpackers, it feels like the town is empty except for the Lao people lounging around the river and kids riding their bikes around town. The lifestyle is laid back and we are enjoying it. We would recommend this as a stop to anyone considering a trip to SE Asia.

We are planning to visit a waterfall and the Royal Museum today which features an image of Buddha that has been stolen twice by Siam (thailand) and then returned each time because of the bad luck they experienced after they stole it. People are very superstitous here - there was a government sponsored exorcism here in the late 90s, because of the terrible economy - the government was still trying to blame the spirit of the royal family.

Chiang Mai

Finally, a breath of fresh air! Blue skies, gorgeous white fluffy clouds, and moutains covered with green trees. It's been awhile since we've seen clear skies.

Our first day in Chiang Mai, we went to the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School (Summer's idea). We got an introduction to the many Thai ingredients (about 20 per dish!), and then were off to make a bunch of meals: tom kha (shrimp soup), green curry, fish cakes, pad thai, minced chicken salad, and a water chestnut dessert.

Brennan added his own punch to each dish - first by dropping his entire lime into the soup - the girls helping us got a huge kick out of that. Then he made his fish cakes way too big - the girls called them "fish burgers - American style". The food ended up tasting great, and we will try to make some wonderful green curry and pad thai for you all when we get home ;)

That night, we checked out the Sunday market and saw a cool breakdance show by some Thai teenagers at the Toyota showroom. We saw a live band recommended by some travellers we met at the cooking class. Beach Heaven was the name of the bar, with sand on the floor and straw mats and lounge pillows. The band played a bunch of 90's grunge cover songs. My favorite was when they played Melissa Etheridge I think and instead of "what's going on?" it was "what's sewing on?" They were pretty good, but every once in awhile, they couldn't pronounce something, and we were laughing hysterically about it.

The next day, we rode an elephant! It was so cool - the skin of the elephant is rough, kind of like scabs, not what I expected. The baby elephant, named Janine, followed us around and kept wrapping its snout around Brennan's shoe. They were hungry - we fed them two huge bags of bananas.

Next, we hiked through two hilltribe villages which was cool to see. One was the Mung village where the men have 4 wives, and send them to work in the city, while they sleep and sell handicrafts to tourists. Brennan wanted to join that tribe.

We hiked to a cool waterfall - the crazy Italian in our group climbed up in and almost slipped down. Then, we took bamboo rafts - Indiana Jones style- down the river. They didn't reallly float, so we were sitting on them with water up to our waists. Brennan steered the back of the raft with a big bamboo stick. I took the lead once, and almost steered us into a rock in the middle of the river - the guide had to jump out and swim the raft out of the way - ooops!

The last day, we checked out the temples in Chiang Mai and really enjoyed them. For once, we were the only tourists around the temples. One had a beautiful garden with Buddhist sayings on every tree which were inspiring. "Focus on doing good and not being great, otherwise it's a dangerous path."

Bangkok cont'd and Floating Market

The day after we visited the palace, we checked out the floating markets about 1 1/2 hours outside of Bangkok. Once we got into the area, we rode on a longtail speedboat to get to the market. Unfortunately, ours broke down and we had to jump ship in the middle of the river. All I was thinking was that I hope the thing doesn't sink, because the river looked full of snakes and all kinds of creepy animals. There were even a bunch of advertisements around for a Cobra Show.

We tried a bunch of different fruits - mangosteens, rambutans, but we have yet to try durian, which is a huge spikey green fruit with a creamy white inside that is banned from hotels because it smells so bad.

The final day, we checked out the Chatuchuck weekend market - which was HUGE. Lots of stalls selling all kinds of things from cool t-shirts, to jewelry, to housewares, and even all kinds of food. Brennan is the best customer of jj's t-shirts since he bought 6 with airline logos on them. He is super psyched! We have learned how to negotiate in Bangkok- the trick is to smile a lot. Initially we were kind of argumentative when we were haggling, but once we started smiling like crazy, people helped us out more.

Brennan did a great job haggling for a tuk tuk. We were planning to take the Chao Phraya express boat back at night, and didn't realize that it closed at sunset. There were only 2 tuk-tuks around and both wanted 300 baht. After negotiations, Brennan got him down to 30 baht with one stop (he had to pretend he wanted to buy a suit so the driver could get a gas coupon).

We headed to Chiang Mai on one-two-go airlines (never heard of it before) on Saturday night.

re Bangkok

Hey Summer and Brennan

Thanks for the great blog! I am truly enjoying your vacation. Have a great time and take care of each other.
Virginia Beach is almost as hot as Bangkok today upper 90's and humid.
Can't wait for more adventures

Bangkok

Bangkok is a much easier place to handle than China has been. It is super tourist friendly and most hotels have travel agents that book excursions and flights for you. Last night, we visited the infamous Khoa San road, which was full of hippies. It's as if every person, upon arrival, changes into hippie attire (which is sold on the street here), and looks dirty and grows dreads. Who knows, I might come back with some dreads at the rate my hair is looking now.

We had a nice dinner last night for $6 - awesome. The best we've had since the trip. We just had pad thai on the street for 90 cents, and it was fantastic!

Today we visited the Grand Palace and the wats - temples. Saw the Emerald buddha and the huge gold buddha at Wat Pho - overall pretty cool, and amazingly decorated, but it is insanely hot and we were surrounded by tour groups which took away a bit from the ambiance. Tonight we will check out a higher class area - Sukmavhit street - and then we plan to do the floating market tomorrow and the weekend market on Saturday before heading to Chiang Mai.

Watch, bag, DVD? Welcome to Shanghai

These three words were the only english words most Chinese people could say. We got harrassed quite often. Overall, Shanghai was fabulous - a thriving metropolis with an incredible skyline that is going to keep changing for quite some time.

We walked the touristy shopping area in Old Town the first day and along the Bund. We followed Marie's recommendation to the Old Shanghai Teahouse for wonderful jasmine tea that opened inside of your cup. I tried some crazy Kungfu tea, which consisted of drinking tea out of a shot glass.

We saw the acrobats with our group that night which was amazing. Crazier than Cirque du Soleil and the auditorium wasn't even packed (ball of death, etc.). People were taking flash pictures during these crazy stunts and no one said anything.

We had some of our best meals in Shanghai with the group - lots of stir fried dishes. One night we tried the hot pot with mutton that you dip into boiling broth. We took shots of rice wine - that stuff is strong! After much giggling, we managed to check out FACE per Marie, Emily's and Todd's recommendations. It was a really cool bar and beautiful decor, but I don't think we were quite sophisticated enough for it after the rice wine.

The final day, we rode the Maglev- the world's fastest train. Brennan was psyched about it and I have to admit, it was pretty amazing - you feel as if you are going at mach speed. That night, we had drinks on top of the Jin Mao tower for an incredible view of Shanghai.

Three culture shocks in China:

• The DRIVING - There is no such thing as yield to pedestrians. Every time you cross the street, you feel as if you are playing a game of chicken. And, with one of the highest death rates from automobile accidents, you are. I was just thinking how Shanghai was much more pedestrian-friendly when a car came up behind us on the sidewalk and started honking at us to get out of the way!
  
• The kids pants: Little children prior to being potty-trained wear pants with huge slits up the butt. Don't understand it, don't know if they are just meant to go to the bathroom anywhere, and even how their parents carry them without making a mess. Maybe Marie can give us some tips?
  
• The spitting- People spit (we're talking lugies) all the time and every where. I guess with such bad pollution you just have to clear your throat.

Suzhou

After a 15 hour overnight train ride from Xi'an which SUCKED (we're talking 6 to an open cabin, the nastiest bathroom you can imagine, and smells of weird Chinese food), we made it to Suzhou titled "The Venice of China." Well it was nowhere near Venice, but it did have some pretty canals and the gardens were terrific. The exhibited Chinese feng shui and had lots of temples with antique Chinese furniture in them - I loved the decor and now want to build a temple garden in my backyard (when I have one!)

We tried to go out and ended up in a Brothel - oops. We were with some people from our group and went to the bar that looked the most packed, but we didn't realize it was filled with girls only. After a quick drink, we made it back to the hotel.

Suzhou was a pleasant surprise and a wonderful retreat from the chaos of China.

Thanks for the updates B.....Sounds like a fantastic trip so far.

Definitely go to FACE while in Shanghia. It's a great Thai place with outdoor seating on a grassy front. You won't see much of that there. Also, if you want to try the best Crab & Pork dumplings in the world go to Ding Tai Fung. It was voted one of the 10 best restaurants in the world at one time. I have a million places for Shanghai if you are looking for some "Western" food since you might be sick of all the Chinese.

Also, most Shainghainese will be able to speak English. Enjoy and keep sending pics and updates!