Hong Kong Airport

We arrived in the incredible, new, Hong Kong International Airport. We had to confimr two seats for the next flight to Los Angeles and we werre able to do that no problem. That flight left in the afternoon and we had another 6 hours of time to kill at the Hong Kong Airport. We found a good place to catch a few zzzzz's and before you know it we were on a flight to Los Angeles.

This is one of those fun flights where you actually arrive in the United States at a time prior to when you take off! We finally get to make up for that lost day on the flight out to Fiji. Hollywood, here we come!

Delhi Airport, India

We arrived in Delhi three hours behind schedule and this meant we missed our connecting flight to Frankfurt and essentially began a 21 hour day in the Delhi airport. It was fileld with hours of trying desperately to get a straight answer on what other flights we could take en route to Los Angeles. We were told that we would have to wait until the next flights going to Europe left and that would be either in a few hours or the next day. There was only one person working at the airport to assist passengers with this process and he would often disappear for hours at a time only to show up for a few minutes and disappear again. Needless to say, we tried to be patient, but we were tired and just wanted to get ourselves booked on a flight so we knew where we would be going and when we would be leaving.

Probably around 2pm when this gentleman returned to the customer service counter (a great little desk that had no phone, paper, pencil, etc.) Jaci was able to work her magic and get things moving along. The customer service man told her, "I will take care of you and get you on a flight" and then he said come with me and we walked up some strange walkway and into a backroom where all of a sudden we sat down to a fantastic Indian lunch. It was all on the house and compliments of the mysterious customer service man who disappeared again.

Two hours later we finally had a breakthrough. He had agreed to allow us to fly to Hong Kong and then to Los Angeles! We had asked him if we could do this same plan hours ago and he declined saying we cannot go to Hong Kong and must go to Europe. I guess Jaci said all the right things and before you know it we have tickets in hand for a flight...in seven hours. We found a cafe to rest our heads for the next few hours. Matt fell asleep for about an hour. And to our suprise, the customer service man appeared again later that night and brought us back to the secret room where we were served the BEST vegetarian Indian meal we both had ever had. Our taste buds were out of control with excitement! Oh Delhi Airport!!!

Later that night we were finally at our gate and ready to go. The flight was delayed about two hours but at this point there was no stopping us - we were so close. During the flight delay Jaci made a great friend in a chinese buddhist monk. We tried very hard to maintain a dialogue and in the end made a very good friend. Then we finally took off and although we were beginning to feel a lot like Tom Hanks in The Terminal we ached to think what would four weeks in India have been like. As our stomachs were content with the taste of India in our bellies we both promised to return soon.

Bangkok, Thailand

After a week in Chiang Mai we took a night train back to Bangkok. this train was nicer then the train we had taken to/from Sapa and we really enjoyed having a cabin to ourselves. Our memory of this train ride will most likely be clouded with lots of laughing as we sat around most of the night and just reminisced about the travels we had enjoyed the past few months. Also, we really enjoyed Chiang Mai and hope to return to the city again.

In Bangkok we explored the city (which has over 7 million people living there by the way) for two days by feet, taxi, cyclo, skytrain, and their local bus system (cheap and great way to get around the city). We saw many sights including the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (which houses the temple of the Reclining Buddha), Wat Arun (one of the most visited temples in Bangkok), and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. There were other sites as well but once we saw signs that Thailand was the host country for the Asian Cup (soccer here, football everywhere else) we took the skytrain to the nearest ticket counter and bought tickets to two games, one that evening and the other the next day. The first game was the tournament opener between Thailand and Iraq. We took a taxi to the new Rajamangala Stadium outside the city (about 40 minutes) and got settled in our seats only to realize we were sitting on the edge of the Thai / Iraq fanship border. it was an idela environment for us not to have a favorite team so we made friends on both sides and enjoyed a very competitive match in the pouring rain. Fans from both sides were singing and dancing, cheering their teams on to victory. Perhaps a moment we won't soon forget is when an Iraqi man and his son handed Matt their flag and asked him to cheer along with their group - of which Matt happily obliged. The match ended 1-1 and at the end of the match we were somehow able to grab a taxi back to our hotel.

At the hotel that night we were able to change our flight out of Bangkok to the next day where we would leave around 10pm and arrive into New Delhi, India the following morning. The we would take our flight from Delhi to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to Albuquerque. All within the next day or so....we knew we were in for some long flights and sleepless days/nights. thanks to Charlie, our ticket consolidator, we knew we would be alright.

We woke up the next morning and packed our things for that evenings long trip home. After breakfast we went for a swim in the hotel pool and then got our things together for another taxi ride to Rajamangala Stadium to see Oman (actually its the Sultanate of Oman) take on Australia. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Oman, it is located on the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Matt was excited to see one of his Liverpool players, Harry Kewell (Australia) in action. Pre-game festivities included food, drinks (beer in a bag tied up with a rubber band), singing and the opportunity to meet up with people from all over the world who were fans of what Matt calls - the great game. Matt even found the Bangkok Liverpool Fanclub to cheer along with! By halftime two things had happened. First, the monsoon season was in full swing and compared to the night before we were very wet. But surprisingly, Oman had scored a late first half goal and held Australia scoreless and looked poised to pull off a major upset in the Asian Cup. At halftime, while we walked around the stadium facility, Matt started talking with a guy who ended up being a broadcaster for Oman National Radio who asked Matt to join him in the broadcast to share his point of view on the game. I guess Matt must have told him he was impressed with the way they were playing. Before you now it Matt is on Oman radio giving his analysis of the first half complete with statements like "Oman are playing with skill and precision, dominating the pitch both on the defensive side and throughout the midfield, it would be a travesty to see them not walk off the field glorious." Needless to say, the radio station ate it up and Matt savored every moment. Afterwords we were able to watch the game from the press box and keep a little drier. Australia fought hard in the second half and were lucky to secure a 1-1 draw compliments of a late goal from Tim Cahill. it was another good match and we had the time of our life!

After almost an hour or so of trying to hail down a cab in the POURING RAIN we finally got one and rode back to the hotel, changed our clothes, and grabbed our cab for the aiport. It looked like we would be bringing our monsoon soaked sandals back with us to the US.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Before taking a night train to Bangkok, we decided we would take a day trip into the hills to go visit the local hill tribes, go bamboo boat rafting, and also explore the region via elephant for an afternoon.

The elephant excursion was quite interesting most notably was watching how docile these large creatures are traversing steep, narrow inclines and declines. We also bought them food along the route and the elephants scarf down foot long pieces of sugar cane and bushels of 8-12 bananas in seconds. The elephants took us through the jungle and also across rivers until we finally stopped off for lunch in a local village.

The next trip was for us to go river rafting and as our bus arrived and we walked down to the river we were able to watch the locals put together about 8 pieces of bamboo by tying them together with a reed from a local tree. We hopped on our boat and since Matt was in the back he was quickly given a stick, told to stand (while everyone else sat down), and to steer! Well, as most of you who know Matt, a challenge like this is what he lives for and within minutes we are sailing down the river gliding perfectly between rocks and over falls all while he is somehow balancing himself up on the back of our "floating stick boat". Well, other boats thought Matt made it look to easy so they took shots at trying to knock him off by running into our raft and trying to pelt us with fruits from local trees - of which Matt just used the stick as a bat and knocked them away. All in all, our boat members stayed dry and we had one heck of a ride! It was lots of fun. After a full day we headed back to our hotel and had dinner before starting to pack for our trip to Bangkok.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

We took the night train from Sapa back to Hanoi Airport where we caught a flight to Bangkok and then jumped on another plane to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. In Chiang Mai we found ourselves anxious to learn the intricacies of the how to cook the fine Thai cuisine which we had come to know and love. Chiang Mai is known for excellent cooking schools and we found just the right one, The Master Thai Chef Cookery Course run by Permpoon and Suriyan Nabnian and signed up for a two-day course. Each day we were picked up outside our hotel and driven to the local market where we bought all the food which we would use for ccookign that day including thai chiles, cococunt milk, vegetables, rice, fish, chicken, etc.. We became excellent cooks over two days mastering "the adventure" or what I liked to call burning your eyelashes by cooking with large flames! We made our own green, red, massaman, paneang curry meals from scratch (mortar and pestol style) and they were delicious. We made tom-yam goong 9hot and sour prawn soup) and tom kha gai (chicken in coconut milk soup), and phad thai (stir fried noodles), and many other noodles dishes. We really enjoyed the "master thai chef spring rolls" along with the sweet sticky rice with mango. All in all it was two great days of spicy, delicious meals and plenty of recipes to bring home (compliments of the menu book they provide you woth the course).


The rest of our time in Chiang Mai was spent enjoying the night market and shopping for friends and family. Matt met a great guy from Bahrain who after a short chat outside the hotel decided to bring his entire family by our hotel room the next day to introduce us to them. He even brought Matt an Iranian volleyball team jersey (Iran won a major championship earlier that year).


Then came the news that decided how the next four weeks would play out for us. We had already known that Jaci was starting graduate school mid August but Matt's graduate program status was still up in the air. Until, today. when Matt got on the phone (1am Thai time) with Angie, the admissions rep for the Professional MBA program at Georgia State University, and found out he got into the two year program! This was really exciting, however it meant we would have to return four weeks earlier so that he could begin preparing for the three required online pre-requisite exams. Each of the 34 students in the PMBA program had to score 80 or better on the exams in order to maintain their place in the program. What this meant for us is that we had to get ourselves back to Albuquerque in the next week and then back to Atlanta two weeks later. It was very exciting news but all the same we were really starting to get into a good travel groove at this point. We had to adjust our itinerary and start thinking about getting ourselves back home....oh no!

Sapa, Vietnam

A small mountain town, Sapa is situated in the northernmost part of Vietnam and is home to many tribal groups settled from both Laos and China. Sapa is known for a lively weekend market where hill tribe members come to sell and trade hand-made goods. While we've both heard endless positive things about the area, our time constraints meant we would have to book a pre-planned tour of the area in lieu of our preferred method of traveling independently. After the two-day trip to Halong Bay, we were both ready to set our own agenda but decided to do one final 'package' in order to fit in everything. The benefits being pre-arranged transportation and accomodation as well as pre-scheduled activites upon arrival. Without this type of arrangement we would never have time to make it to Sapa and return in time for our flight out of Hanoi.

For the first leg of our trip we took a night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai which is situated inside Vietnam's northern border with China. We arranged to have a mid-range sleeper car aboard the train but arrived to find our four berth car already crowded by three bodies with no English or smiles between them. Matt, never having encountered a mug he couldn't charm, grew frustrated and suspicious after a solid attempt at communicating with the group. Eventually, we both decided to claim two top bunks, sleep in shifts and hope for the best. The ride was long and wearisome after (only) 13 hours but we managed to arrive with all our possesions and a few hours of sleep between us. We headed off the train to find our tour driver and the bus to Sapa.

Once out of the train station in Lao Cai it was clear Vietnam had, literally, changed overnight. From the station in Lao Cai we saw portions of China's southern hills accross the border and the surrounding lushness of Vietnam's misty Hoang Lien Mountains. After finding our driver, we traveled via van to Sapa only a few hours southwest of Lao Cai. It was a mystical drive through the hills and into the valley where Sapa lies. The landscapes are marked with terraced rice fields and rolling mountain mist not to mention the beauty of the local hill tribe people spotted coming in and out of town. So far, Sapa was proving well worth the trip.

Our van eventually dropped us off at our hotel a top one of the steepest hills we'd even thought about climbing for some time. The Royal Orchid Hotel was bustling with travelers even when we arrived at 8:30 in a.m. We soon discovered that ALL pre-booked tours from Hanoi use the Royal Orchid Hotel in Sapa and that our quaint mountain town had just dissolved into a terrible mess of lost reservations and meal tickets. We would eventually (many hours later) sort everything out and check into a room with magnificent views of the surrounding hills and valley below. Packaged tours leave little time for resting so after a short break to grab breakfast and drop off our bags, we were off to meet a local guide and start our first 1/2 day hill trek.

Our guide met a group of us in the hotel lobby and we began our walk back down the hill to visit one of the local hill tribe villages. Sapa is home to a variety of villages including those belonging to the Hmong ethnic group, one of the largest in the region. The Hmong group was originally from Southern China and has continued to migrate and settle in many parts of SE Asia including norhtern Vietnam, Lao, Thailand and Myanmar. Our guide walked us through a village located on the outskirts of Sapa where we were allowed to walk through and see members in day-to-day activities. While the walk to the village was scenic and refreshing after so many hours on the train, the village tour was somewhat uncomfortable as we felt like museum attendees paying our entrance fee to gape at the newest exhibit. Certainly villagers enjoy some monetary benefits from selling goods to passersby, but there remained a clear feeling of intrusion for both of us. We were anxtious to pass through the village and return to the scenic mountain trail. The trek would end up with a serious (read uphill) second half and we found ourselves burnt and beat by the end of the trip. We decided to head straight for that awesome hotel room, throw open the windows and crash for a nap.

The nap almost made us miss our pre-paid dinner (another pre-booking perq) but luckily we made it to the hotel restaurant just in time for some unsavory stir fry. Despite the fare, we were able to spend some quality time getting to know a few members of our group (Anna and Sebastian from Argentina - the first lawyers on our trip!) with whom we would do a full-day trek the next day. Since we had plenty of sleep between us, we also decided to head back down the hill and in to town to check out the sites and shopping. The views were stupendous everywhere and we found a great perch for some tea before heading back to the hotel for bed.

The next morning began early and our group met up with another guide who would take us to three more villages that day. Neither of us were excited about visiting more villages based on the previous day's trek. But, we were excited about hiking through the hills and knew we'd enjoy our group members as well.

Our guide, Lan, was a Hmong villager herself and took us through two more Hmong villages (including her own) as well as a Dzao village. Lan was energetic and took a special liking to Matt who she decided to call 'monkey boy' throughout the day. The group enjoyed that. :) Lan took us through many of the terraced rice fields where we learned how locals use the fields to irrigate as well as grow rice to sustain the village throughout the year. It was an amazing day outside and we had a great time getting to know Lan and our group.

Neither of us can see many packaged tours in our future as it really detracted from the experience; however, the beauty of the hills of northern Vietnam made the trip hard to regret

Click HERE for a video with more info on Sapa!

Halong Bay, Vietnam

To go, or not to go to Halong Bay had been a question of ours for some time. In the end, we decided to book the trip once hearing from our good friends from Ireland A&O that they had a great time. So, we booked a two-day trip to the bay where we would spend the night on board a junk and sail amongst the islands.

The tour company picked us up from our hotel and we had a three hour drive to Halong City where we would pick up our junk, The Imperial Junk, for an overnight cruise around the Bay. The tour company had advised us to only take a small bag with us on the boat and store our regular packs in Hanoi. Having developed an irrational attachment to our larger-than-self packs, however, we insisted on bringing them and found ourselves as the only travelers unable to fit through the small boat stairwells and doors. Eventually we made it with our stuff up to the restaurant area of the boat where we cooled down and met the rest of the people assigned to the Imperial. Here we met Stephen, the first American we'd seen since NZ. Stephen was on a multi-month journey of his own and it was far too easy to sink comfortably into some Americanisms we'd forgotten all about. The Imperial was a classic looking wooden junk with room for up to 20 guests and a super friendly crew.

First thing after boarding the Imperial, the crew cooked up some fabulous food including tastey spring rolls, prawns, clams, stir-fried beef and veggies and lots of fruit. The food was much tastier and heartier than we had expected and we were starting to feel like we'd made a good choice by coming to Halong Bay. Comfy beach chairs lined the top of the junk and provided amazing images of the surrounding islands.

After lunch we set sail. Halong Bay is a World Heritage Site as designated by UNESCO and has over 3,000 islands all covered in lush greenery and grottos created by both winds and waves. Sailing amongst the islands was simply stunning. Our first stop was a nearby island housing two magnificant caves. Entering the caves we saw giant stalagtites (from the bottom up) and stalagmites (top down) formed throughout the immense caverns winding into the sides of the island. We wandered through two caves with our group and explored the different pathways and rock formations throughout. It was also fun to hear the large bat colony swarming above throughout our walk.

Next stop would be for some kayaking which we opted not to do and, instead, decided to visit a nearby fish farm. Floating villiages around Halong Bay have an impressive collection of fish on display and we were able to see many strange specimens which our guide referred to as 'unspeakable' as they do not have an English translation. After the fish farm, we took a small boat tour of nearby grottos as well as a small floating village. The grottos were suprisingly large and accessible only through a small hole on the edge of an island. The floating village showed houses literally floating on slats gathered together in a protected cove with kids and dogs lounging about enjoying the ocean breeze. Definately interesting to observe this way of life but we were both thankful to have grown up on terra firma.

We headed back to our junk and spent the rest of the afternoon sailing around the bay, sunbathing, napping and getting to know our shipmates. We had a fantastic group aboard the Imperial and, as always, the people we meet continue to be the highlight of every trip. We made a stop later in the day to take a dip and we can both now say that the China Sea is quite warm with a green tint and medium visibility.

Sunset atop a boat sitting in the midst of Halong Bay is perhaps why it is important to go on this trip. With its numerous islands and just-perfect lighting, Halong Bay at sunset is a photographer's dream. Throw in a few rickty boats and a floating village or two and you could have an entire portfolio. We've got a lot more where these came from.

We had another great meal prepared by our crew who literally went fishing for dinner. Using clumps of morning glory they lured in small sardine-like fish straight off the back of the boat and tossed them in a wok for a tasty appetizer. Once again, the spread was extensive and quite filling. After some great conversation (not much to do once it is dark on the water) everyone headed for bed and made promises about meeting up for sunrise.

The night on the junk was hot. We had heat instead of air-con and little ventilation. The room itself was quite small not to mention our giant paks blocking passage to the bathroom and outside. Jaci managed a descent sleep but Matt's aversion to motion (uhhh, overnight boat trip??) and heat made for a tough night's sleep. Needless to say we would not catch the sunrise the next morning but tried to catch a tad more sleep.

The second day of the trip was more sailing around the bay. By mid-morning we were heading back to the dock where we would pick up our return ride to Hanoi and the Imperial would gather her new group of travelers.

Overall, the trip to Halong Bay was an impressive gettaway to scenic water and landscapes. As we've experienced throughout our trip, however, commercial travel tends to be somewhat empty and 'easy'. While the service and meals were a treat, the trip lacked a feeling of discovery we've learned to enjoy so much. Often times this type of travel can not be avoided, as was the case with Halong Bay, but we've both learned to crave the individual adventure over the packaged 'moving sidewalk' version of travel too often offered.

Our next 'sidewalk' stop would be Sapa in the Northern Vietnamese mountains and were we would try to make the best of our tour...

Hanoi, Vietnam

After four relaxing days in Hoi An, we were ready to continue north to Hanoi. From Danang we caught a flight to the capital which arrived early in the a.m. We had pre-booked a hotel from Hoi An and arranged for them to pick us up from the airport. We've both grown very appreciative of airport pick-ups as it seems to be the hottest spot for scams from local drivers and taxis eager to prey on disoriented and newly arrived visitors.


The airport is 30 minutes outside the city which gave us a look at the city and a reminder that this was no sleepy beach town. Again, motos motos motos. While Hanoi is not as populous as HCMC, it is still bursting with activity at almost every hour. During our drive into town, we saw crowds in parks and in residentail streets gathered for morning Tai Chi or a game of badmitton. Matt was eager to get his game on but we stuck to the plan and headed for the hotel. Soon we arrived in the Old Quarter of town where backpackers find the most affordable accomodations. Our driver took us to the Prince I Hotel and dropped us off in the lobby. While it was nice to have a room pre-reserved, we soon realized that we had gotten a bum deal. The one time we forgot to check the room before agreeing to stay - perhaps due to the early morning hours - is the one time we ended up with a miserable room. On our way up the stairs to the fifth story we saw the signs: trash, dirty walls, large bugs both dead and alive... The room would not be much better with a broken toilet, a faucet which broke off in Jaci's hand, and gigantic hole in the wall which served no apparent purpose other than to provide a hiding place for nasty critters. We weren't pleased but backpacker pride forced us to stay. Of course, we would learn that this notion was total foolishness but only after spending a treacherous night rolled up in sleeping bags, praying against lice and trying not to look at the moving floor. A bit over dramatic perhaps but an important lesson for us none the less. The next day we switched hotels and for just a few dollars more checked-in to a comfortable, clean hotel right down the street.


Aside from dealing with our hotel, we spent our first day in Hanoi wandering the Old Quarter and making travel arrangements. There was great shopping, food and a lovely park surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake which sits in the center of the Old Quarter. Hoan Kiem was a great place to grab a seat, watch the people and enjoy the lake breeze. We walked to a small island inside the lake which holds the Ngoc Son Temple showing traditional Chinese architecture as well as a nearby statue dedicated to soldiers who faught in the Vietnam War. This area of town is also near the infamous Hoa Lo Prison nicknamed the 'Hanoi Hilton' which housed POW's (including John McCain) during the war. Fascinating history in this city and we both enjoyed walking the streets.

One of the highlights of Hanoi is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex where locals pay respect to Uncle Ho. The Complex also houses his residence from '58 - '69, his museum and a Presidential Palace constructed in the early 1900's. Everyone warned us that the Mausoleum stops accepting visitors after 11 a.m., so we decided to head over first thing the next morning. After switching hotels, we caught a taxi to the Mausoleum around 8 o'clock. We were shocked to see hundreds of Vietnamese visitors in a line winding around the full perimeter of the Complex. We realized that that it was Sunday and that we had most likely chosen THE busiest day and time to visit. We were determined for a viewing, however, so we walked to the end of the line and tried to blend in. We stood in line for three hours before we were admitted into the Mausoleum for a quick five minute walk around Uncle Ho's casket. Only more bizarre than walking around his wax figured body, was the armed guards pushing you around the casket making certain no one pays homage for too long. As many Vietnamese visit the Mausoleum as a pilgrimage, men and women who stand quietly praying to the figure are often interrupted with a sharp shove to the back. Armed guards coupled with strict rules governing visitor's behaviour made for an awkward viewing but in the end we were glad we suffered through the line and the heat. We went on to spend a 2-3 hours in the Ho Chi Minh Museum learning about his life and leadership in Vietnam. Yet another interesting perspective on history.

After finishing up with the Mausoleum Complex, we headed on foot towards the Temple of Literature. We had a hot 20 minute walk but it was nice to be on foot getting a feel for the neighborhoods. We stopped for lunch at a great spot named Kotos. Kotos provides teenagers from local villages with training in the areas of hospitality and culinary arts as well as assists students to get jobs at some of the best hotels and restaurants in Hanoi. We had a good time talking with the kids about their schooling not to mention had some great sandwiches and chocolate cake! We also found out that this was one of the spots Bill Clinton visited during his historical visit to Hanoi. We felt refuelled to keep on moving!


The Temple of Literature was another must-see on our list for Hanoi. Inside there are a series of buildings and courtyards. One of the buildings, the Van Mieu, was dedicated to Confuscius in 1070 and later became a university for mandarins. The complex is beautifully preserved and is a great showing of Vietnamese 11th century architecture (architecture is something we've both taken a liking for throughout this trip). Learning more about Confuscius was particularly interesting as there are many practicing Confuscianists throughout Vietnam. The the complex is actually so peaceful it is hard to believe there is a bustling city just outside its gates.

We continued walking around the city on foot and next headed for the Opera House via one of the largest shopping mall we've ever seen. Hanoi is mixed with French-style architecture throughout the city and the Opera House is one of the best examples of these. The rest of the afternoon we spent around the lake and having dinner in the Old Quarter. For the last few days we have both been on a vegetarian kick and we found a great veggie cafe in Hanoi for dinner. We spent one night in our new hotel before cataching our bus the next morning and heading for Ha Long Bay!

Hoi An, Vietnam

We arrived in Danang by 8 o'clock the next morning and found our hotel taxi to transport the four of us to Hoi An. Hoi An is about an hour van ride or so outside Danang and we had a pleasant drive along the beach into town. We were even able to convince our driver to make a quick pit stop for photos of China Beach, the beach Americans first landed on upon arriving in Vietnam for the war.


Once in Hoi An we checked into our hotel. We had decided to splurge for a few days while in town and treated ourselves to the Ancient House Resort complete with a beautiful pool, canopy beds, beatuiful gardens and five-star treatment. All of this for just a few extra $$s a night. Checking in to the Ancient House was a breath of fresh air after the madness of HCMC and we quickly headed for the pool where we would stay for the rest of the day.


The next day we went out for some sight seeing around the town. Hoi An is a vacation spot for many local Vietnamese and has maintained a quaint, beachtown feel. Beautiful french-inspired buildings have been maintained and the old part of the city is barred off from cars making it a perfect place for strolling and shopping. During the Vietnam/American War it was determined by both sides that it would not be touched and thus the "Ancient City" has been preserved.

Hoi An is also famous for its many clothing shops catering to tourists looking for tailor-made clothing. In fact, we met an Australian traveler named Hayden who comes to Hoi An for a week about every other year just to get suits fitted and made for him at a discount price. We had already heard about the legendary deals to be brokered for clothing and we were excited for some new digs. Within minutes of venturing onto the town streets we were approached by a woman on a moto requesting that we come to her clothing shop. Clearly there was no need to be concerned that we would have a hard time finding a tailor. We would discover as the day went on that there were hundreds of clothing shops all offering the latest styles and for 'cheap cheap'. We spent the better part of a the day going in and out of shops inspecting materials, stitch work and prices. To be honest, neither of us are well versed in our stiches or our fabrics but we were able to discern a few quality indicators and get an idea of what we were looking for.


By the afternoon, we selected a store and went in to do some business. We both planned to have suits made so we picked out some Italian cashmere-wool fabric and our tailors got to measuring us. After a couple of months of traveling with little physical activity, this last part was a lot less fun than it might have been. We were still excited, however, about the wardrobe additions and were shocked when our tailors told us we could return later that afternoon (literally a a few hours) for a fitting. We made plans to return the next day and went off for more shopping.


Most of our time in Hoi An was spent sightseeing around town (The Japanese Friendship Bridge, many pagodas), hanging out poolside, and visiting a small group of custom tailors we had selected to make a few items. We would eventually have a total of four suits, five dress shirts, and a formal dress made that we shipped home on our last day in Hoi An (thanks JR). We had a another good night out with Oisin and Aislin at the Cargo Club as well as Tam Tam before we headed off for Hanoi.
Click HERE for more pics.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

We arrived in Saigon via a 7 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. The road trip was slightly bumpy but supposedly it is getting considerably better than it was a few years prior. The border crossing went very smoothly and before we knew it we arrived in town around 7 pm. While we weren't bombarded by drivers quite as heavily as in Phnom Penh there was still a bit of mayhem at the bus station upon our arrival. We managed to get our packs together and split a cab ride with Ashlin and Oshin to the back packer area of Saigon. It was a 10 minute cab ride to the 'backpacker ghetto' so we were all glad we sprung for the cab ride. Of course, the next morning we discovered that the bus station was directly across the street from our hotel so our cab driver had simply driven us around a few different blocks to earn his $5. This would be the first of many taxi scams in Vietnam.

Our first observation was that Saigon has motos EVERYWHERE. There are a few traffic lights but not many and people zip by in what has to be the greatest show of organized chaos we have ever seen. Crossing the street is another adventure as there aren't proper crosswalks. Instead, you slowly start inching your way into the middle of traffic and hope that they avoid ploughing into you. Locals are really good at it and can cross streets with armfulls of groceries and small children with no problems. For the most part we tried to follow locals across the street but occasionally had to brave the streets on our own. We made it everytime although it was total madness. The first night we arrived, we checked in at a guesthouse and then sat down for some traditional vietnamese cuisine to celebrate our arrival. We booked a guide to take us through the town the next morning and called it an early night.

While neither of us usually opt for the group tours, there was a lot we wanted to see in HCMC and decided that the ease of a structured tour was our best way to fit in multiple sights into one day. In the comfort of an air conditioned van we would take in a handful of pagodas around town, the War Remnants Museum, the Royal Palace and the Chinatown Market (Cholon Market). The morning of the tour we first headed to a cafe for some coffee and breakfast. We had been surviving mainly on instant Nescafe for the past few days so we were anxious to get a hold of that famed Vietnamese coffee. It did not disappoint. While VN coffee is even stronger than espresso, it has a slight hint of natural sweetness and by far surpasses anything instant. We knew we were going to be alright.

The first stop on our tour was the War Remnant Museum which documents the American (as they call it here) War. The museum provided an interesting glimpse into the Vietnamese perspective on the war including a graphic depiction of the effects of Agent Orange on many Vietnamese people. The museum also provided an interesting exhibit chronicling the lives of the many international journalists chronicling the war. This was one of the first wars to be captured by color film and the museum showed many of the powerful images as well as gave information on the photojournalists who took them. It was impossible to ignore that the museum had an opinion of its own about the war and it was interesting to hear another perspective. The museum also had a large collection of tanks, guns, cannons and other war equipment for visitors to understand literal sizes. This was a fascinating museum and we would have liked to spend more time perusing.

The next stops on our tour included Notre Dame Cathedral, The French architecture inspired Post Office, an herbal medicine doctor, and then various pagodas around town. The pagodas are traditional architecture with significant Chinese influence. Having just spent a lot of time exploring Angkor Wat, however, we weren't overly excited by these but enjoyed learning more about the Buddhist religion. Our group kept moving and eventually arrived in HCMC's Chinatown and to the most massive open air market we've ever seen. The market provides wholesale goods to many of HCMC's store owners. The market is organized by types of goods such as hats, pre-maid clothes, bags, metal items, dried food, fresh food, candies, fabric, shoes, spices and so much more. There are so many sellers for each item that you can stand in the middle of a market section and see only shoes, for example, for as far as you can see in any direction. Simply amazing commerce in action. We didn't end up buying anything but enjoyed soaking it all in.

The final stop on our tour was at the Reunification Palace which served as Vietnam's Presidential Palace for South Vietnam. It was towards this building that the first communist tanks in Saigon rushed in 1975 when Saigon surrendered. The building hasn't been changed much since that day and they had two tanks (Chinese and Russian made) on display that were similar to the ones which were aimed at the palace. Again, a very strange museum with a perspective all its own.

We returned to our hotel after the tour and were please to take a break in the comfort of our rooms. The hotel conditions had notably increased since Cambodia and we were pleased to have AC, hot water, a toilet that could handle toilet paper, as well as our own fridge and satellite TV. We felt like kings. Later that evening we met up with our friends A&O for dinner and had a great time walking around HCMC.

The next day we booked another tour to see the Cu Chi Tunnels on the outskirts of HCMC. This tunnel network became legendary during the '60s for its role in facilitating Viet Cong control of a large rural area outside Saigon. Our tour guide was a man from Saigon who worked with the Americans during the war. Because he assisted the Americans, the government would only allow our guide to hold certain low-level jobs (such as a tour guide). Needless to say, our guide provided a much different image of the Viet Cong (referred to only as the National Liberation Front), the American War, Vietnam since the war, and Vietnam since the US lifted its embargo in 1995 than any museum we visited.

Once at the Cu Chi Tunnels we watched a bizarre 20 minute video showing the history and lifestyle of VC soldiers. The video portrayed smiling women and men (some barely 15) holding AK47's and exclaiming how much they love to fight. The video was also set to a lively Leave it to Beaver style soundtrack that really set the tone for the rest of our tour. After the video, we followed our guide through trails showing actual tunnel entrances and re-enactments of life underground. We even had the opportunity to walk through a portion of one of the tunnels. Jaci declined once her chest starting pounding before even entering the tunnel. Matt, however, decided to conquer the pitch black tunnel and managed to crawl through one long section. He came out soaked with sweat and slightly panicked but had a slight understanding of the absurdity of living underground for weeks at a time. There wasn't much more to note about our trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels except that at the end of the tour you are give the opportunity to buy a few rounds to shoot off an AK47 or any other type of arms you might prefer. While we were intrigued, we both decided not to take up the offer. Vietnam seems to have seen enough bullets...

After our tour we returned to town and made plans with A&O to meet for drinks. We had all arranged to fly out the next morning to Hoi An in central Vietnam. We found a great bar in central HCMC. Matt and Oisin had fun trying dried squid from a street vendor that evening and Jaci and Aislin enjoyed watching them both throw it back up. We all stayed up far too late but managed to make it up for our cab ride at 5 the next morning. Good thing we can both sleep on the plane...

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