American Soil

Friday night Jorie and I stepped back onto American Soil in San Francisco after 20 flights over the past 80 days. My older brother Jamie welcomed us with raspberries and bags of fresh food in tote. The raspberries were gone before we even made it back to his home, they were the most delicious treat we could have ever wished for.

Everything American has seemed exciting... We marveled at how clean even the airport bathrooms were, how orderly and safe driving felt, how refreshing the clean cool air is, how we could shower with our mouth open or just turn the tap for some water and of course we have been obsessed with all the food we have been craving for weeks. Although we have had the time of our lives and loved traveling our appreciation for America has grown.

We ended our trip with an amazing San Francisco weekend where we were spoiled by Jamie and Theresa. We explored the fun neighborhood streets, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, caught up with old friends, played hours with my adorable nephew and ate so much delicious food. It was so fun to share some of our stories and experiences with Jamie and Theresa. Our weekend was such a wonderful way to come back to the States and get acclimated back into the "American way".

So after 81 days of being inseparable travel buddies (the most time we have spent apart was no more than 3 hours on two occasions) our trip came to a close as we parted each heading home. We were even better travel buddies than I could have ever imagined... Agreeing on budgeting, activities, food, and every detail of traveling life with one other person can be extremely challenging. Yet to Jorie and I it seemed to be completely natural and we shared all similar intents. We never fought or had hard feeling, we shared responsibilities, always seemed to be hungry at the same time, although it seems impossible we always had something to talk about and of course we enjoyed each others company. The more time you spend with a person the more you find out and often, especially in stressful situation, you learn about qualities that aren't your favorite. However, this wasn't the case at all for me, my respect for Jorie only grew the more we encountered character building situations. The opportunity to travel and see the world in the way we did is a once a life time opportunity, but to have such an amazing travel buddy to share the experience with, well that's one in a million.

Over past 82 days we have created a life time of memories. We soaked up cultures from 10 different counties, and ironically the more we traveled the more the world seemed to get bigger and small at the same time. We learned so much about history, culture and just human beings, yet the more we learned the more ignorant we felt. We went to the theater and opera, we biked, we went to museums, we farmed, we went to churches, we sailed, we snorkeled, we rode elephants, we played with tigers, we swam, we rode in Tuk-Tuks, we kayaked, we trekked, we ate local dishes, and the list goes on. And of course we took thousands of photos but most of the best moments weren't captured on film, only in memory. It sounds cliche but wandering the world was life changing. It was an epic 3 months and it was a trip of a life time.

Dengue

So we didnt come out of Asia completely unscathed and the end of our trip hasn't exactly gone as planned. Jorie sadly was the unfortunate one who took the blow of bad luck for the two of us. For the past 8 days Jorie has been a victim to the tropical mosquito transmitted Dengue Fever which causes a myriad of symptoms (high fever, massive headache, fatigue, aching, nausea, etc). As someone who has witnesses Dengue fever in action, let's just say you never want to get it. Jorie has been extremely brave and a trooper through the waves of discomfort.

Over the past 4 days we have been back and forth to the visit "Doctor Brian" (a curmudgeon man from Canada but a tropical disease specialist). We have also spent more time than we could have ever imagine in our $22 windowless ant-infested hotel room (at least it was cheap). We rented a DVD player and bought tons of pirated DVD's. I have learned a lot about Jorie on this trip, and have discovered that she tends to have random narcoleptic moments. These moments of narcolepsy were only exacerbated by Dengue. While Jorie was narcoleptic I wandered the city of Hanoi observing more of the Asian culture. Walking into oncoming traffic doesn't seem to give me an heart attack anymore, the guilt I once felt for turning away street vendors who hackle us has disappeared, and I now think meals should be under $5; these are all signs we have been in Vietnam for a while.

This morning Dr. Brian gave Jorie the clear to fly back to the States. We were ecstatic to be able to leave the confines of our hotel and go back to the comforts of the US. We are leaving the land where there are countless motor bikes, where PJ's are acceptable any time of day, where the national sport is badminton, where chickens run around the city streets, and where the sounds of honking horns is constant. We are now heading back to San Francisco earlier than expected but thankful for the past 12 weeks of an epic adventure.

Things we are looking forward to...

We are both extremely sad that our days of traveling seem to be coming to an end. As we sit in our hotel room waiting for Jorie's dengue fever to subside we are thinking of all we are looking forward to about going home to the land of the free (free of disease)... So here is the list:
- clean tap water and being able to drink as much water as we want
- exercising
- fresh air
- peace and quiet
- clear side walks and crosswalks
- cold weather without disease
- clean cloths
- raw veggies
- signs in English
- home cooked meals
- fruit
- peanut butter
- spending free days (no money)
- family
- doggies
- new music
- driving
- cell phones
- American efficiency
- Holidays
- key board
- no Asian food
- no more bad smells
- electric toothbrush
- closet rather than a suitcase
- no more malaria meds

Oh My Buddha

Oh my Buddha - Our tour guide, Kong, would say this instead of Oh my gosh... it was a great expression.

In Northwestern Vietnam the village of Sapa is perched on a mountain side. Ethnic minority villages surround Sapa- there are 5 ethnic groups residing in the valley, but the Black Hmong are the most prominent. We spent the past three days treking from village to village across the green terraced rice paddies.The mountain environment was much cooler than the rest of our Asian experience, which we enjoyed immensely, and we lucked out with awesome sunny weather. Rice harvest is already over, making the fields less green, but the landscape is still breathtaking.

After returning from Halong Bay to Hanoi, we took an 8 hour night train to the town of Lao Cai, arriving at 5 AM. We then took an hour long bus to Sapa. An older Australian couple joined us with our local guide Kong. We hiked for 4 hours through the farm land on the walking trails the local Black Hmong people use. 6 Black Hmong ladies walked with us helping us when it was slippery or steep. The women were all just shy of 5 feet tall and all wear their traditional dress - all indigo blue clothing made embellished with their hemp embroidery. They use marijuana plants to make hemp, then they weave the hemp into fabric, then us the native indigo plants to dye the fabric and then spend hours adding their personal touch with embroidery. Their clothing is an art in itself and they are constantly working on some embroidery project. They carried big wicker baskets on their backs with their projects in it to sell. Although their traditional way of life is largely still practiced, they have learned basic English from the tourist. In general the ethnic minority people are extremely impoverished and their way of life is far from easy. Still the ladies were happy and helpful as they walked with us. The 6 ladies stayed with us until we reached their village for lunch.

Like I said before the landscape is breathtaking. The mountains are steep with green bamboo covering them in un-farmed areas and terraced rice paddies covering the rest. The clear river runs in the valley and is fed by the many tributaries coming down from the mountains often creating waterfalls. There are scattered small wooden shacks with scrap metal roofs and tons of animals roaming the area - water buffalo chomping on the rice paddies, pigs rummaging through the mud, chickens being chased by dogs all over the place and of course the the random goat eating anything it desires. It is unclear what kids belong to what adult or even if an adult is watching them - most of the kids can be found half clothed creating a game to entertain themselves. The kids are incredibly cute despite how dirty they are. I loved seeing what simple things the kids found entertainment in, I would have to say they tend to be much more imaginative then the average american child who is bored after 5 minutes of an activity. Anyways, my description could never do justice to describe the beauty and charm of this place.

After lunch in the Black Hmong Village we hiked another 3 1/2 hours farther down valley to our home-stay next to a beautiful waterfall. During this walk we picked up more ethic ladies who followed us in hopes we would buy some of their crafts. It is hard to see their way of life and not want to support the people, but you can't buy everyone's crafts.

We stayed with a wonderful couple, Long and Yue, and their two boys. Long has been incredibly inventive and creative about building his house in a way that is tourist conducive. They fixed us two massive meals and were so generous. It was a wonderful experience being able to stay at their home.

The second day we hiked another 4 hours down valley to another village for lunch. We took a car (there are very few cars in this area - cars are only really for tourists) back to Sapa where our guide showed us the local Sunday market. Getting swarmed by the ethnic women is pretty standard around here... they all use different tactics to try to make you buy their products. Luckily I have found a strong side in me to resist the badgering.

Last night we enjoyed the amenities of civilization in a hotel. Today a Black Hmong woman (only 18) took us up valley to the local village of Cat Cat. This village is much more accessible, making it more touristy. It was still beautiful to see and we enjoyed stretching our legs more. We have spent the afternoon exploring more of the town of Sapa and relaxing becuase Jorie has been under the weather lately. We loved Sapa and having the opportunity to hike around this incredible landscape. It is a different way of life here but there is still lots to learn from the simplicity.
We headed back to Hanoi on the night train and were back in Hanoi about 4:30 am, good thing we can sleep just about anywhere at this point.

Jorie has been sick for almost 5 days, so now we are back in civilization we went to see the doctor. The uncomfortable state Jorie has been in was explained by test results showing she had contracted Dengue Fever. Don't worry she will be just fine and I am taking care of her. Nothing like picking up an extra swamp souvenir!

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Ms. Loan - Hanoi and Halong

Over the past 6 months I have been corresponding via email with Ms. Loan, a lady who works for Poseidon Junk Boat Sail tour company. The emails have been excessive, she consistently spells my name different (and never correct) and always ends the email with "waiting to serve you". Through these countless emails Ms. Loan has become quite the character in our minds and we were so looking forward to meeting her. Unfortunately we still have not met this women, but the emails have been supplemented by several confusing phone calls with her and she has arranged for us to be taken care of.

We wandered Hanoi for one solid day seeing everything worth seeing. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, so it comes with the big city attributes of lots of people, tons of traffic and lots of pollution. The Old Quarter of the city has lots of shops, tour companies, and restaurants.

Ho Chi Minh is a God in this counties and it is impossible not to know who he is or what he looks like because his face is plastered more places than George Washington. Ho Chi Minh complex in the city is a place Vietnamese people flock to to see Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body. The complex felt communist with tons of guards ordering you this way and that in order to see the embalmed body and Ho Ch Minh's old residence. The experience was weird to say the least.

We also went to the Temple of Literature (which is extremely old) and to Hoa Lo Prison. Hoa Lo prison is extremely historical- it contained Vietnamese during French rule and then American's durning the Vietnam war. It was good to learn more Vietnamese history. While in Hanoi we also went to a water puppet performance which was hysterical. We couldn't understand the majority of what was going on but it was entertaining to see the puppets splash around in the water and it remains a mystery as to how they work.

Halong Bay
We were picked up early Wednesday morning by our tour company, Poseidon Junk Boat. Our hopes for a young English speaking crowd were dashed as we boarded a bus full of older Asians. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive to Halong City. The harbor was packed with junk boats and thousands of tourist. Our 3 story junk boat is comfortable for 15 passengers and spacious compared to our sail boat in Greece. Luckily Halong Bay is a perfect temperature- warm and sunny and we can actually put on pants at night!

After an extensive 8 dish lunch, most of which was shellfish which Jorie couldn't eat, we headed to "the amazing cave". Our tour guide, Duk, took a liking to us, so he made me, "Alice" (as he liked to refer to me), the main character of all the myths he told us about the cave. The cave was massive with three different rooms of stalactites, stalagmites and rocks that looked like animals if you use your imagination (Duk found an animal in almost every rock). Jorie and I took a short kayak around the beautiful landscape as the sun set.

Halong Bay is gorgeous and is a natural wonder. There are some odd 1,900 limestone islands that have extremely steep topography and are covered in green vegetation. The scattered islands create a maze of bays, lagoons and isolated areas that feel extremely remote.

We anchored for the night in a popular junk boat area near the famous cave. Our dinner was even more extensive than our lunch. After dinner the karaoke became our entertainment... A young Malaysian couple was like a human jut-box knowing every song and having no shame to belt out their duets. After a few songs Jorie made her debut with quite an impressive performance of both dancing and singing. Her performances included "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Heaven is A Place On Earth". Jorie has always claimed that her mother's musical talents were not passed down to her but now I know that she has just been hiding them all along. The Malaysian couple, an Australian guy and the two of us had a great time singing all together to countless songs. It was comical to say the least.

We spent yesterday getting away from the thousands of other tourist and seeing the real beauty of Halong. We took a small boat with two other older couples and a tour guide to the more isolated areas. We hiked to the top of one of the islands and had spectacular views. Then we went to a pearl farm where we learned about the labor intensive process of culturing pearls. The rest of the day was spent exploring in kayaks. We paddled through a floating fishing village and saw a school room in session with the children's small boats floating outside. Our guide, Kay, also took us through a massive cave where we could not see a thing and had to paddle blindly until we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, literally. The other side was an entirely enclosed inland lake with the cave as the only access point. We explored two more remote areas via caves, and I loved the peaceful isolation. The water was a perfect temperature for swimming. On the small boat they managed to cook us just as massive of a meal as they had on our junk boat. It was such a fun day of exploring and seeing the less popular areas.

We had a whole new group of people on our boat for our second night, including Ruby a 7 year old Australian girl who was an absolute stitch. We actually had previously met Ruby at breakfast in our hotel a few days back so it was fun to see her and her family again. Ruby stole the show for most of dinner and karaoke. Jorie and I seem to be coming down with a cold of some short, Jorie way worse off than me, so we have been spending the rest of the time resting on the boat.

We drive back to Hanoi this afternoon to quickly turn around and head to Sapa, in the northern mountains of Vietnam, on a night train.

Tailor Made

Friday we left the inferno of Ho Chi Minh City and flew, on our 17th flight, to Hue in central Vietnam. Our wish for cooler weather was granted with temperatures in the 80's and monsoonal rains (normally I wouldn't consider these temperatures cooler). When we arrived in Hue, the tourist information and bus services people had spoke of were no where to be found. We boarded a local bus into town where we found another bus to Danang, which was not our final destination but the closest city to Hoi An. The bus to Danang didn't even really stop for us to get on as we boarded the half empty rolling bus. The bus was designed for an Asian petite build with only 8 inches worth of leg room between seats. Much to our dismay the bus did not stay half empty for long, and it continued to fill passed the number of seats. Benches across the center alley were soon used to pack more people in. We were in the back two corners of the bus, legs crammed against the seat in front of us, with 3 Vietnamese men between us. For the 2 1/2 hour bus ride the horn blared for at least 2 hours of it as the bus plowed around corners and up the hills warning all the motor bikes and cars to get out of the way. Although there was no leg room, there was plenty of entertainment on the bus; a new age outrageous pirate movie played which caused lots of giggles, I was used as a human pillow to the young man next to me, one man wore his bike helmet the whole trip, a man in the row in front of us was getting sick into a plastic bag, etc. Both Jorie and I loved the cultural experience. Due to a traffic jam the bus dropped us randomly on a street in Danang, where we were to fend for ourselves finding another bus to Hoi An. Another travel angel appeared to help us find our way. The rains were causing the city to flood so badly that while we sat in our taxi water came in and up to our ankles. But we made it past the flooding and to our hotel just a little more wet than we had planned.

Hoi An is a wonderfully quaint town set back from the Pacific Ocean on the Thu Bon River. The town has preserved some it's charm by keeping some of the old streets only for walking. The French influence is still evident in the yellow stucco buildings with wooden shudders that line the stone streets. The famous Japanese covered bridge in the center of town also shows the multicultural influence in this small town. At night the streets, trees, and bridges are all lite up by the colorful lanterns creating a magical setting. There is a central market along the river which is full of produce, textiles and cook wear. The traditional Asian cone hats are seen everywhere as women paddle into the market on their small wooden boats or come carrying their produce carefully balanced in baskets hanging on both ends of a stick across their shoulder. The Vietnamese people always seem to be happy, however they did seem to be more aggressive about trying to sell things. These charming characteristics make this small town enticing for tourist, but the main reason people are drawn to this town is for tailor made cloths. Hoi An is the epicenter for tailor made cloths, and my guess is that over 80% of the stores are tailor shops or shoe-making shops. Any piece of clothing you could ever dream of, including wedding dresses, can be made in this town in less than 24 hours for much cheaper than they would ever cost elsewhere.

We knew it was inevitable that we would be drawn into the tailor made experience while in Hoi An, however we didn't anticipate how consuming our shopping experience would be. Our first night we tried to do the smart thing by surveying the shops but then the next day we were fully suckered into a tailor made roller coaster. In the end with spent many hours getting clothes made at two different shops. One place we felt very much trapped into and we did not have the most positive experience, but it worked out. The second tailor shop, Phuong Nam, was amazing; they were extremely helpful, listened to exactly what we wanted and produced incredible cloths. At the last minute when Jorie decided she wanted another dress they made a full length dress in less than 3 hours that fit her like a glove.

When we weren't shopping we enjoyed a boat ride down the river, a bike ride to the beach, splashed around in the pool, went to a cultural dance, and went for some walks in the more bearable temperatures. To help our budget and counterbalance our shopping splurge we had two of the cheapest dinners of the trip with a grand total of $2. On Saturday night, we sat on little stools with a small table (kindergardener size) on the sidewalk next to where the river was flooding over it's banks onto the street. Some ladies cooked us dinner on their portable kitchen set-up and we enjoyed the colorful lanterns lighting the lively streets. The $2 meal did leave my hands greasy but luckily the flood water was within reach to wash them off. It was an awesome Saturday night experience.

We loved our Hoi An experience and left with once again full bags (we arrived with about 12kg each and left with 16 kg each). Today we decided to try a different means of getting back to Hue for our flight. This time we took a tourist bus which consisted of three rows and two levels of basically bunk bed seats that reclined. It was tons more room and a lot more comfortable of a 3 hour bus ride. We are now on a flight north to Hanoi, Vietnam.

P.S. People here love to wear pajamas at all hours of the day. This includes both children and adults.

America, have you heard of it?

The title of this blog entry is dedicated to our Vietnamese friend, Pho, who worked at the hotel we stayed at. He always asked us where we were from and each time when we told him "the United States; America" his face remained dumbfounded without an ounce of recognition. He told us he had never heard of America, but he knew of Canada, Holland, and some other Asian countries. We did not fight the issue but have pondered how Pho has never heard of the country that occupied and fought a war here for over 15 years.

Ho Chi Minh City was our introduction to Vietnam and our host for the past four days. And let me tell you we did just about everything the city has to offer in 4 days.

When we arrived in Vietnam Jorie could not have been any more excited to see a bed, and she crawled in and crashed before the bellman of our hotel had even left our room. Once all the shrimp was out of Jorie's system (she is allergic to shrimp and it seems to be the secret ingredient in a lot of foods in Asia), she seemed to recover quickly from her 'death warmed over' state. I was thankful to have my travel buddy functioning again after having a taste of what traveling by myself would have been like- one night of eating and exploring alone was enough for me.

Monday we spent the day exploring the city and all its major attractions. Ho Chi Minh does not have public transportation options (like Bangkok), so we tried to venture by foot hoping to be back in our European ways. Well walking around Saigon (downtown Ho Chi Minh) is nothing like walking around a European city; there are two major differences: the heat and the traffic.

The heat in Ho Chi Minh is outrageous- walking outside is like walking into the oven but with humidity that soaks you. Our hair didn't even have time to dry from the shower before it was soaked with sweat.

As far as the traffic, its utter chaos! I am sure you all have at one point or another participated in guessing how many jellybeans were in a massive jar... Well when traffic is stopped, the street resembles the massive jar of jellybeans with some random candy bars mixed in (jellybeans representing motor bikes and the candy bars as cars and buses). It is wall to wall people on motor bikes. Then throw that massive jar of jelly beans on the ground and that is what the moving traffic is like... There are 5.2 million motor bikes within Saigon and each motor bike commonly has more than 2 people on it. I saw a motor bike with 7 people riding on it, one big happy family all balancing on 2 wheels. Kids often stand on the front area or are sandwiched between adults. When the motor bikes aren't transporting tons of people, they have tons of stuff on them. We saw one man with about 10 plastic tables balancing on the back of his bike and he even had one around his neck. The motor bikes weave through traffic, go up on the sidewalks when they are feeling impatient, and go in whatever direction they feel inclined to. A honk is a warning system on the streets and flashing light's communicate that "you better move because I am not slowing down". There is no break in traffic, so waiting for an opening to cross the street, well that's not going to happen. So crossing the street is terrifying, it is a massive game of chicken where you feel the exhaust of the motor bikes burning your leg as they go by and the wind created by them whizzing by. Jorie and I always try to find a local to cross with, but even still screaming and holding hands for dear life seems to be in the cards for the major intersections.


Some other random cultural things we have noticed.... Vietnam is no where near as developed as Thailand, but is ahead of Cambodia.... The dong is like monopoly money and has proven to be our hardest currency to convert with 21,000 dong to the dollar.... A lot of the motor bikers wear face masks, and they even sell designer ones... Backstreet Boys and other 90's teeny bopper music is still in over here... Even adults like the Disney channel.... They eat everything here- cockroaches, every part of whatever animal, tons of fish, etc.... The smells here are overwhelming and often nauseating... Maps are not southeast Asia's strength, and the people have no clue how to read a map or even where things are... However, they have good spacial awareness to ride motor bikes practically on top of each other... It's too hot to be outside during the day, so the parks are packed at night- the locals love to play badminton, do an asian form of zumba and an asian version of hacky-sack....And in general the Vietnamese people seem so happy and jovial!

So now to what we have been up to over the past few days....

Monday and Thursday we spent learning how to play chicken with the traffic and seeing the major sights of Saigon. We walked to the famous Norte Dam Cathedral, which was beautiful but didn't compare to European churches. The famous post office was not too exciting but offered us a cool break. The War Museum was incredibly powerful and depressing. Feeling rather ignorant to the Vietnam War, known here as the American War, we learned a great deal about the torture, hardship, distraction and the ever lasting effects of agent orange. The more we learned the more we were disturbed and frustrated by the war that inflicted so much pain on so many people.

The Jade Emperor's Pagoda is another sight that looked better in the guide book than in real life, but we did get to see lots of turtles there. We wandered the zoo and botanical gardens but the heat was draining. The fine arts museum had a lot of potential but after Europe's art museums it was hard to compare. We of course enjoyed window shopping but found the major market to be an unbearable inferno.

Tuesday we took a tour to the Mekong Delta which is about two hours from the city. The Mekong Delta is a massive area that is known as the rice bowl of Asia due to it being the second largest producer of rice. The area has 9 strains of the Mekong river flowing through it and then hundreds of streams connecting them. The water is extremely murky and brown, but is highly productive. We took a big boat down one of the major tributaries with floating scrap metal houses and muddy banks with settlements. We also took a small 4 person boat up a palm covered and jungle banked stream. Immersing ourselves as much as possible in the experience we bought the traditional Vietnamese cone hats to protect us from the sun. We had a traditional lunch on the river bank, learned how coconut candy is made by a local family, sipped honey lemon tea in the jungle, and even listened to a local folk band. It was worthwhile to see how the people live in this region of the world.

Wednesday we took a tour to Cao Dai Holy See Temple and to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cao Dai Holy See is the birth place of the Cao Dai religion which was created in the late 1800's and is a mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity. There are about 3 million followers in Vietnam and a large portion of which practice at this temple. The temple is 2 hours from Ho Chi Minh, so it was a long trek to see it. The building is extremely colorful with dragons and eye sculptures covering the mixed European and Asian style architecture. Feeling like intruders we watched some of their afternoon prayer service where all members dress in white and file into the service in a hierarchy way. The service seemed to be a series of bowing mediation to singing and chants.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are a massive spiderweb of underground tunnels reaching father than 6 meters deep. The Cu Chi guerillas built the massive underground world during the war to both protect their families and fight the Americans. The tunnel entrances are impossible to see without knowing about them- often they were a 1x 1 foot hole covered with a wood door. I barely made it past the entrance before claustrophobia set in and I went above ground. Jorie managed to go down into the first two level of tunnels, but after about 50 feet her back was tired and she came up. With people shooting war time guns at the complex shooting range it was eerie to see the series of booby traps with sharp points meant to slice the enemy in half. Seeing the conditions war creates to make people act so inhumanly towards each other was a harsh reality.

Now we are off to central Vietnam and we are hoping for some cooler weather!