CrunchyTimes

Koh Tao

acbrock — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:49:00 GMT

Our time on Koh Tao was predominately spent around "Bluewind" at our third from the beach, hammock adorned bungalow. because we were there the longest we had a mini way of life with our own pad thai place (so good) and our own dog (tardy- he follows his own shadow), and ali the pancake guy who was visited on every drunken occasion. its hard to write a coherent entry on koh tao because it all blends together as like an experience more than just a place we visited. On koh tao shoes are optional and ppl end up staying weeks instead of days and years instead of months. We started diving a couple days in and simi got her open water while i was "refreshed". simi didn have to watch all the really bad movies because her second day "ugly mugly" (dog) ate through the video wires. one day we went on a full day dive trip and did 3 really great dives including sail rock where you can swim up and down a rock formation called a chimney. another day we went to nangyuan- an archipelago off the NW coast. a night early into our stay we went to the queens show (lady boys)- or the end of it- where two new friends joined the finale in some rediculous outfits. obviously they had already downed a few beers but it was not their first time participating. Our first full day on koh tao we made an intense hike to hin wong bay on the other side of the island for snorkeling- after this draining experience the laziness set in to the max. the day of the full moon party we left for koh phangnan.

Chiang Mai

acbrock — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:28:00 GMT

Our first day in chiang mai we lazed about with really no goal and then later we went to the night market where simi easily parted with her money. we were very lazy that day, spending most of it at wawee, a coffee place on the river.

Day two in chiang mai we hired Tawee, our future bff, to basically chaffeur us around all day in the outskirts of the city. We went to the elephant camp, pretty much the highlight of our lives, where we fed the elephants and left the "show" early for the nursery where we spent 20 minutes completely alone with the 3 month old baby. He didnt even know how to take bananas with his trunk yet and kept dropping and stepping on them so we had to put them in his mouth. He kept thinking my arm was a banana and grabbing it. We went to an orchid farm next with a butterfly enclosure, that was cute. We had lunch with Tawee at a really local place (he had to order for us in thai)and then he took us to the umbrella factory and silk factory where they showed you some of the worms and the process silk goes through. Tawee rocks. Later that night we went to bubbles-the most stereotypically asian club that ever existed.

Day 3 we slept in for the first time since we got here. We signed up for a cooking class in the evening and it was a really good time. A little better than our first sooking class (we each had our own wok) and we made spring rolls, pad thai, coconut soup, and mango sticky rice. That night we went to the row of bars near our "hotel" (eagle 2 guesthouse-it was awesome for $9 a night w a/c but the lock to our door was literally a padlock-no frills) and while we were in the bar someone randomly walked up w a baby elephant trying to get ppl to pay to feed it. Its kind of sad that they take advantage of them like that for money.

Our last day in chiang mai was spent ziplining in the forest outside chiang mai. Ziplining wasnt that scary except we are awful breakers. our break was a piece of bamboo that youre supposed to press on the line but instead I just kept closing my eyes when i got close to the platform. After lunch they also took us to a waterfall. When we got back to the city we got on the crazy bus.

Our plan to get to the islands wasa bus ride from chiang mai to bangkok (7pm-4am) a bus from bangkok to champhun (6am-1pm) and a ferry from champhun (1pm 4pm). We literally decided that day that we wanted to go to koh tao instead of koh samui because its a smaller less developed diver island and way less expensive. I had to overcome major koh tao induced malaise to write this entry. My next entry will probably be reaaally long because we decided we probs arent moving for the next 8 days or so- a lifetime on this kind of trip. We've been here since monday and we just switched to a bungalow in the sand for 15 dollars a night- its really really nice too. The epicenter for these kind of beach places is the restaurant/office and ours is this open air two story wood house with balconies over looking the water. AHH its the best. Its called blue wind. alright until later...

Bangkok

acbrock — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 22:23:00 GMT

Our first journey outside of our hotel in bangkok was to MBK. WOW - I have never ever been more intimidated by a shopping mall in my life. We had a final meal at khoa san rd. The next day we went with a few of the people left from our tour to the tiger temple where we pet tigers and took pictures with them. We also saw the bridge over the river kwai - snooze fest- and a floating market. That night we got on an overnight train to chiang mai- it was a magical train where beds with really nice sheets magically appeared, sooo much better than vietnams trains. Currently in Chiang Mai spending 4 days- the longest we've stayed anywhere so far.

Siem Reap/Battambang

acbrock — Thu, 5 Jun 2008 11:02:00 GMT

we arrived by air in siem reap on saturday morning. Siem Reap kicks ass and is such a cute town with so many two story bars and restaurants. It has a really nice vibe. We went to the old market and then got traditional massages for $6/hr. After relaxing by the pool we went for drinks at the foreign correspondants club and dinner at soup dragon overlooking pub st. Afterwards we went to the Angkor Whaaaaaaaaat? bar which we had been excited about for awhile we really like saying "ANGKOR WHAAAAT?".

The next morning we went to the angkor complex and visited bayon and the tomb raider temple. I made a daredevil pose ontop of a mini tower and was promptly warned by a guide to move it or lose it. The afternoon was hangin out by the pool because it was so frickin hot. Our group frequently had international competetitions and sim and i were called "team yank" a lot but we consistently blew team sweden, team kiwi, and team pohm out of the water. For dinner we went to cambodian bbq where they cook the food at your table and I tried crocodile, yummy. The next morning we woke up at 4am to see the sunrise at angkor wat. We went to a mall for locals after where i bought some interesting t-shirts (their attempts at english translations are pretty funny)and we had a group dinner later at a traditional khmer restaurant and it was sooo good for sooo cheap.

Tuesday morning we took a long and bumpy ride to Battambang. We were only stopping here to break up the journey but simi and i took an impromptu tour by motorbike and the guy driving seemed happy to be our guide. We stopped at two wats and at one of which the monks started chatting with us. The next mornign we took our journey to bangkok.

Phnom Penh

acbrock — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:14:00 GMT

Our first afternoon/night in phnom penh was uneventful except for our dinner when we offered tarantulas and crickets. I tried the tarantula which a fellow intrepider told me tasted like over crisp bacon- lies, all lies. Our full day in phnom penh we spent visiting the genocide museum- a former school turned prison and torture center during the khmer rouge pol pot regime. Then we went to the killing fields- most of the mass graves are dug up but even when you walk you can see bones in the path that are brought up due to rain. A pretty uneventful afternoons shopping then dinner at our guide from earlier's home. Currently we are in siem reap and just had another massage and are about to get lunch.

Saigon

acbrock — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:47:00 GMT

Our first day in saigon we determined to be a spa day. For $22 I had maybe the greatest expereince of my life in the form of an hour deep tissue massage in a really really nice tranquil and immaculate spa. We almost didnt make it there though because street numbers in saigon dont really work out right. Afterward (feelign like gumby)i went to a store called saigon kitsch that really cool stuff with recreations of propaganda posters and stuff. We went to our farewell dinner and then the blue gecko bar. i spent a lot yesterday. Today we took a bus to the Mekong delta and when we stepped off i was confronted with the smell of fish sauce- my kryptonite. There may be no fouler substance on earth. We went to a coconut candy farm/business and then a honey farm/business for lunch. We ate honey right out of the combs, it was really good and they smoked the bees so that they wouldnt sting. Thinking that wasnt living dangerously enough i asked our leader if he would ask them if i could hold their pet python- if britney spears can do it so can i. I wasnt that scared until his head started coming towards me. We met our new group when we got back to saigon and at dinner at the night market- they seem like big drinkers. tomorrow we are taking a 7 hr bus ride into cambodia. happy mom?

Nha Trang

acbrock — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:00:00 GMT

We got to Nha Trang late saturday night after sleeping on the train for the better part of the day. Nha Trang is more modern than the other cities and is Vietnams beach party town. Saturday we had another motorbike tour that left us off at the mudbaths- all aroudnd the city there are advertisements that read "bathing in the mud mineral water is very interesting!!!?" That night we went to a really nice restaurant called the louisiana brew house and then we partied at the sailing club- as close to a rave as ive come yet. Yesterday we took a boat trip to snorkel and swim then got on yet another sleeper train and now we're in saigon. We started our day here doing aerobics at 6am with lots and lots of older vietnamese women in the park.

hoi an

acbrock — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:49:00 GMT

We arrived in hoi an on tuesday afternoon just in time to go to yaly- basically our new home for the next two days. Yaly is the most professional (and expensive) tailor in hoi an and can pretty much make anything you dream up. I got 2 dresses made and have just paid a few minutes ago so now theyre mine. I must have gone in there 7 times. i also had nice strappy sandals made for $7. the woman traced my feet and measured and had them ready the next day- theyd be like $70 at urban outfitters. that night we went to what would be a really nice expensive restaurant at home called cargo club and our $6 meal did seem expensive to us now that we're completely spoiled.

Yesterday we woke up at 5 am to go to "my son" a sort of mini angkor wat in the middle of nowhere half blown up by the vietnam war. in the guide book it said not to stray from the path because it is unclear how well the area has been demined. i think we went to yaly when we got back to hoi an and then i went to the beach on a bicycle (20 min) rented for $1 a day. a woman sits all day outside our hotel and shes so nice and doesnt harass us- shes already rented us bicycles sold us water and done my laundry-shes the best.we have a swimming pool here and its pretty nice except for some roaches, theyre everywhere in vietnam im learning- luckily there are really cute geckos to even it out. on the way back from the beach we stopped at a upscale hotelo to check out prices and i hopped in one of the nices pools ever ( the hotel was $130 - sooo worth it if i had money). we had our cooking class then and it was one of the highlights so far. the instructor took uws into the food market and told us some tricks on how to buy the best ingredients for the meal and then we came back to the restaurant and started cooking. we made sweet and sour chicken soup, spring rolls, green papaya salad, garlic morning glory (water spinach), and fish in banana leaves. i wrote down everything carefully so i can recreate the meal when i get home. dessert after at cargo club was to die for and then of course we went to yaly. on the way kids hopped on the back of our bicycles and we definetely had no choice but to give them bikie rides up the street- it was really cute. then we went to a beach party later.

today we rode bikes on the outside of hoi an and the scenery was much like the motorbike ride in hue. there are a lot of beautiful houses along waterways with palm trees and small gravel roads. today was the hottest day we've had so far. we got to a boat eventually that took us to a small island for a bbq. when we came back i went to yaly. my tour leader had challenged me to a tennis match a couple days ago and today i got my chance to show him up- it was close but i beat him. then i went to yaly and now i desperately need some sleep before preparing for tomorrows train ride to nha trang.

Hue

acbrock — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:14:00 GMT

We got to hue at 830 in the morning after "sleeping" in a really really gross train. After dropping off our laundry (<$1), we went to breakfast and then a food market which was cool since our guide finally told us what all the things we'd been wondering about actually were. We went to the citadel next. The citadel was where the royal court lived when Hue was the capitol of vietnam and we learned about kings, eunichs, and concubines mostly. It was a lot larger than expected. We had awhile to rest and instead of going back out into the heat we ended up watching a rat travel across the roofs of makeshift shops below- it was pretty entertaining. For dinner we went to the royal banquet restaurant where eneveryone dresses up as someone in the court, it was eerily similar to medieval times. Afterwards we started my birthday celebration, a little too enthusiastically i realized today.

Today was the longest day we've had so far which is good since it was my birthday! Today is also buddhas birthday and ho chi minhs so i pretty much could not have picked a better place to spend it. We took a motorcycle tour of the outside of hue and it was easily one of the coolest things ive ever done. we visited a fortune teller, a temple with full buddha bday bash in swing, the perfume river, an inscense shop, an elephant/tiger battling arena, another temple, and a conical hat maker. I was pretty sick today and our guide took me to the pagoda where we were eating lunch later and the nuns took care of me- it was one of the strangest and best experiences ive had- it almost made it worth being sick. they rubbed some kind of oil on the temples and face and gave me a semi painful massage and it was all just really bizzare. Riding on a motorbike all day was just amazing and a huge relief from the heat. Right now we're leaving for dinner at a restaurant run by a deaf mutte- should be interesting.

Halong Bay

acbrock — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:01:00 GMT

Yesterday morning we took the 3 1/2 hour bus ride to halong bay stopping to have breakfast with the children at blue dragon center first. When we got to Halong bay we boarded our "junk" boat had a good seafood lunch in the dining area and got the keys to our rooms on the deck below. We then visited the "amazing" cave and the cave and halong bay in general are really incredible. The waters like emerald green and everywhere you look is picture perfecet. On the way back to our boat from the cave a lady was selling seafood from her small rowbopat and had an octopus in a small tub. The octopus kept trying to climb over the edges and the lady kept slapping his tenticles away- i was rooting for the octopus. Next we kayaked to a beachand climbed 420 stairs for a great view, 420 stairs was a lot and my legs were shaking uncontrollably on the way back down. We jumped of the railings of the bopat and swam and until it was time to shower for dinner. Dinner was also really good and we played poker before packing it in. Halong Bay was amazing.

This morning we were bussed to back to hanoi stopping at a ceramic village on the way. We definetely didnt miss the noise or 3 million motorbikes (not an exaggeration- an actual figure). this afternoon has pretty much been about food since we had lunch, went for ice cream, and wet to a supermarket. now we're getting ready to leave for the overnight train to hue.

Ho Chi Minh + Water Puppets

acbrock — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:28:00 GMT

Today we started early to visit ho chi minh's masoleum and presidential palace. The grounds were really nice but the best part was seeing all the school children in lines each grabbing onto anothers shirt- they were so excited to see us and say "hello". In the afternoon we walked pretty far into the old city but today we didnt buy very much for all the window shopping we did. We took a cyclo taxi to the prison dubbed the "hanoi hilton" by american pilots captured in the vietnam war. It was cool though 2/3 of it had been developed over to make a new hotel. There were some pics of John McCain and descriptions of the excellent treatment the americans received (including christmas celebrations) after bombing attacking and sabotaging the vietnamese- needless to say there was some bias. In the evening we went to the water puppet show and afterwards a group dinner, after we got some drinks and now heading to bed for our trip to halong bay early tomorrow.

Hanoi

acbrock — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:46:00 GMT

Our first day in Hanoi! last night we walked around a little near hoam kiem lake but today we went west of it to packed streets that we imagine are quintessential Hanoi-women carrying around produce, street food, tons of honking. We did some shopping and by wandering through the streets we found a food market with a lot of things we couldnt identify with our eyes or noses. A woman practically forced her baskets on simi and me for a photo and then tried to haggle with us over price-it was intense.