sunshine

vacation from our vacation

stin_kendra — Fri, 2 Feb 2007 15:13:00 GMT

if anyone is still reading!! we now find ourselves on the lovely island of ko tao in the gulf of thailand, far away from the mountains and chill of northern vietnam. we spent our last days in nam touring hanoi and the nearby halong bay. we signed up for what was supposed to be an overnight trip on a boat called a "junk" with kayaking and snorkeling, but the trip turned out to be another fine example of tacky vietnamese tourism. our first stop on the boat was this giant cavern, discovered by a fisherman during a typhoon in 1993 and rapidly developed into a tourist trap, complete with fluorescent lights, fake springs and "legends". we then journeyed to a fishing village, consisting of tiny floating houses reminiscent of seattle where the inhabitants were eager to sell us "biscuit oreos" and pineapple from their rowboats. finally we achieved our total of one hour of kayaking for the entire trip, not what we thought we were signing up for... we spent the night on the junk in a beautiful bay with about thirty other junks. we managed to have a good laugh about it all with our new australian friends carl and lou, who made the trip quite memorable over countless tiger beers.

needless to say we were anxious to finally get some sun and ditch our raincoats and shoes. we flew from hanoi to bangkok, and then boarded a bus to champon that same night. by 7 am we were on a boat to ko tao, a small island in the gulf of thailand known for its diving. the island was bigger than we expected, and quite developed but tastelfully done. there are very few large buildings, no gaudy hotels or condos. mostly bungalow nestled among the trees.

we spent the first several nights in a simple room overlooking the ocean, with competing bars wafting their techno music through our window. we happeded to choose the most mellow, and cheapest dive company on the island for our first taste of the reef. whereas most boats headed out to dive at 7 am, our group of german divemasters preferred the more humane 9:30 am departure. this turned out to be quite wise, as we usually arrived to a dive spot as half a dozen of other boats were leaving.the diving has been fantastic! the visibility is unbelievable, the coral and fish plentiful and healthy, the water warm and calm.

after a couple of days we decided to take a break from the dive scene and techno and sought more peaceful accomodation a 10 minute hike along the beach from our first room. we found ourselves a tiny rustic bungalow on the beach consisting of a bed, a toilet, shower and a hammock, our dream come true! unfortunately, we have not been able to escape the techno music yet, as the one bar near us is holding a two-day trance party starting last night...

luckily, randomly, we met up with our friends todd and cat, who are doing their open water certification as we speak. it is fun to share stories as they have traveled for the past month throughout thailand and cambodia. we plan on happily staying right where we are on ko tao for the rest of our trip, heading back to montana on february 8th. our daily choices consist of which beach to nap on, which spf of sunscreen to use, where to eat and whether we should go snorkeling, kayaking or diving. this is a vacation from our vacation.

Gallery: Island Life

stin_kendra — Fri, 2 Feb 2007 14:57:00 GMT

Koh Tau

Gallery: The Epic Journey

stin_kendra — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 12:30:00 GMT

The Northwest

motorcycle diaries

stin_kendra — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 12:03:00 GMT

quick apology before you start reading...this is going to be a long one! we hope you don't get bored by the end. we just had the most epic journey through the northwest of vietnam on an ancient russian motorcycle, the "minsk" (a 125cc, 2 stroke beast), through winding mountain roads, gorgeous valleys, and hundreds of what the vietnamese call "ethinic minority" villages with their fluorescent colors and warm smiles. it was the journey we had been waiting for this enitre trip, getting away from it all, freedom to stop, meander and explore. so here goes...

day 1: hanoi to mai chau. we set off early in the morning on the minsk, heading west out of the gloom of hanoi into the wet and soggy highlands. almost immediately we began to wonder if we had made the right decision, january being one of the coldest months in spite of being the "dry season." by lunchtime we were soaked and freezing, so we stopped at a roadside stand for some warm pho. the people were very kind and friendly and did not speak a word of english, so we are not sure what we ended up eating but it was not pho. we pushed on over the pass, with fog so thick we could barely see each other on the same bike. finally, as we descended in to the valley of mai chau the clouds lifted and the air warmed, our damp clothes quickly dried. we pulled off into the village and found a guesthouse: an authentic "white thai" house on stilts overlooking the rice paddies, with bamboo split floors and satellite tv. we enjoyed the evening with some dutch fellows, an austrian couple and our vietnamese hosts drinking what they call "rice wine" which is absolutely not wine at all but an alcohol so strong it can ignite.

day 2: mai chau to son la. the next morning we again set off in the damp and cold, headed deeper into the region. within the first few hours we were so cold and wet we were stiff and shivering, so we stopped at a roadside coffee house in mot chau. it turned out to be a true blessing, as the woman there took pity on us and built us a fire in the middle of her cafe. we lingered until our clothes were mostly dry, the coffee had warmed our bellies, and our enthusiasm was renewed. such kindness to strangers, we are forever grateful to that little place. after that it was smooth sailing into son la, the sun actually came out and we got a little color on our cheeks.

we were famished when we arrived at our hotel, and set off to eat noodles and vegetables at a local dive. as we were leaving, i heard a crash behind me and saw the men on the corner pointing and laughing. i turned around to see that stin had bonked his head on the corner of a street sign, funny enough until he started gushing blood. i ran back to the restraunt to get some napkins, meanwhile the men on the corner rushed to his aid and dumped a wad of tobacco on the wound. we bandaged him up okay and then took him back to the hotel to get a better look. after a wash, trim and shave it looked like he probably should have gotten stitches, but now has a scar souveir and a second bald spot.

day 3: son la to lai chau. THE BEST DAY EVER!! the road got pretty wild leaving son la, no longer the wide paved highway we had seen so far, but a motorcross adventure only a minsk could love. we had a blast flying through the mud and whooping it up with the locals. we passed through one incredible valley after another, with picturesque rice paddies and colorfully dressed ethnic minority people, waving and smiling at everyone we passed. all the kids screamed and laughed and waved, and it never got old. we felt so forntunate to have this freedom to experience this country as few are able to.

day 4: lai chau to sapa. the next day we pushed on to the major destination of the northwest, sapa. on the way we stopped by a river to eat some oranges and jackfruit chips before tackling the epic tram ton pass. the weather was delightful until we began to near sapa, where we sank back into fog and cold. we were stopped by some road construction and enjoyed our first taste of bamboo sticky rice which is literally a stick of bamboo filled with sticky rice and grilled to perfection over an open fire, then peeled open and served with crushed peanuts, an unbelievable treat on a cold day. then we made the final descent into sapa, running out of gas on the way (so much for a "reserve tank"). its a good thing there are people selling petrol out of coke bottles every few houses along the road. as we neared sapa we were hounded by young locals on motorbikes, trying to get us to go to their hotel. it was like diana and the paparazzi, it was almost scary and quite dangerous. it did nothing to improve our first impressions of the place, and between that and the dense fog, we were determined to leave as soon as possible.

day 5: sapa to bac ha. after a cold nights sleep in sapa, we took off early for the village of bac ha, known for its colorful sunday market frequented by the flower hmong tribe. we passed one tour bus after another on the ride there, again soggy and cold to the core. after a scalding shower at our hotel we set off for the market, which was a marvelous experience. in spite of the many tour busses, there were very few tourists (each bus tends to carry only 2-4 people) and we were able to immerse ourselve in the scene. of course we tried a few market foods, not sure what they were but they were pretty good! stin got some great pics too. we spent the next two days in bac ha, taking a few walks but mostly snuggled up under the comforters--it was freeeeezing. we had to wait at least a day for our passports to catch up to us that we left in sapa, and it was a welcome rest for our backsides after 5 days of motorcycle.

day 7: bac ha to hanoi. not much to say about our last day except that we survived it. no longer in the peaceful mountain air, we booked it through one crazy town after another back to the capitol city, anxious to escape the sogginess and cold that had seeped into our bones. stin drove like a true vietnamese, navigating the cows and trucks and wires-trying-to-clothesline-us like a pro. we must have been quite a sight arriving back into the city, covered with mud head to toe and aboslutely giddy from the experience. this is the only way to travel.

well i hope you made it through this journey through the mountains with us. we are headed to halong bay for a couple of days to do some kayaking and exploring, and then it is off to thailand for some much needed sun, sand and friends. stay tuned!!

coastal meanderings

stin_kendra — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:25:00 GMT

last we wrote we had just arrived in the beach town of Nha Trang, warming our bones from the cool mountain air. we managed to even out our tans with a day on the beach, renting another motorcycle to find our secluded piece of sun at Doc Let's white sand beach. the next day we embarked on our first vietnamese scuba dive despite warnings of only 3-4 meter visibility... stin opted for a refresher course on his first dive, since he has not been diving since he was certified in high school. kendra had a little trouble equalizing with the nose ring obstacle, but she got the hang of it. the visibility was in fact 3-4 meters and littered with a fair amount of rubbish, and it was a challenge to keep track of the dive master, but we had a blast anyway! we are stoked to get to thailand where we hope the water might be a little clearer...

we just spent the last few days in the picturesque, world-heritage site-designated town of Hoi An. this town is famous for its hundreds of tailors, who can whip up anything from suits to gowns in 24 hours. stin had a cashmere suit made for $50, and kendra had some pants and shoes made. it was an exhausting experience, so many more decisions to be made than just going to the store, and neither of us are much of shoppers. but in reality it was a nice chance to really sit down and talk to people, rather than just get haggled to buy something or join a tour. our tailors were hilarious and kind, and we enjoyed the time we spent with them as much as we like our clothes.

today we are (hopefully) taking the night train north to the capitol of hanoi, where we plan to explore the region on russian "minsk" motorcycles for the next week. we continue to enjoy a daily vietnamese coffee (or three), made strong enough to "rip the enamel off your teeth" and sweetened with condensed milk. yum!!

Gallery: the land of vietnam

stin_kendra — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:26:00 GMT

beautiful land it is

finding freedom AND sunshine

stin_kendra — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:23:00 GMT

hello again, and thanks so much for the many wonderful emails and comments we have received! it is so much fun for us to share our journey with you.

and a journey it has been. we just spent several days in the highland town of dalat, after eagerly escaping the congestion of saigon. dalat is an amazing garden of flowers and vegetables, surrounded by mountains and streams. the air was cool and damp, the people were much more engaging and laid-back, actually amused at our attempts at vietnamese as opposed to the blank-stares we got in saigon.

in order to immerse ourselves more fully in the vietnamese culture we rented a motorcycle, a 110 cc suzuki "smash" to be exact (essentially a scooter in a motorcyle costume, and a slight downgrade from the harley back home). to make things more interesting stin gave kendra her first driving lesson, and was brave enough to ride on the back. she navigated her first obstacles (men dragging chains across the road, a waterbuffalo) like a pro aside from distinct squealing that only she can make.

we rode off to explore the highlands for a day, stopping at remote waterfalls and cruising through acres of fragrant coffee plantations. we were so happy to be free from the confines of buses that we neglected to notice the fierce sunshine bearing down on us. we arrived back at our hotel dusty, exhausted, sunburned in patches(the back of stin's hands, the sides of kendra's neck, etc) and totally stoked.

today we grudgingly took a bus to the beach town of nha trang, which seems like a groovy place so far. from here we are headed north, resigned to renting motorbikes as we go along as we were unable to rent them for the whole trip. life is not so bad...

a few notes on vietnam. in addition to being fun, enriching and exhilarating, it is cheap to travel here. we spend $8-12 on fabulous rooms with balconies, hot water and ac, often including breakfast. most meals are around $1, and as implied before is absolutely amazing. there are so many vegetables and flavors in the food, a bowl of noodles can be quite scrumptous. although it is (to say the least) painful at times to declare ourselves american, the people are pretty friendly and love to practice their english.

thats all for now, don't forget to check out the pictures we have attached when you get a chance. we do love hearing from you and hope all is well.

drifting into vietnam

stin_kendra — Thu, 4 Jan 2007 21:40:00 GMT

after our short but sweet time in cambodia, alas we are in saigon (ho chi minh city). we decided to exchange roadway for waterway as we took a boat down the mekong river into vietnam. it was a wonderful 4 hour cruise down the mighty river, with border stops and immigration checks all included in the float. we floated into chou doc, a town near the vietnam-cambodia border right at sunset and it was beautiful (made up for our less than desirable sunset experience at angkor!). our hostel that night was on the top floor of a skinny building, so high that we had but dribbles of water coming out of the shower head due to no pressure. for 4 bucks though, not too bad.

the following morning we got back in bus mode for a trip to saigon. this city is a bustling center, much more active than phnom penh. actually, this place is INSANE, utter chaos on two wheels. we have been playing frogger since we've been here, trying to navigate across the streets with scooters and minibikes swarming like hornets. you just have to put the blinders on, start walking, and trust that they'll avoid you. we found a comfortable place to stay here, and have been exploring the city since. today consisted of a nice long walk visiting an art museum, pagoda, market and notably the war remnants museum, which focused on the american war in vietnam. it was incredible to see things from another viewpoint, and the photographs of the horrific effects of napalm and agent orange were so disturbing. they are etched in our minds forever, and let us hope that history will not repeat itself.

on a culinary note (can't leave that out!), we finally sat down to eat our first pho (vietnamese rice noodle soup) of the trip, which we became addicted to in seattle. stin forgot that he was in the big leagues over here and underestimated the chiles, both by eating them and getting the oil on his face resulting in a nice blotchy facial rash. nice job. kendra managed to keep it under control. she also enjoyed her first glass of watermelon juice today, which was refreshing on such a hot and humid day.

on tap for the following days includes visits to the cu chi tunnels, tay ninh (the headquarters of the Cao Daism religion), and hopefully get our wish of finding some moto's to rent to assist with our exploring. so stay tuned, same channel! take care , we miss you all!

Gallery: Beautiful Cambodia

stin_kendra — Tue, 2 Jan 2007 13:31:00 GMT

short but sweet!

out of cambodia

stin_kendra — Mon, 1 Jan 2007 12:05:00 GMT

happy new year from phnom penh! we arrived yesterday after several days in siem reap and are headed to vietnam by boat tomorrow. so far the cambodian cuisine has been fantastic, and we have both enjoyed new favorite dishes and fruits. the dragon fruit is kendra's favorite, while stin found a curry with whole fresh peppercorns in it, his dream come true...

we just spent the last few days riding rickety old beach cruisers around the ruins of angkor wat, and our bums were quite sore. kendra could not resist the charming children selling books, and added to her already substantial load. the kids are second only to salvadorans on the adorable scale, but just as charming and hilarious. from them we learned our first cambodian words and phrases, much to their amusement. they were the highlight of our stay in siem reap.

while the ruins were spectacular, the crowds were horrendous and it was a challenge to find places of serenity. one evening we attempted to watch the sunset from a recommended temple, but when we arrived by tuk-tuk there were hundreds of tour buses, cars, tuk tuks, motorcycles and a few elephants among thousands of milling tourists. as we climbed the hill to the temple we saw people clambering and shoving on every surface, it was so sad and disrespectful. we pretty much turned around and headed home, not the experience we were looking for. i suppose the best sunsets are the unexpected ones.

the following morning we ventured out at 5am, scaling the walls of our hotel to get out as the gate was locked and we didn't want to wake anyone. we set off to see the sunrise at sra srang, a peaceful reservoir on the other side of the park. we were bracing ourselves for another monstrous crowd, but ended up thankfully with only about 15 people joining us. the sunrise was mystical, with the morning cook fires and mist adding to the experience.

we hope all is well at home, and that the new year brings peace, health and happiness. much love, kendra and stin

montana to bangkok to siem reap

stin_kendra — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:52:00 GMT

wooohooo! after over 30 hours of flying, stin and i practically waving to each other from our respective airplanes, we arrived in bangkok around 2 am on december 27th. my luggage was still languishing somewhere in denver, but managed to arrive the following day. we stayed the first "night" at a posh hotel found by orbitz, where we tried to adjust our sleep cycle without success. our first (and only) day in bangkok was spent wandering the streets, enjoying kiwi iced green tea and napping. bangkok is a remarkably clean city, there is no trash anywhere and there are many jobs for street sweepers. it is also a very peaceful city, where cars actually stop for pedestrians and no one is in a hurry. even the dogs are mellow. it is hard for me to let down my guard after so many years on the streets of central america.

we moved from our hotel to my friend derek's house that afternoon. i knew derek from my glory days at UCSB and have not seem him for probably 5 years. although he is very responsible and hard-working now, he is still the derek i knew in college... he and his brother welcomed us into their home with open arms and filled our bellies with delicious, authentic thai food. we are so grateful and hope to treat them when we return to bangkok in february!

yesteday we embarked on our journey to siem reap, cambodia, the jumping off point for visiting the ruins of ankgor wat. the trip involved a pleasant 5 hour bus ride to the cambodian border, followed by a tuk-tuk ride through immigration, and then a "grueling 3.5 hour, baja-off road adventure in a toyota camry" as described by stin. we shared the "taxi" with a lovely couple from france, who managed to laugh along with us for most of the journey. much to stin's delight the driver honked at absolutely everything we passed. there are really no words to describe it other than dusty, bone-jarring, and fascinating. we were exposed to the extreme poverty of cambodia, and the stark contrast between cambodia and thailand that begins at the border. cambodia has been through hell but it full of strenght and pride.

finally landed in siem reap after dark, a gaudy tourist town surrounded by giant hotels and funky restraunts. hardly the essence of cambodia, but inevitable if one wants to visit ankgor wat. we found a simple, air conditioned room recently sprayed generously with raid for $11 a night, one of the few places with any room available. after showering off the layers of dust acquired from the trip, we sat down to delicious thai and khmer food, stin enjoying his favorite panang, and i an unusual pumpkin and tofu dish. we are now well fed, well rested, and ready to explore...

Gallery: The Search for Sunshine

stin_kendra — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Southeast Asia