Firstly, Kat and I are NOT in India right now we're in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Second, if you haven't heard about the attacks in Mumbai you should check the news for the latest updates. Briefly, what has happened is that gunman in Mumbai, India have synchronously attacked multiple sites in southern Mumbai, otherwise known as the Colaba and Fort areas. The BBC has a map here. Last month when Kat and I were in Mumbai we visted 3 of the 5 sites that were attacked. This is a little frightening to hear about and I feel very bad for the Mumbians that are involved. We arrived into Mumbai at the railway station that was attacked, we ate dinner and drank beers at Leopolds which was also attacked, and we bought gifts in the Taj Mahal hotel which was attacked as well. In fact the hotel we stayed at was only 2 blocks from the Taj Mahal.
I've heard a few accounts that the gunmen were targeting foreigners and while I'm not sure if this is true or not I just want to say that Mumbai is probably the most diverse city on the planet so please be careful what you read. The train station attacked, the Victorian Terminus, is the busiest train station in the world and would have had about every walk of life you can imagine, while Leopolds and the Taj hotel would likely have been mostly foreigners or wealthy Indians. Leopolds is a popular pub for backpackers to grab some cheap food and beer and meet other travellers, which is exactly what Kat and I were doing just last month.
Kat and I wish Mumbians the best and hope that the Indian government is able to put a stop to such terrorist attacks.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Finally some pictures!
Kat and I bought a cable so now we can finally upload pictures again!
This is a delicious fruit dish we ate in Nha Trang. The fruit in Vietnam is phenominal! The orange stuff is mango, I'm sure you all recognize the banana and strawberry, and the white one is dragonfruit. Dragonfuit is such a beautiful fruit and the flavor is a very mild sweet. It's a lot like a less sugary watermelon.
This is me enjoying the top deck of our boat cruise through Halong Bay. As you can see the views are great. The boat trip is probably my favorite thing we did in Vietnam. Boating, swimming, kayaking, private beaches, and seafood for three days? How does it get better than that!
Hue is the old capital of Vietnam. Just inside the main entrance were large ponds swarming with these gorgeous fish. When Kat dropped food into the water they erupted into a slithering pile of fish.
This is a delicious fruit dish we ate in Nha Trang. The fruit in Vietnam is phenominal! The orange stuff is mango, I'm sure you all recognize the banana and strawberry, and the white one is dragonfruit. Dragonfuit is such a beautiful fruit and the flavor is a very mild sweet. It's a lot like a less sugary watermelon.
This is me enjoying the top deck of our boat cruise through Halong Bay. As you can see the views are great. The boat trip is probably my favorite thing we did in Vietnam. Boating, swimming, kayaking, private beaches, and seafood for three days? How does it get better than that!
Hue is the old capital of Vietnam. Just inside the main entrance were large ponds swarming with these gorgeous fish. When Kat dropped food into the water they erupted into a slithering pile of fish.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Cheap beer, cheap food, and cheap clothes
But not necessarily in that order! We're in Hoi An right now and it's a really great town. The hotels are the best we've seen on this trip so far, and the old part of town is right along the river and features beautiful old buildings. There are many restraunts here that feature excellent food and beer for a great price. For dinner Kat and I usually go on a restraunt crawl: we go from restraunt to restraunt ordering one dish and two fresh beers. My favorite dishes so far are white rose, cau lau, fresh spring rolls, any meat wrapped in banana leaves, and fried wontons. Mind you there are MANY other great dishes throughout Vietnam, but those are my Hoi An favorites.
The biggest thing in this town are the tailors. There's dozens of them throughout the city. They can make you anything you want! Both Kat and I went a little crazy but the quality is so good for the cost that we couldn't pass is it up! Plus I'm going to need those nice clothes when I become an engineer again someday :) It's been raining for the last two days so this has been a perfect way to spend our time. The weather is starting to improve so hopefully tomorrow we can spend our reamaing time on the beach!
I'm sad to report that my SD card reader doesn't seem to be working so I can't upload any pictures right now. Hopefully I can find another one somewhere so I can put some pictures online! We've really got some good images here in Vietnam and I can't wait to share them.
ALSO - I figured out how to change the configuration on this blog so that ANYONE can post a comment. This means you don't have to log in, but if you don't log in you'll be anonymous. So if you don't want to be anonymous make sure you type in your name!
We leave for Na Trang tomorrow night on one of Vietnam's spectacular buses that we booked through the popular Sinh Cafe. I'm not exaggerating when I say these buses are probably about the best transportation we've been on in any country. You get a seat that can completely recline, the air-con works (almost too good!), and even the roads aren't too bad. It appears that the main north/south highway is currently being reworked so within a year the roads will probably be even better. So if you come to Vietnam I highly recommend using the buses for transportation!
The biggest thing in this town are the tailors. There's dozens of them throughout the city. They can make you anything you want! Both Kat and I went a little crazy but the quality is so good for the cost that we couldn't pass is it up! Plus I'm going to need those nice clothes when I become an engineer again someday :) It's been raining for the last two days so this has been a perfect way to spend our time. The weather is starting to improve so hopefully tomorrow we can spend our reamaing time on the beach!
I'm sad to report that my SD card reader doesn't seem to be working so I can't upload any pictures right now. Hopefully I can find another one somewhere so I can put some pictures online! We've really got some good images here in Vietnam and I can't wait to share them.
ALSO - I figured out how to change the configuration on this blog so that ANYONE can post a comment. This means you don't have to log in, but if you don't log in you'll be anonymous. So if you don't want to be anonymous make sure you type in your name!
We leave for Na Trang tomorrow night on one of Vietnam's spectacular buses that we booked through the popular Sinh Cafe. I'm not exaggerating when I say these buses are probably about the best transportation we've been on in any country. You get a seat that can completely recline, the air-con works (almost too good!), and even the roads aren't too bad. It appears that the main north/south highway is currently being reworked so within a year the roads will probably be even better. So if you come to Vietnam I highly recommend using the buses for transportation!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
DMZ
Having grown up a full generation away from the Vietnam War (or the American War as it's called here) Kat and I were both very interested in getting a better understanding of this war from both the American and the Vietnamese perspectives. But after our visit to the DMZ area near Hue it's apparent that there are really three perspectives.
The Vietnamese people that I've talked with about the war seem to have a similar outlook to many Americans about the war. By both parties it seems to be viewed as a bad experience by all who were involved but there is not a resentment of Americans by the Vietnamese, just as there's not a resentment of Vietnamese in the US. But the government owned museums that we have visited give a perspective that can only be described as propaganda. Especially disturbing is the museum at Khe Sanh that only gives the perspective of Americans in utter defeat. In addition, there is rarely any mention of the south Vietnamese fighting against the north or of the Australians or any other nationality that fought in the war. But I would also argue that the textbooks in the US do not give a quality lesson about the war either. I won't get any deeper into this except to say that if we can't get our history straight now how will this war be described to future generations?
The other disturbing side of the war comes from the perspective of the civilians. Kat and I visited the Vinh Moc tunnels where hundreds of civilians had to live to escape bombings. They lived there for 6 years. I can't imagine how terrifying and difficult it would be to have to live like that with the fear of being killed at any time.
Even if it is necessary, war is terrible thing. It was sobering to see the tree-less hills (agent orange and napalm), the tanks still on the road side, and to read the stories written in the museum registries by vets. Even though it was a sad day, I'm glad that Kat and I were able to see this area first hand. Even though the war was over three decades ago the mark is still there and it really showed us how devastating war is for all sides involved.
I'm sure that there will be a few vets that read this so if you have any questions or comments or corrections, please let me know! Kat and I toured through Dong Ha, the Vinh Moc tunnels, crossed through the DMZ and saw the still-standing megaphones, saw The Rockpile off hwy 9, visited the Khe Sanh Combat Base, and stopped at a few Vietnamese memorials along the way.
The Vietnamese people that I've talked with about the war seem to have a similar outlook to many Americans about the war. By both parties it seems to be viewed as a bad experience by all who were involved but there is not a resentment of Americans by the Vietnamese, just as there's not a resentment of Vietnamese in the US. But the government owned museums that we have visited give a perspective that can only be described as propaganda. Especially disturbing is the museum at Khe Sanh that only gives the perspective of Americans in utter defeat. In addition, there is rarely any mention of the south Vietnamese fighting against the north or of the Australians or any other nationality that fought in the war. But I would also argue that the textbooks in the US do not give a quality lesson about the war either. I won't get any deeper into this except to say that if we can't get our history straight now how will this war be described to future generations?
The other disturbing side of the war comes from the perspective of the civilians. Kat and I visited the Vinh Moc tunnels where hundreds of civilians had to live to escape bombings. They lived there for 6 years. I can't imagine how terrifying and difficult it would be to have to live like that with the fear of being killed at any time.
Even if it is necessary, war is terrible thing. It was sobering to see the tree-less hills (agent orange and napalm), the tanks still on the road side, and to read the stories written in the museum registries by vets. Even though it was a sad day, I'm glad that Kat and I were able to see this area first hand. Even though the war was over three decades ago the mark is still there and it really showed us how devastating war is for all sides involved.
I'm sure that there will be a few vets that read this so if you have any questions or comments or corrections, please let me know! Kat and I toured through Dong Ha, the Vinh Moc tunnels, crossed through the DMZ and saw the still-standing megaphones, saw The Rockpile off hwy 9, visited the Khe Sanh Combat Base, and stopped at a few Vietnamese memorials along the way.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Good morning Vietnam!
Vietnam has been incredibly great so far!!!
Kat and I flew into Hanoi a few days ago from Vientiane on Laos Airlines. I was pretty impressed by how good the service was not only with the airline but also the lack of rip-offs as we exited the country. Laos officials are notorious for ripping off tourists but at the airport they were very professional and fair.
In Hanoi we've been staying in the old quarter which has been incredibly fun. The streets are narrow and there's people and scooters flying all over the place, but the people and the food are terrific! For people that know Kiet, they'll understand what I mean when I say that I understand how Vietmanese Kiet really is: they'll yell at you for your stupidity but they'll still go out of their way to help you - it's just that sometimes is difficult to tell the two situations apart!
The other day Kat and I had to cross an incredibly busy street. Mind you, we're quite used to busy streets after Calcutta, Mumbai, Bangkok, etc., but in Vietnam the streets are not only crowded but damn fast! Anyways, a young Vietnamese man grabs Kat's arm and walks us across the street with his hand held out towards traffic in a show of "stop for these foolish white folks." After we're across and just as I'm sure he wants to sell us a tour package or a ride on a rickshaw he takes off back through traffic before we could even thank him! I don't know what the Buddhist version of a good samaritan is but this nice man certainly lived to that same ideal.
After two days in Hanoi we went on a 3-day boat cruise through Halong Bay. Halong bay is a series of karst islands. They jut straight out of the sea making for a dramatic landscape of thousands of islands. I'll get pictures up as soon as I can find a decent internet cafe but right now this isn't one of them! On our cruise we were fed excellent seafood and we were dropped off at various spots to enjoy kayaking, biking, hiking, and of course some beach time. One beach we kayaked to was completely made of small coral. Of course that true of all beaches, but this one in particular had large chunks and beautiful shells everywhere! But the best aspect of the trip were the wonderful people that we met. We spent the full 3-days in the company of Simon and Jane from Australia and James and Hazel from Ireland. We had a great time getting to know these people and hopefully we can meet up with them again down the road. If any of you are reading this, thank you for such a good time! Trips like Halong Bay never feel that great unless you're in good company and Kat and I both felt that we definitely were!
We've seen a lot of sights in Hanoi but one of my favorites is the Bia Hoi junction. This intersection sells fresh beer that tastes like a weak pilsner. But at 3,000 dong a pint it can't be passed up! Plus the seating is in tiny plastic chairs in the street so the entertainment of watching people and scooters go by makes for a good time. But the most excitement comes when the police come through: it seems that these shops are running a little bit against the law because each time a police car comes through the proprietors panic and make everyone grab their beers and themselves and cram together on the sidewalk in front of the tiny shop. Of course they don't speak english so I have no idea why this happens but its good fun so I just go along with it :)
Today Kat and I will enjoy our last day in Hanoi before taking the night bus to Hue. Our bus sounds pretty spectacular so I'm crossing my fingers that it works out. At the good advice of Ty and Emily we booked a get-on/get-off whenever you want bus that goes down the coast of Vietnam through Sinh Cafe. They even gave us a free t-shirt!
Kat and I flew into Hanoi a few days ago from Vientiane on Laos Airlines. I was pretty impressed by how good the service was not only with the airline but also the lack of rip-offs as we exited the country. Laos officials are notorious for ripping off tourists but at the airport they were very professional and fair.
In Hanoi we've been staying in the old quarter which has been incredibly fun. The streets are narrow and there's people and scooters flying all over the place, but the people and the food are terrific! For people that know Kiet, they'll understand what I mean when I say that I understand how Vietmanese Kiet really is: they'll yell at you for your stupidity but they'll still go out of their way to help you - it's just that sometimes is difficult to tell the two situations apart!
The other day Kat and I had to cross an incredibly busy street. Mind you, we're quite used to busy streets after Calcutta, Mumbai, Bangkok, etc., but in Vietnam the streets are not only crowded but damn fast! Anyways, a young Vietnamese man grabs Kat's arm and walks us across the street with his hand held out towards traffic in a show of "stop for these foolish white folks." After we're across and just as I'm sure he wants to sell us a tour package or a ride on a rickshaw he takes off back through traffic before we could even thank him! I don't know what the Buddhist version of a good samaritan is but this nice man certainly lived to that same ideal.
After two days in Hanoi we went on a 3-day boat cruise through Halong Bay. Halong bay is a series of karst islands. They jut straight out of the sea making for a dramatic landscape of thousands of islands. I'll get pictures up as soon as I can find a decent internet cafe but right now this isn't one of them! On our cruise we were fed excellent seafood and we were dropped off at various spots to enjoy kayaking, biking, hiking, and of course some beach time. One beach we kayaked to was completely made of small coral. Of course that true of all beaches, but this one in particular had large chunks and beautiful shells everywhere! But the best aspect of the trip were the wonderful people that we met. We spent the full 3-days in the company of Simon and Jane from Australia and James and Hazel from Ireland. We had a great time getting to know these people and hopefully we can meet up with them again down the road. If any of you are reading this, thank you for such a good time! Trips like Halong Bay never feel that great unless you're in good company and Kat and I both felt that we definitely were!
We've seen a lot of sights in Hanoi but one of my favorites is the Bia Hoi junction. This intersection sells fresh beer that tastes like a weak pilsner. But at 3,000 dong a pint it can't be passed up! Plus the seating is in tiny plastic chairs in the street so the entertainment of watching people and scooters go by makes for a good time. But the most excitement comes when the police come through: it seems that these shops are running a little bit against the law because each time a police car comes through the proprietors panic and make everyone grab their beers and themselves and cram together on the sidewalk in front of the tiny shop. Of course they don't speak english so I have no idea why this happens but its good fun so I just go along with it :)
Today Kat and I will enjoy our last day in Hanoi before taking the night bus to Hue. Our bus sounds pretty spectacular so I'm crossing my fingers that it works out. At the good advice of Ty and Emily we booked a get-on/get-off whenever you want bus that goes down the coast of Vietnam through Sinh Cafe. They even gave us a free t-shirt!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Coming to America!
Kat and I went on US soil today! We visited the US embassy here in Vientiane, Laos so that we could vote. The other embassies are in nice french colonial houses but the US embassy is a compound behind 15 foot concrete walls with barbwire at the top. It even has it's own water tower complete with outposts just in case it's under siege. I have to say that I was more than a little proud! But the 'citizen services' folks were extremely helpful. Not only did they fax one form in for us, but they let Kat and I put our ballots in with the military mail so it didn't cost us a cent.
Vientiane is a nice sleepy town. It's the capital of Laos but Olympia feels more diplomatic that this town. But then again Laos is probably smaller than Washington! Beerlao is easy to come by and so is BBQ'd food. The riverfront is lined with 'restaurants' that are little more than umbrella clad decks with a bbq and a few tables serving as the kitchen. And they're perfect. Last night I ate an entire fish. It was salt encrusted with the belly filled with spices and it was grilled perfectly. Maybe when I get out of Laos I'll actually be able to upload some pictures of my feast!
One thing that suprised me about Vientiane is the number of ex-pats. It really seems like a lot of countries are putting their stakes into Laos. There's Chinese, Japanese, French, and other Europeans around everywhere. In fact it's kind of difficult to find authentic Laos food here!
Tomorrow we fly to Hanoi. I'm very excited for Vietnam but since Hanoi is flooded at the moment I'm a bit nervous. The weather doesn't look like it's going to improve any time soon either!
Well the midnight curfew is almost here so I better be shutting down. Maybe I didn't mention this before but the entire country of Laos shuts down at 11:30pm. The government has imposed a nationwide curfew. They seem to let westerners get away with it but I haven't been pushing it!
Vientiane is a nice sleepy town. It's the capital of Laos but Olympia feels more diplomatic that this town. But then again Laos is probably smaller than Washington! Beerlao is easy to come by and so is BBQ'd food. The riverfront is lined with 'restaurants' that are little more than umbrella clad decks with a bbq and a few tables serving as the kitchen. And they're perfect. Last night I ate an entire fish. It was salt encrusted with the belly filled with spices and it was grilled perfectly. Maybe when I get out of Laos I'll actually be able to upload some pictures of my feast!
One thing that suprised me about Vientiane is the number of ex-pats. It really seems like a lot of countries are putting their stakes into Laos. There's Chinese, Japanese, French, and other Europeans around everywhere. In fact it's kind of difficult to find authentic Laos food here!
Tomorrow we fly to Hanoi. I'm very excited for Vietnam but since Hanoi is flooded at the moment I'm a bit nervous. The weather doesn't look like it's going to improve any time soon either!
Well the midnight curfew is almost here so I better be shutting down. Maybe I didn't mention this before but the entire country of Laos shuts down at 11:30pm. The government has imposed a nationwide curfew. They seem to let westerners get away with it but I haven't been pushing it!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Same, Same....But Different!
Hello from Laos! Jeremiah and I are in Vang Viene right now, and are trying our best to keep dry! This city is well known on the backpacker circuit as being the best place to go tubing down the local river, and is pretty overrun with tourists! We have spent more time watching our fellow travelers than we have enjoying the Lao culture. It's not all that bad though, just a little bit of a shock . The Lao people have tried their best to determine what Westerners like and provide it for us, and the result are bunches of "TV Bars" which are basically a replica of a typical living room, complete with rows of couches with coffee tables set up in front of huge TVs that play a rotation of Friends, Family Guy, and classic movies. They bring you a beer and some french fries and you are set... It's really weird to see from the outside, a whole restaurant full of people just glued to the TV, but I can understand the appeal, after being on the road for awhile and not seeing any TV a little vegging out would start to sound nice to anybody. It's still a typical town though, with goats and chickens all over and people going about their daily business, just with an odd twist. It makes me wonder what the Lao people must think of Western travelers though...
We were hoping to rent motorbikes here so we could get out and see some of the country, (we had a blast on these in Chaing Mai) but so far each Laos city has outlawed the rental of bikes to tourists because they don't have the medical facilities to treat anyone with a major injury or sickness here, and it would be bad for tourism if someone got sick or died. It's something we have had to keep in mind the whole trip, there is no 911 to call and with the exception of the big cities there are no ambulances. Luckily the huge medical kit I have been carrying around hasn't been necessary (except for some Imodium and antibiotics).
Last night we celebrated our first major holiday out of the US- Halloween! Because we are in a party town I was pretty sure that we would find a costume celebration, so Jer and I set out to dress up. This was a little trickier than anticipated because we are both carrying the absolute minimum in clothing and there is nowhere to buy costume supplies around here. We took a hard look at our options and decided to take the easy way out- PIRATES! All we had to do we wear our normal clothing (hippie wrap-around shorts, random t-shirt, sandals, and a bandana on our heads!). Jeremiah also wore his compass to make it all more authentic. :) We went to the "Bucket Bar" and it was a huge party. You can actually buy a plastic pail filled with Lao-Lao (rice whiskey) and 7-Up. I stuck to beer and we had a fun night meeting other travelers and dancing to American music.
Today we wanted to give river tubing a try (this town is famous for it) but so far we have been prevented by the rain. Hopefully it will clear up soon!
We were hoping to rent motorbikes here so we could get out and see some of the country, (we had a blast on these in Chaing Mai) but so far each Laos city has outlawed the rental of bikes to tourists because they don't have the medical facilities to treat anyone with a major injury or sickness here, and it would be bad for tourism if someone got sick or died. It's something we have had to keep in mind the whole trip, there is no 911 to call and with the exception of the big cities there are no ambulances. Luckily the huge medical kit I have been carrying around hasn't been necessary (except for some Imodium and antibiotics).
Last night we celebrated our first major holiday out of the US- Halloween! Because we are in a party town I was pretty sure that we would find a costume celebration, so Jer and I set out to dress up. This was a little trickier than anticipated because we are both carrying the absolute minimum in clothing and there is nowhere to buy costume supplies around here. We took a hard look at our options and decided to take the easy way out- PIRATES! All we had to do we wear our normal clothing (hippie wrap-around shorts, random t-shirt, sandals, and a bandana on our heads!). Jeremiah also wore his compass to make it all more authentic. :) We went to the "Bucket Bar" and it was a huge party. You can actually buy a plastic pail filled with Lao-Lao (rice whiskey) and 7-Up. I stuck to beer and we had a fun night meeting other travelers and dancing to American music.
Today we wanted to give river tubing a try (this town is famous for it) but so far we have been prevented by the rain. Hopefully it will clear up soon!
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