Vietnam - Good Morning, Vietnam!

Vietnam is a country who has preserved it's culture. Hanoi is full of charm and is not dependent on tourism as much as other places that we've visited. It is home to 3.5 million people and I think that they all must own a motorbike! There is one intersection where 5 streets come together at once and there is not a single traffic light! We managed to find a bar on the 3rd floor of a building and watched the traffic for hours. It's quite comical!! There are people on foot, bicycle, motorbike, taxi and tour bus. There are no cross walks so people just walk clear across the intersection with no worry. We didn't see a single accident. Now I understand why there is such a stereotype about bad Asian drivers, it's just a completely different mindset!! Alex calls it controlled chaos!

We've also enjoyed our morning Vietnamese coffee and street food. There are little restaurants that set up on the street every evening. The food is delicious and less than $1 per meal.

There is a lake in the center of the city and in the mornings there are thousands of people (old and young) practicing tai chi and playing chess. Hanoi is exactly what we were expecting our of southeast Asia!!

We just got back from a wonderful 3 day/2 night boat trip in Ha Long Bay. It was absolutely beautiful, no doubt the most breathtaking place I've ever seen. There are over 2,000 islands in the bay that are jetting straight out of the water. We spent one night on a junk, kayaked around and listened to unique birds, trekked in the national park and stayed one night on Cat Ba Island. We wished that we could have stayed another night but today was a national holiday (Vietnam unification day)and all of the buses were full.

Every restaurant on the island had fresh salt water tanks with huge crab, clams, fish and lobster. We saw fishermen with nets full of seafood coming directly to the restaurants. Now THAT'S fresh!!!

We are now headed northwest to the mountainous region of Sapa. We will trek for 3 days and visit several hill tribes with traditional dress and trades. We've really enjoyed Vietnam so far and have had a lovely time.

We'll post more pictures soon! We love you all and look forward to your comments.

Love, Loranda and Alex

Cambodia - Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

It's amazing how much difference a border line makes! We are in the quaint touristy part of Siem Reap however the countryside is a sight to be seen. Cambodia is much poorer than what we were familiar with. The road from the Thai border is a 3 hour bumpy ride with most of driver's attention spent diverting pot-holes and cattle.

Angkor Wat is spectacular! We purchased a 24 hour ticket and saw the sun set the first evening and then woke up at 5 a.m. to see the sun rise the next morning over the east temples. We greatly enjoyed the day and were thankful to beat the heat for much of it. The temples are just incredible- some were built as early as 809 AD and were still standing strong today. We took 376 pictures so it's obvious that we were quite impressed!! The complex is enormous, we hired a tuk-tuk driver to cart us around from one temple to another.

The people here are very talkative and enjoy practicing English. We spoke with one waiter who informed us that a month's wage is only $45US. Unbelievable! There are children at every street corner begging for us to buy bracelets or give them money or a cold drink and men with their limbs missing from the mines. It's really taken a toll on us but we realize that we just can't help everyone.

All of the guesthouses are located near the old French Market area and there is a road full of western style restaurants and pubs. We haven't been very impressed by the cuisine however. We did venture into "Vive," a Mexican joint but were sadly disappointed....(what could we expect?)We are dreaming of a big ole' Margarita at Cantina Laredo! We tried dinning at a traditional local's hangout but were not greeted with a welcome reception. Past the point of being able to turn around, we noticed that the floor was literally covered in trash. It is customary to dump everything on the floor (including leftovers) and clean up at the end of the evening. We were uncomfortable with the uncleanliness and just ordered a canned coke. The cats were well feed though....

Yesterday we took a boat ride out to Tonle Lake to visit a floating village. The houses are built on bamboo stilts that are 10 meters high. The lake water is a mucky brown, completely filled with trash and waste. People were in the water waist high with fishing nets. There was a school, library, barber shop, TV repairman, etc. all on the water! We stopped at a crocodile farm and snapped a picture of a 5 year old girl with a 6 foot snake wrapped around her neck. It was quite an experience! Back on land, our driver recommend a local restaurant so we stopped in for a traditional Khmer meal and pitcher of iced Angkor beer. We had a much better time since we were in the company of Mee, a local.

We are headed to Hanoi, Vietnam from here and are ready to be near the coast again. The sun beats directly down here.

Love and miss you all,
Loranda and Alex

Songkran!!!!

Thai New Year is a blast!!! We are in Chiang Mai where the biggest festivities take place. It's been amazing! We are told that since everyone is on holiday, they all come to Chiang Mai to celebrate.

The Thai ride around town in the back of pickup trucks overflowing with kids and all, and have huge barrels full of ice cold water. They use water guns and buckets to drench each other as they drive by. Some even stand outside their shop or restaurant and wait for people to walk by. The kids just love it! It's so fun to see the big smiles on their faces as they completely soak us...and of course we are a target!!

With all of the festivities still going on in town, we went on a 3 day/2 night trek through the jungle. I must say that that was the most challenging physical activity I have ever done. For two days, we walked 4 1/2 hours up and down a mountain through the dreadful heat of Thailand.(110 degrees) 

We kept joking that we should have read the fine print on the brochure better but even still, there would be no way to prepare ourselves for what we were in for! Luckily we had a really great group, and we kept each other entertained knowing that there would be ice cold beer waiting for us at the end. The first day we marched, and marched and marched. Up and down, and around the mountain. We finally arrived at a small village with about 150 residents. The Karen hill tribe greeted us with a big mound of delicious steamed rice and curry. We walked around the village and were surprised to find that some even spoke a few words in English. There were men cutting bamboo pole to make a new house.

The Karen have their own language however the younger generations now learn Thai in school. I was able to spot a school house, and it just amazes me how isolated they are from the rest of the world. Most children just learn the skills that have been passed down from generation to generation and have no concept of the outside world.

The villagers farm chickens and cattle and use the slash and burn method for rice fields. Everything was dry and dead because we are in the middle of the dry season. We would love to come back again when we can see the green fields. The Karen live deep in the jungle and have beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

That night we sat round and sang songs to remind us of home!! All 10 of us slept in a bamboo hut. We had no padding and slept directly on the bamboo floor. After walking 4 1/2 hours up and down mountains, we were very stiff the next morning. We awoke to roosters crowing and a large plate of eggs and toast.

The second day, we trekked again, and 6 hours later, were rewarded with a magical waterfall and swimming hole.

  We stopped for lunch at another village where the women were selling handmade jewelry and bags. They dress in bold colors, usually blue and red and have head wraps. They are skilled weavers.

Our sleeping arrangements were slightly better than the first day but not by much. We were very fortunate to experience how the Karen people live, and were thankful that they took us into their homes. We had such a fun group also, which made the trek very memorable. We really bonded with them and hope to keep in touch as time goes on. We met an Australian couple Alan and Kristen, Jenn, from the French Provence of Quebec, a girl from London and Maddie, from Delaware. I'm so surprised to see so many single girls my age traveling alone. I really admire them!

The third day really made up for all of the struggling of the first two days. We trekked about 1 1/2 hours to our truck and then floated down the river on a bamboo raft!! That was so much fun!

It was the day before New Year and the week long festivities were in full swing. The river banks were full of families enjoying the celebration. As we floated by we would splash each other! We even got surprised by a group on monks hiding in the bushes who jumped out and splashed us with buckets of water! The festival occurs on the cusp of the dry and wet season and represents a "Spring Cleaning" theme. They splash water to wish each other well in the new year.

We really wish that we had a water proof camera but hopefully the Australian couple will share some of their pictures with us. After that, we continued up the dirt road to meet the elephants!!! Alex and I took turns riding on the elephant's neck, it was such a neat experience!! We fed our elephant bananas and learned some of the commands. They have very course and hairy skin and are surprisingly gentle. It was an incredible feeling!!

 
Next, we piled in the back of the pickup truck and headed back to Chiang Mai. As we drove through town, we got soaked with freezing cold water!!! We were completely drenched!!! Luckily we put all of our belongings in plastic bags so nothing got wet. Later that night, we found a really nice restaurant called "The Riverside" and our entire group went there to celebrate being back to "civilization."

Songkran has been a blast!!! It lasts for 5 days, and is quite a celebration. Yesterday we found a dry place to sit and people watch. It's just a wild party!!

The city has an old brick wall surrounding it and people use water from the moat. It's dirty river water and everyone we've met felt sick to their stomach after getting a big mouth full. Today "Potato," our guide from the trek, offered to take us in the back of his truck. We drove around with a huge barrel of water with an enormous block of ice!! You just have to prepare yourself, knowing that you are going to get completely soaked. The ice water actually feels nice sometimes because it is so hot outside.

We are here for a few more days and booked a bus back to Bangkok on the 16th. From there we will get another bus ticket to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have really enjoyed our time in Thailand and don't want to leave however we know that there are many more great things to see! I can't believe that it's almost been a month, time has really flown by!!!

Thanks for all of your comments, we love getting them! We'll try to post pictures when we have the opportunity.

Love to all~
Loranda and Alex

Island Retreat- Tonsai Beach southern Thailand

Hi everyone! We have been without internet access for the last several days. We spent about a week in Kho Lanta and then took a 3 hour mini bus ride to Krabi Town where we jumped on a long boat. It's about 40 minutes by boat to Railay Beach. You get off on one side of the island and then take the only sidewalk over to the other side to Tonsai Beach (where the backpackers stay). It was just amazing. It's a rock climber's paradise. There are huge rocks that stick straight out of the water, some of them must be 2,000 feet high!

We stayed at the Kasbah Bungalow for 450 Baht/night. Hammocks were abundant and they had a nice place to relax with pillows, Happy Hour prices, and good music. A family of monkeys jumped from tree to tree overhead. Our bathroom had a stone floor and one night we came home and heard a noise. Johnny looked down and there was a 2 foot snake in our bathroom!! The Thai guys were not scared at all, and told us to "Be one with the jungle!"

We did do a little rock climbing but not the type with ropes and caribeners. To cross from Tonsai back to Railay during high tide, you must either pay 50 Baht for a long boat or rock climb! We stopped to ask a climber for directions and he said that you just "walk over" these rocks...HAH! I determined then that I am REALLY out of shape!

We also did an evening snorkeling trip to 4 tiny islands. It was just incredible. The coral was severely damaged from the Tsunami however the fish life is very abundant. We saw 4 lion fish, giant clams about 2 feet long, angle fish, cow fish, spiny sea urchins, parrot fish, etc. I can't even describe how cool it was so see these up close and personal! Alex and Johnny also swam at night in the phytoplankton.

We met a little Thai boy and girl who were about 4 years old. Everyday we eat at their family's restaurant. One day during low tide they came along with us looking for seashells. The children here are just magical, they have huge smiles and they all help their family with the business. We will miss those two!

Johnny decided to return to Bangkok to look into his passport situation. He may try to meet us up in Chiang Mai or return to Texas soon. It was a ton of fun having him around and we'll definitely miss his company. There is never a dull moment with Johnny around!

Alex and I left Tonsai in a long boat at went over to Ao Nang. When we arrived, we asked around for a remote place on the beach and were taken to PAN Bungalows.

It was secluded and beautiful! The beach wrapped around the bay and there was nothing else in sight. We paid only 300 Baht/night however our beers added up to be much more than the cost to stay! Our skin is tan from laying out our beach mats and reading.

 During low tide you can literally walk out about 250 yards to search for sea shells. We saw tons of sand dollars, star fish, giant crabs, and others.

Alex even attempted to catch his own dinner. A French couple showed him that you take a rake and walk along the soft sand to find cockles. He was gone for quite a long time and returned with a handsome find- 2 cockles!!! Local fishermen bring nets out during low tide to catch crab.

From there we took a VIP bus (double decker charter bus) for 12 hours to Bangkok and then caught another bus to Chiang Mai (another 14 hours of watching horrible Thai movies). We are here for about 8 days. Tomorrow we are leaving on a 3 day/2 night elephant trek through the jungle!! We also float down the river on a bamboo raft and stop in to meet the Karen people. We are really looking forward to it. Sunday is the Thai new year. Chiang Mai holds the largest celebration in Thailand.

We miss you all, keep in touch!! We'll write again soon!
~Loranda and Alex