Laid Back Laos

Well we succeeded! After 30 days we braved three countries: Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos! For someone who has a difficult time finding his way to the PDX airport, I am quite smug with both Michelle and my navigational skills. Shout out to my homeboy Christopher Columbus! 

Both Michelle and I made our way to Laos and spent a day in the sleepy town of Savannakhet. This place while simple had a lot of charm. We grabbed a couple of bicycles and cruised around town. We sped along the Mekong River and stopped to check out the Dinosaur Museum. It was a little underwhelming but the price of admission included free bathroom facilities. Score!! This town's claim to fame are the bone remains of prehistoric dinosaurs. Still today, paleontologists flock here to do research.

Trust us, it's not any better than the real stuff!!

 Sugar cane drank- Not my favorite

We left the following day to the capital city of Vientiane, where a slower pace of life is still existent. We read that there was a bowling alley in town and Mich and I were game. Bowling, second to only tennis, is a sport where "the idea of playing" is actually more fun then "actually" playing. Several gutterballs later we left wondering why we didn't just use bumpers?! No one would have ever known.

 Granny shot!! SSStRIke!!!

Sightseeing Time! 

 Laos Riverside Monument

 Pha That Luang - I guess if there is a must see Laos landmark it would have to be this monument that represents the country's freedom and Buddhist beliefs. Originally built in 1566, it is said to house Buddha's breastbones.

Buddha Park - The invention of Luang Pu Bunleau Sulilat and his craftsmen, the statues combine several religious icons and idealogies. It was an hour on motorbike to get there but it was cool.

Patixai - Replica of Arc de Triomphe built in 1969.

The one thing that Michelle and I were looking forward to the most during our time here was tubing in Vang Vieng. With deaths occurring every year and just as recently as the beginning of February, it is extremely dangerous. To put it in words, I would say that it is a mixture of a break neck water park combined with a no holds barred frat party. It was the closest thing to MTV Spring Break that we had ever experienced. Tubing gets a bad reputation as many claim it is a chance for Westerners to get wasted and shows disrespect towards the Lao culture. Sure there are a few bad eggs that can ruin everything but most are just trying to have fun on their holiday. Plus it generates several dollars for the local economy.  Obviously when water and drinking combine you have to have your wits about you and we held eachother accountable. Neither of us got hurt and we had an amazing time!

Welcome to Vang Vieng

Q Bar on the river

In between tubing, most people relax/eat in local restaurants that have bed type lounges that have either Friends or Family Guy on constant replay. Unfortunately being short on time and curing a slight hangover we were unable to check out the town's caves. But it gives us a reason to return in the future.

 Oh Rachael! lol

 Drugs are bad! Illegal drugs are in constant supply. Here's to Officer Rennings, my DARE officer!

Surprisingly, Mich and I kept running into Canadians. And despite their strange affinity for hockey and their confusion over genuine breakfast bacon, they actually were all really chill people. We merged together as the North American Continent to defeat the Swedish in beer pong. It wasn't even close and the Swedes were good sports even though we made fun of their goofy haircuts.

 We are the Champions!

 Losing side

We left leaving happy and somewhat reminiscent of our university days. I also left a huge fan of Friends. I can't believe I never watched that show before.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Bangkok to meet up with Michelle's parents before we make our way south to Hua Hin! Crossing my fingers that I can find an elephant riding expedition and Mich is looking for a Thai cooking school!       


  

Wait, it's RAINING !?!

Hello again! If we failed to respond to any of you on FaceBook it is because the social network is banned in Vietnam or we don't like you... hahaha.

 In the morning we are heading to our final country in our February expedition: Laos. We couldn't be more excited as we have hit a wet spell. 30 minutes into our bus ride from Nha Trang, the rain started to fall and hasn't stopped since. But Hell, we are Oregonians and a little bit of rain can't put us down! Plus we checked the weather for Laos and it's 10 straight days of 90 degree + weather!

 Our first stop was Hoi An. This city is a Unesco World Heritage site which preserves it as a historical landmark and is a favorite among tourists. Of all the hustle and bustle going around in the major cities of Vietnam this town plays by it's own tune. The streets in this quarter are mostly filled with pedestrians rather than motorbikes. The buildings have a unique architecture style, a mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese; and there are tailors on every corner that are eager to make you a custom fit suit or dress in less than 3 hours!  With a ticket purchase you get a behind-the-scenes look of the city's treasures. We checked out the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Tan Ky House, the Quan Cong Temple,  the Hoi An Art and History Museum, and the Tran Family Chapel. We realized shortly after purchasing the ticket that you can sneak into most of the sites but the money is reinvested in the community so at least it is for a good cause. It was unfortunately to rainy to head towards Cua Dia Beach.

Japanese Covered Bridge: Can you spot Michelle?

 Hoi An and the river that runs through it

 

Periodically Hoi An is spoiled with flooding. The white marks in this picture indicate how high the water rose in the Tan Ky House!

Mich praying in the Tran Family Chapel

The following day we took another bus to Hue. This city used to be the capital of Vietnam between 1802 and 1945 as it is home of several royal tombs and ancient government structures. At this point of the trip both Michelle and I have seen so many ancient structures that are heads are spinning. We were freezing so instead of seeing all the historical landmarks we headed straight to the My An Hot Springs Resort. The sulfur water tapped out at 42 degrees celsius and was a pleasant distraction from the unsightly weather. For $7.50 we spent the day in the hot water and got a nice massage. We decided to drive by a few of the landmarks on our way home.

 Haha!!!

My An Hot Springs Resort

Thien Mu Pagoda

Imperial Enclosure

The weather was terrible but I think that inspired us to try some unigue Vietnamese culinary treats. Enjoy! We found a nice place in Hoi An called Karma Waters that served vegan dishes!

Noodles, Lettuce, vermicelli beef, and corn spring rolls

 Vietnamese salad w/ tofu

 With the French being such a strong influence in Vietnamese history, these baguette sandwiches are around every street corner and will only cost 10,000 -15,000 dong ($0.50 - $0.75)

 Tofu Mushroom Burgers

 Shredded tofu w/ mint, lime, and chilis

GOOD NEWS!!! We just made plans with Michelle's parents to visit Indonesia as well in mid-March!

Good Morning Vietnam

We apologize to have left everyone on such a sad note with our last post, but cheer up we are back! We want to stress how Cambodia exceeded our expectations. The people were super-friendly, the hostels and food were cheap, and the sights were plentiful. The only thing we can bad mouth are the pot -holed filled roads (especially when you are drinking coffee, OUCH!!). As you have already figured, we are currently in Vietnam.

Since we already got our visas it was a breeze crossing the border. We arrived Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon that afternoon. It is located in the southern hemisphere of the country. The first thing we noticed entering 'Nam was the improved infrastructure and the sprawling highrises. The Vietnamese are very business oriented $$$. We rested our heads on the backpacker saavy roads of Pham Ngu Lao and took in the scenery. If you don't have your head on a swivel you will get run over by a motorbike. If there are any traffic rules, no one is following them. If you are a passive driver or pedestrian you can consider yourself road kill.

The crazed streets of Pham Ngu Lao

There are three seasons in SE Asia: hot, hotter, and hottest. Sometimes when you are in a congested city inhaling exhaust fumes, sweating your face off; all you need is an oasis. We found that escape in the form of a water park. We braved the traffic on a motorbike and made our way to Dam Sen WaterPark. At $5.50, it was a steal of a deal and despite the crazy weekend crowd, the lines to the slides were manageable, the wave pool was not! They even have a separate sun deck for foreigners so we could soak up the sun in peace and quiet.

Welcome to Dam Sen!

That's what I call Vietnamese soup....

We made a decision at the beginning of this 3 country escapade that if we were gonna make it to Malaysia in time we could only do half of Vietnam. That meant we couldn't visit the capital city of Hanoi in the north. Fortunately the unusually cold climate of Hanoi made missing it a little more bearable. We also wanted to see a water puppet show which that city is famous for. We were pumped to find the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater in the heart of Ho Chi Minh. While the show was entirely in Vietnamese it made both Michelle and I laugh. It was only 50 minutes but worth the price of admission.

Let the show begin

My new gf

View of the stage

A small snippette of the show

We were getting stir crazy for being away from the beach so we booked a night sleeping bus to the city of Nha Trang. This beach is located on the central coast and is breathtaking. The beach line extends miles in each direction and the loiterers are few and far between. In the next few years, Nha Trang will continue to grow. Luxury resorts are popping up around every corner.

Nighty Night ZzZZZz

The beach was lined with these towering apartments and condos



View of the Ba Ponagar Temple from the bridge

This sky cable is longest in the world and is the main entry into the local amusement park, VinPeal!

I wanted to make Valentine's Day special for the both Michelle and I. I took her to the Thap Ba Hot Springs where we had a relaxing spa day. We experienced a mud bath, cleansed in a mineral tub, and relaxed in a heated pool. We left with skin as smooth as a baby's bottom. We finished the night at an Indian restaurant... Free popadoms with mango and green chutney! I got my work cut out for me next year!

A rose and Oreos, the way to Michelle's heart :)

Thap Ba Hot Springs on Valentine's Day

Us enjoying the mud bath



Michelle enjoying her mineral shower



Both Michelle and I are becoming professional beach bums. We are spending the afternoon on the beach and we are heading north again to Hoi An on another overnight sleeper bus. ZzZzZz