Funny Sausage

I don't know if anyone's following this blog anymore but I have to post up this picture I just found.

I believe this was when we were walking through a market in Bangkok.

Jules's Favorite

Beer: Red Horse
Party Spot: Boracay, Philippines
Breakfast: Tita Aurie's, sunny side eggs, bangus, and longanisa
Lunch: Street food in Hanoi. Fried spring rolls, sweet and spicy sauce, and a plate of various salad leaves. Done
Dinner: Ultimate seafood feast from wet market in Boracay
Food: Chicken Si Sig
Ultimate Destination: El Nido
Best Looking Girls: Boracay, Phillipines
Hotel: Renaissance Hotel, Makati
Hostel: Ogie Pension, El Nido
Memory: Kuya Eman taking us to the MTV party in Boracay and dancing all night while watching a fillipino regae band.
Airplane Ride: Eva Airlines. The fares are cheap, the planes all have in-seat entertainment, and the food isn't half bad.
Buddha: The Lying Buddha, Bangkok
Relaxation Spot: Sleeping on a hammock right on the beach, El Nido
Travelers: 1st place goes to Europeans (they travel for like 4 months every year), 2nd place goes to Aussies (because they're so outgoing and friendly)
Friendliest Bartender: Some bartender in Cat Ba island that arm wrestle's you, if you won you would get the shot you asked for, if you lost it would be his choice (you definetly did not want him win!!)
Best Cab Drivers: "Mr. Happy", our cab driver in Bangkok, because he new where all "the great spots" were. *wink wink
Easiest City to Navigate: El Nido, only because it's a small fishing village that you can slowly walk across in seriously 10 minutes.
Karaoke: Vietamese Karaoke on our boat in Ha Long Bay
Souvenir Spot: Suam Lum Night Bazzar, Bangkok

By the Numbers

This has been an amazing trip and a sprint from the get go. There's so much to say and to many stories to tell. We've ridden, been in, stayed, eaten, and drank a pelethora of things through 4 different countries and now after 26 days and... 12 planes, 10 airports, 10 cities, 9 mango shakes (maybe more), 8 taxi's, 8 beach's, 6 boats, 6 tricycles, 6 hostels/hotels, 5 different airlines, 5 shuttle vans, 5 temples, 4 buss's, 4 currency's, 2 tuk tuk's, 2 roasted pigs, 2 roasted cows, 2 scooters, 2 atv's, 2 wedding receptions, 1 wedding ceremony, 1 muay tai fight, 1 kayak, 1 rickshaw, 1 frog, and 1 cow testicle shot ....... were back in Seattle, and back to work with 236 emails to follow up on.

Favorites

Beer: Red Horse
Party Spot: Tie between Boracay, Philippines and Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong
Breakfast: Anything cooked at Tita Aurie's, especially salted egg & tomatoes with longanisa
Lunch: Five course meal from Thai cooking course
Dinner: Ultimate seafood feast from wet market in Boracay
Street Food: Fried spring rolls in Hanoi
Ultimate Destination: Ha Long Bay
Best Looking Girls: Boracay
Hotel: Renaissance Hotel, Makati
Hostel: Hanoi Backpackers Hostel
Memory: Riding scooters along this winding coastal road on Cat Ba Island, seeing the big blue Pacific ocean on our left, and lush green rice paddies and fish ponds on our right
Airplane Ride: Eva Airlines. The fares are cheap, the planes all have in-seat entertainment, and the food isn't half bad.
Buddha: Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Relaxation Spot: Tita Aurie's front porch
Travelers: 1st place goes to Europeans (they travel for like 4 months every year), 2nd place goes to Aussies (because they're so outgoing and friendly)
Friendliest Bartenders: Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong
Best Cab Drivers: They drive really fast in Bangkok (but they rip the heck outta tourists)
Easiest City to Navigate: Hong Kong MRT
Best Karaoke: Any random street corner in the Philippines
Souvenir Spot: Khao San Road, Bangkok (Goods are cheap for a reason)

Pimp My Ride

Random post on all the different rides we've seen during our travels.

Right Hand Drive: Thailand and Hong Kong
Left Hand Drive: Philippines and Vietnam


Pink taxis in Bangkok, Thailand. Weird but eye-catching.


Double decker tram in Hong Kong, a vestige from its history as a British colony.


More scooters than anywhere else in the world in Hanoi, Vietnam


Tuk-tuk in Thailand, Bangkok. Those drivers are aggressive!


This minibus is Hong Kong's version of the Philippine Jeepney. Not as colorful or charismatic but it is clean and air conditioned. Probably an accurate representation of the differences between the two countries.


Pirate ship in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam


Airplanes, sooo many flights.

Makati

Before returning home to the states, Jules and I spent two days in Manila to see our Dad who was also visiting the Philippines, and our cousins one last time. Ate Ana organized a delicious dinner at this restaurant called Sentro. Mmm their corned beef sinigang was awesome.


Here's a group pic of all the cousins. Hate to rub it in, but you missed out on the fun Alvin, Teody and Tet-Tet. Wish you were there.


After dinner, we headed over to a bar called Cafe Havana. We were drawn to the place because of the great live band, but more importantly my Dad's promise to pick up the bill that night.


We started the night slow, sipping on mojitos and grooving to the island music...and then the tequila came out (uggh). Even though our cousins had work and other commitments the next morning, the shots didn't stop coming. I blame Jules for ordering the first round, Peanuts for ordering the second round =)


The waiters at Cafe Havana were wearing these hip Cuban style sombreros. My dad got things started by borrowing a hat and posing with it. Then we all took turns...


Sandra


Me


Pinkie


Bella (I think she was dreading the thought of having to go to work in just a few short hours)


Thanks cousins! Hope to see you all again soon.

Easy Rider

On the 2nd day of our tour, our pirate ship landed on Cat Ba Island, the largest island in the Ha Long Bay archipelago. After spending the morning hiking to the lookout tower, we checked into our hotel, cleaned up, then set out to explore the rest island.


View Cát Bà in a larger map

Outside of our hotel, there are many hawkers who do scooter rentals. After some friendly negotiation, we were able to rent two scooters for 13,000 dong (that's like $7 dollars!)



We scooted along a winding coastal road that was simply amazing. To our left side was the wide open expanse of the Pacific Ocean, the blue sea stretching all the way to the horizon. The road in front of us was clear except for a mother goat and her babies that rested in the shade. To our right, we passed by farmers stooped over tending to their rice paddies. The forested green hills were the background to fish ponds separated by earthen dikes with tiny wooden huts built atop to provide shelter for workers. The Cat Ba countryside was really incredible.



I wish we had more pictures to share with you, but our camera died and all we have are these videos. Enjoy!