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!

Rock the Cat Ba (Vietnam)

May 11, 2009

On the 2nd day of our trip in Ha Long Bay, Paolo and I, along with 4 other friends, went on a trekking trip through the mountains of Cat Ba Island. Luckily we had a Vietnamese guide, Nick, that knew where we were going. The destination was a lookout tower on top of the mountain. The tower is barely visible in this picture.



At the start of the trail, Nick said there's an easy way and a hard way and we would first take the easy way up then the hard way down. If I had the slightest inclination of what his notion of hard and easy were, I would actually describe it far differently, "the extremely hard way and an impossible way". Though it might be relative, the first 200 meters up these very very steep, slippery steps were actually the easiest part of the hike, only because it's the only part that resembled a trail. The rest of the "trail" was going through bushes, trees, rocks, and mud in humid 90 plus degree weather. If it wasn't for Nick we would of most likely died out there, or still been roaming the jungles of Vietnam. While we were gasping for air completely muddy in our hiking boots and sweat soaked clothes, Nick our guide, was breezily climbing through in his flip flops with out even breaking a sweat or a getting a smudge of dirt.

Only after going on this trekking trip do you really realize how the Vietnamese won the war ...seriously
















The majority of the hike consisted of climbing through rocks and walking down steep muddy trails.




















Watch that last step it's a doozy (Some of the stairs on the watch tower were missing platforms so you had to be extremely careful or it's a very quick way down).























Finally after reaching the peak of the trail we got to climb an old watch tower and rest for a moment while enjoying the scenery.

Ha Long Bay Kayaking

May 10, 2009

Approximately 4 hours east of Hanoi is Ha Long Bay. On our first day here we started with a kayaking trip, where we went through hidden tunnels to secret lagoons and between giant limestone cliffs. Though it was a bit of a workout to say the least, kayaking through a Ha Long Bay is an amazing experience that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. Every excruciating paddle stroke is worth the amazing scenery you experience.

Having gone to Ha Long you realize there's no better sculptor than nature itself. Watching the panoramic view make's you also realize the vastness of this earth and nature's beauty.

Don't get thrown off by these two ugly mugs, I swear the scenery in Ha Long is better.















Our group of about 9 people, including a guide, went through pristine lagoons and narrow caves.





























The limestone mountains make you want to just stop paddling and let the current take you, while your eyes are in constant awe of the view.














Short video of Ha Long.

The Dragon's Back

Jules and I just spent the past 3 days in a landscape so amazing that our faces our now permanently wide-eyed and the only word left in our vocabulary is "wow". Imaginatively termed the "Dragon's Back", Ha Long Bay is a collection of hundreds of forest covered limestone towers that dot the emerald green Pacific Ocean.







We signed up for a tour of Ha Long Bay through our hostel, and it was the sweetest deal ever. For $90 we got 3 days, 2 nights accommodation including meals. The first day was spent aboard a wooden pirate ship. We slowly weaved our way through the islands taking in the sights.





Most of the day was spent relaxing, drinking Vietnamese beers (the consensus choice was that Tiger was the best, although I don't know if that is truly a local beer) and making friends with the other passengers on board. We met people traveling from Norway, Austria and even San Francisco.















Note: Jules is going to do a separate post on the sea kayaking tour that we took this first day. This definitely was one of the highlights of my trip.



In the evening all the ships anchor in a cove protected from the rough waves of the sea. It was quite a sight seeing these great wooden vessels circle around each other throughout the night.















While anchored we would have time to go swimming. The best way down is jumping right from the top of the boat and into the water.
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Hanoi, Vietnam

Saturday May 9, 2009.

4am, only about an hour or two of sleep, we wake up from our hotel room in Bangkok. Still a bit hazy while checking out, we pay our bill and head to the airport for our 6am flight, it was yet another early day. But 6 hours from the time we woke up were already in a vastly different place from where we left.

Hanoi, Vietnam. From the airport, our taxi driver, provided by our hostel, took us to the old quarter of Hanoi, where we'll be staying until going off to Ha Long Bay for a three day Kayaking and hiking trip.

Out of all the places I've been or lived, I would have to say Hanoi is my favorite city so far, well tied with Ballard (And that's just because Ballard has Golden City). In Hanoi the streets are filled with scooters whizzing by and people walking and congregating on the sidewalks but you don't have sky scrapers and tall building towering over you, or the sound of trucks, construction, tv's and radio's. The architecture and landscape is reminiscent of a small French town (due to the french occupation) and just as easily accessible to get around the city by foot or scooter. But the culture itself (fortunately) is nothing else but it's own. Hanoi is a place where they've been able to advance in so many ways but has still been able to keep it's identity and proud of it.








The alley's vastly outnumber the main roads and are just as busy with foot traffic and food stalls.In here you'll find a mix of restaurants, private dwellings, mechanic and retail shops, all coinciding next to each other while old lady's in there bicycle's selling anywhere from a fruits, flowers, or knick knacks, pass by.






Fresh produce from the provinces are sold daily right on the sidewalk.
































The first meal of the day was coffee in a sidewalk cafe before heading off to a restaurant for Vietnamese sandwich's. The sandwich were made of a fresh baguette, cilantro, sliced cucumber, dykon, pate', chicken, oil and vinegar, fancy, and hot sauce to you liking. A majority of the eatery's are in sidewalks and alley's where you can commonly be found on small plastic patio furniture. Fresh soup, Pho, is constantly stirred and monitored right next to you.




After a quick bite we headed off to another cafe for some drinks while our room get's ready. The beer of choice here is " Ha Noi", 333, Halida, and Tiger














We perched ourselves on a patio overlooking one of the main roads. Who needs a TV when you got hundreds of scooters intersecting all at once. Cars are the minority compared to the hundreds, if not thousands of, scooters. For every car there's probably a hundred scooters .

Thailand

Don't have much time and would rather be scootering around Hanoi right now but thought I would do a quick post on the rest of our Thailand trip since were already behind and not there anymore.

The lying Buddha














On the the to of another temple on top of a hil















Grand Palace: This is the residence of the monarchy















Right inside the Grand Palace



















Suam Lum Night Bazzar. This is one of the biggest open air night bazzars in Asia. Located just across the street from Lumphini park. Here you can find about anything if your willing to walk the entire bazzar, which is about 5 city blocsk big. You can find designer shirts, bedding's, furniture, anything and they have it for a very very cheap price. But don't try to find a price tag on any items here, all prices are negotiable and it's up to you to haggle it down as much as you can. Unfortunately for me my "walk away" didn't get me to far before I would cave in and settle for there prices. :(














Suam Lum night bazaar

Ha Long Bay

Hey everyone, Jules and I are currently in Ha Long Bay, which is located in the North East corner of Vietnam, about a 3 hour ride from Hanoi. This place looks like it was set in a fairy tale where dragons live in the green mountains, and pirates roam the seas. Check out this link from the UNESCO World Heritage Foundation. We hope to post our pics and videos soon.

Muay Thai Fight

On the evening of our second day in Bangkok, Jules and I attended a Muay Thai fight. Muay Thai is the national martial art, and it involves using a combination of kicks, knees, punches and elbows to try and bloody your opponent.


To get ourselves from our hotel to the arena, we decided to roll in style. Riding in a tuk-tuk (the Thai version of an open air tricycle).


Before entering the arena, we stopped by a street side vendor to munch on some bbq'd chicken and pork at a cost of 7 baht each (that's like 20 cents!)


We had to choice of purchasing 1st class seats (basically ringside where all the tourists sit), 2nd class seats (where all the locals go and where people stand up and get rowdy) or 3rd class seats (nosebleed seats pretty far away from the action). We chose to mix with the locals.

Its interesting to note that the arena has a pricing fixing scam for tourists. Tourists are aggresively led to ticket booths with signs above written in excellent English explaining the price differences between 1st class (2,000 baht, $60USD), 2nd class (1,500 baht, $45 USD) and 3rd class (1,000 baht, $30 USD). Locals never buy tickets from these tourist booths, instead they go to the booths down the line that conveniently do not have prices publicly listed. I wish I woulda figured out this scam earlier.


We saw seven fights in all, but I was disappointed that there was only one knockout.


Nevertheless, it was pretty intense sitting in the hot, sweaty, beer-soaked stadium, feeling the energy of the crowd amplify after seeing a knee drive into the opponent's ribcage, or an uppercut daze the competitor. The Muay Thai fight was definitely overpriced, but it was worth seeing it.