Summary: We'll what can I say. Adam and I got stuck on a beautiful tropical island for almost a month. Can you blame us? Garth and Janelle visited us for almost two weeks and we had a ton of fun! We went scuba diving around Koh Ha and saw a bunch of colorful fish I don't know the names of. We took a Thai cooking class and got to wear ridiculous chef hats and learned what turmeric root looks like. We rented motor bikes and took them off roading in the islands National Park where we saw a bat cave and dripping "waterfall". We lived it up in Garth and Janelle's swanky villa with their own private pool over looking the ocean. Yeah, it's the life.
Summary: Koh Phi Phi is aptly named for all the young beautiful drunks taking in the nightlife. The only way to get around the island is by boat as there are no roads. The main pier where Adam and I were dropped off is where most visitors stay and enjoy the beach, shopping, and food and drink of course. Face one direction and you'll see the pier and it's dark blue waters, do a 180 and you'll see the other side of the island and a shallow turquoise bay. A small stretch of land literally connects the islands. To take it all in, check out the breathtaking view point, a well worth 75 flights of stairs straight up, that will give you views of both sides of the water. The 2004 Tsunami almost completely wiped out Koh Phi Phi, but things are back to business now. There's not much to do but lay out in the sun or watch fellow sun burned travelers apply sunscreen. Not a bad life eh?
Summary: Adam and I were only in Phuket Town for less than a day. We didn't make it to the beach where I assume most people were. We got caught in a crazy thunder storm in our hotel where we watched the lightning and rain with other fellow onlookers.
Summary: An absolute must see! With over 3,000 islands towering in the turquoise water, you get the eerie feeling that they really once were dragons.
Details: After a five hour bus ride to the Halong Bay, we boarded our boat properly named, Imperial Junk. Surprisingly, it was quite nice and we even had a private room with toiled and shower! We cruised around the bay, impressed by the countless islands that were slowly revealed through the fog and rain. Cave exploring was the first stop on the agenda. Now, Adam and I are no strangers to caves and what a tourist trap they can be (Side note: we biked an additional 10 miles up hill in Ireland to see the amazing Aleway Caves, which turned a bigger crowd for their potato bar than the unimpressive caves). However, the caves in Halong Bay were very impressive, minus the neon lights used to illuminate the stalagmites and stalagtights Next stop, kayaking. The calm waters made kayaking around the islands fun and relaxing (I can say that because Adam was doing all the work). That night we enjoyed dinner on the boat amongst our other tour group members followed by karaoke that we listened to from the comfort of our cabin. That night, we were rocked fast asleep by the calm waves of the bay. The next day we stayed on Cat Ba which had a beautiful walkway along the limestone mountain with staggering views of the beach and other islands. The next day we were ready to head back and ditch the tour food.
Summary: At first experience, Hanoi is an intimidating city with obstacle courses for sidewalks and motorbikes eager to honk for no apparent reason. After about 15 minutes of walking around, you're gut reaction will be to crawl into a hole and hide. However, if you linger in the city long enough, you might discover some of its surprising charm.
Details: For humor more than anything, Adam and I checked out a Vietnamese water puppet show. Once started in a small Vietnamese village to entertain the children, the puppet show has now become more of a tourist attraction. There are musicians, narrators, and people standing in water waist deep that control the dancing wooden puppets, which are strikingly similar to the puppets used in Team America. I have to admit it was pretty entertaining, but if the show were to go on any longer than the 30 minutes, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.
"Asian Driver" - After years of cursing the "Asian Driver", I can honestly say that I have a better understanding to their method of madness. In Vietnam, it appears that there are absolutely no rules of the road. However, there is an unexplainable understanding and flow of traffic. Cars and motorbikes will... drive down the wrong side of the road as long as it's not for long, only slow down in an intersection if there is something bigger in the way (unlike the US, anything bigger than you has the right of way so pedestrians and bicycles are screwed), merge to the far left lane of the wrong side of the road to make a left turn before entering the intersection so they don't have to stop, and honk for no apparent reason literally just holding down the horn. My experience has given me a greater appreciation and understanding of the Asian Driver.
Adam and Darcie were married in November of 2008 and began their South East Asia travels shortly thereafter in January 2009. They both have extensive traveling experience in Europe, USA, Australia, and New Zealand.
Posts
.jpg)