We’re still on our Annapurna trek in Nepal, which is a little too off the beaten track to access the internet. While we’re busy trekking and are off-line, we’ve put together some of our past favorite posts/locations to keep you busy. Enjoy! Vietnam: Martin had never been to Vietnam but I’d been one time before. [...]
These are a series of true conversations that took place over the last few months. That it happened once was odd. That it’s happened three times is blog worthy. Vietnam, circa two months ago: Hmong woman: “Hello! You buy from me! I give you good price! You have beautiful nose!” Indonesia, two weeks [...]
As promised, here is the much anticipated Vietnam Beer Review! The two main brands of beer in Vietnam are called Saigon and Hanoi. Unsurprisingly, Hanoi is the popular brand in the north, while Saigon is the flagship of the south. There are a bunch of smaller breweries that have their own brands, but they [...]
We’ve been away from Vietnam for more than a week now, and it’s time to summarize our experiences there. The thing that really stands out is its diversity – both geographically and people wise. Our travels took us from Saigon in the south to Mt Fansipan in the north. In between, we enjoyed sights [...]
Please let me preface this post by saying: I am not pregnant! So…I think it’s absolutely natural for the ol’ biological clock to be ticking at my age. And, not only that, but the clock wants to stock up on cute ethnic baby clothes while we’re traveling. We won’t be back here until after the [...]
If you find yourself in Hanoi and are considering accepting a group tour that includes a cyclo tour around town (imagine a bicycle with a basket in the front , where you sit) – put the brochure down and walk away!!!! We’ve seen a number of these caravan cyclo tours slowly making their way down [...]
We’ve seen this type of marketing all over Hanoi. Phone numbers have been painted on every available space: on walls, garbage cans, post boxes and fire hydrants. We think the numbers have to do with either taxis or women of ill repute. If any of our readers care to find out, the international dialing code [...]
We’ve tried to get a look at Ho Chi Minh’s mummy three times now, and there always seems to be something that gets in the way. Today we got to the mausoleum nice and early, only to find it closed for the day. It’s a pity – I’ve always wanted to see one of the [...]
Here’s a little report on how to climb Fansipan in two days. I’m leaving it here for anyone to read: hopefully it can help a prospective hiker to decide if the hike is something you may want to do.
If you plan a trip to Sapa, arrange to arrive early in the week. We arrived on a Tuesday and found it a peaceful mountain town with plenty of options for shopping, local trekking and relaxing. As the days passed we noticed a dramatic increase in crowds, culminating in densely packed streets on Saturday for [...]
Martin and I are in decent shape. We haven’t exercised since leaving home (that is, if you don’t count the 33 oz curls we do while writing these posts). The Mt. Fancypants trek kicked our butt but we don’t have any room to complain – look closely at this group photo and you’ll see that [...]
It’s official. We’re suckers. Sapa’s handicraft-touting women batted their eyelashes, took our money and left us branded with these brightly colored reminders of all the unnecessary purchases we’ve made. Well played Sapa ladies, well played.
A simple stroll around town turned into shopping mayhem when we couldn’t shake the girl in this video. Her sales approach was simple: if we didn’t buy anything from her she would just follow us all day – and it seemed she was serious. After 15 minutes of repeatedly asking us to buy something, we [...]
Tourism is still a bit green at our hotel. They tried to charge us the same price for these two beers. Really? What’s Vietnamese for “a little too much opium today, brother?”
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
