Good Morning Vietnam

OUR TIME IN – VIETNAM

We immediately lost the laid back feeling of Laos as we drove into the old city of Hanoi. We were “welcomed” to the vivacious capital by negotiating cab fares, loud horns, and motor bike packs that own the highway (and some walkways). We saw a guy with a whole pig duct taped to his motorbike and another guy roasting a chicken on a sidewalk with a propane torch. We first thought we had stepped into an overwhelming ant hill that would be hard to navigate. But after the initial shock wore off, we realized the ants moved around us in a purposeful manner that created quite an interesting burst of commerce. Vietnam is a country bred on war, rebellion and colonisation. The lasting bits of a broken history are spattered all of the culture and throughout the cities. Chinese, who occupied the area no less than four times, have left vast influences on the cuisine, religion and many language influences from Cantonese and Chinese dialect. The French left many years of horrible memories, architectural influences, and the everlasting impact on local cuisine. Including the love of baguettes and coffee.

There are no street laws taken seriously so as they said at our hotel, “Sir/Ma’am please walk confident when crossing the street and don’t stop!” Walking and running across the streets, we headed to the famous Hanoi Hilton. Originally used by the French to hold Vietnamese revolutionaries it was then used by the North Vietnamese to house Americans captured during the Vietnam War. The cells were eerily filled with life-size statues and there were two rooms dedicated to the “positive treatment” of American soldiers. Pictures of regular doctors check ups, basketball games and even celebrating Christmas. John McCain’s flight suit was hanging next to images of his plane being pulled from Truc Bach Lake. It all had a frighteningly dark feeling. Afterwards we headed straight to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where the man himself lays perfectly preserved in a glass box. Or so we were told. The hour walk we took to the site has us begging for any activity indoors. However, upon arrival, we were told the Mausoleum was closed for the day and the museum was closed for the daily two-hour lunch (how French). After a long day outside we headed back to our hotel for an early dinner at the local hotspot, New Day Restaurant. Famously cheap and filling, we sat with locals enjoying beers and traditional street food cuisine. Rounding out our time, we had to learn a few Vietnamese secrets in the kitchen. Hidden Hanoi cooking school offered a wide variety of classes and we booked our favorite, the traditional street food menu. We made the most amazing spring rolls (made about 50 of them) and traditional Bun Cha with Vietnamese barbecue. We can’t wait to add some our new favorites to game day BBQ (Note: two links in game & day). 😉

A full day trek followed to the Unesco World Heritage Site of Halong Bay. A four-hour drive to our “junk boat” and we were off to spend the day cruising the 2,000 islets that make up this natural wonder. Huge limestone karsts tower over the bay as we made our way to floating fishing village. The mist of the morning lingered as our guide showed us the residents who live on the water year round. There was even a small school sitting on stilts in the water. In the afternoon, we kayaked to explore the caves and islands surrounding the protected oasis. It was a long day but worth it to see one of the new wonders of the world. Plus, how often do you get to play cards on a boat cruising through Halong Bay?

We have been fortunate to see family and friends all over the world. Vietnam was no exception but our meeting was a total surprise! We were preparing for our seven hour overnight train to Sapa from Hanoi when in through the front door walked Joel and Casey Iglehart, friends from home on their honeymoon! They too were booked on the exact same train to Sapa and had reservations at the same boutique hotel. Off we went on the train, which was in a word… interesting. We shared our cabin with a Canadian couple and slept in our single bunk beds. The click clack, click clack eventually put us to sleep, and 7 hours later we arrived in beautiful Sapa. A stark contrast from the city, this hilltop village with terraced rice fields boasts cooler temperatures and a much slower pace. We hiked to the Catcat village and ended up in a local bar (aka a family’s front porch) enjoying Tiger beers with our friends who are moving to the same neighborhood as us in Atlanta for hours. It was nice to catch up on life and enjoy the scenery of lush green hills and an occasional cow walking by with a local boy leading their way home. Our last hike was to an even more remote hilltop village to interact with the tribal Hmong people . We were told to bring a guide so as to not be bothered by the local ladies, but we could handle it….or so we thought. At first the sight of 14 women, wearing large headdress, and smiling ear to ear seemed welcoming. That is, until these local ladies decided to stick with our group as tour guides for the entire day’s hike. They pointed out their homes and made sure we were on the “right path.” By the end, we were old friends and knew that in order to part ways we had to buy some of the local handmade crafts for our tour. Another half an hour later, our tough negotiations ended with us walking away with no money, a scarf, and we think what might be a bottle case. Worth every penny….for the memories of these ladies!!

The trip was full of so many memories, below is a slideshow including a few more.

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TAKEAWAYS

His

I told Erinn I thought that the Vietnamese were smart to show respect to men everywhere by naming their currency “Dong”. Erinn wryly pointed out that the currency is basically worthless trading at 20000 to every $1 USD. Touché, Erinn, touche…

Hers

So this was where my head was, en route to our hotel I kept repeating “thit cho” the local word for dog meat….so that if seen on any menu we RUN. Note: I did read that it is commonly offered in some of the street stalls, just being safe okay. We did not see any dog featured and in the end really enjoyed the local street food culture. While the city was so busy (almost overwhelming) I enjoyed seeing so much of the local history for myself, dog free.

Theirs

Seeing family and friends all over the world has made this trip so special. It was really wonderful to run into Joel and Casey on their honeymoon and catch up before all moving back to Atlanta. From business school, to the streets of Hanoi, the past two years have made new friends for a lifetime. Makes us so thankful that we are all crazy world travelers too!! On to the next one.

SEE AND BE SEEN

Hanoi Hilton/Hoa Lo Prison*

Halong Bay*

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

New Day Restaurant*

Hidden Hanoi Cooking Class*

Overnight train to Sapa*

Sapa*

Hmong Village*

*must do’s

Talking Thai, Talking Thai Real Well

OUR TIME IN – THAILAND

After a 29 hour and thirty minute journey from Nice, France that took us on a five hour train trip to Milan, a flight to our old neck of the woods in Doha and yet another great Qatar Airways flight to Bangkok we finally transferred on to Chiang Mai. You know what they say, it isn’t the 29 hours, it’s the last 30 minutes that gets you… If you are going to spend that long in transit, then you better arrive in Thailand (pronounced “Thigh-land”). Any grumpiness from travel immediately dissipates when you are flooded with hundreds of Thai people smiling at you saying Sewadee Ka. From the person outside of customs to our hotel owner, the people couldn’t be nicer. In fact, on our way back from a famous mountain temple constructed in the 1300s, Doi Sutep, a Thai guy sharing a Songthaew with us reached over and handed us what looked like a sausage on a stick. Having been in Germany so recently, this seemed like a normal presentation of food to us so Marc bit right in to find delicious fried rice on the inside. The Thai man just grinned widely as he shared his own with his wife and said he hoped we liked it.

Our favorite food is probably Thai food (we say probably because Marc has been known to eat just about anything so we decided to do a Thai cooking class with Siam Rice Thai Cookery School. For $30 a person we each prepared a seven course meal over six hours while spending time with a few Kiwis, Australians, a German, and a girl from Portland (Boyd and Gina – her first words were Portland is a cool place to live). While the cost was great there was a price to pay. Erinn and Marc prepared different dishes for every course so that means we split 14 different Thai dishes. We also like our Thai spicy so our estimate is that we each had 25 Thai chilies over the course of the day. Needless to say, when the afternoon rains came at 5:30PM our food coma induced us to not leave our room again that evening. We learned a lot and walked away with a thirty page cookbook to help us make our dishes stateside. Truly worth the strong TripAdvisor rating it receives.

Since we had eaten enough to feel like elephants we thought it was time to understand the revered animal of Thailand a little better. There is no better place on earth than Patara Elephant Farm to do just that. We spent an entire day as one on one “owners and caretakers of our elephant”. The farm adopts orphaned elephants and cares for them in a open environment. Erinn’s elephant, Plao (or “Sparkling Gem”) was aptly named and was the smartest of the bunch and Marc’s elephant, Bon-Yen (“Peaceful) was a beastly five ton 14 year old bull with large tusks that ate everything in site including taking down whole parts of trees on our 1.5 hour bareback ride through the jungle over hillsides where we swam with them in a waterfall. The day was not just a tourist joyride, however. Rather, we brushed, bathed, inspected (everything including their poo), and fed our new large best friends in order to get a real understanding of what it takes to rehabilate and improve their lives. They eat over 300 pounds of food per day and require constant attention to avoid falling prey to the disastrous outcomes of the last 40 years in which the Thai elephant population has been halved. It was one of the days we had most looked forward to on our trip and it did not disappoint. Truly a once and a lifetime opportunity. When we left, we gave both of them big hugs and wanted to take them with us but Marc’s insistence on only carry on luggage for the entire 80 day trip made the idea of smuggling an impossibility.

We took our newly learned skills and headed out on the 700 year old elephant trail linking Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and Mae Sai. Don’t worry, they have updated the trail – now you take the Green Bus on a highway – but it follows the original path that the Lana Kingdom used on the backs of elephants to establish the new capital in Chiang Mai in the 1300s. Oh yeah, then we went to Burma (Myanmar if you are into supporting the oppressive Junta). After multiple bus changes, tuk tuk rides, and songthaew lifts we finally arrived at the border and crossed into a country just now opening up to the western world. The market was quite possibly the cheapest we have been to with three pairs of Ray-Bans costing us 100 Baht. To get in you have to leave your passport with border officials and carry a special document that restricts you to only certain areas of the country.

Our Burmese border adventure was long and hot so the next day we really just wanted to arrive in Chiang Kong, the border town where we would literally float across into Laos. Luckily for us, we found it the perfect town for relaxing. Our hotel had a great view overlooking the Mekong River, included breakfast, and the room was of Starwood quality, shocking given the $28 price tag. We enjoyed a few pre-5pm rain shower drinks with some Vietnemese men who decided a bottle of hard whiskey was a two person meal and prepared for our pending journey into Laos.

TAKEAWAYS
Acknowledge, Absorb, and Average Returns

His
While the day trip across the Myanmar border undoubtly contained a “check the box” element to it, we truly were amazed by the difference in lifestyle between Thais and Burmese. It was a little disconcerting to not have our passport with us but the awkward process is well documented online and well worth the trip to see the market and the different standard of living between the well-to-do Thais and their less fortunate Burmese counterparts. The difference is even more striking when you consider that the border town is an area Burma uses as one of their showcases to the outside world.

Hers
Quite possibly two of the coolest days of my life, back to back. After living in the Middle East and traveling to Thailand, my biggest regret was not taking the time to properly learn to cook our favorite dishes. Siam Rice cooking class was our first of many Asian cooking schools we booked for our trip. Learning that extra pinch of salt, or the spoon full of shrimp paste in the curry was exactly what we were looking for…I am on my way to hosting Thai night at the Pearson’s! Following our culinary experience was a day that totally surprised me. Spending a day taking care of an elephant sounded a bit daunting to me, especially when you pull up and moment one you and multi-ton animals are just hanging out together. Truly a life changing day at Patera. I formed a bond with my sweet girl Plao (rescued from the circus) and knew she was protecting me as much as I was learning from her. “Eat, Live, and Walk like an elephant” were the mottos and lessons to take away from the day…Eat healthy food for a long life, care for your family and watch out for your neighbors, and take carefully thought through steps in life but with purpose.

Theirs
Thailand is a place we could actually spend our entire time in Asia. It is so easy to get around, the people are so friendly, and the food is so delicious that leaving after only a week seems quite quick. Luckily, we have been before and are confident we will return again. In fact, over 50% of tourists that visit Thailand return for a second trip. This is our second trip to the country (first time we went to the beaches) and while on our next trip we imagine it will be back to the beaches, it was great to see how the northern people live and to enjoy their hospitality.

SEE AND BE SEEN
Chiang Mai old town
Night Market
Local food stalls*
Doi Sutep
Siam Rice Thai Cookery*
Patara Elephant Farm*
Tachileck, Myanmar (Burma) market*
Chiang Kong main road
Thailand public bus system and Green bus*

Busing through the Baltics

OUR TIME IN – ESTONIA, FINLAND, AND LITHUANIA

While this one is a little belated, we promise to get back on schedule and post a few in row that will make you wish we did not post at all. After an overnight Lux Express Bus from St. Petersburg to Tallinn, Estonia we were desperate for coffee and or an actual hotel room. Unfortunately, we could find neither immediately in a town that can only be described as full on Medieval Times for adults. After making our way down cobblestone streets to our boutique hotel we confirmed it was way too early to check in (6:00AM) and just too early to be functional, so we took a cat nap in the lobby while pretending to read our maps. We weren’t fooling anyone. At 7:50am we hit the streets looking for coffee and breakfast. Stumbling in search of a proper cafe, ie American style, we broke down and went into the cutest McDonald’s ever. It is built into the city wall, has outdoor cafe seating, a separate cappuccino bar, and flat screens playing trendy music videos. Such is life in the newest and fastest growing member of the euro currency. We walked down cobblestone alleyways past large church squares and an intact full medieval wall before coming upon a woman (in full robin-hood attire) practicing her bow and arrow. Normal day here. From atop Toompea Hill you can see why Unesco declared this the most well preserved medieval town in Europe.

The next morning we woke up to head to the ferry to cross the Baltic Sea (technically, Gulf of Finland) to check out Helsinki. At 7AM, Tallinn was still hopping. It turns out Estonia is the capital of stag parties. Nestled between the cute village shops are bars and nightclubs galore. Men dressed as oompah loompas, giant squirrels and just regular groups of drunk people were all still out from the night before.

Helsinki was a great way to make a large leap up the GDP per capita ladder. It is a clean, fun, perfectly functioning European capital. After walking through the Saturday markets we caught a quick boat to Suomenlina Island, a fortress that has protected the harbor through the years. We spent the remainder of the day laying on a rock watching the boats role by with a packed picnic full of local market food and wine. Marc thinks they should make Charleston’s Fort Sumter available for the same kind of good times.

After returning to Tallinn that evening and awaking early again the next day to fight through the nighttime partygoers, we headed out to Riga (check earlier post and be sure to watch your valuables). From there, we travelled again by Lux Express bus to Vilnius, Lithuania. Gorgeous squares, a cute main town and much more posh than we had expected. Young and modernly dressed this city was impressive and ready to entertain. A must visit and our favorite Baltic locale. We toured both the Trakai Island Castle and the Gediminas Castle and had an unbelievable Indian dinner on Cathedral Square. Marc was very upset that he did not see guys dribbling two basketballs at a time in all tie dye t-shirts but that was the only disappointing thing about this country (loved your earlier comment, Justin)

TAKEAWAYS
Bustling, Balmy, and Busses

His
The Baltic region is exploding. I can’t believe how nice each place is and how much energy is in each town. While each place was unique, the common thread was that of economies embracing their recently found place on the world stage with their attachment to the EU and a whole new generation that never experienced Soviet rule.

Hers
Packing for this trip was supposed to be somewhat complicated since the Baltics were supposed to be cold. Instead, we have had 75 degree weather almost every day. I have barely brought out my jacket… Except for the Helsinki day where I took all of Marc’s jacket and sported six layers while enjoying our picnic. Cheers!

Theirs
Busing across the Russian-Estonia border in the middle of the night and chugging down the highways of Latvia and Lithuania into Poland sounds more adventurous and harder than it really is. The busses have had wifi and the roads were close to on par with western European counterparts with a few exceptions. It was an efficient and easy way to get through the region.

SEE AND BE SEEN
Old Town, Tallinn *
Toompea Hill, Tallinn *
Eating bear meat, Tallinn
McDonald’s, Tallinn
Local carnival, Tallinn
Facetiming on the Lindaline Ferry, Gulf of Finland *
Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki
Suomenlina Island, Helsinki *
Helsinki Cathedral Square, Helsinki *
Old Town, Vilnius *
Cathedral Square, Vilnius *
Gates of Dawn, Vilnius
Gediminas Castle, Vilnius
KGB Museum, Vilnius
Trakai Island Castle, Lithuania *
Lux Express Bus *

* must do’s

Mr. And Mrs. Smith in Riga: Robbery, Reconnaissance, and Recovery

OUR TIME IN – LATVIA
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a Latvian police station looks like? Us either, but we found out anyway. While we planned to post a combined blog on the entire Baltics, we are going out of turn and posting about our adventure in Riga, Latvia.

After being charmed by Estonia and Helsinki (those posts coming later) we arrived in Riga ready for another idyllic Old Town classified as a Unesco World Heritage site. However, our walk from the bus station to our hotel changed how we would spend our stay. Ten minutes after arrival we figured out our directions and were 100 yards on our way when Marc yelled out, "I was robbed!" and reached around to grab the culprit who he had felt in his back pocket. He found a shady guy behind him and forced him to empty all of the contents of his pockets but to no avail. We think the guy was guilty but suspected he had a partner who had quickly moved on with the wallet that was in the back pocket with Marc’s passport, cash and credit cards inside.

A police car arrived in less than five minutes and we jumped inside to circle the market area around the bus station to try to identify our thieves. Unable to locate them, we went on to the police station to file a report so we could have documentation in order to obtain a new passport for Marc. We left for our hotel defeated. What was supposed to be a quick overnight in Latvia seemed like it was going to be much longer.

After a lunch on the nice town square where Marc went through the seven stages of grief, we headed back to the hotel to execute on our grand plan. Marc changed clothes putting on plaid shorts, a tucked in shirt, and his Warby Parkers in place of jeans, t-shirt, baseball hat and contacts and Erinn changed shirts and added a ponytail. We were off to the scene of the crime. We walked around the area with Marc’s back pocket jammed with a fake wallet, holding a map openly and looking all around in false bewilderment. Erinn played lookout, trying to identify suspects. After a few laps of fishing, Erinn found someone that looked familiar and who seemed to be taking our bait.

Marc walked by him one last time and stopped walking ten feet behind him. When the suspect turned Marc was staring him directly in the eye. He seemed guilty, so Marc approached and said, "excuse me do you have the time?". After he hastily replied Marc said," I lost something here earlier and I believe you have it. You should open it and consider who you might be messing with. If you return it, you will not have any trouble. Feel free to keep the money." It is worth pointing out that, due to our time in Bahrain, Marc has 17 pages packed to the brim with purely Arabic stamps, four pages of Saudia Arabia visas, two pages of Indian visas, and one page of a Russian visa in his passport.

We left the area not knowing if our plan would work and headed back to the hotel to grab some much deserved shut eye on what had been a very long Sunday. Monday morning, we went to the US Embassy to apply for a new emergency passport so we could leave Riga as planned and move on to Lithuania. When we handed over the police report, the lady behind the counter said they had received a call from a man that was on his way to return Marc’s passport to the embassy. Amazingly, we left an hour later with the original in hand, booked a new bus to Lithuania and kept our original reservation at our hotel, all only eight hours behind our original schedule!

TAKEAWAYS
Prepared, Perturbed and Perceptive

His:
I made a huge rookie traveller mistake to have my passport in my back pocket. I never keep it there and it shows you never should. However, we were completely prepared for the event. We easily headed to the embassy with copies of everything lost, cancelled things quickly, and had cards and cash in three other locations ready for such an event. It was a good "dry run" to test our level of readiness for negative situations.

Hers:
Know your surroundings, remember faces and I don’t care much for Riga.

Theirs:
We are very fortunate. Maintaining awareness in foreign travel is always neccasary. We are also safely in Lithuania enjoying the change of scenery. No need to worry about us.

SEE AND BE SEEN

Riga bus station *
Old Town
Riga police department *
US Embassy of Latvia *

* must not do’s

On the Road Again!

Okay so we are planning our post graduation “trip-of-a-lifetime” and well….just have to share!! I am lucky enough to be married to my best friend and since the day we met, our lives have been one amazing journey. This is our way to share our upcoming travels with family and friends. Enjoy!

On the road again –
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Goin’ places that I’ve never been.
Seein’ things that I may never see again.

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again. ~ Willie Nelson