An update from the road

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Yes, here is an update - written in real time, not written in long-term retrospect, as I intend to do when we return from our travels.

We are currently in Luang Prabang in Laos, a tranquil respite (and hour-long flight) from Hanoi and the rest of Vietnam. Sarah and I found Viet Nam to be by far the most stressful place that we have traveled as of yet, but we have escaped...And to quite an stunning, yet relaxed place. There's something about that Mekong. You will see pictures and hear more details later.

Many Vietnamese just try to find ways to squeeze a few extra thousand dong from you, and aggressively so. Bus transport is especially trying, as there are no fixed prices or timetables for public buses. So you're stuck taking one of the many tour buses that leave from a place - and these tour buses only leave at one specific time.

What's odd is the number of American and Canadian voices we have heard during our short time here - maybe the brits are just far less loud here.

Or maybe Laos is the hip new destination for American travelers.

But the end of my time in Vietnam made me question why I travel, or why anybody travels for that matter, but this amazingly beautiful location has reset my mood back to "hooray for traveling."

While there are plenty of Europeans traveling in Vietnam, I question the appeal of most of it. We opted not to tour Sapa or Halong Bay, due to having seen very similar sites such as jutting limestone islands and rice terraces in the Philippines (and with far fewer tourists in the way).

One positive of Vietnam is its Hospitality Industry. Once somebody already has your money (or a commitment for your money), they tend to provide you with good service. And you can pay $15/night for a hotel room that would cost you at least triple anywhere else in the world (and probably about $200/night in North America). Many hotels provide you with a baguette-oriented breakfast as well.

The quality and/or value of the food we ate tended to decline the farther north we went. In Saigon, we stayed in a suburb near the airport and ate three meals at an inexpensive, fresh, not-too-greasy, and well spiced vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant. I'd say the food at this place is on par with that of The Slanted Door in San Francisco (this is very high praise).

In the center of Hanoi, a far lower quality, far less tasty restaurant would charge double the price for everything. I enjoyed many delicious banh mi sandwiches (traditional sandwiches with ham, pickled vegetables, and some sort of pickled fish matter) in the south of the country, but ate fewer of them as we moved north.

The Lonely Planet gives rave write-ups to several vegetarian restaurants in several cities called "An Lac." I have no idea if "An Lac" is a chain, but I do know that the fake meat is as tasteless at each one as any other, and that each "An Lac" has a dirty floor. I also know that your average "An Lac" will fill me up for about a dollar, but will leave Sarah and our friend Stacey, who joined us for our Vietnam leg, hungry, as they will refuse to finish their less than delicious meals, often due to gummy fake meat and vegetables.

And I continue to cringe every time Lonely Planet's Nick Ray (who seems to write for all of the Southeast Asia books) describes a hotel room as "smart."

Love,
Matt

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