So, here we are in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) on our way to the beach. Spent a few days in Hue and Hoi An. Hoi An is charming all right - at night. During the day you get so sick of touts - "please buy something" and people following you around to speak english (i.e. pretend to be interested where you are from then ask if you want to buy clothes) or get you to go into their shop. We just happened to be in Hoi An for their lunar festival once a month. It was very cool to see [View Full Entry]

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Hello All (Ken writing) Despite the fact that we bought almost all of Chiang Mai and so had heavy luggage, we arrived in Vietnam last night into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Stayed the night and then got up at 5:30 AM for a short flight to the city of Hue further up the coast. Last night's supper made for some comical video taping of our desserts (which included lychees, some form of taro/potato, vietnamese fruit, etc.) Very interesting. No matter how little we took from the buffet the lady always piled on more. We have found a nice guesthouse here [View Full Entry]

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Ok after reading Ken's entry I feel that I have to defend myself. It did not sound like a cat, more like a sharp intake of breath. Bought a "Polo Winner" suitcase to stash all our goodies, including the wedding favors I have to pick up tonight. Ken loves the knock off North Face items - either Mouth Foam, North Facf, or Orth Face. Pretty funny. Went mountain biking today. It was fun, although the 1 and 1/2 hr ride turned into a 9 hour day due to lack of organization. And we were scheduled to go down the singletrack but [View Full Entry]

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Hello all and Greetings from Chiang Mai! Since Caroline is off shopping I get to do the entry. I think we left off when we arrived in Chiang Mai and checked into Tri Yaana Na Ros Colonial House Hotel which has been very nice. The host, or Chief of House, is a nice laid back guy and the place is beautiful. We are going to stay there a few nights more to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and then we will head back down, possibly on the Night Train, to Bangkok enroute to Ho Chi Minh - formerly Saigon- in Viet Nam. [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so I have officially given up my backpacker ways. I am in conflict between my roots (cheap) and comfort. Ayuthaya was interesting although kept getting lost and Ken didn't want to take a tuk tuk so saw only one ruin. Had a relaxing day though. Took the overnight train to Chaing Mai last night. About 1hr into the trip I asked myself "Why the H$%# didnt' we fly???(it was $40 total on the train or about $80 each to fly). I am feeling a little dizzy due to fatigue, and so is Ken, as he didn't sleep well on the [View Full Entry]

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We checked out of Bangkok (Goodbye noisy polluted bangkok) and arrived in Pak Chong, by our 1st Class Executive Air Con Bus, which was slow, hot and the air con sort of petered out of the vent. Too bad no one had a nice big durian - the infamous smelly fruit of Asia. We arrived in Pak Chong (nearby Khao Yai National Park) Upon arrival we stepped off the bus, we had expected the bus station but were greeted by an old lady carving chicken on the street. Too bad it wasn't lunch time yet! Yikes. We proceeded across the street [View Full Entry]

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So, here we are in Bangkok. Yuk! Oh well, necessary evil, didn't make it to Kho San road, sorry neenar. Organized my wedding dress today (I'm a bit apprehensive, I'll feel better once I see it in a month). I went to a tailor in a fancy mall near the Oriental hotel, so hopefully it will be good quality, not the "ready in 24 hours" everyday stuff. Ken is doing great - doesn't seem to be too shellshocked. The pollution is nasty. Spent today also at the Imperial Palace, very "gold". Also saw the Emerald Buddha (in his "winter" attire although [View Full Entry]

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So, I thought since Caroline got to rant after the LAX adventure (honestly do they have cleaning products in LA?), I'd take over for this one. Welcome to Sunny, well rather cloudy and rainy +27C Singapore! Its very clean and organized, I think if a house is something other than pink or beige it is immediately knocked down and replaced with something that fits the "code". I've since asked my travelling companion if Bangkok is the same and she sort of smirked and said..uhhh no. So now I'm expected lots of multicoloured crazy houses with a cattle ride from the airport [View Full Entry]

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So we are at a terminal finally - security and the airport here is nuts!! Flight to Bangkok is oversold - yay, crowded flight..... Talk to me in about 25 hrs.... We are trying to get a deal to take a different flight if we can get bumped to business classs....doubful. balmy 15 degrees and raining here - we know because we had to walk outside in the rain to get to the international terminal.... It will be worth it.... carolinee [View Full Entry]

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So, Ken and I are getting ready to go to Thailand and I just opened this site, so I"m trying to get the hang of it! We are still going because we figure that it is the best way to support the economy of a country affected by the Tsunami. We will just change our travel plans. Caroline [View Full Entry]

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