Hanoi, Vietnam November 10, 2006 Shannon: After so many months threading our way through crazy traffic situations, it shouldn’t surprise us that getting across a street in Hanoi takes careful deliberation not to lose life or limb. So why are we even mentioning it? I suppose because, even by Asian standards (heck, even by Middle-Eastern standards), the traffic here is insane. Residents even seem to take deliberate pleasure in mentioning it - they wear it as a badge of honor. Sean: The traffic comes at you from all sides and the never ceasing parade of s [View Full Entry]

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Chiang Rai, Thailand October 23, 2549 Sean: The infamous “Golden Triangle” - conjuring up images of immense poppy fields, clandestine CIA operations, and nefarious characters processing heroin for the world’s market - is now a legitimate tourist destination complete with huge tour busses and t-shirt vendors. You know a place is no longer edgy when Grey Line ferries large numbers of sightseers to it. Named The Golden Triangle by some long forgotten official in the Nixon administration, this portion of South East Asia where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet ( [View Full Entry]

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia October 7, 2006 Shannon: After spending countless hours viewing the splendors of Angkor Wat, Sean and I departed Siem Reap and packed ourselves into a local bus for the trip to the capital, Phnom Penh. Thankfully the rains that had been threatening all day held off just long enough for us to arrive, whereby the skies promptly opened up and a torrent was unleashed just as we were about to disembark from the bus. Naturally, the place that the bus chose to offload it’s human cargo had no protection from the elements whatsoever - just a random curb [View Full Entry]

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Chiang Mai, Thailand September 21, 2006 Sean: Being a political science hobbyist, the idea that I would happen to be in a country during such a major government upheaval as a military led coup d’etat makes my heart run aflutter. To be present for history-in-the-making is not only thrilling, but a far cry from our usual modus operandi of arriving places and witnessing the past. I don’t have a death wish, mind you, and have no desire to antagonize armed troops passing by in their Hummers toting M16’s (the Thai military is rolling with US made stock, b [View Full Entry]

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Luang Namtha, Laos September 5, 2006 Sean: Our trip to the frontier of the Chinese hinterlands - converging on its border with Laos - entailed a lengthy couple of bus trips. For two days we passed through mountainous countryside and a few decent urban centers - the last being the small (by Chinese standards) city of Mohan. Nothing too interesting, but I was still surprised at the size considering its remote, boondocks location - even the far-flung corners of the world’s most populous country are well populated. So as we bid goodbye to the friendly border guards (&ldqu [View Full Entry]

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Chengdu, China August 14, 2006 Sean: Everybody loves pandas. Did you know: • That there are only 1,590 (est.) giant pandas roaming around in the wild and only 170 in captivity? • That they have an extra digit on their fore-paws that acts as a pseudo-thumb and helps them to grasp objects? • That they require about 110 pounds of fresh bamboo daily and will “excrete” about 25 to 65 pounds of football (American, of course) shaped pellets in that same time period? Today was spent roaming around the huge expanse of land that constitutes the G [View Full Entry]

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Beijing, China July 28, 2006 Sean: So far China has been an all-out assault on my proper American senses - and I thought Korea was hardcore. Where Korea is rough around the edges, China is jagged like broken glass. There are people everywhere - unafraid of a little shove when they need to be where you’re at - and the smelly, hazy air only adds to the insanity that greets your eyes, ears and nose around each corner (I never thought I’d fondly reminisce about the cleanliness of Romania). Needless to say, we’re having a ball throwing ourselves bodily into [View Full Entry]

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Seoul, South Korea June 30, 2006 Sean: As many of you know, I spent two years in the Land of the Morning Calm and retain many positive memories of my time here. Between the year spent teaching English to the nation’s school children and another year stationed near the DMZ with the US Army, I really enjoyed Korea and was excited about returning. I had also been chatting up the country for so long that the enthusiasm infected my lovely wife as well. So we are both eager to be landing here and look forward to spending a few weeks ‘splorin’ [View Full Entry]

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Brno, Czech Republic June 14, 2006 Shannon: Leaving Poland behind, we’ve now crossed into the Czech Republic, where we plan to spend the next two weeks soaking up the European ambiance before scooting into Asia for a change of scenery. As many people have told us, the Czech Republic is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. So perhaps this will be a fitting bookend to our trip: having entered Europe via one of the least-touristed enclaves (Sofia, Bulgaria) we will be departing out of one of the most popular (Prague). It’s interesting to look back ove [View Full Entry]

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Gizycko, Poland June 4, 2006 Shannon: Chances are, you’ve never heard of Gierloz, Poland or even the larger town near it, Gizycko. Today these are placid little towns in the rolling hills of the Great Masurian Lakes district. With over 2,000 lakes in the area, these days many people come here to ply the waters in sailboats and canoes or to spend their days hiking in the green forests. So it’s hard to believe, amid all this tranquility, that the heart of the Nazi war machine once beat from a 2.5 square kilometer compound nestled just outside this obscure litt [View Full Entry]

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