From Hanoi, I began my adventure south, first stopping in Hue. And what an adventure it was! First was the rain. I decided to walk from my hostel in Hanoi to the train station because I was not happy that a taxi charged a extra dollar each for the dark (I was taking the night train that left at 11) and for the rain so that my taxi ride would have cost 4 dollars. This is outrageous considering the most you ever pay otherwise for a taxi is a dollar. So, I got on my high horse and decided to huff it the 3 kilometers. When I started it was just sprinkling so no problem. Then the rain increased until it was actually hurting it was falling so hard and fast and I had to take ... read more

I think it is rather hard to prepare for all that Hanoi is. In a nutshell, Hanoi is crazy! It is also a very intriguing city that leaves a ton to be explored, tried, and experienced. This is probably why I enjoyed my couple days here so much. (though two and a half days was plenty!) The first thing anyone notices when they visit Hanoi (anywhere in Vietnam for that matter) is the traffic! It is was overwhelming for me at first with motorbikes, bikes, cars, vans and big buses coming from all directions (literally), the constant shrill of horns seemingly honking to just make noise, and small streets making for one wild scene. There are very few stop lights and even when there are, stopping on red is optional. They technically drive on the right ... read more

Picture Cancun during spring break and you can get a pretty good idea of what it is like "tubing" in Vang Vieng with a few minor differences and added quirks. Vang Vieng has only really become big in the last few years but before that was a little known stop mostly only visited by backpackers who loved the laid back town in a picturesque setting with a great river that featured local bars along the shores. Rent an inner tube and mozy on down the river stopping at the different bars along the way. Just describing it sounds like the perfect recipe for a future tourist Mecca. Sure enough, the word got out and now Vang Vieng is booming with tons of tourist in addition to backpackers who come for the great party scene, the special ... read more

The slow boat from thailand to Laos has been a popular journey for backpackers for a while and recently has also become really popular amongst all travelers. It consists of a two day journey down the Mekong river in long but narrow wooden boats that, from what i could tell, are owned by families who live on the boats and take passengers up and down the river. If you kept going on the river, you would eventually end up in Vietnam. The boat ride is long (about 6 hours each day) and depending on whether you get a seat or not, can be a little uncomfortable (the seats are just old car seats bolted down). While the boats could probably hold 70 to 80 people, they tend to cram closer to a hundred on them. There ... read more

Thailand is hot! And muggy! Which means I'm always sweating! In Bangkok it's especially bad because of all the cars, street vendors cooking, and all the cement and people. Thank goodness for their air conditioned metro system. It is a very welcome relief from the intense heat walking around. Most hostels offer rooms with either a fan or air conditioning and you pay quite a bit more for air conditioning but it is worth it because otherwise you cannot sleep its so hot! I feel like I always look like I just got out of an intense work out in all my pictures. My two daily cold showers have been like heaven in order to cool down and get clean of all the sweat. Bangkok also gives the senses a real work out when walking around. ... read more