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Published: April 9th 2008
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So we figured we've made ya'll wait long enough for our next update (plus all the nagging from all of you is making us feel REAL bad) so here's what we've been up to for the last 58 days (if we can remember...It’s so hard when everyday is the best!). Let's see...
From our last blog we headed from Hanoi, grabbed our passport in Qui Nhon and headed to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a great beach city but unfortunately the weather was not the best (but still definitely warmer than Hanoi). We were only there for a few days but got a chance to see some of the sights. We visited the Oceanographic Institute which was a giant facility with sharks and other fishes and marine history. We also caught one sunny day to visit "Vinpearl Land" which is smaller, disneyland-esque amusement park with rides, Waterside Park, restaurants, shopping and more. We spent most of the day on the water park and I nearly shit her pants on one of those free-fall slides. The rest of Vietnam was short and sweet. We stopped in Hoi An which I loved because the town is mostly made up of shops that
Oceanographic Institute in Nha Trang
Seacow that had been killed by being tangled in a fisherman' gill net custom-make ANYTHING you want to fit you just perfect! By the end of our time in Vietnam, we had definitely warmed up to the country. Brian was lovin' smoking tobacco out of the bamboo bongs with the old men on the street and the Vietnamese coffee id some of the BEST in the world. I suppose we were kind of lucky that we left our passport and had to travel a bit more to retrieve them or else I don't think we would have given Vietnam more of a chance.
However, we were still really excited to leave Vietnam and enter into Lao. (I can't believe we were almost going to skip Lao). As soon as we crossed the border we felt at ease. The Lao people are laid-back, relaxed and friendly which is how you immediately feel when you enter the country. We crossed the border and ended up on a bus to Savakenette which topped the "craziest bus ride" list. It was a 7-hour drive on a bus that had about 40 extra people than there were seats which added touch of random to spice up the adventure! When we finally arrived in Savanakete, we found a
"Vinpearl Land"- Nha Trang, Vietnam
You say "tourist trap"... we say EMPTY amusement park pretty much to ourselves!! guesthouse on the Mekong on hung our hammocks and felt at home!
From Savakenette we made our way to Vang Vieng. The plan was to stay a couple of days for Bri's birthday and then move up north but we fell in love with the people we met and Maylyn's Guesthouse, which is on the opposite side of the river and "party" area. Some people say that Vang Vieng is like a smaller Kho San Road...I think if we would have stayed on the busy side, there is no way we would have stayed for 36 days!! We had a small bungalow right beside the river, with beautiful gardens, tons of butterflies and creepy critters all over the place! We even had to get our visas extended cause we couldn't get off our butts to move. Vang Vieng is a smaller-touristy town with TONS to do. Bri says “If there was an Eden this would be it.”
Brian's birthday was just a few days after we arrived in which we celebrated in style (what Bri can remember of it anyways). We had a nice dinner in town, introduced King Beer to a bunch of people at the guesthouse,
fell into a stream, caught a baby bat in our mosi-net in bed... all in all, and he says it was his “BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!”
One of the main attractions in Vang Vieng is the tubing experience. It's just like taking the party-barg down the Chilliwack River except for the fact that there are bars ALL the way down the river (which eliminates the over-loading of the floating cooler problem). Plus there are HUNDREDS of people floating on tubes... kinda like a glorified spring break.. everyday on the river! The first time we went we made it 300 meters in 7.5 hours, just hitting the first 4 bars... but not just bars... there's volley ball, pool tables, zip lines into the water, 40 foot swings from the trees into the river and ohhhh… the buckets!!
Vang Vieng also has all these amazing caves and lagoons. One of the caves that we went to we took head-lights and tubes and floated 300 meters in the dark to the end of the cave.. Pretty fricken cool!!!
We also got a chance to do some rock climbing, which was so amazing to experience the juicy grabs and killer overhangs the
Showering at Vinpearl
It's the only thing I can do to get Bri to actually take a shower!!!! limestone cliffs offer. The climbing also doubled as a fitness reminder that long holidays + Beer Lao = big bellies and little arms!!
So for 36 days, we LOVED Vang Vieng. We met some amazing friends and had a great time… mostly relaxing, but unfortunately we DID have to get off our butts sometime, so we finally made a move.
From Vang Vieng we hopped on a bus to Bangkok. We had a great visit with Danielle and she even found a place to get me some hot wings!!!
We are now in Ko Tao which we have been for the past few days. We are traveling with some friends from Vienna, Austria that we met in Vang Vieng. Ko Tao is amazing! Bri's been out snorkling with sharks everyday and we are enjoyng the very-missed beach!! Tonite we are catchng an overnight boat to Ko Phi Phi to meet up with Jeanette for a few days, then we will come backto Ko Tao to try out some world-class scuba diving!!!!
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Annie
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Hey guys - thanks for including us in your trip! Victoria and I are loving the updates. We miss you tons!