Getting around

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We never planned on coming to vietnam originally, nor laos or thailand for that matter. We did plan to go to cambodia but had not really worked out the logistics and decided to figure it out along the way. When we were in the himalayas and met Brian the american who now lives in Bangkok, he sold us on the idea of visiting thailand with piles of anecdotes about great locations and food. It is easy to twist our arms when it comes to travel as we both wish to visit as many countries as possible in general. We didn't feel like flying to cambodia as we had a couple of flights to take before even trying to get home across the pacific and we wish to fly as little as possible. The overland route through "indochina" (thailand, vietnam, cambodia, laos) is well trodden by western travelers and has a lot to offer one who has anywhere from a week to a month or to spend away from home so it is by no means treacherous or a new frontier. Over a few caffeine fueled planning sessions we planned out a possible route and agreed on going through this whole area but trying to be quicker about it than in india where we took our sweet time most places we stayed.

We have stuck true to the plan thus far though took longer in Lao than we expected. We are moving quickly through vietnam, only stopping at a few destinations but still plan to traverse most of the country (north-south at least). Last night we sat down and worked out the next few months as we are attempting to stick to an itinerary that will put us at the northern tip of Sumatra by december 22nd. There used to be a ferry from Penang, Malaysia to Medan, Sumatra but the company couldn't stay afloat (intentional, amelia) so the ferry no longer rides the straights of Melaka. We found this out 2 months ago and have ample time to plan around but it is annoying to book a flight that departs months in the future and 2200km away. We wish to be in sumatra around xmas because there is a large north-central region populated by the formerly-cannibalistic-turned-christian Batak people. We are really curious what shape the celebrations take so far removed from the west and are even more curious about Batak history. They sit in the middle of the largest island in the world's most populous islamic country with a stark historical difference from all their neighbours.
We need to cross quite some territory to arrive at our flight from Kuala Lumpur and being locked into a date having paid for everything a tad annoying because a lot can throw you off or anyone of these countries could just erupt into civil war. I am sure it will work out just fine in the end.

We have a bus booked for an overnight journey to central vietnam that we are waiting for. We took in a bunch of the cultural sights around; visited the ancient temple of literature, saw a traditional water puppet show at the water puppetry theatre, and ate noodles. This is a huge city with much to see but unless you want to spend half your day and twice your budget on taxis stuck in traffic you are somewhat limited. Our next stop is Hue where the main attraction is a city-sized citadel. It is the old city, walled on all sides and even has a large moat. This is the only real attraction so we plan to spend only 2 nights here then are heading back into the mountains to Dalat where there is a palace, cool weather and a "crazy house". (apparently the crazy house is a giant treehouse that looks like it came from alice in wonderland ... we'll see)

After that we plan to head to Ho Chi Minh City where we plan to spend 3 or so night then hop on a river boat into Cambodia. This is all from only reading about the areas upcoming and once you are in an area more real information becomes available so we shall see what actually happens.

We forgot to wish you all a happy thanksgiving but remembered when there was a restaurant sign that was advertising a "Canadian thanksgiving dinner" set menu for some outrageous price... so Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this and not. Hallowe'en soon approaches and we have been watching scary movies on an singapore movie channel whenever we have a TV and will greatly mis our favourite holiday so eat some candy, and scare some children for us, and for the love of god... WATCH OUT FOR ZOMBIES!!

Love Brian and Jenna

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Comments

[Dean]

Travel Plans
"The best laid plans of mice and men . . . ." But it sounds as if you are having fun. Missed out on the traditional thanksgiving meal here too for some reason and we don't get spooks visiting on Halloween out here in the country but we will celebrate Halloween by leading a late fall wild flower walk to see what is still blooming. Looking forward to hearing more about your travel adventures.