We wake up early to a free breakfast at the hotel. Fortunately there are blackout curtains so we actually got some sleep. We pack up our economy size bright cherry red Mazda, and we head downtown. We fit right in among the F450s. I'm pretty sure we will die if we have any run-in with the local wildlife. Our plan for the day is to bike the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. We went our bikes downtown from a sociable man named Pablo. He informs us that this trail was voted the number two most beautiful bike trail in the nation. So we are pumped. I get a cruiser and David gets a mountain bike. We take our time in the beginning of the trail. We bike through Earthquake Park, which is the site of the San ... read more

Well, here it is. The inevitable self-reflective, "my life is changed", wannabe philosophical blog about the end of my travels. Feel free to stop reading now. Today I come home. Over the past 6 months, I've traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. I've seen beaches, glaciers, mountain tops, vineyards, oceans, lakes, rice paddies, volcanoes, the bush and the rain forest. Seen kangaroos, echidnas, spiders, snakes, geckos, monkeys, lizards, kookaburras, koalas and really big bugs. Lived in a dingy flat, slept in friends' beds, strangers couches, bungalows, tree houses, a nudist's sons room, mansions, and 8 bedroom dorms. Rode the bus, hiked, cycled, drove on the left side of the road, rode on motorbikes, hailed tuk tuks, kayaked under icy waterfalls, sailed on longboats and took a helicopter to a glacier top. Drank ... read more

Which Hue? So I get off the train coming back from Sapa, and I have a very chilly motorbike ride back to the hotel. I get some warm tea there and await my taxi to take me to the airport for my flight to wait. I don't know much about hue, except that it was the ancient capital of Vietnam, and has a lot of ancient ruins. On the airplane, I see a guy wearing a Detroit Tigers hat. Therefore I ask him, "Are you really a Detroit Tigers fan?" He replies, "No, but I'm from Michigan." And I say, "No way, I'm from Kalamazoo!" And crazy enough, not only is he from Grand Rapids, he moved to the Bay Area seven years ago, and now lies in Oakland. This is so ironic, since I moved ... read more

Hanoi So I get my chance to check out Hanoi the day after I return to Halong Bay. I have breakfast at the hotel and get a map and get walking. My first destination is the Hoan Kiem lake with the temple and the turtle tower which is located in the Old Quarter. A guy I met at the hotel told me that the lake was to Hanoi as the Eiffel Tower is to France. Horrible comparison. The lake is nice and a lot of people are walking around it for leisure or exercise, but it's really very simple and nothing to write home about. I had a nice walk, and then spent some time in the market. I was planning on doing more walking around the old town, but I kept finding things to buy ... read more

Good Evening, Vietnam! I breath a solid sigh of relief when I am given a boarding pass, only of course after paying for my changed ticket and a ridiculous luggage fee, even though I only had two pieces of carry-on sized luggage (they only permit one). Note - avoid VietJet air if possible. After all my transactions I see I only have $37 left in my bank account - car payment went through. Automated bill payment, so great and so terrible. So I send out another SOS, and this time my friend Linda bails me out and drops another $500.00 into my bank account. I exhale. Until I am physically on that plane I remain on edge. I also don't have any baht left, so I can't buy any food and I am starving. I crush ... read more