The next four days of work were pretty similar. The groups worked hard, ate mediocre food, and had quiet nights. Monday: On the first build day, both teams worked on their concrete slabs. Site two dry-mixed sand and cement and spread the combination on the foundation then wet it with a hose. This method was not conventional and will likely lead to a sub-standard floor. Our site spent the entire day mixing and pouring concrete. Each batch of concrete contained 8 five-gallon buckets of stone, 5 buckets of sand, 1 sack of cement, and water. We dry-mixed the sand and cement before adding the stone. Next, we added water and hand-mixed on the ground with shovels. This process was physically demanding. Brad struggled to mix with the short-handled shovels and resorted to filling and moving buckets ... read more

We had an early flight out of Hanoi to Saigon and left the hotel at 6:30. Our flight was operated by url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Airline_Review-d8729146-Reviews-Jetstar-Airways-Australia-New-ZealandJetstar which great reviews does not have; however, our experience was okay, granted, we had low expectations for the 2-hour journey. We touched down in Saigon with mostly sunny skies. The hotel (url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293925-d1048912-Reviews-Alagon_Central_Hotel_Spa-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.htmlAlagon Central Hotel ) stay was organized through Habitat for Humanity. The hotel had a driver waiting for us. The hotel was a 30-minute drive from the airport. We checked-in with the front desk but our room was not ready for us. We needed to kill about two hours before getting into our ro... read more

Today we left Thailand and headed to Vietnam. Our flight out of Phuket was not until 1:30 so we leisurely ate breakfast at a nearby café before taking a taxi to the airport. Once at the airport,p we made use of our Priority Pass Lounge access and scarfed down the meager offerings available at the Phuket airport. We connected through Bangkok and again used our lounge access. The Miracle loungein Bangkok was very good. They had green curry, Brad’s favorite, and Leo beer, our favorite. We cooled our heels at the lounge for as long as we could before we boarded our flight. We touched down in Hanoi and cleared customs with our pre-arranged work visas (Habitat for Humanity required us to get a work visa). We exchanged a few USD for Dong and purchased data ... read more

We had an active day planned for today. Tigers, monkeys, optical illusions: what else could anyone want? We took a GrabCar to Tiger Kingdom which was about a 20-minute ride from our hotel. The park is in an odd location; sandwiched between a strip of typical Thai shops and a go-cart track. We had to decide on which package to purchase. The tiger is one of Brad’s favorite animals and he naturally wanted to see each cat. Kristy, being more austere, convincingly persuaded Brad to get the “Take One – Big Cat” package. Tigers were classified as smallest, small, medium, big, and El Tigre according to size/age. Before going into a cage to play with the tigers, we walked around to see all the felines. There were roughly twenty cats on the property. The large males ... read more

The sun finally arrived on our honeymoon! We hurried out of bed to take advantage of the clear morning, unknowing if the storm clouds would move back in. Kristy got a banana and chocolate pancake breakfast while we walked between two beaches. We settled into a spot on url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1507054-d7155397-Reviews-Ao_Nang_Beach-Ao_Nang_Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province.htmlAo Nang beach. It was hot, sunny, and breezy; a perfect day for the beach. We laid out for a while then tested the surf. The water was warm but still refreshing. After soaking up as many rays as we could, we ascended some beachside stairs to the url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1507054-d8869847-Reviews-The_Crab_Company_Restaurant_Bar-Ao_Nang_Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province.htmlCrab Company restaurant. We each had shrimp and Chang/ur... read more