After a small catastrophe at the airport in Cambodia and making it onto our plane with only minutes to spare, we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam in the late afternoon. We used the remainder of the day to roam around the Hoan Kiem Lake and the rest of this vibrant city. Not sure of the exact figure, but it seems like 98% of the people here travel by motor scooter, which is not dissimilar to Thailand and Cambodia, except that here the streets are pure chaos. They will drive in their lane, in your lane, in and around oncoming traffic, on the sidewalks, basically anywhere there is room for them to get by and they will honk their horns the whole time. The city is loud with the buzz of scooter engines and the blasting of horns ... read more

These past few days have been pretty slow, as we hoped they would be since today we take off for Cambodia and then to Vietnam. We basically spent the week in Rayong swimming with the kids and lying in the sun. One of the days we hired a boat and took it to Ko Mannai and Ko Mannok, two islands so close you can see them from the house. The first is a turtle sanctuary and the second is its neighboring island with some great little reefs for snorkeling. After that relaxing week on the beach we headed back to Bangkok for the weekend to party and pack our bags before hitting the road again.... read more

For the last few days we have been in Chiang Mai, a bustling yet manageable city that has just about everything a tourist is looking for. On our first day we knocked out just about all the major sightseeing points of interest by visiting the areas’ famous temples, the ruins of Old City, and some of the shops where the best local handicrafts are made like jade jewelry and teak wood carving. That day was capped off as usual with a visit to the local market and a stroll through the Night Bazaar. We participated in a full day of Thai Cooking School, where Betty made Spring Rolls and Chiang Mai Curry Noodles and I made Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns, just to name a few. That night we hit up a couple bars and ... read more

After arriving safely and sneaking through customs at Bangkok International Airport, we were greeted by Na Gig, Na Dam and Na Ting who escorted us to their apartment just outside Bangkok where we stayed the night. The next morning the whole family packed up and we left for Rayong, to Bettys Mom’s beach house. The next few days consisted of relaxing with family, basking in the sun, bathing in the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand, and eating massive amounts of home-made Thai dishes made from the freshest ingredients. And what’s an Asian vacation without karaoke?! Na Dam was the DJ and lead vocalist, but Betty serenaded everyone with Bryan Adams’ Please Forgive Me and I rocked out to Hotel California. On Monday we went for authentic Thai Massages (extreme deep tissue) and climbed the ... read more

We are finishing up the last items on our 'To Do' list and packing our bags to prepare for our departure. Our last few days in the States will be spent in Cape Coral, FL sorting through all our belongings and packing them up to store while we are away. On Tuesday we leave for Orlando where we will catch a ride to the airport and try our best to not miss our flight out of here! Orlando - Los Angeles - Tokyo - Bangkok... over 25 hours in the air... Can't wait!... read more