After our last posting, we decided to head up Montjuic, the 'mountain' in Barcelona, which happens to be about a block from our apartment. We strapped Delaney in to her carrier and hiked up the mountain for some beautiful views of the Sea and Barcelona. There is also an old fort up there with some distinctively less old anti-aircraft guns. On our way down we stumbled upon a small zipline in a park (completely unattended of course) and had a great time taking Delaney for rides on it (unfortunately the video got deleted...). The next day we wandered through the Gothic and Born districts to the Ciutadella park, Barcelona's answer to Central Park. There was a gorgeous fountain there as well as half of Barcelona's population enjoying their Saturday picnics. Delaney enjoyed some quality time on ... read more

After a much less exciting bus trip, we arrived in our final stop, Saigon. Throughout the trip we had heard nothing but negative things about the city, so we were a little unsure about the wisdom of spending our last three days here. Turns out, the critics were wrong and we loved Saigon! We checked in to our last guesthouse and hit the streets of the backpacker area in search of dinner. Saigon is known for its tall skinny buildings built leaning on each other AND its crazy, crazy traffic. 75% of the traffic is motorbikes and you have no hope of ever waiting for an opening to cross the street. Instead, you must look straight ahead and walk at a constant pace (do NOT stop or change direction) and, like the Red Sea, the traffic ... read more

Since we were preparing for our final border crossing, we thought we'd try something new and take a long boat journey down the Mekong to Vietnam. For the low, low price of $15/person we got a virtually private boat the full 6 hours to Chau Doc, Vietnam. The boat pulls over to stamp you out of Cambodia (where, amazingly, they didn't ask for any money) and then again for the entry stamp to Vietnam. Then they just pull up to a dock in Chau Doc and turn you loose. The boat that took us from PP to the border looked like a close cousin of the Yellow Submarine. It was a pleasant ride through the Cambodian countryside. We enjoyed our last journey through Cambodia and decided it had dramatically risen on our favorite places list. Once ... read more

After surviving the journey to Siem Reap we were pleasantly surprised at what a nice town it was. Lots of great little restaurants and bars to refresh yourself at after a hard day of temple visiting. Of course, the real reason for coming to Siem Reap is to visit the temples of Angkor Wat, often called the 8th wonder of the World. The complex is absolutely massive and nearly everyone hires a Tuk Tuk driver for three days to drive them to all the various temples. We, of course, are not everyone and decided to rent bicycles for the epic three day journey despite the near 100 degree temperatures. We started by visiting the Roulus group, the earliest temples of the Angkorian kingdom (over 1500 years ago). We were attempting to visit the temples chronologically so ... read more

When last we posted, we were heading out to board the train to Bangkok for the beginning of the Thai portion of our trip. Turns out, Thai trains are WAY better than Chinese trains. Two comfy chairs facing each other and when bedtime comes, they create two relatively comfortable beds for you complete with privacy curtains. Of course, we had been warned that sometimes the train workers are out to make a few extra Baht. One joined us in our card game, while another sold hot water to our friend and never brought change. Luckily it was only $1. After our week in Laos, it was a bit jolting to arrive in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. We checked in to our new digs and headed out to explore the city. Our guide promptly delivered ... read more