Day one and in the evening. I have survived. I am actually kind of blown away by where I am at right now. Which by the way I really don't know where I am at. I kind of think somewhere NE of Lao Cai. My guide Khun speaks almost no English. Actually let me rephrase that. He dosn't really speak any English. And I still cant even say thank you in vietnamese yet correctly after a week. So he and I are spending tons of time in deep philosaphical conversations. On a side note what is the deal with charades here? In the states if you made the motion of brushing your teeth people would know you meant to brush your teeth. I don't think I have had one charade actually work yet. Its probablly that ... read more

Signing back in. Man, I am trying to write fast to catch up with everything. I leave in a few hours on an overnight train to the China border for a 7 day motorcycle tour of NW vietnam on a Minsk. I will not have internet access for that time. These blogs take a bunch of time. I have much more respect for all the other people who have posted theirs now! On the morning of the 2nd day in Halong bay I got up at 4:50 am to watch the sunrise. I was the only person up for almot 1.5 hours. Was so nice. I jumped in the water for a swim while the sun was rising. Was so moving to be floating in the bay in the dark and watch the sky get brighter ... read more

About 4am this morning some amazing lightning and the loudest thunder I have ever heard. The rain came done so hard and fast, I dont think I had seen it rain like that before. It rained like that for about an hour but then tapered off to just a very slow drizzle. When I started out this morning I went with umbrella in hand but like I had been told by a friend before coming over, I really did not mind getting a little wet. No real change in the heat just a bit more humid. Probablly about 325% humidity now. My first stop was Ho Chi Min's Mauseleum. Its definitly something Vietnam is proud off. Military everywhere and you have to go through security. No camera's allowed, so those are confiscated then returned after. You ... read more

Long day of travel. It was nice to be able to drive from Vail to Denver with Doug. It was much nicer to be with someone talking than just sitting on shuttle. My flight to LAX went smoothly and I actually arrived about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. I was very happy to have gotten the exit row. Its first class for poor people you know? I made it to John Wayne airport in Irvine and Ken was just getting off work and picked me up about 30 min after I landed. We went to a brewery and had a beer and talked. Was good to see him. Later, Karen made it home and we went to a very nice authentic Japanese rest. We had one of the bamboo rooms where we took our shoes off ... read more