We've been hanging out at this amazing beach south of Danang, Vietnam
for the past few days. China Beach is where American soldiers went
for R&R and sick leave during the war. It's really beautiful here.
We are staying at this fantastic little place called "Hoa's Place" -
Google it if you're the Googling type. It's just a simple little
guesthouse 1/2 block from the beach in a pretty remote area, but it is
a standout. Hoa (pronounced "Wah" or "Wow") is a total character.
He's probably in his 50's, about Matt's height, and speaks
very good English that is sometimes difficult to understand because of
his laid-back, relaxed hippie-esque drawl. Every other phrase out of
his mouth is "Just chill out, man" or "Hey man, relax" and he peppers
his stories with a few F-bombs that I imagine he has picked up from
the backpacking crowd. Hoa and his wife Giao have been running Hoa's
Place for like 16 years and their specialty is a nightly "family
dinner" where they serve a changing set menu to all of their guests.
It is so much fun and we've met a bunch of new friends from all over
the world with whom we've been talking, laughing, playing on the
beach...hey man, just chill out for a while...just f'in relax, man.
We're staying here one more night, going to a nearby town called Hoi
An, which is supposed to be very quaint and beautiful. We might meet
up with some of our new friends there. Hard to believe we only have
two weeks left. But just chill out, man.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Driving in Asia
Hello all,
We are leaving Hanoi for DaNang/Hoi An tonight by train. As Lindsay stated, we really like Hanoi. Particularly, the food. I think it's something about all the vendors and restaurants going to the market everyday instead of having Sysco truck it in. So far, so healthy.
Today, a Danish guy at our hotel said he had only one day in Hanoi and asked what I thought he should see. We've been here 5 full days and I really had nothing to tell him. We like meeting good people and eating good food. I've found that I could really give two shits about site seeing. So, I told him to check out the lady selling live crabs out of a bucket (which she boils for eating) one block over.
We have seen a couple of neat things- the Hanoi Hilton where US airmen were kept as POWs (complete with John McCain's flight suit), some 1,000 year old temples (yawn), and a free circus act featuring contortionist and monkeys, both of which seemed forced to do their outrageous acts. Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of Vietnam winning the "American War," as it is known here. So, there were lots of free and packed events happening around our hotel... but that's all kinda boring. What was exciting is how we got to Vietnam...
We spent 14 days driving around Laos in a 4X4 that we rented in Vientiane, Laos. Not a lot of foreigners drive around Laos and no foreigners have driven to some of the areas we visited. Cartography of Laos is surprisingly underdeveloped considering how much time the US spent bombing them during the war. Anyway, we found a map that was apparently the first english map published about 10 years ago. It was made up by some Australian who drove around on a motorcycle for a couple years to make it. Anyway, we took some dirt roads that were not in our guidebook, but were on this map. We also took some dirt roads that were not on any map. Some of these dirt roads were just mud roads- others were rock roads- but we definitely tested the limits of 4 wheel drive (which I now love). Most of the driving was through mountains where we drove at incredible inclines next to sheer cliffs through mud, clouds, smoke (slash and burn agriculture is everywhere), landslides, and other obstacles. We picked up villagers along side of the road, ate some very questionable meats, and had to bribe our way into Vietnam (I don't think a whitey has ever driven a rental into Vietnam). Unfortunately, I type slow and have to get off of the internet now. I will try to tell more of the story at a later time, but I will tell you more later. Sorry we didn't mention this earlier, but the driving is over now- so, don't worry about us on the road!
Alright. Love you all.
Matt
We are leaving Hanoi for DaNang/Hoi An tonight by train. As Lindsay stated, we really like Hanoi. Particularly, the food. I think it's something about all the vendors and restaurants going to the market everyday instead of having Sysco truck it in. So far, so healthy.
Today, a Danish guy at our hotel said he had only one day in Hanoi and asked what I thought he should see. We've been here 5 full days and I really had nothing to tell him. We like meeting good people and eating good food. I've found that I could really give two shits about site seeing. So, I told him to check out the lady selling live crabs out of a bucket (which she boils for eating) one block over.
We have seen a couple of neat things- the Hanoi Hilton where US airmen were kept as POWs (complete with John McCain's flight suit), some 1,000 year old temples (yawn), and a free circus act featuring contortionist and monkeys, both of which seemed forced to do their outrageous acts. Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of Vietnam winning the "American War," as it is known here. So, there were lots of free and packed events happening around our hotel... but that's all kinda boring. What was exciting is how we got to Vietnam...
We spent 14 days driving around Laos in a 4X4 that we rented in Vientiane, Laos. Not a lot of foreigners drive around Laos and no foreigners have driven to some of the areas we visited. Cartography of Laos is surprisingly underdeveloped considering how much time the US spent bombing them during the war. Anyway, we found a map that was apparently the first english map published about 10 years ago. It was made up by some Australian who drove around on a motorcycle for a couple years to make it. Anyway, we took some dirt roads that were not in our guidebook, but were on this map. We also took some dirt roads that were not on any map. Some of these dirt roads were just mud roads- others were rock roads- but we definitely tested the limits of 4 wheel drive (which I now love). Most of the driving was through mountains where we drove at incredible inclines next to sheer cliffs through mud, clouds, smoke (slash and burn agriculture is everywhere), landslides, and other obstacles. We picked up villagers along side of the road, ate some very questionable meats, and had to bribe our way into Vietnam (I don't think a whitey has ever driven a rental into Vietnam). Unfortunately, I type slow and have to get off of the internet now. I will try to tell more of the story at a later time, but I will tell you more later. Sorry we didn't mention this earlier, but the driving is over now- so, don't worry about us on the road!
Alright. Love you all.
Matt
Saturday, May 1, 2010
What? No Facebook?
Vietnam has apparently banned Facebook. You can only get on in some places where they somehow get around the block. Our hotel for the past two nights in Hanoi is not one of those places. Also, one more thing about the food here: the pastries. They are everywhere. They are delicious. They are an argument in favor of French occupation. (Just kidding. Not funny)
In a few hours we're leaving on an 11pm train to head for the central coast...Danang and Hoi An.
In a few hours we're leaving on an 11pm train to head for the central coast...Danang and Hoi An.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Hanoioioioioioi
We are in Hanoi and will be here for a few more days. Then we are taking an overnight train to the coast of Vietnam - to Danang. We're ready for some beach bumming.
We are having a really great time - Hanoi is fun. The traffic is unbelievable - there are motorbikes everywhere. There are supposedly around 2-3 million motorbikes, while the population of Hanoi is like 3.7 million. They clog up every lane and intersection, honk constantly, zip around cars, go the wrong way on the street, drive on sidewalks...you name it. We took some good videos of it. Crossing the street is an adventure every time. Traffic does not stop for lights or pedestrians. The rule of thumb seems to be that you look both ways and then ignore everything your mama taught you and cross the street very slowly while the motorbikes zip around you - they will avoid you as long as you don't make any sudden moves. Seriously. And the craziest thing is that no one ever looks annoyed or irritated while driving.
The food is incredible - this place is a dream come true for us, as we love trying new regional foods. In addition to pho, the Vietnamese soup which is one of our favorite things ever, this country has a lot of specialties that are just out of this world. Yesterday for breakfast we ate crepes and drank Vietnamese coffee at a street stall, walked around, ate an amazing lunch from a "set menu" that included
soup, grilled pork, fried tofu, rice, steamed greens, etc (the grilled pork was oneof the best things we've ever eaten - Matt suggested that we take a Vietnamese cooking course just to learn how to make that dish). Then in the late afternoon all of these sidewalk food vendors pop up. One night at midnight we found this little lady on the sidewalk who made us these potsticker-things that were unbelievable. We went back last night and her angry teenage daughter was manning the operation. She charged us 1/3 of what her mom charged us. While we were eating, Mom came out and smiled a HUGE smile at us, then quietly asked her daughter a question in Vietnamese. The daughter answered and Mom responded with a FEROCIOUS shout. We imagined something like this:
Mom: "Oh, Americans here again! What you charge them?"
Daughter: "Forty thousand dong."
Mom: "FORTY THOUSAND! YOU IDIOT! LAST NIGHT I TOOK ONE HUNDRED TEN THOUSAND FROM THEM! EVERYONE KNOWS YOU TAKE THE AMERICANS FOR EVERYTHING YOU CAN!"
(It's cool - being overcharged for everything is something you expect here. One hundred ten thousand dong is less than six bucks.)
Another lady has a huge selection of living shellfish in buckets - we've visited her twice. She throws a big pile of clams in her pot along with several sticks of lemongrass and a cup of sliced ginger and hot peppers, then we eat the clams with a crazy little
salt-and-pepper-dipping-sauce she makes out of orange seeds, salt, pepper, a hot pepper, lime, and a bunch of other things that taste amazing. We also each had a huge crab that was living until we pointed at it and she threw it in the pot. Sad. but they were sooo tasty. You just crack those suckers and throw the shells on the
sidewalk and some dude comes and sweeps them up. Let's see...also, we eat lots of rice with simple meats and tons of condiments - I love the simple foods mixed up with hot peppers, mint, sauces, lime...I love the food here in case you couldn't tell. I don't think this is one of those trips where I come home skinnier than when I left.
We've decided not to extend our trip, so we're still coming home on the 19th of May. That will give us a month to get all moved in to our new place, see family, and hopefully save a bit of money too.
We are having a really great time - Hanoi is fun. The traffic is unbelievable - there are motorbikes everywhere. There are supposedly around 2-3 million motorbikes, while the population of Hanoi is like 3.7 million. They clog up every lane and intersection, honk constantly, zip around cars, go the wrong way on the street, drive on sidewalks...you name it. We took some good videos of it. Crossing the street is an adventure every time. Traffic does not stop for lights or pedestrians. The rule of thumb seems to be that you look both ways and then ignore everything your mama taught you and cross the street very slowly while the motorbikes zip around you - they will avoid you as long as you don't make any sudden moves. Seriously. And the craziest thing is that no one ever looks annoyed or irritated while driving.
The food is incredible - this place is a dream come true for us, as we love trying new regional foods. In addition to pho, the Vietnamese soup which is one of our favorite things ever, this country has a lot of specialties that are just out of this world. Yesterday for breakfast we ate crepes and drank Vietnamese coffee at a street stall, walked around, ate an amazing lunch from a "set menu" that included
soup, grilled pork, fried tofu, rice, steamed greens, etc (the grilled pork was oneof the best things we've ever eaten - Matt suggested that we take a Vietnamese cooking course just to learn how to make that dish). Then in the late afternoon all of these sidewalk food vendors pop up. One night at midnight we found this little lady on the sidewalk who made us these potsticker-things that were unbelievable. We went back last night and her angry teenage daughter was manning the operation. She charged us 1/3 of what her mom charged us. While we were eating, Mom came out and smiled a HUGE smile at us, then quietly asked her daughter a question in Vietnamese. The daughter answered and Mom responded with a FEROCIOUS shout. We imagined something like this:
Mom: "Oh, Americans here again! What you charge them?"
Daughter: "Forty thousand dong."
Mom: "FORTY THOUSAND! YOU IDIOT! LAST NIGHT I TOOK ONE HUNDRED TEN THOUSAND FROM THEM! EVERYONE KNOWS YOU TAKE THE AMERICANS FOR EVERYTHING YOU CAN!"
(It's cool - being overcharged for everything is something you expect here. One hundred ten thousand dong is less than six bucks.)
Another lady has a huge selection of living shellfish in buckets - we've visited her twice. She throws a big pile of clams in her pot along with several sticks of lemongrass and a cup of sliced ginger and hot peppers, then we eat the clams with a crazy little
salt-and-pepper-dipping-sauce she makes out of orange seeds, salt, pepper, a hot pepper, lime, and a bunch of other things that taste amazing. We also each had a huge crab that was living until we pointed at it and she threw it in the pot. Sad. but they were sooo tasty. You just crack those suckers and throw the shells on the
sidewalk and some dude comes and sweeps them up. Let's see...also, we eat lots of rice with simple meats and tons of condiments - I love the simple foods mixed up with hot peppers, mint, sauces, lime...I love the food here in case you couldn't tell. I don't think this is one of those trips where I come home skinnier than when I left.
We've decided not to extend our trip, so we're still coming home on the 19th of May. That will give us a month to get all moved in to our new place, see family, and hopefully save a bit of money too.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Laos
We've been exploring a bunch of tiny tiny towns in the eastern highlands of Laos. No one speaks English and everyone is THRILLED to see us after they get over the initial shock of seeing whiteys. So much has happened that I don't know where to start, so I'll just "list."
We crashed more than one Lao New Years' party, one in someone's yard and one that was a giant party with bandstands and food booths, both times making some new Laotian friends, and in one case, they brought us up to the front of the stage where the band was playing and I won some kind of contest. I don't know how I won, but the prize was a plain white t-shirt and 300 Laotians cheered and wrote "BK" in red lipstick on our foreheads and cheeks (BK Construction sponsored the dance party.) Everyone kept pouring me beer and being confused by Matt not drinking any but giving it to his wife instead.
We met a baby monkey who was adopted by a dog and rides on her back. The monkey chews gum. He is tiny and let me take a bunch of pictures. This was not a tourist-trap monkey, this was some dude's monkey that lives at the entrance of a nature walk. (We also did the nature walk.) Matt rode a roadside zipline. We toured an enormous and creepy cave (Dad, Google-Earth "Kong Lor Cave") by longboat in the pitch black with flashlights. We had two boat guides, neither of whom spoke English. Matt's flashlight burned out and so did one of the guides' headlamps (one of his guide-buddies eventually fixed the headlamp by cutting some wires and gluing them back together by melting a used Ziploc with the end of a cigarette).
We were at a viewpoint (a scenic overlook) looking at the amazing mountains and rock formations when a Thai tour bus pulled over to look at the same view, and instead took pictures of (and with) us.
We ate dinner at a restaurant that features such comfort foods as "Pigs' trotters prepared as false dog meat" and "Iguana head" and "Shrimps dipped in frying powder" on its menu (we chose the chicken and potato soup, which was amazing).
We searched and searched for some waterfalls that we saw on a map and finally asked a girl who lived nearby if she knew where they were. She offered to hike with us back into the jungle and take us up to them. We ended up doing this crazy 4km hike with these two nutso Lao teenage girls who totally kicked our asses climbing up these crazy rocky jungle cliffs (they were in flip flops and simultaneously texting on their cellphones while hiking). The waterfalls were cool.
We crashed more than one Lao New Years' party, one in someone's yard and one that was a giant party with bandstands and food booths, both times making some new Laotian friends, and in one case, they brought us up to the front of the stage where the band was playing and I won some kind of contest. I don't know how I won, but the prize was a plain white t-shirt and 300 Laotians cheered and wrote "BK" in red lipstick on our foreheads and cheeks (BK Construction sponsored the dance party.) Everyone kept pouring me beer and being confused by Matt not drinking any but giving it to his wife instead.
We met a baby monkey who was adopted by a dog and rides on her back. The monkey chews gum. He is tiny and let me take a bunch of pictures. This was not a tourist-trap monkey, this was some dude's monkey that lives at the entrance of a nature walk. (We also did the nature walk.) Matt rode a roadside zipline. We toured an enormous and creepy cave (Dad, Google-Earth "Kong Lor Cave") by longboat in the pitch black with flashlights. We had two boat guides, neither of whom spoke English. Matt's flashlight burned out and so did one of the guides' headlamps (one of his guide-buddies eventually fixed the headlamp by cutting some wires and gluing them back together by melting a used Ziploc with the end of a cigarette).
We were at a viewpoint (a scenic overlook) looking at the amazing mountains and rock formations when a Thai tour bus pulled over to look at the same view, and instead took pictures of (and with) us.
We ate dinner at a restaurant that features such comfort foods as "Pigs' trotters prepared as false dog meat" and "Iguana head" and "Shrimps dipped in frying powder" on its menu (we chose the chicken and potato soup, which was amazing).
We searched and searched for some waterfalls that we saw on a map and finally asked a girl who lived nearby if she knew where they were. She offered to hike with us back into the jungle and take us up to them. We ended up doing this crazy 4km hike with these two nutso Lao teenage girls who totally kicked our asses climbing up these crazy rocky jungle cliffs (they were in flip flops and simultaneously texting on their cellphones while hiking). The waterfalls were cool.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Leaving, and where we live
We live in Hermosa Beach now. Not really "now," as we move in in late May. "Now" (as in "tomorrow") we are going to Thailand and other places for six weeks. See you in a couple of months!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
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