Well that was Hanoi-ing, but now we're on Cat Ba island.

Today my name is Brian Neville. At least according to the agency that came to pick us up this morning at our hotel. The man showed me the reservation for Brian Neville and while we explained that we were in fact going to Ha Long Bay, the names were different. Later on, after several frantic phone calls, he said the names were very similar. After all there are many Herschers coming to Halong Bay - always Nevilles.

Both Greg and I have our reservations about anything tour group related, but today was pretty exceptional. After the initial chaos of departing, we got to relax and take in the formations while downing some Vietnamese beer.

We also had the best dinner of the trip thusfar at a small restaurant down the street from our hotel on CatBa island. I had the best squid in my life there. Normally it's quite chewy, but this was absolutely delightful. I think I ate like 14 pieces. We also ate it family-style with a group of Vietnamese. Two of these things were not like the others... We had no clue what they were saying, but it was a great experience being thrown into that. They kept telling Greg to eat more.

Surprisingly this is the fastest internet connection we've had - and we're on an island off the coast of Vietnam. That figures. Also, I think facebook might be online again. Things are good. Tomorrow we go around HaLong some more and then hop on an overnight train to Hue. Next update will be from there. Until then, enjoy the timelapse below.

Hello yankees

All I wanted to do was inform the American people that what they know about the war is wrong.  Did you know that our POWs actually played lots of games and sang songs?  I learned this yesterday. 

In completely unrelated news, I get an error when I try to login to facebook.  Clearly this is a tech issue with Mark Zuckerberg and co.  There's no way it could have anything to do with the above paragraph.  Glory to Uncle Ho and god save the queen/facebook.   

Good morning Vietnam

After arriving into Hanoi late last night, we woke up early again to do some exploring.  We walked to the Cau Long Bien bridge to observe some foot and scooter traffic.  We also discovered that today is apparently some kind of national holiday and everything is closed.  We barely got in to see Uncle Ho at the mausoleum before it too closed.

We also walked to see the hanoi hilton.  The statistics and video information presented there are a bit different than I recall, but who am I to judge the facts presented to me by a communistical country.  Here, even the soldiers walk around smiling and singing.

Tomorrow we head out on a boat into ha long bay.  We will be spending the night on cat ba island so our ability to update our blogs is debatable.  I hope that all 4 of my readers can survive this lapse in time, but we hope to make up for it when we get into Hue in a few days.

Another Day, Another 5 Temples

Inflation hit Cambodia hard today. Yesterday we were offered t-shirts for $3 and ate lunch for $2.50, but we felt like suckers today. We were feeling pretty good after negotiating a $1.50 breakfast, but it went downhill after that. $11 for a t-shirt! Getting those t-shirts down to $4 was like trying to negotiate a prisoner exchange, but both Greg and I got some Angkor Beer shirts. Souvenir from Cambodia - Check.

It was much hotter today than yesterday. Our tuk tuk driver took us to a location for sunset that didn't have any temples - just an open lake and the sun didn't show its face through the thick haze on the horizon. Greg was apocalyptically cross about this. Then he thought he lost his lens hood at aforementioned lake. It had the makings of a long day. I began to fear for my own safety, but we requested to return to one of the sites from yesterday - and were the only ones there. Shortly thereafter Greg found his lens hood and he was quite happy.

Tonight we head to Hanoi in Vietnam. Hopefully customs goes smoothly. We have pieces of paper with our names and about 17 others who are arriving that day. Allegedly these papers allow us to get visas on arrival. Check back on the blog to make sure we actually make it through. Bye bye Cambodia.

Angkor Temples

We were up early today to catch the sunrise over the Angkor temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It is a far more expansive complex than I would have imagined - extending for miles. Initially we were contemplating riding bikes to the temples, but in retrospect this would have been a horrible idea. Our tuk tuk driver has been great. We can't understand anything he says - and often just nod in agreement when he is explaining something, but he has been very accommodating to our photography needs. Cost for this private driver? $10/person.

U.S. Dollars are apparently the main currency here. Basically one can buy anything they want here in Siem Reap - from postcards to jewelry - for a dollar. In fact, later on in the day, one young man was so convinced that Greg needed a flute, that he offered three of them for $1. I think we can all agree that this would have been a fine hobby for Greg to take up, but Greg would have none of it.

In other news, Nicole has warned me not to take any children home with me a là Brad & Angelina. I do not foresee this being a problem, but if someone wants to give me a good deal on them, I could be persuaded. We're about to head out to capture some sunset shots by the temples, so if you want to see some of those, check out Greg's blog in a few hours at http://photoyak.blogspot.com.



Have a good night!

We've Arrived!

I think this may have been my longest travel day(s) ever. At least Asiana Airlines had on-demand movies, but after watching five, I had to resort to Mr. Bean and a show with soccer highlights from the 80's. Nevertheless, thumbs up to Asiana's service and somehow managing to prevent the plane from smelling like kim chi.

Upon arrival into Cambodia, I think I made a noise of concern when our airport shuttle driver walked beyond all the vehicles in the lot and we ended up boarding a tuk tuk (motorized rickshaw I guess is the best description). A snippet of that journey is below. Tomorrow is Angkor Wat!

H-hour

After months of anticipation, we are finally here.  .  . LAX at least.  It has been discovered that Greg and I have the same pants.  He does not however have the fashion sense to wear keens with socks.  Nevertheless  Greg reports that he is stable and I am enjoying some excellent cookies courtesy of my lovely ladyfriend.  I shall see you all on the flip side.