80-hour odyssey of flying chaos

We left our hotel at 6:30 am on Thursday the 15th, bound for the Bangkok airport for our flight back to Germany and our new home. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we were in for an experience unlike any we had before. We thought that our travels were story enough for friends and family awaiting our arrival. Who knew that one of our biggest was to come at the end of our trip? But it did and here's how it went...

We boarded our Moscow-bound Aeroflot jet full of sunburnt Russian tourists in vacation garb eerily reminiscent of the late 80s. With a 10-hour carefree flight behind us, we bunkered down for our planned 15-hour layover at the Moscow airport, a bit tired but excited at the prospect that we would soon be home.

When we arrived, we were guided to the new international terminal, a short bus ride away from where we had landed. Expecting to be impressed by pristine surroundings and posh amenities, our hopes were quickly dashed. This supposed international terminal doesn't have much going for it as we soon realized. The handful of eateries, which were pretty limited in choice, didn't accept any foreign currency or credit cards. If you didn't have Russian rubles in cash, you were out of luck. One would think that a logical solution to such a problem would be to frequent an exchange booth, but that would have been too easy. There were none around. If you played your cards right, you could change a bit of money at one of the two small duty-free shops, but that wasn't always a guarantee. Interesting...

We spent a night attempting to sleep on chairs not designed for such a purpose (immovable metal armrests make the ability to recline or sprawl oneself across them virtually impossible). Regardless, we made it through and eagerly waited by our gate for our boarding call. We looked up at the departures screen and couldn't believe our eyes. Our flight was delayed by nine hours. But, passengers were still arriving to discover the news, which seemed strange to us. One exclaimed that the volcano was really affecting all of the major airports in Europe. What volcano, we wondered. We focused our news junkie 'tudes on the Bangkok protests and we were oblivious to what was looming in Iceland. But, it was soon to affect us all.

Knowing that our 15-hour layover had now turned into 24, and then 28, the few snacks we had brought just wouldn't cut it. But, what's a foreigner have to do to get a meal voucher in this airport? Apparently, you have to wait 19 hours, ask four airport staff, be mocked by a passport control official for being "in transit" passengers and finally relinquish your boarding passes so that they can be taken out of sight and returned with the coveted meal vouchers. Fortunately, it only took another five hours until a more official meal voucher desk was set up for all stranded passengers.

Once Hour 28 came and went and we knew we were in for another wonderful night in terminal "nowhere", we found a lovely section of cement floor to rest our heads. Being "in transit" passengers without Russian visas meant that we couldn't leave the departures hall, a bit of a scary thought once you've spent over a day there without any end in sight. To make matters worse, none of the brand new flat-screen televisions actually broadcast anything but Samsung ads, and there is no Wifi or computers with Internet in sight. If that wasn't enough, no official announcements were conveyed regarding the current situation and the prospects of getting out of this place. The little information we did receive came from the battery-dying cell phones of fellow passengers.

We were awoken in the middle of the night by the PA system announcing the possibility of exchanging boarding passes to go to a limited selection of airports in Southern Europe that were still operating. With only a handful of flights still operating and nothing heading to anywhere in Northern Europe, we wasted no time and quickly changed our Dusseldorf-bound passes to Milan. Sort of hopeful, we tried to catch a few hours of sleep, enjoyed a meal voucher breakfast, and much to our pessimistic surprise, boarded the flight to Milan. But, our story doesn't end there. After 15 minutes, the pilot sadly announced that the Milan airport had just closed and asked us to deboard. With shoulders slumped, we disembarked the aircraft. Disillusioned and deflated, we mentally prepared ourselves for a week of Russian "hospitality."

One hour later, our hopes were revived with the prospects of rerouting to Rome. Waiting by the gate with bated breath, we eventually boarded the same aircraft again. After sitting on the tarmac for over an hour, we thought that our window of opportunity to leave Russia and land in Europe that day (or possibly ever) was gone. But, this story does have a happy ending. Believe it or not, 30 minutes later we were airborne and on our way to "Bella Italia." At this point, our odyssey was only in Hour 45, just over halfway through.

The entire cabin clapped when we touched down on the runway of Rome's airport. We soon found out that we were one of the last flights, if not the last, to land before the airport was officially closed. With the flight portion of our trip behind us, we focused our attention on our next mode of transport to take us to German soil.

To say that the Rome airport and its nearest train station were packed with people was an understatement. Were it not for the quick thinking and access to Internet of our German co-stranders, we wouldn't be writing this blog but rather be standing in a 200-metre line waiting for the only ticket booth at the Rome central station to serve us.

We caught a train to Bologna, waited an hour and jumped on the overnight train to Munich, knowing that it was likely fully booked considering the situation. Luckily, we found seats and passengers with a bottle of vodka ready to be shared, which helped to induce a record-breaking four hours of sleep.

Arriving a little groggy in Munich at 6:30 am, we staggered to the platform to hop on the next train heading to Köln. What a relief! Five hours later, one transfer to the Grevenbroich train and another short 30-minute ride, we were home. What a beautiful sight it was to see Axel's parents, Gudrun and Gerd. And if they weren't enough, Axel's sister Julia and nephew Tommy were also awaiting our arrival and we spent a happy, relaxing day together.


It's good to be home.

Happy Songkran!

We are enjoying our final days in Bangkok relaxing in our air conditioned hotel room as we closely monitor the political protests taking place in this city. We arrived three days ago to the sounds of protestors in the streets, grenades, gunshots. As the area where all of the tourists go was blocked off, we found another safe hotel for the night. Watching the scenes unfold outside on the news and the Internet from the comfort of our room was enough action for us. In all, 21 people died and the negotiations between the government and the Red Shirts is far from over. We just hope that violence isn't the only way that these issues will be solved. Before coming to Bangkok, we had a wonderful, albeit hot, three days in Battambang, enjoying both the cityscape and the countryside. Even though Battambang is the country's second largest city, you'd hardly know it, as we find it very walkable and much less touristic than Siem Reap. We rented a tuk tuk to take us to two beautiful temples. One is perched high on a hill and requires visitors to climb 359 steps to reach the top where some temple ruins from the 12th century can be found. The second temple also sits on top of a hillband provides gorgeous views of the Western Cambodian landscape which is very dry this time of the year. As so many religious sites during the regime of the Khmer Rouge, this temple was used as a prison and the nearby caves were used as execution sites. It is impossible to imagine what it was like to live in Cambodia from the mid to late 70s. One of the highlights in Battambang was going to the Phare Ponleu Selpak circus. The artists are all vulnerable children and teenagers who have been given the opportunity to excel in the performing arts. This enables them to support themselves and their families. The show was fantastic and featured amazing trapeze artists, contortionists, jogglers etc... This group is part of a larger organization that provides fine arts education to the local community, runs an orphanage and offers a daily free street kitchen for families in need. The circus always brings joy to our hearts because it makes us feel like kids again. Speaking of being a child again, today was the first day of the Thai New Year celebration called Songkran. Essentially, it is a three-day waterfight in cities all over the country. As soon as you set foot on the street, you are 'baptized' with a bucket of water. People armed with waterguns stand on the back of pick up trucks and spray the crowd, which, armed with water as well, strike back. The nice thing is that it is not just kids participating, but people of all ages. We even saw a woman in her 80s wielding a bright plastic water pistol. Everyone joins in the fun. And that is exactly what it is: pure fun. It is a fantastic way to ring in a new year especially when the thermometer reads 36 C. Tomorrow, we will head to a hotel close to the airport because we will fly to Germany early Thursday morning. It is hard to believe that our 100 days in Southeast Asia are coming to an end. It was an amazing adventure and one we won't soon forget.

Angkor Wat is the What!

Cram several dozen spectacular thousand-year-old temple complexes into an area the size of a small Canadian city and you've got Angkor. We've just spent three days (far too short) to behold the remnants of these Angkorian capitals that were built between the 9th and 12th centuries AD. Alone, each of these complexes takes your breath away, but to see that one country houses such historic relics is astounding. Even though the temples are spread out over a vast land area, the majority are accessible by bicycle and that's what we used for two days. What's nice about bicycle travel is the chance to go at your own pace and stop where you like. The park is lush and green, even in the dry season, which makes for lovely surroundings. The only issue is the intense heat, unlike anything we've experienced before on this trip. With temperatures approaching 40C by midday, temple visits in the hot sun leave you drenched with sweat and in desparate need of water. But, it's a small price to pay for such beautiful sights. We hope to post photos soon.


We've stayed in Siem Reap for the last five nights. It is a town centred around tourism due to its proximity to the Angkor Archaeological Park. For this reason, it boasts tons of Western restaurants and five-star hotels, which probably detracts from its original charm. But, it has been a very relaxing place to rest our heads for a few days. We've taken advantage of the cheap price of cocktails and beer, visited the handicraft markets and even took in a traditional Khmer dance performance. We've had the opportunity to stay at a lovely family-run guesthouse called Bou Savy, which has a peaceful central courtyard and complimentary breakfast.


With only nine days left in our 100-day journey, we are having nostalgic feelings of the beginning of our trip and wish we could go back to that level of excitement. But, we're also looking forward to what lies ahead.

Today, we head to Battambang for a few days before continuing onto Bangkok for our final week.

Minding the heat in Phnom Penh

We've arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia after a smooth 7-hour bus ride and a surprisingly uneventful border crossing. We were overwhelmed by the intensity of the moto drivers who swarmed us when we arrived, trying to get their next fare. They were pretty relentless, but we made it through the crowd in one piece and managed to find a nice hotel about two blocks away that has air conditioning (it's essential considering that it's about 35 C during the day and doesn't really cool off at night). 

We wandered around the central part of the city until dusk. There is a lot of green space near the riverfront. We saw the Liberation Monument, which commemorates the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and Independence Monument, which celebrates Cambodia's independence from France. But the best part of our walk was seeing the mass groups of locals doing aerobics in the park to music. We admire how exercise is such an integral part of daily life in Southeast Asia. Every day, in either the early morning or late afternoon, many people gather to play badminton or Thai football, do aerobics or simply go for a vigorous walk. It's really inspiring.  

The other interesting local activity we observed was some kind of Buddhist celebration on the riverfront where people were gathered to pray in small temples, placing incense sticks and beautiful fresh flowers in small temples while traditional musicians played live music.  

For dinner, we found a local restaurant and enjoyed a yummy Khmer dish consisting of rice noodles with coconut curry. It was served with a huge bowl of fresh herbs, pickles and cold tea. Yummy!  

Since we had to get up at 6 am to catch the bus, we're pretty wiped and ready for bed. Tomorrow, it's off to the Killing Fields and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S21) to learn more about the genocide that took place here only 31 short years ago, wiping out almost 1/3 of the population.

Markets Afloat

We just finished the second day of our two-day Mekong Delta tour and are enjoying a nice dinner near our hotel in District 1 of Saigon. Although our tour was jam-packed with tourists, we met a lot of nice people and enjoyed boating down the Mekong River. We got to see how they make rice noodles the traditional way, we walked through a tropical fruit orchard and crossed what is called the Monkey Bridge, which is essentially one large bamboo stalk spanning a small pond. On our way back to the city, we saw the Buu Long Pagoda, a beautiful yet strangely placed structure on a busy highway surrounded by Buddha statues and flowers.   

Having sampled local banana rice wine and red wine over the last two nights, we'll likely avoid doing so tonight as we have to get up before 6 am to catch our long bus ride to Phnom Penh. Cambodia awaits us and we can't wait...

Saigon - A city of many faces

As we drive along the roads in our completely unnecessary cushy sleeper bus, we watch daily Vienamese life unfold. People lounge lazily in their stores awaiting their next customers. Men herd cattle across the busy roads as vehicles kindly swerve to avoid them. Hoards of school children with their crisp white, navy blue and red uniforms gather at the end of another school day, bound for home. Women in conical hats brave the afternoon heat to sell the wares they carry in baskets precariously balanced on their shoulders. And motorbikes galore cram the streets, making use of every available inch of asphalt to hurry to their next destination. It's organized chaos, but it works.

In Saigon, we stayed with a family in their small guesthouse. In fact, they only have one room to rent out. Their flat is down a side alley off of one of the main tourist streets. We found it when the woman of the house greeted us as we descended the bus, asking in broken English if we needed a room. The family sleeps downstairs in an area that also serves as their kitchen and living space. The family consists of  a husband and wife, their son who is disabled and cannot walk or talk, and their grandson, who is two years old. Their other two sons live nearby and one just got married on March 10. The mother proudly showed us a special photo album of her newly married son and his wife in various poses and wedding outfits. It's customary for a married couple to dress up in various wedding costumes, including the actual bridal gown and tuxedo before the actual wedding day and have their photos taken. We've seen many couples doing this in almost every major city park we've passed in Vietnam. 

Although our room was a little noisy since our window cannot close and faces the busy alley below, we really liked the experience of sharing space with this very kind family. They were excited that we stayed for three nights.

Yesterday, we did an organized tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a famous Vietnamese War landmark. Used as a hideout for local people, a military post and a communications hub, its intricate network of underground tunnels span some 250 km and are organized into three depths, each built for specific purposes, whether it be daily life, preparing for battle or hiding from the enemy. Although the trip was very touristic and we felt a bit like herded cattle as we were shuttled from sight to sight, it was still impressive to see and imagine what the war was like. And a highlight was having the opportunity to crawl through one of the narrow tunnels (Netty required Aki's moral support to make it through just one small stretch of the pitch black claustrophobia-inducing passages). Considering that the Vietnamese are smaller than the average Westerner and even though they enlarged the size of the tunnels to accommodate tourists, it was still pretty narrow. 

That afternoon, we went to the War Remnants Museum, a propaganda-filled recount of the Vietnam War and it's aftermath. The curators didn't leave out any of the gory details. The images and stories on display are chilling and the mood imbues a feeling of how horrible war can be.         

Today, we embarked on a two-day Mekong Delta tour. Our first day was spent cruising the Mekong River and making various stops to observe village industries, including the making of coconut candy and honey. We also enjoyed tropical fruits, traditional music and cycling on Unicorn Islands. We're spending the night in Can Tho, which is one of the bigger cities in the Mekong Delta. Tomorrow, we'll check out the popular floating markets along the river and head back to Saigon around suppertime. The following day, we're off to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, our 7th and final country on this trip.              

Sledding in Mui Ne???

Yes, we escaped the Canadian winter, so to get our fix of wintersport, we went sledding. We had to rent a scooter and drive about 40 km to get to Vietnam's most famous sledding hill. Two young girls awaiting our arrival offered us homemade plastic sleds and after some hard negotiations, we agreed on a price for the rental and were ready to ascend the hill. We were exhausted and out of breath when we reached the top, but at the same time, were exhilarated by the thought of our much-anticipated downhill race. We mounted our sleds, said a final prayer, took a few last-minute pictures and off we went...

As it turns out, sand is not as slippery or as fast as Canadian snow and going downhill was actually not much faster than climbing up the slope. Despite the lack of adrenaline rush, what surrounded us was nature's beauty at its best.

Mui Ne is famous for its red and white sand dunes, which are 10 and 40 km outside the city, respectively. Travelling on our own by scooter was one of the day's highlights as we were able to see so much more than simply the final destination. Apart from the dunes, there is not much else to do in Mui Ne that appeals to us. 

So, tomorrow we take a bus to Vietnam's largest city, Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City as it's officially known). Less than a week left in this country and then it's off to the last one of our journey.

Dalat on two wheels

Biking by motor power, hiking and biking by human power. We've done it all in the last three days in Dalat. Being greeted by the cool breezes of this elevated hill station was just what we needed. On Sunday, we scaled the three volcanic peaks of the Lian Biang Mountains, one of which is the highest peak in Dalat (close to 2200 m above sea level). Our efforts were rewarded by spectacular views of the Dalat countryside. In hindsight, our guided tour wasn't necessary as the path was clearly marked, but it was nice to have a Vietnamese companion along for the walk.

Yesterday, we chose to trade in our two feet for motorized wheels. We hired two Easy Riders guides to give us a fabulous tour of the countryside on their hogs. Yes, we looked pretty cool. Among other things, we got to go to a silk worm farm and visit a coffee and tea plantation. One of our Easy-Driver guides is a Vietnam War veteran who fought for the southern Vietnamese army as a paratrooper. It was very interesting to chat with him about the war and about Vietnam between the end of the war and the end of the Cold War. Since he fought against the communists from the North, he was sent to a reeducation camp from 1975-77. It was obvious that we were told a watered down version of the tough life he experienced in the reeducation camp.

The next day we went on an organized trip with Groovy Gecko to cycle from Dalat to Mui Ne. After a 1.5-hour van ride to the countryside, we set up our mountain bikes and started cycling uphill. We biked a total of 80 km including a 11 km highspeed descent, which was the highlight of the tour. Just before we reached the highway, we boarded the minivan again and continued to the coastal town of Mui Ne. 

Why Not

As we are writing this blog from Nha Trang, we are enjoying our second "Why Not Bucket" with Red Bull, orange juice, pineapple juice, and, oh yes, local vodka and rum (aka fermented rice).
Why, you might ask! Well, for the following reasons:
1. To recover from yesterday's intense relaxation in a lounge chair on the beach.
2. To celebrate our two amazing fun dives near Hon Mun Island where we enjoyed the views of beautiful corrals and the company of plenty of colourful fish.
3. To reflect on the spectacular black and white images we saw at the photo gallery of Long Thanh. He is one of, if not the most famous Vietnamese photographers. Check out some of his stunning pictures of Vietnamese landscapes and people http://www.elephantguide.com/longthanh/.
4. To toast our survival of cycling amidst Nha Trang's insane rush-hour traffic, sharing the streets with thousands of scooters.
5. To feel 18 again, when fruity alcoholic drinks served in buckets were appealing and so cool.
6. Why the hell not!

Tomorrow it is up at 6 am and off to Dalat.

Idyllic Hoi An

As we are travelling further south the mercury is rising to 30+ and unless we stop for icecold Coffee Saigons we might melt. Fortunately, we found a cute little café (Café Nep) in the heart of old Hoi An. In contrast to previous cities, Hoi An feels quaint and quiet and you can cross the streets without praying. There are no highrise buildings and when strolling through the small streets and tiny alleys you can imagine how it might have looked like 100 years ago (okay, you have to ignore the constant honking in the background and the fact that here and there you have to share sidewalks with scooters). A century ago, Hoi An probably saw less tourists, yet it seems locals and tourists blend fairly well and it is still possible to find food stalls and street kitchens without English menus and without Western fare. 
Tourism drives the economy and vendors can be pushy at times, however, they are by no means aggressive; maybe persistent but the atmosphere is always friendly. Overall the people are helpful and pleasant and we are enjoying our time in Vietnam tremendously.

Next on the itinerary is Nha Trang for a day on the beach and snorkeling or diving.  

Hue, home to Nguyen emperors

We've arrived safely in Hue. What a beautiful city. We spent yesterday touring the Citadel, a beautiful walled in fortification that once housed Vietnam's emperors in the 1800s and early 1900s as Hue used to be the nation's capital. Today we rented bicycles and rode about 30 km to Ming Manh Tomb. It was a gorgeous hot day and cycling was a lovely way to see the city and surrounding countryside. Even though Axel likes to have a map at hand, the nice thing about not exactly knowing where to go is that you come across unexpected sights. Convinced we were on our way to see the first of several tombs around Hue we realized we were wrong when we found a spectacular buddhist cemetery. Similarly, we stopped at a French catholic monastery which was also not on our list. A monk named Dominique took some time and gave us a tour. Eventually and after asking for directions several times we arrived at the Ming Manh tomb built in 1840 and set in a beautiful lush park right next to the Song Huong or Perfume river. 
Once we were back in Hue City we enjoyed a nice bowl of pho together with icecold Vietnamese tea. Tomorrow, it's off to Hoi An.

Next stop - Hue

So, our last day in Hanoi has come to an end. Just got back from back Dong Xuan Market, which is Vietnam's version of the North American shopping mall. Packed to the brim with merchandise, this three-story building sells everything and more. Wandering the streets is a feast for the senses. We strolled down several streets, looking for a place to have lunch. We came across a stall full of people with an array of pots on display near the front. After getting across the message that we didn't want meat, a woman topped off a plate of steaming rice with greens, carrots and lots of tofu - all for less than $1 USD. This is but one example of the wonderful SE Asian meals we've enjoyed. We've sampled many different phos (noodle soups), yet overall, the Vietnamese cuisine is lacking a little in flavour compared to its neighbouring countries. That being said, with rice always on the menu, Netty is a happy traveller.

Tonight, we head to Hue on an overnight bus. More updates to come...

Ha Long Bay beauty

Comprised of limestone cliffs jutting out from the water, Ha Long Bay is a picturesque wonder. Although the weather was unfavourable during our visit (a little foggy and rainy), our little junk wandered the harbour along with many other tourist vessels, allowing us to take in the natural beauty of this landscape. We docked on one cliff and toured a massive cave that was discovered by a fisherman in 1993. We kayaked in the surprisingly warm waters and enjoyed a night sleeping in our own little cabin on the boat. To pass the time, our local tour guide blarred karaoke music for several hours, hoping that the tourists would join in. Karoake singing is a very popular pasttime in Asia and a fascinating spectacle to watch as they take it quite seriously. Fortunately, the music died down on time for us to enjoy our slumber.

Hanoi - Motos, pho and bia hoi

Arriving at night in Hanoi was not the easiest introduction to the city. As we approach the urban lights, we see a local woman running wildly by our bus trying to get the driver's attention. Next thing we know, she's greeting us and enticing us with a taxi to her guest house. We knew the Vietnamese were persistent, but this was over the top. In the end, she (her name is Rose) turned out to be very nice person and we're actually staying at her guest house now. After a few days at another place we reserved that wasn't as hospitable, we ended up here. Celebrating its 1000th year, Hanoi is not a city to be missed on any tour of Vietnam. It is certainly a shock to the senses after visiting a country that in its entirety has the same population as this city. The first night, we ate in children's plastic chairs at a street stall set up at the entrance to a bank after it closed. We savoured our pho (noodle soup) with our knees to our chests, just like the locals. Much of our eating experiences mirror that, with lots of rice on the menu and many interesting locales that add to the authenticity of our experience here. Drinking warm beer on the rocks is certainly an adjustment for Aki, but at $1 a pop, what's a man to do? Bia Hoi is the Vietnamese term for draught beer and it's lauded as the cheapest beer in the world. What a title! If Aki has a say, Beer Lao is still king of SE Asian beers. Playing Atari video games 20 years ago - notably that classic, "Frogger" - has finally paid off by helping us survive the motorcycle-laden streets of Hanoi. The trick is to just walk at a steady pace to cross the street while your heart races and wants to jump out of your chest as motos, cars, bikes and buses whiz by, just barely missing your precious toes. Though it's much better than Cairo, Aki and I both agree. In spite of making sure we have our wits about us when we're wandering the alleys, we really love the vibe this city gives off. We've been to the Temple of Literature, which is a Confucian sanctuary and toted as Vietnam's first university (built in the 11th century). Last evening, we went to a traditional Vietnamese water puppetry performance, very entertaining and very Asian in the live music, colour and themes. Tomorrow, we head to Halong Bay for a two-day boat tour of the spectacular limestone formations. Who knows where our plans will take us next. Wherever it is, we expect the unexpected.

Nation's capital the size of Halifax

Vientiane is not your typical skyscraper capital city. With little more than 300,000 people, it's a small urban space with manageable traffic, making it easy to get around. We've been here for three days now, which is longer than we anticipated, having been grounded by a few stomach issues plaguing Netty. We've had the opportunity to explore the city, seeing Patuxai, Vientiane's Arc de Triomphe replica. There's a sign attached to the structure claiming that it's a monster of concrete, especially up close. What a nice way to describe what is considered a tourist site. We also had the opportunity to see Laos' most important national monument, Pha That Luang.

The most memorable experience during our stay in Vientiane was by far a visit to the COPE Rehabilitation Center (www.copelaos.org). COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise. The center is one of five in Laos and provides prosthetics and orthotics to those who are victims of traffic accidents, developmental disorders, but mainly victims of UXOs (unexploded ordnances - dropped bombs that never detonated). Apparently, Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita. Between 1965 and 1976, over 260 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos (mainly the Ho Chi Minh Trail) by US Air Forces. The shocking fact is that about 30% of cluster bombs never explode on impact. Annually, 460 injuries/casualties in Laos are caused by UXOs. The center we visited has a wonderfully impactful exhibition of the effects of UXOs as well as the work this organization is doing to help any people in need of orthotics and prosthetics.

Tonight, we take a long, long bus ride to Hanoi to start our journey through Vietnam. We're not looking forward to the ride, but welcome the arrival at our next destination...

Witness to Canada's Final Gold

Yeah Canada! We watched the end of the 3rd period and overtime of the men's gold medal Olympics hockey game from an open air bar at 5 am. Technically the bat was closed and the workers were sound asleep next to us, but we saw the TV and found ESPN and voilà! Fate was on our side. We had just arrived to Vientiane following a 10-hour bus trip, had all of our gear with us and hunkered down to see the most exciting part of the game. What an incredible medal run the home nation had. Yeah!!!

The sleepy town that is Luang Prabang

We're enjoying our last day in Luang Prabang. After spending some sun-soaked days among the tourists and locals who give this town its relaxing vibe, we'll be taking an overnight bus to Lao's capital, Vientiane. Unfortunately, we'll be in transport when the gold medal men's hockey match is televised and we doubt they will show it on the bus. We're so proud of how the Canadians performed as the host country of this Olympics (oh, and the Germans were among the top, as usual). Luckily, our eyes were glued to the television when the women's hockey final was on. We found a cafe that opened at 6:30 a.m., so we could catch it live (with the time difference, it's a little challenging to see all of the events).

Two days ago, we saw the Kouang Si Waterfalls, which is about an hour's drive from Luang Prabang. It is multi-level, measuring about 60 m high and has several crystal-blue pools at the bottom where people can swim. We found a secluded swimming hole about halfway down the waterfall. We actually had to hike along one of the falls to get there, but since the water is low now, it wasn't too difficult. Where we swam, we could actually lean over the falls and see down below. You'll see Netty in one of the photos relaxing at the fall's edge. The water was a touch cold, but a refreshing break from the heat of the day. What a spectacular sight!

We also travelled to the top of Phou Si ("Sacred Hill"), which offers beautiful panoramic views of Luang Prabang. There's a temple there and many golden Buddha staues of varying sizes. We thought the photo of Axel with the buddha was very appropriate (he really likes the reclining buddhas for some reason).

The last photo in the group is one of the early morning procession of monks on their way to gather food from the local people. The food donated provides for their only meal of the day. This is a daily occurrence in all of the areas with Buddhist monks. It's a pretty amazing ritual to see dozens of men, young and old, in orange robes marching silently or chanting.

We are about to go and enjoy a freshly made coconut milk fruit shake at a local stand. Oh, it's a tough life...

50 days and counting...

So, we're exactly halfway through our 100 days in Southeast Asia. Tonight, we celebrated with a little Lao whiskey and some beer. Oh, was that ever nice!

We're in Luang Prabang, relaxing in the heat and enjoying all that this little town has to offer. It's quite touristic, but has a very quaint and classy feel. We very much like it. There's a really extensive night market here and many, many, many temples to see in such a small land area. Our six-hour long boat ride from Nong Khiaw to here on the Nam Ou River yesterday was not without its share of exciting moments. Due to low water levels, we had to get off and take a tuk-tuk for 15 minutes and re-board further down the river. We then encountered very shallow water that couldn't carry our weight, so most of us got out in the middle of the river and helped maneuver the boat to deeper waters. Oh, what fun!

The speed of the Internet systems isn't wonderful, so we've had trouble uploading photos to the blog. We'll keep trying so we can share some of the best with you.

No Rush In Nong Khiaw

Transportation in Laos is not just a means to get from A to B - it is an experience and an adventure. We took a small bus from Nam Tha to Oudomxay. The bus was so full that they had to put a lawn chair in the aisle to fit in a British tourist who measured close to two meters. The relatively short distance took more than four hours due to road conditions that make Canadian logging roads look like super highways.

We're now in Nong Khiaw enjoying the mystic limestone mountains that surround us and this small and quaint village. We have a little bungalow overlooking the Nam Ou River. We're enjoying a little rest and relaxation before heading by boat to Luang Prabang tomorrow. We explored the Tham Pha Tok Caves yesterday that were used as hideouts during the Indochina War. Despite high tourist season we only saw one other couple visiting the caves. They were quite narrow and winding and put Netty's claustrophobia to the test. Our evenings have been spent sipping mojitos made with Lao whiskey and top-notch Laobeer (apparently brewed according to a former GDR recipe).

More to come on our Laos adventures...

Trekking in Laos

With the Thailand part of our travels behind us, we've arrived in the beautiful and less touristic country of Laos. The border crossing was rather uneventful. We took a five-minute boat to cross the Mekong River, paid for our visas and Voila! Getting used to paying in Kip instead of Thai Baht has been a bit of an adjustment (8000 kip is equivalent to $1 USD). Otherwise, things are wonderful.

We just returned from a three-day trekking tour in the Nam Tha National Protected Area, which is in the northwestern part of Laos. We went on a trail that took us to two separate villages where we spent the night with local tribes. The first night, we were at a small Akha village comprised of about 20 dwellings and one small school for the children. We were welcomed by the chief of the village and his wife (we'll try and post photos soon).

Sleeping in one of the huts was a great experience. We were given blankets and thin mattresses and bug nets to sleep under. Whoever said that roosters only starting calling when the sun comes up never stayed in a village in Laos. If not the roosters, than the pigs and ducks would utter their calls at any time of day. We were treated to some local food and drink (Lao lao rice whiskey is strong stuff - 45% alcohol).

Spending time with a few of the children in the morning was one of the most memorable parts of this experience. Since we couldn't converse with each other, we used pictures in a small book to teach them some English words. It's amazing how quickly children learn.

Hiking through the jungle was pretty spectacular. We traversed many different landscapes and lots of mountainous terrain. On our second day, we swam in a beautiful waterfall. That night, we landed in a village where people from the Tai Dam tribe live. This village was more populated with about 250 inhabitants. Again, we were greeted by the village chief and his family. We also slept in his house. It was fascinating to see their basic way of life and how much it differs from our own standards. The women play a primary role in the community, contrary to many other cultures.

Our hike ended this afternoon and now we're back in the town of Luang Nam Tha. For the first time since we started travelling, the weather is pretty poor (rainy and a little chilly). We just enjoyed a hot shower and we're looking forward to sleeping in a warm bed tonight. In the next day or so, we'll head southeast towards Luang Prabang and stop at a few villages along the way.

Again, we'll try and post photos soon. Internet connections aren't very fast in some of the areas we've visited, which poses a challenge for posting images.