Sunday, September 27, 2009
Going South..
Access to the internet has been brief and unreliable, which should explain the lack of posts. I don't even know if this post will make it up, but I thought I would try. We spent a few amazing days relaxing in the beach down of Danang, off a little road that led to a beach in a guesthouse with communal, "family" dinners. After adventures with storms, no electricity, and meeting a lot of people, we are on the road again. Now, we are continuing south and today are heading into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and then from there will go to the Mekong Delta and over to Cambodia. I will try and write more as the internet is available, but Vietnam is a country that is developing rapidly and so tropical and beautiful..It has been quite the trip so far!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Quick Post
Hey all...the internet is amazingly slow again this morning, one of the perks of traveling overseas, but I thought I would just post real quickly.
After walking around the city for nearly 5 hours yesterday, we have grown to really enjoy Hanoi with all of the scooters, horns, people selling stuff on the streets, lakes, and all that it has to offer. The city is a real 'hustle and bustle', and always on the move. It was nice to relax a bit last night and just sit back and watch the people and the city move around us.
Later today, we are heading southeast to a town called Ninh Binh (said, Ning Bing). It is supposed to be a lot smaller of a town, surrounded by rice paddies and limestone cliffs, so says my Lonely Planet guidebook. I will let you know what it is like once we are there! We plan to rent bicycles and just spend the day seeing and being in the town and interacting with locals and the area. I am very excited to see the smaller, country, side of Vietnam.
That's all from me now. Talk to you again soon.
After walking around the city for nearly 5 hours yesterday, we have grown to really enjoy Hanoi with all of the scooters, horns, people selling stuff on the streets, lakes, and all that it has to offer. The city is a real 'hustle and bustle', and always on the move. It was nice to relax a bit last night and just sit back and watch the people and the city move around us.
Later today, we are heading southeast to a town called Ninh Binh (said, Ning Bing). It is supposed to be a lot smaller of a town, surrounded by rice paddies and limestone cliffs, so says my Lonely Planet guidebook. I will let you know what it is like once we are there! We plan to rent bicycles and just spend the day seeing and being in the town and interacting with locals and the area. I am very excited to see the smaller, country, side of Vietnam.
That's all from me now. Talk to you again soon.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
And I thought China had a lot of scooters!
We made it to Hanoi...2 trains, 2 buses, and a few interesting moments later, we are here! It is definitely rainy season, misting most of the day which makes it nice and muggy, but we are here and are so excited to be here. We found a good place to stay last night, managed to barter this morning to keep staying here for $2 cheaper and now breakfast included! That means room and breakfast is totaling $10USD a night. Can't beat that.
We have spent most of last night and tonight just wandering around. The area we are staying in is the Old Quarter of Hanoi, so there are a lot of small streets, tons of toy stalls, and a million and a half scooters! I thought China had a lot of scooters, but I had never been to Hanoi!
We will be staying in Hanoi for the next two nights, and then maybe heading north to the villages of the Hmong people in Sapa or south, depends on our budget, we will see.
Hope you are all doing well, and we will definitely be enjoying Hanoi for you!
We have spent most of last night and tonight just wandering around. The area we are staying in is the Old Quarter of Hanoi, so there are a lot of small streets, tons of toy stalls, and a million and a half scooters! I thought China had a lot of scooters, but I had never been to Hanoi!
We will be staying in Hanoi for the next two nights, and then maybe heading north to the villages of the Hmong people in Sapa or south, depends on our budget, we will see.
Hope you are all doing well, and we will definitely be enjoying Hanoi for you!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
First Off:
Hey! I hope all of you are doing well and watching all of ASU’s college football games for me, as I am definitely missing it … for some strange reason the games aren’t broadcasted over here!
In case you didn’t know, most social networks are blocked in China, and therefore it is almost impossible to post a blog. So, I figured that I would send out a little newsletter of sorts to update you guys on what is new with me. However, it looks like I will be getting blog back sooner rather than later, so go ahead and check there for stories, pictures and updates.
The Old Plan:
Well, as most of you knew, I was supposed to be living in Shenzhen, China, for the next 10 months or so, teaching English to Chinese children.
However, as most things in life continually do, things changed. The job turned out to be an entirely different job to what I had committed to before hoping on the plane...and paired with a variety of other factors, it wasn’t the job or city for me. I will no longer be living in China, instead I will be going back to Portland to soak up some time with my parents, friends, and homely comforts, before joining the Peace Corps in June.
China really is an amazing place, and I will miss the culture and the people a lot. Genuinely, if you ever get the chance, do visit, and soak up and experience all that is the Chinese way and the Chinese culture.
The New Plan:
I am sure you have all heard the expression ‘When in Rome’, well, I would like to
replace Rome with Southeast Asia. I am sure at some point when I have talked to any of you, I have mentioned my love for Southeast Asia and my desires to backpack throughout this region. Well, it seems that the time has come! “When in Southeast Asia”! Since I am heading back to America, and then it seems, heading onto Africa, I am making one last trip!
On Monday, we will head out and take the train from Shenzhen to Hanoi, Vietnam. From there, we will spend the next 5 weeks backpacking south down the coast of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City and through the Mekong Delta and then head west to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and visit the Angkor Wat temples in Northern Cambodia, and then go to Bangkok to fly back to Shenzhen as cheaply as possible.
I am so excited for this trip...it has always been a dream of mine to trek from
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. And, after spending the last few weeks dreaming and researching, I couldn’t be more excited to go. For all the ‘parents’ out there...we will be careful, we will be smart, we will take pictures and we will have fun, so there is no need to worry!
The Blog:
I am really hoping that I will be able to post blog updates while we are out on the road. I have no doubts that I will be learning a ton about myself and the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples and cultures, and I would love to share that on the blog...I can’t make any promises about internet cafes though! Check there if you are interested, otherwise, I am sure you will be hearing from me when I get back home! :)
Hope you are all well...much love.
Hey! I hope all of you are doing well and watching all of ASU’s college football games for me, as I am definitely missing it … for some strange reason the games aren’t broadcasted over here!
In case you didn’t know, most social networks are blocked in China, and therefore it is almost impossible to post a blog. So, I figured that I would send out a little newsletter of sorts to update you guys on what is new with me. However, it looks like I will be getting blog back sooner rather than later, so go ahead and check there for stories, pictures and updates.
The Old Plan:
Well, as most of you knew, I was supposed to be living in Shenzhen, China, for the next 10 months or so, teaching English to Chinese children.
However, as most things in life continually do, things changed. The job turned out to be an entirely different job to what I had committed to before hoping on the plane...and paired with a variety of other factors, it wasn’t the job or city for me. I will no longer be living in China, instead I will be going back to Portland to soak up some time with my parents, friends, and homely comforts, before joining the Peace Corps in June.
China really is an amazing place, and I will miss the culture and the people a lot. Genuinely, if you ever get the chance, do visit, and soak up and experience all that is the Chinese way and the Chinese culture.
The New Plan:
I am sure you have all heard the expression ‘When in Rome’, well, I would like to
replace Rome with Southeast Asia. I am sure at some point when I have talked to any of you, I have mentioned my love for Southeast Asia and my desires to backpack throughout this region. Well, it seems that the time has come! “When in Southeast Asia”! Since I am heading back to America, and then it seems, heading onto Africa, I am making one last trip!
On Monday, we will head out and take the train from Shenzhen to Hanoi, Vietnam. From there, we will spend the next 5 weeks backpacking south down the coast of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City and through the Mekong Delta and then head west to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and visit the Angkor Wat temples in Northern Cambodia, and then go to Bangkok to fly back to Shenzhen as cheaply as possible.
I am so excited for this trip...it has always been a dream of mine to trek from
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. And, after spending the last few weeks dreaming and researching, I couldn’t be more excited to go. For all the ‘parents’ out there...we will be careful, we will be smart, we will take pictures and we will have fun, so there is no need to worry!
The Blog:
I am really hoping that I will be able to post blog updates while we are out on the road. I have no doubts that I will be learning a ton about myself and the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples and cultures, and I would love to share that on the blog...I can’t make any promises about internet cafes though! Check there if you are interested, otherwise, I am sure you will be hearing from me when I get back home! :)
Hope you are all well...much love.
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