Vang Vieng

We only had one night in Vang Vieng, but it was a good visit. We got picked up at our hotel in Luang Prabang and joined a group of people in a crammed minibus. This wasn't a good sign for our ride to Vang Vieng. Fortunately they were only taking us to the bus station to switch to another vehicle. After a little confusion on the driver's part, we got to where we needed to be. This minibus (or van as they like to call it), didn't have as many people. But the ride still wasn't super comfortable. It was a cheaper option and took less time, but it was still a bit crowded and definitely warm. And coming slowly down mountain roads that aren't great, makes for an interesting ride. As much as I wanted to get to our destination, we did make a pit stop for lunch and I'm glad we did. It provided a good break, and we were able to get some food. It was a hopping place and it was pumping bass, including multiple songs by J Lo. I almost thought we were at an outside club in Miami the way they were cranking the music. But then I would look around and know that I wasn't even close.

Rest stop view.

We finally made our way to Vang Vieng and of course they dropped us off at the bus station that was furthest from town. Really, they couldn't take us one more mile? A little irritating as the sole tuktuk driver wouldn't even negotiate the price. He made a lot of money for less than 10 minutes of driving. We got dropped off at our villa and it was stunning. The Nam Song River and mountains in the background was beautiful. We were right on the water and was looking forward to our short stay there. 

View from our villa.

After we relaxed for a bit, we headed out to check out the town and get dinner. Besides food, one of our priorities was also to get wine. We've been doing that everywhere we go, and of course a new town meant a new bottle. We actually ran into the couple from Toronto and got some recos of what to do. Which really was to go to one of the restaurants nearby to get dinner and watch Friends. Yes, you read that right. Watch Friends. Someone we met at some point had also mentioned these restaurants. And since Susan and I both love the show, we went for it. It was really low-key and the food was cheap and good. And why not. So we sat there enjoyed some local food and beer, and watched a mini marathon of Friends. 

Beer Lao and Friends.

We bought our bus earlier on and chose the later bus so we'd have the morning to hang out and relax. I kind of wish it was even later though. I didn't mind getting into Vientiane later. It was raining when we woke up, but it eventually stopped and we took in the view over breakfast. The clouds and mist made for some stunning scenery. 

Morning clouds.

Afterwards, we packed up our stuff and headed into town to wander a little bit and check out some other parts of the very small town. Which didn't take too long. But got some more photos on this bridge. We did have to wait patiently as scooters went over this pretty consistently. 

More stunning views.

We then ended up back at the place from the night before to relax before our bus. So we watched some more Friends over lunch and a beer before heading out of town. It would have been great to stay an extra day or 2 to just relax and wander. 

Luang Prabang

Laos was our next stop. Susan and I got to the airport in Siem Reap with plenty of time and enjoyed one last Cambodia beer. As we were finishing up, we heard the boarding announcement, and just at that time, a woman came up to ensure we heard the announcement. We assumed it would take some time for the passengers to load, so I ran to the bathroom quickly. As I was exiting, I heard Susan's name being called over the loudspeaker. Which means they were waiting for us. So I ran back to where we were sitting and we hurried to our gate. We exit the airport and make our way to the plane, at a little bit of a jog. We get on the plane and don't find many people at all on it. There was a total of 9 passengers. And they were waiting for us. Well we felt a little bad, and maybe a tad embarrassed, but then realized we were taking off much earlier than anticipated. So no worries. We took off, got some food, and had our first Laos beer in the air. 

No one in front of us.

We then landed in Pakse, Laos. We had about 2 hours, or so we thought. We figured we'd go through immigration and wait for our next flight. Well we got off the plane, were given a transfer ticket, and entered the tiniest airport waiting area. Not the tiniest I've been in, but definitely small. We determined that we'd be chilling there for a while, which we weren't too thrilled about since there wasn't much to do and see. We decided to get some beers. But as we were about to pay, they changed over the destination sign, and started to load everyone for Luang Prabang. So we got back on the plane we just got off of. We just picked up a few more passengers. I guess there was a reason why there wasn't any specifics on our layover. But we were ok with that since we arrived in Luang Prabang sooner than anticipated. And we saw an amazing sunset as we landed.

Luang Prabang sunset after landing.

Once we leave the airport, we then get ripped off. We decided to take the taxi into town as there were no tuktuks around, which was surprising. We tried to share with a couple, but they said maximum 3 people. So of course we thought we were going in a small vehicle of some sort. Nope. They pull up in a van and pile us all in there. And made more money. They even confirmed one stop. If we were paying for a taxi, then we shouldn't have had to share. I don't mind sharing. I just don't want to overpay. A short ride later, we got dropped off at the entrance to the road where our guesthouse was. We checked in, took a few minutes to decompress, and then headed out to check out the Night Market.

Night Market.

I really liked this particular Night Market. Instead of a building with stalls, it was a road that was closed off for the evening, with tents set up along the sides. They were selling a lot of the standard items I've seen elsewhere, and also local items. It was hard to resist shopping, but I've decided to wait a bit longer before I go to town on buying things. We also found some delicious food at one end of the market. We selected our food and got the price. And then told her what veggies we wanted. Once the food was ready, we went to pay and of course she tacked on extra money. Well we didn't pay since they didn't tell us it was extra, but it was still kind of sneaky. We sat down nearby and met a nice couple from Toronto. We hung out and chatted with them for quite some time. They gave us some tips and we did the same, as we are going a little bit in the opposite way. They were in Thailand, so they gave me some recos, and we advised them on Siem Reap.

Deciding on what to eat.

We wandered a bit more and then decided to check out some of the tour offerings. There were tours to Kuang Si Falls, an elephant sanctuary, and other places. We decided to think about it and come back the next morning to figure what we wanted to do. Susan really wanted to do the elephant sanctuary (which I was totally on board with), but I also wanted to be sure we had sufficient amount of time to explore Kuang Si Falls (one place was only giving an hour to explore). We decided to see if there was a good tour that would allow us a bit more flexibility. And when we came back the next morning, we did. We were going to have 2 hours with the elephants, and then 2 hours at the falls. Good compromise, and we'd back in time for the sunset on Phousi Mountain.

After some breakfast, we joined a few others in a shared minivan and headed to the elephant camp. It wasn't the Elephant Village that most tours go to, and I think this worked in our favor. First, this was much closer to the Falls, and second, it's a pretty new establishment (opened in January), so it was flexible on timing and how the morning went. When we first arrived, we got a briefing of the sanctuary over a cup of iced tea. We learned that they buy elephants from people who have captured them from the wild and have been domesticated. They wouldn't be able to survive in the wild for very long if that's where they returned. Laos now has a law that it's illegal to capture elephants, so hopefully this minimizes the number taken from their home. They currently have 14 elephants, 12 adults and 2 babies, in total in the sanctuary. We learned they eat about 250 kilos of veggies a day (this is equivalent to over 550 pounds), which is crazy.  We got to feed them, and I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't overfeeding them. So I continued to feed them the banana stalks. And feed them. 

Feeding the elephants.

After feeding them for a while, we headed up this structure to get on the elephant for a short ride through the jungle. We all got to get on our own elephant, which was great. We did a mini trek and enjoyed the beautiful views of the Mekong River and surrounding mountains. At one point, one of the elephants couldn't hold it any longer, and just had to pee. And wow did it gush out. It was kind of amazing. You know in a gross way. And I'm really glad that I was up high on my elephant. We left the massive puddle behind and continued on our way. At some point I lost Susan. She got on an elephant right after me, but my elephant was in a hurry and passed a few others. And I figured hers was taking their sweet time. Once my ride was over I was waiting for Susan to finish. But I couldn't see her. I then looked over to where the elephants were and she was feeding them. Apparently hers got a bit scared and returned to the camp. Her ride was cut short, which was a bummer. But it was made up later on.

Going for a ride.

We then headed down to the river since it was now time to bath them. The elephants were there by the time we got down the hill (Susan and I were busy taking photos). We dropped off our things and went into the Mekong to join the elephants. We were able to convince 2 others who weren't doing the bathing to take our photos. I had to hop on one, which did take some flexibility, but I made it. And then I spent some time washing the elephant. It was very cool. And I hoped the elephants enjoyed themselves. It was cooling me off for sure. After a bit more bathing, it was time to head back. Since Susan's earlier ride got cut short, she was able to ride her elephant back up to the camp, which was nice. She was thrilled to ride it bare back too. They weren't hurrying us out of there, so we fed them some more. I'm sure they had many more kilos to eat for the day. All in all, it was about 2 hours of hanging out. It was then time to head to Kuang Si Falls.

Time for a bath.

Since we were over our time, I was worried our time at the falls would be cut short, but it wasn't. We grabbed something to eat quickly at the bottom of the falls and made our way to the top. The hike was a decent one. I did it in flip flops and barefoot at some point. Not super easy, but doable. And we were rewarded with some great views. 

Top of the falls.

On the way up and the way down, we got some great unobstructed views of some of the falls. The water was so blue and falls were very pretty. We tried to hurry down the other wise when we were done at the top, but it was a little steep, so had to move slowly. Which means we didn't have much time for swimming. We really spent about 5 minutes in the water. I think if we had an extra 30 minutes, it would have been perfect. I'm glad we did the hike, but do wish we had some more swimming time. The group was waiting for us, so we had to move. 

Kuang Si Falls.

Once we got back to town, we did some more hiking, and this time went to the top of Phousi Mountain to catch the sunset. It was a bunch of steps, and not as high as our earlier hike. So not major. It was a bit crowded at the top, but we were able to catch a nice sunset. The one from the night before was better, but the views were still pretty great.

Sunset from Phousi Mountain.

We spent the rest of our evening checking out the Night Market again and eating dinner. The next day, we were heading to Vang Vieng. I got a nice morning run in along the Mekong (and saw a few other runners) and got some nice misty views. Luang Prabang is definitely a recommendation and spending another day or 2 there would have been nice. But it was time to check out our next destination.

Siem Reap

Well Cambodia has gotten the least amount of days from me, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great. I arrived in Siem Reap on Friday and we left on Tuesday. However, for one city, that was a good enough time and it was kind of amazing. The biggest attraction, or maybe the only attraction, is the Angkor Wat temple complex. Which we didn't get to until Monday, so had lots of time to explore the town and get to know the area a bit.

I arrived kind of late on Thursday and my hostel arranged for a tuktuk ride once I arrived. I think he was waiting for a while since 3 flights landed about the same time and it took some time to get through immigration. Fortunately the ride into town didn't take too long. We didn't get any food on the flight, even though it was international. I guess since it was only an hour flight? So of course I was starving by the time I checked into the hostel. I dropped off my bag and went in search of an atm. And that took some time. The first atm didn't want to give me money. I thought the 2nd one was hijacked by criminals since it completely froze and took about a minute before I could get my card out. The 3rd one didn't have any money. I went in search for a 4th and that took some time, but finally I was able to withdraw some US dollars. I decided on that instead of local currency since all costs were in USD, including the restaurants, the hostel, and even the street vendors. Finally with some money, I went in search of food. When reviewing the menus in USD, it seemed pretty cheap. But by Southeast Asia standards, quite pricey. I definitely was facing a dilemma. On one hand, seeing my home currency on menus made me realize it was pretty cheap. But I also knew I was paying double the price for food that I had been in Vietnam and even India and Sri Lanka. I was pretty hungry though, so just planted myself at a restaurant. Which happened to be a Mexican themed restaurant. And I ended up ordering Italian. Solely for the fact that I was running a 20-miler the following morning. So there I was, in Cambodia, sitting at a Mexican restaurant, eating an Italian dinner with wine from Chile. Not quite the first meal in Cambodia I expected. On my way back to the hostel, I made a pit stop at the convenience store and I thought I was at home. So many familiar brands. I tried to not go overboard, but did end up splurging on some KIND bars. I figured they would be good nutrition during my long run.

Carbo loading.

The following morning came and it was time to get in my last long run for this training cycle. And it went ok. There was some pretty brutal humidity and I was dripping wet when I finished. But the scenery was amazing and I felt good. I was definitely thirsty when I finished and may have been slightly dehydrated (but this affected me later, not during the run). My goal was to get at least 18 miles in, so was pretty pleased that I made it to 20. When I was researching where to run, I had a general idea of where I was going to go. I am not familiar with Angkor Wat at all. Or I should say I wasn't at that point. I followed along the Siem Reap River for a ways and ran through a lot of little cluster of houses. So many kids yelling out "hi" at me, which was very nice. I'm not sure if they know much more English, but I wasn't stopping to chat, so no worries. I then found myself on these dirt paths through the forest. Or jungle I guess. Which was nice and peaceful. The trails were on my MapsMe app, so I wasn't going to get lost. I figured I would end up near the various temples of Angkor Wat, but wasn't sure if I was going to see anything or even be allowed in. I eventually made it on a road with some traffic, mostly tuktuks, and pretty much followed that. I decided I would stay on that for 10 miles and worse case scenario, that would be my turnaround point. If possible though, I wanted to do some sort of loop. And I was able to. I kept going and came across a few temples. Which was kind of exciting. They weren't the well known ones (I learned later), but it was still pretty cool to see. I didn't want to linger since I had miles to get in, but also was planning on an in-depth tour with my friend. The landscape was all trees and quiet roads with various market stalls close to the temples. There were a few people giving me looks, like why is this girl running around the temples. I didn't mind, especially after I saw signs for the Angkor Wat half marathon the following weekend. I'll pretend that people assumed I was getting ready for that. I have to say that I was a little sad that I'm missing it. This is the 2nd time that I'm one week too early for a race. I haven't been able to get any races in, and doing that would have been very cool. Maybe a future vacation. I eventually made my way around the complex (I saw Angkor Wat temple from a distance), I headed back to town and wrapped up my run.

Running on some trails.

After I packed up my stuff, and sat around for a bit to recover, I decided to walk around town. I checked out the Old Market where I finally got some lunch. I wasn't feeling super great, but the food helped. It was some version of pho (or maybe that is what is was?), and even though I was sweating while eating it,  I got some more fluids and what I hope was some sodium. I also bought myself a very cute tank top with elephants on it for only $3. I think I could have gone down to $2, but I didn't negotiate hard enough. I wanted to do some Christmas shopping, but decided to wait a bit longer since I didn't want to add too much more weight to what I'm carrying. Plus, I didn't know who my Secret Santa was at that point. 

Lunch in the Old Market.

I was ready to relax, and headed to where I was meeting my friend Susan. We booked a resort type place in between town and the temples. She was flying from NYC and was arriving late afternoon. I took the downtime to organize myself and anxiously await her arrival. Our bungalow was super cute and had a little patio where I could spot her coming down the path. Once she got there, we caught up over a few drinks and dinner at the hotel. We actually met a couple from LA and spent some time chatting with them as well.

Home for a few days.

We wanted to relax a bit the next day, so decided to do the temples on Monday. We slept in and went for a run (and a little bit of a walk) nearby. Eventually we headed into town and did some shopping in the Old Market, had a few local beers, checked out the Night Market, and then got some local Khmer cuisine. As with so many of the other countries I've visited, the food has been so fresh and amazing. The food in Southeast Asia definitely has a lot of similarities so far, well at least from what I've had in Vietnam and Cambodia. They just have so local twists on the standard rice and noodle dishes. I'm definitely not complaining. 

Hanging around Pub Street and the Old Market.

After we had our fill of food and shopping, Susan and I headed back in order to get some sleep before our day of temples. Our alarms went off around 4am so we could get to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise over the temple. We hired a tuktuk for the day that was going to take us from temple to temple, from sunrise to sunset. We made our way in the dark to the ticket office and purchased our one-day pass and then headed to our first stop, Angkor Wat. We had to fight the crowds a little bit, but were able to get a good spot in the corner where we could watch the sun come up behind the temple. The reflection in the lake was well worth the early wake-up call. After the sun came up, we went and explored the complex for a couple of hours. 

Angkor Wat.

After we had our fill, we went in search of our tuktuk and found him relatively quickly among all the tuktuks milling around. After a short ride, and a quick walk through the South Gate, we got dropped off to explore the Angkor Thom complex. This included the Bayon and Baphuon Temples, and the Terraces of the Elephants and Leper King. We climbed so many steps. And some were not easy since they are so worn down and somewhat steep. But the views were well worth it. 

Bayon Temple.

We then headed off the small circuit and stopped at Preah Khan. I wasn't sure what to expect as this wasn't on the must-see list, but it ended up being pretty cool. The walls had green algae and were pink-stained, which made for some cool stones. And this was our first glimpse of the crazy trees. I still have to figure out how they grow like this. 

Preah Khan.

It was finally time for lunch. We stopped at a restaurant, as opposed to the road-side stands. Our tuktuk driver really didn't give us a choice. But since we had breakfast so early, I didn't care as long as I was getting food. And since it was so hot out, we hydrated with some coconut juice. I kind of wish I had an IV for the juice. I definitely sweated my body weight hat morning and continued to do so. 

Hydrating.

It was time to explore, what I think was one of the highlights of the day, Ta Prohm. I think it's tied with the sunrise. There were more of these crazy trees everywhere, which was so amazing. This is actually where some of Tomb Raider was filmed. And I can see why. This particular temple has been taken over by the jungle. I couldn't stop taking pictures of all the different trees. And of course some posing throughout. 

Ta Prohm.

One more tree photo and proof I was there.

I did eventually stop taking pictures of the trees, and to cap off the day, we headed to Pre Rup to watch the sunset. My camera's battery did start to die at this point, so I don't have too many photos of this particular temple. And maybe I was "templed-out". But I was ok with it. The sunset wasn't as great as the sunrise, but it was nice to catch it over the jungle. 

Hiking up more stairs at Pre Rup.

Sun going down on a great day.

It was a pretty great day. There are passes for multiple days, but I'm glad we powered through the one day. And power through we did. According to my Fitbit, we walked over 20,000 steps and 11.63 miles, and hiked up about 50 flights. All in 93 degree weather. I know there are a lot more temples we could have explored, but all the more reason to come back. And I still want to do that half marathon. 

I capped off Cambodia with a run on the trails, a dip in the pool, and some food and beer before heading to the airport. Off to Laos we go. Cambodia was a very short visit, but so worth it.

Ho Chi Minh City

I parted from Pam at the Hanoi airport. She was headed back home to Texas and I was headed off to Ho Chi Minh City. I made it there without difficulty. I actually had the entire row to myself until a father and his baby decided to switch seats. No biggie except the baby had no pants on. All I could picture is the boy having to pee and it getting all over me. Put some pants on. I mean the kid was cute but come on. I also babysat it for 5 minutes when the dad used the restroom. I had to make sure the baby didn't roll off the seat. And I was successful. 

I didn't have long in Ho Chi Minh City, and I really didn't do too much. I had a few priorities, such as get laundry done, play catchup on my scrapbook, and run some miles. It would be great to have all clean laundry at once. But it typically takes time to get it done, and I don't have enough clothes with me to wear something clean while it's being done. However, it was at least pretty cheap to get it done and it came back all dry and folded. Of course, it didn't last very long as I now have more sweaty clothes. Mostly from running, but also from walking around in the humidity.

The afternoon I arrived, I planted myself at a nearby cafe and spent some time catching up on my scrapbook. There was a guy that had noticed and said he was also behind on his scrapbook. So I felt a bit better. I'm about 10 days behind now. Well maybe more now at this point. So not too terrible, but I definitely want to catch up soon. Trying to keep close behind with my blog updates would be ideal.

The first day I arrived, I couldn't go for a run because I ran out of clean clothes and they were with someone else getting washed. But once my clothes were clean on Thanksgiving, I went for an evening run. It wasn't a Turkey Trot, but it was good to get a few miles in, even in the humidity. I ran along the canal and Saigon River, which was quite pleasant. On my run the following morning, I narrowly missed getting hit by a bus. It was a little too close for comfort and I will be paying even more attention when crossing streets. It really is no joke that lights aren't not followed here. Motorbikes usually can get out of the way, but buses are a whole other story.

Very pretty underpass by the canal.

My birthday was the first of many upcoming holidays that I'm spending abroad. Spending that somewhere fun and exotic is a good way to spend my birthday. However, with Thanksgiving usually so close behind, I knew that would be slightly different. This is the 3rd Thanksgiving away. The first was when I studied abroad in London. My flatmates and I all came together to make our Thanksgiving dinner after we finished classes. And since it wasn't a holiday in the UK, we went out to the bars that night. A few years ago, my sisters and I were in Portugal and the family that hosted us made Thanksgiving dinner and it was a very suitable replacement. Warmer than most years, and my sisters were with me that time.

This year, no family, and pretty far from home where no one really knows what Thanksgiving is. It definitely wasn't a typical holiday for sure. Fortunately for me, every day is like a holiday for me. On this particular day, it was the only opportunity that I had to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. Going to see where Vietnamese soldiers tried to kill American soldiers on Thanksgiving was a little weird. But it was interesting to see the other side of the war. I obviously wasn't alive during the Vietnam War and I can't say what side I would have supported. I am glad that my dad and uncles were all too young to be drafted though. Otherwise, my experience may have been slightly different. So I spent a couple of hours with my tour group seeing the various traps and tunnels the Viet Cong had used. The tunnels have been made bigger in order to fit tourists, but even so, they can be very claustrophobic. I went into 2 different tunnels, but only for a short distance and it was fine. But I can't imagine living down there and using the tunnels to get around. At the end of the tour, there was a video that we watched. We had sat down part of the way through it, but I didn't need to see the beginning. They called Americans 'devils' and all we did was kill their children. Not biased at all. I didn't need to see the first part. But we did. I honestly probably zoned out. Of all the time I was in Vietnam, that was the only instance of clear dislike of Americans. But it was from a video that was made decades ago from the looks of it. So I'll let it go. I had also heard the War Remnants Museum was very biased, but I didn't get a chance to visit it. 

The tunnels.

After getting our fill, we headed back to Ho Chi Minh City. Since it was Thanksgiving, I got my run and then hung out with a German girl I met in the hostel. We went to grab dinner (not turkey and stuffing) and some cocktails. Which were quite yummy. She also humored me while I went to get pumpkin pie. The one Thanksgiving item I had. I was a little skeptical, but it ended up being pretty delicious. 

Pumpkin pie in Vietnam.

We headed to a nearby bar, where all the Westerners hang out, and got a few beers. And people watched. That's one of the things that's great about Vietnam, all the people watching. So many times where Pam and I, or just I, sat on the sidewalk on tiny stools and took in all the motorbikes and people. Very entertaining. 

Bars galore.

I really enjoyed Vietnam. Hanoi was a great city. People were really nice. Loved all the motorbikes, even though there were a few near misses. I would go back and see more of the country, but glad I made the time to see what little I did. 

Next stop: Cambodia. 

Halong Bay

After spending a few days in Hanoi, it was time for Pam and I to head to Halong Bay. We both got our runs in, mine obviously for marathon training, and hers for her exercise streak, which was day 100! Way to go. We enjoyed our runs with fellow runners, walkers, and all the older women dancing. All at 6:30am. Love it. 

After packing, eating breakfast, and checking out, we boarded our bus to Halong Bay. I booked a tour through the hotel and was given several price points to choose from. Essentially the more money you paid, the nicer it would be. I decided on a mid-range point and hoped I made a good decision. If it was only me, I would put up with whatever it ended up being and learn from it. But since my friend was with me, I was a little nervous and hoped it was good. And I have to say, it ended up being great.

After about 4 hours on the bus, which included a rest stop at a massive tourist shop, we got on a small boat which took us to the big boat. We were happy to see that it looked clean and the food was yummy. We ate a very delicious lunch all while enjoying a Halong Bay beer as we made our way into Halong Bay. And it was beautiful. Although the haze and clouds definitely downplayed it a bit. We had 3 days in total, so we hoped it would get nicer. 

Hazy Halong Bay.

Once we had our fill on lunch, we made our first stop on the boat at Hang Sung Sot, a cave on one of the many islands. There were about 15 of us on the boat, which was a very manageable number as we did our various activities. Our guide, Peter, was pretty great and we had him for all 3 days and led us everywhere. Very enthusiastic and even though it took some time to understand him, pretty funny as well. We took the small boat to the caves and made our way through the various chambers, each getting bigger than the last. And each one more impressive than the last. 

One of the cave chambers.

After we had our fill of the cave and got some spectacular views of the area, we officially checked in on the boat. We were happy to find we had clean living arrangements, and I was excited to sleep on a boat. We made our way to where we were docking for the evening and went kayaking for a bit. Pam and I went into one of the coves, hoping to spot a monkey, with no luck. But we enjoyed being out on the water, even though I did want to go swimming. Apparently there were large jellyfish, so we weren't allowed. At least not there. 

Kayaking Luon Cave.

The food continued to be amazing and we chatted with our fellow passengers from Europe and Australia. A lot of boats advertise themselves as party boats, and in my old age, I wasn't interested in staying up all night and getting wasted. So I'm very happy that we found a good mix of people to hang out with and drink with, but also go to bed at a reasonable hour. So there wasn't any karaoke, but maybe another time. 

All about display.

The following morning, we got up early to eat breakfast, and make our way to Ti Top Island. This is where we did a small hike and went for a swim. It was a fairly quick stop, but instead of choosing between the 2, a lot of us chose to do both. Work up a sweat and then go for a swim (where there weren't any jellyfish apparently). 

View from Ti Top Island.

We got back on the boat and got ready to check out. There were 4 of us, including Pam and myself, that were headed to Cat Ba Island. We took the small boat to the island, got on a bus, and joined another group of people. We were glad to see that Peter was joining us. We made our way to Cat Ba National Park where we had a bit more strenuous hike ahead of us. Nothing that Pam and I couldn't handle, but for those who partied too much the night before, it would be a challenge. We climbed all the stairs and were rewarded with some amazing views. We couldn't even see the sea, which was amazing. The island was much bigger than I expected. I also rewarded myself with a post-hike beer. 

Made it to the top. 

The fun wasn't over yet. After lunch and checking into our hotel, Pam and I decided to check out the monkeys on Monkey Island. We read TripAdvisor reviews and had an idea of what to expect. Our expectations were met. The first thing we see when we arrive is a monkey stealing a banana from a small child (who, to the monkey's credit, was bigger than the monkey). And right after that, another monkey took off with a man's pringles. These monkeys weren't nice monkeys. I mean, I guess when humans are antagonizing them all day, they will get aggressive. I swam for a little bit, but I didn't want to leave our stuff unattended. The monkeys would probably run off with my purse. 

Keeping an eye on the monkey (that's not my stuff). 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We watched the sun go down and had another delicious meal. Oh and drank our Vietnamese wine that we bought at the tourist shop. It was ok. I figured I had to try it. 

The following day was probably the best day. Mostly since it was my birthday. I'm now a year older. And it was pretty cool to spend it in Vietnam doing a lot of my favorite things. And to have Pam there. We started off with a run around Cat Ba. Then made our way back to the boat where we had a spring roll lesson and had lunch. And of course had some birthday beverages. 

Concentrating. 

Unfortunately, I did have to spend a few hours on a bus for my birthday. But I decided to nap a bit. We made it back to Hanoi in no time and continued to enjoy our last day in Hanoi. The hostel we stayed at surprised me with a birthday cake, which was so sweet of them. There's absolutely no reason they had to do that, but it just goes to show the hospitality of the country. I first thought Pam put them up to it, but then we figured they had my passport and knew. Regardless, it was so nice, and I got cake on my birthday! 

Birthday cake. 

After devouring the cake (we shared with others), we made our way out to do a little bit of shopping, drinking cocktails, eating bahn mi, and getting ice cream (yes, more dessert). All in all, a pretty great birthday. It would have been nice to celebrate with family and friends, but so thrilled that Pam was able to celebrate with me. And it feels like my birthday every day. 

Hanoi

I made it to Vietnam. And I'm a fan. People compared Hanoi to Delhi, but I don't see the comparison. Yes, it's also a very busy city and yes, you need to always be on the lookout when walking and crossing streets as there are motorbikes everywhere. But it's way cleaner, men aren't pissing on the side of the streets and hocking loogies, and people that are trying to sell you things are not in your face constantly. So it's sort of a relief to be here.

I only have about a week here unfortunately. I met some people in India that had driven a motor bike from one end of the country to the other. Which sounded kind of amazing. I'd like to think I'm adventurous, but it sounded a bit daunting. But seeing so many people on their motorbikes in Hanoi would give me a little bit of confidence. Although trying to avoid an accident would get a bit stressful. Well I'm not driving from one end of the country to the other, but I will be enjoying my short stay here as much as possible.

Parking lot for the motorbikes.

I thought about doing a day trip from Hanoi and there were some good options, but I was just too tired from 2 days of overnight travel. And unlike Delhi, I can find a lot of places to camp myself at, people watch, and take it all in, all while enjoying a cold beverage. I'm staying at a nice place in the Old City. It's called a hostel, but definitely more along the lines of a hotel. Maybe the name was lost in translation. I did have to switch rooms after the first night since they technically upgraded me the first night, but it worked out since my friend Pam was joining me!

Flower petals to welcome me.

The first thing I did when I arrived, was go get food. And I was successful in getting a yummy bahn mi, a baguette style sandwich. I also had to try some local beer, which actually turned out to not be local. It was Tiger and from Singapore. Oh well, since I'm not planning on going there, I'll at least drink the beer. I did end up trying some actual Vietnamese beer later on.

Bahn Mi 25.

I also found a super cute cafe, called Post-It Note. There were post-it notes all over the place. It was pretty great. I enjoyed a refreshing lemon juice (lemonade?) and tried to cool off a bit. I also was taking advantage of having a place to sit down and chill for a while. There haven't been too many of those recently and I took advantage. 

Post-it notes everywhere.

Running in Hanoi is also enjoyable. There's Ho Hoan Kiem less than half mile from the hotel, and another, much larger lake in the opposite direction about the same distance. There weren't as many people out running, but since there are so many walkers, and other people doing some sort of exercise, it's nice to be out there. There are so many groups of older women stretching, doing exercises, and dancing. It's amazing. The smaller lake is about 1 mile around, but that wasn't going to be enough for my long run. So I made my way to the much larger West Lake, which was around 8 or 9 miles around. Which is kind of crazy when you think that it's in the middle of a city. And there's a path and road all around it. At one point it did break off into another smaller lake and I got turned around, but a transplant from Mississippi got me in the right direction. 

Ho Hoan Kiem.

On Saturday, Pam arrived! So exciting. I love traveling by myself and have met so many great people. But so thrilled to have a friend join me for a part of my trip. She came in from China from her work trip, so luckily it was a short flight and she wasn't jet-lagged (or at least didn't seem like it). We spent the afternoon catching up on a cute balcony overlooking a busy street with some beverages. So not only did a friend come visit, but she brought me items that I ordered from home. Most importantly my phone. Boy am I glad I have a small handheld device again. Of course I had to download all my apps, but I'm happy to have a working phone again.  

Catching up.

We spent some time wandering around Hanoi and eating. And people watching. Hanoi is a great spot to people watch. You pull up a tiny stool or chair wherever you may be getting food, whether it's pho or ice cream, and sit back and relax. 

People watching.

Next stop is Halong Bay.