Indonesia

Our flight got into Indonesia late last night, kind of weird to fly again. Haven't seen much yet, but the temples have been replaced by mosques, and the straw hats replaced by hijabs. A lot to see and do here, just have to try form some sort of plan now...

Goodbye Vietnam

Hoi An was probably my favorite city on our trip so far. It's slow pace, combined with great food and interesting architecture, made it really easy to just get lost wandering around town all day eating. Probably a good thing we left though because if I stayed there and ate like I was I probably wouldn't fit into my new clothes when I come home. Yesterday we took the 24 hour sleeping bus ride to Saigon, which was made bearable with a stop at the pharmacy before departure, and today we leave Vietnam for Jakarta. I thought that the countries we have been in so far have had a lot of people, but Tyler informs me Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world. Should be interesting. Once again don't know quite what to expect, but excited for something new.

Gentlemen's Quarterly

We've been having a great time in Hoi An. A little rainy at first but the sun has come back out again. We have been doing lots of good eating, and after two fittings our clothes will be ready to ship back home tomorrow before we hop on the bus to Saigon. I'm a big fan of custom tailored clothes. After seeing how dapper I looked in my peacoat I might not be able to shop any other way...

Hoi An

Made it safely to Hoi An early this morning. A quaint little river town not to far from the sea, and full or tailors. Ordered some custom tailored suits and pea coats and have to go back tomorrow for our first fitting. It is supposed to rain for the next few days so not much to do outside of that, and eat of course.

Heading North

The Jungle Beach Resort was very relaxing and a great place for a mid-trip mini vacation. Spent most of our time here laying around in hammocks and on the beach. Did make it up to the waterfall a couple times and went for a small hike in the jungle in search of monkeys. They served good family style meals here, and we met a good group of other travels. Ready to move on again we are heading north to Hoi An tonight on a night bus and will arrive sometime tomorrow morning. Supposed to be a good city for tailors and food. James Bond suit here I come!

Jungle Beach

Made it out to Jungle Beach Resort yesterday afternoon. It's a very interesting place, ramshackle comes to mind, but it's got everything we need. Beach, mountains, few tourists, old tattered beach toys, and of course a pack of dogs. We're staying in a bamboo bungalow right next to the beach, which is very undeveloped and has very few people on it. The resort, and the small town near here, are surrounded by a large nature preserve for the black-shanked douc langur. We will stay here for a few days mostly lying around, and maybe spend a day searching for the langurs.

Valentines

Hit a bit of a rough patch here on the Asia adventure. First our motorbike dreams were squashed. Seems everyone wants to rent you a motorbike until they realize you want to leave town with it. With that no longer an option we were forced back to the busses to move on to our next destination of Nha Trang. Wasn't the end of the world, however when we got there every room in town was booked for Tet, the New Years celebration that never ends. After wandering around checking every guesthouse, a taxi driver took us 5 km out of town and we finally found a place. After a very long day I could finally lay down next to my Valentine Tyler, waa waa... Oh did I forget to mention that this whole time I have uncontrollable diarrhea and crippling stomach cramps, ya super fun.
Time passes though, and thanks to my super expensive traveler meds from the clinic, things seems to be getting better. I had a solid BM today, and tomorrow we head to Jungle Beach Resort. It's an all inclusive eco-resort type place, which should make a good change of pace from the crowded beaches of Nha Trang. All in all things could have gone much worse and I'm very happy to be back wandering the Vietnamese coast.

Wind Fun

Had a great couple of days enjoying the windy beaches of Mui Ne. I Rented a windsurfer yesterday and had a great time out on the water in the morning. I went back out when the waves and wind had picked up in the afternoon and realized the limits of my windsurfing skills. After being somewhat frustrated, and hearing of Tyler's fun day of learning to kite, I knew what I had to do today.
This morning I spent three hours learning the ropes with my instructor Angelo, quite the character. Most of the time was spent dragging myself at a rate of knots through the ocean, once to the point of vomiting, but in the end I got the hang of it and had a couple great rides. Think I may have found a new addiction.
Tomorrow we are going to leave here and head up the coast. We have two weeks before we need to be back in Ho Chi Minh to catch our flight to Indonesia. Being sick of the busses, we decided to get some mopeds and see Vietnam that way. The perfect fit really because I've never seen so many damn mopeds in my entire life. They seem to be the way to get around here as long as u remember to honk your horn at least every 5 seconds.

Mui Ne

Made it safely to Mui Ne. Probably spend a couple days windsurfing and go from there. Very nice to be at the beach.

Happy New Year

The lunar year has ended, and everyone is celebrating New Years over here for the next three days.
Yesterday in Phnom Phen started out with a disappointing visit to the Vietnamese Embassy where we learned that it would be closed for New Years until he 13th. Our Tuk Tuk driver saved the day and took us to a place where luckily we were able to have our passports sent out and get our visas after all. After that we went to a Khmer Rouge genocide museum. It was an old school that they had converted into a prison and torture center where they killed some 14,000-20,000 men, women, and children. Now it's a neatly groomed courtyard with frangipani trees, and yet another reminder of my good fortune. We spent the rest of the day eagerly wandering around the city awaiting our trip to Vietnam.
Today we arrived in Ho Chi Minh city and it is quite different than anywhere we have been yet. Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia reminded me a lot of a kind of Asian Mexico. Getting off the bus in this city today was like all of a sudden being dumped in Southern California. Very classy place. Tomorrow we head for Mui Ne for some ocean time, which now seems long overdue.

Phnom Phen

Made it to Phnom Phen today after a bus ride that dragged on a few hours more than it maybe needed to. That compounded with the local children across the aisle vomiting everywhere, and an ever present wafting of urine, and I'd say that I might finally be over Asian bus rides.
Phnom Phen is the usual zoo, but I have become accustomed to the larger cities and can look past all that to enjoy the place. Tomorrow morning we head to the Vietnamese Embassy first thing to get our visas. We will spend one more evening in the city and then its gonna be a beeline to the coast. Not quite sure where we will end up, but after a long hot dusty month in the jungles and cities, the ocean is all that's on my mind anymore.

And to anyone curious on why I can post so much, the following picture should give a hint to the amount of WiFi here. Certainly more than I'm used to at home.

One Month Down

Our second day at Angkor Wat was just as amazing as the first. I now realize why people come from all over the world to see this place, many of them even getting seven day passes! We of course saw many more temples, and what they called the Queen's temple, which was the most ornately decorated and well preserved of them all. Every square inch exquisitely carved in a more durable stone than most of the other temples.
Tyler spent the third day of our pass biking around the temples in the blistering heat, which I opted out of for many various reasons. I instead found a nice pool and worked on my lizard skills. Tomorrow we head to Phnom Phen, and the only thing I'm really expecting is to be overwhelmed.
Excited to be back on the road again.

I knew I forgot something.....

Good thing I didn't bring all my hand grenades over here.

Angkor Wat

The temples of Angkor Wat are truly unbelievable. More temples covering more area than I could ever imagine, and all with so much detail. Makes every other temple/ruin I've seen look like child's play. Have another whole day of temples tomorrow, hard to believe there's more to see...

Siem Reap

Upon first impressions I am pleasantly surprised by Cambodia. Though I didn't have much to go off besides the random murmurings of other tourists, and the more tourists I meet the more I realize they are mostly a helpless bunch of ninnys.
The countryside seems to be less developed than in Laos and Thailand, and they still use oxen on the the farms here as opposed to the diesel versions used in the other countries (ill try get a picture, hard to explain.)
Siem Reap is a very beautiful city, maybe my favorite so far. It seems more modern, clean, and organized than other cities we have been to. Police and crash helmets are a common sight here and that has not been the norm. So far all the people we have met have been very nice and good English is more common here than anywhere yet. Here we have definitely gotten more of the in your face, "what u want mister?", but it's not as pushy as it was in Thailand. Tomorrow we are going to Angkor Wat early for sunrise at the temples, and because Tyler and I haven't adjusted to the heat quite yet. I think I sweat more today lounging around town than I did all last summer combined.

SaBaiDee and Goodbye

Have had a wonderful time in Laos, but with our energy recharged and being antsy to move forward, it's time to leave and head for Cambodia. Our first stop will be Siem Reap, and the famed temples of Ankor Wat, which is only one short 16 hr bus ride away.
It will be sad to leave Laos because I've grown quite fond of it. There are a lot less people here than in Thailand, and the people here seem to be more genuinely interested in you. The country as a whole has a very rural culture centered around the family farm. I think this plays a big part in how warm and welcoming the people are here. As well, Laos was also home to the only big city that I have really enjoyed, Luang Prabang. Remember this is coming from a guy that doesn't like cities. However, the realities of city life, pollution/trash/hoards of people, are much more in your face in Asia.
I'm glad to have seen Laos when I did because its apparent that Laos is on the brink of a large boom in development, and from what I have seen in Asia, it could go in any direction. Loas has great potential to be a Eco- Tourism hot spot, but who am I to say what Laos needs.
Can't wait to get moving again.

Reboot

Don Dhet is a great place for us to do some relaxing. There are not many options for activities here other than napping, lounging in the sun, and eating and drinking in excess. Probably spend one more day lounging around, before heading to Cambodia for more adventures in the jungle. It is nice to be around a lot of other travelers for a change and hang out with some other English speakers, however it will be a good change to get back off the beaten track again.