We spent 2 days and a night cruising on Halong Bay (about 150k outside Hanoi).
It was especially scenic, and we had such a splendid time of it, that I thought I’d share some photos.

We arrived in Hue this afternoon and are working our way south to Saigon (HCMC). Should be there in a week or so.
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So we are totally communists now. It only took a few days for them to get to us, but the magic formula has done it’s trick. I think our arrival on “election day” sealed the deal. The whole town is decked out with hammer & sickle flags (and the red and yellow Vietnamese flag), and they pipe patriotic voting music into the streets. Even though the results of the election were decided days ago, they take this voting stuff seriously. It’s mandatory in fact.

Determined to be good communists, Elyse and I have already paid homage to Uncle Ho. We observed his 50 year-old dead body bathed in an erie orange light, and we filed through the mausoleum along with troops of local school kids.
We also took in a waterpuppet show at the official state sanctioned theatre. It was excellent.

I’ve included some shots of the crumbling old French architecture of Hanoi’s old quarter. I’ve taken a ton more and look forward to touching them up when I get home. Here’s a preview. Enjoy.
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Some more photos of the last few days. I apologize about the image quality and orientation but bandwidth and software are issues here.

We checked out the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Revolutionary Museum this afternoon, killing time as we await our flight to Hanoi. It was an interesting experience, definitely providing a different perspective on the wars in indochina ’54-’75.

Anyway, these “American Imperialist Agressors” are outa here in few hours and on our way to Vietnam for 3 weeks. Wish us luck!

Jeff & Elyse

Some friends we met along the way.

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We survived the long and painful trip down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang. It was a 2 day journey aboard a renovated cargo boat, stopping in a small isolated village for the night. The trip was worth the discomfort, the views from the boat were amazing, and we had some solidarity with other backpackers. The picture below is of a typical village we passed on the way, and another cargo boat stopping at the same time.

We were treated to an incredibly powerful thunderstorm the night we stayed in Pakbeng village enroute. I’m wondering if it was just a taste of the coming monsoons. We spent the following 4 nights in Luang Prabang, enjoying the small French Colonial town and some nearby villages. Tomorrow we head to the capital Vientienne before flying to Hanoi where we’ll start our 3-week exploration there.

Internet access speeds are 14k at best, so it’s a pretty dismal process checking email etc. I’ve been taking tons of photos though and will upload whenever bandwidth permits.

Elyse and I have spent the last week in Chiang Mai participating in the week-long Songkran new year festival. We arrived here early saturday from Bangkok, and are slowly acclimating to the craziness. It’s basically a 7 day waterfight centered on the moat around the old city. An infusion of chinese made squirt guns in the last few years has transformed the traditional Buddhist commemoration of the new year into a no-holds-barred assault on dryness. No matter who you are, what you’re doing, or where you’re going, there is some grinning little Thai kid sniping you long range from the back of a passing pick-up.
If you go anywhere near the canals you’re toast. Thats where throngs of young Thais hang out with oil drums of canal water and ice to hurl at anyone passing by. It’s pretty entertaining to watch a moped go by (with 4 passengers armed with squirt guns) and get blasted from both sides of the street.

We can’t walk 10 feet from our guest house without some little old lady sneaking up behind and pouring a bucket of icewater over our heads. Our daily routine basically consists of being wet until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then taking showers and venturing out again once the mayhem has subsided a bit. At night the streets are closed to cars and have been turned into night markets for food and handicrafts. The food is great, but I have no idea what any of it is. Elyse wasn’t up for trying grub or grasshopper, but my offer is still on the table (I said I’d try one if she did).

Our time in Chiang Mai has gone fast, our days and nights have been packed with revelry. Tomorrow we’re off on a 2 day journey by bus and boat to Luang Prabang in Laos. I’ve been told it’s comparable to a Chiang Mai of 60 years ago, so I doubt I’ll have internet access until Hanoi.

-Jeff

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We’ve survived the trip here (17 1/2 hours in the air) and our first full day in Bangkok (100F, smog, insane traffic…). We got in very late last night, but everything goes late here, it’s the only time you can move about without sweating profusely. We ended up in the backpacker mecca of Kaosan Rd by default because we were intending on getting out of here ASAP. After making travel arrangements today, however, it looks like we’ll be here till friday. That’s ok, Bangkok grew on us today. We explored by foot and tuk-tuk, were befriended by natives, and saw some pretty unique sights.

Some highlights:
-Praying to Buddha at the ‘Lucky Buddha’ Wat (temple).
-Checking out some martial arts displays that were part of a series of Thai cultural demonstrations that coincide with the holidays.
-A tuk-tuk tour of some lesser known Wats.
-Excellent street food. 50cent pad thai…

Next on the agenda is a bus ride north to Chiang Mai where we’ll celebrate the Thai New Year. We’ll be there for almost a week before heading east into Laos, taking a 2 day boat ride down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang.

I’ll try and update again after a few days in Chiang Mai. Hope everyone is well!

-Jeff
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Elyse and I are out of here Monday morning. We’re flying to Bangkok via Narita (Tokyo), and from there will be following a clock-wise route through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and back to Thailand. This is the plan at the moment, but things change. Visas, transportation, and unforseen opportunities will undoubtedly steer us in other directions.

I’ll attempt to post a photo or two here on occasion, but local bandwidth and software issues may conspire against me. At the very least I’ll post brief updates on our whereabouts and evolving plans. Goodbye everyone!

-Jeff