Hey y’all. Its been a great being back in Vancouver….actually that’s not a lie. I had the opportunity to attend Social Venture Institute at Hollyock, Cortes Island. Wow is all I can say.

Anyways, I promised some travel pictures and here they are. Click here.  You can see all my photography on my flickr account here.

If we’re not friends already we should be, thanks for following!

Well it’s over. We’re in Vancouver. My apartment looks like a bomb exploded in it, with clothes and travel accessories and goodies all over the place.  Thank god my roomate is out of town and he left the place in far superior condition than I did 2 months ago, plus he bought me milk too! What a guy.

So after catching up a little and getting alot of sleep Sander and I are going to start putting together all of the cool pictures and videos and stories and then we’ll start posting them here. Since we are a little lazy still it’s going to take us a few days ( a week maybe?) to get posting. So stay tuned and thanks for following us.

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Hello from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

We’ve spent the last few days hanging out, exploring the temples at Angkor and enjoying our last few days of traveling.

We’re staying the “Family Guesthouse” which seems to be run by a family of tuk tuk drivers who chill out most nights much like we would do back home. So we fit right in. The legal worries around certain recreational activities are a lot less strict in Cambodia (or at least a few dollars will get you out of any trouble).

Angkor Wat is pretty amazing. Huge, a monumental building task that is baffling to think about. The art and storytelling found on the walls is detailed and well worth fighting the crowds for. Yet again i cannot upload pics so stay tuned for the complete story once we get home.

Issues we’re Worried About

We leave for Bangkok tomorrow with a few worries on our minds. First, we heard that two seperate groups of Europeans were turned back at the boarder and had to return to Siem Reap. I havent got any details on why, just heard about it through the Tuk Tuk driver grape vine.

Second, Thailand has been having a major political issue for the past few days. The opposition group has led massive protests, camped out surrounding the Government Buildings and tried/accomplished taking over some TV stations. You can read about the details from the BBC here.

So tomorrow we’re going to see whats up, we have left ourself a few days to make sure we are on time for our flight home on the Sept. 2nd. Fingers crossed.

We’ll update you as soon as we make it to Bangkok. Wish us luck!

Hey there folks, it’s been awhile.

We’ve come to terms with the reality that there is just too much going on to properly protray on this blog while we’re still traveling around. So we’re planning to do a multi part series over a couple of weeks when we get back where we share all the cool experiences, videos and photos that we’ve accumulated. So stay tuned for that.

Today we left Saigon for Penom Phen Cambodia. It’s amazing the difference that a few hundrd KM can make. Cambodia reminds me alot of Laos, the city is small especially compared to Saigon, and the people are smiling and friendly. We’ve heard quite a few stories of crazy things happening here (men with AK 47 running to stop a robbery and a buddy getting mugged while on a moto) but everyone keeps telling us it’s safe. So far so good!

We met a great Tuk Tuk driver ( I never thought I would say that) and ended up having a beer with hi this afternoon. He’s going to take us around the city, to the killing fields and such) and we’re looking forward top his local knowledge. He’s a really interesting guy. So I’m sure more stories will result.

Until then, we’re going to check out the local neighbourhood and get rested up before the sightseeing tomorrow.

Until then.

Since Facebook and Flickr are not welcome on this computer (apparently they have some sort of moral opposition to allowing me to upload content here in Vietnam) and since we have a lot of time to pass , I thought I’d share a few pics right here

A Palm,
erect and steady,
a whispering watchman
protecting a sandy haven.
Bore out from its surface,
a tiny river spirals up its trunk,
separating gray flesh
from green.
Torn and forgotten,
loose skin hangs below,
as a bulge of growth explodes
erupting an emerald jungle.
A reverse hammock of reaching fingers
extend, dropping triangular tendrils
along its length,
their tips drained of life,
an aged beard.
Below, green bulbs
dimly hang throughout,
fading as time passes by.
Wind toys and tickles
sun kissed fans,
sending them into a frolicking dance
cascaded against life’s blue screen.
As Jess and I sit beneath,
we are reminded of a blonde
sometimes brunette, blonde,
and brunette blonde again goddess,
who would truly appreciate the simplistic
beauty of this prolific tree.
So here we dedicate this to you, Roz……..A Palm tree!

It’s been awhile since we’ve rocked the beach. We’ve been landlocked since our Ko Samet Thailand adventure. Well no more, we’ve had beach days at all of our last three stops, meaning a mad tan (a new birth mark like creation due to inadequet sunscreen application) and uber relaxation.

By far the best beach is in Hoi An, one of Sander and my favorite stops on our journey. Na trangm our last stop offered the best (and only?) tour we’ve been on, a boat tour.  I’ve got some great video from the shinanigans that whent on there. Snorkeling, fresh food, booze a roof top hangout and good new friends made the experience a blast. Oh and the crew takes to playing live music while passing out numerous bottles of local Mulberry wine (it starts to taste good after the first bottle!) Since others weren’t liking the wine a group of us decided to forgo the more touristy stops on the journey for drinking on the roof of the boat and lounging about. Lots of jumping off, swiming and chilling in the water, along with the drinking led to a good sunburn and an even bettter (worse?!?) hangover.

Hangover in hand we boarded a bus and have arrived in Mui Ne, an apparent surfers paridise according to Lonely Planet. Not quite how I would describe it. The beach is minimal and is completely dwarfed and blocked by a number of large resorts. I think there are more resorts than people here right now. Oh well, we’re relaxing and catching our breath before we head to Ho Chi Minh City. I’ve lined up a meeting there with the Canadian Consulate, I’ve had lots of time to think on the journey and I thought I would check out the business opportunities here. We shall see.

Well its off the bar. Catch you all later

We’ve left Hanoi, meandering our way south across the former Demilitarized Zone and into a beautiful beach oasis. The last few days have had all the ups and downs that we have now become relatively accustomed to on this journey.

We took a train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi, a small city just north of the DMZ. Since we booked our tickets late we ended up spending 12 hours in seats instead of the much more appealing sleeper car. It turned out not to be too bad, especially when compared to the 17hr hell bus ride. Apparently not too many tourists stop in Dong Hoi since we saw just 3 other foreigners and a city that was built for much more hustle and bustle than it was experiencing. Our guest house overlooked the water and fishing boats dotted the shoreline. Pretty sweet for $10 a night. After a few beers and a couple games of crib we packed it in, having to wake up at 5am the next morning.

We were planning on taking the local bus to Danang and then to Dong Hoi, however we were somewhat hurried into a mini bus by it’s sales man promising a better and quicker ride. It was quicker, but the better part was lacking. After all was said and done this guy had cramed 22 people into a 10 person mini bus (aka min van). Crazy! We made it to Danang no worse for wear.

Since Sander’s foot wouldn’t stop pussing, we decided to seek medical services. After wandering around the hospital for a good hour trying to find a phone or a doctor or even the emergency room, we had causeed quite the stir. At any given time there were 3 - 50 people staring at us or even following us around. Crazy. We finally found a nurse who spoke english, realized that this was not the place to be and luckliyfound a private clinic a few blocks away that took great care of him.

So today we are in Hoi An. It is beautiful, great food, great people and a sweet beach. I just placed an order for a few top notch suits and are about to enjoy a few beers and we nurse our ridiculous sunburns…stupid malaria pills. You all should ask sander to show you his tan lines, lets just say speedo and sun burn = hilarious.

Until next time folks!

We’re in Hanoi and it’s Crazy. We flew here with our English peeps that we seem to have the worst luck traveling with. This time what seemed like a nightmare turned out to be awesome.

More Travel Exitment

We left the sleeze hotel and lackluster sights of Vientiene and boarded a flight bound for Hanoi. It took us an hour to get to our destination, when the excitement hit. Our plan was just meters from the ground as we were landing when the pilot hit the gas and we found ourself rocketing back into the sky. The weather was apparently the shits leading us to divert course and land in Danang (about half the country south of our desitnation) we were led to a waiting ( holding pen?) area by some ridiculously short bus rides.

The mood was less than hopeful. We were kept somewhat well fed by our British friends who tapped into thier Robin Hood roots and “found” food for us. This was despite the Ravenous South Korean tour group’s attempt to hoard all of the food. Cheers.

Benefits of Aborted Landings

After a few hours we got word that our plane wasn’t moving and we were going to be put up in a hotel for a night. In the words of my dear friend Rozzy, Holla! This hotel was swank. After the prostitute infested digs we had slept in the last few nights, this was the Taj Mahal!

Unfortunately we only had a few hours to enoy the soft plush linen beds, the full power ceiling mounted shower and the satelite T.V. At 5 am the next morning we were at breakfast and then off to Hanoi, landing at 9:30, a good 14 hours after scheduled.

Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep etc.

So much noise it’s unbelieveable. Drivers dont like to look behind them here so everyone honks constanly to let other drivers know where they are. By far the best part of this city is Bia Hoi, draft beer that costs about $0.20 a glass, plus you get to sit on plastic lawn chairs on the street corner to enjoy it! It’s the ultimate in people watching!

The Plan

Given that we have only a few weeks left, we’re heading south on the Reunification Express tomorrow night for a 12 hour ride to Dong Hoi. It’s the central Vietnam City that found its’ self on the front lines of the Vietnam War. From there we’re off to Hoi An and eventually the beaches of Southern Vietnam.

Until next time! (oh and sorry for the lack of uploads, the owner of this internet cafe was very adimant that I not upload anything ” no uuuuuu sssssss bayyyy!!” no usb i think, next time folks)