Catching up on the last long while

OK, so this is the third time I'm attempting to write this blog entry. The first time the computer froze just after I'd finished writing it, and the second time I couldn't finish because we were about to get on a bus, SO this third go is going to be short and chunks of stuff will be omitted, because at this point I just can't be bothered.


The half moon party on Ko Phangan was lacking in that it didn't meet its reputation. This was most likely because it was raining so very much (the day after we left they shut down the airport due to flooded runways). We decided to go full out anyways, and nearly ridding the local store of its Thai Red Bull supply, ingredients unknown and unmonitered, we headed to the party in the forest like animals to Noah's ark. And I have to say wearing a plastic bag was actually quite fun. Somewhere along the line I lost my flip-flops in a brown river of rain. This didn't phase me at the time, but had I known this would lead to me buying rip-off Birkenstocks in Bangkok which in turn caused my left foot's arch to swell and blister, I think I would have tried harder not to lose them. Anyways, it was a good way to say goodbye to Ian and Lydia before we meet again in Bangkok.


Hanoi in Vietnam was stellar, with heaps of personality, but for a few days the only thing I associated with it was its overabundance of motorcycles. The thin streets are always full of them and there is never a silence as instead of using traffic lights, people just honk loudly every few seconds to let you know they'll hit you if you don't move (surprisingly we saw only two accidents). Trying to cross the street is essentially an extreme version of Frogger. I got to wondering how a blind person could survive in a city like Hanoi, where you risk your life every time you go for dinner. Not an hour after I mentioned this to Chris and Ron, no joke, we saw a blind guy crossing a street using a cane to direct him. The thing is, he accidentally knocked the kickstand of a parked motorcycle, toppling it over! The worse part is that there were literally over a hundred glass bottles of Coke stacked on the back... Guess I got my answer.




Just outside of Hanoi...
















Being rowed by Vietnamese women en route to the only-accessible-by-water Perfume Pagoda, a Buddhist shrine within a mountain cave...









We also
took a wicked two day boat trip in
Halong Bay...






















Visited the Cham Ruins, Hindu relics from the 4th century irrevocably damaged from bombing during the Vietnam-American war. It was still raining and Chris bought a sweet hat...








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Now we're in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) still trying to regain circulation in our legs after the three night 40 hour series of bus rides we took from Hanoi. I ate a stuffed snail! Today I fight back at the colony of ants that has invaded our room, and tomorrow I fly to Bangkok. My motivation to make this third attempt at a blog entry interesting deteriorates by the word so this is the end!