'Friends' City

Entry 25:

Vang Vieng is a small riverside town about halfway between Vientienne and Luang Prabang in the rolling hills of Laos. Its handful of streets are packed with guest houses, t-shirt shops, and restaurants. Western faces outnumber Asian faces by an astronomical number. All that being said, it is also the center of all adventure and eco-tourism in Laos.

After we dropped off our bags at the guest house, we began wandering around town. To our dismay, every other restaurant had large screen televisions playing episodes of "Friends," the popular 90's sitcom. On the bright side, we did discover a handful of restaurants that were serving Middle-Eastern cuisine, including falafel, sabich, and shakshuka. In addition to the food, signs in Hebrew were posted by previous Israeli travellers on almost every restaurant claiming to have Lao's best Israeli food.

The most popular activity in this town, bar none, is tubing down the river in giant tractor innertubes. The reason for this "sport's" popularity is because bars have been set up along the river, allowing tubers to climb up for a few drinks. In addition to the bucket sized cocktails, tubers are also invited to try "happy" shakes, brownies, and pizza. In our experience, it was a mix between MTV beachparty and a rowdy fraternity happening. Despite our relatively "old" age, we enjoyed ourselves, particularly as spectators of extremely wasted travellers swinging like monkies and jumping into the river. We also enjoyed flying through the air on the zip lines and sliding down the flumes into the river while throngs of onlookers cheered and yelled. The techno beats and hip hop were certainly not our choice of music, but we bounced along with smiles on our faces. As the day went on and we realized it was time to float downstream back to town, Marc was particularly happy that the DJ started playing a Pearl Jam song as we pushed off from the last riverside bar.

Notice how the football misses the swinger:

More fun:

The next day, we met someone who had gone tubing two days in a row. In his words, "it's fun for a day, but a big mistake to go a second time around. It's the same music and same drunk people everywhere you go."

On our second day in Vang Vieng, we signed up for a full day of rock climbing. We all jumped into the back of a pickup truck and sped off to get our equipment before heading to the rocks. Sharon had never climbed outdoors before and Marc hadn't climbed outdoors since his vision loss. Needless to say, the rock climbing guide was a bit nervous about sending a blind guy up an 18-meter high rock face.

The morning started with a safety lesson and rope tying instruction. It was then time to climb the rocks. For the rest of the day, all of us took turns climbing various routes on the walls while our instructor pointed out the hand- and foot-holds on the rocks. At the end of a long, tiring day, the instructor expressed his amazement at Marc's ability to climb and felt proud to have had the experience of leading a blind man up the walls. Most people might think of rock climbing as a poor choice for a hobby for blind people. Despite this, Marc thinks that it is probably one of the best sports to participate in for people with vision loss. You don't really need sight; rather, you need mental toughness. One can just use hands and feet to scan the wall to find the holes. It may require a bit more energy than it does for other climbers, but this is easily overcome with some determination. One positive note is that Marc can't look down and be frightened by his distance from the ground.

Our exclusive look at Marc's climbing skills:

To see more of our fun-filled adventure, check out more photos on: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Payback's A B*tch!

Entry 24:
As is customary in SE Asia, we were picked up from our guest house in a minivan to be transferred to a larger bus. Since bus companies in Laos do not assign seats, when we arrived at the bus terminal, Sharon ran onto the bus and placed our backpacks down on two seats. Marc waited outside and the two of us made sure our bigger luggage made it from the minivan to the big bus.

As we boarded the bus, we found our backpacks on the floor of the aisle and a middle-aged couple sitting in our seats. All other seats seemed to be taken. We told the Frenchies that those were our seats and that our packs were already on them. They claimed not to speak English because they were French. The conversation really began heating up when a Laotian woman jumped up in their defense, claiming that there are no assigned seats. The woman kept talking to the French couple, so we assumed she must have been their tour guide. Since the couple refused to move and the other passengers were keeping silent, we picked up our bags and moved to the back of the bus, but could not find two seats together. Apparently, the bus had been oversold and if not for the generosity of the happy-go-lucky drinking Russians, Sharon would have been sitting on the floor. What the French couple failed to realize was that what comes around goes around.

About half way through the 4-hour trip, the bus stopped to allow passengers a bathroom break. Everyone left the bus except for us. We moved to our original seats, lifted up the Frenchies' coats (which were left there to reserve their spots), and deposited them onto the floor. As passengers returned to the bus, Sharon noticed their smiling faces and overheard their positive remarks about us reclaiming our rightful seats. The French couple were among the last ones onboard. They realized what had happened upon their return, and instead of arguing with us, took their newly purchased bottle of water, released the cap, and poured some of the contents on our heads. As they headed to the back to look for seats, a brawl erupted amongst the other passengers because the Laotian tour guide lady was pacing up and down the aisle and making a scene. But soon enough things settled down and we were on our way. The two of us sat in our seats with big smiles on our faces looking forward to the next few days in Vang Vieng.

Welcome to Laos

Entry 23:

Leaving Thailand, we had very high expectations for the little known country of Laos. Throughout our travels, many backpackers had told us about their journies through the country. Our guidebook painted a picture of a bargain paradise. By the end of our travels through Laos, both of us would come to love this country even if it was not such a bargain.

Without definate plans outside of the towns we wanted to see, we wandered around and discovered fun and interesting places that made our time enjoyable. It may sound cheesy to hear that we had two lunches at a mall food court. However, this was no ordinary food court. In fact, mostly locals go to what is referred to as the Morning Market, a market/mall that has a food stalls consisting of local cuisine that is made to order before your eyes. Tickets must be purchased at the entrance to avoid paying each merchant in cash. Even though we purchased $5 worth of stubs, we ended up with a full belly as well as change back. You can see our papaya salad being made in the video below:

Not everything was as cheap as we expected. Upon our arrival in Vientienne, we thought we would be able to find a guesthouse for under $10. Each of the places listed in our guidebook was suddenly more than $15. Sharon left Marc in the lobby of a guesthouse with the backpacks and disappeared for over an hour trying to find an affordable place. In the end, we settled on Saysouly Guesthouse ($14 a night) as it had all the amenities.

Laos was previously a French colony and it still maintains some of the cuisine from that era. So for the next couple of days, we would enjoy coffee, baguettes, and croissants. There is also some leftover architecture. The most obvious example of this is the Victory Monument, which resembles the Arc de Triumph in Paris. The road leading up to the monument looks like the Champs Elysees. In back of this monument is a large fountain and adjoining park filled with locals, tourists, and of course saffron-clad monks.


Victory Monument

Inside the dome

Street resembling Champs Elysees

Fountain

Like most of Southeast Asia, Laos is a Buddhist country and it is possible to visit all types of shrines dedicated to Buddha. We may not remember each temple's name, but the photos speak for themselves:

On our first night, we made our way to the busiest falang restaurant in town. Falang is the Laos word for "French," but it is generally used for all foreigners. Think of it as the Laos equivalent of gringo. We managed to score a great table on the second floor near the balcony. Since Marc ordered a Beer Laos, he had the undivided attention of an attractive Beer Lao maiden, a representative sent by the beer company to ensure customers continue to fill their glasses with beer. Not a moment went by during the entire meal where Marc did not enjoy a full glass of frosty Beer Lao.

The Mekong River has its origin in the Tibetan Highlands, but snakes its way through Southwest China and divides Thailand from Laos as it makes its way to Vietnam and the South China Sea. Vientienne sits on the bank of this mighty river and we decided to walk alongside it to find the perfect place for a sunset. We made our way to a floating riverside bar and enjoyed the picturesque view of the sun setting into the river. On the walk back, we discovered a local restaurant perched above the river. We sat Indian style on cushions beside a low table and had Lao style BBQ dinner. The waitress brought over an electric grill/pot with the ingredients on the side. Sharon grilled the fish and threw the noodles and vegetables into the pot. Ten minutes later, we were feasting like the locals.

We spent the next couple of days wandering around the city visiting various museums and temples, but on our last day we would have an experience to truly remember. One of our favorite activities back home was visiting the BRC Russian bath in New Jersey. Although we are far from home, we found a nice alternative while on the road. On our last evening, we hiked to a temple in the jungle that has a small treehouse sauna. The guidebook stated it was only three kilometers from town, but we ended up walking for almost an hour to get there. We found the temple entrance and befriended a novice monk who brought us directly to the sauna.

We climbed the stairs up and the crazy lady there handed us wraps made of cotton and told us to go change out of our clothes. Underneath the creeky floorboards was a wood-burning furnice that boiled water to steam up the sauna. When you got too hot, you could exit the sauna and find a refreshing cup of hot tea waiting for you. We steamed for over an hour before lying down on cots to get our traditional Lao massages. Besides being an adventure, this fun evening cost each of us only $6. This was a great way to wrap up our stay in the capital (no pun intended).

For more pix: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Thailand - Take 1

Entry 22:
As we flipped through the guidebook and looked at the maps of SE Asia, it dawned on us that travel through Northern Cambodian and Southern Laos would be a rough and tumble experience. With our limited time, we decided our best bet was to cut through NE Thailand to the Laos border at the capital city, Vientienne. So off we went to our first stop in Thailand.

We read about a town in Thailand called Surin that hosted an annual elephant festival every November, but the book did not specify the exact dates, and we had not checked online either. We decided to head there anyway as it sounded like an interesting place. As soon as we de-bused, we got caught in a torrential downpour. Luckily for us, we were already in a tuk-tuk with our bags. Unluckily for the driver, who was taking us by bicycle, he was not covered, but did not seem to mind anyway. About an hour after our arrival, the rain had stopped and we headed to the night market to grab some food. We found endless stalls with local food offering cheap fare that was a nice introduction to the country. We feasted on stir-fried Thai noodles and corn on the cob. At the edge of the seating area stood chang, an elephant. For 20 Bat, it was possible to feed the elephant and Marc took a turn so he could get close and feel what this mammal felt like close up.

Since the elephant festival would not begin until the end of the month and there was not much else to see in town, we decided to continue travelling North towards our destination. After a train and bus ride the next morning, we arrived in Khon Kaen. The choices for accommodations were thin and it rained all night. Even though our room had a television and we planned to watch the election results the following morning, we decided to leave as early as possible for our next stop.

Our arrival in Nong Khai was warm and sunny. We raced over to Mut Mee, a unique guesthouse we had both heard and read about, as we heard the place fills up fast. By the time we checked in and discovered there was a television in the riverside bar, it was clear that Barak Obama would be the next president of the United States. This may have taken the surprise element out of our experience, but we were thrilled, nonetheless with the results. We spent the next few days relaxing in this quiet town along the Mekong River. This was the first time that Marc had experienced a real Thai massage and it seems like he may have become addicted. They did not warn his beforehand...







Other highlights included a sunset cruise on the Mekong, creamy cheesecake at a German bakery, and a very relaxing facial ending in cucumber strips over the entire face (these were left on our faces for 20 minutes).

The town of Nong Khai seems fairly nondescript. There are several restaurants lining the Mekong River, but we spent most of our time at Mut Mee. The owner is a gregarious Englishman named Julian who cannot stop himself from talking to his guests. He always has a story to tell. On one night, Mut Mee hosted a benefit to help Hmong people from Laos who were being held by the Thai authorities for immigration violations. Julian opened the festivities by retelling the story of how he ended up in this part of the world. He told us how he was terrified of dying, not of death itself, but of dying of boredom in England. Mut Mee is the kind of place that is a magnet for expats who seem to spend weeks or even months lounging around this riverside oasis. Perhaps it is the cheap drinks served on the floating bar, the $5 per night pricetag for the rooms, or the tranquility of the garden setting filled with wooden hammocks.


To see more pictures of our NE Thai adventure, go to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Cambodian John Denver

Entry 21:
In Southeast Asia, most travel agents sell you a bus ticket that includes pickup from their guesthouse in a minivan. Without exception, they always arrive later than the time they tell you in the agency. Our bus to Battambang was supposed to leave at 8am, so we were ready for pickup at 7:30am. Needless to say, our bus did not leave until 9:30am. This really did not start us off well, but it got worse yet. Our four-hour bus ride was extremely bumpy and without air-con. The only saving grace was that we had been assigned the first row of seats on the bus. At least Sharon could crack a faint smile when the manic bus driver pounded his fist on the steering wheel, but no sound came out of the horn.

For some reason, we had thought that Battambang would be a charming small town with French colonial architecture. At least that is what the guidebook had indicated. But when we got there we could not find anything remotely charming or French. Most businesses did not speak English and there was not much to see for tourists. We had high hopes for the Smokin Pot restaurant if for only the name itself. To entertain ourselves, we found our way over to the Seeing Hands massage parlor where we enjoyed a one hour Cambodian rub down. Afterwards, Marc got to talking with the blind masseurs just to hear their stories. Two of the men lost their sight when landmines exploded in the countryside. This is not uncommon in Cambodia as there are thousands of leftover explosives from decades of wars.

The next morning, in an attempt to get out of this not-so-charming town, we found our way to a taxi company which would transfer us as well as one other couple to the Thai border. The driver was a friendly local who, in his frequent trips, managed to get his hands on a mixed tape of American country music. He especially liked to sing along to the John Denver smash hit - Country Roads. In his own creative way, he embellished the lyrics to reflect our current adventure. At the time, his version - Bumpy Roads - was more appropriate. After three hours in the car, our necks could attest that these were, in fact, very bumpy roads.

Angkor Waaaat?

Entry 20:

The ancient temples of Angkor Wat are the national symbols for the Cambodian people. Everywhere you look, including the flag and the currency, there are images of the temples. We would imagine that 99.9% of all visitors to Cambodia make it to Siem Reap to tour the temples. Needless to say, we were filled with anticipation as we boarded the bus headed to Siem Reap.

When we booked our bus tickets from the agent in Phnom Penh, he asked us for our name, which at first seemed odd as we had not encountered this before. However, he went on to explain there would be a tuk-tuk driver waiting for us with a sign of our name to take us to our accommodation of choice. True to his word, a smiling man with a sign reading 'Sharon Grossman' greeted us upon our arrival. It took us a while to find a decent guesthouse in our price range. Because it was still very hot out, we wanted to make sure we had a working A/C.

One major concern of ours was finding an English-speaking knowledgeable tour guide who could give an excellent description to someone with vision loss. As we would soon learn, it is not possible to book a group tour while you are in Siem Reap. Rather, one has to make arrangements with a local guide whose English may or may not be up to one's standards. We rolled the dice and booked a guide and driver for three days through an agency, not knowing who would show up the next morning.

October is supposed to be the last month of the rainy season. True to form, October 30th was a rain-soaked affair starting at 8:00am and continuing until about 3pm. Good thing we had a rain coat. Before beginning our trip, our driver brought us to the ticket office near the temples. All visitors are required to purchase a photo ID card for the number of days they are planning to visit, or risk a fairly stiff penalty. A three-day pass was $40 per person. We purchased lanyards to hang the passes around our necks. These will remain our most valuable souverneirs.

The first day of temple sightseeing was rather difficult for climbing, as the temples were some of the most ancient ones. Marc decided to skip a couple of them and nap in the tuk-tuk while Sharon ran around getting splashed. Although the first day's temples were not as grand as some others we would later see, it was important to see them to understand the chronological history of the temples. These included the Roluos group - Preah Khan, Preah Neak Pean, and Ta Som.

After getting back to town, we walked around to see the different restaurants and shops the town had to offer. After a delicious meal of Cambodian food, we wanted to try out a recommended dessert place that also was supposed to feature a butterfly garden. As it was after dark when we arrived, no butterflies could be seen anywhere. The desserts did not seem so interesting, so we continued walking. Surprisingly, we crossed paths with a mall, which featured Swensen's ice cream. Although it was cheesy, we thought - let's try it! It had been years since either one of us had been to this American chain.

Day two was filled with action, adventure, and was made even better by the absence of rain clouds overhead. Some of the highlights of this day included the distant Banteay Srei, the world famous Angkor Wat, and the climb up to Pre Rup to watch the sunset. We enjoyed a picnic lunch by the moat surrounding Angkor Wat, rather than being herded to one of the overpriced, touristy restaurants across the road.

It seems difficult to explain the experience of being at these temples. Pictures do them some justice, but the impression they leave is quite astounding, especially considering how old they really are. The bas reliefs at Angkor Wat are over 100 meters in length, and 7 or 8 meters tall. They are filled with intricate carvings of what life was like 1000 years ago. Most of these carvings are of warfare, triumph, and ancient Ramayana stories. Even more difficult to understand is the amount of labor, talent, and number of people it took to build these magnificent buildings. The guide explained how workers used elephants, water buffalo, and oxen to transport massive stones from rock quaries more than 15 miles from the temple sites.

Marc heard the stories of the temples from the guide and the physical descriptions from Sharon. In some of the temples, it was possible for him to touch the bas reliefs and intricate stonework, but still difficult to comprehend the scale of the towers.

Upon our return to Siem Reap, we headed straight to the tour agency where we had booked our guide, Thany. We explained that we wanted to switch guides as Thany was not to our liking. He spent all day attempting to avoid crowds and consequently lead us through Angkor Wat in a backward fashion. He entered at the exits and exited at the entrances. He seemed too lazy to climb the mountain and rather sent us on our own while he waited in a chair at the bottom. He tried to get out of taking us to see a sunset because he wanted to get home early. He asked us for money for his food and was altogether not trustworthy. The tour company was gracious enough to listen to our complaints and assured us a new guide would meet us the next morning. We did praise the tuk-tuk driver who was always ready to pick us up and made sure we stayed dry when it rained.

Our third and last day of touring included the magnificent Angkor Thom complex. Our guide Peter was ambitious and knowledgeable, but was a bit difficult to understand. What is unique about this temple is the four sided figure of a face, still largely intact. This is the face of the Buddha of compassion. Following our picnic lunch, we finished the day with a few minor temples and headed back to town. After three days of climbing around, we were tired and due for a foot massage.

There is no doubt that any traveller visiting S.E. Asia must include Siem Reap on their list of places to see. The town itself is filled with great restaurants and cheap foot massage parlors. Alas, it was time to move on.

Phenomenal Phnom Penh

Entry 19:
Checking out of Vietnam after having spent several weeks there, was exciting, as we were off to a new adventure - we were off to see Cambodia. The bus that transported us to the border had an attendant who offered to get our visa for us while we dined in the restaurant for just $5 per person, as we warned us of long lines at the border. We passed on his offer and upon arrival at the Cambodian side we found not a single person waiting in line.

By this point in the trip, we were a bit tired of the "same same" in Vietnam and looked forward to the changes in Cambodia. After leaving the Vietnamese border, which contained a drab old building, we arrived at the Cambodian side, a building of typical architecture for the country with a beautiful roof and decorative exterior. We hoped this would be a sign of things to come.

The bus eventually let us off in Phnom Penh and we were greeted by the usual suspects...guesthouse proprietors and tuk-tuk drivers. We climbed into a tuk-tuk and headed for the guesthouse. While Sharon ran upstairs to see the room, Marc chatted with the driver. Chang let Marc know that he would take us to another guesthouse for the same dollar if we were unpleased with this one. Could be he was trying to sell his services as a tour guide for the next day.

An easy way to unsure you see all the sites is to join a city tour, so that's what we did. We started off at the Tuol Sleng, a former high school that was used as a torture chamber by the Khmer Rouge, headed by Pol Pot. The classrooms at this site were converted into cells, each displaying a picture of the last prisoner held there. An hour long film was shown which spoke about the story of one couple who was killed by the Khmer Rouge.

After being held at Tuol Sleng for some time, prisoners were transported to what has become known as the Killing Fields, an area where they were brutally executed and burried in mass graves. Their skulls are on display in a large "stupa" or tomb.

Other highlights included the Russian Market, the National Museum, and the Royal Palace.

One thing that we would learn is that Cambodian cuisine has a lot in common with Thai cooking. Needless to say, we were very happy to sit down and try our first Cambodian meal. For the next several days, while in Cambodia, we would be treated to a wide range of excellent dishes.

Us poor travellers sometimes need to recharge the batteries. And even if that's not true, it is still nice to get pampered every so often. At $6 per hour, it's not much of a financial hardship. We had read about an organization that trains people with vision loss to be massage therapists. The "Seeing Hands" massage parlors provide their customers with excellent Japanese style shiatsu massages. You change out of your street clothes and into a pajama-like outfit, climb onto the massage table and let the therapist do the work. The masseurs are extremely well trained and very precise in their actions. After our first Seeing Hands massage, Sharon could not stop raving about how good she felt. Marc took this as a sign that perhaps he ought to consider a career change. Throughout Cambodia, there are many blind people who have lost their eyesight due to explosive devices from the U.S. war in the region. This is a sad consequence to a really aweful period of history.

Looking Back on Vietnam

Entry 18:


Before we even arrived in Vietnam, we had heard a variety of opinions about the country. Our friend Mai and her husband Ken could not say enough good things about it while others had negative experiences travelling there. Both of us are too young to have any memories of the war and its political implications. As the Saigon Grill restaurant in New York was on our list of top 10 restaurants in the city, we were looking forward to the food in Vietnam. Here are some highlights from our month there:


On our trip to Ha Long Bay, our tour guide told us about some of the customs of the ethnic minority people. For example, when a man wants to get married, he needs to ask permission of the village matchmaker. His family has to give money and gifts to the bride's family including approximately $30, two chickens, and a pig's head. These gifts are presented in 7 boxes covered in red cloth for luck and prosperity. He then has to carry the bride on his back all the way to her house. She has to step over a pair of scissors to symbolize cutting all connections with her family. She will not be able to ask for a divorce thereafter as her family will have to return all the gifts received to the groom's family, an impossible prospect.


Another interesting tale: Because Vietnamese are Buddhists, they believe in burial rather than cremation. Several years after a person is burried, the remains are exhumed, rinsed and placed in a little box, only to be reburried. They believe this process releases the spirit.


Daily customs: When meeting someone new, it is common to be asked personal questions, such as "how old are you?" (We were asked mostly where we were from). Age is important because the elderly are given much respect. When clicking two glasses together for a toast , the younger person will place his/her glass lower than the elder's glass as a sign of respect. During meals, older people get a one second head start on the food.


Even though Vietnam is a large country, it seems as if most backpackers stick to a tried and true path through the most popular cities. This ensures fairly easy travelling and most Vietnamese people along the way speak good English. In addition to English, you will hear many phrases along the way that are important in one's daily life:

• "Hello motorbike." This phrase, which can be heard about 497 times per day is an invitation to ride on the back of a motorbike as a means of transportation to nearby destinations. Think of it as a taxi. The phrase can be punctuated with a period or question mark.


• "You buy from me," AKA "You buy something." Phrases often hear upon encountering someone trying to sell goods. This phrase can be heard in markets, shops, sidewalks, and even while trekking in remote villages.


• "Same same." Instead of saying that two things are identical, the locals will point to the two objects and say this phrase. For example, if a motorbike ride costs $2 per person, they will say, "$2, same same," and point to each person. To point out that 2 things are similar, but not exactly the same, they may add, "but different" at the end of the phrase. This has become known in all of SE Asia and can be found on T-shirts everywhere.

From our experience, travelling within Vietnam is made easy with good transportation, accommodation, eateries, and available tours. In addition, the cost is fairly low, giving tourists a good "bang for their dong." The one negative we found was that the people are not as warm or accessible to tourists as in other countries. The Vietnamese, on the whole, are aggressive, cunning, and sometimes less than honest. Their country is filled with noise and pollution, especially in the large cities, from thousands of motorbikes and vehicles everywhere honking constantly and not giving any courtesies to pedestrians or anyone else on the road for that matter. As a result, we were constantly on edge, watching our backs, having to ensure that we were not being ripped off or in harm's way.

From North to South, we generally found it very easy to find good fresh food wherever we travelled. It was nice to sample regional specialties to get a better sense of the variety found in Vietnamese cooking. Because this part of the world has a good climate for growing vegetables, we easily encountered vegetarian fare, although for vegans you never know what is cooked in fish sauce...To our delight, it was always possible to drink fresh fruit juices for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. For the most part, the beer was nothing special with the exception of a brew called Larue Export. The Central Highland town of Dalat is known for producing wine, but somehow we never managed to sample it.

We got to meet individuals from various minority ethnic groups, purchase their handicrafts, taste their cooking, and learn about their customs. We bathed in the lake as they do, slept on the floor under mosquito nets in their homes, and chatted with them along the way.

It was our first SE Asian adventure.

Uncle Ho's City

Entry 17:

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the government changed the name of the city to Ho Chi Minh City, as a tribute to the late leader of Northern Vietnam. That being said, many of the people we spoke to still call the city Saigon. Either way, we were on our way to the largest city in Vietnam for our last stop in the country.

Saigon in a massive sprawling city of over 5 million people and what seems like an equal number of motorbikes. According to our tour guide, Vietnam has over 80 million people and 25 million motorbikes. Rather than attempt to go it alone in this metropolis, we signed up for a city tour that would take us around to all the worthwhile sites in town. On our tour we visited a Chinese pagoda, a market in Chinatown, a temple dedicated to a Sea Goddess, the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, Notre Dam Cathedral, and the Post Office. Needless to say, it was a full day.

That evening, we ventured on our own to a night market filled with local eateries. At first we contemplated eating there, but this idea was quickly eradicated after seeing live dangling frogs. Instead, we opted for a restaurant that was recommended called Quan An Ngon. This restaurant was in a beautiful setting in which various food stations exhibited women cooking before your eyes.

Lots of people had told us many things about Saigon, both good and bad, but we had had enough of the city and its craziness. We decided to book passage to Cambodia for the following day and begin the next chapter of our travels.

Meditation in the Mountains

Entry 16:
Our half-day tour in BMT ended with our tour guide, Mr. Anh, leaving us at a bus stop and telling us to wait at Lak Lake for our bus ride to the popular tourist destination in the mountains, the city of Dalat. Little did we know we were about to go on a very bumpy and very curvy 4-hour ride. We arrived after sunset, but found a nice accommodation and were on our way to find dinner somewhere quiet.

The next day, we again joined a day tour of the city and its surroundings. The first stop was of a Zen Buddist monastery called Truc Lam. We learned that visitors can join the monks for a day's meditation and met briefly with a monk to ensure our visit the next day.

On we went to the Dragon Pagoda, which was beautiful on its own, but was also next door to another pagoda that had a massive and most impressive bell.

The two strangest/cheesiest stops on the tour included the Crazy House, a hotel that has delirious architecture that forces its guests to climb up and down twisted stairs through various buildings and has themed rooms. The other stop that was not worth much mention was entitled the "Valley of Love" by the French. It is a goofy park where objects were placed for tourists' photographs. However, once the camera comes out, an employee approaches to ask for money for the photo. There is a lake you can walk around for some peace and tranquility.

The next morning, we awoke early to cab over to the monastery for a day of guided meditation. On the previous morning, the monk asked us to be present at 6:30am. Despite the rain, we made it in time, but a different monk enformed us that the abbott was not at the monastery that day and therefore he would be unable to allow us to spend the day without getting the abbott's permission. Our hope to spend the day with the brothers and sisters in meditation was not to be. Instead, we sat with this particular monk for about 30 minutes drinking tea and talking about the lifestyle of a buddhist monk. He did not want us to leave empty handed, and therefore gave us several books on Zen Buddhism. We were bummed out that we could not stay for the day, but high-tailed it back to Dalat to try to catch the next bus to Saigon.

What's In A Name

Entry 15:
Our next destination was in the Central Highlands of the country, an area not well visited by tourists. In fact, it was only in the late '90s that this area was even opened to foreign visitors. Many of the tour companies do not include it on their regular itinerary. But we decided to delve deeper into Vietnam. Moreover, it was also the childhood home of our good friend Mai.

We arranged for bus travel to the region's center, a town called Buon Ma Thuot (BMT). You can imagine all the various double entendre jokes we could come up with for this name. All of them are too unsavory for this family-friendly blog.

BMT as it is known to the locals is the center of the coffee plantations throughout the highlands. Coffee growing was initiated by the French during their colonial rule over Vietnam. We thought it would be exciting to tour the area and even visit a coffee plantation. Unfortunately, since this town is so far removed from most travellers' itineraries, we found it to be difficult to manouver as almost nobody spoke English and restaurant menues were in Vietnamese only. We could not find a tour operator with any group tours. Private tours would cost more than $100 per day. We opted for a private half-day tour that would only take us to visit a couple of ethnic minority villages. The short tour was pretty good and we even got to see some goofy French tourists riding atop elephants. We were eager, though, to get out of town.

Mud Bathing and Beaching

Entry 14:
Despite our not-so-great start to the day, things quickly turned around. We found a wonderful hotel one block from the beach, which true to its name was nice (Nice Hotel). It was also $8 a night, so we decided to stay a while and relax.

Nha Trang in a typical beach town with dozens of hotels, beachside restaurants, and pubs. The only thing not typical are the Buddhist pagodas that overlook the beach from the mountains. While we stayed in a nondescript local hotel, many chain hotels like the Sheraton are planning to open up along the beach. In addition, as we were there on a weekend, we passed by several local weddings taking place in beachside hotels.

On our first day there, we took a taxi over to a center in the mountains where we could soak in mud. This unique resort has a variety of different sized outdoor tubs that once you sit in them, they are filled with muddy mineral water. After 15 or 20 minutes, one is supposed to then go "bake" in the sun to allow the mud to dry on the skin. This is followed by a series of showers and warm/hot clean mineral water bathing. All of this with giggling Vietnamese girls who don't speak any English and fat Russian men and their families. The day was made even better by ice cold coconut water drunk directly from the coconut via a straw.

Another site of interest included the gallery of Nha Trang's most famous photographer, Long Thanh. His photos are all in B&W of locals and are very captivating. Our trip to Long Son pagoda was beautiful, but as our photos are temporarily unavailable, please click on the hyperlink to see photos we found online.

The rest of our days in the city we spent on the beach, in the water, getting massages, or eating wonderful food, including at the very impressive Sailing Club and Relax Club.

We didn't want to leave, but also realized we still had lots to see in Vietnam and beyond.

(Un)Magical Mystery Tour

Entry 13:
The ride on the minibus was no different from other experiences we had had in this part of the world in the sense that the locals fail to inform the tourists about what is about to happen. In our case, we were not explained where they were taking us. However, we finally arrived at the large sleeper bus and headed to our "seats." We thought it was very considerate of the bus company to provide plastic bags to cover our packs due to the rainy weather, but more about this later. We quickly made friends with our bedmates as they would accompany us for the next 12 hours. Besides the fact that we were sharing a bad in the back of the bus with three other adults, our bed also happened to be on top of the motor and lacked A/C vents. This combination of factors ensured that our ride would be hot, hot, hot.

One thing that you need to know about tour buses in Vietnam is that they are driven by total maniacs. There is a compulsion to accelerate, break, and honk the extremely loud airhorn with much enthusiasm. Additionally, this shady company we took also picked up Vietnamese passengers along the way who sat on stools in the aisles or strung hammocks from the upper seats. To add to the maddness, it seemed the driver had brought live birds and other mysterious cargo in the luggage compartment, as we could hear chirping from where we were sleeping.

Needless to say, somehow we arrived in Nha Trang in one piece, drenched in sweat, but happy to be off the bus finally. We had never been so pleased to be greeted by sunshine and fresh air as we were that morning. The nightmare was not over, however. As we ripped open the plastic off our luggage, we found the bags to smell of fish. Some of this unfortunate odorous liquid spilled onto our bags and left a stench that needed to be repeatedly cleaned with soap in our hotel shower. But at least we were in a beach town and ready to have some fun in the sun.

Vietnamese Gondola

Entry 12:

We were so happy that on the day we left Hue the sun was finally shining. About four hours later, we arrived in Hoi An where it felt like 100 degrees outside. The rest of the day was spent wandering the lanes of this charming small Unesco town known for its tailors that make custom clothing. The next morning Marc was recovering from a cold, so Sharon went out and found a tailor to make her a custom suit. It wasn't long before Marc joined her in the shop for custom made trousers. Miraculously, only a few hours later we were back at the shop trying on the clothing for them to be altered for the next day.

Unfortunately, our streak of two rainless days was about to end. As we departed for a day trip to the Cham ruins at My Son (pronouned Mee Son), the skies opened up and the rain began pouring down. For probably 6 hours it rained and rained and rained. Despite this, the ruins were still impressive and served as a preview of our upcoming trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
While some people on our tour opted for the cheaper bus ride back to town, we spent a few more dollars for the upgraded boat ride back. At the time of booking, we obviously were unaware of the coming rain. So needless to say, it was a not so good investment. However, we had a small adventure on the way. Our boat was approached by another small boat carrying furniture and the Vietnamese woman working on our boat purchased a bed, which was then hauled onto our boat without ever docking. This made for a kodak moment.

When we got back to Hoi An we had to walk through calf high water just to reach our hotel. We had opted out of the gondola rides offered on account of the overflowing waters. At this point we were equipped with the information from our tour guide that the best rain gear is to be found in the market. Off we went to look for Rando gear, which continues to serve us for days later.

The next day was no better except that we decided to walk through town in our flip flops and just accept the fact that we were going to get all wet. Who knows what was lurking in that water! Good thing we both got Hep vaccinations before leaving the States. The clothes came out great and were quickly shipped home. They will arrive next Feb. when we return from our trip.

We had been warned to only travel with two Vietnamese bus lines, as the others were known to have shady reputations. On the morning we had planned to depart, we walked over to purchase our bus tickets, but were told the bus was completely sold out. Seemed like all the tourists wanted to get as far away from the flood as possible. We ran through the rain and flooded streets from travel agency to travel agency, but could only find one unknown bus company. The agent told us that the only seats available were in the back of the bus. Normally on the overnight bus, each person gets an individual bed. The backrow of the bus, however, is comprised of one large space shared by 5 people. Reluctantly, we agreed to spend the night with three other strangers.
We arrived at the travel agency around 6pm in a light rain and were shuttled via a minibus for 30 minutes to the bus that would take us to our next destination. We were told the streets were too flooded for the big bus. Not sure how the minivan is more capable of getting through the flooded streets, but what choice did we have? The night was not getting off to a good start...

To see photos of Hoi An, please go to our Shutterfly page: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Yoga and meditation

We are looking to find a yoga and meditation retreat while in SE Asia. We have done plenty of Google searches, but if anyone has any suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Thanks!

No way...Hue!!

Entry 11:

We learned from other backpackers about the overnight sleeping buses that run from Hanoi to Saigon with stops along the way. These buses are configured so that each individual has their own "lounge chair" for sleeping on long trips. We booked 2 tickets from Hanoi to Hue on an overnight trip that was supposed to last about 12 hours. During our last hours in Hanoi that night, the sky opened up and began pouring rain. We needed to walk through calf-high water just to reach the bus. Needless to say, we boarded the bus in bad spirits.

After a badly needed shower at the hotel, we walked over to the citadel to view the impressive grounds. Hue was a former capitol of many Vietnamese dynasties. The citadel is an example of some of its palacial architecture.



We left the citadel and headed to a Buddhist temple about 4 km outside of town. After taking our shoes off and entering, we heard chanting coming from inside. We peaked in and saw a group of young Buddhists dressed in yellow or white robes with mostly shaven heads chanting in unison.



Because it was drizzling when we left the temple, we waited under a tent near some vendors for a taxi. We waited and waited, but no taxis came and the rain began falling even harder. We finally gave up waiting and began to walk only to be greeted by the ever present "hello, motorbike?" Four kilometers later, we disembarked our motorbikes at the hotel, soaked to the bone, but happy to be in a dry place. For a change of pace, we decided to try Indian food across the street from our hotel. It was a nice alternative to 2 weeks of Vietnamese food.

We awoke the next morning to even more rain than the night before. Fortunately, our hotel had internet and between the blackouts we decided to update the blog. Around lunch time, the rain slowed to a drizzle and we walked next door to Friendly restaurant. The menu at Friendly featured many local specialties all of which were really delicious. It was so good we decided to return there for dinner. Some of the dishes we tried included the following:

• Banh Nam (Leaf wrapped nam cake = mix of rice flour, shrimp, and herbs inside a leaf. Dipped in spicy sauce).
• Banh Cuon Rau (Thick spring rolls with vegetables)
• Bo Nuong La Lot (Beef grilled over charcoals, wrapped in lot leaves)
• Cha Ca Thet lat kho to (Vietnamese fish dish, pounded and formed into balls)

Between meals we got the chance to wander the streets and visit a handicraft center where we purchased a hand woven silk art piece. It was more expensive to ship with the frame, so we took the art piece and mailed it frameless. As mentioned before, we returned to the same restaurant for dinner. During our entire meal we spoke with the restaurant's owner, a local motorbike driver who offered us to join him on his "Easy Rider" tour down to Hoi An.

Even though we didn't spend a lot of time in this charming town, we definately found it to be a great place to visit, particularly after spending time in Hanoi. We were struck by the "laid back" manner of the locals and never felt bombarded with requests for motorbikes or other ways in which we could spend our money.

We took the bus for three hours rather than the Easy Rider option...

Skype

While we're on the road, if you have a Skype account, log us in under the username of isragal. We have found that many internet cafes have Skype installed and it's a great way to talk with you. We'll post more blog entries soon.

Buffalo Chocolate

Entry 10:

Most people think of Vietnam as a lush, tropical paradise near the sea. However, Northern Vietnam is dominated by high mountains reaching more than 10,000 feet in elevation. The town of Sapa is the gateway to the mountains and its surrounding hill tribes. To get there from Hanoi you need to take an overnight train and a minibus. The town itself is small, comprised of about 3 main streets. However, the main attraction that draws tourists is trekking through the rice paddies to see how the native people live and work the land. We joined a small group of Spaniards and began our trek. We spent one night in the traditional residence of the tribe Zao. Along the way, we were accompanied by an entourage of Black Hmong people who later expected us to purchase handicrafts from them. The phrase most heard in this region is, "you buy from me," or what we've termed as YBFM. Marc is looking forward to naming his future radio station by that name. They are named Black Hmong because of their black clothing. We were disappointed that the tribe we stayed with, the Z'Dao tribe, were the most plainly dressed. At least they made a wonderful dinner for us. Luckily, the other travellers on our trek were also vegetarian.



As soon as we left the main road, our guide Kiem advised us to beware of "buffalo chocolate," which became a running joke for the whole trek. The region attracts many water buffalo. What they leave behind is not the gourmet type of chocolate one regularly desires, but something to avoid at all costs, particularly because it comes in extra large sizes.



Most of the trekking was manageable. However, we reached certain problematic areas where Kiem was kind enough to carry Marc on his back across the stream. Apparently he is not used to carrying Americans because he thought Marc was really heavy. That being said, Kiem probably weighs all of 120 lbs.

You can rest assured that the shower was well received upon our return to the town of Sapa. We paid $5 for our room and after showering, hit the town. There were plenty of Israelis walking around. Some restaurants even had signs written by previous travellers in Hebrew to let Israelis know they can trust the food there. Because we were so exhausted, we decided to get foot massages. Forty-three minutes later, feeling well rested, we both discovered that a foot massage includes a small Vietnamese woman climbing on your back. No extra charge for this special treat.



We were woken at approximately 4am by really loud squeeling of a pig that we assume was being prepared for breakfast. Fortunately, we were both able to fall back asleep, but by 5:30am we were again awoken by the sounds of cats either mating or fighting, not sure which. Despite all this, we were well rested before heading to Cat Cat village on foot. The village was mostly scenery, which included mountains, rice paddies, and a huge waterfall. In addition, we managed to see half the farm: pigs, chickens, goats, water buffalo, and horses. Check out this link for more photos: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com


After meandering through the local market, trying on the pointy cone hat and seeing all forms of animals parts, we finally found a place to have lunch. The restaurant was named after a Vietnamese dish called pho, which is a large bowl of soup consisting of noodles, vegetables, and mint leaves. Normally, it is difficult to find a veggie version of this wonderful soup, but we were so happy to sit down for $1.5 a bowl. Our friend Mai back at home would have loved it, but would have demanded more mint leaves. Finally, we boarded the night train back to Hanoi.

Cruise to Cat Ba Island

Entry 9:

From Hanoi, we took Vega Tours for a 3-days, 2-night trip to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay has got beautiful vegetation-covered islands and grottos. We slept one night on the boat, whcih was anchored surrounded by these islands, and one night on Cat Ba Island in a hotel. Along the way we met some friends. Rick and Ruth were especially interesting. They have been travelling for one year and have been to parts of S. America, India, Nepal, China, Indonesia, and S.E. Asia. They have posted their pictures on Flickr, so take a look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baronvonhorne/



KAYAKING


EATING LUNCH ON THE BOAT

During this trip, we hiked into caves, kayaked around the islands, and swam in the refreshing water. We met lots of travelers who gave us great advice about some of the places we would soon be visiting. For those of you thinking about coming to Vietnam, Halong Bay is a must-see, but skip the second night in Cat Ba. At least our tour did not show us anything of the island on the third day. Conveniently, there was a "typhoon" on the way, and therefore we had to evacuate quickly. However, when we asked our guide over lunch when the typhoon would hit, he said it had hit the night before. We understood from our well-travelled companions that this sort of convenience happens all too often on pre-paid tours all over the world. They recommended avoiding tours at all costs, except when absolutely necessary as was the case in Halong Bay. You can view all of the pictures of our trip at: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com



360 DEGREE VIEW OF HALONG BAY


MARC JUMPING OVERBOARD

Hello motorbike

Entry 8:

We began our Vietnam month-long journey in Hanoi, which sits at the northern end of the country. Hanoi is a bustling city with a noisy, dirty, and chaotic Old Quarter. The locals ride motorbikes, do not follow traffic rules, park on the sidewalks, and leave little room for pedestrians to coexist. All of this makes it a "real joy" for Sharon to guide Marc through the streets.

Our first priority was to find a place to stay. After seeing rooms at a couple of guesthouses, we stumbled upon the Sunshine II on Ma May Street. What a great name. After one night, we heard about another hotel nearby where you can get internet in your room. So we switched to the Prince II on 42B Hang Giay Street. (In Vietnam, many hotels have several locations; hence, the roman numerals after the names).

Next stop was lunch at a small cafe (69 Bar-Restaurant) where we had a wonderful meal of lemon-grass fish kabobs that was a do-it-yourself roll complete with rice paper, peanuts, bean sprouts, mint leaves, and the ever important fish sauce. Other memorable culinary experiences included the papaya salad and sweet and sour mushroom at Little Hanoi #9, the all vegetarian Western-style menu at Tamarind Cafe, and Hanoi's specialty dish fried table-side at the one and only Cha Ca La Vong. Check out the video. It's really good (fish cooked with dill and scallions with olive oil on a pan over a fire that's brought out to your table). You then put it in a bowl with rice noodles, peanuts, fish sauce, and mint leaves. The restaurant has no menu as it is the only dish they serve.

Sites we visited included:
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex, which included a museum full of propaganda, and the stilt house where Uncle Ho resided on and off from 1958 to 1969. The mausoleum itself was off limits because it is closed from September to early December when his body is moved to Russia for maintenance. Sounds important.
The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology; the Temple of Literature; the Hoa Lo Prison Museum where John McCain was tortured. Did you know he tried to commit suicide twice while imprisoned there? They don't mention THAT on the news...
Something that should not be missed is the Water Puppetry show. The stage is full of water where wooden puppets float on the surface while depicting agricultural life. This form of art was established by rice farmers 1000 years ago and was originally performed on rice paddies filled with water.

Is this really Asia???

Entry 7:

We found our seats on the Cathay Pacific jumbo jet and prepared ourselves for the 14-hour journey to Hong Kong. We were surprised by the cleanliness and efficiency of the HK airport and train into the city. In 24 minutes we were in the center of the city and only minutes away by cab from our destination.

We were greeted by David's helper and soon after found ourselves in front of a bowl of congee. Both of us were clueless at what to do with the bowl and accompanying condiments. More to come later...

About 8 years ago, David moved to Hong Kong for a job and has not looked back since. He and his Thai wife, Nan, were amazing hosts and we cannot thank them enough for their hospitality.

In our two days in Hong Kong, we made good use of our legs. We saw Central, which is the shopping district, complete with covered escalators scaling up the side of the mountain. We then loaded a boat to Lamma Island where we walked around on food and at lunch at a peaceful vegan restaurant. Not exactly Asian, but good nonetheless.

Going back to the congee...on Tuesday morning, David stayed home for breakfast with us. As the congee was brought to the table, David asked how we liked it. We explained that we thought it was very bland and tasteless. He pointed out that we need to add the appropriate condiments to spice this rice porridge dish up. After taking his advice, we have to admit that congee is not as bad as our first impression. Just adding a bard boiled egg, chili pepper, fish sauce, ginger, and scallion makes all the difference.

Since Tuesday was the first morning of Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), we all made our way to temple for morning services. Believe it or not, it was actually the first time we had been to services together. Following the sounding of the shofar we made our way to the American Club for a huge feast, bottomless glasses of iced tea, and a swim in the giant pool. The views were breathtaking and the company was unbeatable.



Most people probably think of Macau as the Asian Las Vegas complete with high rise casino hotels, but in actuality it is a former Portuegese colony with its own unique culture. We took the hydrofoil from Hong Kong to Macau and toured about for the day. We hit some interesting sites, including a tea museum, a Chinese temple, and a Portuguese restaurant for lunch. Believe it or not, we never actually made it into the casinos. Later that night, we sat on the 27th floor of a beautfiul apartment with 15 foot high windows overlooking the city of Hong Kong and the harbour. The home made Thai papaya salad prepared by David's wife, Nan, will be cherished in our memories forever. It was that good. For those of you who'd like to try this at home, you will need: papaya, cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, tamarind, lime juice, peanuts, and fish sauce (hope we didn't leave anything out).


Although Hong Kong is a long way from home, if you're considering travelling to Asia, we highly recommend visit David and his family. They appreciate visitors and will make you feel very much at home.

To see more of our pictures for this entry as well as the rest, go to our shutterfly account: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

City of Angels

Entry 6:


We only had one week in Los Angeles, so we used the time to make final preparations, pick up any last minute items, and spend time with our family. It was our first opportunity to hold Jake, the newest addition to the Grossman family. Congratulations to the exhausted parents, Scott and Jo Ellen.



After our train arrived in LA, we drove down to San Diego to visit the cousins and relax with some good music, watching the sunset near the coast in Del Mar. The following morning was highlighted by a fantastic breakfast at Naked Cafe in Solana Beach. We continued our journey back to Los Angeles with a stopover at Balboa Island and Newport Beach. You don't want to miss Olive Oil and Beyond, an olive oil store on Balboa Island. Try the pomegranate balsamic vinegar. And while you're on the island, follow in Marc's footsteps and get a frozen banana dipped in chocolate and nuts.



To express our thanks to the family, we took Mom and Howard our to Barefoot Restauarant and prepared dinner for Dad and Harriet. You will be missed, but this is just too long in the making and it's time to begin our Asian adventure.

To see more of our pictures for this entry as well as the rest, go to our shutterfly account:
grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

The City That Works

Entry 5:

Marc's friend, Scott, picked us up at the airport and drove us back to his place. Along the way he told us of our plans for a picnic dinner at a school yard near his home. Apparently thousands of birds use the school's smokestack as a resting place on their Southern migration. To add to the drama, a local hawk had decided it was a good place to look for dinner. Hundreds of Portlanders sat on the grass, eating cheese and drinking wine as the birds put on a show for the crowd. Brian and his wife Danette joined us with their two kids.

On our second night in Portland Scott took us to the Kennedy School where we soaked in the massive hot tub. The Kennedy School is a former school that has been converted into a hotel with an entertainment complex. Check out the hyperlink/website for more info because words can't do it justice.

The most memorable part of our stay was a trip out to the Columbia River Gorge. We hiked for about 30 minutes before reaching a beautiful waterfall and pool. The lush setting was ideal for a picnic.

During the remainder of our trip we visited the International Rose Test Garden , the World Forestry Center, and the campus of Lewis and Clark College, all of which involved a lot of walking. Then off we were to Union Station to board an Amtrak train destined for the City of Angels. The ride on the Coast Starlight was supposed to last 30 hours, but ended up being more than 34 hours. It wasn't too bad as the two of us had a private sleeping car. We even got to eat our meals in the Amtrak dining car. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, it was already after sundown. Nevertheless, it was an experience we had to try at least once. Now that we checked it off our "to-do" list, we are moving on to bigger and greater things.

Out and About

Entry 4:

After a brief flight to Spokane, WA, we jumped in a rental car and headed north to the Canadian border. The Canadian border control inspector had us drive up to her window where she proceeded to ask us where we were going and whether we were bringing any fruits or vegetables with us. We passed with flying colors and were on our way to Nelson, British Columbia (BC). Our visit to Nelson was inspired by the fact that Sharon's uncle and aunt, Morty and Marilyn live there. We had a wonderful visit with them and their family. It was Marc's first opportunity to meet Sharon's cousins and their extended families. Dinner at the Mint house was a lavis affair with at least 8 bottles of wines being polished off (but who's counting?).




On Saturday morning we drove through beautiful forested valleys to reach the Mint summer retreat in Hills, BC. The views were spectacular and the wooded path was covered with wild mushrooms. To play it safe, Marc decided to leave the mushrooms alone. After just three days in Nelson, we're already starting to plan our next much longer visit. Special thanks to Morty and Marilyn for their hospitality; to Lindsey for her clothing contribution to our travels; and to Chantal for her gourmet dessert. Marc would like to thank Matthew and Adam for the seemingly endless bottles of BC's finest grapejuice.

As we crossed back into the U.S. border, we were given the third degree. Who would have thought U.S. citizens would be so interrogated by their own border control?