5/27/14 - 6/08/14: Hanoi, Vietnam
Cat Ba Island sits off the coast of Northern Vietnam and is a beloved destination for both international and domestic travelers. It supplies ocean views, beachfront fun, and picturesque rocky islets that weave their way through surrounding Ha Long Bay. We decided to take part in this traveler's paradise to enjoy a bit of nature, which we were sorely missing. But first, we had to get there...
5/20/14 - 5/27/14: Hoi An, Vietnam
Of all the South East Asian cuisines I think Vietnamese food is my favorite. At least, it was while I was in Vietnam. It’s fresh and flavorful with unexpected spices and tangs that delight my palate. And there was no better way to explore those flavors than in Hoi An.
5/13/14 – 5/20/14: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
When we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam it was nighttime. Our taxi drove us to a busy square and dropped us off on the opposite side of the road to our hostel. We spent the next ten minutes trying to cross the street like scared squirrels. Giant buses and tiny mopeds bared down on us with equal enthusiasm, not a crosswalk or stoplight in sight. We managed to scurry across during an extremely brief gap in traffic.
5/7/14 – 5/13/14: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The Cambodia Landmine Museum was a disturbing eye-opener to the inherited trauma of war. The devastation imprinted upon the land by the Khmer Rouge, but also rained down by the bombing campaigns of the United States, left silent assassins below the earth’s surface. Undetonated mines and bombs still terrorize generations of Cambodians every day.
4/29/14 – 5/7/14: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap feels like someone took a bite out of Bangkok and spat it into a jungle. It’s got the same frenzy with none of the structure. Tuk-tuk drivers line the streets hunting for fares outside rows of restaurants and souvenir shops filling city blocks. It was in one of these shops where we learned what sets the city apart: It’s modest. It doesn’t like to gloat. As demonstrated by this slogan we read on a t-shirt: “Cambodia – Probably the best temples in the world.” You see what I mean? Probably the best. Well, we were about to find out.
4/22/14 – 4/28/14: Koh Phangan, Thailand
Ah, the island life. It’s a pleasant combination of relaxation and lack of motivation. When we arrived in Koh Phangan, Thailand, I hadn’t yet realized that’s exactly what we needed: a vacation pit-stop after six months of non-stop travel. Oh yes. Pity us poor and weary travelers. Such difficult lives we lead…
4/14/14 – 4/20/14: Elephant Nature Park, Thailand
Did you know elephants roar like lions? Squeak like mice? That you should never stand directly in front of an elephant because that’s their blind spot? That when we say elephants never forget it’s not hyperbole? I never knew these things. I never knew I wanted to know these things. But now I do, thanks to Elephant Nature Park.
4/12/14 – 4/14/14: Chiang Mai
I didn’t know what Chiang Mai would be like, but I can tell you I never imagined walking its streets soaked from head to toe. But when you arrive during Songkran, Thailand’s New Year’s festival, it’s bound to happen, so it’s best to embrace the onslaught of water being thrown in your face.
3/31/14 – 4/11/14: Bangkok
Bangkok is overwhelming. Heat and humidity coat the city like a long wet tongue. It mingles with the smell of fried food, the din of traffic, the sticky sweat clinging to your clothes. History and modernism press together like two long legs squeezing into a tight pair of pants. They fit (just) but that doesn’t make them comfortable.
3/27/14 – 3/31/14: Singapore
Singapore delighted us soon as we entered the airport and walked by a dazzling sculpture called “Kinetic Rain.” Hundreds of copper covered raindrops slid up and down invisible strings, floating through the air in magical waves. We would’ve stood there for an hour if not for the fact that we had very little sleep and were very hungry.