Back in the USA

We're back!  After a looong travel day-night (Bangkok-Tokyo, Tokyo-Seattle, Seattle-Denver), we finally arrived home.  We are terribly jet lagged again - hence the early morning post MT - a night's sleep consists of 4-5 hours bad sleep, tossing & turning, and then giving up...but it's a small price to pay! 

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The sparkling new Bangkok airport is amazing - it houses a Gucci, Ferragamo, Chanel, Dior, Armani, Bulgari and numerous other luxury brands interspersed with sushi bars, antipasto bars & chic cafes.  Not a bad place to spend a long layover - FYI.  

It was really hard to be at Narita International and not see Tokyo - I so wanted to ditch our next flight!  Japan is definitely on our wish list...  

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It was a wonderful trip and we have so many fun and interesting memories to cherish.  We have a few more photos to share, so please check back in a few days!  

  

Laa kawn (Good-bye) Phuket

Views from the plane

Money Matters

Vietnam

$1 = 16,000VND (dong)

The dollar-dong exchange was fabulous: withdraw $100 from your bank account and you're a millionaire. I think the smallest denomination we saw was about 200VND, which is basically worthless.

Cost of steaming bowl of pho bo: 20,000VND ($1.25)

Truly the breakfast of champions!

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Cambodia

$1 = 4,000 riels

Where we were, in Siem Reap, dollars are widely accepted. Restaurants prices & entrance fees are in dollars and the ATM's we used dispensed dollars as well. However, when we purchased anything in dollars, we usually received change in riels.

Cost of personal tuk-tuk driver for an entire day: $12

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Thailand

$1 = 32baht

Cost of full day moped rental: 200baht ($6.25)

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Seeing Regan pose as a street merchant on the streets of Hanoi: priceless!   

Nutt's Inn

John & Regan

Pretty nice digs at John's in Rawai, Phuket.  Thank you again for having us!!  

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

Ko Phi Phi Don is a small island located an hour and half ferry ride from Phuket Island. We arrived in Phuket a few days ago and have been staying with our Trinity friend, John Nutt.

Preferred form of transport: the long boat.

A three hour tour: snorkeling! Our long boat captain took us to Ko Phi Phi Leh, which was the setting for the movie The Beach.

There are lots of colorful fish swimming around Regan - if you enlarge the photo you might be able to see them.

The Thais & Cambodians love my fair skin...

Our Phuket host, John Nutt. The rumors are true: he really is a Thai fighter, bounty hunter & local real estate mogul plus he sings a mean Mustang Sally. (Those photos are fabulous but they are not on our camera...stay posted...)

Beng Melea

Photos of Beng Melea, which has not been restored. It is remarkable to consider the work that archaeologists undertake!

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En route to Beng Melea we stopped at a Buddhist pagoda. I made a small donation and was blessed by one of the monks.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is truly amazing. It has multiple levels of galleries, the first level contains exquisite bas reliefs. We would love to post more photos here but it is just taking too long!

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On our second day we visited Beng Melea, which is located 70km outside of Siem Reap. This temple was an interesting contrast from what we had seen the day before because it has not been restored. Many parts of it lie in ruin or have been overtaken by the jungle; the roots of giant, centuries old silver cotton trees climb over the structure, breaking through walls. it's really incredible! Apparently The Bayon was in similar shape when it was discovered by French archaeologists; it was subsequently pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Angkor Wat also was not discovered as it stands today, it has been restored.

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We will post more photos later...

Tuk-tuk

Our cozy ride for the day.

Temples, Temples & more Temples

Scenes from The Bayon, our favorite temple, which is located in the center of Angkor Thom. Each of its towers is carved with four divine faces and the temple also has beautiful and interesting bas reliefs.
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Our appreciation of The Bayon may have been helped by the fact that we arrived at about 6 am while the temperature could almost be described as pleasant. By 8:15, as we moved on to other parts of Angkor Thom it felt like a sauna and by noon, well, I cannot even tell you how hot it was.

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Dancing Apsaras, female spirits of the clouds and water in Buddhist and Hindu mythology.

Regan demonstrates he can dance just as well as the Apsaras.


Our visit coincided with the New Year's celebrations, so many of the Buddhas were festively decorated.

Vietnamese Cooking School

On Monday morning we went to the Red Bridge cooking school. We met in the Old Quarter with two other couples and our Hoi An native instructor Ngoc. First stop of the day was a farming village outside of town to procure fresh ingredients and learn about the local crops.


























The Asian basil, Vietnamese mint, mint, coriander and spring onions were all farm fresh.





































Upon leaving the farm we went back to the Old Quarter to cruise the Central Market and round out our shopping bags.














We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon learning to prepare traditional Vietnamese cuisine including Pho bo, shrimp wrapped in banana leaves, banana flower salad, and a clay pot white fish, using all local ingredients. The highlight was learning to make rice noodles (see Shannon above) and eating the rice noodles (see Shannon below).

































All in all it was a fantastic way to spend a day in Hoi An learning about Vietnamese culture and cooking. On the boat ride home I caught this great pic of a fishing net toss.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is an absolutely charming city located in central Vietnam, about 45 min south of Danang. The city was an important Vietnamese trading center in the 16th and 17th centuries and it has an interesting mix of Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese architectural influences. The town was fortunately spared during the French and American wars.

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Having left the chaotic streets of Hanoi, we decided to rent bikes and explore the surrounding area, including a nearby beach.

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While Regan cooled off in the South China Sea, I made friends with a group of students from a nearby town.

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Shops selling paper lanterns, viewed from across the river with reflections.

Reunification Express

On Saturday night we boarded the over night train on the Reunification Express Line. The line runs from Hanoi the nation's capital in the north, down the coast to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Our journey was a 13 hour ride ending in Danang.

Our car included 4 soft berths which we shared with a couple that live in NY.

A bit of a shaky ride, but as you can see the accomodations were plush.

I personally did not sleep much, but officially woke around 6:30 to visions of the Vietnamese countryside flying past my window. We spent the morning gazing out the windows, sampling the Vietnamese train cart food, and exchanging stories with our cabin mates. When they got off the train in Hue I thought for about two minutes that we had also left Shannon behind, but fortunately she walked in from the adjacent car while I was yelling at the crew to hold the train.

The scenery between Hue and Danang was incredible.

The train weaved along the coastline and rose above the sea level, hugging the edge of the hilly countryside.