Home Brings Mixed Emotions.

We arrived back in California last Sunday and have many stories to share about our final weeks in Vietnam and Indonesia.  Forgive us for not posting photos for the last month; we didn't want to risk getting more viruses from internet cafe computers (you never know where those things have been.)  Since our computers work SO much better here than they did in Asia, we will edit down our photographs before posting them to Picasa and save you the torture of looking at every single picture we snapped.  Come back to the blog in a few days and hopefully we'll have a link ready for your viewing pleasure.

There is so much that we would both like to reflect on, but I don't think we'll be able to do it in one blog post.  For now, I will just say that this trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  Our travels have fundamentally changed who I am (in a good way) and have given me a broader, more dimensioned perspective on the world and the people in it.  Maybe that sounds cliche, but it's true.  If you have done a trip like this, or even traveled for just a week or two at a time, you know what I mean.

While we were gone, Tyson's sister Teagan left to spend 10 weeks in Cuba for her last semester at college.  A few weeks into her trip, she sent us an email opining that travel should be a requirement for everyone.  I completely agree.  Traveling forces you out of your comfort zone.  It tests your strength and your courage and your bowels.  It opens you up to unexpected interactions, unfamiliar situations, and whim.  It teaches you about yourself and what you are capable of.  It heightens your senses (sometimes this is not a good thing.)  It shows you how breathtaking and heartbreaking this earth is and how we are all beautifully, subtlety connected.

Even though our trip has ended, we intend to try to keep the blog going.  Hopefully, we'll have some interesting things to write about even though we are back in America.  In fact, just yesterday, when Tyson and I were heading up the stairs at the post office, we saw a large homeless woman who was bending over wearing a short summer dress.  Not very noteworthy, right?  Except that it is blog-worthy when said woman fails to wear underpants.  Seriously.  Bare ass and then some on the steps of the Santa Barbara post office.  Now that is a good travel story.  (Thankfully, there are no photos.)

Four Months on a Map

It really is amazing how easy things can be stateside.  At the store, we're able to pick out whatever we want with ease.  If anything, we're faced with too much choice.  We walk down the sidewalks without looking down to make sure we don't step in a hole.  People generally stop at stop signs.  We can pay with a credit card (this should not be so easy) and there is toilet paper and soap in every bathroom (so far).  And once its set up, the internet is easy to use.  This helped us update the basic route we took over the last four months and share it in Google Maps.

The blue upside down raindrops are all of the places we stayed, red lines are flights we took, and blue lines are all sorts of other travel options (ranging from buses, boats, sangthaews, and somebody's uncle's tuk tuk).  The travel was half the experience, maybe more.  We had some great rides, and some scary ones, but it all seemed to work out for the best.

Here's basically the first two and a half months in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia:


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map


And a month in Vietnam, then Indonesia (Bali and Gili Islands):


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map


And our final gorgeous days in Bali, and then Bangkok, where we reluctantly caught our flight home:


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map

A Quick Update from Paradise

This morning we woke up with the realization that in a week's time, we'll be boarding a flight out of Bangkok (well hopefully, given the political unrest) and back to our "real" world.  After a month in Vietnam, we would have left without much sadness...as much as we loved it, and we truly did, the country wore us out (we'll write more on our experiences later).  However, having gone from the two-million motorbike congested, rainy, narrow streets of the Old Quarter of Hanoi (where walking and navigating is nothing short of a challenge, we got lost at least twice) to the horsecarts and bicycles that serve the dirt paths surrounding Gili Air (off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia), we are digging in our heels.

We've spent the past few days diving, snorkeling and lounging in tropical paradise, then retreating to our gorgeous air-conditioned bungalow equipped with an outdoor bathroom, pool, and great company (we decided to treat ourselves).  What a fantastic way to end a phenomenal trip.  We are literally in heaven.  It will be hard to leave, which is exactly the feeling we were hoping for.

Adopted

Would this ever happen at home?  Would you go to a tailor to have some clothes made and wind up having the store owner and her family take you in as one of their own?  Would they hug and kiss you and squeeze your cheeks?  Would they invite you to join them for a birthday celebration for their kids?  Would they tell you that you were now part of their family and would you legitimately feel like you were?

Well, this has happened to us in Hoi An, Vietnam. 

On a recommendation from some travelers we met in Cambodia, we found ourselves at a tailor shop called Diem Diem.  Immediately, we were given beer and food and made to feel completely welcome.  Within 15 minutes of being in the shop (and ordering lots of tailor-made clothes), we had been invited to the birthday party of Diem's twin daughters, who were turning 2 the next day.  We gladly accepted this invitation and at 4:30 pm the next day, Tyson and I arrived for the birthday celebration at the shop.  However, we soon learned that the party was not going to be at the shop as we were escorted, along with 13 other members of the family, into a large minivan.  We had no idea where we were going but we felt no fear or discomfort.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a local restaurant where we proceeded to have the most delicious Vietnamese meal that we have eaten since arriving in this country.  The family sat Tys and I right in the center of the table, across from the patriarch of the family (who we affectionately call "Papa").  Papa made sure that our beer glasses remained full throughout the meal and our eating was frequently interrupted by the clinking of glasses and the shouting of "YO!," which means "Cheers" in Vietnamese.  We ate family style and the food just kept on coming. 

 

The first course involved making our own spring rolls from rice paper, lettuce, mint, cucumber and fish and dipping them into a chili, garlic and rice vinegar sauce. 

 

The second course was small, whole squid, which were a little squishy for us (but the little girls sitting next to me just couldn't get enough.) 

 

For the third course we ate clams in a soup broth: quite delicious but Papa opened the clams that hadn't opened during the boiling process and insisted that Tyson and I eat them.  I'm pretty sure that you are NOT supposed to do this because it means the clams were already dead before being cooked (and rotten clams can obviously make you very sick) but we could not offend him by turning down his offers.  I managed to put down one forcefully opened clam but Tyson had to eat two!  Thankfully, neither of us got sick.

 

The final course was a Vietnamese hot pot that included fish, shrimp, squid, vegetables and noodles. By the time we got to this point, we were both so stuffed but kept eating what they put in front of us to show our appreciation.  Yes, our seafood consciences were killing us throughout the meal.

This experience was very special and unique for us.  We had the opportunity to feel, if only for a few hours, what it was like to be a part of a big, happy, lovely, Vietnamese family.  It didn't matter that we couldn't understand most of what was being discussed at the dinner table, we still felt completely comfortable, welcome and included.  And we feel very lucky that we were able to have an experience like this.  We don't know why they chose us but we are thankful that they did.  We doubt we will have another experience like this with strangers any time soon. 

The motto of this family was, "Money is number 20, family and friends are number 1."  And they are right.  This experience helped us understand how special it is for generations of family members to be so geographically close to one another and made is realize how important it is, to us, to be physically closer to our families at home.  Mom and Dad Feinberg, time to move to California!  Seriously.

PS - While in Hoi An, our adopted family fed us at least 8 meals, several cups of coffee, and more beers than we care to admit.  By the time we leave here tomorrow, neither of us our going to fit into all the new clothes we had made. 

2 suits, 1 business shirt, 1 pair of shorts, 2 jackets, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of women's work pants, 1 jean skirt, and 4 pairs of shoes: $Many Vietnamese Dong.

Spending 5 days being a part of a Vietnamese family: Priceless.


 

Easy Riding

Before the trip, we made a couple of pacts with our doctors:  1) we wouldn't pet stray dogs or 2) get on motorbikes.  The stray dogs were to be avoided for fear of potentially being bitten by a rabid dog (vaccinations for rabies, and neutering for that matter, lack in all the countries we've visited).  Given the traffic patterns here, motorbikes raise obvious concern, especially if you don't really know how aggressive the driver is.  Our own pact was to not eat any fruit or vegetables that may have been washed with dirty water.  After 3 months, we are dog petting, motorbike riding, salad eating fools...and loving it.

 

It comes to a basic realization: it's not possible or fair to make blanket judgments.  If the food appears clean and sounds good, we eat it.  If the dog is obviously friendly and not rabid, we pet it.  And if the Easy Riders have comfortable bikes, friendly/safe dispositions, we ride with them.  Had we stuck to our initial pact, we would have missed out on a wonderful day doing just that in Dalat, Vietnam. 

 

They are called Easy Riders for a reason.  There bikes are like Harleys (although made by Honda), and the men driving them were two of the most gentle souls we've met on our trip, Jean and Windy.  They took us around the gorgeous Dalat countryside (which feels an awful lot like California) and showed us a behind the scenes look at the rhythms of life in rural Vietnam.  We learned how silk is made (somthing neither one of us knew we had an interest in, it really is fascinating), about Vietnamese Buddism, the American and Cambodian wars (this linked photo is the remainder of a South Vietnamese General's house after the 1968 Tet Offensive), and how Dalat agriculture works.  We climbed up a hill for a sweeping view, down a hill to the Elephant Waterfall, and learned how locals grow flowers, coffee, and use native grasses to make brooms.  There really is something special about taking the countryside in on the back of a motorbike. 

 

We highly recommend the Easy Riders in Dalat, even if you "don't" ride motorbikes.

Vietnam Videos, etc.

As we've said before, we've had an awesome time in Vietnam thus far.  We're in Nha Trang, waiting to get on an overnight bus to Hoi An (and for the rain to stop).  We took the opportunity to load some photos and videos.  Yesterday, we went diving in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and the visibility was fantastic (15 to 20 meters).  We decided to take the divemaster up on his offer to take photos...it turned in to a bit of a photo shoot, and we were exhausted from having to constantly smile.  The photos don't capture everything, but they give a pretty good idea of some of the stuff down there.  Nha Trang has some MPA's (not nearly enough) so the diving quality is head over heels better than Phu Quoc.

We've also loaded a couple of videos from our time in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).  The traffic is both chaotic and predictable...the best way to cross the street is to walk slowly and let the traffic go around you.  It's crazy but it still works.  Here's a video to that effect. 

One of our most enjoyable half days was spent touring the city on a pair of cyclos, which are old fashioned, emissions free, three wheel bicycles where you get to sit on the front.  This video shows us working our way through a traffic circle.  Jenn's driver was 62 years old, and cyclos every day.  He get's up early, rides 12km fast into the city, and then 'rides back slowly'.  He even offered for us to take home an orphaned boy he picked up a few months ago.  Don't worry, it's still just the two of us.

Finally, here's a whole host of photos that we've taken since the end of our time in Cambodia, and the start of Vietnam. Evidently, using internet cafes to load photos is akin to sleeping with hookers.  We had hundreds of viruses on our poor memory cards, which blocked us from loading anything.  They've been fixed...just remember to be careful where you stick your USB. 

P.S.  Some places in Vietnam block Blogger (probably much like China), so if this is in a funny format, it's because we submitted it as an email.  We're off to Hoi An!

Alice in WonderNam

Given America's history in Vietnam, it is perhaps the most interesting country we've been in.  Nothing is black and white.  It's grey and it's colorful.  We came with a particular interest in the Vietnamese peoples' perception of their country, their government, and the future.  We wondered if people were happy with how everything turned out.  So far, after talking to a number of people over the past week, the only sure thing is that after 100+ years of war, the people are happy to be living in peace. 

That message rings true in the messages portrayed at Reunification Palace in Saigon where the North Vietnamese "liberated" the South.  It also rings true with the two South Vietnamese soldiers (who fought with the U.S.to prevent communist takeover) that we had the pleasure of spending time with (one was a 62 year-old cyclo driver, the other a 60 year-old tour guide).  They may not have total freedom (those who fought with the U.S. are barred from getting highly educated jobs and spent years in painful "re-education camps"), but peace and the chance for prosperity (communism is basically dead here) give the country a feeling of hope, a sense of pride, and energy to put towards building a successful economy.   Are they happy with how everything turned out?  There is no simple answer, and we don't expect to find one. 



We can however, report some early observations:


-The people are incredibly friendly.  Our first big bus ride, we were the only Westerners on the bus (that was a first for us).  Everything was communicated in Vietnamese, including our 30 minute lunch/bathroom stop where we could have easily been lost in the fray.  No problem, a handful if Vietnamese travelers who spoke some english took us under their wings, showed us which restrooms to use, shared food with us, and got us set up to find a place to sleep in Saigon. We never really even needed to ask for help.


-While the people are incredibly friendly, vendors will vigourously befriend you as they attempt to lighten your wallet with inflated prices.  We have to haggle for almost everything.  We've won a few, we've lost many more, but we're getting the hang of it.  Once you know the game, its fun to play.  Otherwise you feel like an idiot.  Take our $10 'Oakey' and 'Diesle' knockoff sunglasses for instance.


-In Saigon, the motorbike is king.  At major intersections, there is literally a sea of motorbikes zig-zagging and weaving to get where they want to go.  Minor streets and intersections are much the same. As if crossing the street wasn't enough, on the sidewalk it is not uncommon to hear a friendly honk behind you asking for you to step to the side for a motorbike to pass.  We popped in to a shoe store one afternoon and had to step aside to let a motorbike pass.  He wasn't pushing it, he was riding it.  With the motor on. 


-The motorbike opens up a world of social opportunities.  In Saigon, couples and singles gather in beautiful tree shaded open spaces to eat, drink, play a sort of badmitton hackey sack, dance and just hang out.  Many teens and twenty-somethings simply sit on their motorbikes like couches.  It is a beautiful, communal sight..

-Many things are the same as home.  The ice-cream man sounds the same here, except that he or she is usually on a bike of some sort.  Unfortunately we can't load our pictures (endless computer troubles), but we have a great one of two police men sitting in the front window of a donut shop.  No further comment necessary.


And in Saigon, you can watch movies.  We were so excited.  Not only were there movies, they were showing Alice in Wonderland.  It was so fun to be in a theatre in Vietnam.  So far, it really does feel like WonderNam.