All good things come to an end

We have spent our last week in the Perenthian Islands and it has been the perfect way to end our trip in Southeast Asia! The water is as clear as a swimming pool and we have gone scuba diving every single day. We saw a giant sea turtle and two reef sharks and it was so incredible getting to swim along with them in their habitat! Chillin out at the beaches has been extremely relaxing and one of the most beautiful places we have ever been.

In the past three months the we have seen Mt Everest, learned to scuba dive, toured five different countries, ate incredible food, met great people, and much more. We are both incredibly lucky to have had this time to explore a little part of the world and have mixed feeling about returning to the States. On the one hand, traveling can be exhausting especially when (for the most part) we only spend about three days in each place. After three months of taking countless bus rides, flights, and trains we are really looking forward to coming home and staying in one place and getting in our routine. There are also those times, for example, when you stay in a shit hole of a hotel with moldy, wet carpet and the sheets clearly have not been cleaned in God knows how long. Then after checking into your shit hole hotel you walk down the street to grab a bite to eat and you see three rats the size of my dog, Jetta, scurrying outside the restaurants. Or when your hotel has an ant infestation problem and the ants love you so much they not only want to share your room, they also want to be cooked into your pineapple crepe. 

On the other hand, you get to spend your days swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Perenthians, exploring charming old towns, trekking in the Himalayas, floating through the mystical islands of Halong Bay, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. We truly have had a trip of a lifetime and I, for one, feel so fortunate to have shared it with the love of my life. Traveling with Tyler is always such a pleasure and he makes any trip that much more enjoyable. However, there is 

no place like home and we are both looking forward to seeing our families and our amazing group of friends, you have all been missed so much! So bring on the Stars and Stripes, some cold beer, and one hell of a BBQ we are coming home wahoo!

Poodle and chips anyone?

We have spent the last week in Hoi An and Dalat. Hoi An is an amazing little city that is closed all day to traffic and only a short 20 minute bike ride to an awesome beach. At night the river is lit up by hundreds of lanterns and sipping a cold beer listening to live bands playing soothing music has made for some of the most enjoyable evenings we've had. We also took the liberty to have some suits custom made for us and, let me tell you, Tyler looked like he stepped out of of a 007 movie! SO HANDSOME! After a few days in Hoi An we headed to the central highlands of Dalat.

Our main purpose in visiting Dalat was to take a motorcycle tour through the country to see the "real Vietnam." Originally, Tyler and I both opted to ride on the back of a motorcycle since neither of us have ever driven a motorcycle of any description in our lives; not to mention the crazy traffic, monsoon rain, and variable road conditions. Tyler, however, decided he wanted to give it a shot. I was adamant that he should not ride the bike, especially after I went on a rather wobbly test ride with him on the back of the bike. He ignored my nagging and ended up spending the rest of the day on the bike and did an excellent job, way to go Ty!

The best part of the tour was interacting with some local tribes women and hearing them describe their lives in their native language. It was seriously a once in a lifetime opportunity and unfortunately describing it would take at least 20 more blog posts to give it justice. We also went to a local market where our guide explained how much a cat or dog would cost for dinner. He said people have them as family pets but sometimes when they get to be around four years old you just say (and I quote) "fuck it" and decide to make them into a meal. And sure enough, we have seen cages with dogs and cats for sale at the local markets (sorry animal lovers). We have a couple days in Saigon before we head to Malaysia where we will be wrapping up our trip and are very much looking forward to returning to the States!

Good morning Vietnam!

I know I have said this before, but Vietnam is turning into our favorite place (except for the Himalayas,  nothing will ever top that). Tyler has fallen in love with Hanoi and said it's his favorite city he has ever been. The traffic is hilarious. Apparently there are over 3 million motor bikes in Hanoi alone. When crossing the street it is impossible to wait until there are no more vehicles, so instead you walk across VERY slowly and without hesitation into a heavy stream of motorcycles. The idea is when you walk slowly the drivers have a good idea of where you are and can maneuver around you. If you were to cross the street quickly, as we are accustomed to doing, you would be squashed like a bug on a windshield. 

Close to Hanoi is the beautiful region of Sapa where thousands of rice paddies line the misty mountains. We booked a tour that consisted of one of the local Hmong people taking our group trekking through rice paddies to a small village where we spent the night at a local home stay. The first day of our trek our entire group was literally slipping and sliding down the muddy slopes of Sapa desperately grasping onto the hands of local tribeswomen who helped us on the way down. It was hilarious! Every single person fell AT LEAST once and we were caked in mud by the time we arrived in the village. After a quick rinse off, we helped our guide (Bamg) and her family plant rice on their farm. Later that evening we drank the "happy water" aka rice whiskey, and had a very good night's rest. After a couple days we headed to Halong Bay.

Halong Bay is one of the newly named seven wonders of the world and consists of almost 2,000 limestone karsts. We booked a two-night boat excursion that cruises through the amazing islands. This was extremely relaxing and we were able to go fishing, swimming, and kayaking through some eerie caves. After some chilled out time we returned to Hanoi for one last day and took a 15 hour 
train ride to Hoi An where we will be spending a few days. Really enjoying our time in Vietnam!

Food glorious food!

Asians are obsessed with hot dogs. Oh and also 7-11's. I don't think you can walk more than half a block in Thailand without passing at least three 7-11's (which is very convenient if your boyfriend has a passion for buying local beers at a cheap price). One of the biggest mistakes you can make while in Laos or Thailand is sitting down at a restaurant and eating a meal, the evidence is on my waistline. Not to say there aren't incredible restaurants; the problem is you inevitably end up walking along the streets at night stuffing your face with the wide variety of street food. You can get anything from pad thai, spring rolls, chicken skewers, kebabs, wraps, home made ice cream, fresh fruit shakes, chocolate crepes, and (of course) hot dogs. Why on earth would you buy a hot dog when you can have the best barbecued kebab you've ever had in your life?

Last night we met up with some friends from Colorado who introduced us to "chicken street" in Vietnam. In true communist fashion they have an entire street dedicated to one thing; chicken. You sit down at these tiny little tables with tiny chairs and feel like you are in preschool again. First you order what parts of the chicken you want. Second, the servers come around with giant skewers and place them on a plate in the middle of the table. Third, a person with scissors comes over to cut the chicken off the skewers making it easier to eat. Fourth, enjoy your local beer in a plastic mug with giant ice cubes. Remember when you are done with your chicken simply throw the bones on the floor, they will sweep it up at the end of the night. Fantastic! Needless to say, we are really enjoying the food (Tyler even had a fried frog for dinner the other night) and will be returning to the states a good ten pounds heavier!

Luang Prabang, Laos

Before leaving on our trip Tyler's parents sent us an article about Luang Prabang, Laos. The woman writing about her experience says there are some places you visit and love so much that you want to go back again and again. However, there are other places you find so intoxicating you never want to go back for fear of not returning to the same wonderful place you have in your memory. Truer words cannot have been said about Luang Prabang.

Laos has only opened its doors to tourism within the past 15 years so it remains a fairly unexplored area and probably one of the few places of its kind in the world. Unfortunately, I have no doubt that this is changing rapidly each year. Laos was once a French colony so the town of Luang Prabang resembles a quintessential village in France, but in a tropical environment where the Mekong River winds its way through the town. Luang Prabang is full of bakeries, book shops, cafes where they brew local Lao coffee, as well as restaurants with traditional Lao cuisine. This is not what you would expect coming to a communist state that is one of the poorest countries in the world, but you will be blown away. After Nepal (because it is hard to top the Himalyas) this has been our favorite place. We are entering the last month of our trip and leave tomorrow for Vietnam where the adventures will continue!

Chiang Mai

We had an awesome time in Bangkok where we did everything from visiting famous temples, wondering around the Bangkok Cultural and Arts Center, taking in the extremely luxurious shopping mall of Siam Paragon, exploring the chaotic market of China Town, and enjoying a drink and magnificent view at the Red Sky Bar. We even had a Thai massage and felt like we had been to the chiropractor; to quote Tyler "she did a lot of things, to a lot of things, that have never been done before." We have since left Bangkok and have headed north to the charming town of Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is known for its trekking opportunities in the nearby hillside villages as well as many other tours including visiting elephant and tiger sanctuaries. Most of these options are expensive and many of the animals are mistreated so we have opted to explore the city in other ways. We took an all day cooking class with the best instructor ever, MB. MB is this tiny Thai woman full of spunk and energy and had us laughing all day. Before class we visited a local market and were given a tour around the organic farm where the class was located. We learned to cook loads of dishes and they were all surprisingly easy. So far Chiang Mai is our favorite place in Thailand and wish we had even more time to explore the north. Tomorrow we leave to Laos for about a week and cannot wait to explore the town of Luang Prabang!

A taste of Bangkok

Tyler and I are now officially PADI certified and can scuba dive wherever we want to! We are really excited because there are supposed to be some good diving opportunities in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bali. While getting certified we did four dives and saw loads of fish and barracudas and had an awesome time! Scuba diving is one of the most amazing things we have ever done and surprisingly easy to do, if you have never tried I strongly encourage you to give it a shot. The sensation of floating through the water and feeling as though you are living in an entirely new world is incredible.

One thing that is not incredible is getting food poisoning. I have never been more sick in my entire life and I cannot believe that after traveling extensively through India and Nepal we both get sick on a remote island that is extremely touristy. As Tyler says, "I guess it's all part of the experience, right?" He may be right, but I am not eating a chicken caesar salad for a vey long time.

We are now in Bangkok, after our extremely luxurious air conditioned bus ride experience, and are so far in love with the city. Currently we are staying in the backpacker grotto on Khao San road and have yet to really get to the hustle and bustle of he city. However, first impressions are a lot less chaotic than expected, surprisingly chilled-out, clean, traveler-friendly, and filled with happy people. So far we have only had one person try and rip is off. Unfortunately for him we have received our Master's in avoiding scams from traveling in India so he was very unsuccessful. Also today we have indulged in the gastronomical delights of Thailand and enjoyed our first fried scorpions, yumm! Tastes like crunchy chicken. Looking forward to the rest of the time in Bangkok!

Another Day in Paradise

There are two kinds of people in this world, Ko Phi Phi and Tonsai. Ko Phi Phi could easily sweep all the awards for best "beach bods." Getting away from this crazy superficial party scene of hipsters was very relieving. If you can handle a slightly dumpy beach, mosquitoes, sticky jungle humidity with a non air-conditioned room then the hippie, rock climbing vibe of Tonsai will be your new found paradise. Everything from the reggae bars with plenty of slack lines and wooden swings to an amazingly cheap meal at "Mama's Chicken" makes this place an ultimate backpacker hang out. Tyler and I met many great people here and really enjoyed our day of "deep water soloing." Deep water soloing is where a boat takes you out to a stunning limestone karst and you free climb above the turquoise waters. Basically you can climb any route, as easy or difficult as you like, and when you finish your climb you simply jump into the ocean below. It was such a great way to spend the day and I would highly recommend for anyone to give it a try.

We have since left Tonsai and are in Ko Toa getting our scuba diving certification at "Simple Life Divers." We are the only two in the class and love our eccentric British instructor, Luke. Basically just another day in paradise for the happy travelers. 

Buy one bucket get one free + flaming limbo = a bad decision

Upon arriving in Ko Phi Phi we were a bit disappointed. We got off at the pier and there was techno music blaring from all the speakers, a million tourists crowding the streets, and when we arrived at our hotel and asked where we could go swimming at the beach, the lady responded "No swimming, only wading." No swimming! We are at a beach for Christ's sake! However, after walking to the beach and seeing the turquoise clear waters with the stunning limestone mountains in the distance we were happy to be here!

The first night we realized that we are on the party beach. At night the entire coast line transforms into a neon spectacle with American music booming and fire shows at every bar. A little out-there for our relaxed idea of a beach vacation, but what the hell? So everywhere on the island they advertise "buy one bucket (a mixture of soda and booze), get one free!" We follow suit and get ourselves a bucket each and sit down to watch the fire show, and boy what a fire show it was! It was such a great show we could 't believe we weren't even paying for it! It was so great they even allow tourists to participate at the end. I decide I am pretty good at doing the limbo so I hop on stage and go under a flaming stick with the greatest of ease! That is until I made it under, tripped, and fell flat on my face. Awesome. But all I had we're a few scrapes and bruises, it could have been MUCH worse.

We are enjoying the beautiful water and have been kayaking and snorkeling where we saw some amazing fish! We are looking forward to doing some more activities and exploring other islands.

Chitwan National Park

We just arrived back in Khatmandu after a hellish 6 hour bus ride. Our seats were in the very back of the bus and whenever we would go over a bump we would go flying into the air, one time I really thought Tyler had smashed his head on the ceiling. Also the seat in front of Tyler was broken so the back of the chair was crushing his legs the entire time. We would stop every so often so the bus drivers could perform "minor maintenance" on the bus. One time our driver shimmied under the bus and after a few minutes of scrambling about walked over to the local shop, purchased some electrical tape, scurried back under and then decided we were good to go! Oh yeah, and it was 106 degrees. Needless to say we are getting really excited to head to the beaches in Thailand!

We spent four days in Chitwan National Park and had a really great time. We saw seven wild rhinoceros and they were absolutely amazing animals! We were able to get 20 feet away while riding elephants and it was incredible to get so close. We also saw several crocodiles on a canoe ride that were up to 7ft long! The safari guides who worked for our hotel were the nicest people and we had a great time having some beers with them last night. Now we are chilling out for a couple days and preparing for the next leg of our trip. Goodbye Nepal!

We came, we saw, we conquered!

Trekking through the Himalayas and seeing Mt. Everest was the most amazing experience Tyler and I have ever had. I would highly recommend to put at least one of the many treks in Nepal on your bucket list. One of our favorite aspects about the trek was the ability to interact with and observe an incredibly strong and happy culture while taking in the scenery of arguably the most incredible place on earth. It is a magical place where time seems to have stood still. Both Tyler and I would describe this as a spiritual experience.

Again, the Nepalese people are what really make this trek special. They are so friendly, always smiling and eager to help. Tyler and I were one of the only people who did not hire a guide or a porter. We didn't realize that hiring a porter was the norm and also helped to give someone in the community a job. However, these porters carry an insane amount of weight--anywhere from a minimum of 66 lbs to 220 lbs! There are also many children (10 and older) and elderly people carrying these loads uphill, at altitude, and over 40 miles. They are doing this back breaking work for a meager ten dollars a day and they do it with a great attitude. Every time you pass a porter they greet you with a friendly "Namaste!" They are the strongest people, inside and out, we have ever met. We realize they do this for a job and need the money, but it still seems very immoral to allow this to happen and it was very difficult for us to witness.

Reaching Kala Pathar (the viewpoint for Mt. Everest at 18,300 ft) was the most incredible feeling of self accomplishment and was such an awesome thing to have achieved together. This is a trip we will never forget and we feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity! Tomorrow we leave for Chitwan National Park for four days where we will be doing some safaris and hope to see a bengal tiger! After that we fly to Thailand on May 4th where we are looking forward to some much needed beach time!

Surprise!

Surprise! We are still in Kathmandu! The night before we leave I am getting so excited and am dreaming of trekking through the Himalayas and picturing myself summiting our final climb (with the Rocky theme song playing in the background). We get up half an hour before our alarm goes off at 5:30 am and head to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We arrive and it is CHAOS, nobody has any idea what the hell is going on. That is, of course, except for the guides and porters who are sorting everything out for the tourists (lucky them) who have paid to be taken on their treks. So I am standing in line trying really hard to figure out how to get our boarding passes and get our bags on the plane. I am being to told "exuse me, you are in the wrong line Madame, move over to that line" about four different times. As I am hopping from line to line shoving my ticket in front of each person working for the airline, I am barking orders at my own personal Sherpa (Tyler) to move our bags from one place to the next. This process was so confusing that we actually met someone who ended up paying a guide to get his boarding pass for him. Finally, and with the biggest sense of self accomplishment I have ever felt in my life, we get our ticket and head to the waiting area.

So far so good. Our flight is on time and we hop on the bus to be loaded on our plane. We are about to get off the bus but have to turn around because of windy weather conditions. We then wait in the airport, with beyond horrible bathrooms and only some salt and vinegar pringles to eat, until 4 pm waiting to see if the weather will change. No such luck. Flights to Lukla have now been cancelled for two days back to back so we have to go back to our hotel cancel and reschedule our flight for Tuesday morning. Tomorrow we are booked on the second flight at 7:15 am so we are really hoping we make it otherwise we may have to do a different trek, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Last day before the trek begins

Namaste! We are on day two in Kathmandu and are really enjoying ourselves. Kathmandu is really similar to India but much less chaotic, more of an "India with training wheels." The people are also much nicer and more helpful and we have felt very comfortable having our hotel help us book our trip from here to Lukla where will begin our trek. It has been really great for Tyler and I to be somewhere familiar where many faded memories from India have been coming back to us; the wide assortment of menus where you can order anything from pizza to curry to a roast chicken dinner, the refreshing lemon sodas or lassis, waking up narrow streets dodging motorcycles, and the burning of incense outside the shops in the mornings.

For the past day and a half we have basically been recuperating from our flight and preparing for our trek. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9:20 AM and we will begin our 11-14 day hike to Mt. Everest base camp. We are leaving with the bare essentials, that's right only three pairs of underwear, two shirts, two pants, no makeup (which Tyler is particularly upset about), and a couple of showers IF we're lucky. However I suppose the sacrifice will be worth it--to see the tallest mountain on earth and share such a wonderful experience together! As you can imagine wifi services will be limited so for those of you who are interested we will keep you updated in a couple of weeks when I'm sure we will have much to report!

Day One: Traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal
Location: Salt Lake City National Airport
Mission: 6 countries, 3 months, 2 lovebirds, 1 trip of a lifetime!

Tyler and I spent last night with Debbie and Stas at Casa de Mintowt enjoying our last supper--filet mignon, red wine, a smorgasbord of delicious cheese, and creme brûlée! Now we are anxiously awaiting our 36 hour trip to Kathmandu. We will report back when the "eagle has landed." MUCH more to follow.