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!