Where did we go, where have we been…

After living in Ireland for a year, studying in Italy for a semester, playing baseball in Latin America and finally the ultimate trip around the world; this map shows where we went and where we have been.

visited 43 states (19.1%)
Create your own visited map of The World

New Zealand

New Zealand

The first 3 nights in New Zealand have been amazing. We were able to stay with some family friends the first night in Christchurch and it was perfect. Its been a while since we have been able to enjoy being around a family with laughing children, home cooked lasagna and fine New Zealand wine.

With a few extra blankets, pillows and layers of clothes Kari, Keyino and family sent us on our way. THANK YOU!

The first two nights in the campervan we have enjoyed the great outdoors of NZ with no showers, toilets or running water. With snow on the ground in Hamner Springs we drove through what felt like a winter scene from a movie. I have a feeling we will take in quite a few more of those scenes as the first two days have been breathtaking.

There are more campers than we originally thought there would be during a NZ winter. Although when we are on the roads driving its as if we have the country all to ourselves (not a bad thing on these tiny mountain passes). We’ll head up North to Nelson and then down the west coast and up the east coast back to Christchurch. These two weeks sleeping in a van down by the river will be quite the laugh. Our blogs are on paper and we hope to get them over to RTW365…thanks to the Picton County library for allowing us to post this one.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

 

We have some catching up to do! We are now in Bali after a week running through the streets of Hong Kong and Singapore. We have yet to wrap up our time in Vietnam or tell the stories of two fascinating cities. 

If we can peel ourselves away from the beaches of Bali we might just find the time to update the ole blog. Stay tuned.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

We have actually stayed in one place for a whole week! Not having put roots down this long in any one place since Africa, we can call our humble hotel room, home.

What we love about Vietnamese villages, towns and cities are the beauty of the people and the country. Day after day, night after night we are amongst the locals living their life in business and friendships.

We find mutual pleasure in bargaining with street/beach vendors selling fruit, homemade rice cakes and sunglasses. Kite surfers, sailboats and parasailors fly on and above the deep blue waters of the South China Sea ; and the night sky is numbered more with kites flown by laughing children than of stars.

Locals swim in the ocean in what looks like contamination gear including but not limited to: full pants, socks, shoes, jacket, face mask and hat. It is also not uncommon to see people fully clothed eating noodle soup while sitting in the sand, for breakfast. We chalk these unusual and unique daily events to the Vietnamese way and another reason we love this country. Nothing shocks us anymore.

Eye Candy [Hoi An, Vietnam]

Hoi An, Vietnam

In a town known for sending tourists home with a whole new custom fit wardrobe, I was in heaven as I walked sideways starring googely eyed at the handmade shoes, dresses and coats that lined each store window.

After wearing the same pair of rainbow flip flops every day for 8 months in sand, rain and mud, my feet were salivating for new kicks. This trip has taught us many things one of which is practicality. As dirty and rugged as my flip flops are, they have seen me through any situation in comfort across the world.

 Measured at 9am and picked up before our late afternoon bus out of town, my custom fit coat was ready and even though I knew I’d have to lug it around with me in the scorching heat of Asia until our winter adventure in New Zealand, this purchase was about practicality – and a little bit of style.

Rubber Necking [Nha Trang, Vietnam]

The Vietnam version of rubber necking.

Walking home from the beach we witnessed a domestic dispute in the park. Your typical Asian dispute filled with karate kicks, head locks, num chucks and chinese throwing stars. Ok  so I made up the part about head locks. The picture below isn’t of the fight but rather the 50+ motor bikes that lined the street trying to get a ring side view.

I love Vietnam.

A Glimpse at Tam Coc, Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam!

Hanoi, Vietnam

Vietnam – so much history, so much to see, so little time. With only a month to travel in Vietnam we knew our plans of traveling the 2,000 mile coast line would mean a whirl wind tour. After three hard days of travel from Laos we finally arrived in the bustling city of Hanoi. Tired, exhausted and tense we camped out in the Old Quarter for five nights before peeling ourselves away to hop on another bus. The Old Quarter of Hanoi is not generally the place you would think of relaxing for a while, but we found the madness of the streets, markets and energy that was felt made for the perfect spot.

Ninh Binh was  just a short two hour trip from Hanoi so instead of taking the fourteen hour

Tam Coc, Vietnam

 bus to Hue we decided to break it up a bit and check it out. The city itself is nothing to see but the surrounding lime stone rock formations, green rice fields and lazy rivers make for a relaxing getaway. The Tam Coc is why most travelers come to Ninh Binh, described as “a limestone karsts sweeping up from serene rice paddies, best appreciated on a languorous rowboat ride down the river, to the soundtrack of water lapping against the oars.” Come are you serious – who writes this stuff. Can it really be that good? Is this just another ploy to wrangle in travelers?  

Tam Coc, Vietnam

Looking back on our ride downt the Tam Coc the over descriptive phrase the guide book used didn’t do it justice. It was absolutely stunning, breathtaking and romantic. Having the entire river to ourselves with not a single other tourist insight is a rarity. It was perfect.

Back to the whirl wind tour we stopped through Hue and Hoi An before arriving here in Nah Trang where we plan to spend 5 nights on the beach before heading south to Mui Ne for more beach time.

Vietnam has been good – were excited to see what the beaches have to offer.

Opps [Laos]

After 3 long travel days in a row with just a few bucks in our pocket we arrived in Vietnam. Our last day in Laos was bitter sweet. In order to cross into Vietnam from Laos we had to decide if we take the border in the south which is traveled often or take the border crossing in the north which is the road less traveled. We decided on the North. Like most Laos travel days the scenery was amazing. After a few hours on a bus followed by a two hour boat ride we arrived in Maung Ngoi – where the drama started.

The fishing boat we traveled on was packed with supplies for the river side village as the only access is by boat. Naturally all the travelers on board started to help unload the goods as we were the ones who would eventually eat the stuff. After carrying the supplies up into the village and visiting a few places to sleep I panic as I realize my small day pack is not with me. Not just any day pack, the day pack that holds our passports, credit cards, cash and pretty much anything else you would consider important.

Running up the village “road” and down to the dock, the bag is gone. Here we are in a small remote village only accessible by boat,

On our way to the boat...

 there is no electricity, phone or internet and our stuff has vanished. We meet with a “police officer” in a chicken coop where he takes the details of what was inside. All I keep thinking is how are we ever going to get out of this remote village in this remote country with no passports, money or identification. To say the tension between the two of us was thick might be a bit of an understatement.

Sitting and waiting for the officer to run through the village Amy urges me to check the dock one more time. As I do the boat captain comes running up the steps with my pack that he “found” over his shoulder. After looking through the pack I find our passports, credit cards, camera and ID all in place -everything there but 500,000 kip or 70 bucks. Any other time I would greatly trade 70 bucks for my stuff back, but again with no electricity don’t think you are going to find an ATM. With enough money to spend the night in some shady guesthouse, we split a plate of fried rice for dinner and baguette for breakfast – we were left with 67 cents after paying for the bus.

Lesson learned – don’t leave your stuff on a dock (obviously), but if you do, do it in a small village where they have no need for digital cameras, ATM cards or passports.

I’ll talk about getting food poisoning that night another time. We’re just glad to be out of that place – although it was beautiful.