New FriendsLeaving Hanoi, I was beginning to work my way down Vietnam today. I took one last day to tour around the city that had become a familiar home for a while. Elena and I said our goodbyes, both recognizing the stroke of luck that we ran into eachother. Her companionship has grown into a friendship during the past 6 days, as we shared our own perspectives, our stories, our meals, our navigational skills, our bartering skills. She is an strong woman, open a...

Perfume Pagoda Sleeping on a night train, the 9 hour trip from Sapa - Hanoi passed quickly and at a mere $16, it cost the same as a hotel room for the night. Arriving at 5am, the central market was the only thing hopping. But it was a BUZZ. Motorbikes stacked 4 feet tall with freshly picked cauliflower, tomatoes, and eggs. Every food you could imagine. This is when the restaurants all buy their fresh ingredients for the day's menu. In the faint light of a bar...

I'll be home for Christmas. If only in my Dreams....Just a short messag home today wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Last night a small mountain villiage of Bac Ha was the stop for a Christmas Eve celebration. A tour group from Check Republic had brought a tree branch and decorated it with 2 ornaments, they sung Christmas carols and exchanged presents. Traveleing with Elena, just the 2 of us, we exchanged stories of our family traditions. It was like piecin...

Christmas Eve at the Bac Ha Market.This was the place to be on Sundays. Bac Ha. It's a 3 hour drive from Sapa, and the place that everyone goes on Sundays. The market draws in crowds of locals who set out on foot well before dawn, in order to sell and buy the household items they need for the week. This market has everything.Wandering through the droves of fresh fruits and vegetables, my eyes roamed the strange foods, like a kid in a candy shop. Dragon fruit-...

Among the Hmong!During the day, we rose early to meet up with a local Hmong tribe girl who would take us trekking through the mountains and past a couple Hmong villages. It was the best way to see Sapa. From the side of the mountain, off the road, in the middle of the rice fields that were carved into the mountainside like steps. And every inch of my almost 40 year old body was feeling those steap climbs. Winded, Mai Mai stopped frequently to ask me if I was okay...