We journeyed to Bangkok to hang out for a few days, primarily so that we could spend some time with our friends (Walter, Loren, and their amazingly adorable kids) and exploring a few sights before jumping over to Europe. We were able to stay at a nice hotel just a couple of blocks from where Walter and Loren live, so it was incredibly convenient to visit (i.e. barge in on their days to play with the kids and catch up) :)As for sight-seeing - unbeknownst to us, we...

We kicked off Thailand by spending 4 nights in Chiang Mai. The weather continued to be smoking hot, and the food continued to be magically delicious. We stayed about a 30 minute walk from the center of town. Once again picked up the routine of heading out on foot for a few sights and temples early before scurrying back to the hotel to swim in the pool when the temperatures got up to 100. In the evening when the temperature would drop to the comfortable cool in th...

We spent 4 nights in the tranquil city of Luang Prabang in Laos. The town is only 50,000 people and is set in a beautiful landscape of rolling hills covered by lush forest. We could easily get to wherever we want to go on foot. We spent our days exploring temples and sights, and our evenings checking out the restaurants and browsing around the fantastic night market. One highlight was a day trip (about an hour and a half each way via tuc-tuc) out to the Kuang Si ...

We stayed in the old quarter in Hanoi, and in contrast to Ho Chi Minh, it felt much more in line with how we had imagined Vietnam. The streets were still crazy busy, it felt even a little more chaotic because the streets very narrow and the buildings were much smaller, older, and had more character. There were usually sidewalks, but you could almost never use them because they were taken up by sidewalk vendors, street restaurants, and motorbikes. In some cases we...

Since Siem Reap was so tranquil, we felt that it was time to kick things into high gear, so we jumped over to the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon). We had heard tales of how hectic the streets of Vietnam feel, and oh man did Ho Chi Minh deliver. We were afraid to stand still, even on the side walks, for fear of being run over by people, cars or scooters. From 6AM 'till the wee hours of the morning, the city radiated with chaotic energy. Peop...