Vern: In Asia, rice is everything. It is 75% of one's daily calories but so much more than that. Rice is etiquette and innuendo. In Thailand, the equivalent phrase for 'Hi, how are you?' is 'Have you eaten rice today?' and in Vietnam, couples who share a bed before marriage are said to be 'eating rice before the bell'. Rice is life and rice is death. A glutinous variety of rice is especially enjoyed at funerals, so instead of 'to kick the bucket' the Vietnamese s...

Vern: Leaving Cambodia and crossing into Vietnam was a lot simpler and less corrupt than entering Cambodia. The only fake tax was on the Vietnamese side. A 'health official' wanted a dollar for filing a form on which we declared that we didn't have any contagious diseases. Andrea challenged him on the arbitrary fee, to which offered that if we could produce an International Inoculation Certificate we wouldn't have to pay. Unfortunately for the official we have th...