Goodbye Vietnam, Hello Laos

I just spent the last two weeks traveling up the coast of Vietnam before arriving in Laos yesterday. While Vietnam may never be one of my favorite countries, it is an amazing place nonetheless. I started in Ho Chi Min City (aka Saigon), which is literally one of the craziest cities I have ever been to. The congestion on the streets is amazing, especially considering that the main mode of transportation is motos. Walking across the street basucally requires you to walk into oncoming traffic and hope that you do not get hit (I never did). So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and I started hopping on motos everywhere. Another interesting thing about Ho Chi Min is that it is literally the piracy capital of the world. You can pretty much get anything from fake designer clothes to CDs and DVDs for a fraction of the price.

Anyway, after Ho Chi Min, I headed up the coast to Hoi Ann, a beautiful French colonial town which is known for making custom clothing. So of course I picked up a few suits. I also took a cooking class where I learned how to make fresh rice paper, among other things. It will be interesting to see if I can remember how to make anything when I get back from my trip. I also met a few really cool people at the cooking class who I ended up traveling with up to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi is similar to Ho Chim Min, though more compact, and the best thing about it is the homeade beer they sell on the streets for 20 cents a glass. Yes, that is not a typo. 20 cents. After a few days in Hanoi, I met back up with Chad who had spent more time in Southern Vietnam, and we took an overnight cruise in Halong Bay. This was by far the most amazing experience I had in Vietnam. There are literally thousands of islands in the middle of this emerald green bay. We also got a chance to kayak in the bay right through a cave.

I am now in Luang Prabang, Laos, which is much more relaxed than Vietnam, and it may already be my favorite city in Southeast Asia. No one hassles you here to buy anything and the views of the river and mountains are amazing. I'll post pics from Vietnam and Laos soon but in the meantime, please check out my next three posts which have lots of pics from the last two months...enjoy!