Almost three weeks into Nepal, and we are about to head off on our second trek, this one to the Langtang Valley. Baffled at how nothing in Kathmandu’s bpacker district has any breakfast or even a tea shop open before 7am. Bleary eyed Nepalis, c’mon!…
Where you wake up every morning to the sounds of gentle water lapping against your bungalow door, because the guesthouse pool is adjacent to your room, and it is indeed a private pool because the other guests are old French couples who seem to fear…
We've been in Kathmandu for one day, and I've already: Hit a motorbike. The sky was dark, the masses of shops to my left, bright and appealing. With my feet walking, but my head turned sideways, I strolled smack into a parked bike. The two…
“That price seems fair, and I don't want to insult him by negotiating” “OK, I guess if my hotel burned down you can take me to another one” “Let's stay in and cook tonight, all the restaurants are unaffordable” “Really? Your brother has a gem…
The motorbike. The symbol of Vietnam. The country's utmost point of pride. “90 million people live in Vietnam today, and we have 55 million motorbikes,” one tour operator exclaims. “9 million people live in Saigon. And can you guess the number of motorbikes? Nearly 7…
A few highlights of the last month: Smoggy, sumptuous Saigon: where we sampled all forms of transport and movement – rowboats and speedboats down the Mekong, high speed slides at a waterpark on the outskirts, public buses to war museums and art galleries, and dark…
Where there's always a motorbike to take you somewhere -“Motorbike? Motorbike?” – and there's always a way to make a five minute walk seem far. Until, of course, you actually need a motorbike. Where the coast in Nha Trang stretches long and white, and has…
Where typical Vietnamese conical hats – woven from reeds to offer airy shade – are worn by rice farmers in the paddies, vendors in the city, and tourists in the departures line at the airport. Where unemployment is virtually nonexistent (much to the communist government's…
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