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Asia 2006 Vietnam

Trekking into the Hills–Sapa Day 2

Well, I was right…there’s really nothing to do here after sunset! I mean the restaurants are open, and there are a couple of bars, but the town is mostly deserted, except for the occasionally hill-tribe member offering marijuana and opium and groups of Vietnamese playing a game similar to hackey-sack (did I spell that correctly?) […]

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Asia 2006 Vietnam

A long, long night into the mountains–Sapa Day 1

Well I survived the sleeper train and made it to Sapa, high in what the French nicknamed the Tonkinese Alps. Sapa is really nice, and much smaller and calmer than Hanoi. You can walk everywhere, but everywhere is also quite a steep walk! Sapa was originally settled by the French in the 1920’s and apparantly […]

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Asia 2006 Vietnam

Hanoi–Day 3

Alrighty…I started out the morning by packing and checking out of my room, before hustling on over to the Water Puppet theatre to see a performance. It was incredible!! The performance was just under 1 hour long and was comprised of maybe 15 vignettes. A traditional Vietnamese orchestra accompanied them and provided the voices. The […]

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Asia 2006 Vietnam

Uncle Ho–Modern Art Style (Hanoi Day 2)

Okay, so today was my first full day in the wondrous world of Vietnam. My room doesn’t have a window, and the one downside to that is that 9am looked exactly like 9pm in the room! Ah well, it’s cheap and quiet! The alleyway I’m staying on is quite popular among Vietnamese for food and […]

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Asia 2006 Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam!

Again, couldn’t resist the title. That shirt is quite common here. Speaking of here, I made it to Hanoi, Vietnam! And boy oh boy this place is different! I’m kind of glad I got used to Thailand first, because it is really calm, at least compared with the utter chaos that is Hanoi! Lonely Planet […]

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Asia 2006 Thailand

One Night in Bangkok

Hehe. Anyone remember that song? “One night in Bangkok and the worlds your oyster…” Couldn’t resist using it as a title. That song in remix form is quite popular here. Anyways, Bangkok is exactly where I am! I decided to spend the night here as my flight to Hanoi leaves in the morning, from the […]

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Asia 2006 Thailand

Vietnam Bound

Hoorah! I’m 2/3 of the way through my finals! Today I had the two that worried me the most–an essay exam for Thai Ways and also a 15 minute oral exam for Thai Language. I think they both went pretty well. Tomorrow I have my essay exam for my Intro to Buddhism class. I’ve been […]

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Asia 2006 Thailand

Monkeying Around in Phetchaburi

So today I ventured to Phetchaburi (pronounced petburi…note about Thai English translations…whenever there is a ph or th, they’re pronounced as p’s and t’s, just not pronounced as as hard as their counterparts without h’s) the provincial capital of the province bearing the same name, which Cha-Am (where I technically live) is located. I haven’t […]