Still in Vietnam

We've moved south now to Nha Trang. It's a cool beach town that's both old and new. Huge hotels and small mini-hotels. $12 bags you a pretty nice room near the beach!
We've applied for a visa extension as 1 month is just not enough time to be in Vietnam. Before Nha Trang we were in Quy Nhon - a holiday town but mostly just for Vietnamese people. It wasn't the most friendly place for a couple of whiteys but it was interesting. Dozens of massive hotels, acres of parkland, decorative roadways (and huge wide roads too) but no one was visiting and seemingly no one lived there. It was like waking up the day after the world ended. We went to a cafe where one of these panorama pics was taken and the waitress was shocked as if she hadn't seen anyone in months.

On our 3rd day there we saw another white person and I actually said "wow you're the first white person I've seen in 3 days"

The first panorama pic is the view from our hotel balcony; the second is from the cafe

Good Morning Vietnam!

OK, excuse the cheesy title...It had to be done.
Vietnam is beautiful, rainy, has the cheapest beer and the pushiest people. That's it. Here are some pics from around HaNoi, which include the water-puppet theater (just plain weird), the town itself (who plans this?), me drinking 30 cent beer, HaLong Bay, some old ladies rowing us around a river, and a whole lot of motorcycles (OK, so I admit that I'm being kind of lazy on this blog as I'm late meeting up with Char...Some pics are repeats from emails sent to family, but some pics are new)

Elephant riding and waterfalls in Luang Prabang

It's hard to remember that it's October when you spend the day riding an elephant and then swimming in a jungle waterfall! It's harder than it looks to sit on the neck of that elephant. The water at the falls is actually refreshingly cold, but I'm still never too sure what's swimming around in it with me...

Two more days and then we fly to Hanoi, Vietnam.

Luang Prabang, and a bit of Vang Vieng

Yeah, sure I could post pics of the brown Mekong that looks just like the Fraser (except with catfish and frogs), but I'd rather try to post some pics of what really goes on in Laos. So I regularly pass out at 4pm if I start drinking beer at noon ($1 gets a 640ml beer) and valium is legal (no...I don't take it every day....).
Oh, and also we went to cooking school.
Basically, I think Laos is awesome - You just relax, drink beer, and enjoy sleeping. The bars shut early but the fridge is easily stocked. I haven't even been to the turquoise waterfalls surrounding Luang Prabang (although I intend to go). So far it's just been temples, caves, scenery, and bars. And yeah, Laos is awesome. People say Thailand is overdone, and I agree. Vietnam has a bit of bad rep, and that's what I've heard from others. Laos is best described as forgotten. It's just cheap, beautiful, and, well, everyone should visit at least once.

As for Vang Vieng...Well, that place is just insane. The most expensive hotel is $14 a night, and most bars give you free whiskey. It's insane, you're always drunk, and there are far too many aussies (in my opinion a bad thing). I dislocated my shoulder on a rope swing, but I don't regret it at all. Everyone has to do a ridiculously high rope swing in a country without proper hospitals...

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane. The capital of Laos. Everything is closed by midnight. The city is beautiful, the people are friendly and relaxed, and the beer is wonderful (and costs $1 or less).

Two more days in this city then we're heading north to Van Vieng for some drunken river tubing

Koh Samui...

Beaches, bars, food, mopeds. That's Asia I suppose. But Thailand is just a little bit different...
I'm only posting this pic because I think it's absolutely hilarious. And before you even think it, the only thing I bought was a photo (30 cents)

And....Then this landed on our table one evening

What a shot, huh?