Goooooooood Bye Vietnam!

It was a whirlwind 14 day adventure through one of the most interesting parts of Asia yet. Bouncing over mountain passes we covered 1200 km in the first 6 days on motorcycle with our personal guide, Minh. He was, sadly, a bit of a twit – but an endearing twit. We witnessed the very best of what it means to be human as we were greeted with smiling faces and enthusiastic waves while riding past the locals in remote villages. We stopped several times just to play with the children and what a delight that was. We bought some indoor basketball sets in Hanoi and passed them out while teaching the kids the game (soccer after all IS the primary sport over here). They loved it and many of these kids didn’t even have a real ball to play with. We took many memorable photos and video clips. One of the most stunning portions of the ride was Heaven’s Gate on Vietnam’s highest pass. Earth and Wind combined to give us breath taking scenery. The wind howled endlessly and blew the clouds by us almost as fast as the eye could track them.
While the ride was a great time it was hard because Tara got sick…really sick. She peaked a temp at 102.5 and that’s the last thing you want when you are quite obviously, in the middle of no where. She spent several nights with a temperature and had an awful stomach bug. It could have been from the dorms we stayed in or it could have been the food we ate. The food quality in Vietnam leaves much to be desired… However, Tara spent the next week recovering and is feeling much better now!
Once we finished motorcycling we slowly worked our way south to Ho Chi Minh(aka Saigon). We took many buses, including our first sleeper bus. I speak for both of us when I say we much prefer the sleeper trains. They go a nice even speed whereas most bus drivers in this side of the world are on a mission to meet death without actually having to die. We also took a 26 hour sitting bus…ugh. Those damn buses would cramp a midget.
Ho Chi Minh was a place we enjoyed. They had great Italian food and we even (finally) found some Vietnamese food that was delicious.
After 4.5 months in Asia it’s time to say goodbye!! We’ll continue our Journey in Australia starting with Tasmania…that update will come soon!!!

Love,

Jonathan and Tara

Vietnam Photo Album

Beijing Album *fixed*