Life on the mighty Mekong

We've decided to spend our last week in Vietnam in the Mekong Delta. Located in the far south of the country, it's where the Mekong River, which begins all the way in Tibet, spills out. The area produces most of the country's fruit, as well as rice and other crops. Overall, the past 5-6 days have been very good, although we've had our share of disappointments, as well.

The best part for us is just being in what it a completely different type of lifestyle from anything we've seen -- water is everywhere and life revolves around it -- from several major rivers to smaller branches to man-made canals. The entire region is incredibly lush with fruit trees all around. Our best experience was our second day in the delta in the city of Ben Tre. We took a boat trip which gave us the perfect glimpse to life in the region. We took a chance with an independent "tour guide" rather than take an official trip, and it was great. We cruised for 45 minutes up a narrow river passed boats of all sizes with people going about their day-to-day work, arriving at the island where the guide lives. We then rode bikes around the island for an hour -- almost all the roads are less than 10 feet wide and there are virtually no cars. The island is filled with fruit trees and most people make a living growing myriad types. We then stopped at his house where we hung out on hammocks and drank milk from freshly cut coconuts while the wife cooked us a huge meal. We ended the trip on a small rowboat going through the tiny canals on the island, ducking under small bridges that we had earlier rode our bikes over.

Our trip to get to the Mekong Delta from Ho Chi Minh City should have been an omen about the negative experiences we were going to have. After a couple great, relaxing days, we were ready for our bus trip. We needed the Mien Tay bus station, located about 10 miles southwest of our hotel. Unfortunately, we were told to take a taxi to the Mien Dong bus station, which was about 7 miles north of our hotel. We wondered why we got strange looks at the bus station when we told them where we wanted to go. They told us which bus to board, and it immediately didn't feel right. Lonely Planet said it'd be an air-conditioned express bus; instead, we were on a hot bus that stopped to pick people up constantly. We knew we were supposed to be heading southwest, but after 45 minutes we saw that we were passing through the city center, right near our hotel. At that point we knew something was wrong and realized that the bus we were on was taking its time driving across the city to the correct bus station. An hour and a half after we boarded the bus, we finally got to the right bus station. We then had another 2.5 hour bus ride (at least it was air-conditioned) to the city of Ben Tre.

We didn't have any truly bad experiences after this, but the rest of our time seemed to range from disappointing to merely "good." A part of our frustration was with our guidebook. For example, it described a city (Tra Vinh) as the prettiest town in the Mekong, with architecture reminiscent of an earlier era. So, we went out of our way to get there. We have literally no idea what Lonely Planet was talking about, unless the earlier era was 1970. It was just like every other city we visited in the delta -- big, chaotic, devoid of charm. Plus there was nothing to do.

Other experiences were OK but nothing exceeded expectations. We did a "homestay" on an island off the large city of Vinh Long -- it was nice but it was more of a simple hotel than someone's home. Both here and in Can Tho we took boat trips -- one through a tour operator and one through an independent guide (trying to recapture the magic of our first boat trip). The most interesting aspect to these trips were the floating markets, which are exactly as they sound -- large boats anchor down and other boats, from small rowboats to large ones, pull up and buy their goods. Each boat only sells one or two items and hangs a sample on a long bamboo pole, so that buyers can see what's on offer from a distance. In Vinh Long, we also visited a small factory making coconut candy and rice cakes, an old house that put on a small performance, a bonsai garden, and an orchard. We got lots of tea and fruit at most of these stops; on the other hand, the day felt contrived and dragged on. In Can Tho, with the independent operator, we wished in hindsight we went with the official tours. As we moved along at a snail's pace in our rickety boat with our driver who spoke no English, the official boats whizzed by us as their English-speaking guides gave information about the area. Visiting the floating markets was fun, but the trip ended up being 6 hours whereas the tour groups did it in 4.

At this point we were thinking it was time to leave Vietnam. But at the bus station we made a last minute decision to visit one final place -- Phu Cuoc. This tropical island off the southwest tip of the Mekong is touted as "the next big thing." So, we boarded a different bus to a port city. We didn't count on the fact that it's high season in the south and New Year's Eve tomorrow. The entire boat was filled. After some stress we found a loophole in the system -- pay twice the amount of the printed fare to a Vietnamese person who already has a ticket. That problem solved we next had to find a hotel. Alex called more than a dozen places and, finally, found one that has a room available. Lonely Planet says that the owner at this establishment doesn't always honor reservations, so we're slightly nervous about that. So, we board at 8AM tomorrow for the 2.5 hour trip to the island -- fingers crossed.

A Very Merry Tropical Christmas

Christmas in Vietnam far exceeded our expectations

This was a Christmas of firsts for us: first time away from home, first time away from both our families, and first time we wore shorts and flip flops! On the night of the 23rd we took a flight from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), arriving very late. We stayed in the first hotel we could find and the morning of the 24th we went to do a little sight-seeing. First we visited the Reunification Palace which is where the president of South Vietnam lived from about 1963 to the end of the war in 1975. We joined a tour and it was interesting to see the rooms and bunker of this modern building. It was also interesting to hear our tour guide talk about the "proud" day in April 1975 when South Vietnam was liberated from the Americans and the Vietnamese hero who bombed the palace a few days beforehand.

The entire district, including our hotel, was decked out for the season

After our visit we got some pho bo, the unofficial national dish of broth, rice noodles, beef, bean sprouts, and local herbs. It was the same shop where Bill Clinton ate and it was actually really good. We also hit the local market to get some fruit for our hotel stay: dragon fruit, passion fruit, rambutans, oranges, and guava. We finished all this around noon and took a taxi to the Sheraton Saigon to check in early and take full advantage of staying in what is considered one of the best hotels in the city. We didn't want to make the mistake we made the last time we stayed in a nice hotel on this trip (in India) --  trying to fit in lots of site-seeing when all we wanted to do was relax.  It was wonderful to have all the comforts and amenities that come with a 5-star hotel. Also, our room was on the 16th floor with a great view of the busy streets and neon signs of Saigon. Alex enjoyed a bubble bath and the pool. In the afternoon we had a great spread in our room of several types of imported cheese, a fresh loaf of bread, crackers, and a bottle of Bordeaux that we bought at a gourmet food shop.  It was awesome to finally have good wine, good cheese, plus we bought Nutella, bran cereal and fresh low-fat milk (something else we haven't seen since the States). We thoroughly enjoyed treating our taste buds to these Western foods, as well as the tropical fruits we bought, starting our Christmas celebration.

Enjoying our gourmet hors d'oeurves in our room

At night we first got a drink at the bar on the 23rd floor of our hotel, the highest bar in the city.  It had a sweeping view of Saigon and we enjoyed cocktails and scotch.  Then we went to a great restaurant for a long, delicious dinner. They had a set menu for Christmas Eve with 6 courses, including a cheese, prosciutto and ciabatta spread to start; then a smoked salmon salad with arugula and goat cheese; strawberry and champagne soup; an entree of turkey with pancetta, cranberry sauce, spinach, and potato au gratin; then a Christmas cake for dessert, and chocolates and lattes to finish. In addition to all this food we got the "free-flowing" wine pairing. We weren't sure if they were serious about the "free-flowing" idea but it was just what it sounds like: as many glasses of each wine as you want before moving onto the next one. So over 3 hours later we were completely stuffed and nicely buzzed.  It was a perfect Christmas Eve in Vietnam.

Saigon, as seen from the hotel's bar

Christmas day we pretty much did nothing but relax in the hotel.  It felt so luxurious to wake up and be able to eat breakfast in our room.  Nothing quite beats cereal with milk and bread with Nutella at this point!  We ventured out to find a place to call home and wish our families an early Merry Christmas.  Alex loved being able to use the hotel's gym, taking advantage of modern equipment and free weights, but otherwise didn't leave the room.  Chris only left at one point, to get pho bo for lunch.  We got to watch some Christmas movies, rest, read, take bubble baths, and many showers.  In the afternoon we again enjoyed our breads, cheeses, fruits, and wine.  At 5:00 we left to attend mass at the Catholic Cathedral nearby.  It was packed with local people and the service was in Vietnamese.  It was an interesting experience, similar in some ways to a service at home but also different in many ways.  Then we went to a bar at the Rex Hotel which used to be the place for war correspondents and military officers to hang out.  After a drink there we went to another nice restaurant for dinner.  The food had much more of a Vietnamese influence and was great.  Between us we had sweet pea ravioli, clams in a coconut sauce, squash risotto, Vietnamese beef stew, and tamarind braised beef.  We left completely stuffed again.

On the 26th we relaxed at the hotel again until we had to check out around 3:00 and head to the Mekong Delta for our last week in Vietnam.  Overall, we had the best celebration we could've imagined.  It felt so special to treat ourselves to such good food and wine.  Staying in such a nice hotel was incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating.  We feel so lucky to be doing this trip together and seeing what we've seen.  We also feel blessed to have such close family and friends in our lives back home (and around the world).  Even though we missed the traditions and celebrations of being there we definitely had you in our thoughts.  We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

More photos-Vietnam

Hanoi-before volunteering and after

During our "city tour" day we went to the Ethnilogical Museum and learned about some of the minority cultures that we might meet in the Sapa/Ta Van area.  Behind us is an example of a traditional building from one of the groups.

Entrance to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's oldest university, founded in the 11th century.

You have the rub the turtle's head for good luck.  Alex was a little late because about an hour earlier she took a nasty fall trying to catch the bus and completely skinned up her hand, knee, and foot.  Oh yeah, and she face-planted into a coconut that was on the sidewalk.

The bustling Old Quarter of Hanoi: full of pedestrians, bicycles, motorbikes, and street vendors.

Chris enjoys one of many glasses of bia hoi, a fresh beer you can drink on the sidewalk.

A night out at a jazz club

Cat Ba Island

Taking a motorbike around the island was a lot of fun

Stopping off at a secluded beach

Catching Up on Photos

It's been awhile since we've been able to upload photos.  Thanks for still reading along without the visual support!  But now that we're done with China and done volunteering and have bought a memory card reader to replace our broken cord...here's some from the past few weeks.

Yangshuo, China

Boat ride on the Li River

Limestone karst scenery

Hanging out at night with Brent

Biking through the fields and the mist

Some weird "local specialty" that Chris had to try.  Brent is less sure about this idea.

VFCD-Volunteering in Ta Van

This is pretty much what there is to see and do in Ta Van.  Beautiful and peaceful, though.

Proof of karaoke singing.  This is another American volunteer from our group.

Part of our duties were to help with household chores.  This is one of my cooking days.  Notice how little the mother has to work with when creating a multi-course meal for 13 people every day.

Chris washes dishes with 2 of the Vietnamese volunteers.  No running water, just this corner of the kitchen with buckets.  We got good at squatting.

The area is full of different minority groups.  This woman is Red Dzao.  They all try to sell their hand-embroidered things

Chris the corn man

Happy to end a long day of shucking corn in the sun.  Notice all the husks we're standing on.

Chris attacks the ground with a hoe.  We used these to plant trees and clear a field for building.

A week in Vietnam

After Hanoi we made for Halong Bay, a few hours east of the capital.  The scenery here is gorgeous with 100s of limestone karsts jutting out water.  We arrived in the early afternoon on Cat Ba Island, where we rented a moped and rode throughout the island, visiting a secluded beach and a cave that was turned into an elaborate hospital by the Vietnamese during the War. 

We then made plans for the rest of our time in the Bay.  Pretty much every hotel and travel agent offers the same handful of tours -- sailing the waters, visiting the same karsts, etc., often with bad food, cramped conditions, and even rats on the boat.  So, it was worth it to us to seek out one of the few travel agents that offers personalized tours.  We ended up chartering a boat with a couple from Montreal (no, not Jonny and Ariella).  It was great.  We were brought to secluded areas without other tour boats.  They brought us to a cave, where we kayaked in.  At first it was a little scary paddling into the darkness.  But our eyes soon adjusted and before long we were through and in the largest lagoon we'd ever seen.  We went through a second cave into what we thought was the open bay again; we then realized that this was another, even larger lagoon that offered total seclusion.  The rest of the time we cruised the waters admiring the scenery.  The boat itself was great with a living/dining room, plus lots of great food and nice bedrooms.  Unfortunately, Alex got sick and wasn't able to enjoy it much (see below).

Our room was very nice and it's where Alex spent most of the trip

After Halong, we took a bus south to Hue (we were told it'd be a 10 hour overnight bus, but ended up being 16 hours!).  Unfortunately, our luck with the weather had run out.  This time of year is the rainy season in northern Vietnam, and rain it did.  So, despite the long bus ride, we ended up staying only a night there.  The city itself isn't charming, so the only real site-seeing we did was visiting the Imperial Enclosure, a huge complex where the emperor once lived.

Typical street scene in Hoi An

We then headed 4 hours further south to Hoi An.  We love it here.  This is one of our top three towns we've visited on this entire trip.  The rain persisted but only for about half of each day, and today is absolutely gorgeous.  The compact Old Town is situated on a harbor and is filled with neo-colonial French and traditional Asian architecture.  The town began the process of restoration in the 1990s and is now the most charming city in Vietnam, filled with shops, cafes, great restaurants, narrow residential lanes, and a large market.  We're staying at one of the few hotels located inside the Old Town; it doesn't have the facilities that similarly priced guesthouses have in the rest of the city, but the 180 year old house makes up for that with tons of character.  When not raining, we've spent our time walking around, eating (the food here is great with lots of local specialties), enjoying our small balcony, and shopping.  The town is most known for its tailors -- we put them to work having about a dozen tailor-made shirts, a trench coat, a formal dress, and a suit made between the two of us.  We bought some other things, as well, including a big purchase of a beautiful large painting done on lacquer wood.  Hopefully, all this stuff will soon be on a cargo ship en route to the U.S. 

Our hotel was right near the market

We are LOVING Vietnamese food.  Here we still manage to enjoy some cheap stall food in the rain.  It costs less than 2 dollars for us to eat.

This is the specific well that everyone in Hoi An uses to get water for the local specialty, cao lau.  It's a noodle dish with beef and greens, it's very cheap, very good, and Chris has had a lot of it.

Inside one of the old homes in Hoi An

A river view of Hoi An.  You can see the typical mustard-colored French colonial buildings.

It's a dragon face-off

So, the plan for the rest of Vietnam -- originally, we were going to cross into Laos from Hoi An; however, we've decided to keep heading south.  We were thinking of  taking a long-ass bus ride to Dalat, another charming town, this time located on a hilltop.  But we wanted to time our trip to spend Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon, another 10 hours south from Dalat.  The timing didn't work unless we wanted to cut short Hoi An, so we're skipping Dalat and flying to Saigon tonight (thus skipping about 28 hours on a bus).  We've loved having all this time in Hoi An, are excited to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas in a 5-star hotel in Saigon, will then head south into the Mekong Delta, and cross over for a quick trip into Cambodia (since Alex has been dying to see the Angkor Wat temples).  From Cambodia, we'll go overland or fly to Laos.

Alex: Through this wonderful experience I got really sick. It started like a regular cold while volunteering: sniffles, sneezing, slight sore throat, occasional cough. Then I developed a blocked left ear which began to hurt. The night of the 15th I was struck with horrible chills then major sweating and the most violent cough I've ever had. It was like my body was rejecting itself. Lots of wheezing, couldn't lie down, and I was coughing up lots of phlegm with some blood in it. The next morning we were scheduled to take the overnight boat, we'd already paid for it, and I was feeling a bit better although my ribcage and chest were so sore it hurt to breathe. I took it easy on the boat and felt okay until the evening. Again I had the violent, uncontrolable coughing fits, could only take short, shallow breaths, and added vomiting and a loss of apetite to the mix. Now I was getting scared because I didn't know what was wrong. I spent our 2nd day on the boat in the room. It was still 2 days until we'd be in a town with an English-speaking doctor. So when we returned from the boat Chris bought me some antibiotics and we boarded our 16-hour overnight bus to Hue. I did okay and slept more than I thought (which I hadn't been able to do lately since lying down made me cough). I spent the 1st day/night in Hue in the room, missing sight-seeing, to recover a bit. The next day I ventured out into the rain to see the Imperial Enclosure. On our bus to Hoi An I got major chills again, even though everyone else was hot, and could tell my face was burning up. I started to see blood in my phlegm again. We went to the doctor right after dropping our stuff at the hotel. It was 7pm and he came from home to see me. I had a fever of 103.6 (!) and what he thinks is bronchitis. It had been 4 days since it started. He prescribed 5 medications which have helped a ton but I'm still recovering. The ears haven't changed so I might need to see him again because I can't hear.  It was scary to be sick and not know what's wrong in a 3rd-world country where you don't know where the next quality (and English speaking) doctor will be.

VFCD

We just got back from two weeks of volunteering with the VFCD. This technically stands for the "Volunteer for Community Development," although Alex gave it the more apt name of "Very Fucking Crazy and Disorganized."

Our trip in general to Vietnam got off to a rocky start. As we were checking in to our hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, we realized Chris had left his small backpack in the taxi. This had his iPod, Blackberry, and, most importantly, his journal from the past two years' traveling, among other things. Luckily, the taxi called our hotel at the end of the night and was willing to return the bag. Our hotel owner was in disbelief at our good luck, telling us he's never heard of a taxi driver actually returning a bag (although he demanded a reward, which we were happy to give).

The next morning, we were ready for the VFCD to pick us up at 11AM, this having been confirmed by email a few days earlier. Our workcamp was in a village near Sapa, 10 hours from Hanoi. The area is known for its many ethnic minorities and beautiful scenery among the Tonkinese Alps. There we were to contribute to various aspects of community development for the village, inhabited by Giay people.

Eleven o'clock came and went. The phone number on the website didn't work. We emailed but no response. At 2pm we decided to take a taxi to the address listed in the website. After the 30 minute drive we were brought to a place on the outskirts of the city. We searched the apartment building but VFCD wasn't there. We took another taxi back. By 4pm we were making new plans and trying to forget volunteering. We were disappointed and frustrated, especially as the past 7 months of email contact had already been frustrating for Alex. Finally, we got an email with a correct phone number and were soon picked up with a feeble apology from the 18 year-old "international coordinator." He took us in a taxi to the VFCD guest house 22 km north of the city.

We were now ready to leave the next morning. However, later that night we were told we wouldn't be leaving until the following night on the train. We told him that if we'd known this we would've stayed in the city another night to sight see. His response: "But it's so much fun here!" The next night we finally left, although they didn't buy train tickets in time, so we were stuck taking a bus.

The next two weeks had the same level of disorganization. We would discuss the plan at night, when we'd get up, etc., and then the next day we'd do something totally different. They organized trips during our free time, which never lived up to expectations; e.g., going to an eco-tourist center was actually just walking around in the fog of a resort. Even more baffling, one morning we woke up to find our coordinator was gone -- he had gone back to Hanoi for a couple days without telling us! We were left with no plan for work and no idea when he'd return. It was unbelievable to us that he wouldn't think this was a problem. Especially after all the problems we'd already had.

Despite the problems with the organization, overall the two weeks were positive. We lived with an extremely friendly family in their modest home. The nine of us volunteers shared the one primitive bathroom (in the kitchen, no running water in the house) with the family of four, helped cook the meals over the open fire in the kitchen, and slept on thin mattresses in the loft above their main room. The mom loved to feed Chris, probably trying to fatten him up -- after two weeks of heaps of rice and meat at every meal, mission accomplished. We spent a couple memorable meals enjoying the local tradition involving lots and lots of home-made rice wine. It is customary to greet new guests with shot after shot of this liquor. Once you've done had a drink together you shake hands and become friends. It is rude to turn down an offer to share a drink so 2 meals involved over 25 shots for Chris for the 50 proof alcohol, prompting one man to call him Superman. Luckily for Alex, the same quantity wasn't expected from women. But it was a great way to feel part of the village and to be welcomed by the locals. It was also a great way to finally get Alex to wholeheartedly enjoy karaoke in the adjoining room. Turns out she's awesome at it. (That is by drunk Vietnamese standards.)

Our volunteer activities varied each day. We spent most days helping to plant the 500+ trees VFCD bought for local families. This will help prevent soil erosion on their properties. It was tiring upper-body work. Another full day was spent harvesting a field of corn. Chris helped the family pick the corn and cut down the stalks while the rest of us spent the day in the sun shucking hundreds of ears of corn. This was very boring but the family will be able to use the corn for feeding their animals, making corn wine and food. One day when we were supposed to help build a house, we found out they didn't need us because they had to wait until the afternoon to start since that was the time deemed auspicious to start. Instead we helped drag bundles of long logs down an incredibly steep and muddy slope. The local children do this job and we had seen them running with a long tree trunk tumbling behind them on a rope. We were not as graceful or fast. On our last day of work we used hoes to help clear and flatten a patch of land that will be used to build a house. All the families were so grateful for our help and we had opportunities to share tea, rice, and lunch with them. Our other volunteer work was to teach English to local children at night. They would usually show up around 7 pm and stay until about 8:30. This fizzled towards the end of our time with only a few showing up. We didn't mind much, though, as we were usually pretty tired by that time.

We had our afternoons free most days and we spent this time either relaxing at the house or going on walks in the village and to the surrounding towns. The area is full of small villages inhabited by the minority groups. Our village, Ta Van, has mostly Giay and Black H'mong people. It is a hilly area so trekking was tiring but beautiful and peaceful. The hills are full of terraces, bamboo forests, and small rustic homes. One day's excursion found us caught on the wrong side of the river which then required an exciting and slightly dangerous river crossing on the rocks. We had one full day where we drove to see another town nearby. It was quieter than ours and interesting to see the different building techniques used by different groups.

We're now in Hanoi, a city we love far more than we expected. We're staying in the old quarter, a chaotic area that somehow retains lots of charm, despite the endless stream of motorbikes. The city currently has over 2 million! Crossing the street is a test of nerves as they swerve all around us as we cross the street; the trick is to be slow but deliberate. And the food is great, from simple stalls with small plastic chairs to great restaurants. Cafes are everywhere, as are the bia hoi joints. These are simple roadside restaurants selling the ubiquitous draught beer. It's brewed daily without preservatives and meant to be consumed immediately. They're always packed and with good reason. The beer is good and a pint only costs 17 cents!

Life on the Road

We've been traveling well over 2 months now and the time seems to be flying by.  Our usual posts focus on the places we've recently seen, interesting sights, and the cultures we're experiencing.  These fun aspects of traveling account for about 95% of our time.  However, there's still some things about constantly being on-the-go that aren't quite as exciting.  This post is about some of the less glamorous aspects of life on the road.

 

Planning while on the road:

Before we left we had a general outline of our route.  We knew roughly which countries we wanted to visit, an approximate amount of time in each place, and the general areas we wanted to see in each country.  We purchased a couple major flights but the rest was pretty much unplanned.  Basically, when we're getting to the end of being in one place we start thinking ahead about the next week: what nearby towns/cities we want to see, how many nights we'll probably need in each place, and using the guide book to look at general logistics about transportation.  This constantly gets revamped as we find that we'll want to spend more time in one place or less time in another once we get there.  Then a day or two before we move to each new town we figure out the logistics, such as bus times, etc.  When we get into a new town we first find lodging.  We rarely book our hotels ahead of time but just showing up and seeing the rooms has usually worked out.  If a place is booked or too expensive (or too gross) we just try another.

The constant planning and moving around can get a little tiring.  But one thing that has been nice for us is that we're able to move at a slower pace than we would for a normal-length vacation.  Places where we'd often spend one day, we often will spend two or more.  This allows us to catch our breath and get to know a place better.  It makes the traveling feel a lot more enjoyable and less tiring.

 

Errands

We only spend a small amount of our time doing "errands and chores" but we quickly realized we needed a notebook to keep track of our to-do lists.  Most of these involve sending various emails, checking and paying bills, writing the blog, buying replacement toiletries, medicines, etc., doing laundry, and buying snacks.  It's stuff we've never really had to do on other, shorter trips.

 

Living Out of a Backpack

Alex: I was concerned about the idea of living out of a backpack for so long: 2 pants, 3 t-shirts, and 2 long sleeves don't leave a lot of options for a variety of outfits.  Plus, there was the daunting thought of having to repack the bag every 2-3 days as we moved around.  However, I've gotten used to it.  Having practically no clothing choices makes getting dressed very simple: "What did I wear yesterday?  Is it still clean-ish?  Did I wear the day before, too?  No--great, I'll just put that back on!"  Laundry days involve a lot of forethought, though, as I try to wash as much as I can while still having something to wear.  I've managed to arrange everything in my bag so that I can get to everything that I use daily quite easily.  Re-packing is quick and I've been really pleased with the things I brought.  It's not too much (as in, it all fits) but I also have everything I really need.  Two purchases that were definitely worth it: the sleep liner and my full-zip microfleece.  The first has saved me from many gross beds and the second has saved me from the freezing cold. 

 

Chris: We both put a lot of time into thinking through what we wanted to pack.  Some of the more random items that have turned out indespensable include:

• ear plugs -- for all the barking dogs, thin hotel walls, honking cars, and generally loud places we've been
• mini ipod speakers -- Having music in our hotel room that we can both listen to at the same time has been a lot fun I wasn't sure if it'd be a waste of space but it's only a few inches long and weighs a few ounces
• sleep sheet liner -- absolutely necessary for the sometimes less the perfectly clean bed sheets; it also adds some warmth in the colder places we've been
• headlamp -- this was especially important for trekking, where there's often no electricity at night, but also for places like Kathmandu, where nightly power outages occured
• water purifer -- this was our effort to cut down on plastic bottles, especially in places like India and Nepal where there's no recycling.  It was tough to use at first; it's one thing to use the purifier in a rushing river in New Hampshire but I realized there was a mental hurdle to using it from a gross faucet in India.

Keeping in Touch:

Alex:  Internet access is widespread, making it easy to keep up with people through emails.  As long as we have internet every few days it doesn't take much time and I love hearing about everyone's lives back home. I've even been able to call home a couple times when we found particularly cheap phone rates.  Sometimes I feel a bit removed which is hard but a part of being away for 6 months that I anticipated. Having the blog also really helps me feel connected.  I've loved hearing back from people who comment on it or just send a note saying they're reading along.  It's great picturing what friends and family are thinking about when they read it and it's another way that helps me feel connected to "back home."

 

Comforts of "Home"

Alex: It is definitely difficult at times to never have a permanent home.  We have stayed in such a range of places with: hard planks and soft beds, clean sheets and those scattered with someone else's hairs, Western toilets and holes in the dirt outside (I will spare most of you the details), showers with and without sandals for protection.  For the most part it doesn't faze me but every once in awhile I just ache for my regular bed with sheets I washed and a bathroom that I know is clean because I cleaned it.  (Wow, now I'm missing cleaning!)  On the other hand, I've been surprised by how easy it is for me to adapt to all these different situations. 

 

Chris: Pretty much the same as what Alex wrote.  The time is flying by and I'm having the time of my life.  But there are times I wish we could be on our couch drinking wine, going to get pizza at Upper Crust, going to Mike's video to rent a movie, running along the Charles River, hanging out in the Public Garden, etc. 

 

Food and Exercise: The Quest for Healthy Living

Back home we both go to the gym regularly, eat healthy home-cooked meals, and only eat out once or twice a week.  This is fairly easy as it's part of our routine.  All this flies out the window while traveling.  One of the things we both miss most is being able to cook (Chris misses that, Alex misses eating it) and just having healthy options for meals and snacks at the ready.  We're particularly craving fresh salads with good olive oil and balsamic, yogurt (Chris), and cereal (Alex).  Eating at restaurants for every meal can get old.  We try to eat the local foods as much as possible (except for breakfast) but definitely have cravings for Western foods.  Therefore, when we get to really touristy towns we'll take advantage of their "international" menus once or twice.  This often means disappointing pizzas, etc. but sometimes it's close to the real thing.  The other problem with always eating out is the temptations.  There's the slew of unhealthy, but tasty, entrees as well as desserts and drinks.  Also, we constantly are tempted by the loads of cookies and bisquits in the snack aisles and the many bakeries with sweets that we pass.  When you haven't seen a good looking chocolate dessert or a real Snickers in a long time it becomes very difficult to pass it down.  Who knows when you'll see the next one?  (Unfortunately, it's usually too soon.)

 

Also, we are doing a lot of walking and some hiking but other forms of exercise are difficult to fit in.  We have a band so we try to do strength exercises in our rooms but without any regular schedule we've found it hard to either remember to do it or find the time.  This is something we're making a better effort at doing regularly.

 

So that's a bit about the "unseen" parts of our travels!