tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58648435055899613962024-03-13T00:17:16.307-07:00Our Great Asian AdventureThe blog is back. It's just Josh and EB this time, but we'll be channeling the spirit of our fearless former travel companions Jon and Amy.
This time we're circumnavigating the globe. It took Magellan and his team 3 years - we've got 3 weeks. Let the eating begin!EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-1910052931307507292010-09-07T13:50:00.000-07:002010-09-07T13:50:03.337-07:00Some Photos to Illustrate the Last Post<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGuM9dp5wkLwGsWhE1BQlLnNCB-xdc4J3cdhrX3JFCOr7dBUsAh-KT83LzepDMWNVlweERJb2U3LnttRbLj7szw9PYyhYgOHZDq-qYeGmBYWQjElZuPR7qkSznPTYijdwgE_j7w4zB80/s1600/Saigon+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGuM9dp5wkLwGsWhE1BQlLnNCB-xdc4J3cdhrX3JFCOr7dBUsAh-KT83LzepDMWNVlweERJb2U3LnttRbLj7szw9PYyhYgOHZDq-qYeGmBYWQjElZuPR7qkSznPTYijdwgE_j7w4zB80/s320/Saigon+001.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning Vietnamese coffees</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3NyBSj7M_iQK5oFFmH2RE6HlLrkCad1_Jg_rjkfHxlT7eRagDpije6i8_robjlkwcoftRCFGSQoZ1acQgqkgnWtfoIcGK6ehyphenhyphenaVizSe_r462vDZTIm6ddYKh61870miHeFqUqZjM1_M/s1600/Saigon+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3NyBSj7M_iQK5oFFmH2RE6HlLrkCad1_Jg_rjkfHxlT7eRagDpije6i8_robjlkwcoftRCFGSQoZ1acQgqkgnWtfoIcGK6ehyphenhyphenaVizSe_r462vDZTIm6ddYKh61870miHeFqUqZjM1_M/s320/Saigon+030.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the Forbidden City in Hue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQLAfye8SEgrPjGczFhqPsVulRaejdg4NJFKGAdFwGub_6KdbPoIptQyql3n422uJPPV_sue8H8d22UWgEuv3AEJnkeKSzQW2Pfhysjwtzc4DiKCoQOH1OfPVRT7kMNmqd1dijG7MBkU/s1600/Saigon+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQLAfye8SEgrPjGczFhqPsVulRaejdg4NJFKGAdFwGub_6KdbPoIptQyql3n422uJPPV_sue8H8d22UWgEuv3AEJnkeKSzQW2Pfhysjwtzc4DiKCoQOH1OfPVRT7kMNmqd1dijG7MBkU/s320/Saigon+070.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh, the hair salon celebrity, receiving a surprisingly round haircut</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_XkrWl_HaK6x17zCYRo2nGkta5drg_hF_SEq6Hnc7boJ8K62oMyEpGmhcKBFgtWELc5SwvnulAuq4ZAixo3AwXdUZOrBAekJOZCtqUfQQyN32BdJXohaCUFR_uBWstKPM0ZqwAv2GWY/s1600/Saigon+091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_XkrWl_HaK6x17zCYRo2nGkta5drg_hF_SEq6Hnc7boJ8K62oMyEpGmhcKBFgtWELc5SwvnulAuq4ZAixo3AwXdUZOrBAekJOZCtqUfQQyN32BdJXohaCUFR_uBWstKPM0ZqwAv2GWY/s320/Saigon+091.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Pho Hoa in Saigon. Look at that fried dough. Perfection.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeWzU5Tu8L3A1cHHvQjhSUya5TS08WD_tANnS3ACoy8k0gYdqkYMdM_gPzkVfwr6A-hy0U_bEgQpgcgEKf3C9y9uhsUtStjpFFa-yqCQq44xKHaQJbsQuQTTaJNZS5SokVBDbhX80ebs/s1600/Saigon+095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeWzU5Tu8L3A1cHHvQjhSUya5TS08WD_tANnS3ACoy8k0gYdqkYMdM_gPzkVfwr6A-hy0U_bEgQpgcgEKf3C9y9uhsUtStjpFFa-yqCQq44xKHaQJbsQuQTTaJNZS5SokVBDbhX80ebs/s320/Saigon+095.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Pho Hua a very happy camper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGy-Wk1j6Idzo6fRz5dX0MVQ7Z4zoo-DWO-ewcIVauHyc42Rhdoo58Is6ycPFUnO12bPK0nmAVHHYd39Dk0YasblM3jj9GMg1Ozs3sbggHuYah-fYCWjXfhAHfLClimLH0cswCMFLCsxU/s1600/Saigon+122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGy-Wk1j6Idzo6fRz5dX0MVQ7Z4zoo-DWO-ewcIVauHyc42Rhdoo58Is6ycPFUnO12bPK0nmAVHHYd39Dk0YasblM3jj9GMg1Ozs3sbggHuYah-fYCWjXfhAHfLClimLH0cswCMFLCsxU/s320/Saigon+122.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the Jade Emperor's Pagoda </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmnnFtivbq7FtNKIuKgQkzVvWBME1CKHePaifUec-ltbEmr4c8tX86NDnJ5qFSTCs9ngGOlQnTO-Lk3tFvHjEi-OSHIJ1jP1_oqA0c6NQ8j-NDjGMp_vx8z4-CkA0s4ioWaVRnqIFWxc/s1600/Saigon+138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmnnFtivbq7FtNKIuKgQkzVvWBME1CKHePaifUec-ltbEmr4c8tX86NDnJ5qFSTCs9ngGOlQnTO-Lk3tFvHjEi-OSHIJ1jP1_oqA0c6NQ8j-NDjGMp_vx8z4-CkA0s4ioWaVRnqIFWxc/s320/Saigon+138.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy communists!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2T60GjcHoolnCxgbSDY4gInTIiR5jv-CC2caJchJDdynoA1bLcca0dl61cqV8kbuGdQP082AknzNAfS1444yK-JFw1d0Hhf1K1Bcd3GF2SezSsXtA76nrikJCQOeOt-Ys2F-0MeTTHoE/s1600/Saigon+155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2T60GjcHoolnCxgbSDY4gInTIiR5jv-CC2caJchJDdynoA1bLcca0dl61cqV8kbuGdQP082AknzNAfS1444yK-JFw1d0Hhf1K1Bcd3GF2SezSsXtA76nrikJCQOeOt-Ys2F-0MeTTHoE/s320/Saigon+155.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating Vietnamese Independence Day under the smiling shadow of Uncle Ho</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZjiThOVjJhELA5V26M1dceSQG59TJG1mZ-Qg2Z9c5UPABg5B8SglXbxjzCb0qii2_MfN_0uVwCpGJPJ_GOJiryKQHabjJII49k7C8GT2Gpf_jf2FZppu3F6dg-R0jq1pXxm5iQAT9F4/s1600/Saigon+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZjiThOVjJhELA5V26M1dceSQG59TJG1mZ-Qg2Z9c5UPABg5B8SglXbxjzCb0qii2_MfN_0uVwCpGJPJ_GOJiryKQHabjJII49k7C8GT2Gpf_jf2FZppu3F6dg-R0jq1pXxm5iQAT9F4/s320/Saigon+056.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statutes at one of the temples in Saigon's Chinatown</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ieOHtul5AQr3hWkdL4nVYe2KMNSkxh8hWZMd3UpHnzydLMlepg7wHkRJ-qBRL6ftXvoqLbD29p-bK-7NnAQCr4wUEfp_zB3sTkHnij43YyCj8totEL_q37hpDztMjc6k02HUzIc0w1M/s1600/Saigon+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ieOHtul5AQr3hWkdL4nVYe2KMNSkxh8hWZMd3UpHnzydLMlepg7wHkRJ-qBRL6ftXvoqLbD29p-bK-7NnAQCr4wUEfp_zB3sTkHnij43YyCj8totEL_q37hpDztMjc6k02HUzIc0w1M/s320/Saigon+024.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miscellaneous rice crepe dumplings sold by the woman behind EB. She deliberated extensively in providing us with the best assortment possible for all of 50 cents.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-68590398473299680802010-09-02T09:15:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:15:03.748-07:00Ho Boy, That Was Pho-unSorry readers, but the puns just write themselves. Just be glad there isn’t an audio portion to the blog where you have to listen to me (EB) sing the entirety of Miss Saigon, which Josh has had to endure since we touched down in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) two days ago. I mean, when it is swelteringly hot, it is basically impossible not to say the Heat is on in Saigon. And the rest just goes from there. [Photos to come, btw - we're on a slow and time-limited connection in Bangkok]<br />
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To round out our visit to Hue, our last morning there began with a visit to our now regular coffee spot on the corner a couple blocks from our hotel where all the tiny plastic stools faced out to the watch the traffic pass through the intersection. Turns out even Vietnamese people like to watch the amazing things that can be crammed onto motorbikes and cyclos. We then headed over to the Forbidden City, which was the home of the Nguyen emperors in the 19th Century. Filled with temples, houses, beautiful ponds and lawns, all built on a symmetrical grid in a very celestially auspicious location, Hue’s Forbidden City was reminiscent of Beijing’s, though in substantially worse shape having been the site of fires, floods and fighting in the Vietnam War. Our guidebook (which Josh graciously endures my constant reading from – always about learning) detailed for us the many Nguyen court rituals and the great importance placed on the (their words) “haughty” but “meritorious” “Mandarins” – those who had ascended the highest ranks in civil or military society. In the future we intend to strive to be described as both haughty and meritorious.<br />
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Back to the hotel to check out and then we had a couple hours of wandering ahead of us before we had to leave for our flight. We stopped to check the prices at a motorbike shop – we are really getting into Vietnamese life but I’m not sure Josh is going to be zipping his way to Hackettstown on a Vietnamese two-wheeler anytime soon – and then found our way to lunch at a Hue beer garden. Lunch was great – noodles with pork and beef with veggies – but probably the most fun was enjoying our new favorite local beers (Huda for Josh, Festival for me) and watch the others around us work their way through cases of their own. Josh gleefully observed his first examples of serious Asian flush in the group of men at the table just behind us. It happens here too!<br />
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After lunch we decided that it wasn’t fair for me to be the only one who received a beautifying treatment while in Hue, so we selected a “salon” for Josh to get a haircut. Though populated only by women with no sign they had ever cut a man’s hair before, we chose this spot because it was the only shop we saw where there was any activity at all – one woman had her hair plugged into some very elaborate machine that looked sure to electrocute. Though the haircut may have been a bit shorter and rounder than Josh had hoped for, the experience was great. Lots of women buzzing around the place, watching Josh in fascination, clearly talking about us in not so hushed Vietnamese. After the cut, Josh asked for a shampoo, which resulted in a washing/scalp massage/face whacking with hands held together as if praying while making an amazing noise that lasted twice as long as the cut itself. And once he had paid, the gaggle of women could resist no longer, asking in broken English where we were from, how old we were and, when it was revealed that we are married, jubilant cheers and applause. It appeared we were a hit!<br />
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Freshly shorn (at least one of us), we headed back to the hotel and then were off to the airport. And before we even knew it, we had arrived in Saigon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we came prepared for our day and a half in the city with about two weeks’ worth of food recommendations, and we were ready to dive in. And dive in we did. The food in Saigon was terrific! If Hue was a bit of a disappointment (OK food, nothing amazing) Saigon really knocked its socks off. This is a city that likes to eat and we are always happy to oblige. <br />
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Our drive to the hotel gave us our first taste of the famous Saigon traffic. Otherwise known as absolute, total and complete motorbike-filled chaos in which it is an absolute miracle that families of four riding on a motorbike together make it through the intersection together let alone from point A to point B. The motorbikes feel sort of like a river that is flash flooding its way down the street. When the light goes green, hundreds, thousands-even of bikes swarm all around the cars, pedestrians and buses. They go on the correct side of the street, they go into oncoming traffic, they go the wrong direction down a one-way street. They cannot be stopped – they are everywhere! There is really nothing quite like being in the left lane (the lane for cars) and trying to make a right turn into an endless stream of motorbikes. It feels like the driver just closes his eyes and hopes to God, but somehow it all works out. Crossing the street was a similar adventure, but luckily a bit of the New Yorker mentality combined with good luck meant we made it unscathed.<br />
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After checking into the fancy Caravelle Hotel (got a good deal on hotels.com), we headed out to Quan An Ngon, a restaurant with a hip atmosphere that serves sort of shmancier versions of street food. The restaurant was buzzing with people – Vietnamese and tourist alike – and the women who were making the food stood at tables ringing the outside of the restaurant. It was cool, probably the most “scene-y” of the places we visited this trip. (Once again we haven’t done the best job of working our way through the nightlife section of the guidebooks. But now that we’re old and married we suppose it’s OK to be lame.) The food was great – pork and “broken” rice, best springs rolls of the trip, rice crepes – with the only dud being the salad with chicken in which the only green was super pungent Thai basil. Good for adding to your noodle soups in small doses, maybe not for chomping down instead of romaine. After dinner we walked to a multi-story ice cream shop with décor that looked right out of 1950s suburban America for a shake and an ice cream sundae. I kept looking around for Archie to be sharing his banana split with Betty and Veronica at a table nearby. No luck. Back to the hotel and off to bed.<br />
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Wednesday began with the quest for the best pho in town. We had heard positive things about Pho Hua in District 3, so we headed there in a cab in morning rush hour traffic. The pho did not disappoint. The place was packed with diners all slurping their soups and I was thrilled to rediscover finally the fried dough sticks we had first enjoyed in Hanoi three years ago. Rip them up, toss them in the soup, and it’s like getting the go-ahead to have a giant french fry for breakfast. YUM. A morning of wandering all around Districts 3 and 1 ensued, with a brief stop for Josh to learn how to make Vietnamese coffee from a helpful shopkeeper. (Turns out, surprisingly easy.) We visited a couple of pagodas and then found our way to lunch at Hong Hahn, another place we had read about in the helpful food blog. We waited out (most of) the torrential rain storm enjoying rice crepes with pork and mushrooms and rice paper wraps of veggies, pork and shrimp. <br />
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Thus fortified, we headed to the War Museum, telling the story of the Vietnam War (or American War of Aggression as described there) from the Vietnamese perspective. The exhibits were very sobering and after a thought-provoking discussion about capitalism, communism and the different societies they create (I clearly won the argument, three years of law school must have taught me something about intellectual pontificating about rights and values and other stuff like that, though for Josh’s sake we’ll call it a draw), we then strolled home. A visit to the beautiful central post office, some cookies from a woman making them in a Vietnamese pizzelle maker-equivalent on the street, and a Luxe-guide directed shopping stroll down the street near our hotel were our only final diversions.<br />
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For dinner, we hopped a cab over to Com Nieu Sai Gon, a restaurant we had read about that apparently also appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s show when he was in Saigon. The food was all very yummy – eggplant with pork and tofu, spicy grilled pork – with the highlight being the restaurant’s signature grilled rice. The rice is cooked in a clay pot which the waiter then breaks in the middle of the restaurant to free the rice. To cool the rice (and impress the diners), he then flings the puck of rice across the restaurant to another waiter, who catches it on a plate and serves it to your table. It was tasty, and the experience even more memorable. A short stroll and then a cab back home and another day of eating was behind us.<br />
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Today, September 2, is Vietnamese Independence Day in which they celebrate the triumph over the French in 1945. There were lots of posters around town with Uncle Ho’s smiling face on them, but sadly no big parades to watch. And so, to truly celebrate Vietnam’s independence, we decided to spend our day with the two nations that had done the most to limit Vietnam’s independence, namely China and France. First off, we headed to Cho Lon, the city’s Chinatown. Though the main market was closed for the holiday, people were still selling meat and veggies on the street, and we were able to sneak in two breakfasts – first miscellaneous meat/fish-filled rice dumplings from a cart and then grilled pork over rice from a small street-side grill. We wandered through Cho Lon’s temples and watched as worshippers came to pray and burn incense before the many gods. Highlight of the Cho Lon temple circuit – when I so helpfully read a description from the guidebook of the temple that I believed us to be in (a description which seemed very accurate and enlightening) only to discover that temple was actually several blocks away and we were instead in some totally random one. It didn’t otherwise seem like all the temples were the same, but I guess that at a certain level of description one could make just about anything work.<br />
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Our Chinatown wandering complete, we hopped a cab over towards the center of town where, with a quick stop at a food vendor selling a dessert we had been advised to try – banana stuffed into sweet rice and grilled, then covered with coconut milk and tapioca, good though the description sounds sweeter than it actually is – we transitioned to the French portion of our day for fruit smoothies and a crème caramel at Au Parc, a lovely French café on the Park near the Cathedral. A sweet and wonderful way to end our time in Saigon. Back to the hotel and then we were off on our marathon journey to the next phase of our adventure – this time in Europe.<br />
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Right now? Well, dear readers, we write to you while enjoying a 6 hour layover (7 pm to 1 am) in the Bangkok airport. It’s our own “One Night in Bangkok” – unsurprisingly I’ve been singing that, much to Josh’s embarrassment – though really more like half a night in the Bangkok airport. Highlights of our short visit here include having Thai Pad Thai (interestingly enough not called just Pad) and the sign at immigration that asks you to take off your sunglasses, hats, etc. for the picture they take of you upon entering the country. The image of a cap with a line through it? Why it was none other than a Yale graduation hat from 1958! Namely a blue baseball cap with 5Y8 on it. Pretty awesome.<br />
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Though we are sad to leave our Asian adventuring behind, fear not blog fans, as we are off for a weekend of fun, marriage and likely a yummy Greek meal or two in the coming days. Let the European escapades begin!EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-6282116408491062132010-09-01T19:12:00.000-07:002010-09-01T20:52:39.883-07:00Voila!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span>I (Amy) am officially off the continent and back in Los Angeles, and I haven't had a croissant in over 24 hours. I feel lightheaded. We were sorry to leave but glad to come home to Harry, and since we now have all sorts of technological gadgets, I hereby present a selection of photos not pirated from the internet. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoIzxJh6fbNa1DwpybugHnrl8_Orif-yYpg3Y0oIJ2mWb9euDJIpDmBNizWhqkzFWSe6hnuiT3wggetRGHCcRiIZSUMlX09SkrYQ0k3n7J3ORiUdG3GSl4cbLRSR5PrdFcxuxP-MQnCM/s1600/DSC_0406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoIzxJh6fbNa1DwpybugHnrl8_Orif-yYpg3Y0oIJ2mWb9euDJIpDmBNizWhqkzFWSe6hnuiT3wggetRGHCcRiIZSUMlX09SkrYQ0k3n7J3ORiUdG3GSl4cbLRSR5PrdFcxuxP-MQnCM/s320/DSC_0406.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the front of Chateau Fretoy. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauuB8aoaSTPAHlkC1zdwRtlP1qGE270rlxC5jNN6YvFquAW9jhe8Kgrp-LuASyLcRC91YcAHZtxbkDKO1fVwfF6urFlC-p4jO1udCDatVRQ9vI-cfbUjMoHvG64H4HlJqMoNhUXPXprs/s1600/IMG_0779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauuB8aoaSTPAHlkC1zdwRtlP1qGE270rlxC5jNN6YvFquAW9jhe8Kgrp-LuASyLcRC91YcAHZtxbkDKO1fVwfF6urFlC-p4jO1udCDatVRQ9vI-cfbUjMoHvG64H4HlJqMoNhUXPXprs/s320/IMG_0779.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inadequate dogs, Chateau Fretoy, France.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoYJfMdRQahj116IipJ7wxQ2EEx-DFCk-sk-UwGc9UQghTX74X50qXnJGDzMPBYedvrIyt09sCJDRfrx0ikzvrpEQXeLsgoaiBd55EARmsngGTc7dohY26anull_POBKoT7b738Py9RI/s1600/DSC_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoYJfMdRQahj116IipJ7wxQ2EEx-DFCk-sk-UwGc9UQghTX74X50qXnJGDzMPBYedvrIyt09sCJDRfrx0ikzvrpEQXeLsgoaiBd55EARmsngGTc7dohY26anull_POBKoT7b738Py9RI/s320/DSC_0047.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shortly before French newlywed game at amazing wedding dinner. Congrats to the bride and groom!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzeZSWRWB199PwXZmlbn8VeVU43bJ-MPhz4iX7TFK26MuMQ_Q42DUQnsdGojE0PaUKXlbuhk5RF6NUs_3pfbNoxh9zL7HlfmzD8iZMfhU5Xe2S_NWKuRRof4QoUqXOfXVcESN5uHufL4/s1600/DSC_0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzeZSWRWB199PwXZmlbn8VeVU43bJ-MPhz4iX7TFK26MuMQ_Q42DUQnsdGojE0PaUKXlbuhk5RF6NUs_3pfbNoxh9zL7HlfmzD8iZMfhU5Xe2S_NWKuRRof4QoUqXOfXVcESN5uHufL4/s320/DSC_0421.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a castle and some grapes, whatever.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkv0q842dqT9Ba71n9zmUoJ8DBJjLdgTvUTMIVKlo8k5QWw3TjsoKHBvsbTWz6ya-BEx9ViI_FhhDbx-ZDxtZHQUUBzbpHdPajUc5JxHrIpTepXW5OA71Qz4wsZg3DQJi-r039bqllNE/s1600/IMG_0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkv0q842dqT9Ba71n9zmUoJ8DBJjLdgTvUTMIVKlo8k5QWw3TjsoKHBvsbTWz6ya-BEx9ViI_FhhDbx-ZDxtZHQUUBzbpHdPajUc5JxHrIpTepXW5OA71Qz4wsZg3DQJi-r039bqllNE/s320/IMG_0707.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vending machine at a deserted train station in Autun, France. Nicely done, Josh.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U1RQ4i4_onDDoS2sB6nqdnvyDG_7G7WH5qORerwThVZggHca5kfmcItFGKaGZ43kAUNFba9dC6I6lp_7lRA8yLgHpN81Uk8kvY8z_e9Vcn-qTMDAgV3-yiI-Lr5M1M-n3ydbsUhIG8o/s1600/IMG_0738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U1RQ4i4_onDDoS2sB6nqdnvyDG_7G7WH5qORerwThVZggHca5kfmcItFGKaGZ43kAUNFba9dC6I6lp_7lRA8yLgHpN81Uk8kvY8z_e9Vcn-qTMDAgV3-yiI-Lr5M1M-n3ydbsUhIG8o/s320/IMG_0738.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Revenue generating use of archaeological site in Geneva, Switzerland.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB6JNRsInJ_oEP20TshtxsqmTEacEQtzNariEajq4ekew09CakD6y5r84lj3qXrs5N5lSmjsCWdQt0K0Oko6OhHN5jYBtpDFR90k47ruyCAO1jcZ3NX2oaX8qeRK8IS9z5me2GIgTOkc/s1600/IMG_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB6JNRsInJ_oEP20TshtxsqmTEacEQtzNariEajq4ekew09CakD6y5r84lj3qXrs5N5lSmjsCWdQt0K0Oko6OhHN5jYBtpDFR90k47ruyCAO1jcZ3NX2oaX8qeRK8IS9z5me2GIgTOkc/s320/IMG_0745.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jet d'Eau no the wind is changing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfLN4v_tBA_Yg3NP_a1zYK4otsDEki5_g_eU0P5OvAWS6mg39rTUP6a4ao9WpuIMmGtekhVT-BvVgUcbBNouPnYdV6ecVBH4iZ3FlmIVx1atgfjrDElwHZeXzTsMDUK8BR53laXmJe4M/s1600/IMG_0754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfLN4v_tBA_Yg3NP_a1zYK4otsDEki5_g_eU0P5OvAWS6mg39rTUP6a4ao9WpuIMmGtekhVT-BvVgUcbBNouPnYdV6ecVBH4iZ3FlmIVx1atgfjrDElwHZeXzTsMDUK8BR53laXmJe4M/s320/IMG_0754.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future home on Lake Geneva</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4omIr_7CGnLkMOmjN5SVQdr6SB-BU8KxPc894mBmtgzuC3UhxbdWhb6js8QiXKWM4FwgReonjQDl1QZ0zPsuz2Ms2MiBPVpoY79ib2GHzm3Sfb2cUMdPuuxDgtpMPF_uBj9ljjHfp_kE/s1600/IMG_0759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4omIr_7CGnLkMOmjN5SVQdr6SB-BU8KxPc894mBmtgzuC3UhxbdWhb6js8QiXKWM4FwgReonjQDl1QZ0zPsuz2Ms2MiBPVpoY79ib2GHzm3Sfb2cUMdPuuxDgtpMPF_uBj9ljjHfp_kE/s320/IMG_0759.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wondering how an unemployed lawyer affords said future home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJbFTWJqaok5n2HAC3CoLz-BML2jKpRblgfrRHzXRBtOouEHht1XveHCC7abaW5oYwTRkTaDjwpTof47sKKCOOpRCjkFrHMgQfRoFDy-La0RogIj_GmpBdfy9ZvKcXWdcT81XupCCN20/s1600/IMG_0790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJbFTWJqaok5n2HAC3CoLz-BML2jKpRblgfrRHzXRBtOouEHht1XveHCC7abaW5oYwTRkTaDjwpTof47sKKCOOpRCjkFrHMgQfRoFDy-La0RogIj_GmpBdfy9ZvKcXWdcT81XupCCN20/s320/IMG_0790.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same, this time in Paris.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-UXPS3O4R6j4p8FtyLNKQX4b0MD9ls4QLvi1g3m2lTFVbYzmRVQm_zWtcQRnohp6yA2EKsduA55_Jn1sY-FW9wJywx0uem0hH1wY66j75ScEXRnggorE9NlRGtRG3EjDxRo5XA4oXoQ/s1600/IMG_0794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-UXPS3O4R6j4p8FtyLNKQX4b0MD9ls4QLvi1g3m2lTFVbYzmRVQm_zWtcQRnohp6yA2EKsduA55_Jn1sY-FW9wJywx0uem0hH1wY66j75ScEXRnggorE9NlRGtRG3EjDxRo5XA4oXoQ/s320/IMG_0794.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Triumphant stairs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TzPxQjLaIYGTQoOMAfuMV68svYHEszuVpIDCANuH1z5-YxDQDZNWLP-NPohuKEax5X8zNKXQDNfFxrH3F_D26OYmSKLWPtCUHHsGk4OZkHoUFHsMEsWf49YKuWCpxzraqJwzjcMbgOY/s1600/IMG_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TzPxQjLaIYGTQoOMAfuMV68svYHEszuVpIDCANuH1z5-YxDQDZNWLP-NPohuKEax5X8zNKXQDNfFxrH3F_D26OYmSKLWPtCUHHsGk4OZkHoUFHsMEsWf49YKuWCpxzraqJwzjcMbgOY/s320/IMG_0806.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dear Los Angeles, <br />
Please see above. <br />
Regards, Amy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCGkVCp9gTyrKUIgPtysznY_KaFaO8-JhCWcCKcYPdmPAZHaW2k_p0Vb-yTBRwL48-_Bm0IrgFLcsYlvW-yi_2RiKo86CmrU5Wn-PkMYVpCwFDxJJjLi9GqX9fzNNvpQCM5IELromzPc/s1600/IMG_0824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCGkVCp9gTyrKUIgPtysznY_KaFaO8-JhCWcCKcYPdmPAZHaW2k_p0Vb-yTBRwL48-_Bm0IrgFLcsYlvW-yi_2RiKo86CmrU5Wn-PkMYVpCwFDxJJjLi9GqX9fzNNvpQCM5IELromzPc/s320/IMG_0824.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inadequate dog, Latin Quarter, Paris, France.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fAEl96zBQABWwJS-K1PzitkIvPsIB6oC-ARgEdeP7Y2UTSWg4EpNaHKdfTaAHWu_C65nNzBsHfIpSCZ29p1jGYvqFCMcp63zgRCWFhyphenhyphenxzvhI22NOdmnJvJS7nIEYMj7BqndzhCKCPMU/s1600/IMG_0651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fAEl96zBQABWwJS-K1PzitkIvPsIB6oC-ARgEdeP7Y2UTSWg4EpNaHKdfTaAHWu_C65nNzBsHfIpSCZ29p1jGYvqFCMcp63zgRCWFhyphenhyphenxzvhI22NOdmnJvJS7nIEYMj7BqndzhCKCPMU/s320/IMG_0651.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's more like it. California, United States</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And with that, au revoir for the time being. Looking forward to more from Vietnam! <br />
<br />
</div></div>EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-29186066500587028902010-08-30T08:47:00.000-07:002010-08-30T08:47:51.724-07:00Getting Hue From It All<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Yay, posts from the Continent! Vive la France! So long as it steers clear of the whole colonialist aggression bit.<br />
<br />
Since we’ve last reported, a number of notable things have taken up our time, both in Hoi An and lately, up the coast a couple hours in Hue. We’ve spent a long and exhilarating but ultimately tiring day in the sun, though (life is hard in vacation-land), so we’re simply going to list these notable things with the best intentions of going back to fill them in later. A few pics included below to make it a bit more worth your while: <br />
<br />
Saturday<br />
<ul><li>Pho on the street across from the hotel, followed up with breakfast part 2 at the hotel proper (street food wins again, but just about everyone around here makes damn good coffee)</li>
<li>Tour of one of the Chinese assembly halls. Think that maybe Hoi An hasn’t really changed so much in 400 years. Used to be that the foreign merchants came to town to bring back the goods of the Orient to local markets. Now foreign tourists shop in the same shops for souveniers. Different goods – same basic game? Made me feel better about the tourism, somehow.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTbASWR6ECsOXDVy-s0NF7U2WbNJJ9A22OwKiCY26CM_t7_hVn3HyZ0gc1_NxLj3XAfqAJ6m4VfUtXHQ7z1URICdVpDYrYGf2r6U-2Z1ozJKP6cAjfAycc_VOGS7pgoM6U2N2Xv2lqso/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTbASWR6ECsOXDVy-s0NF7U2WbNJJ9A22OwKiCY26CM_t7_hVn3HyZ0gc1_NxLj3XAfqAJ6m4VfUtXHQ7z1URICdVpDYrYGf2r6U-2Z1ozJKP6cAjfAycc_VOGS7pgoM6U2N2Xv2lqso/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+011.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>Stroll around town, stopping for some spring rolls</li>
<li>Tailoring, fitting #3</li>
<li>Taxi out to the gorgeous white-sand beach (bathwater, wonderful); hanging out under the umbrella with a frightening thunderstorm on the horizon, chatting with but not buying from the persistent vendors (“Son Son is Number 1!”)</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe32kwfoiK8zXl6PsZLBJhUmZZA9kSn7Bs6kqFQ8fQbGlvEIWbXIe525l8BXX_GTxsEX6DFPZ3MCUdrP63L74PcOeRWiqmMEP429FT3fNI0S0SOV9Efl4rxHWUaVZikThtZfpQXaNyuQ/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe32kwfoiK8zXl6PsZLBJhUmZZA9kSn7Bs6kqFQ8fQbGlvEIWbXIe525l8BXX_GTxsEX6DFPZ3MCUdrP63L74PcOeRWiqmMEP429FT3fNI0S0SOV9Efl4rxHWUaVZikThtZfpQXaNyuQ/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+052.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Tailoring, fitting #4</li>
<li>Stroll through a different part of town along the water, very residential. Most everyone is either hanging in the streets or eating together on the living room floor (mostly in front of the TV); run across at least two gentlemen belting out karaoke alone in their living rooms. Houses all painted a kind of teal inside that glows out into the street. We stop for a bahn mi</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhebCmtrrFNjG81mqDXoDQ6IOEdqxGUYN1jNwB5zAXCT8Ps50WlwnqiPQYjoXnjfFeAUVOyN0gqjPdEw5YqS-_Tt-6IKlFQuLMGwY7uJF1ALO9d_oyHkECHGDZz28vJMqzxlLEDKxgvA/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhebCmtrrFNjG81mqDXoDQ6IOEdqxGUYN1jNwB5zAXCT8Ps50WlwnqiPQYjoXnjfFeAUVOyN0gqjPdEw5YqS-_Tt-6IKlFQuLMGwY7uJF1ALO9d_oyHkECHGDZz28vJMqzxlLEDKxgvA/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+076.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<ul><li>Tailoring, fitting #5. Amazingly not yet feeling like they’re sick of us. Our sales clerks are doing a good job of advocating on our behalf to the tailors, who reluctantly agree to this or that change. To my untrained ear, every minor change they agree on would seem to imply a total reconstruction of the clothes; nonetheless, they seem to have a better way and never need more than an hour or two to turn something around</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRpfxLPQafTMMm6NO8fh8PcvW3zeg03PSctd-C32mizHxxKHeOd5Z8GFrys-42R-LCCKpi0iYIVeN_ZmJKPPUdspC7P_BD3yqMukkzVkOQWbWl7UFlKYUTtYABuPJjejfNrc5fi4FFUE/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRpfxLPQafTMMm6NO8fh8PcvW3zeg03PSctd-C32mizHxxKHeOd5Z8GFrys-42R-LCCKpi0iYIVeN_ZmJKPPUdspC7P_BD3yqMukkzVkOQWbWl7UFlKYUTtYABuPJjejfNrc5fi4FFUE/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+066.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<ul><li>Refresh at the hotel</li>
<li>Fancy Vietnamese food at “Secret Garden” for dinner – amazing water spinach salad and Num (fresh spring rolls), grilled pork and fish</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmmMd4ESxpJS9wFLZjktlira6AB9AjESgRYDSLrFxxjZ1pO37co3IEa0NSlHo6KS8QNGMXu1I3Tnwt_Y47cdob-3b7Bsf00Nh85qDSq6tb9k8-G9JktVyxK8mzY-jtOXK30E6qMc5tf4/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmmMd4ESxpJS9wFLZjktlira6AB9AjESgRYDSLrFxxjZ1pO37co3IEa0NSlHo6KS8QNGMXu1I3Tnwt_Y47cdob-3b7Bsf00Nh85qDSq6tb9k8-G9JktVyxK8mzY-jtOXK30E6qMc5tf4/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+081.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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Sunday<br />
<ul><li>Bicycles through town, which seems to have the Vietnamese equivalent of a lively Sunday brunch scene (maybe just like this everyday). Stop at a couple of the busiest places for Bahn Mi Op La (sandwich with veggies and spicy fried egg, among other things), and for Pho Bo (Beef soup)</li>
<li>Tailoring #6 – all is done!</li>
<li>Hotel for breakfast and all-you-can-drink coffee (how much sweetened condensed milk is too much?)</li>
<li>Beach, lovely</li>
<li>Mystery of the day: when it's 100 and humid, why is it that so many local ladies are wearing not just long pants but sweatshirts and gloves, even on the beach? Only answer we could get: they don't like to get tan. Plausible.</li>
</ul><br />
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<ul><li>Check out of hotel and wait for our bus to Hue, only to be picked up and driven one at a time by scooter – with our giant luggage, to boot! – to the bus station</li>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTevXMh6GMnjy32Jy5bR-Zbu360Pb7Doiy5b7rsjeVrnrnKbEXB1A6cWEv9UFgknAAfHUOjJHrIR2QfFyWOCHNQXz4JlAMG-2C3hyphenhyphen8xnb6M_2o3Uo5NMOs4pKqlrk6wxClfMXlq5jADMk/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTevXMh6GMnjy32Jy5bR-Zbu360Pb7Doiy5b7rsjeVrnrnKbEXB1A6cWEv9UFgknAAfHUOjJHrIR2QfFyWOCHNQXz4JlAMG-2C3hyphenhyphen8xnb6M_2o3Uo5NMOs4pKqlrk6wxClfMXlq5jADMk/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+114.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Bus (with stops) to Hue, with storms. Four hours and ~140km later, we're there.</li>
<li>Wandered the streets a bit before landing back in backpacker town, where a mediocre dinner was saved by delicious lime sherbet</li>
<li>Iced coffees in a covered pavilion, avoiding the torrential rain</li>
</ul>Monday<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>Walked the morning market, stopping for mediocre breakfast soup, and then for better breakfast soup on the other side of town</li>
<li>Joined a crowd of men for street watching and coffee (with the requisite side of green tea)</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBWQNFExzcATrDtDsjglB4h1_EfiuJvw7USPorI5_3Ikoplsk9pDVl35mSzWi1f8quFbW_CglZDwnThJCkZyduPFitnyFrynlywVlvbMMeMXmKdociXRlMVRJMCA2ZziZPBe-rajgQfI/s1600/Hoi+An+and+Hue+156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBWQNFExzcATrDtDsjglB4h1_EfiuJvw7USPorI5_3Ikoplsk9pDVl35mSzWi1f8quFbW_CglZDwnThJCkZyduPFitnyFrynlywVlvbMMeMXmKdociXRlMVRJMCA2ZziZPBe-rajgQfI/s320/Hoi+An+and+Hue+156.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<ul><li>Boating adventure to the Nguyen Emporers’ 19th century pleasure palaces/mausoleums – beautiful places, a bit like touring the Rockefellers? Or the Bush ranch?</li>
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<ul><li>Headed over to the local market, only a mile away but off the beaten track and a bit closer to the local action. Bought a Vietnamese coffee maker and then a mélange of snacks/dishes at 5 different vendors/restaurants: Potatoes with peanuts and coconut, bahn beo (dumplings), red bean marzipan, pound cake, com hen (salad with chopped mussels), fried rice and sesame crackers, bun bo, some kind of rice mix, two beers. Total: 113,000 Dong ($5.80)</li>
<li>Mani/pedi for EB, with three attendants and locally vibrant colors: 110,000 VND +20,000 ($6.70)</li>
</ul>Now off to sleep!EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-2641807854084240772010-08-30T01:38:00.000-07:002010-08-30T01:38:10.607-07:00Bonjour! (better late and with photos from the internet than never)The pressure of describing an entire week in France. Where to begin. How about by noting that I (Amy) have no ability to transfer photos from our camera to this computer, so I will be populating the blog with photos of others (strangers) because some photos are better than no photos.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6SfuDtnRyfjwodmQWbmphzbp80zBYs7R2zEBH4s7u7AY08uvzOlIBRavvA8i-s1AvOqIzSE4kGnG7vu_ATiBogFJespOk0UKIsWquOQdUYneQuqI0MaPpdv0fB7cVJYqUJ52O5TR4eBg/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6SfuDtnRyfjwodmQWbmphzbp80zBYs7R2zEBH4s7u7AY08uvzOlIBRavvA8i-s1AvOqIzSE4kGnG7vu_ATiBogFJespOk0UKIsWquOQdUYneQuqI0MaPpdv0fB7cVJYqUJ52O5TR4eBg/s320/DownloadedFile.jpeg" /></a></div>We arrived in Paris a week ago today and headed immediately for the Gare de Lyon train station (above), where thankfully both croissants and english-speakers abounded. A highlight from the hour or so we spent there was my attempt to translate for a man who spoke only spanish. As he told me in spanish, his problem was that he didn't have enough money to buy a train ticket to Barcelona. Specifically, he had one-half the price of a train ticket. I dutifully explained this in english to the information clerk (who, like just about everyone here, claimed to speak little english but spoke fluently), and together she and I tried to come up with a way to explain "you're SOL" in spanish. Hopefully he made his way to an autobus. Moments later, we were on the TGV to Le Cruesot, which is sort of like the maglev in Shanghai but slower and frencher.<br />
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Upon arrival in Le Cruesot (a little town in Burgundy) our friends (the bride and groom) picked us up, and we were off to the Chateau, where we stayed until yesterday. What's that? You'd like a photo of the Chateau? Ok:<br />
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Yes, it's as awesome as it looks, and yes, it's haunted. We were met by a fantastic spread of vin and fromage at le chateau, and later went to a nearby town for a truly incredible welcome dinner: foie gras (3 ways, who knew), boeuf (Matt), fish (me, and no my french hasn't substantially improved), chocolat (as if I'd fail to learn that one) and of course, again, fromage. They're really onto something here. And by "onto something" I mean my pants no longer fit. Literally. I hope there's such a thing as a "welcome cleanse" in Los Angeles, which, now that I think about it, is a pretty good business idea. Employment may be in my future yet. Anyway. Following the great dinner, we all went back to le chateau, where I woke in the middle of the night to a thunder and lightening storm that could not have been more cinematic or terrifying: doors and windows opened and slammed shut, our room lit up and then plunged into darkness, ghosts appeared, etc. The week included innumerable references to the forthcoming horror movie "The Chateau" (and of course, since we were there for a wedding: "Chateau Deux: Le Marriage").<br />
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Aside from the initial terror, the french countryside was (surprise) absolutely spectacular. The wedding took place on Tuesday at the Chateau (gorgeous), with a fabulous dinner at an 11th century restaurant in nearby Couches (cleanse me). A real highlight (among many) was a sort of newlywed game played at french weddings: the bride is blindfolded and then must select, based on feeling a single body part (here, knee), which of five men is her groom. The game is then reversed, and the groom must do the same based on the noses of five women (or, here, four women and one hilarious friend of the groom's). Luckily the newlyweds were able to identify one another, hooray! And no, I wasn't one of the four mystery women, at the specific direction of my adoring husband, who said "you're not playing." Funny.<br />
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The remainder of the week was a combination of chateau-ing and touring around, with day trips to Autun and Geneva. One piece of advice for those of you visiting Geneva: going under the Jet d'Eau is fun and worth doing, but keep an eye on the way the wind is blowing -- we found ourselves under a wall of water when the wind turned. Oops. <br />
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The final day at the Chateau we went on a wine tour in Burgundy, on which I learned lots of things about Burgundy wines. Interesting tidbit: they use no irrigation or additives of any kind, so the wine can change dramatically year to year, whereas in California many (if not all) of the vineyards manipulate the wine by irrigating and adding acid (or something). When asked what she thought of California wine, our host said "I think California wine is not just wine." Zing. <br />
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Overall, the week could not have been better -- we were thrilled to be there for the beautiful wedding, and it was such a privilege to be at the chateau. Merci boucoup to our hosts! <br />
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And now, we're in Paris. We spent yesterday walking to, um, everything in the city: started in the Marais (where we're staying, love it) to the Louvre, then on to the Arc d'Triomphe (and up its 287 stairs to the top), over to the Tour d'Eiffel (no idea how my spelling is working out here), a stop at a neighborhood brasserie over there somewhere, back along the river by the Musee d'Orsay, over by Notre Dame, and back. My legs hurt this morning. As does my head, as a result of a vin-filled dinner with some of our chateau friends last night. So I'll leave it at that for the moment. No, I'll paste a picture from the internet of the Arc (just pretend it's me instead of her in the photo) and then leave it at that. Au revoir!<br />
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EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-59219258343687742672010-08-27T19:39:00.000-07:002010-08-27T19:39:01.517-07:00Ciao, Laos; hola Hoi An!Greetings readers. Or as they say here in Hoi An….oh wait, we don’t know how to say hello in Vietnamese. After becoming great experts in the Laotian word “sabaidee” which means hello, goodbye and just about everything in between, we are at a total loss to learn any of the 6 tones of the Vietnamese language in order to communicate. Fortunately nearly everyone we have encountered thus far in Vietnam has spoken substantially more English than we speak Vietnamese, so all is OK. <br />
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To re-cap the past couple of days, yesterday we started off our last day in Luang Prabang with another pre-6 am wakeup to watch the procession of monks receiving alms one last time before we left. It was really a sight and something we wanted to catch once more before leaving Laos behind. Then we wandered to the morning market, a somewhat smaller version of the giant market we had gone to with our cooking class.<br />
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There we succeeded on two fronts – we bought none of the live ducks, blue chicken feet, or whiskey soaked eel that was on offer AND we had delicious “nem kao”, rice pancakes with pork and mushrooms covered in fried shallots, from a vendor that we had read about online. An excellent Lao treat to kick off our last morning. Back at the hotel after a stroll through town in the rain, we naturally sat down to second breakfast of waffles and homemade pastries. With that on offer, who could settle for only one pre-9 am meal?<br />
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Eager to see a bit more of the surrounding landscape, we then headed down to the Mekong River, where we negotiated with a boat man to take us down river a bit for a cruise and to visit a nearby village where they make pottery. Turned out the boat, which was surprisingly nice, was also where the man lived, so his wife and young son joined for the adventure. Cruising on the Mekong was lovely, with the occasional rain only adding to the scenery of clouds hanging low on the rolling hills. We stopped at a little village known for making pottery and though we were only 10 minutes away from Luang Prabang it felt like another world. The village’s dirt roads (more like road) were totally muddied from the rain and it seemed like a car had never been there – it’s not clear a car could even travel the bumpy terrain. Chickens and children roamed freely in the mud with the occasional adult scurrying them along. The houses were very modest and there wasn’t much going on – though we did see some people making pottery and were offered fried chicken feet for sale. Like every good village in Laos it did have a monk and a temple which we briefly visited before heading on our way. Sobering to get a sense of life in Laos even just outside the main cities.<br />
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Back in town we did one last swing through one of the more elaborate monasteries, grabbed a quick lunch and were off to the airport for our flights to Hanoi and then Da Nang. The flight to Hanoi was uneventful (except for a cute little Italian kid in the seat next to us looking out the window and saying, "Ciao, Laos!"), though the tiny Luang Prabang airport was buzzing with excitement because apparently the King of Thailand was about to land just after we left. The flight from Hanoi to Da Nang was much more exciting as it seemed that other than us, just about everyone on our Thursday night flight was decked out in their best clubbing attire for a big weekend of going out in Da Nang. Our driver to Hoi An sort of confirmed it for us (moderate translation difficulties), but it seemed like Da Nang is a place for trendy types to hang out at resorts and maybe casinos. In any case, everyone on the flight looked very chic and walked right off the plane when we landed, having checked no bags for a weekend of partying. We adventurers looked a bit scruffy as we waited nearly alone at the baggage claim. A 40 minute drive later and we had arrived in Hoi An.<br />
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Friday morning began with a walk to the morning market, filled with women selling fish, veggies and meat and delicious Vietnamese breakfast. We opted for Cao Lao, a local specialty of rice noodles, pork, veggies and pork skin croutons.<br />
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It was an excellent way to start the day and we mostly avoided embarrassing ourselves in front of the Vietnamese women, except when Josh trying to be helpful passed fish sauce to a woman to put in her glass of water. Not quite what she was looking for. Interestingly, a walk through the market (while enjoying a delicious avocado shake) quickly revealed distinctions between Vietnam and Laos. Everything looked just a bit more prosperous in Vietnam. The veggies were presented in baskets rather than simply in piles on a tarp. The fish was packed with ice to stay fresh. The women fearlessly chopping meat sat on stools rather than on the chopping block itself. Little differences, but definitely noticeable. (Interestingly/dorkily, the stats we [Josh] dug up suggest the difference isn’t as much as it feels – GDP/capita of $1040 in Vietnam vs. $860 in Laos: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=per+capita+gdp+vietnam+laos.)<br />
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The town of Hoi An is absolutely charming – filled with two-storey mixes of Vietnamese and Chinese architecture. The homes are built with dark wood interiors, open stone courtyards and are painted beautiful (now faded) tropical yellows and blues and whites.<br />
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We strolled in and out of some of the historic homes and met the current occupants who taught us about the advantages of sleeping on flat wooden beds. They did not look comfy. Virtually all the buildings in the old town are of the same, beautiful stock – whether they’re currently put to use as homes, museums, tourist shoppes (many), or in one case, the very official-seeming “Hoi An Department of Managing and Gathering Swallows Nests” (really).<br />
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Our big excitement for the day was tailoring and we spent some time in the morning picking out fabrics and patterns for shirts, jackets and nearly anything else we could imagine. Somehow, we ordered what we wanted at 11am and just a few hours later we were back for fittings with many of the clothes taking shape already. Things happen fast here. In between fittings and wandering through town (in the unbelievable heat - it is really warm!) we stopped for some street food and a long-sought meal eaten on the sidewalk on tiny stools. Here they had upgraded to small plastic chairs, but the joy of making our own chicken rice paper wraps was much the same.<br />
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We were offered a tour of Vietnam on easy rider motorcycles (we sadly declined) and then headed back to the hotel for a two-wheeled adventure more our speed – bicycles. We rode through town joining the rush hour crew of motorbikes and other bicycles, though they almost always had two to a bike so we didn’t qualify for the HOV lane. Turning off the main road we ended up on some tiny streets which alternated between being paved and dirt and occasionally taking us through a rice paddy. It was nice to get a bit outside the tourist center, though an impending thunderstorm eventually encouraged us to head home to the hotel to wait out the rains.<br />
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An hour or so later the torrential downpour was over and we headed out for a nighttime walk through town and dinner. I had grilled pork, Josh the Vietnamese sampler with two kinds of dumplings, more cao lao and some rice paper wraps of his own, and we called it a night.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-18816985702290185892010-08-25T18:45:00.000-07:002010-08-25T18:45:58.820-07:00Stay…Just a Little Bit Luang-er (Wish We Could)We’d been worried a tad bit about our flight on Lao Airlines, but for naught – and after all, not much could top our 2008 Costa Rican adventure with a 6-seater landing on a dirt patch in a town with no electricity, right? Anyway, for the record, our flight was on a spanking-new, 100+ person prop plane with full beverage service and even a bag of chips (banana, mango, taro, etc…top that, JetBlue!), and after a quick 40 minute hop over rice fields and jungle and a lot of amazingly brown river, we touched down without incident and began a lovely time in Luang Prabang (Pronounced roughly “Luah Phah-b(ng)ah.” Does that not make it clearer? Neither did asking the locals several times a day.)<br />
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We’d decided to splurge and put ourselves up at the swish 3 Nagas hotel just to the end of the main old-city drag – in the executive suite, no less, though we were hard pressed to imagine anyone doing too much serious business in this or any other room in Luang Prabang – and we’ve been well waited-on since we arrived. As for the city itself, we love it – it seems to have retained everything good about French Colonialism (Was there anything good about French Colonialism? If nothing else, how about baguettes, petanque, strong coffee, and elegantly aging villas?) alongside a heavy dose of Laos charm. The old town is a string of temples, each a riot of mirrored glass and gold paint and graceful slanting roofs, each swarming with young monks in bright orange robes either chanting or texting. While most of the old city outside the temples is now dedicated to tourism, the town still feels very much alive, and the setting – on the intersection of the Mekong and Nam Kahn rivers – is amazing.<br />
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We spent Monday afternoon wandering around by bike and getting our bearings, ducking into temples and stopping near the river to join a crowd of twenty guys watching another four play petanque. All the businesses did double duty as people’s houses, and we stopped for a late lunch (fried noodles, chicken soup) outside someone’s living room. We chatted up a monk (he told us he wanted to practice his English, but he didn’t need much practice) – one of seven children, eight years in the monastery, studying accounting on the side and planning either to go to Bangkok for Buddhist University or into tourism here in LP. We joined our fellow foreigners for a short trek up the big hill in the center of town to watch the sun set over the mountains and the Mekong (nice) and finally settled down to dinner at our hotel. Dinner was delicious – the NYTimes had judged it the best place to try Lao cuisine. This being the low season though, we were the only people in the room, waited on with great formality by no less than eight people, and both the hotel manager and the chef found time to stop by our table. We slept well.<br />
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And briefly. We woke up just before 5am to take part in the daily alms-giving ceremony that takes over the town. I (Josh) still haven’t quite figured out the time, I guess, and so we’d gotten up, found our way out of the hotel, and wandered pretty far through unexpectedly empty streets before we realized that it was actually just shy of 4am (oops). A short snooze later, we tried again and seated ourselves outside one of the big temples, armed with a bowl of fruit and another of sticky rice to give to the monks. There was plenty of chanting and drum-beating, and we got to see the town slowly wake up (roosters and soup vendors first), and then around 6, a line of ~300 monks from all the town’s temples began a slow, silent march through the city’s main streets. Tourists, locals, and country folk waited on the side of the road to place a small ball of rice and whatever else we had into each monk’s bowl – this, along with other cooked food donations from villagers, is what keeps the monks fed, and has historically been a way for families to “make merit” (religious credit), as well as to sustain the temples. For us, it was a bit intimidating (nothing quite like being stared down by the hungry horde) but very cool.<br />
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After another nap and delicious breakfast at the hotel (I had the nem kao, steamed rice pancakes with pork etc.; EB had two perfect waffles; we both had a fruit plate with mangosteen and dragon fruit and a cup of jet black Lao coffee), we went to the day’s main event: Lao cooking school. Start to finish, a great time. Our guide took us and our fellow students on a tour of the local market (20+ kinds of eggplant, innumerable greens and herbs, glue made from red ant larvae, pungent fish sauce from fish left to soak for a full year), and then off to an outdoor classroom where we were schooled in the art of jaew (a spicy eggplant based dip), fish in a dill sauce steamed in banana leaves, buffalo stew, and the improbable chicken-stuffed lemongrass. When we heard the latter, we assumed they’d got it backwards – lemongrass is a long, hard stock not much wider than a straw, so we couldn’t imagine stuffing it with anything – but we were wrong, and happily so. All in all, a great day – and it ended in a feast! We rounded out the day with a tour of a few more notable temples – particularly enchanting around 6pm, when the monks gathered in each one to say the nightly chants. We found our way down to watch the end of the sunset along the edge of the Mekong; had a quick, delicious dinner of Lao BBQ surrounded by Lao teens on their Lao cell phones; and drifted off to an early sleep. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>If Tuesday was all (mostly) about food, today was all about elephants. We were a bit skeptical about the elephant riding thing (OK, maybe just me, pathologically afraid to admit that I’m a tourist), but it was great. We drove 30km out of town and through villages and jungle (thanking ourselves throughout the bumpy ride for having decided against the 10-hour bus ride from Vientiane), finally landing at a picturesque camp along the Nam Khan and surrounded by foggy jungle hills. We spent a couple hours in a small group with as many elephants and trainers (“Mahouts”) and got a few really memorable rides – including one right into the river on the elephants’ backs!<br />
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After lunch, we took a longboat up the river to a locally famous waterfall and spent an hour scampering up the falls, amazed that we could keep our balance with the water rushing around our feet. We spent the afternoon relaxing and wandering through the markets around town, and finished with a tasty meal at one of LP’s poshest restaurants (dinner for two with wine, US$55 – about 10x last night’s BBQ feast). Great day! Now just one more morning left to soak up the Laos vibe, and then off we go to Vietnam.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmz7AZ5c1czTOEYEtS1Y8iJfelZy594P9NUC0uK1UX6TjL6ZkyQixCHQRyGRm-Mtizb4iRjlkK89GwvRIdMudfviizNVoE2TAM4KGjyVx7E0gz8O7y4AnsXP042bUXKqIyReLvEy6Tvk/s1600/Luang+Prabang+135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmz7AZ5c1czTOEYEtS1Y8iJfelZy594P9NUC0uK1UX6TjL6ZkyQixCHQRyGRm-Mtizb4iRjlkK89GwvRIdMudfviizNVoE2TAM4KGjyVx7E0gz8O7y4AnsXP042bUXKqIyReLvEy6Tvk/s320/Luang+Prabang+135.JPG" /></a></div>EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-88189916247926298052010-08-23T00:09:00.000-07:002010-08-23T00:09:53.746-07:00Let the Lao-trageous puns begin!After our misadventures at the KL airport, our arrival in Vientiane was very smooth and we were off to our hotel near the center of the old town. Despite being the capital of Laos, Vientiane is still establishing itself, though an article in the NY Times quoted a Vientiane resident as saying he thought they had really made great strides since taking over the position as capital from Luang Prabang – which of course occurred a mere 450 years ago.<br />
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And now, dear readers, we get to the part of the trip you have all been waiting for. The part where we start talking about food and basically never stop to the point that both you and we are so full we might explode. (We learned how to say that in Chinese on our last trip, perhaps we should add “I am so stuffed I will die” in Lao to the repertoire as well.) Once we were checked in to our nice room – beautiful view of the temple across the street from our 5th floor balcony (though it was a walk-up to get there – oops) we then set off for the evening’s wandering. We encountered a whole series of night stalls set up not that far from our hotel and made a mental note of their location. But we were people with a mission. At the other end of the old town we had heard of a fancy Lao restaurant that also featured Lao music and dancing. It was a bit of a tourist spot – there were a couple of tables full of Thai groups – but it was a great introduction to the local food. For a whopping $15 per person we enjoyed 11 courses of Lao cuisines from sour fish soup to spring rolls to chicken wrapped in banana leaves to sautéed veggies in Oyster sauce. It was great. Certainly a splurge, as we also included a $1 big BeerLao (which is all the rage – see NYTimes <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/business/global/26beer.html?_r=1">link</a>), but it was a yummy introduction to the city. A stroll back through town and we were off to bed.<br />
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Sunday morning began as many mornings do here in Southeast Asia in August, with an absolute torrential downpour. Fortunately our hotel provided a delicious breakfast (EB had waffles, Josh a croissant), fresh juice and a banana shake, and Lao coffee (aka coffee ice cream served warm and for breakfast, aka if we lived here we would have immediate diabetes because I (EB) could drink this non-stop). Umbrellas and anoraks in tow, we then headed out into the rain. In spite of the weather, which fortunately quickly cleared, the temples of Vientiane were wonderfully enchanting, with elaborate and ornate carvings of Buddhas and dragons and young monks in saffron robes running all over the place. It was like Christo’s Central Park Gates had come to life. Two temples in, we encountered a street with a couple noteworthy French bakeries – and so, thinking only of our dear amis Matt and Amy (and Jon in DC) we naturally had to have a croissant au chocolat. Yum. <br />
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Further wandering took us to the morning market, a giant mall filled mostly with cheap electronics knock-offs and t-shirts, but apparently it is where the people of Vientiane go to hang out, so who were we to buck the trend. Josh swiftly sniffed out the food court and another $2 later we were sitting in front of a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup and glass dumplings filled with pork (and small shrimps – fake allergy seems cured). Yes, readers, it was 10am and we were already on to third breakfast.<br />
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Embarrassingly full, we headed off to see some of the more well known sites of Vientiane, including their (self-described) version of the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, a concrete arch built with money from the US government that was supposed to build a runway at the airport. They call the arch the vertical runway instead. Next we walked about another mile to the That Louang, the most famous temple in Laos and national symbol. True to all reports, it was about as gold as anything you could imagine (save perhaps for a Trump building’s lobby) and gleamed in the mid-day sun. The reflection of the sun made for a beautiful site and for a VERY hot visit, which naturally called for the OGAA (our great Asian adventure) Asian cooldown favorite – a POPSICLE! It was coconut this time, but we’ll keep an eye out for the “garbage flavor” we so loved while in China.<br />
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Next up was a tuk tuk ride, not the most comfortable ride but certainly authentic, to another set of temples and museums. Our favorite was the Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple in Vientiane and the only one not destroyed by the Siamese when they sacked the city in 1828. It was filled with thousands of Buddhas all wrapped in their trademark yellow sashes. More spiritual than beauty pageant, but definitely in the same family.<br />
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A walk along the Mekong revealed a construction site – apparently the city of Vientiane is, like NYC, also doing a waterfront improvement project. I left my resume to see if they need a planning project manager, no word yet. We then settled in for a much needed rest at a little spot (tarp roof, plastic tables, grill on the sidewalk) by the river. And, of course, more food. More spring rolls, veggie this time, and a green chicken curry with basil along with a couple of Beer Laos provided us with the sustenance to do a bit more afternoon wandering.<br />
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A few hours later we were back at the hotel for a shower – one gets pretty disgustingly sweaty here – and then out to revisit one of the night stalls we had seen the evening before. For a whopping $5 we had a bowl of noodles and pork sausage, pork spring rolls, Beer Lao (natch) and a Pepsi. We love this country. As is often our habit, we then went to check out the local supermarket where Josh instructed me on how great the Mars products’ brand blocking was on the shelves (a sea of yellow Pedigree bags). Even in Laos, there is much for me to learn. We wandered to the very quaint town square where we sat outside at a fancy French restaurant for a coffee and a chocolate mousse, which cost the equivalent of our entire Lao dinner. Still, very full after $10 is hard to complain about.<br />
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Today, Monday, we had only a few hours in Vientiane before hopping on a plane to Luang Prabang, our next stop in Laos. After another good breakfast in the hotel, we set out for a few last minute eating spots we wanted to cross off our list. For me, it was a sugar doughnut at a bakery in the main town square. For Josh, it was grilled fish from a stand on the side of the road, followed by an avocado milkshake from a place close to the morning market. FYI: avocado, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and sugar – not the worst combination in the world. Our bellies thus full, we explored the side of the morning market we had missed on Sunday, namely the meat and produce. Luckily we were no longer hungry, because the site of some of the meats on offer (brain, intestine, kidneys, head, penis – no joke) was enough to turn anyone into a vegan, particularly with the lovely lady butchers seated barefoot on the carving tables. But not us, brave readers! We will persevere. The beautiful mounds of leafy greens and garlic and peppers reminded us why we like to eat and all was right in the world again. A tuk tuk to the hotel and cab to the airport and our stay in Vientiane had come to an end. Off to Luang Prabang!EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-49553945021300360392010-08-22T12:16:00.000-07:002010-08-22T12:16:06.056-07:00From DC to Paris slash Malaysia, Abridged. Seriously Abridged.I (Jon) remain in D.C. But even though I'm not on vacation, with a little too much free time on my hands, I do what the travelers do: EAT. I'm currently sitting down to Second Brunch as I type this post. And as my good deed for the day I'll teach Amy some handy French vocabulaire (Amy, that's French for 'vocabulary') while I'm at it.<br />
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Gateau (that's French for 'mounds of butter dusted with chocolate'):<br />
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Galette (this is how the French say '<a href="http://www.alexandracooks.com/2010/08/18/nectarine-pizza-with-fresh-basil-and-reduced-balsamic/">yes I ate this whole thing myself last night in one sitting not a crumb left over</a>'):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hvt9BuUaSMBgt88GNcJpULr3XffMC5X3M6aZFCVlvIfVl2j9sOlEvV78o33DJDfwTpRbVt3oeGzgPHcIEk0M5kLqN7gY24ezvZqh4YDpBmT8RQkPr00whfueYXK3Uown_4AB_ghyphenhyphene_g/s1600/Galette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hvt9BuUaSMBgt88GNcJpULr3XffMC5X3M6aZFCVlvIfVl2j9sOlEvV78o33DJDfwTpRbVt3oeGzgPHcIEk0M5kLqN7gY24ezvZqh4YDpBmT8RQkPr00whfueYXK3Uown_4AB_ghyphenhyphene_g/s320/Galette.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Cannes (this means what it looks like it means):<br />
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Of course the cooking part of eating also serves as useful Husband Hunting practice slash please forward to all travelworthy and eligible bachelors. Merci bcp (French for 'I'm so good at abbreviating French').EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-55704784305369734182010-08-21T17:57:00.000-07:002010-08-21T17:57:59.331-07:00LAX to JFK, Abridged.How long do you suppose it will take for the copying of Josh and EB's post titles to get old? Oh, what's that? You can hardly get enough, couldn't possibly be more clever? Right, then, thinly veiled plagiarism it shall be.<br />
<br />
I (Amy) am writing to report that domestic travel is just as you remember it, plus one chatty Russian cab driver this morning ("Where you go, New York?" "No, Paris actually" "You fly nonstop?" "No, we stop over in New York" "Aha! You go to New York, like I say!" cue disproportionate satisfaction on his part, giggles from me, reluctant chuckles from Matt). And then we went through security, I resisted buying an US Weekly (why, I'll never know), we boarded the plane, envied the people in first class, slept (Matt), read and demanded reassuring about the physics of flying during some turbulence (me), and arrived at JFK, our current locale. We snacked on some freedom fries (sike I mean French fries, j'adore les crossaints! Fromage! Vin! Bonjour!), and then spotted Alexi Lalas. Take that KL! I read no mention of international soccer celebrities, only snacks and markets and malls! Better luck in Laos! <br />
<br />
We have just another hour or so before we are truly chateau-bound, and I can promise you that we will be croissanted within mere hours. I have fewer euros than I feel my dollars are worth (travelex needs new management, I think), but surely they can and will yield material more enthralling than a cross-country flight in coach. Time will tell. Until then, buon soire! Cafe! Pain au chocolat! Can't wait to hear about Laos and then write a less interesting yet still exclamatory report from the continent.<br />
<br />
Finally, Jon, something urgent and irrational has come up in France. Please handle by boarding plane (equipped with wifi, curse of curses to lawyers everywhere) to Paris asap. Thx.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-76516447635963395602010-08-21T08:59:00.000-07:002010-08-21T08:59:38.275-07:00Malaysia, AbridgedA local doctor we befriended over breakfast this morning gave us some helpful insights into life in Kuala Lumpur, in between enthusiastic bites of pork dumpling. What does he do with his free time? “Go shopping!” Eating and shopping: that about summed up a lovely 24 hours in the Malaysian metropolis. <br />
<br />
We arrived yesterday via express train just a five minute walk from our hotel, where we checked in and checked out our 30th storey view over the sprawl of KL. Back on the street, we hopped a train (true to form, the train station was also a mall) to one of the city’s many mosques, at the center of Little India. We walked through blocks of roti wallahs and vendors stringing together bright and fragrant garlands of flowers, pausing along the way for some fried fish balls on sticks and a chocolate waffle (quite a combo). Strolling through one of the city’s famed street markets, we were nearly run over by men carrying whole racks of black-market shoes and purses, and stopped long enough to try a tasty, salty Chinese chicken noodle dish at a long-running food stall. Though it had only been a couple hours, and barely a full meal, I was already losing the battle with jet lag and we had to move on – so many things to try next time! Really liked the style of the satay vendor who kept neat stacks of his various meats and sea creatures in notches along a six-foot block of ice, among others. <br />
<br />
Anyway, as I was already nodding off whenever the opportunity presented itself, we rushed off to complete our itinerary grab a quick dinner (two, actually) at another major market – this one the night market at Jalan Alor. The NYTimes led us right, for a big plate of delicious roasted chicken wings with a sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce, and then a bit wrong, for a gooey plate of beef noodles. I can’t tell you much more about it, sadly, because I was mostly asleep (at the table, in the cab, etc.), but I know that I woke up some hours later a happier man. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ30sPJ51mM6rgZxkm1sxfaB-fHlnQmyZCO22h3Cirbd-lLqpHywRbi9OCMBHSVq2AH-XRVFFG70e48Lr-HOCWrtBz-erqTsOkohdaQ-dOuf-60ExUYquBI2Obyik_Kh9H9vpVD7rK7xw/s1600/California+and+KL+159.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ30sPJ51mM6rgZxkm1sxfaB-fHlnQmyZCO22h3Cirbd-lLqpHywRbi9OCMBHSVq2AH-XRVFFG70e48Lr-HOCWrtBz-erqTsOkohdaQ-dOuf-60ExUYquBI2Obyik_Kh9H9vpVD7rK7xw/s320/California+and+KL+159.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>With only a few hours this morning, we taxied straight away to a fantastic old-style coffee shop , where we shared a table with our doctor friend (“KL’s like New York City – all the families live out in the suburbs, like in Westchester.”) and had a range of greasy spoon delicacies, from a fried pork chop drowned in gravy, onions, peas and carrots (looked straight out of 1956, tasted heavenly) to toast with sweet coconut jam, to a very spicy fried rice (guess you don’t often get that at a greasy spoon?), all washed down with a syrupy black coffee with sweetened condensed milk, more dessert than drink. We took the subway to the Petronas Towers, which didn’t quite look like they were among the tallest buildings in the world, but were impressive nonetheless. And while it was too late to get tickets to the viewing station, it was just the right time to check out the massive luxury mall at the base (the whole thing was very Time Warner Center). Not content with a one-mall experience, we walked a few blocks (past at least five other malls) to yet another, where we managed to find a highly-recommended bakery tucked into the home furnishings section of a fancy department store. Extravagant chocolate-banana cake in hand, we hopped the monorail back through town to our hotel to begin our trek to Laos.<br />
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In our short stay in KL, were struck by the diversity of the city - a fairly even mix of the Indians, Malay, and Chinese that make up most of the city’s population, and a stark contrast to many of the other major cities we’ve seen across Asia. There were assorted temples, too, to match. We watched as workers scrubbed dirt off statues of Shiva and applied new paint to a colorful Hindu temple (part of a once-every-12-years consecration, we learned), while at another, elaborately dressed men (priests?) mixed with businessmen on the way home from work, lighting packets of sugar and loudly smashing coconuts into a big tank in offering before visiting the various deities. Meanwhile, it’s still Ramadan, and there were stands of sweets and dinner dishes awaiting the rush of Muslims breaking fast in the afternoon. The malls and restaurants offered Ramadan specials, more festive than I’d expected (Jewelry stores hawked big discounts, and Godiva was decked out a bit like Valentine’s day). Our doctor friend told us that the cities major groups had gotten along pretty well in recent decades, and that spots in the government were unofficially held for one ethnic group or another (e.g., the head of the Dept. of Medicine was always Chinese; the department of Public Works, always Indian). <br />
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Anyway, further exploration will have to wait for a future vacation – for now, off to Laos. Our trip was largely uneventful, with one exception. Apparently the main KL airport has two terminals, both part of KUL…but about as far away as JFK and LGA! Fortunately, we’d left ourselves plenty of time to make our flight, and were able to hop a cab between the two with only a little bit of panicked scrambling and still make our Air Asia flight to Laos without a hitch. And here we are! More on our time in Laos next time…EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-60004809826883149522010-08-19T18:26:00.000-07:002010-08-19T18:26:28.240-07:00On the ipad and droid at bangkok airport16 hours later and almost there. Luckily bangkok had a starbucks and m&ms world ready for us. KL here we come.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-84386773843056592782010-08-18T14:10:00.000-07:002010-08-18T14:10:22.623-07:00Saying Au Revoir to LA<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKPQ2riEExUXAX6jpih_7033H1b4eN3r3jdj-nYQZ6kkMedcvgpCShKf2JWziA8t0Cm49oHsrdIbjf3qMvlW-eXuKhPMNO6cwiMTFNauk0_-RAKdR90XiB4XbR3qj7OTB5rju0m6DxUY/s1600/IMG_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKPQ2riEExUXAX6jpih_7033H1b4eN3r3jdj-nYQZ6kkMedcvgpCShKf2JWziA8t0Cm49oHsrdIbjf3qMvlW-eXuKhPMNO6cwiMTFNauk0_-RAKdR90XiB4XbR3qj7OTB5rju0m6DxUY/s200/IMG_0089.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry at the foot of my bed, where I would often <br />
find him when I woke up in the morning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Well readers, things certainly have gotten more interesting for the return of bloggers Herczeg and Bell (nee Koch). We asian adventurers are most glad for the addition once more of their witty repartee, even if we will be spread across three continents. Let the hunt for the best story of wacky French-inspired antics - in Paris, in a country once controlled by the French or with Fabrice in DC - begin.<br />
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Sadly my time in LA is winding down. Tuesday morning began with a lovely stroll to a local coffee shop with Aim and Harry and enjoying some iced teas while sitting outside in the once again perfect LA weather. (Apparently it's hot by LA standards, but after this summer in NYC and my only sometimes air conditioned living room, it feels lovely). Aim then went off to have an important Hollywood lunch. It may have just been for networking/meeting people in LA, but as far as I'm considered every lunch in LA is like those lunches in Get Shorty where people are pitching scripts left and right and ordering obscure dishes off menu. So she probably green lighted three scripts while there. I meanwhile headed to the Grove and Farmers Market, where I explored a food wonderland. While enjoying my second set of pork tacos in two days, I overheard a woman say to her friend that eating at the mexican stand where we were was a quintessential LA experience. Success! Though all the talk about Amy and Matt's upcoming trip to France also required me, bien sur, to have a nutella crepe for dessert.<br />
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After a stroll through the shops, Amy and I came home and she headed off to her writing class, where she is in training to become a v. famous Hollywood writer, second only perhaps to her already v. famous husband Matt Bell. (Note to all Hollywood executives reading this blog in secret - there is a dynamic writing duo residing here in West Hollywood. You probably want to hire them.) I then borrowed Amy's car and drove to see a good family friend Hanka Orsten, who came over to the US on the same Army transport ship as Babi and Deda, arriving on Thanksgiving Day 1949. We had a lovely visit. Between Babi and Hanka there are two pretty fabulous 90-somethings putting most 60 year-olds to shame. (I took pics with my blackberry but I am having trouble getting them off the device, so photos to come in a bit - apologies.)<br />
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Of particular note in our visit (and especially for blogger Herczeg), Hanka taught me some translations of great Czech expressions about Hungarians. Babi had already taught me:<br />
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- After midnight all Slovaks become Hungarian (which I think means they are sloppy drunks)<br />
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In that vein, Hanka added:<br />
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- A Hungarian will go into a revolving door after you and come out before you<br />
- What's the difference between a Hungarian and a Romanian? They both will sell you their mothers, but the Hungarian will actually deliver<br />
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There are definitely getting added to my repertoire.<br />
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After such a nice visit, I then returned to Casa Bell and Matt and I scooped Amy up from her class. We adventurous three then went across LA - so many neighborhoods! - to Little Tokyo for some DELICIOUS ramen and grilled pork. The absolutely perfect way for me to get ready to transition to a diet of Asian cuisines for the next two weeks. What a treat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKg4MuCmLQ8lRb40hEKentVBotZFce4aMQ3J_8rcxt9iY78mjJCFd0Ve7uGGkuEyqIKgQYiG_fKbjTQPvRw-GZpveZ7W6EcmDaoZBYePY45zgZ_wMIan3FKH-xA3uM02GUPgWeuSv3y-Y/s1600/IMG_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKg4MuCmLQ8lRb40hEKentVBotZFce4aMQ3J_8rcxt9iY78mjJCFd0Ve7uGGkuEyqIKgQYiG_fKbjTQPvRw-GZpveZ7W6EcmDaoZBYePY45zgZ_wMIan3FKH-xA3uM02GUPgWeuSv3y-Y/s200/IMG_0096.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry knows it is important to stay <br />
hydrated when one is hiking in the heat</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5DVp4Pa_UlHFjX-juPTheU-sSpFkVYGVePXaKdEHvDMWoZUWMKnDCsGwF12XqeZWAbRT8uRI15Val9JSfxI9P7cb1xjrN1PRNcUjDgfsU7ncSdwOqrzDXtYaXLL15prVJlOlSYrpe-E/s1600/IMG_0095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5DVp4Pa_UlHFjX-juPTheU-sSpFkVYGVePXaKdEHvDMWoZUWMKnDCsGwF12XqeZWAbRT8uRI15Val9JSfxI9P7cb1xjrN1PRNcUjDgfsU7ncSdwOqrzDXtYaXLL15prVJlOlSYrpe-E/s200/IMG_0095.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top of our hike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This morning (Wednesday), Amy and I with our fearless canine leader Harry headed off to Griffith Park for a hike up to the Observatory. It was pretty hot and sunny, but the hike was great fun, especially when pulled along by an unbelievably energetic dog. Harry must have known what a nice morning was in store for us, because as soon as we got in the car he started hopping up and down with excitement. Again, slightly different reaction than Harry the bulldog.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_HxKS7xTjVCZh9GfJCsvU06Pl8TDs8ymLYLGMMC2WZbSsuxvQM43lrYE5tCqm_5yK4ihBrBIQFm27qLv7fidOEYU7A2FRB2HuMDpG6cAAA-_zmxNKS5qiEVEKZpOcXZtXJHlzjcMs8s/s1600/IMG_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_HxKS7xTjVCZh9GfJCsvU06Pl8TDs8ymLYLGMMC2WZbSsuxvQM43lrYE5tCqm_5yK4ihBrBIQFm27qLv7fidOEYU7A2FRB2HuMDpG6cAAA-_zmxNKS5qiEVEKZpOcXZtXJHlzjcMs8s/s200/IMG_0093.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sign always reminds me of the episode <br />
of Mathnet with the gorillas. Anyone?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the hike we stopped in Larchmont, which apparently also exists here as well as on the Metro-North, for yummy Italian sandwiches. Up ahead for up this afternoon will be last minute errands and laundry, followed by hopefully scooping Josh up at the airport for a quick Bell-Olken double dinner date at a cuban place near LAX. And then, just a brief 16-17 hour flight later (yikes) we'll be in Asia! See you all there!EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-68474111972133711292010-08-17T20:18:00.000-07:002010-08-17T20:18:16.878-07:00OUT OF OFFICETO: Readers<br />
FR: Me (Jon)<br />
RE: Fwd: re: URGENT TIME SENSITIVE PLEASE ASSIST!<br />
Attachment: V. Important Document REDLINE -- PRIVILEGED & CONFIDENTIAL -- DRAFT<br />
<br />
Thank you for your message. I (Jon) am currently not on vacation right now. I do not anticipate being away from my computer, Blackberry, landline, cellphone or desk in the near future. If I do not respond to your email within 10 minutes, please forward the same message to me, only this time mark it as urgent with a red exclamation point so you can be sure I see it in my inbox. If 10 more minutes pass, please call my assistant at [REDACTED] and she will send an email alerting me to your call. Sometimes it helps if your assistant calls my assistant directly with the message that you are looking for me. <br />
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In any event, of course I am happy to assist with this pressing matter. Please be advised that I am in the office and not in Paris crunching a baguette or in Hue slurping up pho, though I plan to be out of the office next Thursday recruiting at [REDACTED]; the Acela now has wi-fi so I will be available on a consistent basis as needed. Your email to me that says only "please assist" provides clear and consistent guidance that is in no way vague. I can easily follow the correspondence you forwarded me from [CLIENT] and I can interpret [CLIENT]'s unambiguous request. Though I have no previous experience with this issue or knowledge of the relevant legal standard, I should be able to turn this around without delay by COB yesterday. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKX5BBsHZWdwTiZaWuDVYQ5EEmKqZfE-WuRBxuf8k_5FqWxvuwAVk7uyjs9LpWRwiX19OE_-zGszS8g1tpNaTU6CZN87-3IzhNPK_MItUPzalwV6qMEMoUlhJMfN_j8aM25mK7EhzZhf0/s1600/EBJONBULLDOG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKX5BBsHZWdwTiZaWuDVYQ5EEmKqZfE-WuRBxuf8k_5FqWxvuwAVk7uyjs9LpWRwiX19OE_-zGszS8g1tpNaTU6CZN87-3IzhNPK_MItUPzalwV6qMEMoUlhJMfN_j8aM25mK7EhzZhf0/s320/EBJONBULLDOG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In the meantime, I do hope to interrupt Amy/Matt/EB/Josh's posts about vacation adventures with a few short entries of my own. Please let me know if you have any questions.<br />
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<br />
Best,<br />
Me (Jon)EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-25224535518970070112010-08-17T12:16:00.000-07:002010-08-17T12:16:11.135-07:00Breaking News!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dear reading public, you've been misled. You'll note that at the bottom of this post it says that Jon and Amy are here in absentia. False. Present. I (Amy) am very much here. Or as EB just said "the inmates are in charge." I think I'd prefer something more along the lines of "student becomes teacher." </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
But Amy, why are you blogging, you ask? Well, let me count the ways (er, reasons):<br />
1. I am unemployed. Yes my numbering is in order of importance. If you are reading, in Los Angeles, and interested in paying me to do something other than be a litigation associate, it's great to meet you and I would love to buy you lunch and I'm a quick learner with a real appetite for reading for pleasure. Surely these things qualify me for something.<br />
2. I am jealous of EBs and Josh and their adventure part deux. Uncontrollably jealous/envious/furious.<br />
3. I will also be traveling in the next two weeks, and though I won't be in Asia, I will be in a former colonial power, and who doesn't love a little mercantilism humor. <br />
3a. If you're now wondering who is to blame for giving me the password to the blog, it was EB. <br />
4. This is mostly just a challenge to Jon to write something hilarious for our benefit. See that, readers? I'm here to help.<br />
<br />
On Saturday, Matt and I leave for 10 days in France: first attending the wedding of our friends in Burgundy, and then wandering around Paris for a few days on a belated honeymoon of sorts. EB taught me some french while we were stuck in traffic yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty confident we'll have no trouble at all. I can now say:<br />
-"give me that croissant"<br />
-"I adore wine"<br />
-"I adore you"<br />
-"two coffees please, thank you"<br />
-"where is the Louvre"<br />
-"cheese"<br />
<br />
I dare you to think of any other truly essential phrase. Let the adventure(s) begin.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-75330185298283108262010-08-17T11:07:00.000-07:002010-08-17T11:23:35.375-07:00Ladies who lunch (and enjoy happy hour)Sunday evening was a lovely reunion with the Chapin girls at Bld for dinner followed by the evening's episode of Mad Men at Kathleen's wonderful apartment. Nothing like a night of reminiscing over the high school quote book and gabbing while watching tv to make you feel like it's 1999 again. It's always nice to know that no amount of graduate school, careers or marriage changes the friendships (and the ability to find middle school teachers hilarious) that result from 13 years of all-girls' schooling. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JOtKi7lcE1vaZGf7Y3S_XoAqCGAV2JwlQSLxt3ejcjikt4BSNHlyi1LNDqHTeetU4odLQavaFk5_Sv9JriWbSr34K9ebKLVFmo15NLdRiW0GLudThymYTAdnpF9_Zwke_LW50sdl55A/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JOtKi7lcE1vaZGf7Y3S_XoAqCGAV2JwlQSLxt3ejcjikt4BSNHlyi1LNDqHTeetU4odLQavaFk5_Sv9JriWbSr34K9ebKLVFmo15NLdRiW0GLudThymYTAdnpF9_Zwke_LW50sdl55A/s320/IMG_0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Zuma Beach in Malibu</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZC9pBJZiLCYKVnVOPA1qs_ORBYBN9yoq5VC-ASUVZxK_jasAW74LLnp32rgt34jiRTYNm9UcL5-dFoOzSx5gZEffu_Ao5_CoQiJ6RagCYyEVAjw3Z4-WHF6irjXHPFZGE3qDIvQKlSA/s1600/IMG_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZC9pBJZiLCYKVnVOPA1qs_ORBYBN9yoq5VC-ASUVZxK_jasAW74LLnp32rgt34jiRTYNm9UcL5-dFoOzSx5gZEffu_Ao5_CoQiJ6RagCYyEVAjw3Z4-WHF6irjXHPFZGE3qDIvQKlSA/s320/IMG_0079.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawyers on the loose</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Monday was another perfect sunny day in Los Angeles. Amy (after she got up very early and went to morning pilates and I snoozed right in - guess I'm not quite ready for LA life yet) and I went on a little beach adventure. We headed out to Malibu where we had a yummy lunch of tacos at the hilariously named Malibu Country Mart (think Nobu and $150 jean shorts not Cracker Barrel and overalls) and then wandered around the shops. Next we were off to Zuma beach for a stroll, dipping our feet in the Pacific. It was beautiful. Though it may only be for a short time of unemployment, we decided we could definitely get used to spending Monday afternoons at the beach rather than in an office. If anyone is looking to hire two law school grads to enjoy leisurely lunches and weekday strolls on the beach in Malibu, look no further.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChd1msMkny6863m4pBJXhjGn4eo7pDxDRKxioAUKerk_LRQOBneMQ3uIcu_YHxVwh3tY10uh6NOZ-GPiIGPE5pNd1bVtwe3aKlOqnsnt9DWuEhGUdg-_SUXGRNpb_qcbFsK8_7kxiFo4/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChd1msMkny6863m4pBJXhjGn4eo7pDxDRKxioAUKerk_LRQOBneMQ3uIcu_YHxVwh3tY10uh6NOZ-GPiIGPE5pNd1bVtwe3aKlOqnsnt9DWuEhGUdg-_SUXGRNpb_qcbFsK8_7kxiFo4/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of Bodega, the fashionable wine bar where Mandi and Amy had the good sense to order wine and I got a neon blue cocktail. Oops.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After having the full LA experience of getting stuck in traffic on the way home, we got back to West Hollywood, changed into our evening attire and headed out to meet Mandi at a new wine bar on Sunset Boulevard (it is literally impossible for me to say that without starting to sing the theme song from the musical Sunset Boulevard). We had a great girls' night out- happy hour pricing on cocktails and wine (what a deal!) and yummy bar snacks. Not to mention learning all sorts of secret Hollywood insider gossip about the biz- thank goodness I know someone so connected with what's going on. I can't wait to get home to astound all my east coast friends with what I learned about cool stuff in the film industry. But first I should probably learn some cool stuff about unpronounceable southeast asian cities as well. EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-3413139823621432010-08-15T19:09:00.000-07:002010-08-15T19:09:39.602-07:00A weekend with my nephew, niece and neph-dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHajOw33AqXTpAM3pqSb5k0Xyuh3RulIOKSxH8rWnuEmWhjD7UnXKIoPAcBPcl01az9FaISbFUJFAM_BtMWHbcyuH3SJTPMBTkebGvdlU0je_yRhPJ7vnsE8svwDyGOQ1EOP-xF3jd-qg/s1600/IMG_0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHajOw33AqXTpAM3pqSb5k0Xyuh3RulIOKSxH8rWnuEmWhjD7UnXKIoPAcBPcl01az9FaISbFUJFAM_BtMWHbcyuH3SJTPMBTkebGvdlU0je_yRhPJ7vnsE8svwDyGOQ1EOP-xF3jd-qg/s320/IMG_0059.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIfYYsk36ek_GUUg4BuI9NCeVlwOhFL-bgcGa2I_49vHWkSBK_8mqDKi6ChnoTxhaBTxafBvlm77YYmgGSDvQ6kjoGXB-qIJ4SZLn00NkW0wBK2VUIggYMFQgeIO2yYqLqhj8L2Ig_G8/s1600/IMG_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIfYYsk36ek_GUUg4BuI9NCeVlwOhFL-bgcGa2I_49vHWkSBK_8mqDKi6ChnoTxhaBTxafBvlm77YYmgGSDvQ6kjoGXB-qIJ4SZLn00NkW0wBK2VUIggYMFQgeIO2yYqLqhj8L2Ig_G8/s200/IMG_0021.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
If my travels getting to LA were a little less than perfect, all that was cured by the joy of spending the weekend with my "nephew" Shepherd, "niece" Ella and "neph-dog" Harry Bell. Bates and Shep had come down from Palo Alto, Ali and Ella had come up from San Clemente and Harry, well, being the movie star that he is, lives in fashionable LA with Amy and Matt in their lovely West Hollywood home.<br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5uHj2fGB3xBoge9HKrngnc1K0k_QycGMx2_kG1PjoXY0KZLXWcRZuzw8qMJXqZspKG0biejyi9uj3dzWfLc-Q4B5cpCyZwE5LqP2U7lnk1Vd9z-iw18NsaJOfqhKy5aXJhUg4SoeuyA/s1600/IMG_0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5uHj2fGB3xBoge9HKrngnc1K0k_QycGMx2_kG1PjoXY0KZLXWcRZuzw8qMJXqZspKG0biejyi9uj3dzWfLc-Q4B5cpCyZwE5LqP2U7lnk1Vd9z-iw18NsaJOfqhKy5aXJhUg4SoeuyA/s200/IMG_0026.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkx28f3rlxDhT_JGa1aqZoUxJBlcBZtLix_kii12g1yk3ljvpEHDQMsult55CDXTuCJT4e5RDdmjL9sXarAgW4M6TxvwmbZZa5If_jVSZRjV4NUZ2bgjqP_dnKZKfib2zYMWaJ_3odmU/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkx28f3rlxDhT_JGa1aqZoUxJBlcBZtLix_kii12g1yk3ljvpEHDQMsult55CDXTuCJT4e5RDdmjL9sXarAgW4M6TxvwmbZZa5If_jVSZRjV4NUZ2bgjqP_dnKZKfib2zYMWaJ_3odmU/s200/IMG_0009.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
Saturday morning we had an absolutely delicious brunch courtesy of Amy and her wonderful cooking (though she did snag a recipe or two from this gem of a food blog <a href="http://www.alexandracooks.com/">http://www.alexandracooks.com/</a>). Mandi joined us (that's high powered Hollywood executive Amanda Schweitzer to those of you in the biz) as did Matt's delightful mom Renie visiting from Oakland. After breakfast, the young moms and the "aunties" and Harry the dog went for a walk around West Hollywood, keeping eyes peeled for celebrities at every turn, though no luck so far. We spent the afternoon astounded by the wonderousness of the babies as Ella made clear that she is ready to start crawling (extremely fast learner) and Shep revealed his amazing array of facial expressions, with the piece de resistance being his own adaptation of lobster face. For dinner, Amy once again treated us with a delicious meal, this time the Zuni roast chicken and bread salad. YUMMY! What a successful day. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpROQrSJL9dt7k1cGjHatDNoriWzoM3nid3e92SgqMBVCx1bRRz7h8vcgx4BnWN8AWEXsNycCY-FplbRt2gNjijovrMa4Z4Qk6H3LFqkJcbME29sBRvJ0vZpbgW_xNv8EFJzzQa_JxjtY/s1600/IMG_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpROQrSJL9dt7k1cGjHatDNoriWzoM3nid3e92SgqMBVCx1bRRz7h8vcgx4BnWN8AWEXsNycCY-FplbRt2gNjijovrMa4Z4Qk6H3LFqkJcbME29sBRvJ0vZpbgW_xNv8EFJzzQa_JxjtY/s200/IMG_0028.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFdMgf4BZCLtR_lbkI0OhgBYTu0LQAEuLv9LOlszCVnBFq3UkWkRzXM6GkHOYL-_jWVgtnPUYm7koPIbroV8sxkkl5dEbwkGhn_jX4b11JGeLGgdQ-7sd2x9h6ffTQ61Q_NRItz2mqtc/s1600/IMG_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFdMgf4BZCLtR_lbkI0OhgBYTu0LQAEuLv9LOlszCVnBFq3UkWkRzXM6GkHOYL-_jWVgtnPUYm7koPIbroV8sxkkl5dEbwkGhn_jX4b11JGeLGgdQ-7sd2x9h6ffTQ61Q_NRItz2mqtc/s200/IMG_0048.JPG" width="150" /></a>Sunday began with spooning in bed once again with Harry - apologies to my dog Harry back on the East Coast but this Harry can jump into bed without the aid of an ottoman or a helpful lift. Breakfast with the babies again and then we were off for a stroll to the Melrose flea market. Cute as we grown ups are, Shep and Ella once again were the stars of the show. I think they were offered several trendy LA outfits by some of the vendors, but naturally refused, referring all discussions about what to wear (and what not to wear - they of course read US Weekly) to their managers. These are two celebabies in the making.<br />
<br />
Sadly, we had to send the babies off to their respective homes Sunday afternoon, but not before several attempts at kidnapping by their aunties when their moms weren't paying attention. Surprisingly enough, the kiddies weren't psyched about the prospect of stowing away in my bag for a trip to Southeast Asia. Though I'm pretty sure that several of the baby sounds made by Shep and Ella over the course of the weekend were the names of places we'll be going in Laos.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFNd5bBTfqEEZk5bCeAPmRCSlHEjoL9zX2AdZhVqjWEg7kn7Yggas_YARwi-YQYEYnsP9Gd9U1O1FsFxuhoGKvS5oUboU-RKB6b0OAht5lb4TuvAc12KuTQI_Lw9Aew58AKqyhA6Bqa0/s1600/IMG_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFNd5bBTfqEEZk5bCeAPmRCSlHEjoL9zX2AdZhVqjWEg7kn7Yggas_YARwi-YQYEYnsP9Gd9U1O1FsFxuhoGKvS5oUboU-RKB6b0OAht5lb4TuvAc12KuTQI_Lw9Aew58AKqyhA6Bqa0/s320/IMG_0065.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;">Next up, dinner with the Chapin girls! </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1ZJXKQwUTkywqCjjY1yQhT3EbpBhzqhfHKh2vmkGGj1a88VPAm5Dtssk-hLuKMIY3qGsYzYwv7azoQWmW0_c6mIMpAS6O6i85ugs1Fol80dtr-cAaFUtvJ7YYg_GEm1MsGZQDKD1Ecw/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1ZJXKQwUTkywqCjjY1yQhT3EbpBhzqhfHKh2vmkGGj1a88VPAm5Dtssk-hLuKMIY3qGsYzYwv7azoQWmW0_c6mIMpAS6O6i85ugs1Fol80dtr-cAaFUtvJ7YYg_GEm1MsGZQDKD1Ecw/s200/IMG_0078.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrti9ODc6ZK0q2TflNqVouc4SSSbFxaXxLePabLnQipfOySOb45FV0hG6FkuIwoWG1SxgVRxyle5K_mTbTqnTxlBW9une45Ff_ARE1yji8LgK2tZueZFgtq5o8zAxvbLe3ibSqqTGd4ic/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrti9ODc6ZK0q2TflNqVouc4SSSbFxaXxLePabLnQipfOySOb45FV0hG6FkuIwoWG1SxgVRxyle5K_mTbTqnTxlBW9une45Ff_ARE1yji8LgK2tZueZFgtq5o8zAxvbLe3ibSqqTGd4ic/s200/IMG_0076.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-86313992350178074162010-08-15T18:38:00.000-07:002010-08-15T18:38:24.630-07:00Oh you'd like to fly to Los Angeles? How about two days from now?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_Ui2z81Xypz5w1pOx5SyZ3RQkKJppH4AqwuUEOG-mX9TOiOdV1-Wf4a_K-HXKQsri622LpAITUB3cGXBlYk00UcHAXo35eW2NwgF6Sy1AWjRFAYnAkVCpER8K1TI7fnE-pCMOxxp3oI/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_Ui2z81Xypz5w1pOx5SyZ3RQkKJppH4AqwuUEOG-mX9TOiOdV1-Wf4a_K-HXKQsri622LpAITUB3cGXBlYk00UcHAXo35eW2NwgF6Sy1AWjRFAYnAkVCpER8K1TI7fnE-pCMOxxp3oI/s320/IMG_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Continental, thank YOU.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our adventures began somewhat inauspiciously on Friday when I (EB) arrived at Newark airport for my flight to Los Angeles. Upon attempting to check in at an e-ticket machine, I was informed that I could not check in because it was more than 24 hours before my flight. Odd, I thought, given that my flight was in just over 1 hour. But upon further inspection it was revealed that the machine believed my flight was on Sunday rather than Friday.<br />
<br />
A swift discussion with a Continental representative revealed that my 3:25 flight had been canceled and I had been rebooked on the 3:25 on Sunday.* Apparently Contintental believed that my primary interest was in flying at 3:25, irrespective of the day. Surprisingly, I informed them that actually what I really wanted was to get to California THAT DAY rather than fly at 3:25 and encouraged them to make that happen. Though all direct flights were booked, after a little persistence they found a spot for me on a flight to Chicago and then from Chicago to LAX.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqZfJvaZHuOoTO_bale6SM-vHcVj-vhock-UJ89shQM6c0CzMa1OgTm0GwOpNaspiBasQNIzY0TASOOe7x5y3y0AQC_vCuocwKgOZSR9MrM1TcfilOOH7y0aVTuRDV5H4vN3CwML4VJ8/s1600/IMG_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqZfJvaZHuOoTO_bale6SM-vHcVj-vhock-UJ89shQM6c0CzMa1OgTm0GwOpNaspiBasQNIzY0TASOOe7x5y3y0AQC_vCuocwKgOZSR9MrM1TcfilOOH7y0aVTuRDV5H4vN3CwML4VJ8/s320/IMG_0007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, at least someone was glad I was there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
A couple hours later, I was off to Chicago and all seemed to be well in the world. After a lovely airport dinner in O'Hare and the joyous news that I was being given an exit row seat on the flight to LAX, thunderstorms rolled into Chicago and all flights were halted for an hour and a half. Luckily I had rented a movie on my snazzy new ipad, so the time passed relatively quickly. Finally at 10:30pm Chicago time we took off and at 12:45 am the flight touched down in LA. A quick ride brought me to the wonderful home of Amy and Matt Bell, where a lovely guest room and delightful dog to spoon with awaited me. I had arrived!<br />
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* Side note for this story - are there actually people who go to the check in machine, see their flight has been canceled and they are rebooked for two days later, and just shrug their shoulders and go home to come back in two days? Is that really a winning strategy for airlines? I am dubious.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-69624857287208460342010-08-13T07:36:00.000-07:002010-08-13T07:45:14.184-07:00Since last we spoke...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-ectPcJApmZPCA3mmv1uz0v4mm2dA8sH6XC9AfBGK80J5tdemTdL4qAtCtRfEFlza7wAR4AFUW1Syx6Ig5pzVznTpOKM8Fj_G5aDq-y2zWiimbYMaIVNddtNFuP4Fucsh5w82-ekRVk/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-ectPcJApmZPCA3mmv1uz0v4mm2dA8sH6XC9AfBGK80J5tdemTdL4qAtCtRfEFlza7wAR4AFUW1Syx6Ig5pzVznTpOKM8Fj_G5aDq-y2zWiimbYMaIVNddtNFuP4Fucsh5w82-ekRVk/s320/18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Before we dive right into our next adventure, we suppose it’s only fair to our loyal readers to let you know what we’ve been up to for the last three years. Since last we blogged, travelers EB and Josh finally bit the bullet and got married. They enjoyed three lovely years in Cambridge, MA (and even found good Vietnamese food in Dorchester!) and have just moved back to New York City. EB graduated from law school and is once again adventuring to Asia in between school and work. Josh left consulting to join the much more exciting and sugar-filled world of marketing for the Mars Corporation, where he reminds us all how important it is to have “small moments of joy” (namely candy bars) in our daily lives. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any sign of Snickers in rural Laos. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupWKuSLQy_he-22vRmn8kDx7ixPvk1E9HrUUXVBKcSaXGjIAnlYwUKzufQzdvNq2DuwiqMMhNVmYhN37QxRkhyyHW3xQNt9jRuoYahlMpYPIDkJehmq0KKABNz-qEQbiNRa0_naLYl0U/s1600/Amy+and+Matt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupWKuSLQy_he-22vRmn8kDx7ixPvk1E9HrUUXVBKcSaXGjIAnlYwUKzufQzdvNq2DuwiqMMhNVmYhN37QxRkhyyHW3xQNt9jRuoYahlMpYPIDkJehmq0KKABNz-qEQbiNRa0_naLYl0U/s320/Amy+and+Matt.jpg" width="320" /></a>We’ll also take the liberty of giving an update on our fellow travelers, who may edit as they see fit. While working as a high powered legal mastermind in San Francisco for a very fancy law firm, Amy met (or really re-met) fellow PHSer and generally all-around fabulous Matt Bell, who wisely snatched her up and they were married last fall. Amy and Matt have just relocated to Los Angeles, where their family of Bells has grown with the addition of Harry, the newest four-legged family member. All signs of him on facebook suggest he is one cute dog. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6VPZfGtEkaK1M-8b4uRjVT30kVLwBQIXwLA9MQglYqLc2HslB64wLNZg6xoxpCESO0rrI6M2L3KvNzaVvcfWld5pfP6MUAoykm53GV2qnEyaVnGvMjSx7bZ-f07JFTxssfbIUPNA2jk/s1600/Amy+and+Matt%27s+Wonderful+Wedding+183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6VPZfGtEkaK1M-8b4uRjVT30kVLwBQIXwLA9MQglYqLc2HslB64wLNZg6xoxpCESO0rrI6M2L3KvNzaVvcfWld5pfP6MUAoykm53GV2qnEyaVnGvMjSx7bZ-f07JFTxssfbIUPNA2jk/s320/Amy+and+Matt%27s+Wonderful+Wedding+183.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>After astounding readers with all that he could accomplish in 24 hours traveling by himself (let’s be honest – we all thought Jon would still be lost in Hanoi asking if someone could pouch him his passport), Jon graduated from NYU law school and swiftly went on to win the 2008 election for President Obama. Now he is a big deal lawyer in Washington DC where in addition to fighting for justice he also was most recently responsible for the summer associate lunch program. Pretty high powered stuff.<br />
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Will there ever be a reunion of this fearsome foursome of travelers? Rest assured, dear readers, of course. Once we find Jon that someone special, perhaps a three couple belated honeymoon could be in order. But until then, it will just be the Kelly-Olken pair – heading off to California, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, and Greece. We hope you enjoy the ride!EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-44398161769897738682010-08-06T07:41:00.000-07:002010-08-06T07:43:11.181-07:00The return of the blog?Josh and I head off on our second great asian adventure in about a week and we are considering resurrecting the blog, though likely much less humorously for the lack of Jon and Amy. But first we wanted to see, does this thing even still work?EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-30458099426319461092007-08-26T01:32:00.000-07:002007-08-26T02:34:19.598-07:00There's not a chance this can top Jon's last day in HanoiBut it has been obscenely long since we've updated you, and for that we are sorry. Hello public, please forgive us. Also I (Amy) am technologically challenged and can't upload my photos, so you will have to imagine two extremely attractive, evenly tanned, experienced travelers. And then look for two confused awkwardly burnt giggling Americans dodging motorbikes. That would be us. I'll be the one with the hot sauce never more than an arm's length away.<br /><br />While Jon was sweating (typical) and riding motorbikes (yikes), Halliday and I were making our way to Hoi An. We flew from Hanoi to Danang airport, notable as the landing place of the US military when they entered Vietnam, and also notable because if you say it several times fast it sounds like a twanging rubber band. danaaaaaang. We took a short ride from Danang to Hoi An (not to be confused with Hanoi, or An Hoi, directly across the river from Hoi An), and found ourselves at a cute little guest house we would call home for 3 nights. Our room had a balcony that overlooked the deck below and rice paddies beyond that. We ate breakfast on the deck each morning, including vietnamese heaven coffee...think hot equivalent of coffee ice cream socially acceptable to consume at 7am.<br /><br />Hoi An was a delightful little town, full of charm and thankfully not quite so full of motorbikes. In fact, there are signs all over the historic district downtown (probably a total of 4 blocks) noting that the area was open only to "pedestrians and primitive vehicles." We took the pedestrian route the first day to wander around and explore, but decided to step it up a notch on the second day. We rented some primitive bicycles for the day (10,000 dong and we were off), think huffy circa 1980 complete with flourescent spray paint job. Best 70 cents ever spent. We spent much of the next two days pedaling back and forth to the beach, about a 20 minute ride away. The ride was well worth it for the near empty stretch of perfect beach with warm water and street food to be had right in the vicinity. An exceptionally nice trip was the one we made at 6am on our final morning for one last dip in the sea. Many of you know how I feel about early mornings (um, they're sacred I love them), and that ranks near if not at the top of my list for best ways to kick off a day. Anyway, enough gloating. Point being once we had bicycles, we were basically locals. Except for the being white and the inability to stop and start without nearly toppling. <br /><br />What am I forgetting? oh the food. Hoi An has two specialties we particularly enjoyed. The first is Cao Lau, a dish of noodles, roast pork, leafy greens, and often shrimp and/or little hard-boiled eggs of unknown origin. We sampled this on 6 inch stools at several different spots, and found each slightly different but all delicious. The second Hoi An dish is the white rose (I'm sure it has a vietnamese name, but after 10 days here I'm still not quite sure how to say "thank you," so we'll just stick with the english), a shrimp sort of dumpling surrounded by rice noodley dough in the shape of a rose. Cover with roasted garlic chips, dunk in hot sauce, and you've got yourself quite the snack. <br /><br />After two days of beach-going, town exploring, and yes, occasional tailoring (naturally I selected black and brown items, take that beach), we decided to spend our final day getting some culture. We took a bus to see My Son, a nearby site of relics from the Champa Kingdom. This was billed as a sort of mini Angor Wat, and since we don't have time to make it to Cambodia, we thought this was a great substitute. As it turned out, the relics had been mostly destroyed by American bombing, and those that remained were a mini mini mini Angor Wat. Nonetheless, it was an interesting trip, both for the quick history lesson and for the pleasure of seeing a couple in matching tie-dyed blue ankle length skirts and white tank tops conducting some sort of amateur photo shoot.<br /><br />We sadly said goodbye to our beach town and flew, after a short delay in Danaaaaaang, to Ho Chi Minh City on friday. We weren't quite sure what to expect here other than a large city no one seems to love, but figured if nothing else there would be some good food. Correct. We got in around 9:30pm and quickly headed out to a do-it-yourself beef barbeque place highly recommended by our guide books. It did not disappoint. They brought out a plate of raw beef marinating in garlic and garlic and also garlic, as well as an open barbeque. We have decided that interactive eating makes everything more fun (see, e.g., dipping, rolling, grilling on open flames), and this was no exception. Delicious. <br /><br />We declared yesterday consumerism day and hit up the shopping near our hotel, and when the daily monsoon struck around 5pm, opted for a cocktail at the 23rd floor of the nearby sheraton. Though the day was a pleasure (of course, is there another kind here?), it didn't seem all that Vietnamese. Yes, I just accused Vietnam's largest city of not being Vietnamese enough. Luckily we remedied that assessment at dinner. After rejecting two perfectly clean and nice restaurants (snooze), we wandered past a place full of Vietnamese people, not a whitey in sight. Perfect, we thought.<br /><br />We were then presented with menus. Curiously, these menus had english translations. Also curiously, the first page included various preparations of turtle blood. Hmm, no gracias. Next page? Snake heads. Boiled, grilled, in hot pots, with tamarind sauce, etc. Holy yikes. Other options included goat and god knows what else. We selected some seemingly benign options: fried rice (pretty good, prefer not to think about what might have been mixed in), chicken (sounds better than it looked), and soft shell crab (eek). What the meal lacked in style and taste it made up for in comedy. By the time our check arrived we both had our feet off the ground for fear some of the still-living snakes might slither out. Asia. First the yak, now this. <br /><br />We're off to the airport shortly to fly to Bangkok, so today's recap will be a quick one. We got up early and went to the War Remnants Museum. This museum is one of the city's main tourist attractions, and is difficult to summarize in just a couple of sentences. However one-sided it may be (used to be called the museum of american war crimes, or something along those lines), it was sobering to say the least, and left us both a bit shell-shocked. And maybe it was our imagination, but it felt like many of the other visitors to the museum, particularly the children, were eyeing us with particular attention as Americans. Not quite sure how to feel about that yet. Anyway, we're glad we went, and won't soon forget the horrific images that fill up the exhibits. <br /><br />For fear of leaving on a debbie downer note, I'll continue...We've loved our time in Vietnam, and can't wait to move on to Thailand. More from there as we round out the adventure. Sorry for the lack of pictures. And to Josh, EBs, and Jon, come back.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-44984080264398988212007-08-21T05:45:00.000-07:002008-12-10T04:34:29.658-08:00Hello, My Name is "Table for One"Fresh from our celebration of Halliday's birthday last night (including shrimp and sweet potato pancakes, grilled shrimp with lemongrass, pork and mushroom rice pancake, pork with noodles, snail soup, and a little tofu thrown in -- all with matching Halida t-shirts), Team Asia called it splitsville again. I (Jon), sent Halliday and Amy on their way to Hoi An, HCM City, and the beaches of Thailand. Meanwhile began my 72 hour solo journey back to the U States with a full, and final, day in Hanoi.<br /><div><div><div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101136530686858530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmgbWx8UGqZbwhtOQrJUtq8eiCYIifRKh58rNXLl928MsEgg93-jZxKvC7vewQR7VUMvl77wHoIpfjgSOXYUG7zIndntEI-qjkuM_zNqvTuvaKTyfOlVGuesCcedR25EA8OeseDT6hZg/s200/Bloggy+001.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Finally free from the restraint of co-travellers, I let loose and broke all the rules. Here's a photo essay of my free-wheeling ways:</div><br /><br /><div>Off to an early start, I began the day as usual with a stroll around Ho Hoan Kiem Lake. No sign of tortoises . . . or scammers.<br /></div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101135959456208146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0G08LhJIH4I_K72_KQqW-ntJhD-k81GwYEebUFIkLmtV0uykg7IZ1IPVHNgi3UHvjP764TgsS6ilJrFm-CMH4nCJ5bbrtH9Dcp7kIlHko1dNgWx-ppjAcp7iw8Q2AuENuF5Lk2ulKNSg/s200/Bloggy+002.jpg" border="0" /><br />Onward to St. Joseph's church for morning Mass.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101136985953391922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiM5Jetho6ApQ8U-YfVrxxFfmu44awIf7lMYIzDmIX2HlV9idW3dE2zynwX2pWlyhg2rJa4zw576OcqdYkPH8lAokclQ4h4dNiiN9cTYy6rok5WODSBK6Q-wjVnRSoN221bALf12cYYCU/s200/Bloggy+003.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p></p>Craving a salad for lunch . . . lucky for me leafy vegetables are the treat of choice at Bun Bo Nam Bo.</div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101138888623904146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYekbKmjLRHmve0zoO0mIdTaXBnpMaHxrLjNlc6v-XXvOQmirFEdO-pqQ8MA7VKDoT6wOlY447JA0llHEBMGhqUMbs4R9bazi9Gp5Ii_b7uijxWBkGFuFH1cxmVYFpsAD1y0Sf3oREbkw/s200/Bloggy+004.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>Who says Americans can't pull off the half-shirt bellyroll?<br /><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101138416177501522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4XL5SfWKMNJgcFxolGOy38M_eCoe46lqGkRZPjr-NMcQ38ww0T0Zl_q9GOm5Jxa1N-EQR9OFQNb9_7lsogWVFQSBTWsIRyAcd0EmLalHWgIq_XAE6Frriv2Ox3vGdME40nZOlJaMZbw/s200/Bloggy+006.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Missing DC, Potomac Restaurant on the shores of Ho Tay Lake makes me feel at home.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101138420472468834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oRyNj2TmAmFVDcqZVtZdD3mofmchrDuDyb-h68qUSWC0c5jwgtVqY5_abVfzHmtLYtIaRppsRSK7ygqB_CQxpwOk-mpu-HrJkUBib7hc9T37ZEfCrj9saRCeVBY8_jhblgzMbENdbSo/s200/Bloggy+007.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101138433357370738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim61y8gh7Jh1d5yTYMO0HlVFGL3PHSSdly9fO15xXU95tvHqdqB-bihB69nAWqZZzIsJOxxhnoSamLsUQK4rLvFYl5tT2ehD3OaSn7A2t1i6VeNT2yLr4nzEJuP3aKT1lyJPIAdmbUqxE/s200/Bloggy+008.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /></div><br /><div>At the seat of power -- the Presidential Palace -- but namedropping Bob Shrum and John Kerry doesn't get me in the door.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101138480602011010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CknjC-qxmt2gl0h8-S_PeqVXLrtSCBwjFpdF-o7BPnz_KgsXuDP7uja0KWNmo6ELeF3W7DFqpIjidyi9f5aP3BYTRX3eKs2NzvFkBgWX-NCtUR-vUe0S1j3-p9yGrrMJ-qBkkuCSEyc/s200/Bloggy+009.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Feeling like Tom Cruise, they pulled out all the stops for me and cleared out the plaza in front of Ho Chi Minh's masoleum ala Times Square in Vanilla Sky.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101140598020887970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh51YTUySmXaz8bvnTwhCNSXPFvk_dfD3YWf2gVvrIxCa54UpIwH1Wc5Zqevcq-bn8h6Gqyz-fBWUbnJZ65Hj7ifC8TmyiPkHK-iM9tuGmPPHCvDGV5zG8mOAghjgYXP7rMORBLrk6V7w/s200/Bloggy+010.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>Ngac Ho Market for Slunch (second lunch).</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101140606610822578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQfKYKqnXBAD1u-1exetfK7Xcj5VVJD29PRcgXV7hv7u4lsvhyMuy7f_9gtKaDB2TeeINizs_IVzQZWpkstxjsxX1Dyp95U1Jjf4HIqrvEAdCPLhgj9NNCM_tali6s_6NSqXfQi9GeZY/s200/Bloggy+011.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>To tired to walk on my little legs all the way to Nha Tho? No problem. I'll just motorscooter across town for only 10,000 dong. That's me in the rearview mirror wondering if I could have put that US$00.75 to better use.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101140619495724482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbuBMFOMjYDOLtSWGz3iA9Ct0bmQVDljfHXz-u5Jn1yp1nuOr-utg-PQYvXrq1mkRzZvbYGeTMWAc-AWeZnlm_0A4TFlbrVis4cBtBWvYVnS8Jced5ylTx-m6-EqRwhXrR_FsIpRb_UA/s200/Bloggy+012.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Look mom, no hands!</div><br /><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101140623790691794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPq66kVFFNi0LDmxNQyYYOMCTJj35DMoPAYjLV2PfEnws8bBC33a6_a0eN2IyEXn828mZUJGr407LFYvvyjBpOvKpBK9YHEl1r2KUgygaqG9xyc6fgf9gvYZb6uHT1ACELG-94NoCk4sU/s200/Bloggy+013.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Holy hell I'm sweaty. Cool down with some iced Vietnamese coffee.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101140632380626402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNEgMavWagNrkk4UjzBfB1urTyxjXMbKNyoqsELr7kagG-sin6zDcJN3JChkZmtahiu8tY-Jx-Y6xjhMK3etye5lcfC3_-oij-y2XiJAO7IlJYrgD3TmktfKTky5wuSJoAhKI4wSWuEk/s200/Bloggy+014.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>Sleepy after my busy afternoon, I'll take a short nap under my fancy 'ella.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142358957479410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjda1xLqLVBbFpdS6ZqhFbCukALItqGbvcLI2rSUudugWTQHSpdYN4LaPHf-o5gXP-CGt4pzgDWx-Sw-fscCh8pXodCuBZ4gkRmoI3nsJ3r_aa8_adWGnJQLOAilMypdklMmG1PEmzDq3c/s200/Bloggy+016.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>What better way to wrap up my stay in Hanoi than with a Bia Hoi (or three).</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142367547414018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGpbLxF3gXMBwEJmg9mSHRh7jeQVIBKcPz-kqs5hUrq8DM7rLv_EwG7b5U32Qj3DIx_U8sGz-uv3aCSX6tYBHiXls4g4K6HGEUGYCAaSA0AjXvJOul24I08NV88Lk84OUy1sPWsch9b4/s200/Bloggy+017.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>A little tipsy from my beer break and eager to extend my stay in Vietnam, I inquire about a position as a Summer Associate.</div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142380432315922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8aL5cb6lrT_G9emqw5RzFEgSlMoS_WQBIJOTfhEC8_2ZK0qlGoBcIrJzIiaoUvtsqNoKLZBnTbVPVBWL3_mDm4FOse8U9JsrilSX83otuEspOlLDtKzZh8w7-LRhusDLeRrfO7QgwWU/s200/Bloggy+018.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>Learning from the best, the Socialists sure know how to stage an election!</div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142389022250530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NkDLmXpbLLnc0U0yRcJz44Wkn_395hSCeeprJf1E0PWgxsOTNl6b_BhjdLklnR7g9sve9o7t5i2yi0QLDbqwu-bK_G5YRfFVcHZ-wzPqoVI41N6KkRrtxhs8rW-RJqhUl128KkeXWiI/s200/Bloggy+019.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div><br /><div><br /><div>Dinner time. I could really get into a yakburger about now . . . but I suppose I can make do with pork patties in broth.</div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142397612185138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvZaPpoUSgX5cYx6YO-nW4lnn077g764aW9dpXaNZHhCgb8MhjwGb79RopGPBrINldnO-11G_ZYV4VDvjghiNuowpRRH40Azt0iJEWmbtWxpk9He-eCm9LnvmBg12-ENAnKQIZC6BFkk/s200/Bloggy+020.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142968842835522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzPs_jiL8LeLfuIBuVgCN4RCPHHI22X4giMbg9dWuuXWv2SrHZ97hm99sgdVMHE7_JJ2J3poZcdoB9kOJWugsCsjAok8bQhfZLL4boMBCgFvjbhHY4ER2__mzhHrr_bBI5E5XQUt3Elk/s200/Bloggy+021.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>Night falls the same way morning begins at Ho Hoan Kiem Lake . . . still no tortoises or offers to sing karoake for US$100.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101142981727737426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoZB4gnRWu6C6OoURlDcs7d9peg2AjLWvkXnrLl2POYp5nvu_m-SrIkCG8WqsvXbw_peh0zd-QzWuhzb8-t4ypbV_dWlB3O3HSH7r5Qho-kpKqqwzOVKkc090TDraAicoilXWdxGLl2A/s200/Bloggy+022.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div>EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-8312294729713670142007-08-19T04:46:00.000-07:002007-08-19T05:19:12.126-07:00Just Another Day at the Cloud YardThe first of two back-to-back overnight train rides under our belt, the three of us hopped in a bus (at around 5am) for the short trip from the Lao Cai train station to the village of Sapa. We arrived in town before most shops, restaurants, etc., opened (especially because it was Sunday), but tenacious travellers that we are, we camped in front of the famous Baguette et Chocolate. Homegrown in Hanoi, B&C is one of the capital's most famous patisseries. We were sad to discover that the Hanoi location was under construction. Thank heaven we travelled to Sapa to try out the second branch! It was worth the wait (and 10 hour trek) for yummy coffee, bonbons, and fresh fruit.<br /><br />Our morning was off to a great start. In the distance, we spotted a high peak with a radio tower on top. And what else does Team OurGreatAsianAdventure do when there's a mountain/hill/precipice with evidence of human activity at its peak? Climb it, naturally. So we did.<br /><br />And then we fell for one of the two greatest blunders. The first of which is never start a land war in Asia (learned); the second is never hike to the top of a mountain expecting to see only a radio tower. Instead, the Sapa mountains treated us to all sorts of high-flying excitement: mountain ostriches (no kidding), a mile-high city blasting the lastest in Northwest Vietnamese techno, and a "Cloud Yard" (which is exactly what its name suggests . . . totally incomprehensible).<br /><br />Ready for second-breakfast, we left Cloud Yard for a bowl of pho bo (beef noodle soup). As we saw no cows and many water buffalo, we're thinking it was "bo" in name only. Stomachs warmed, we left for our second adventure of the day -- a 3km hike to the nearby village of Cat Cat. Unlike most of our hikes, this one was entirely downhill, at an approximate grade of 59321043 degrees. Other than a small run in with a flock(?) of goats, the trip down was uneventful. The trip back to Sapa (think 59321043 degree grade, only this time straight up) was roughly the same, but a bit slower (and interrupted by a short break for red bean/green pea/coconut ice cream). That said, we've had to adapt our motto "No Shame in China" to account for the buckets of sweat Vietnam has squeezed out of us.<br /><br />To replenish our fluids, we spent our last hour in Sapa sipping Bia Hoi. Our whirlwind tour of Sapa drained us a bit, but we're glad we went. The city and mountains were beautiful, our hikes fun, and Amy was only hoodwinked into purchasing "local" goods once.<br /><br />A final note: For some reason we can post on the blog but not read it. To that end, we were able to see that Josh and EB posted a last entry before heading back to the U States, but couldn't read what they wrote -- we're glad that had such a great trip and were sorely missed here. Miss you guys -- see you in Beantown!<br /><br />We're off to board our train back to Hanoi. Our usual hotel had no available rooms for tomorrow night, so we treated ourselves to a small taste of luxury by booking a room at the Hilton. And before Ron gets any wild ideas, it's name is simply: Hilton Hanoi Opera. Tintin, not Jane Fonda, appears to be the main celebrity.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-32418984628825397822007-08-18T17:52:00.000-07:002008-12-10T04:34:31.108-08:00Sayonara from Team TokyoAs we (EB & Josh) write this, we are sitting on the first leg of our journey home, the flight from <st1:city st="on">Tokyo</st1:city> to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city> where we will hopefully go through customs, be permitted back into the country and then wing our way the rest of the journey home to NYC.<span style=""> </span>Before we say our goodbyes and hand Our Great Asian Adventure over to the remaining explorers, we must wrap-up our last day and a half in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> for you, our ever-curious public. <p class="MsoNormal">Friday morning we opted out of our usual mysterious ticket machine bowl of ramen at the subway station and instead immediate headed over to Roppongi to see the newest mixed-use mega-development to hit the scene.<span style=""> </span>Following on the footsteps of Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown is a giant complex of towers with office space, hotel, shmancy residences, a cultural facility, a concert hall and an enormous galleria with the nicest shops and restaurants.<span style=""> </span>Though everything appeared to be New York-themed or inspired (bagels, Madison Park hot dogs—though in Japan they are a breakfast food, Gramercy bar), the complex was well bigger and put the Time Warner Center, probably New York’s closest comparison, to shame.<span style=""> </span>We meandered through levels B2 (two underground) to 2F and crossed some skybridges—highly connected as are all things in Tokyo—before grabbing a breakfast of a French pastry, an onigiri and a green tea latte.<span style=""> </span>Very <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state> meets <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The choice then was to take the subway or the lengthy walk to our next stop and, though we weighed the options, we opted for walking in the hopes that our last full day could put us over the 300 miles walked this trip.<span style=""> </span>We’re marginally crazy about the walking thing, but it’s the only way we justify the massive consumption we also fill our days with.<span style=""> </span>Heading through Roppongi to Shibuya, we saw a couple residential areas we had never seen before and, of course, some luxury boutiques along the way.<span style=""> </span>We stopped at a sweet housewares shop in the hopes of picking up something for our new digs in Cambridge, but when the tiny box for cufflinks was $150 (Vietnam crew—that’s 90 million dong for you) we opted against it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Once in Shibuya we realized we were right smack in the middle of lunch hour and though we had a spot picked out in Shinjuku, we passed a bustling ramen spot that looked too good to be true.<span style=""> </span>And indeed it was.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3T2jN05OtYFnK2dw0CvfHWwxlahUQdxumrlJcfBw8g6qIeZ-bYQA-g9IPH0fe-VPBGuU6GcnuX9N4yqqXAoxPw8tAQCtcoYem_lnK6tPo1lXCb9zvKQBEKl2w7t1IliAiVtIp9-7cfm4/s1600-h/China+and+Japan+310.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3T2jN05OtYFnK2dw0CvfHWwxlahUQdxumrlJcfBw8g6qIeZ-bYQA-g9IPH0fe-VPBGuU6GcnuX9N4yqqXAoxPw8tAQCtcoYem_lnK6tPo1lXCb9zvKQBEKl2w7t1IliAiVtIp9-7cfm4/s320/China+and+Japan+310.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100211665314239618" border="0" /></a>Opting for the tried and true technique of this vacation—we’ll have what they’re having—we selected the same ticket from the vending machine from the man just before us and sat at waited for whatever it was that would appear.<span style=""> </span>Scary fish?<span style=""> </span>Animal innards?<span style=""> </span>Luckily not.<span style=""> </span>Instead what came was an enormous bowl of noodles with tender roast pork and bean sprouts.<span style=""> </span>It was fabulous.<span style=""> </span>Second only perhaps to the world renowned roast pork of my grandmother Babi, this may have been the most delicious roasted pig I have ever had the pleasure to consume.'=</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Full of pork and soup, we quickly rushed to the subway to get to Takashimaya Times Square, the enormous department store in Shinjuku with the massive food court in the basement.<span style=""> </span>But I thought you just ate delicious pork soup?, you say.<span style=""> </span>Well this was our last full day in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> and we had no time for pansy-ing out on our meals.<span style=""> </span>We were headed for tonkatsu, fried pork served over rice.<span style=""> </span>Since the last time we had been to Takashimaya things had changed a bit at the tonkatsu counter and though there was no longer any formal seating, we took our lunch boxes to go and sat on some stools near shoppers waiting for seating at another basement luncheon spot.<span style=""> </span>You will perhaps not be surprised to learn that heavily breaded fried pork is tasty.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nearly defeated by our two rapid-fire pork deliciousnesses, we headed upstairs to the Tokyu Hands department store portion of Takashimaya.<span style=""> </span>Tokyu Hands is a “creative life store” <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEg2TF6IwFhsuG_zyACsvNCPRV1eT0lkf1jWxF7NdJXmq0WOfnBobV4NdpQa-OcOggWHWXYgcAtM9j8XDSmNxSUnpHy9tUeV16G9Yc22P1VczMRZ_D-wwhKAyObK9pYxk0bISJLHdRNyA/s1600-h/China+and+Japan+315.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEg2TF6IwFhsuG_zyACsvNCPRV1eT0lkf1jWxF7NdJXmq0WOfnBobV4NdpQa-OcOggWHWXYgcAtM9j8XDSmNxSUnpHy9tUeV16G9Yc22P1VczMRZ_D-wwhKAyObK9pYxk0bISJLHdRNyA/s320/China+and+Japan+315.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100214903719580898" border="0" /></a>where you can get everything from plates to exercise equipment to construction wear, and we checked out every level.<span style=""> </span>Though we aspired mostly to look, some hilarious misuse of English or otherwise wacky Japanese-ism got us on most every floor.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our shopping done, we headed back to Shibuya to get thoroughly lost walking the curving, flashing light-filled, retail-overloaded streets along with all the highly made up hipsters teens and twenty-somethings of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>We did the requisite scramble as we crossed the street and wished that we had something that fun at the corner of <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Union Square</st1:address></st1:street> and <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">14<sup>th</sup> Street</st1:address></st1:street>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Having asked at least 5 people for directions help (love those <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> addresses), we eventually found a recommended izakaya famous for its use of the leek.<span style=""> </span>Yes, the weak onion.<span style=""> </span>This restaurant prides itself on using leek in every dish, and several dishes on the menu were exclusively leek.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRlZIMofa-joTQhFm8hL8tlXnZpUN1p8mMNMtKUn8q8216JeDs_GiZA1SGY5zgbYnSRS9gWsFej3FZ2W6qrldIFSI1eTXPs0v-peYAnxNTAOF-hTLvn8Q54XJNtncnCHLvnLoxaQrFDA/s1600-h/China+and+Japan+320.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRlZIMofa-joTQhFm8hL8tlXnZpUN1p8mMNMtKUn8q8216JeDs_GiZA1SGY5zgbYnSRS9gWsFej3FZ2W6qrldIFSI1eTXPs0v-peYAnxNTAOF-hTLvn8Q54XJNtncnCHLvnLoxaQrFDA/s320/China+and+Japan+320.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100211682494108834" border="0" /></a>The premise was odd, but the charcoal-grilled leek with miso sauce and the agedashi tofu were not.<span style=""> </span>We also tried a couple of sakes and pretended to read the bottles but we don’t read Japanese so that was a foolish exercise.<span style=""> </span>Josh took such a liking to the place that we engaged in a serious negotiation with the host to see if he could buy the t-shirt worn by the waiters, but it was to no avail.<span style=""> </span>I guess, as with most things, we’ll just have to wait for that Japanese fashion trend to make its way to the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> in a couple of years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Having had an appetizer nosh, we headed back to the hotel.<span style=""> </span>Before we had left for the day, we gave the concierge two restaurants we were interested in and asked that she make a reservation at either.<span style=""> </span>We were amused, though not totally unsurprised, to return to a message waiting for us that they were unable to make a reservation at either because, naturally, both were closed for the holiday.<span style=""> </span>How foolish of us.<span style=""> </span>We selected yet a third choice, open for some reason (perhaps they have no house at the beach and had alienated all their fancier friends), changed and went back to Roppongi.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The restaurant, called Shinju, turned out to be a huge hit.<span style=""> </span>It was an upmarket izakaya serving beautiful dishes ranging from grilled meats to sashimi to rice and udon noodles.<span style=""> </span>We sat at the bar and Josh got to use his favorite Japanese expression (spelled phonetically): “O sosume wa non deska?” which means “what do you recommend?" Their recommendations served us well and in addition to the treats listed above we had a fried tofu dish, not so dissimilar from agedashi tofu, that may have taken the tofu cake for the vacation.<span style=""> </span>It was a lovely place and an excellent meal to cap off a great trip.<span style=""> </span>Though it was a Friday night, we opted against serious clubbing in Roppongi and instead headed home around 11ish to pack and prepare for our next morning’s big adventure (slash who am I kidding?<span style=""> </span>We don’t go clubbing and the types we saw out in Roppongi were totally the Tokyo B+T crowd.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-J5egdedMUXTXwAUAmASZrXZeoxXmRhFVl_x72BYBvwH78JNM0YGfvF61othaD1u_sSFFiyQPUL35CGIIW5XA4rPN4W79UYcWNdsSE70njZ3UMv8mLwrnECnkxyeiKjvc8rIHaFQ2v4/s1600-h/China+and+Japan+325.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-J5egdedMUXTXwAUAmASZrXZeoxXmRhFVl_x72BYBvwH78JNM0YGfvF61othaD1u_sSFFiyQPUL35CGIIW5XA4rPN4W79UYcWNdsSE70njZ3UMv8mLwrnECnkxyeiKjvc8rIHaFQ2v4/s320/China+and+Japan+325.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100211691084043442" border="0" /></a>We were far too <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> snooty/sleepy for that).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So that brings us to this morning.<span style=""> </span>4:30 this morning, to be precise, when our alarm went off to rouse us for our second attempt at the Tsujiki fish market.<span style=""> </span>And to keep you in suspense no longer, as I know many of you have been watching closely since our failed attempt two years ago….Yes—the market was open and we finally got to see it in action.<span style=""> </span>This market must be seen to be believed.<span style=""> </span>It is a giant series of open-air warehouses filled with stalls selling some fish you recognize and some that appears to have only been seen by human eyes on Planet Earth, the BBC documentary series.<span style=""> </span>These things were amazing and bizarre.<span style=""> </span>The fish sellers speed around the market at breakneck speeds in these bizarre motorized wagons, carting boxes of fish, shrimp, clams, lobters, crabs, eels—you name it, they sell it.<span style=""> </span>Though it was great to see all the fish on offer, the highlight of the morning had to be the tuna auction when hundreds of merchants gather together to bid on the day’s tuna catch.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMI5HByraa5uVbucw7wtMRzrvq8x7VXZ4iL1Ee4rrLvpQB1QEWRR2X1LaCyq4f3QaQfB-eXSxwGrj1ng4Q5fTs1FXN5KPaVsenUO_SRzyKPHoA3LjbUtkbEcufZ3TmN5Lu3zHm1uXfmuk/s1600-h/China+and+Japan+344.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMI5HByraa5uVbucw7wtMRzrvq8x7VXZ4iL1Ee4rrLvpQB1QEWRR2X1LaCyq4f3QaQfB-eXSxwGrj1ng4Q5fTs1FXN5KPaVsenUO_SRzyKPHoA3LjbUtkbEcufZ3TmN5Lu3zHm1uXfmuk/s320/China+and+Japan+344.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100215784187876594" border="0" /></a>If you are born and raised in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:city>, you may believe that tuna is a round fish that has a metal can exterior and that pops when you open it.<span style=""> </span>Interestingly enough, that’s not totally accurate.<span style=""> </span>Tuna is actually an enormous fish and at the auction today roughly 200 such animals, weighing between 80 and 700 pounds, were bought and sold.<span style=""> </span>The 700 pound fish were easily the largest thing I have ever seen, except perhaps for the fake blue whale at the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Natural History</st1:placename></st1:place>, and these were cooler because they were lying on the ground next to me and about to become my breakfast.<span style=""> </span>That’s because, other than the sight of exotic fish and the thrill of the fish auction, the other highlight of Tsujiki is the unbelievably fresh sushi that is available for breakfast.<span style=""> </span>The queues start forming around 5:00, so we picked a spot with a reasonable line and waited for our bowl of breakfast goodness.<span style=""> </span>We opted for chirashi (raw fish over a bowl of rice), mine coming with meguro and toro and Josh’s coming with six or seven different fish.<span style=""> </span>It was extremely fresh – not surprising, since the fish are basically flopping around next door in the market, and it was by far the best breakfast chirashi we’d ever had.<span style=""> </span>OK, also only.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFviTguWUkfTg3M1asGKNk2fAglszVIE4aj80E-TV0XH_lzsTrRm1sDi5BH4ky5QS8oIxzXPCWiaGaeAatGO8mjt4cTp-mqNhgftT2sCb7mOqSWNUdD6Dsjn9_e2xTNuvw5MeAF6aQ9QE/s1600-h/China+and+Japan+355.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFviTguWUkfTg3M1asGKNk2fAglszVIE4aj80E-TV0XH_lzsTrRm1sDi5BH4ky5QS8oIxzXPCWiaGaeAatGO8mjt4cTp-mqNhgftT2sCb7mOqSWNUdD6Dsjn9_e2xTNuvw5MeAF6aQ9QE/s320/China+and+Japan+355.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100212292379464914" border="0" /></a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Raw fish consumed before 7:00 am, we headed back to the hotel and off to the train bound for Narita airport.<span style=""> </span>Which is roughly how we got to where we are now, somewhere over the Pacific without any land in sight.<span style=""> </span>(I’m not that worried though because I feel pretty confident if we need to make an emergency landing that the island from Lost will appear and Matthew Fox will be there to greet us).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And so with this, our final blog posting, Team Tokyo sends our goodbye and thanks to you our great readers.<span style=""> </span>We had an amazing trip and loved reporting on it to you in real time.<span style=""> </span>Special thanks also to our many commenters and especially our grandmothers, who we understand have been following our exploits closely by receiving the print edition of the blog.<span style=""> </span>We also have to send special love and wishes for continued fun to our former travel mates as they continue their Asian adventures through Vietnam, Thailand or (if you’re Jon) the airport of every major Asian capital city.<span style=""> </span>We had a fabulous time with you all and look forward to reading about (and commenting on) your adventures through the blog.<span style=""> </span>And now…on to our next great adventure! </p>EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864843505589961396.post-12320516302931686992007-08-18T07:17:00.000-07:002007-08-18T15:21:46.917-07:00wheeeeee!Now that our technical difficulties have been resolved and our competition relocated stateside (safe travels ebs and josh, asia misses you), it seems the responsibility to blog is squarely ours. And blog we shall.<br /><br />I (amy) am currently horizontal in a 6x5 cube with halliday and jon. Elaborate? Ok. We're in an overnight sleeper train on our way to Sapa, a town in northwestern vietnam we plan to learn about sometime before we arrive. It's supposed to be beautiful and we're hoping the time there warrants the back-to-back overnight sleeper plan. I take that back, we're finding this plan hilarious and it's already worth the trip. For example, when we arrived at the assigned platform, our train had cars 1-7 and 9-11. Which car are we on? 8, obviously. The solution? Wait for an incoming train with a car 8 to arrive, split our train, and add the substitute car 8 to the middle. Inform as few people as possible, insert soundtrack (vietnamese opera, we think, being played from somewhere), and throw in backpackers. Allow to boil. <br /><br />Actually it was less dramatic, and resolved fairly quickly given the number of moving parts (literally. And pun embarrassingly intended.). <br /><br />This morning we visited Ho Chi Minh. Having missed Mao in Beijing, this was our last chance to catch an embalmed communist leader, and it was, well, a trip to a masoleum. I'm not sure what adjective to go with. It was interesting to see the number of vietnamese who turned out early on a saturday morning (lots), and also to note the amount of respect and attention he draws even today. And then it was 9:45am and we had a full day ahead of us. <br /><br />We headed to the temple of literature, followed by some delicious rice pancake snacky things near our hotel (sub 2 dollars for the 3 of us), and lots of other fun. What fun, amy? Well I would love to tell you but I'm afraid I will lose service if I don't post soon, so an update will have to follow.EB+Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02835631261085097053noreply@blogger.com0