Laos is awesome

Wow! We stepped off the plane from Vietnam into another world. First of all the airport was just a paved field with a small building. Second, no one wanted us to buy anything and the prices were fixed, not made up. The best part of getting into Luang Prabang in the north of Laos is the food is back on the street and cheap. We have been eating at the night market, pictured above, every night this week and love it. They have great sandwiches and vegetarian buffets. Plus fun coconut ball things in a bag. I am in heaven.
We went for a three day trip into the mountains and villages of Laos. It turned out to be a triathlon. The first day was mountain biking along a nice dirt road and river. Every person we passed said Sabidee (hello) and we said Sabidee back and waved. It was really fun and good exercise. That night we stayed in a village and played soccer with the local high school kids. The next morning we started hiking straight up a mountain with full packs. I thought the whole day would be like this and I would die. We backpack in the states, but we are out of shape travelling and we were going straight up. The funny part was the three local boys walking with us. They would go ahead and behind and run up and down. After four hours of serious trekking and lots of beautiful mountain views, we arrived at a very remote village. The kids were just getting out of school and I had brought some pencils and paper to give to them. It turned out to just be enough for one pencil per kid. So I felt bad, but at least tried to do something besides just take their picture. We played with the kids some and showed them pictures from Vietnam. Also Clemens made a bamboo didgeridoo and played it for them. That night we stayed at the chiefs house and for dinner we ate sticky rice with our hands by candle light. Very unique and local experience. The village had three different ethnic groups so I learned hello and thank you in three languages.
The next day we hiked another four hours back down to the river, warding off leeches, and then kayaked for three hours. Clemens and I dumped twice just ten minutes before the end. So we were wet, cold, exhausted, but very happy. Our trip was very special and worth all the effort. Laos is a unique place and I hope it doesn't get swallowed up by tourism. Of course I write that while typing away in an internet cafe.
I hope you are all well and eat a lot for Thanksgiving. We will probably have fried rice and spring rolls, but maybe find some coconut dessert in a bag. :)

Halong Bay

What a beautiful spot! We just got back from Halong Bay in northern Vietnam and it was a highlight of our trip to say the least. We had a three day boat cruise and two days on an island just hanging out at the beach and being very much in love. tee hee.
We are heading to Laos now and will go hiking for a few days. Also I found a Lao bookstore for kids books published in Lao and will bring some to remote villages. I am excited to give back in a very useful way. Oh, and we are wearing pants! It is cold enough for pants and a fleece. I am very happy about it. Seasons actually exist if you go far enough north.
Hope you are all well.

Burger or Life saver

We are in Vietnam still and completely tired of eating out after so many months. In Thiland it was great to eat anything at anytime, but here in Vietnam it is harder. There is less of our favorite street food and most things have meat in them. Also the food is less exciting to us.
We had a long tour day and I was tired, hungry and tired of being a consumer all the time. So a grumpy Erika grumpily orders a veggie burger, like an American. What came was a ball about 2 inches tall, on a bun with tomatoes,letuce,and cucumber. The ball was mostly made of potatoes and carrots. But the woman offered me mayo, and they actually had ketchup, and all be told, it was one of the best mash-potato burgers ever! It satisfied my cravings and left me very full and very happy. My outlook was turned 180 after that and I went from being very grumpy to being very happy.
Yea!

Vietnam

We headed to south Vietnam on November 1st to meet up with my Dad and stepmom in Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon. It was great to have time with my family. We just walked around the city, talked and ate. It was relaxing and fun. One of the best parts was the cheese that Dad and Kay bought.We were in a fancy western food store and they had a cheese counter to rival, well, QFC. We have not had cheese since Singapore, and when Dad saw my mouth watering he bought me some. It's really nice to have parents around sometimes.
Now we are in Hoi An and the river is almost up to the floor in our hotel. The town is not flooded, but some streets are cut off unless you want to wade to dinner. The specialty here is tailored clothes. They all look so nice and I really want a custom winter coat for when I get back to Germany, but I also don't want to carry it around for another month. Oh well, maybe in Bangkok.
Tomorrow we head to Hue and then onto Hanoi and Halong Bay. I think it is a rule in Vietnam to start all tourist destinations with an H.

Halloween in Cambodia

After the temples at Angkor Wat we had some extra time scheduled in Cambodia. So we decided to take a break from our vacation and lie on the beach for two days. We went to the south of Cambodia to Sihinoukville and got an expensive ($20) bungalow on the beach. We read, slept, ate, and relaxed. It was most needed. Moving your home, travelling, and eating out every meal gets tiring, we're not woosies. :)
Then we headed to Phnom Penh for a few days to take in some culture and history. There was a festival along the river and it was like a state fair. Food everywhere, crappy toys for kids to break, and music stages with fireworks at night. Really fun. The nextday we went to the Killing Fields and Toul Sleng Prison from the Khmer Rouge. It was really not fun. I can speak more to that on a more personal level if any of you desire.
That night was Halloween, and after all the gouhlish-ness of the prison we needed some treats. So we ate, on the street, dessert in a bag: mangos, sweet rice, tapioca pudding, shaved ice, coconut milk, and condensed milk. It was soo sweet, but also so good.

Disclaimer

Hello everyone,
Sorry it has been awhile, the internet has not been around lately. So I will write a few posts to catch everyone up. I would also like to say that I think about all of you and would like to have a more personal emails with you, but do not have the capacity at this time. So thanks for reading this. I miss you and our individual conversations.