chantrelle

2006-05-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

we took a motorbike trip to ha giang province, the northernmost and most remote province in vietnam. the police make you hire a chaperone because it shares a border with china. It was us plus our friends Craig, VK & Naomi. we rode minsk motorbikes.

2006-05-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

rice paddies

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as we get higher it is drier and they grow corn rather than rice

2006-05-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

the whole mountains are covered in corn, every little spot just corn and rocks and a few trees.

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cute kids

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kids & goats

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see in the corner, I am in the mirror waving and taking a picture. everyone waves at the foreigners.

2006-05-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

heading up into the mountains, looking back towards ha giang city.

2006-05-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

me & dean had a wreck. we were ok but the gearshifter broke off the bike. we put it on a dump truck full of cement and got a ride to the next town, about 2 hours.

2006-05-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

helpful men and curious boys

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little girls

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little boys

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the truck driver excitedly pointed out to me that the two mountains on the left look like boobs, so I had to take a picture.

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weeding corn with baby in the backpack

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cute little girl on the roadside

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the motorbikes break a lot but there are a million mechanic shops and most repairs cost less than $2 and take less than 10 minutes. Sua chua = "repair" but with different accents = "yogurt." I learned about yogurt first and for a long time though this was a yogurt-crazed nation.

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the whole town comes out to the mechanic's shop to meet us and check out how tall Craig is.

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VK was perhaps the first Malaysian most of them had ever seen.

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little girls in yen minh

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between yen minh & meo vac - high enough for pine forests.

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a family having its portrait done wanted one with me. notice they are all standing on the step above me.

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chinese police posing under uncle ho

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kids make good tour guides and accept payment in oreo cookies

2006-05-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

our destination - the sunday market in meo vac. it was very big, several hundred people. mostly they trade livestock and housewares, plastic sandals, popsicles, meat.

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so colorful

2006-05-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

mountain food is grosssssssss

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not the world's best breakfast - especially if you were drinking rice wine the night before.

2006-05-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

mmmmm vat of gruel

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VK showing men the LCD on the digital camera

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a nice lady selling those black jackets all the men & boys wear.

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women selling joss sticks

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boys watching a cockfight

2006-05-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

basket backpacks for sale. only $2. perfect for carrying sticks, or corn.

2006-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

VK had to buy a backpack to carry all his souvenirs, such as these cowbells.

2006-05-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

three sisters in the street

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potbelly pig on a leash

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outside the market

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the big bulls have to wait across the street from the rest of the market.

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goats run this corner, puppy must stay in cage

2006-05-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

meo vac boys

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VK & friends. the girl has her baby brother on her back.

2006-05-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

leaving meo vac

2006-05-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

boy on the mountain with his water buffalo

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the bikes

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me in the rain with corn.

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goodbye mountains. we will be back in july.

2006-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

And a pedicure and a dunkin' donut

2006-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

Piles of noodles at the weekend market. I spent the last day shopping. And had some starbucks coffee and a blizzard from dairy queen. exciting!

2006-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Leaving the island, back to Bangkok

2006-02-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

Thai food is better than Vietnamese food.

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Our huts

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Plants on the dock

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Fishing boats

2006-02-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

At a waterfall in the jungle

2006-02-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

In most countries I would not drink out of a bucket.

2006-02-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

VK trying to get Dutch teenagers drunk

2006-02-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

2006-02-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

2006-02-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

Deserted beach

2006-02-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

fishing boats

2006-02-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

Thai food at the fishing village on stilts

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Chang means elephant

2006-02-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

Dean & VK and some other friends kayaked out to this island behind us while I went diving with a friend I met from UK

2006-02-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

motorbiking around the island

2006-02-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

We went to the island Koh Chang in the Gulf of Thailand over near Cambodia

2006-02-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

We went to Thailand for 9 days with our friend VK.

2006-02-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

Tet tree docorations for sale

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flags for sale

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truck full of apricot trees

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Green bananas also go on the altar fruit tray.

2006-02-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

We had no altar but I bought one for myself anyway.

2006-02-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

Buddha's hand citrons are one of the traditional altar fruits.

2006-02-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone also must have an apricot blossom tree or branch to decorate their houses. The one in my office was the prettiest in the whole city but I forgot to take a picture and when I got home it was gone.

2006-02-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Everyone buys orange trees to decorate their houses and businesses. On every corner people are selling them.

2006-02-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

We left for the actual week of Tet because we had time off work, but the week leading up to it was fun, the streets are madness with people buying food and gifts, the city looks like a fruit salad.

2006-02-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

TET was January 29th, it is the lunar new year, like Chinese New Year but Vietnamese style.

2005-12-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

2005-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Santa hats for sale.

2005-12-24T07:10:00.000-08:00

Our christmas bonsai

2005-12-09T04:35:00.001-08:00

My lucky gallinas locas shirt helped me ace my test.

2005-12-09T04:35:00.000-08:00

View from our hotel.

2005-12-09T04:33:00.000-08:00

For all of Singapore's strict rules, they do sell beer at the mall and liquor at 7-11, so they are less uptight than Washington state.

2005-12-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

I tried to eat with my hands like an Indian and got food all over my arms, face and lap.

2005-12-09T04:29:00.000-08:00

Little India

2005-12-09T04:28:00.001-08:00

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standing at the southernmost point of the asian continent

2005-12-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

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he got a free t-shirt

2005-12-09T04:20:00.000-08:00

2005-12-09T04:18:00.000-08:00

2005-12-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

2005-12-09T04:07:00.000-08:00

In Singapore Dean went diving in a shark tank at the aquarium on Sentosa Island.

2005-12-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

2005-12-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

Vietnam advances to the SEA games men's soccer championship so everyone in the city grabs their flag and hops on their scooters to go ride around in circles screaming

2005-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Dean! I do not know where to buy wrapping paper in Hanoi.

2005-11-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

Sad little cement duck. His buddies all over the city are being executed.

2005-11-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

after eating we went for a walk in Lenin Park