The Long Way Home

(PICTURE: Sunset in Phuket on our first night.)

Huyen and I decided that instead of flying directly to America, we would continue our honeymoon. You see, it was basically the same price to fly one-way from Hanoi to NY as it was to do a couple of one way flights to some places we had never been. Originally, we had planned on doing two weeks in Sri Lanka, two weeks in India and then two weeks in France. However, getting visas was a pain in the butt so we decided to just go to India. While booking our flight there, we saw some super cheap flights on Air Asia that we could pass up. Basically for both of us to fly from Hanoi to Bangkok, Bangkok to Phuket, Phuket to Bangkok and Bangkok to Kolkata cost us less than $450. We had absolutely no intention of going to Phuket until a deal flashed on my computer screen as we booked our plans. It cost us about $50 each to fly round trip to the island.

As I hit the purchase button on Air Asia's website, I started to immediately have second thoughts. I didn't know much about Phuket but the things I had heard all were not so good. Mainly, I read/heard that Phuket was now just an island of 4 and 5 star resorts and not a place for backpackers. And yes, I'm 32 and still consider myself a backpacker. As I see it, travelers fall into two categories:

Category 1: People who can only take 1-2 week vacations a year and want to spend every moment in luxury.

Category 2: People who have lots of time on their hands and don't mind sacrificing luxury to be able to travel for months to years.

In total, Huyen and I will have been traveling for more than 3 months when we land in the USA. Considering that we don't have jobs, we thought it would be wise to pinch a few pennies along the way. And hence, my nervousness going to Phuket where supposedly nothing is cheap...

Airport Party

(PICTURE: We found our own quiet corner in the airport.)

I've got a lot of blogging to make-up for. However, I'm going to skip our final days in Vietnam as I personally feel those stories should come before landing in America, albeit out of chronological order. However, I will give you a quick snippet:

After spending two weeks with Huyen's family, we headed to the airport. Most of Huyen's family had never been to the airport so they decided to come with us to check the place out and to say goodbye. But really, just to check the place out since they left two hours before we took off! Almost all of Huyen's immediate family were there except for her mother who was too sad to make the trip. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears that day. We'll get into this at a later date.

On a happy note though, we had quite a party at the airport. We ate a whole chicken (killed/prepared the night before), sticky rice (which Huyen's mom prepared at midnight), corn and a bunch of refreshments...including lots of Hanoi beer. Frankly, it was a great way to leave the country!


(PICTURE: A sample of the feast.)

Hiatus...

Dear Loyal Readers,

Take a deep breath...

Huyen and I are currently backpacking around India. Despite this country having 600,000,000 IT jobs, it's been a pain in the ass to find internet and nearly impossible to find WIFI. This is the reason my blogs have been so half-ass the last week or so. I promise that as soon as I get good internet I'll throw up some new posts. Thanks for your patience!

Ben

An Amazing Trip...

Without a doubt, there was no better way to say goodbye to Vietnam than to travel from Hanoi to HCMC on our Honda Wave. What an amazing trip:

Snakes on a train

Ryan sent me this great article. Classic Vietnam:

Snakes on a train in Vietnam cause panic

Many highly venomous king cobras found in 100-pound bags on a Vietnamese train, most likely bound for the dinner table

• Font size
• Print
• E-mail
• Share
• 6 Comments

Like this Story? Share it:

• 

(CBS/AP)

HANOI, Vietnam — Panic ensued after railroad staff found snakes on a train in Vietnam.

Railway officials discovered the snakes — highly venomous king cobras — in bags under a seat.

Railroad official Pham Quynh says passengers were terrified when four cloth bags containing the writhing cobras were spotted Friday. The snakes were alive but had their mouths stitched shut.

Quynh says the exact number of snakes was unclear but the bags weighed 100 pounds.

Security staff removed the cobras, which were likely destined for restaurants in Hanoi. Their owner apparently escaped in the chaos.

Snake meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, but cobras are protected by law.

Quynh says the cobras were given to forest rangers who released them into the wild Saturday after no one claimed them.

Of the species, National Geographic writes: "King cobras can reach 18 feet in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes. Their venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite--up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce --is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. Fortunately, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible, but they are fiercely aggressive when cornered."

Sunrise

Back to the motorbike trip:


(PICTURE: Sunrise.)

On our last morning before heading to the HCM area, we woke up early to check out sunrise. Unfortunately, the sun didn't rise over the ocean (like the guest house told us it would) and instead came up in a tough to see place. However, the beach was absolutely empty and the environment couldn't have been more peaceful. After walking along the beach, we decided to go for a "swim" in the water. The water was perfectly calm, so much so that I took my camera into the sea:


(PICTURE: Huyen can tread water with just her feet!)

Vietnamese Big Foot

Ryan sent me this wikipedia link. Apparently every country has a Big Foot:

The Batutut or Ujit, sometimes also known as "forest people", is a proposed hominid cryptid, reputedly similar to the bigfoot, thought to inhabit the Vu Quang nature reserve and other wilderness areas of Vietnam, Laos and northern Borneo. The Vu Quang has been the source of a number of newly discovered mammals by Dr. John MacKinnon. Mackinnon claims to have first observed tracks in 1970 that led him to believe that a hominid similar to the Meganthropus lives there (instead, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman believes that the Batutut are a surviving population of Homo erectus or Neanderthal.^[1]). Mackinnon's 1975 book In Search Of The Red Ape describes his experiences and findings.^[2] A 1947 sighting by a French colonist refers to the animal as a L'Homme Sauvage (wild man).^[3] Vietnamese scholars refer to the animal as the Người Rừng ("forest man").^[4]

It is described as being approximately 1.8 m (6 ft) tall and covered with hair except in the knees, the soles of the feet, the hands, and the face. The hair ranges in color from gray to brown to black. The creature walks on two legs and has been reported both solitary and moving in small groups. The creature is most often sighted foraging for food from fruits and leaves to langers and even flying foxes.

I can report (thankfully) that Huyen and I never saw Batutut on our trip.