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Easy on the Eyes
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Noibai
Once again at the Noibai Airport in Hanoi. This time we haven’t been traveling for forever, and to make it even better it isn’t 2am, so the lights are on and the exit doors aren’t locked. Funtimes!
We’re waiting to board (business class-better be good!). I am pretty sure that some old guy was just drawing a picture of me; either that or he has some sort of pencil wielding, creepy staring disorder. How do I always attract the weirdos?!?
Next update should be from Hue. Stay tuned.
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Standard Fare Really
It isn’t raining, but it is overcast. I suppose I should be thankful that it isn’t scorching hot though because we climbed several hundred stairs, and covered a few kilometers hiking in caves today.The “junk” we are sailing is quite sweet. There are 8 passengers on board, with a total of 6 cabins. The cabins are cute–pretty much like the pictures on the website; the food on the other hand is INSANITY! We had 10 courses for lunch and then another 10 for dinner. I really hope the breakfast isn’t 10 courses or I might explode.
I took photos of most of the dishes. I tried most of the dishes, but just couldn’t stomach de-legging, de-heading and de-shelling steamed shrimp that were bigger than my thumb. And, the physical reaction to clams and oysters prevented those two dishes from being a gastronomic success. The stuffed crab, squid and seafood soup were all quite good though. I know you’re all wondering what Jon ate…we’ll tell you when we get back.
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Good Morning Vietnam!
We’re alive and well in Hanoi! It took just over 28 hours of travel to get here, and there is a 15 hour time change…let’s just say jet lag is being a bit of a bitch.
The flights were alright-the airline food would have killed both of my brothers, one of them literally would have died. FYI: the food was borderline alright, but different than any other airline we’ve flown. (Pork bits with huge chunks of mango, and the other a salad of cold noodles with thin slices of the most fatty marbled beef ever. I took photos.)
And now, we’re leaving Hanoi for Halong Bay. Hopefully it isn’t rainy and gross when we get there.
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99…100…101!
Wow, who would have thought I’d ever fill up a travel log with over 100 posts? And, that it would end up actually being read by a few people–really several thousand people, which I find kind of creepy. Thanks to stats, I know that the most visited entry is actually El Sabor del Peru (716 visits this month alone–that’s just weird!). And, the most bizarre search so far “eat road kill in Wyoming.” People look for some crazy stuff on the interwebs.
For the Asian Escapades, I try to update on a regular basis. Who knows what access or cel reception will be like to post, but I’ll try.
Stay tuned my little minions…
That’s downhill right?
On one of the days that we’re in Cambodia we’ve planned to visit the Tonle Sap–a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Yes, UNESCO strikes again!
What’s so interesting about this body of water? Despite having over 400 species of fish, and just as many mammals, birds, and reptiles, the most fascinating feature is the direction of the river flow changes depending on the season. True story.
During the dry season from November to May the Tonle Sap is a tributary of the Mekong. The River flows towards Phnom Penh. In June, heavy rain fall backs up the Tonle Sap and creates a large lake, and water is actually pushed from the Mekong into the Lake. At the end of the rainy season, the River changes direction again.So, what makes this area worth visiting? (Besides being uber-nerdy?!) Well, the wildlife and scenery, the floating villages and stilt houses to name a few things. The sad part is that we’ll only see the region in the dry season, and not the other extreme. The depth of the lake changes from 1m to 10m during the rainy season. Check out the photo at the bottom of the Peace of Angkor page to see both seasons. We’re actually booked in with Peace of Angkor for the day to visit Beng Mealea and Tonle Sap. I hope it is a good one.
Strange Currencies
No, I’m not going to bust out the lyrics to the song, I’m gonna talk about money! Little known fact: I like collecting currency when we’re on vacation. Not so much the bills, but the coins. This isn’t about amassing a foreign fortune, but it does work well with the photo projects when we return home.
Obviously, I have to do a little pre-trip research before we leave to make sure I know what I’m after. The best part is in Vietnam I will be collecting DONG! Giggle away my little minions; that’s funny as hell!The exchange rate is approximately 20,000 Vietnamese Dong to $1US. I think it’ll be crazy to be paying for items with 50,000₫ notes. (That’s only about $2.50.) Also try wrapping your head around being able to take out a maximum of 2,000,000₫ from a bank machine. Apparently, that’s the machine limit. (That’s about $95!)
The least valued currency for exchange alternated between the Zimbabwean Dollar and the Vietnamese Dong for a while. Now the least valued currency is that of Somalia with the Vietnamese Dong running 2nd. Thanks VietnamWiki for the photo. 
The Cambodian Riel is approximately 4010៛ to $1US. Unlucky for me the coins are rarely used. That could be a bit of a struggle collecting them. The Thai Baht is about 30฿ to $1US. Gotta love travelling with exchange rates like that. It definitely helps the bank account!
FYI: All of this learning, and now I know a lot of currencies are actually descendants of the Spanish Pieces of 8. How very Piratey! Arrrr!
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