Honking and Halong Bay: Three Days in Vietnam

After considering a myriad of options, we decided to head over to Hanoi - our primary activity being a two day cruise in beautiful Halong Bay. We enjoyed luxury accommodations on Indochina Sails which slowly made its way around this special UNESCO World Heritage Site which certainly is deserving of the designation. The mountains seemed to rise straight out of the water. We were treated to a nice hike to the top of one of the hills (top left), a morning tai-chi lesson (bottom right), and a tour of a floating village where hundreds of people live on these floating vessels (bottom middle).

One of our regrets was not having enough time to spend in this beautiful country. We did, however, get to experience a few incredible meals -- a tasty grilled fish (right side), a streetside "kabob" sandwich (bottom left). Also, we observed an impressive display of culinary knife skills on the cruise ship. It's amazing what you can make from a tomato and slices of carrots (top left).

In addition, some of our memories we shall take away: the busy and energetic night market in the Old Quarter, the welcome 65 degree weather after two weeks in the 90's (Cambodia/Thailand), and the incessant honking that happens at all hours - and at all times.

It's always sad to leave another country (especially when it is so brief). But we had a nice "taste" of Vietnam... now it's on to Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Hanging with the Hong's

We visited the Hong family as our first stop in Cambodia. The top right picture is a group photo - Christina, Eulshik, daughter Annabel, and son Caleb.



The Hong’s recently moved from Boston to Phnom Penh to work at a social venture start up. We had a wonderful 4 days with everyone - going to church (top left - on Eulshik's moto, bottom right), swimming at the local sports club to cool off (bottom middle), and visiting the Russian market (bottom left). While we were in different social circles during our overlapping years at our church, we felt a familiar connection through our common faith / values and had a good time sharing and encouraging one another during our trip.

We decided to add an impromptu stop to Angkor Wat – the 8th wonder of the world and largest single religious structure in the world, which is a few hours north of Phnom Penh.



On the morning of our first full day, we woke up at 4:30 AM - I know most people wouldn’t believe that this is possible for me – to watch the sunrise (top left) and spent the rest of the morning wandering through Angkor Wat (bottom right). We also visited several temples in the area, including Ta Phrom (2nd top left, top right), where Tomb Raider was filmed. I thought it was really cool to see how the jungle trees grow on top and throughout the temples. Each site had a different feel and we could easily envision ourselves in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie.



We tried several local Khmer dishes, including an excellent tom yum soup (bottom right) from Hagar Restaurant. This restaurant is part of an organization called Hagar www.hagarcambodia.org, which works to restore and empower women who are victims of human rights abuse. It’s been really great to actually visit so many of places, organizations, and people that we’ve heard about while in the States. There were also a few other food highlights – mango salad and stir-fried morning glory (bottom left). For the most part, it left us missing the food from their neighbor, Thailand…haha. However, the fruits in Cambodia were amazing, always fresh and delicious (top 3 pictures). We ate lots of mangoes, pineapples, and dragon fruit!

Leaving today for Hanoi, Vietnam.
Tentative remaining jet-setting schedule
Mar 10-13: Hanoi, Vietnam
Mar 13-16: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Mar 16-21: Chiang Rai, Thailand
Mar 21-26: Singapore & Malaysia
Mar 26-Apr 3: China
Apr 3-19: Taipei, Taiwan

Bangkok Blitz

We arrived in Bangkok, Thailand and was greeted with balmy 85 degree weather as we stepped off the plane – which was quite a change from the rainy 60 degree Taipei. We checked into a modest hotel and made plans to obtain visas for China (No way for US Citizens to get a China Visa in Taiwan). Bangkok is a huge bustling city with a booming tourism industry and everything reflects that – from price-gouging taxis, to the large numbers of foreigners, to women working the streets and sidewalks.

Must-see items in Bangkok include the many temples which reflect the 95% Buddhist affiliation of its people.

Top Left: I’m hitting a Buddhist Gong (or pretending to)

Top Middle and Top Right: We visited the Golden Palace which is home of the Emerald Buddha

Lower Right: Temple of the Dawn (Wat Arun) at night

We signed up for a guided night bike tour which was a neat experience seeing the busy markets full of flowers and fruits and cycling across the lit bridges. The city looks pretty different in the evening.

No trip is complete without some food experiences, and (going left to right) we had this delicious street vendor fried rice served in plastic and newspaper; we stopped at a Red Mango; and had a delicious meal at the Oriental Hotel complete with smoothies, Pad Thai, and Mango Sticky Rice for dessert.

A fun, packed three days… now on to Cambodia and Phnom Penh!!!

Beware The Gangster!

One of the frustrations we have had is getting Taiwan Dollars via our US Bank Card. On our most recent visit to the ATM we were greeted with this odd message.

What might a gangster look like, you ask? Well more on that later.

We were invited to an overnight outing to MingChih Forest near Yi-Lan in Eastern Taiwan to see some ancient trees, breathe the crisp mountain air, and take in the scenery. Melissa and I enjoyed meeting the motley crew of folks we were with (ex-pats, church folks, and others) and the welcome change from the Urban Taipei setting to seeing the lush green-ness that characterizes most of Taiwan.

Left Column: We truly had some of the best food of our entire stay this past week. We now have a new favorite beef noodle soup place (containing fried dough and open 24hr a day no less), and had a quality green bean appetizer and possibly the best Shanghai dumplings of our lives at Kao Chi.

Right Side: There are a whole series of Night Markets across the city which sell clothes, food, shoes, knick knacks, and everything else you can imagine. Shilin Night Market is the largest one, and where we enjoyed the trendy Fried Chicken, saw these huge sausages, and shared some fresh fruit.

One of the classic activities in Taiwan is to go for a photo shoot in one of the many outlets throughout the city. They do several rounds of makeup and hair, dress you in multiple outfits, put you in hilarious poses, and then put together a nice album. Pictures ranged from the more normal (Bottom Right) to the cute and funny (Top Left) to just completely over the top (Middle). Didn’t you always want to be a Chinese Empress? This also helps you identify what an Asian Gangster might look like, albeit from the 40’s. The 1840’s, that is.

In a few minutes, we head to Bangkok. See you soon, Taipei!

More Food, Folks, and Fun

Week 4 in Taiwan begins with a quick update on Taiwan cuisine -



Top Right / Bottom Middle: A visit to Yong Kong yielded the best Beef Noodle Soup experienced thus far in Taipei along with a nice “Dan-Dan” noodle dish.
Top Left / Bottom Right: At “Tasty Restaurant” we sampled an ice cream w/ melted chocolate in a fried wrapper and enjoyed some good roasted duck.
Bottom Left: A local place (called “Meet Fresh”) recommended by some good friends in Taipei (Pete, Esther, Jesse) has this signature dish (Zhao Pai) with red bean, mochi, grass jelly, and shaved ice. Yum!


We were fortunate to celebrate two birthdays this past week – my (Warren’s) auntie’s 60th birthday and my good friend Mitch’s 30th!



Bottom Middle / Bottom Right: My aunt surrounded by her many cards and a special chocolate cake. My grandmother who was in especially energetic and humorous spirits that evening
Top Left: Lunch with Mitch! He got to wear this hat and take this “stuffed heart” home as a special gift from the restaurant. Haha.
Top Right / Bottom Left: Karaokeing at “Party World” with some friends. Karaoke in the US is a weird activity that Asians do. In Taiwan, it’s a way of life.


Taipei is still a city full of activities and surprises...



Top Right: This odd shirt reads – YOU (be a lucky) ARE (to have met) SWEET.
Bottom Left / Bottom Middle: My cousin took us to get foot massages where you first soak with these 12 spices before being pampered and massaged in chairs with personal TVs!
Bottom Right: This is the trendy “winter wear” for women in Taipei. Tights and a short skirt or short shorts. They are everywhere!

Next week we are off to Thailand and Southeast Asia. Our time in Taiwan seemed to fly by!

Warren's dessert stomach

It’s been another week in Taipei and time is passing quickly. We leave for SE Asia the following Wednesday.

The highlight this week was heading to Pingxi to celebrate the Lantern Festival. It’s the end of the new year celebration. If you’ve seen Tangled, seeing the lanterns in person is even cooler than a Disney moment... and I was in Disneyland only a few weeks ago. A shout out to our new friend, Winnie, for some of her lantern pics. We also went strawberry picking with Warren’s cousin (or 2nd cousin) on the mountainside. Of course, we ate a 10-course meal after the laborious work of picking strawberries.

As most know, I’ve always had a separate stomach for dessert. What we learned is that Warren also has a 2nd stomach for dessert when we’re here in Taiwan! He will even order 2 desserts that he wants and I eat whichever one he likes less.

Food pics (top left going clockwise): Shave ice with strawberries / milk pudding, lao bing, MOS rice burger, Warren, peanut roll (an awesome dessert – rice paper rolled with shaved peanut brittle, taro ice cream, and the kicker…cilantro), Mel, sesame mochi balls with fermented rice soup, and pai gu fan.

Friends & Food

It seems like our entire time in Taiwan will be filed under the “friends & food” category!

In addition to Warren’s family, we also have several friends who are living in Taipei. It has been a very restful time of traveling… a bit different from previous parts of our trip as there are fewer “touristy” things to do and we are not volunteering in any capacity. We spend a lot of time at coffee shops with free wireless, reading our Kindles (thanks to Jeanne/Albert for their perfect Christmas travel gift and to Michael for stocking us with books), and hanging out with our friends.

We often talk about how lucky we are to have this time. Of course, everyone will have to help us find jobs when we finally land in SF, but nothing to worry about now!

Top Left: Typical of our days at the Mr. Brown Coffee
Top Right: Free performance at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial to kick off the Taiwan International Festival of Arts
Bottom Left: Hanging out at the arcade with Jen and Andrew. Jen and I sadly had sore arms after playing this “whack-a-mole” type game.
Bottom Right: Dessert with Pete and Esther. Yes, they are wearing down jackets and eating snow ice.

We continue to try new places to eat.
Top Left: Warren is standing next to the dough to make fresh shao bing. There are a surprising number of styles of shao bing here. It’s like pizza crust – thin vs. deep-dish. This place is called Fu Hang Dou Jiang.
Top Right: I’m not sure what these made-to-order mini waffles are called, but they are awesome. You can fill the inside with cream, red bean, peanut, even veggies.