Vietnam

We had three wonderful weeks in Vietnam which started off rather strangely. We landed in a deserted Hanoi city the day after the Lunar New Year celebrations. Most of the restaurants and shops were closed, leaving only a few small family run businesses for us to visit. This is where Aaran discovered pho, a simple yet delicious noodle dish.

We found a small restaurant that only had 2 tables and few chairs, there was no menu because they only served one dish. We sat down and watched as the lady sitting in the entrance shredded chicken and mixed some noddles in our bowls. She then poured in some steaming hot broth. It was incredibly full of flavour and only cost $1.50! 

We have seen absolutely everything on motorbikes during our 2 months in Asia. Mattresses, crates full of eggs, a family of 5 including a newborn baby. It almost became a game to try to spot the most ridiculous thing we could. This guy topped our list because of how happy he looked. 

The thing to do in Vietnam is to sit at a tiny table on the side of the road, eating or drinking whatever is being sold at that particular shop (coffee, beer, tea, noodles).  The Vietnamese coffee is very bitter and nutty. If you ask for a white coffee they put condensed milk at the bottom of the cup and pour the coffee over it. The cup of coffee in the photo above is served in a bowl of boiling water to keep it hot.

The main site to see in Hanoi is the Hoan Kiem Lake. There are beautiful gardens surrounding the water and a small temple that you can access from bridge.

After a couple days in Hanoi we booked a tour to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are over a thousand islands all varying in size. We decided to go with the 3 day 2 night option to get the chance to visit one of the islands. The boat took us around for a few hours and we sat on the top deck to get the best view. We then spent the night on Cat Ba Island and woke up early to hike up to the peak of one of the mountains. 

The first stop on the boat ride was this grand cathedral cave called Thien Cung Grotto or Heavenly Cave. The ceilings were so high and the lights they had set up inside made the whole place look magical.  

We were dropped off at the entrance of the Cat Ba Island National Park early in the morning to get a view of the Island from the top of a mountain. It was about an hour hike up to the top and the view was spectacular. 

After our hike we were taken back to the boat for another day of cruising around. There were beautiful views from each side of the boat, hundreds of small limestone islets are absolutely everywhere. While we really enjoyed our time in Ha Long Bay it's too bad to see how touristy it has become. The night we slept on the boat we were anchored next to a small fishing village that had to listen to our loud music all night. 

Our next stop was the quiet village of Mai Chau. It was about a 3 hour bus ride from Hanoi. Our shared room in a bamboo hut set on stilts. The floor was made of very strong bamboo slats but we couldn't help but feel like we would fall through. It was surprisingly very comfortable in there at night with our mosquito nets and just a fan to keep us cool. 

Our guide lead us around the rice fields on bicycle. It was a great way to get around and we got to see quite a lot. We were lucky enough to be there while the farmers were planting their seedlings. They initially plant the rice in a very small area and wait for them to start growing. On the day we were there they were removing the seedlings and replanting them in the larger fields. They started as soon as the sun came up to avoid the heat during the middle of the day. 

When walking through local markets you see weird and wonderful things. Absolutely anything goes, from selling pig heads to live frogs with their legs broken so they can't jump away. These barbecued intestines on the left were a first for us. Although it's something similar to black pudding, I can't imagine that it was prepared with much hygiene in mind.

On our second day in Mai Chau we climbed up the the Thousand Step Cave, which ended being 1200 steps. It was 35 degrees but we climbed up before the sun made it over the mountains so the heat was bearable. The cave wasn't that spectacular but the view from the top was great. 

From Hanoi we took a 16 hour overnight train to the picturesque city of Hoi An. Our small beds were surprisingly comfortable and the journey was pleasant. Although the town is touristy, the laid back atmosphere made it a nice break from very busy Hanoi. 

Everything is Hoi An was extremely photogenic. The small river going through the city, vintage bicycles parked in front of cafes, colourful flowers and walls. I think we have more pictures of this small city than any other place we have visited so far. 

From Hoi An we took a day trip to the ancient ruins of My Son. Sadly only a few of the temples survived the bombing that occurred during the Vietnam War. 

The French introduced the baguette to Vietnam during the colonial period. The Vietnamese then created a delicious sandwich called 'banh mi', usually made with pork, sausage, pate and thinly sliced vegetables. I read on a blog that the best banh mi in Vietnam was at this small stall in the Hoi An markets. There was a line up so we waited quite a while, but our wait was rewarded with the tastiest sandwich we've ever had.

Our amazing Banh Mi dinner sparked some kind of food fury in us and the German couple we were with. For the next couple hours the four of us went around trying nearly anything we could find being sold by street vendors. This one was the famous White Rose of Hoi An. A shrimp dumpling served cold with crispy fried garlic flakes. 

We happened to be in Hoi An on the day of the full moon festival. It's a monthly celebration that was originally religious but had turned into a bit of a tourist trap. Locals sell lanterns that you can then place on the river and watch as it floats downstream. All the restaurants and shops turn off their lights at 7 pm and operate by candle light. Those who are religious organize chanting sessions in their shops as a sort of blessing for the coming month. 

Our last day in Hoi An was spent diving and snorkelling around Cham Island. The water was cold but the coral was amazing to look at. There were both hard and soft corals as well as colourful fish to look at. 

We got to have lunch on the actual island instead of on the boat and got to enjoy a few hours on the beach. It was one of our last days in Vietnam and it was great to be away from the loud and busy city.

Vietnam was without a doubt the noisiest place we have been. Because everyone gets around on motorbikes that zigzag through traffic, they operate on a honking system. This means that whenever you step foot outside you are met with a symphony of honks. Not only that, but the motorbikes tend to jump onto the sidewalks to avoid traffic, so you constantly have to watch where you are going. Needless to say we were very excited to be headed to much less hectic Cambodia!

Laos

We left our guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur in the late evening and got on the last train to the airport where we spent the night. The next morning, with barely any sleep in our bodies, we headed to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. Our hostel was in a neglected part of the city, removed from the main tourist strip. Our first order of business was to get to the Vietnamese Embassy to apply for visas we would need in a couple weeks.

To get to the Vietnamese Embassy we walked along a large boulevard that was constructed during the French colonial period. In the middle of the road is this grand Victory Monument, dedicated to those who fought for independence from France.

One of the strangest places we visited in Asia was this Buddha Park about an hour outside of Vientiane. The park has hundreds of stone statues built by the same artist. Even though the name would suggest that the park has a Buddhist influence, most of the statues seem to depict Hindu gods. The artist was apparently chased from the country and then built a replica park in Thailand. 

While in Vientiane we visited the COPE Visitors Centre. There we found a confronting display of the deadly legacy of American bombs in Laos. It's estimated that 25% of villages in Laos are still contaminated with unexploded bombs. The worst part is that Laos was never officially at war with the US, yet remains the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.  The COPE Visitors Centre provides assistance to those who have lost limbs from coming across these unexploded bombs. 

You can buy almost anything on the streets in Asia. One of our favourites was this man selling goldfish on the side of a busy highway in Vientiane. 

On our last day in Vientiane we jumped in a tuk-tuk (a motorbike pulled carriage) and visited the striking Golden Stupa. While most of the city is quite gritty, this entire complex is beautifully maintained, probably because of its proximity to the government district. 

Prayer sticks inside the Golden Stupa temple. These sticks are lit and placed in front of the temple while the devotee kneels and says a prayer.

Next we flew to the cultural heart of Laos, Luang Prabang. There are over 30 temples in the city, each one housing several monks. As you walk through the temples it's not unusual to see a monk sweeping the front steps or studying under a tree. If you're lucky you can walk by as they are reciting their daily chant.

Most temples are quite simple with a few decorations and Buddha statues. This temple, Wat Xieng Thong, was very unusual in that it was extravagantly decorated. There are colourful murals and mosaics covering both the inside and outside walls.

It's hard to find a city in Asia that doesn't have some kind of vendors market. In Vientiane the night market was a great thing to witness because it was most frequented by locals. In Luang Prabang the markets were clearly intended for tourists. One of the downsides of travelling for a year is that we don't have room in our luggage for all the beautiful things on sale at these markets.

One of the reasons to visit Luang Prabang is to see the historic Alms Giving Ceremony. Every morning over 200 monks from the various temples are the city walk in single file to receive food from the locals. This tradition dates back to the 14th century. 

We crossed the Mekong on a vehicle ferry for a dollar each and visited a small village. There was a humble temple sitting at the top a hill that seemed to house only one Monk. We were the only tourists around for a good hour until a French tour group arrived. 

We took a shared shuttle van to the Kuang Si falls about an hour outside of Luang Prabang. The falls were incredibly beautiful but the area was packed with Chinese tourist on vacation for the Lunar New Year. We decided to get away from the crowd and climb up to the top of the falls. The hike up was fine but it was very steep and muddy on the way down. On the way I somehow picked up a caterpillar who must of hopped on my shirt when I was holding on to a tree. He left traces of tiny hairs on may arms and hands and caused on allergic reaction. 5 weeks later and I still have tiny itchy bumps on my arms. 

On our last day we took a cooking class just a few doors down from our guesthouse. Our favourite meal was banana flower salad topped with pork. 

So far Laos has been a highlight for us. It meets all of our travel criteria, the locals are friendly and still like travellers, the food is delicious, accommodation is affordable and the coffee is cheap! 

Singapore and Malaysia

It was a short flight from Kota Kinabalu to Singapore's Changi Airport, the world's #1 rated airport. To save money we opted to take the very convenient train into the city. When we exited the station we were surprised to find that our hostel was in the heart of the very colourful Arab Quarter. We only had 4 days in Singapore, mostly due to budget constraints, so we immediately set out exploring (and eating) our way around the city. 

You can't stay in a Turkish neighbourhood without sampling delicious Turkish coffee. The best part of the Arab district was the colourful decor and the amazing smells coming from every direction. 

We went to Singapore to escape the jungles of Malaysia, but ironically our favourite places in the city were the Labrador Nature Reserve and the impressive botanical gardens. Just a 30 minute bus ride from our hostel we found ourselves in a primary rainforest. 

The Southern Ridges Trail then took us to a lovely canopy walk across the highway from the jungle. Everything in Singapore is incredibly efficient and well maintained. Best of all, access to all of these sites were free! Our favourite word. We sent the whole day walking around from park to park. In the end we walked 18 km that day. 

The next day was another busy one. We took the train to the Botanical Gardens and walked another 12 km around the park. It was a Sunday so the gardens were full of families out for a walk or a picnic. Singapore is extremely multicultural and it was beautiful to walk around and hear dozens of different languages all around.

Our favourite find was the hectic Little India district. We walked through amazed at wide food selection and settled on delicious curry and garlic naan bread. Of course this wasn't nearly enough for Aaran who eagerly searched to find the best looking samosas.

We were lucky enough to be in Singapore a couple of weeks before the Lunar New Year. Chinatown was absolutely packed with people and extravagantly decorated in preparation for the celebrations. On some streets in was actually impossible to take a full step, we just had to slowly shuffle through with the rest of the crowd. 

If it wasn't for the endless food options around Singapore we easily would have eaten these kebabs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just around the corner from our hostel and super cheap (by Singaporean standards).

From Singapore we got on a 3 hour bus and went back into Malaysia. Our first stop was the UNESCO city of Malacca. The entire heritage district is painted in a bright red colour and has clearly undergone a lot of maintenance and conservation.  We then took another bus to the capital of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur. We only spent a day there and then we were off to Laos!

I was feeling particularly ill during our time in Malacca. I had been quite sick for about 4 days and walking around for hours every day finally got to me. Aaran went a store near our hostel and bought some traditional Chinese medicine. The man at the counter suggested it for stomach troubles. We can't be sure if it actually worked, but I did start feeling better the next day.

Malaysia

Our first stop in Malaysia was the island of Borneo, the third largest island in the world. The main purpose of our visit was to go on a wildlife tour and hopefully spot some wild orangutans (which we didn't end up seeing). We landed in the city of Kota Kinabalu and spent a couple days there before heading out to the jungle. It's not a huge city but it's cultural diversity makes for an amazing food scene.

This night food market was the best place to find fresh seafood. The little restaurant stalls lay out the catch of the day and cook it up in front of you. There was a rather large selection of seafood including lobster, mussels, cuttlefish and shrimp. Some stalls also offered barbecued chicken and other mystery meats..

By far, Aaran's favourite meal was this delicious laksa which he ate every morning for breakfast (just like the locals). It's a kind of noodle soup made with coconut milk, chicken stock, red curry paste and usually topped with cubes of bread. 

Next, we made our way to Mount Kinabalu National Park which was just a few hours east of the city. We crammed into a van with about 8 other people and paid the driver a few dollars. The view of the foggy mountains on the way was spectacular. It was a bit less spectacular when we got out of the van and had to find our guest house on the side of the highway in the rain. Thankfully we had left our main luggage at our hostel and only had small bags with us. 

One of the things to see in the National Park is this Giant Malaysian Pitcher Plant. It's a carnivorous plant that kills insects by trapping them in a sticky liquid that then drowns them. 

We were then off to the Sandakan region to see some wildlife. Before going on our tour we stopped at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre. This is where they bring orangutans that are rescued from the palm plantations. It was very confronting to see the miles and miles of plantations that seemed to blanket Borneo. In the past few years the government has put an end to deforestation in an attempt to save the rainforest and its animals. There is still a lot of work required to win back the land that these apes need to survive on their own. 

We then headed to the Uncle Tan's Operation Base to start our jungle tour. They picked us up in a van along with a couple from South Africa and a girl from Vancouver. After a 2-3 hour drive we arrived in a small village where we got on a boat with no roof in the pouring rain. We had to put our backpacks in garbage bags and give up all hope of being dry for the next 3 days.

It was a long 1 hour boat ride up the river to our camp. Thankfully we had bought ponchos on the way which managed to keep at least most of our torsos dry. Once the rain stopped we were able to see the surrounding jungle and most importantly hear all the wonderful jungle sounds! 

This was our home on a swamp for the 3 days of our trip. The water rose by more than 1 meter while we were there... making the toilet block inaccessible... I won't give any more details about that! Thankfully our hut had recently been raised by the camp staff so our bed stayed dry. We also had mosquito nets that protected us from the army of insects that were all around us. 

One of the mornings we went on a jungle trek. It was incredibly hot and humid but we had to stay covered up to stop from being carried away by mosquitoes. We saw an orangutan nest but no oranguatans. We were a bit disappointed but then we figured it's probably a good thing for them to stay away from humans. 

Our favourite part of the tour was watching the Bornean Gibbon swing from branch to branch. We were shocked at how human-like they looked when the walked on the branches, swigging their arms at the sides. 

While we would have loved to see wild orangutans we felt like the whole experience was worth it. Waking up to the sounds of the jungle was an amazing feeling and we were lucky enough to be with a great group of people. On the day we left a German couple arrived to start their tour but took one look at the flooded camp and left on the next boat! 

We were happy to be back in Kota Kinabalu to take nice (cold ) showers and get all our stuff dry. Aaran had one last Laksa and we were back on the road. On the bus to take us to the airport and off to Singapore!