20 April 2011 Spiceroads Cycling Tour – Day 3 Lam Son to Vinh (80 Km) We only have one photo from today, which speaks volumes about what we think of the scenery out here on the Ho Chi Minh Highway: it’s terrible. The tarmac may be smooth as promised in the trip itinerary, but where …
19 April 2011 Spiceroads Cycling Tour – Day 2 Phu Luong to Lam Son (74 Km) It must be about 90 degrees (F) out on this straight-as-an-arrow Ho Chi Minh Highway when we decide that enough is enough, time to pull over in the shade and rest for a bit. The morning ride had been …
18 April 2011 Spiceroads Cycling Tour – Day 1 Hanoi to Mai Chau to Phu Luong (70 Km) There’s something quite large blocking the road in front of me. Something on four legs with extremely pointy horns and massive bulk. Something one would normally see in a zoo if that one were from the States. …
17 April 2011 Hanoi, Vietnam As I’m sitting in a cyclo (one of those bikes with a passenger cart in front) in the middle of a jam-packed intersection in Hanoi, my left toe maybe 3 inches tops from that Toyota Corolla and my right nearly touching the exhaust pipe of that Honda scooter, it occurs …
16 April 2011 Hanoi, Vietnam I’m standing with a small bag full of fried donuts, or at least pastries that appear to belong to the donut family, and Gina is digging into her pocket for the 100,000 Dong note that our friendly street vendor is insisting upon for payment. All I wanted in the sagging, …
15 April 2011 Hanoi, Vietnam Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Today it was definitely the egg, precariously balanced on the back of a motor scooter putting down the shoulder of the main highway into Hanoi. A whole bunch of eggs, actually. Eggs piled on the back of that scooter higher than the …
14 April 2011 Time to fly as, once again, time has been flying by here in Sydney while we’ve been unpacking and re-packing our bags. Today’s destination: Singapore. Tomorrow’s: Hanoi, Vietnam. In preparation for our trip, we’ve been running lots of errands. There was the trip to the chemist to make sure our insides and …
04 April 2011 Adventure Bay, Bruny Island Oh, to wake up to skies that are clearing, that is my only wish for today. And wouldn’t you know it, it happened. The rain clouds threatened and spittled and looked as though they would not be denied but someone was looking out for us, someone who understood …
03 April 2011 Snug to Adventure Bay, Bruny Island “Look, they even have a big white rabbit!” Gina said, as she steered our van through the super cute South Bruny Island campground with its cozy cabins, green open spaces, and beachfront views. Giant rabbit? I thought. Hello Alice, welcome to Wonderland. That ain’t no rabbit, …
02 April 2011 Hobart: hilly, humble, and highly frothy with the perfect coffee blend. We like.