Kate and I are sitting in a Bangkok internet cafe right now, just two hours away from flying to Sydney. We have slightly different feelings about leaving. I feel that the last two months have been a great intro to Asia, but that it is time to move on. Kate would like to stay a bit longer. I have had my fill of cheap beer, awesome food, thick pollution, crazy traffic, pagodas and touts. Kate, on the other hand, loves the shopping, the warmth, and the cheeky/friendly attitude of most of the poeple here, and how everything is so cheap.
We squeezed in an overnight trip to Ha Long Bay before leaving Vietnam. Ha Long Bay was otherworldly, and we had a great time, but the cruise was *almost* too fancy. We were on an Asian-style junk with 14 other travelers, and the junk had been classified as a four-star accommodation, so we were stuck with mushy couples and a few chichi families for the trip. While we thoroughly enjoyed the eight-course dinner and two lunches - as well as the excessive two-to-one, staff-to-guest ratio - we felt a bit out of place, having been roughing it on the road for the previous four months. Highlights of the trip included kayaking around the Cong Do islands in Bai Tu Bay and watching the sunset behind the hundreds of karsts with some cold brewskies in hand. After the kayaking, Kate and I swam for a bit. While Kate made do with wading, I decided to breast-stroke out a bit further. "Don't go too far, Al! You aren't the best swimmer!" jeered Kate. I laughed this faux warning off, but a minute later I felt this burning pain across the backs of my legs. "WTF! Something just bit me!" I shouted. After doggie-paddling back to shore, the source of this pain became apparent: jellyfish! The stings did hurt, but the staff gave me some lemons to rub on my lashings once we were back on the boat, and the aspirin took care of the rest.
It may be a week or so before our next entry because we will be on the road, travelling between Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Cheers, Mates :)
Ha Long's Lady Humps
Yes, People Still Fish Like This
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