The Rock Long Rock Hard Tour

Yesterday brother and I went to Ha Long Bay on a tour put on by our hostel.

We drove four hours outside of Hanoi, through countryside, to get to Ha Long City. We boarded a small boat that took us to a larger boat called the Jolly Rodger.

On board we ate lunch as it left the harbor and head towards the limestone masses enveloped in mist.

It took about an hour to get to out final destination. The weather was overcast and cool but we were assured that the water temperature would still be fine. At this point in the journey we were given the option to jump off the boat. Both Kenny and I took it. The water was not warm. It was actually really cold and salty but how often do you have a chance to go swimming in Ha Long Bay? So I enjoyed it!

After we jumped in, the group went kayaking. We paddled by a couple of islands and went through a little cave. Pretty freaking cool even though the weather wasn't great!

When we got back to our boat we ate dinner and then the drinking games began. I was glad there were two 29 year olds in the room because at that point I started to feel really old.

The rest of the evening stays between Kenny and I but I can assure you that we had a fun evening.

Catching up over coffee in Hanoi

Nothing is better than sitting on the side of the road. On those little blue stools. Watching people and catching up with my brother.

One thing that is quite cool is how savvy my brother is at negotiating traffic. Calm and steady he walks through the streets. No sudden movements. He crosses streets that locals look concerned about with ease. And no he is not doing it in a dangerous way. It is very apparent that he has picked up a lot from living in Taiwan.

It makes me so proud and actually really comfortable here.

Hanoi

I'm here. With my brother. At a super popular hostel in the middle of the city.

After an 11 hour flight from Seattle to Seoul, I made my next flight to Hanoi with less than five minutes to spare.

Phew. Now it is time for me to rest.

At the Airport

Fortunately, the weather here in Seattle decided to settle down and my flight was only delayed by forty minutes.

I'm crossing my fingers that I'm able to catch my second flight in Seoul. I only have an hour layover there. The airlines says I should be alright.

Although I felt really anxious this morning, I think I successfully got everything I need into my traveling backpack. If I forgot anything I'm just going to have to figure it out once I get there!

SeaTac CLOSED

Here is the Seattle Times report on SeaTac and the snow/ice today:

At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this morning crews are scrambling to de-ice some 70 aircraft to get them ready for take-off.

Runways were completely shut down between 4:30 and 7:30 a.m. because of the icy weather, said airport spokesman Perry Cooper. When one runway reopened at 7:30 a.m., a Boeing 777 cargo plane landed. A second runway remains closed with no estimated time of opening, Cooper said.

Airport officials say that passengers need to check with their airlines before heading to the airport.

Cooper said that nearly 10 planes slated to land at SeaTac were diverted to other cities. The rest of the planes slated for Seattle were grounded at their airports of origin, he said.

Well this should make tomorrow interesting.

Brother Has Landed

After spending 19 hours in the Taipei airport, my brother finally arrived in Hanoi. Why 19 hours you wonder? I will address that quickly. See my brother is cheap. Very cheap. So cheap in fact that he would do his laundry in his dorm rooms in college in a bucket and hang them on strings in his room instead of paying the dollar to do it in the machines. Therefore, when he got a flight to Vietnam that required him to be at the airport before the buses would pick him up, he decided that he would just take the bus to the airport the night before and sleep in the airport to save money. Great idea. Only problem was that come morning his flight was delayed however many hours. So he sat and sat and sat in the airport. Enough said.

I'm glad he got there safely. He said he took the shuttle to the hostel and warned me that it should only cost me $2 when I take it. In all seriousness, I'm super excited to be traveling with my brother and so appreciative that he is giving me this heads up. Unfortunately, I land at 10pm on Saturday evening after the shuttles stop so I set up to have the hostel send a driver. You would think that this would be the safer option. However, I did have to laugh when I got this email from the hostel:

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING SCAMS

Please be aware that taxi drivers and some shuttle buss drivers for that matter, are paid commission to take customers to other budget hotels and these hotels will tell you we are full, close or they are our sister hostel, this is completely untrue. They sometimes even use our flyers or signs - making you believe that you are at the right spot or they are there to pick you up. If this happens to you stay in the car/bus and wait for them to take you to your destination or shuttle stop or find a taxi a different taxi and show them the address on the booking sheet or the download the flyer on our website.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take back the idea that I don't need to have a clue where my hostel is because I'm getting picked up by a hostel driver. :) Darn.

Kenny says the hostels great and the city is crazy. No rules was how he put it.

He is there scooting out potential day trips for us and trying to get a lay of the land. We came into this trip having some idea of what we wanted to do but knowing that we had to be flexible. And it's a good thing too.

Chinese New Years. The most important of the traditional Chinese holidays begins on Sunday.

All of a sudden I feel like I'm back in Morocco. Kenny tells me that tours are few and filling up quickly. "What should we do?" he emails me.

We shall see.

Prep Work Begins

My trip is less than a week away and I'm spending most of this weekend preparing what to bring. I still have my huge backpack from previous adventures but I went to REI today for some additional necessities.

• A Watch - Not having my cellphone, I will need to know the time and have a functioning alarm. Weird.
• Bug Spray - I went to a Travel Medicine clinic. They recommended that I always wear bug spray and take Malaria pills.
  
• Sunscreen - The malaria pills make you more sensitive to sun but the sunscreen counteracts the bug spray. I was told that I needed to put the sunscreen on 30 minutes before the bug spray. Let's see if I can remember to do that.
  
• A Camel Back - My backpack has had a spot for it from the beginning but I decided to buy one specifically because my brother and I are thinking about going into the Cat Tien National Forrest. I'm not sure what type of resources there are but I'd hate to be out of fresh water while hiking around.
  
• Iodine Tablets - Just in case.
  
• First Aid Kit - Do you know my brother?
  
• Travel Towel - It tries quickly and will probably come in handy more often than I anticipated. We'll see.
  
• A Power Adapter - I will be bringing my camera and phone so I will need to be able to charge them.
  

If I'm missing anything that might be particularly important, please let me know.

For me, personally, this is the most unnerving part of the trip. I'm pretty good when it comes to dealing with situations on the spot but I'm bad at planning. Knowing that and how unpredictable the trip will be makes my stomach flip just a bit (that could also be caused by the Typhoid vaccine that is in my system right now). However, the feeling is temporary and passes quickly.

I'm getting more and more excited for my trip by the day. I cannot wait to see my younger brother, whom I have not seen since the summer and I look forward to exploring a new country.