Hanoi, Vietnam

Yes we are in Vietnam. First stop to the north Hanoi. We had heard nothing good about this place from other Travelers, but have found out that not everyone likes the same things. We love it here. The "PHO" local beef noodle soup is so good. It's definitely a step up from the soups in Thailand. There are very few tourists here as well, and much of there culture is still in tact. Today we came to see the famous Halong Bay, and now we will start to make our way down south to find warmer weather. Yesterday we decided to try out all the culinary delicacies from the north. First Larisa decided to try grilled dog. Not great but edible, second we had weasel shit coffee. Yes the weasels eat the coffee beans, and then after it flows through them the remains are ground into your morning coffee. OK it tasted great, but that was a tough one to swallow. The last drink we tried was the spit of the birds that they use to make there nest, it turns into some kinda fungus and is then added to one of the local drinks. Yes I have tried them all, I don't know why, but while in Rome.......

Vietnam is very different so far, and much more difficult, but it's true culture still remains, as it is not over run with tourism.

Buddist Forest Monestary

We have just finished an interesting and enlightening experience in one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. 7-8 hours of meditation each day for 4 days, is very difficult for most, especially me, as you all know that I love to talk.

Schedule: 5am Wake up Meditation in Individual's room
7 am Rice offering to the monks
7:30 am Vegetarian Breakfast (Starving)
8:30 am Walking Meditation 2 Hours
11 am Vegetarian Lunch (Last Meal of the Day)
1:30 pm Sitting & Lying Meditation 2 Hours
4 pm Cleaning & Chores
5 pm Tea Time
6 pm Sitting Meditation & Chanting 2 Hours
8 pm Meditation & Quiet Time in your Kuti (Room)

Going without food for 20 hours from lunch to breakfast the following day was very difficult. The most difficult part was the sitting for 2 hours at a time without moving in the typical meditation position, working through your back aches, stiff legs and all your itches and thoughts. Believe it or not thinking about nothing is very difficult, but you also cannot fall aspleep. It does help to have complete silence, and know talking, cars, radios, tv's etc. Only the sounds of the stream and the birds. After the first 10-12 hours of practice I finally had an awakening, and had a very peaceful evening meditation experience. One feels very clean and free when you can completely clear your mind of thoughts and be at peace with ones self for two hours. It's not unusual to see a monk meditation for 5-6 hours at a time. I am sure that practicing the meditation techniques will be healthy for me and after my experience learning the Buddhist ways I am interested to continue these practices.

This place with such peace and tranquility, in such a beautiful healthy environment aids in your transformation. Our Buddist monk was in complete silence without speaking for 7 years and 7 days to aid in his awakening, and enlightenment. In order to maintain his Buddist Monk status he follows 167 precepts, whereas most of those just practicing the religion usually follow 5.

As most of us find this process really different or weird, and very difficult at first, I highly recommend this experience for at least 4-5 days. This was a place out off all the places we researched that was very special.

Chang Mai and Northern Thailand

We have decided to look for something different. Masalong is a Chinese Village up in the mountains, with Myanmar on one side of the mountain and Thailand and all the hilltribes on the other. Yes it truely feels like another country. We get dropped off the bus at a village, and the bus driver points up the mountain as he says "Masalong." A taxi van pulls up and decides that he is going to overcharge us as there is no other way of getting there. He nicely explains that we could wait for 6 others and we could get a discount. So after I searched the village for an hour to rent a motorbike, without any success, we decided that hitchhiking would be the cheapest route. And after 20 min. it turned out to be a success, and we saved ourselves 400 Baht. Thank god as walking was the other option, and the drive into the moutains soon made us realize that may have taken us days.

It's all about tea here. This used to be one of the biggest areas to produce opium, as that's all they could grow on the side of the mountains here. The Thai government forced them to change there production into tea which grows here as well but doesn't provide the same money. All the guide books say that after 4 pm you shouldn't go out into the country as you could be mistaken as a drug lord and shot down. Which means there is probably something other then tea still in the hills. So we drive throught the mountains during the day just taking it all in, and at night we sit, chat, eat $1 meals, drink tea and look over the valley below. The best part about the place aside from being some where with few tourists, is that the prices for a room 50Baht/person haven't changed in at least 6 years. My 6 year old outdated Lonely Planet is finally right for once. Usually once a place is in the Lonely Planet they get really busy, and usually raise there prices. Travel note for you all. This is the same every country we have been. So we usually stay right next door to the place reccomended and for much cheaper. Then we go hang out there as they usually do have the best common rooms, coolest travellers, and best atmospehere, we just don't want to pay the inflated prices.
This place really makes me want to explore China further. Free tea 24 hours a day. And all the road stands sell fancy little tea sets. Well everything here shuts down at around 8pm.

Next stop was back to Changmai, after one quick day at the center of the Golden Triangle. The junction where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet at the Mekong River. Very touristy, but very few falang. Most of the tourist here are from Thailand.

Oh yeah I did happen to see a great botanical gardens up in the mountains as well in Doi Tung. Larisa and I decided that we should take some time travelling on our own, as we had both done this before and new it would be a different experience. I got picked up this time by 3 buddist monks, and then after they decided they couldn't take me any further I was dropped off in the middle of no where. Now standing around for an hour with only 1 car driving by, my next option was to ask the two GI Joe army guys sitting by the road if they could give me a ride. Suprisingly enough they seemed happy to help. Remember at this point I had left Larisa with the Thailand guide and phrasebook, so I was going commando you could say. I managed to communicate 3 towns on the main Hwy. that would get me back into civilization. So this time I am sitting in the front of the truck in between the two guys with machine guns slung over there shoulder. This was one time I really wanted to bring out the camera, but though it may not be a good idea. Ten minutes later they pull over and point to another road, "main rd, bus here." So they both sit smoking in there truck waiting to see if I catch a ride. After about 30 min. of trying to flag down a bus, with no luck, one of the guys decides that he willl give me a little help. He storms over to me as if he is upset, takes the gun from off his shoulder and waves the next 3 vehicles down with it. Funny enough, one of them happen to be going in my direction. It was an empty taxi van, and no he didn't charge me for the 40 min. ride. You never know what kind of experiences you encounter, and for some reason it happens more when you are on your own.

The next goal is to take a 7 day meditation retreat with the Buddist Monks. This could be a life changing experience, so I may be off the beaten track for a while. I will update you when I return. So tommorrow I am heading 18 km west of Changmai, into the moutains. I will update you upon my return. I hope you are all enjoying the winter in Canada.