Broads Abroad: Me and My Mann and the China Sea

I'd say this was a bus ride from hell, if it wasn't for the beautiful gushing waterfalls flowing only feet from the road and the lush green trees blanketing the mountains...thank god for charging the ipod!! I love you p-groove!

Dana: Just arrived in the Capital of Vietnam, Hanoi!! We took a 12-hour sleeper train from Hue (once again, thank god for those purple sleeping pills =)and will now spend a few days here in Hanoi. We got here at 4:30AM and no hostels would let us check in at that hour, but we finally found one that allowed us to chill in their lobby and use the internet until 7AM when a room would be available...I figured this would be the perfect time to post some pictures and catch you up on our whereabouts.

We've made it to the north! We explored the south, traveled to the mountains in the southern highlands, bounced around central Vietnam for a few days and are now getting ready to conquer the north. We've been very lucky along the way, meeting kind people and seeing beautiful sights. Part of our daily adventure is to find a vegetarian restaurant in each town we stop in, which has been successful and quite the experience.

It's super early and I'm still a little out of it from those purple little pills, so here is where my writing stops and my photo-journaling takes over =)

Gotta have fun on a 5-hour on/off-road bus ride through the mountains...

If Mary was a singer, this would be her album cover

I was in heaven in Da Lat, this place is known for their artichokes and avocados!! We drank artichoke tea all day long...thinking of my family...I bought some for you!!

Killer bite combo: fresh strawberries, ripe avocado and fluffy french baguette...tbo

This is called "Crazy House" in Da Lat, it was designed by the architect Hang Nga.

It's a wild Alice in Wonderland-like tree house in a fantastic folly of twisting, tree-trunk-like concrete and artificial caverns, winding flights of stairs and irregular windows, flowering purple vines, and an over-sized sculpture of a giraffe, kangaroo and eagle.

View of the city of Da Lat from the top of the tree house.

Hoi An is known for getting everything tailor-made from dresses, suits, jackets, shoes and purses...this town is WILD! Thank god I'm traveling with a backpack, cause I could have done some serious damage here!

And of course we did so some damage. Mary got a beautiful cashmere suit tailor-made for her at the classy Yaly (thanks Sunshine for the recommendation) and I got a sweet blazer. And of course I got a few other things in the town, shipping it all home cost $100...ouch!