Vietnam Top Picks

Chao Ban!

Man, I am on a roll- two entries in two days!

Took a look through our Lonely Planet Vietnam to see the places that Pearce and I were most interested in visiting. As is stands, our top picks are the following:

Hanoi - The grand old dame of the orient, Hanoi is perhaps the most graceful, atmospheric and exotic capital city in Asia. Highlights include Hoan Kiem Lake, Big Hoi junction where you can grab a locally crafted beer; the Hanoi Opera House; Water Puppet show and the night market. Pearce will most likely get his tailored silk suits here as well!!





Hanglong Bay - Majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious. 2000 or more incredible islands rising from the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Highlights include Cat Ba island, with hiking, climbing, sailing, kayaking and of course a Junkboat ride.



Sapa- This charming highland town in tucked into the mountains overlooking a plunging valley of cascading rice terraces and is a great place to see the "Hill Tribes" of Vietnam. Highlights include hiking, visiting the local villages and maybe even seeing the "Love" market where country folk come to town to speed date.





Hoi An - Once a sleepy town, Hoi an is now a developed tourist town and designated world
heritage site due to its old architecture and cultural history. Highlights included a cooking class, and diving at Cham Island a off-the-beaten- track island located right off the coast.





Nha Trang - The beach capital of Vietnam- beaches, diving and mud baths await!

Dalat - The bizarro Vietnam, it is spring-like and cool instead of having tropical heat, it has French colonial villas instead of socialist architecture and farms with strawberries, not rice. A very romantic feeling escape.

Con Dao Islands - Isolated from the mainland, the Con Dao Islands are one of the star attractions of Vietnam with plenty of hiking, swimming, diving and rare animal sightings. Have you every heard of the Dugong?


Let us know what you think and if we are missing anything!!

This is as far as we are going with any pre-planning for traveling. That is not to say that we will not be going to other SE Asian countries, but as I have been to Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, we do not feel as pressured to map out a plan of attack so formally. We will let our whims take us where they will and see what happens. That is half the fun of travel after all!

Until Later,

Allyson (and Pearce)

China - Our top picks

Nǐ Hǎo - 你好 - Hello!

After finishing another great semester, I have finally gotten around to consolidating our top picks for China based on our Lonely Planet investigations. This was a very difficult task as China is huge and full of amazing things to see, eat, and explore. In fact, I am sure that we will still be unable to get to everything on our list, so if you have an opinion on our top picks, please let us know. We would appreciate your input! So here are the places we will attempt to visit in China:

Beijing -
I don't believe you can experience China without coming here. Yes, there are an ungodly amount of people; yes, it is hot and smoggy; and yes, it is for the most part, ugly. BUT, Beijing also has the Forbidden City, Summer Palace AND access to the Great Wall of China. For me, my first visit was like stepping into another world and I cannot wait for Pearce to experience it!


Shandong - Steeped in myth and supernatural allure, Shandong is the stuff of legends where iconic philosophers once pondered and Taoist-inspired emperors launched naval expeditions in search of lost continents. Highlights include Tai Shan Mountain, the most important of the five sacred mountains; Qufu, the hometown of Confuscious; and Qingdao, a German styled city in China dubbed "China Switzerland" home of the Tsingtao Beer Museum.

Shanghai-
Highlights include The Bund, Shanghai museum, French Concession, Taikang Road Art Center, Yuyuan Gardens and Bizarre, Huxinting Teahouse and Riverside Promenade.

Fujian - Directly facing the island of Taiwan Straight, the southern province of Fuijan - famed for its tricky dialects- is a lush mountainous, coastal region of China. Highlights include Gulang Yu Island, West Lake which has been praised by emperors, revered by poets, and intoxicated the Chinese imagination for centuries; and Wuyi Shan, another mountain which has some of the most spectacular unspoiled scenery in the province.


Shanxi - Some of the province's old courtyards and castles are so well preserved they're often used as film sets, but it’s the rough-around the edges, still lived in settlements that really steal the show. Highlights include the Yungang caves which contain 51,000 ancient statues; the Hanging Monastery, a Buddhist monastery built precariously into the side of a cliff; and Zhangbi Underground Castle, a 1400-year-old network of defense tunnels.






Shaanxi - Shaanxi is where it all started in China. 6 thousand years ago, nomads decided the then fertile region, so close to the yellow river, was ther eperfect place to put down roots. Highlights include: Xian - a city that is famed for the Terrocata warriors, Muslim Quarter, and totally intact city walls from the Ming dynasty; Foping Nature Reserve where 100 pandas are protected in the wild; and Hua Shan, one of Taoism's five sacred mountains with a hike along the Green Dragon Ridge.

Anhui - It has well-preserved villages and fantastical mountains. Highlights include: Qiyuin Shan mountain range; Xidi and Hongcun, ancient Chinese villages, with idyllic scenery and homestays; and Huang Shan - with its granite peaks and twisted pines, Huan Shan is easily in the top ten sites to see in China.

Hong Kong - enough said.

Guanngxi - Undeniably stunning scenery is what lures most travelers to lush, green and subtropical Gaungxi. Highlights include Guilin with its otherwordly karst topography and stunning Li River boat ride;Yangshuo - claimed to be even more breathtaking than Guilin, best seen by a hot air balloon.






Yunnan - More than half of China's ethnic minorities live here. Home to Dali, the original funky banana-pancake backpacker hangout, this town is sandwiched between the mountains and Erhai lake which you can bike around and Tiger Leaping Gorge, this unmissable trek of Southwest China (and possibly all of China?), the gorge is one of the deepest in the world, it measures 16km long and was carved from the waters of the Jinsha River. It is prenaturally lovely nearly every step of the way, although is not for the weak.












Anything we are missing? Let us know!

Allyson (and Pearce)

A Call From Afar...

As I have entered into my second week of writing both day and night for my Comps exam, it is getting harder to sit still. I find myself looking for distractions in whatever I can. And so I made the call to Mongolia. I had been planning to prepare myself, spending hours re-learning the language and words I am sure are just under the surface of my very bad memory. I had even crafted a script to follow so that way my Mongolian family would have a chance of understanding what I wanted to communicate with them. In the end I just winged it-- I know, out of character right?

I am so happy that I did! As soon as I heard Sergee (my mongolian mom) say Sain uu? a flood of happy emotions and memories swept over me. And once she realized it was me, I could tell it was the same for her on the other end of the line...she was shouting for Buuya (my mongolian dad) and sent someone to fetch my younger brother so they could all gather around her cellphone (still cant believe they have those now!) to listen in. Just got to love it.

Although there were definitely communication problems, (mostly because my brain seemed to want to speak Spanish)--we were able to share the most crucial elements of how we miss each other and love each other, despite the distance and time that separates us. I was also able to let them know a more critical piece of logistic information that Pearce and I would be coming to Mongolia this July to see them. Sergee then launched into a whole string of sentences that I can only imagine went something like: Oh my gosh you are coming to Mongolia! Are you coming to Uvs? Bouya will come get you in Ulaanbaatar, Tuya (her younger sister) lives there now. We will bring you to Turgen soum (my town) where we will have a big party and make you drink copious amounts of alcohol and eat lots of sheep butt. (okay so I am embellished the last part, but let's just say that it is intrinsic in throwing a party!)

So for me, it is now official: Pearce and I are going to Asia and I cannot wait to see my family again! I just hope that between now and then I can cram in enough Mongolian language studying that I don't totally embarrass myself!

Allyson