December, 2010 Climbing to New Year's Eve G Friday, December 31st, 2010 Figuring out what the problem is, and making a plan to do something about it helps a lot, but at the moment, there's not much we can do to execute our solution. For the time being, we'll just muscle... What's Wrong G Friday, December 31st, 2010 If we were toddlers, we would be dragging our feet, whining "I don't WANNA!" this morning. Since we're all grown up, we seethe quietly instead, and force ourselves out for another ride. As the day ... On Noise & Nature G Thursday, December 30th, 2010 Being on the road today felt more like a chore than a grand adventure. Keeping my sour mood in check was a grim mental battle, and it was a fight which I found myself losing for the majority of our ... Armpits & Brothels G Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 Visa extensions in hand, we're finally ready to leave Ho Chi Minh City. After nine days of waiting, we're feeling fresh and ready to explore once more. Unfortunately, very little about this day tur... Day One Without Coffee G Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 Before this trip, neither of us liked coffee all that much. Actually, we had a mild disdain for the stuff, mostly centered around the fear of becoming dependent on a substance for something as basic... Going to the Movies PG Monday, December 27th, 2010 This evening, with the help of our friends who are both highly motivated to see the new Harry Potter film, we mobilize to go to the movies. Catching a taxi, we arrive at the nearby movie theater / s... Vietnamese Funeral G Sunday, December 26th, 2010 It sounds like a brass band is playing inside our room. The horn section is so eye-poppingly loud that the musicians could very well be hiding in our mini fridge, or playing from the shower stall. ... Ho Chi Minh City's Taste of the World Festival G Sunday, December 26th, 2010 Exhausted from our Củ Chi tunnel adventure (mostly tired out from the ride there and back), we're enjoying some peace and quiet in our hotel room. By the time night falls, the noise of a party out... Củ Chi Tunnels: Part Two PG Sunday, December 26th, 2010 Safely above ground, our guide takes us on a walk around the grounds, teaching us more about the tunnels. As he shows us tricks of the guerrilla's trade, we are in awe, totally and utterly impressed... Củ Chi Tunnels: Part One PG Sunday, December 26th, 2010 Our first introduction to the Củ Chi tunnels is a stroll through the lovely, innocuous woods above them. As we make our way to the first exhibit, leaves flutter on to the path, falling gently from... Riding a Motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City G Sunday, December 26th, 2010 Our destination for today is the Củ Chi tunnels, an elaborate network of underground Vietcong hideouts, used heavily in the War of American Aggression. There are two sites open to visitors: the fi... A Skype Christmas G Saturday, December 25th, 2010 Pleasantly full from dinner, and feeling joyful about our unexpected visitors, we come home to our hotel room with a renewed sense of peace. At last, it's late enough for our families to be awake (w... A Christmas Dinner Surprise G Saturday, December 25th, 2010 Back in our quiet, sterile hotel room, we're feeling positively alone and bleak about the state of the world. As we're busy entertaining comforting fantasies of flying home to be with family, imagin... And So This is Christmas PG-13 Saturday, December 25th, 2010 Here in hot, sunny, loud, crowded Vietnam, Christmas is a day like any other. To pass the time until our families will be awake and on Skype, we decide to visit one of those educational-but-depressi... On Family: The Cost of Adventure G Saturday, December 25th, 2010 There is a price to be paid for following our dreams. This morning, while our loved ones halfway around the world are tucked into their beds, sleeping on the night before Christmas, a quiet melancho... Our Process: Google Maps & GPS Tracks G Friday, December 24th, 2010 This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. Throughout our trip, I have saved our GPS tracks nightly. My plan to maintain one unbroken line, showing every ... Our Process: Automation & the GSDB G Thursday, December 23rd, 2010 This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. When we left on this trip, neither of us had an inkling that we'd be documenting our adventure in such exhaustiv... Hein and Luang G Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 We've been loving the variety of Western food available in the city. Our favorite for the last few days has been a red-and-white decorated pizza and salad bar buffet, called Pepperonis. There is ba... Slowing Down G Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 Early in our adventure, a break for more than a day or two gave us cabin fever. We traveled slowly but consistently, with a momentum to "get there" to keep us going. But these days, we're feeling l... Saigon's Alleys G Monday, December 20th, 2010 There is a second city hidden inside District 1 of Saigon; it is an extensive network of back alleys, twisting narrowly behind and between the borough's buildings. This sprawling microcosm is home t... Into Ho Chi Minh City G Sunday, December 19th, 2010 Today, we'll be cycling into the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, and this morning, we'll have to face the grating music: it's highway time. The traffic-free rice paddy paths we've enjoyed for the last tw... Riding in Rice Paddies G Saturday, December 18th, 2010 Tyler: Along the highways in the Mekong Delta, often less than a hundred meters from the road, there are peaceful dirt and gravel paths carving through the quiet villages of Southern Vietnam. Windin... Language Lessons & Boiled Chicken G Friday, December 17th, 2010 Finding food at the late hour of 9PM is proving to be difficult in this small, Mekong Delta town (of which we don't even know the name). After a thrilling day of engaging cycling, we are overtired a... Mekong Delta Bike Paths G Friday, December 17th, 2010 Bolstered by a colorful market experience, and a steady succession of friendly smiles from local cyclists, we're having a spectacular morning. But, after less than twenty kilometers on the road, the... Vietnamese Market Morning G Friday, December 17th, 2010 Tyler: This morning, determined to keep a positive attitude, we take to the teeming roads of Vietnam once more. Now mentally prepared to let the chaos wash over us, the constant dance of dodging peo... Our Process: Shitty First Drafts PG Thursday, December 16th, 2010 This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. When we sit down to inspect our notes and bloobs, ready to shape the mass of discombobulated sentences into a jo... Working in Sa Dec G Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 We wake up this morning with zero desire to travel. A peek outside reveals a grey sky with 100% chance of heavy showers. On a more positive note, we really like our hotel room, and the great restra... Culture Shock G Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 Tyler: It is 8AM. We are in the middle of packing our panniers and ferrying them to the lobby, when two women march through the door of our room. One of them, carrying a cleaning bucket and looking... Far From Home: Part Two PG Monday, December 13th, 2010 Tara: I'm standing in the bathroom of our hotel room, trusty yellow scissors at the ready. With one hand, I grab handfuls of coarse, sun-bleached hair, and with the other, I snip. As brown fluff fa... Far From Home: Part One G Monday, December 13th, 2010 Tyler: The day begins with an early morning departure from our beachside bungalow, and a speedy ride across the island to the port. The ferry back is mercifully smoother and faster than the one in, ... The Food Game: Fruits of Southeast Asia G Sunday, December 12th, 2010 Yesterday evening, after our squid fishing excursion, we walked home by way of the night market. On display were the heaps and heaps of colorful fresh fruit that we've come to know and expect in Sou... Squid Fishing G Saturday, December 11th, 2010 Fishing boats are a ubiquitous sight on the beaches of Phú Quốc. During the day, they're either anchored just off shore, or packed in the harbor. The rag-tag fleet of colorful, hand-built vessel... Dinner at Le Deauville G Friday, December 10th, 2010 Hours after our island ride comes to an end, after several journals are written, we're beginning to feel the pangs of hunger. So, in a totally cliché romantic move, we go for a long walk on the bea... Peaceful Ride on Phú Quốc G Friday, December 10th, 2010 Tyler: The sound of waves lapping against the shore rings in another sleepy morning at our beach side bungalow. As the sun rises, we slowly rouse ourselves from a deep slumber, gently awakened by th... Phú Quốc Fish Sauce G Thursday, December 9th, 2010 We've heard that Phú Quốc island produces the highest quality fish sauce in the world, so we've decided to pay a visit to the nearby Hung Thinh fermentation plant. Our maps of the surrounding are... Postcards from Paradise G Thursday, December 9th, 2010 This is the first entry in a series of e-postcards for our friends and family. Hovering on the cards makes them flip over, showing the picture on the other side. It'll work, but it won't look cool ... Morning Light G Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 As if the quiet, empty beaches, and crystal blue water of Phú Quốc aren't captivating enough, we awaken to find that our simple bungalow and the mosquito net around our bed have been transformed i... Ferry to Phú Quốc G Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 "Your passports, your passports!" the man shouts, speeding over to us on his scooter. We're loading our bikes on the ferry to Phú Quốc, heaving them over a railing at the front of the boat, but I... Our Process: How We Write, Notes & Bloobs PG Monday, December 6th, 2010 This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. A couple months ago, we decided to start recording the ever-evolving process by which we've been wrestling a pag... Vietnamese Food G Sunday, December 5th, 2010 I had inkings that Vietnam might deliver some stellar eating, especially after we spent a few days with my friend Tony's Vietnamese grandmother in Berlin. Last night, Tara's barbecued pork was easil... Hello Vietnam G Saturday, December 4th, 2010 According to my GPS, we've arrived at the road leading to Vietnam: it is a dusty red track with no signage whatsoever. Feeling dubious about this intersection leading to an international border, we ... Farewell Cambodia G Saturday, December 4th, 2010 This morning, as we leave to embark on our final ride in Cambodia, a fierce wind is gusting in from the east. Exchanging grimaces, we fight to build momentum on the colonial-house-lined coastal road... Pepper & Crab G Friday, December 3rd, 2010 Kep, a quiet fishing town on the southern coast of Cambodia, sprawls out lazily along the shore over a few kilometers, nestled in the low places between steep green hills. The town's seawater is a l... Pete & Natasha's First Ride G Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 Natasha: Every time we take a long bus ride to get to a new tourist destination, we gaze longingly out of our tinted windows as we pass the things we really want to see – stuff like small villages ... Kampot Cruising G Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 Yesterday, we cycled over one hundred kilometers on less than four hours of sleep. As a result, we were so exhausted by the time we made it to Kampot that we fell fast asleep at the early hour of 7P...