I have been in Vietnam for two weeks now and plan to be here till the end of the year.

Here is my first set of pics from Northern Vietnam. I know most Americans first thought when they here Vietnam is the war. But being here that is the last thing on anyone's mind. I started my visit in Hanoi, the crazy capital that must have more motorbikes then any other city in the world. The old quarter is exactly what comes to mind when I think of Asian cities. A maze of small streets with hundreds of shops selling/making/cooking everything under the sun. "Bia Hoi" stalls that sell draught beer for 10 cents a glass and women walking around for 16 hours a day (they start around 5:30am) carrying fruits, vegetables, and various treats by way of a bamboo pole slung over their shoulder with two baskets at either end. The smells, sounds, and energy of organized chaos that just makes you feed off of its electric vibe. Especially right now, since the SEA games are being played and Vietnam is doing extremely well, taking care of business against its neighboring countries on the soccer/football field which ignites everyone's country pride like you might think of Brazil or Argentina.

Outside of the hectic hustle and bustle of the city, Vietnam is also a really beautiful country. So far I have had the opportunity to go on a two day, one night cruise in Halong Bay. Halong Bay is an amazing place where these sharp limestone peaks pop out of the water all around you to creating a maze of splendor much to a photographers delight. Spread around these mini island peaks are floating towns where the fishermen bed down for the night and opportunistic entrepreneurs row boats turned into floating convenience stores selling everything from local beer to Oreo's making sure us western tourists don't go without our comforts of home.

After my cruise through Halong Bay I took a night train up to the town of Sapa deep into the mountains of the northwest. In Sapa I caught up with my friend Denis from Canada whom I had met in Yangshuo, China. Sapa is well known for beautiful scenery most commonly viewed by hikes to visit the surrounding villages where the hill-tribe people live. The hill-tribe people are similar to the American Indians or Aboriginals of Australia. The biggest difference being that they have managed to live for generations without much change besides the recent tourism.

Sapa is also the coldest and wettest place in Vietnam so it is commonplace to have your visit encompassed with overcast skies and drizzle. Since I'm not much of a hiker and am still trying to take it easy on my knee, Denis and I decided that the best way to see the surrounding area was to get out of Sapa, which is quite touristy, and see the real towns and villages. And since we believe that the best way to see a country is to experience as much of the local ways as possible, we hired motorbikes for 3 days and decided to ride them the 700km (apx. 450 miles) back to Hanoi through the mountains and valleys of the Northwest. This was absolutely incredible!!!

My visit to the surrounding areas around Yangshuo, China was great, but nothing like this. This was definitely the most rural and remote I have been on my entire trip. Very few people make it to these parts as the only way to get there is by motorbike or 4wd, and there aren't exactly too many places around to rent a 4wd. We saw dozens of small villages and road up and down the mountain passes from switchback road to switchback road across what I would consider some of the most amazing mountain scenery anywhere in the world. A few times we road through and then above the cloud line sharing the road with only the occasion pig, goat, horse, cow, and many water buffalo. The first night we stayed in Lai Chau which is for all intensive purposes a ghost town. In 5 years it will be flooded and under water due to a dam being built nearby. The second day the ride was so rough and mountainous that it took over 5 hours just to cover the first 100 kilometers. The second night we slept in Thuan Chau and stayed with a random family, which didn't speak any English (they gave us the master bedroom to be exact.) They even made us feel like a full part of the family by having us share dinner with them in the evening and then waking us up at 5:45am the next morning. Just to ensure we got to live like the locals I'm sure :) Day three we reached the nice highway and road the final 350 km arriving in Hanoi in about 9 hours.

Yes, I road the motorbike through Hanoi back to my hostel in the old quarter through the city center which is an experience in itself. It's hard to explain the traffic in Hanoi if you haven't seen it. It's something like a river of motorbikes with the occasional bus, car, and pedal bike mixed in. When you want to walk across the street you simply close your eyes, prey, and go, letting all the drivers weave their way around you. It is extremely invigorating to experience the other side and become part of the river, especially during Friday rush hour traffic.

As you can guess, that motorbike trip shoots right to the top of the list of experiences I've had traveling the past 6+ months and got my Adventure south through Vietnam off to an Excellent start!!!