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March 27, 2005

Photos: Hanoi

As always, way behind schedule with the photos. But it's hard, man, it's hard. You have to understand that first I have to find an internet cafe, burn them onto...ah, you don't care. Enjoy! Or don't. Whatever....

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Posted by Conor at 02:27 AM | Read Comments (1)
March 15, 2005

Hanoi: The Great Escape

At 7.30 a.m on March 15, there was a pounding at our door. We were on the top floor of our guesthouse in Hanoi, and Alex and I were about to go meet Declan downstairs, where we had already arranged...

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Posted by Conor at 02:22 AM | Read Comments (0)
March 13, 2005

Photos: Hoi An & Hue

I'd like to think I'm my own worst critic. In reality, its the exact opposite - I'm the one tooting my horn pretty much non-stop, whereas the people that actually have to read this, well, they tend to be my...

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Posted by Conor at 11:55 PM | Read Comments (3)

Hanoi: I Can't See Dead People

I had heard mixed reviews about Hanoi. Most of the back-packing sun-worshippers we met couldn't get out of there fast enough, and it was easy to see why. It was certainly cooler now, it was rainy and gray, and there...

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Posted by Conor at 09:08 AM | Read Comments (1)
March 12, 2005

Hanoi: Buses, Beers, and Valium

Forty-five minutes into the overnight bus ride from Hue to Hanoi in north Vietnam, the bus pulled over. It appeared that we were stopped in the middle of nowhere, as usual, at some kind of restaurant, presumably to pick up...

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Posted by Conor at 10:15 AM | Read Comments (0)
March 11, 2005

Hue Photos: Politically Incorrect

In South East Asia you can never truly predict what will happen on any given day. March 11 was one of those given days. Alex and I were biking around the outter wall of the Citadel, in Hue, Vietnam, on...

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Posted by Conor at 11:55 PM | Read Comments (1)

Hue: Three Dollars

We were flying north along Highway 1 on a bus, our bikes shoved impotently into the luggage compartment below, when Alex took out the Rough Guide to Vietnam and opened up to Hue - our next destination. We had only...

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Posted by Conor at 04:42 AM | Read Comments (0)
March 09, 2005

Hoi An: The Clothes Make the Backpacker

There were two things that our fellow backpackers were telling us about the town of Hoi An in central Vietnam: first of all, it was far enough north that it was starting to get colder. All the way up from...

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Posted by Conor at 03:14 AM | Read Comments (4)
March 08, 2005

Photos: Whale Island, Vietnam

The photos from Whale Island have just arrived. Which is to say, it took me about a million hours to do these last few entries because I've been uploading all these photos. Man, this sure does suck the hours away...

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Posted by Conor at 11:55 PM | Read Comments (0)

Hoi An: When Bad Buses Happen to Good People

By the evening of March 8, everybody was back from Whale Island, having had great time the last day and night while Conor was trying not to bite through his own tongue as he was being given stitches sans anaestesia....

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Posted by Conor at 09:22 PM | Read Comments (1)
March 07, 2005

Photos: Nha Trang and Boat Ride

Ok, more photos to introduce you to Declan, Julie, Kristin, and our very bestest of best friends: Nha Trang. Also, let me say something about the non-photo blog entries: I'm pretty far behind, as you can tell, and worse, I...

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Posted by Conor at 10:37 PM | Read Comments (4)
March 06, 2005

Whale Island: Scars from Paradise

On the boat ride out to the islands, The Best Day of Our Lives, six of us had agreed that in two days we would head out to the Jungle Beach Resort, the secluded beach off the tourist track that...

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Posted by Conor at 01:17 AM | Read Comments (1)
March 05, 2005

Photos: Da Lat, Vietnam

Alright, a few more to get out there - from our trip up to Da Lat, up in the highlands. My huge regret here is that I couldn't upload the photos from the women we met on our way down...

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Posted by Conor at 10:01 PM | Read Comments (0)
March 04, 2005

Nha Trang: The Best Day Of Our Lives

Besides lying on the beach and going out at night, we figured there were two things that we should do in Nha Trang: go to the Thap Ba hot springs center, 10 km from the center of town, to do...

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Posted by Conor at 09:43 PM | Read Comments (0)
March 03, 2005

Nha Trang: How to Get Punched In The Head By A Prostitute

I woke up late on the morning of March 2, our first morning in Nha Trang. I looked over to see Alex in the other bed across the room also sitting up in bed, looking pretty rough - I imagine...

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Posted by Conor at 05:14 AM | Read Comments (0)
March 02, 2005

Phan Rang: When a Bus is Not Really a Bus

Alex and I had read something about the coastal town of Phan Rang before we left the mountain town of Da Lat on March 1; when traveling by bus, there was ample time to read up on your destination on...

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Posted by Conor at 11:58 PM | Read Comments (1)

The Central Highlands: Vietnamese Alex Impersonators

Alex and I had just finished the main descent down from Da Lat in the Central Highlands on March 1. The feeling of exhileration from keeping our eyes peeling for pot-holes and trucks and hairpin turns was wearing off, and...

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Posted by Conor at 11:50 PM | Read Comments (3)

The Central Highlands: Accidents Will Happen

Alex and I set off on March 1 from Da Lat to cruise due east, decending down from the highlands and into the coastal town of Phan Rang, where we would spend the night. We had been off the bikes...

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Posted by Conor at 11:11 PM | Read Comments (0)

Da Lat: Into Cloud City

I was jerked awake from my much needed nap by the deafening sonic boom as our bus driver took a particularly tight corner surpassing the speed of sound. Tossed against the side window, my eyes popped wide open and my...

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Posted by Conor at 09:25 PM | Read Comments (3)
March 01, 2005

Cu Chi: The Englishman and the Hysterical Devil

Several of our friends had recommended to us that we check out the famous Cu Chi tunnels, 60 km north of Ho Chi Minh city. The region of Cu Chi (which we had passed through on our way into the...

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Posted by Conor at 08:32 AM | Read Comments (1)
February 28, 2005

Saigon: The Museum of American War Atrocities

It could have been possible to travel through Saigon, and probably most of Vietnam, with very few reminders that the United States had fought a war here thirty years ago; I don't know many people that would choose to ignore...

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Posted by Conor at 01:01 AM | Read Comments (0)
February 27, 2005

Saigon: Where West Meets...More West

Half an hour after arriving in Ho Chi Minh city in the late afternoon of February 24, Alex and I were in a bar along De Tham street in District 1. As we couldn't remember the real name for the...

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Posted by Conor at 11:21 PM | Read Comments (0)
February 26, 2005

Saigon: Three Million Motorbikes vs. Two Mountain Bikes

Alex and I were about 40 km west of Saigon, near the district of Cu Chi, the afternoon of February 24, when we saw a familiar obstacle in the road ahead. Or at least, it would have been familiar back...

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Posted by Conor at 06:10 AM | Read Comments (2)
Latest Comments
Conor: Hey all, Had a bit of trouble on the comments sec... [read]

tabitha: figuratively, and nearly literally, a cliffhanger... [read]

Mom: Re: swimming with the alligator. Eeek. There is on... [read]

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