A cute little surprise in my bike basket!

Here I am, flying across the countryside around Hoi An on my cute little bike that I rented for 50 cents, and what happens? A big reddish-orange butterfly flies right into the basket while i'm peddling along, flutters around in there for a good whole 30 seconds or so, and then says goodbye. How adorable! Those 30 seconds made my day!

Warning for clothes-lovers....

Hoi An is pretty much a town that is dedicated to tailors. They are everywhere you look, and it wouldn't be so dangerous if it wasn't so inexpensive! Lets just say I went a bit overboard. I tried hard not to, and I think tomorrow I will force myself to rent a bike and get out of town so I won't be tempted anymore. Let's see, the damage so far is one winter coat, two dress pants, two yoga capri pants (that are way too comfortable that i'm scared i wont wear anything else...ever again), one shirt i designed, one silk sleeping bag, one skirt, and one summery dress...i think its time to stop. All of these were ridiculously cheap. I've only ever had 1 dress tailored for me before, and it is so great to have things that actually fit perfectly for you.

The old town in Hoi An is really cute as well (I did do other things than just shop!). There are a lot of places where they make lanterns right in front of your eyes and carve wooden artwork as well. The market by the water is massive. Everyone is always trying to get your attention, and after a while, it gets quite exhausting...i'm finding that putting a pair of sunglasses on and putting some music in my ears is the way to go, then if I don't respond to the 1 billion requests to look at their goods, I don't feel as rude...they just figure I can't hear them.

I'm getting so good at bargaining though, I'm on a roll recently...I bargain on everything from buying water to accommodation at hotels. Its expected here that you do, and if you don't, you're going to get seriously ripped-off.

Bike riding tomorrow....definitely!

Vietnam!

We arrived in Hanoi just a few days before Christmas. My first thought in the city was DEAR GOD! I had to literally close my eyes in the cab ride to the hotel because I thought for sure we were going to get in an accident any moment). The motorbikes here are insane, not only are there 2 million of them in a city of 4 million people, but they swerve all over the road, all of them honking simutaneously that it almost makes me relate the honking of horns now to this chaotic city. Try crossing the road and its like playing that old computer game frogger, but its your life that is at risk! The trick is to walk slowly across the road and don't stop, look the motorists straight in the eye so you know they see you and they will veer around you (you hope!). I'm used to it now, which is crazy to believe because even Aurelia can attest that I love the green man (the one that tells you when it is safe to cross the road).

We got out the city soon enough for a 3 day trip out on Halong Bay which means lake of the ascending dragon for its similar looking landscape. It was soooo much fun and the views were gorgeous the entire time we were out on the water. There were a group of 10 of us on the boat. The first day we went to visit a cave out on the water called "surprising cave" which was really interesting....it went on forever! We hiked up to the top of a pogoda on another island, and then went kayaking later that day. Aurelia and I both decided that we shouldn't be kayaking partners (they were 2 person kayaks) since our Stockholm canoing zig-zagging disaster in the summer. :)

We had a great dinner on the boat and then we anchored and slept. The next morning we got up and did a 2 hour hike in Cat Ba National Park. This was no easy hike lemme tell ya, I'm happy i wore good shoes for it! I've never hiked in a jungle before, it was so fun to be surrounded (even above!) by such lush greenery everywhere. We then went for a swim and another kayaking adventure where we docked ourselves on a sandy beach and found some gorgeous shells and coral.

We had the evening to ourselves on Cat Ba Island where we would be sleeping in a hotel. It being Christmas Eve that night, our whole group decided to go out for dinner together. It was soooo yummy, even though we were missing out on Christmas Eve dinner at home (which I'm sure was delicious!) it didn't feel so bad since we were having a delicious dinner on an island on the South China Sea.

The next morning we sailed back to the mainland and had a nice Christmas dinner in Hanoi.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas at home! Missed all of you!

God help me, I ate cow throat by accident!

As if I would have eaten cow throat on purpose!

The one time I forget my "i'm a vegetarian" sign written out in Chinese it all goes horribly wrong.

I pointed to a dish that looked like a stir fry with bamboo shoots in it, but when I ate a peice (actually swallowed it too), I realized it didn't quite taste like any vegetable I knew of. I asked the waitress what it was (made animal noises till she agreed with one) and then what part, and she pointed to her neck!

Pure disgustingness!

Terracotta Warriors, crazy markets, and a bamboo boat trip

The rest of our time in China was fantastic! After a wonderful week in Beijing, we took the train south to Xi'an where we visited the site of the most significant archeological excavation of the 20th century - what am i talking about? The Terracotta Warriors of course! A 2200 year old underground terracotta army of 8000 soldiers and 6000 horses protecting the 1st Chinese Emporor's tomb. It is usually hard to imagine things being so old when you see them behind glass cases in a museum, but to actually see something so old in the place it was found, archeologists still working to uncover it was really incredible.

By far the craziest markets we have ever seen were in Xi'an and Guilin. In Xi'an, the market went on forever, stalls selling everything you could possibly want or need. In Guilin, the food market was partly disgusting, and partly gorgeous (i know, sounds impossible). All the farmers selling their fruits and vegetables, displaying them in a way you almost don't want to ruin it by taking some. The meat section is where it got ugly, brains lined up on tables (not sure what animal it was from), the entire head of a pig with the eye looking right at you, cats in cages, a baby deer (i think?) alive with only his head poking out of a canvas bag. Not for the faint hearted - they eat a lot of different things here, breaded starfish, seahorses, beetles, mice on sticks could be found in the night market in Beijing, Aurelia even tried chicken feet offered to her on the train. I wasn't so brave, but she said it tasted like chicken wings.

We had a gorgous-perfect few days in Yangshuo, bike riding around the country side, taking a bamboo boat down the Yulong river with the most gorgous mountains surounding us.

White girls in China!

Beijing!

We arrived Saturday morning at 4:30am somewhere on the side of the road. Hmmm? We were promised by the guy who sold us the bus ticket that we would arrive at 7am at the Beijing Bus Station....kinda brings lost in translation to a whole new level. Ah well, we are in Beijing! The last stop on our Trans-Mongolian adventure!

We are staying with my sister's friend Stephanie and her fiancee Steve at their AMAZING apartment. This place is too good for us, and they are spoiling us way too much.

For a city the size of Belgium with a population over 13 million people, it is a bit chaotic. But it is such a cool city! You could spend months here and still not feel like you've seen it all.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived is that everyone stares at us though. Walking down the street, on the subway, sitting in restaurants...people are craning their necks around to look at us white girls. We went to Tian'eman Square and 3 people came up to us and asked if they can get their picture taken with us. So bizarre!

We have done most of the tourist stuff already like the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, so i think the next few days we will try to dig a bit deeper and check out some underground art galleries an back street hutongs and such.

Off for more exploring!

The Great Wall of China!

Finally! I've been looking forward to this day for so long now! Not only seeing the Great Wall of China in person, but hiking 10km on it between Jinshanling and Simatai. It was nothing short of incredible. My legs are a bit sore from 3.5 hours of hiking up and down steep steps and inclines/declines, but it was definitely worth it. At the very end of it I even got to fly across the river on a cable-line...so fun!

A gingerbread house in the mail!!

Well, not a finished gingerbread house, but a whole gingerbread house kit with lots and lots of candy to decorate it with! That is what my parents sent me in the mail today! I'm staying with my sister's friend Stephanie and Steve who are living in Beijing, so when I arrived, the package was waiting for me here! How sweet!!!

We put it together last night, and...of course...had to induldge in some candy eating while we were at it.

Thanks so much Mom and Dad! Here is what it looked like after we were finished.

I CANT WAIT TO SMASH IT AND EAT IT!!! MMMMMMM!

Mongolia

Where to begin?! I loved it! We stayed the first night in the Capital - Ulan Baatar. The fantastic hostel we stayed at (Golden Gobi) also organized tours to the countryside, so we decided to do a 3 day tour with 2 others we met on the train from Russia; Emma from Australia and Singo from Japan. We headed out 380km to the old capital on the first day. With the roads being as they were (massive potholes all over the place...so many that dirt roads are often created on the sides of the actual roads!), the 380km took about 7 or 8 hours of insane driving. There are padded roofs in the van for a reason!

Tsogo our driver was hilarious! His English was limited, but my God could he make us laugh. Tsongunee was our guide and cook, and together, they showed us the best time ever over 3 days.

This was a trek that you definitely couldn't have done on your own. For one, there are no road signs anywhere...even though on the map, they are supposed to be "highways". Off roading was completely normal, driving over mountains where there was no path was also completely normal.

We wanted a traditional style Mongolian experience in the countryside, and that is just what we got. Sleeping in traditional style Gers (like tents), going to the washroom outside, no running water, heat only from a wood burning (or dried cow manure, which surprisingly, didn't smell when you used it as fuel!) stove, no showers...etc etc.

The first washroom stop on the trip, Singo went first, and when we asked him how it was (since it was outside and minus 15 out) all he could say was "big mountain". Hmmm? Strange? But when I went to check it out myself, it all became clear. an outhouse that is a huge pit with planks of wood on top and a big hole to stand over. Look down, and its a huge mountain below you of...well...you know what...and big like metres high big. All I could think of was "don't fall in, don't fall it". And trust me, the hole was big enough that it was a possibility. This kind of washroom was the norm from then on...but i cant say i really got used to it.

The second night we stayed with a traditional nomadic family who let us dress up in their traditional style clothes. The husband let us smoke his pipe, sniff some strange sort of tobacco, and try on his funky herding boots. They were too adorable!

The next day Tsogo and Tsongunee tried to gross us out by boiling up the insides of a horse and eating it - just looking at it in the big pot was a lesson in biology i would have rather missed. Singo tried some, but after a small bite, begged Tsogo to eat the rest for him. I couldn't look at the stuff, nevermind try it...eww! All they eat in Mongolia is meat, meat, and more meat! Tsongunee did a good job of trying to cook us up some vegetarian food though with such limited selection. All the meals he cooked us were MASSIVE, we were stuffed all the time...it was a bit ridiculous!

Here are some pics! I want to go back someday and check out the Gobi Dessert! There wasn't enough time to get there this time around, ill just have to go back again another time.

Siberia: Furry hats and all....

No, its not just a stereotype that Russians wear big furry hats...it definitely is a fact. Women and Men, in all sorts of styles, colours, and sizes. As silly as they look, im sure they are keeping a lot warmer than I am in -27 weather. I'm somewhat jealous...

In a few weeks though, I'll be wearing flip flops again somewhere in Vietnam...gotta hold that thought!

So here we are in Irkukst, it is FREEZING! But it seems like no one seems to take any notice, everyone is walking around, doing some shopping, going to outdoor markets, chatting on the street. Everyone looks like a furry animal though, from head to toe. Some of the houses here are really unique, wooden with carved wooden trim around the shutters, painted in greens and sky blue.

Our train to Mongolia is tonight, can't wait! I have only heard fantastic things about Mongolia from everyone I have met that has gone...no one says they liked it...they say they fell in love with it. 3 nights there wont be nearly enough time to see everything, but I think we will be able to do some hiking in the mountains at least, save the Gobi desert for another time. :)