As I write to you from the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, I'm realizing that I really haven't gotten any better at writing more frequently and instead I've gotten really good at putting off updating my journal. For this I blame procrastination, good books, busy schedules, and poor and inconsistent Internet connections.

Here we are traveling through the fifth of the six Asian countries on our itinerary and I haven't written since the first!

I'll start off by saying that as much as I loved many of our experiences in India, it was a huge relief when we departed for northern horizons. Looking back, I don't think we even realized at the time just how challenging it was traveling through India until we arrived in Kathmandu on February 9th. Oh Kathmandu, oh Nepal. How great it felt to be in a new place - a very cold place, but the novelty of being there warmed us almost as well as the yak wool blankets we picked up at the closest market upon arrival. For all the similarities between India and Nepal (i.e stark poverty, identical shops with thin tin roofs lining the sidewalks, city traffic, etc.), the subtle differences in the attitudes and mentalities of the Nepali people are striking and were very much appreciated at the time. The genuineness and friendliness we came across from everyone we met was humbling and warming and the sincere internal motivation to achieve a better life - no matter for oneself, their family or community - radiated from each village we visited. Nepal is beautiful, as are its people.

We spent a few days in Kathmandu, Nepal's busy and smoggy capital, but the real treat during our week there was our three-day stay in Pohkara - a small town in the nest of a valley in the Himalayas, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and adorned with gorgeous sunsets, bright blue rowboats floating on the lake, and the chiming of the roosters' song at dawn. In the quietness, we appreciated the lack of traffic and noise (save for the roosters) and enjoyed a hike to the World Peace Pagoda and the return journey to town by rowboat. Two days later, once back in the capital, we took a bus to a hidden refuge high in the hills near the Tibet border to do something I never wish to experience again: bungee jumping. It was my traveling partner's daring idea to jump 160 metres off a bridge into a rapid-littered gorge - the third highest bungee jump site in the world - and I apparently had the last-minute nerve to join him. I have a photo and a t-shirt to prove it. It was terrifying and I never want to feel that afraid again. All in all, we had too little time in Nepal; we didn't get the chance to do a lengthy trek or stay long enough any place, and so I look forward to when I can go back again.

We flew from Kathmandu to Bangkok on Valentine's Day and spent the next two days wandering through chaotic markets, visiting Buddhist temples, and discussing the secrets of an undercover cop who approached us to warn us of a (thankfully) failed terrorist attack that happened the day before. Bangkok was really warm and luckily we had only a 20 hour bus/jeep/ferry journey to get us to Koh Lanta island in the south where we basked in the sun on the resort's private beach and needed only to swim in the Andaman Sea to cool off. We spent a week on Koh Lanta, swimming, snorkeling, exploring caves, and scootering around the island. Incredible. Two days of more ferry/bus/train travel later, we arrived in Chiang Mai and enjoyed the chilled atmosphere of the northern Thai city, the sights of the endless Sunday market, and great food. Our last day in Chiang Mai was a bit unorthodox, I must say; I watched Pat shoot rifles and handguns at paper targets of human silhouettes at a shooting range, and then met and played with five- and nine-month-old tigers at something like a generous 'zoo' for big cats - certainly a highlight of the trip!

After a day's ride to Chiang Khong (northeast Thailand) we hunkered down for a two-day long 'Slow Boat' ride on the Mekong River to Luang Prabang in Laos, with a night's stay in Prakbeng (Laos) in the middle. A little less expensive and with a general guarantee to arrive alive, we opted for the slower boat over the lethal reputation of the dangerous speedboat and left our crash helmets on the shore.

Laos was great. Starting in Luang Prabang, we joined a large and geographically diverse group of travelers and the lot of us took in two afternoon trips to nearby famous waterfalls and centuries' old Buddhist caves, and at night enjoyed local rice whiskey and the colorful night market. From there we hired a minibus to take us to Vang Vieng on what we would soon learn is likely the most nausea-inducing mountain roads I've ever had the displeasure of traveling for so many hours; but, we all ten of us made it without injury and found a quiet, cheap guesthouse for the band of us.

Although Vang Vieng is a must-do when visiting Laos, it is essentially a trap designed for giving young backpackers an excuse to get really drunk and/or high and go (as the locals say) "in the tubing" - spending an afternoon floating along a river in tubes to different bars lining the riverbank. And while Pat was sick in bed during most of our stay there, recovering from being poisoned by contaminated ice, I'll admit I partook in a slightly more sober version (aka no drugs or buckets of whiskey for me!) of the festivities for an afternoon with our British, German, Finnish, and Dutch friends, just to say I had done it.

On March 8, eight of us left Vang Vieng together in a large tuk tuk stacked with red and yellow kayaks and after three hours on dirt roads, covered in dirt and dust (but looking quite tanned), Pat and I hopped in our kayak and along with our entourage we paddled 12km downstream to Vientienne with a barbeque Laos lunch on the rocks in the middle. Kayaking was a great way to see the natural countryside of central Laos and seemed like a cooler alternative to five hours in a stuffy bus on bumpy roads (until we learned there was another dusty two hour tuk tuk ride on the other end of the river journey). At any rate, we arrived in Vietienne and after a farewell dinner, said goodbye to our new friends and flew to Hanoi on March 9.

Here we are!! Hanoi.

Our first two days in Hanoi were spent walking through the crowded streets trying to dodge motorbikes running red lights, visiting the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and museum, and I even convinced Pat to attend a traditional Water Puppetry show with me the other day (this artform was created a thousand years ago by farmers working on flooded rice fields). This city has a cool, confident vibe to it, and I like it despite the removal of certain freedoms and luxuries most of us enjoy on our side of the world. For instance, police drive around shouting through their megaphones at 11:30 every night to announce the beginning of the curfew and we can't access Facebook since it is banned here (so it'll be about 10 days before I can get on my account!).

Two days ago we left Hanoi on an overnight tour to Halong Bay, sailing between likely only hundreds of the nearly 2000 islands that make up this UNESCO World Heritage Site, crawling through caves, photographing the brightly painted houses and boats of these Vietnamese floating villages, kayaking with broken paddles around small islands, and sleeping on the junk - our colonial-era looking sleeper boat.

Last night we returned to Hanoi and today we are awaiting our train to Hue, 12 hours south of here on the eastern coast.

We plan to spend another two weeks or so in Vietnam before taking a week to visit Cambodia and giving ourselves another few days on Thailand's eastern beaches before flying to London on April 5. I'm not entirely sure when I will be home, since I have a few more stops to make in Europe, but we're thinking early May is likely our return date.

It's hard to believe my travels are winding down!! I can't believe I have been gone since August and that it is mid-March already.....time is flying!

Also, I am looking for employment for the summer; if anyone has any ideas or knows of any openings, please let me know!!

Take care,
Sarah