Best noodles EVER!

Ok, so I just had the tastiest noodles of my life and they cost me less than $2. I can't take all the credit for finding them since the restaurant was actually a Lonely Planet recommendation, but I don't care because they were amazing. I'm in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, and I'm getting a bus in 20 mins to continue my path north but these noodles were so good that I decided to take 10 mins of internet time just because I'm so excited and want to tell people how great they were.
So the noodles themselves were a rice noodle, but thicker than vermicelli. They were served with thin pieces of cucumber, carrots, lettuce, fresh mint, bean sprouts, some small pieces of pork and of some nut but I'm not even sure what kind, and I ordered mine with a fried spring roll which came cut up and served on top (also delicious). But the magic was really in the sauce. It was nutty, spicy, citrusy and just complimented everything perfectly. The whole dish was light and fresh (served cold, more like a salad) and yet super filling. I'm tempted to say that it actually gives Baton Rouge ribs a good run for my favourite meal ever...it's that good.
Ok, I have to catch a bus....

I've been a lazy blogger....the rest of Vietnam

Ok, so I needed a break from blogging. It's surprising how much it feels like work sometimes to sit at a computer, and the last thing I want to be doing is work. Anyway, I've been very busy over the past 10 days so this is going to be a summary blog so that I can catch up and not be continuously writing about what happened over a week ago.

Hanoi/Sapa
-flew to Hanoi and met Rainier on the plane (Vietnamese background but from Paris)
-hung out in Hanoi for a day, saw Temple of Literature (about Confucianism), and Ho Chi Minh Museum and had dinner at his friends house, with lots of good snacks (jack fruit chips are way better than banana chips)
-took overnight train together to Sapa (mountain town in Northern Vietnam) and did 2 day trekking tour
-amazing scenery!! walked with Hmong villagers and saw endless hills that have been covered with rice paddies and look like a really cool 3D puzzle because of how they patch together
-whole town and way of life now seems geared towards tourists...wonder what they did 10 years ago
-took overnight train back to Hanoi, lost Rainier, and Norm!! but then they both turned up together...close call.
-arranged to do a tour of Halong Bay right away that day so I was off again


Halong Bay
-met Cecy (pronounced like Stacy without the "t") from New Zealand and hung out with her for the 2 day tour. It was kind of nice to travel with a girl for a change.
-boat trip around the bay, gorgeous views with limestone rocks jutting out from the water everywhere
-toured 2 caves
-ate lots of food, even a gross-looking but tasty fried fish
-up early to kayak around the bay, and another tour on the boat back to shore
-bus back to Hanoi and hoped on yet another overnight train to Hoi An


Hoi An

-spent train ride with a Vietnamese family of 10 in what would normally be a cabin for 4 people. There were 2 couples, a grandma, 3 little girls and a baby. I slept surprisingly well under the circumstances and the next day walked the train, only to realize that EVERY cabin was as equally cramped as ours

-there were even people sleeping in the spaces between the cars on mats or chairs they brought themselves and a woman laying in the hall with her head in a box to try to get some sleep

-Hoi An itself is a very touristy town, with tailors everywhere

-so I decided I had to take a crack at designing and came out with a silk tank top and a pretty cool jacket. Although now I'm carrying a jacket around with me but it was totally worth it.

-if I had more time and money I would have left Hoi An with an entirely new wardrobe

-after a couple of days I began my journey to Laos which is a whole other story...