On the Road with Brent & Erika

Sorry for the late post. It's been a little crazy coming home and getting back into the groove. Erika's been back at work and I have an ever-increasing to-do list to accomplish. This post will be a little text-centric because we're now at our humble little computer at home with a dial-up connection.

Our final leg took us from Bangkok to Dallas without any hitches. The shuttle taking us to the airport for our first flight in Bangkok was scheduled to leave at 7am, and our alarm's dependability had proven to be rather sketchy, so we decided the best solution to not oversleep (and completely throw off our sleeping patterns to somehow hopefully launch us into Texas time) was to not sleep at all. We weren't entirely successful and basically took turns napping in the room, but we did make it to our shuttle and the airport on time. After that it was a series of waiting, boarding, flying, gate-finding, waiting, boarding, flying, etc. until finally our third plane touched down at DFW airport. What a relief (and what a welcome by my family--thanks for the sign guys)! Erika couldn't contain her smile as she knew we had arrived home.

Now that we're back from such a long and memorable trip, the obvious question people are going to ask is, "What did you guys like best?" Well, on our last night with Ricky in Siem Reap we (over a delicious fish-in-coconut-milk Cambodian dish called 'amok'--my personal favorite dish of the entire trip) ranked our favorite places, funnest memories, worst moments and so on. Here's pretty much what we came up with:

Top 6 Favorite Parts of the Trip (we'll go in chronological order):

1) the islands and beaches of Thailand - This almost felt like a separate trip than the rest. It was a special time for Erika and I because it was just the two of us experiencing some of the most breathtakingly beautiful scenery we've ever seen. It was tropical and exotic and pristine and it felt like it was all ours. This first week together was like a second honeymoon and was the perfect way to start off the trip.

2) the ziplines of the Gibbon Experience - Clipping on those wires and gliding over the tops of the remote rainforest in Laos was truly a spiritual experience. I would put it up there with skydiving as a completely unique and exhilarating way to see nature.

3) hiking The Tiger-Leaping Gorge - These couple days of walking the upper trail at the foothills of the Himalayas provided so many incredible views in every direction that it was impossible to capture on film. The sounds of the rushing Yangtze River below, the rainbow that greeted us at the Tea Horse Inn, the rural farming villages perched on the mountainside, the crisp cool air. It all added up to some of the best times in the trip.

4) hiking The Great Wall of China - For a day we had it to ourselves (us and the dozen or so that took the tour with us). I imagined that The Great Wall would be like most popular destinations in China - full of annoying matching-hat-wearing tour groups. And I'm sure there are parts of The Wall that are, but when we hiked our section it was just us. Us and the mist and the ancient and iconic rubble. It was magical.

5) motorcycling through tribal villages in Sapa - This little remote corner of Vietnam gave us a respite from the heat and provided us some of the best times. Hiking through 5 villages and incredible hills and valleys, meeting and interacting with countless interesting ethnic minorities, going into their homes, becoming a regular at a food stall, accumulating numerous unwanted handicraft souvenirs. It was a blast!

6) visiting the temples of Angkor Wat - 16 temples in 2 days. Yes, there was some temple fatigue, but each one had something unique that set it apart. There were the classic vistas and vastness of Angkor Wat, the 200+ faces of Bayon, the elaborate and well-preserved carvings of Banteay Srei and the river flowing over jungle-encompassed Kbal Spean. Then there was vine-swinging and pot-hole mud driving and cheap, good eats. A perfect way to end our 2 month adventure.

But it wasn't all roses.

Top 5 (or Bottom 5?) Worst Parts of the Trip:

1) hiking the Gibbon Experience - I know, the Gibbon Experience was in the 'best of' list. Well, that was the ziplines. The hike that took us to the ziplines was a different story. I have never sweat as much as on that hike. It was a combination of heat, humidity, strenuousness, heavy pack and no one telling us when it was going to be over. It seemed to never end, and the sweat was dripping off my nose and fingertips, into my eyes and down my arms and legs. There was nothing to wipe it off with because my shirt was soaked. At least we were rewarded with a zipline and a cool waterfall to swim in at the end.

2) speedboat in Laos - I wasn't expecting this to be fun, but I thought there might be an enjoyment level. To be fair, there were times when I enjoyed it. But those times ran out in the first 20 minutes. There were 6 hours and 40 minutes left after that to endure sun and heat (remember this is what caused Erika's knee boils), negative space for feet and legs and a constant beating on the back and butt. Maybe the boredom and wasted time of the two-day slow boat wouldn't have been so bad.

3) hard seat sleeper train in China - This one was totally self-inflicted. We knew it would suck when we bought the tickets, but we just didn't know how bad. After pushing and shoving to get on, swimming past bodies in the overcrowded car, and finding and kicking people out of our seats, we had to sit upright in the hot and stop-start train all night. Very little sleep and much discomfort. I guess you get what you ask for.

4) multi-bus aisle-sleeping rip-off ride from China to Vietnam border - There were warning signs that this bus might not be what we asked for. The guy was a little vague and confusing, told us conflicting stories and had shifty eyes (he didn't really have shifty eyes, but it sounds better). But how could we have expected the bus-driver to tell us to just go to sleep for 4 hours in the parked and hot bus until the next one left. This wasn't a direct sleeper!

5) (three-way tie--each of us had our own personal worst moment)
Mine-probably my "vomit-factory" morning/afternoon in Thailand. Mercifully, it was only a few hours, but they were really bad hours. Tingly fingers, light-headedness, obvious nausea and we were in the middle of dusty nowhere towns transferring buses. Luckily, we found a nice, cold tile floor in a shop to medicate myself with Sprite and crackers.
Erika's-hers is sort of a repeat with a twist. It's the Gibbon Experience hike, which was previously mentioned and bad enough, but she was doing this with multiple sunburn blisters. She looked geriatric at times gingerly lifting herself over some treeroot or down some ledge. She's a total trooper though and we got to the end in one piece.
Ricky's-kayaking Halong Bay. This probably could have been on Erika's personal list too (who could forget Erika's mad photo after the unexpected capsizing of our kayak), but Ricky had to paddle his kayak alone over the Perfect-Storm-like open ocean waves. He said that his kayak kept veering off, forcing him to compensate by paddling with one arm forever. I'm not sure if his back and neck have recovered.

Now for some trip stats:

Countries Visited: 5

Miles Traveled: around 27,000

Hours in Route: 240

Number of Overnight Trains or Buses: 9

Pictures Taken: 4424

Modes of Transportation: walking/hiking, taxi, bus, train, airplane, tuk-tuk, bicycle, motorcycle, speedboat, longtail boat, back of truck, minibus and elephant

Okay, so for those who haven't had enough, I'm going to post some "deleted scenes" in a few days. There are some pictures and stories that we never shared for various reasons, so keep checking back. I'll let you know when it's the final post.

Until then...

-Brent