Sea to Sky...riding the winds of Northern Vietnam

High, ...so high on life here folks. Thinking about you guys and just wanted to give you a quick update/message to say hello and I'm thinking about you all. Life's been pretty wonderful lately as I continue riding the waves of my inner most emotions...a thing that seems much easier to tap into when your spending alot of time by yourself. I guess some people enjoy being alone, others in the company of people, and most I guess a combination of the two...however, I really enjoy the opportunity to contemplate my inner thoughts, create mindfulness in each moment and while I'm learning that these things can be done in the company of those you love and surround yourself with, the opportunities for self retreat or "sabbatical" allows a quick access to the path of the fire...to the journey towards this moment. Calming the mind, balancing the spirit and coming back to the reality that you create for yourself to share your life's passions with others. Wow...where did I go on that :) Just sharing some deep thoughts with you all. In summary of that neural pathway, I find through the times that I spend alone, I see how much I need and appreciate those who share their lives with me...whether it be for a moment or life-times, so thanks! 

Well, I spent some nice moments staying in Cat Ba National Park, which was a beautiful jungle filled with butterflies, echoing birds whistling their majestic messages, squirrels the size of cats and plants/trees of every size and shape. I hung with a family for a week and enjoyed sharing a ceremonial dinner each night where I tried intensely to speak any Vietnamese possible...but a phrasebook that is only ment for basic communication leads you to keep asking the same questions over and over...or trying to piece together anything I could try and make out. So needless to say, it's been a lot of smiles, silence and strange animal sounds just to try and make people laugh :) I left Cat Ba by slow boat which was just as spectacular on the way out, passing awesome rock formations and islands dotting the water, creating surreal landscapes against the forefront of the ocean and the backdrop of the sky. I passed through some good sized sea towns where I continued in my journey to try and engorge myself on seafood...yet it seemed that even near the sea, seafood is pricey, so alot of times I just ended up eating Pho...which is quite tasty...but if it has any other meat than chicken (which you can easily recognize...you start to wonder, what is that meat floating in my soup?)

After I left the coast I started towards the foothills of the Bac Son mountains which were nice, I figured ...hey I've done the Himalayas baby...no sweat. Well there was sweat and alot of it, I had to get my mountain legs back on my body which suprisingly doesn't take long when you're inching up 10% mountain grade roads. But as youall know, with that beautiful/awful/exhausting/exhilirating push to the top comes that fantastical view, that awe inspiring moment of YES!!!, and the antcipation of the breeze blowing through your body as you give yourself over to gravity and plummet towards the valley...thankfully still atop beautiful "Nightshade". I've seen some cool places, shared a lot of smiles with happy faces and fallen far behind with kids and their bicycle races..but it's all been here, now, loving, crying, smiling and ALIVE. I just made it to a small town near Ba Be National Park today and will make it to the lakes tomorrow (Ba meaning 3 and I think Be means lake). I'll chill here for a week or so and then cycle another 250 km up towards another set of mountains (on the border of China...which I touched once) and meet some hill tribe peeps! Then I'll cycle further South West..making somewhat of a crooked horseshoe and by Christmas, take the train back to Hanoi. I'm getting an awesome Christmas gift, thanks to my family (Kaleb is coming to join me at the end of December...I'll fly to Thailand and pick him up) and will cycle together until the 3rd week of April when this journey will make way for the return trip home. Well once again beautiful friends and family out there in somewhere land, please know that I think of you guys often...actually I sometimes find myself talking to you out loud, until I notice someone looking at me and then I make one of my bird sounds...CooKoo and smile. I love you guys, am holding you in my heart...and hope with all my spirit that you are taking the time to love yourself and those around you. Filling each moment and each breath with an energy that connects us all together. Peace to you, your friend...Will

Sunset in Halong Bay

Full moon rising 

Bad Ass Crib

Beautiful Butterfly :)

Looking out from Quan Lan Island

Cool Crab Balls

Vibrant Vietnam

Xin Chao (Hello) Path of the Fire followers...it's your crazy cycling friend pausing to send y'all a message from across the globe. It's been an exciting and eventful 2 weeks since I lást wrote and since Donavon lèft and I wanted to give you all an update, to let you know what's bêen happening, to say Xin Chao as well as to add something new and exciting to the Path òf the Fire blog...some HD video :) I might go a little crazy with this new toy at first but I will definitely try to maintain a reasonable number òf videos that I send, but figured this might be a cool way for you to get to "really" experience SE Asia 2nd hand. Well, to start off Donavon and I parted in New Delhi India after flying back from Kathmandu.Thís was a sad and anxious time for me after traveling so long with my beautiful son but I also know that starting new experiences requires that necessary but sometimes difficult 1st step . Well from thís point I headed to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia...which was supposed to be for a 13 hour layover..however when I arrived I "remembered" that unlike móst SE Asian countries, you need a vísa for Vietnam which I đin't have and so the airport suggested I stay to get my vía before possibly arriving and getting turned back. So I đid and it turned out to be great...I ended up staying for 6 days, mostly in the city...which ís a 24 hour a day place...food (great food), entertainment (lights and the big city) and a lót òf cool people (other travelers I met) also journeying the world in search for theỉr own personal quest. I chilled out, shopped a little and ate enough to make myself a happy little buddha, but did take a 1 day trip into the jungle on a waterfall trip where we hiked to some beautiful cascades and swam in some very refreshing waters, after thís we headed to a hot spring...which was kind òf weird since the temperature was in the 80's and thểre was no shade...so after just a few minutes I felt dizzy and people were asking me something but I think I lost touch with reality at that point...I felt like a lightweight, but I guess the hot springs in Washington are in the mountains and the temperature ís much cooler...I was O.K. by the morning but wiped out for the rést òf that day. After a couple mỏre dáys relaxing I left K.L for Hanoi, arrived at the airport in the evening, took about an hour to put my bike together and then road about 15 miles to the capital ò Vietnam...Hanoi. Although I was riding in the dark and on the side òf the freeway, it felt like a cakewalk compared to Donavon and I's first days cycling through India. I spent about four dáys exploring Hanoi, staying in an area called the Old Quarter which is basically the tourist area...close to a cool lake (Hoan Kiem)...which was historically known to have giant tortoises living thểre, but now just a shrine in remembrance (I think they were all eaten..ás the people hể love their seafood)? I also săw a traditional performance called Water Puppet Theater which was pretty cool, thís consisted òf some musicians in the background playing some cool traditional music and a large stage which was a pond òf water in the front part and then a bamboo screen from out came very intricately designed puppets òf people, buffaloes and dragons controlled by the actors behind the stage. The puppets were controlled very realistically and each scene had a cool story associated with it. After Hanoi I took 2 dáy cycling to the coast which was about 135kms along the highway, which kind òf sucked...except that it felt good to be back on the bike again and there was a bike lane, practically the size òf the cảr road on which to ride...seems that they really thought out the road design well since thís country hás a long history òf cycling...not just a tiny lane next to speeding cárs ás in some párts òf the world. Anyway, I made it to the coast and caught a boat to Cat Ba island, where I currently reside...beautiful beachés, cool breeze, nice weather (although it's Fall here ás well), and great food (anything that you could possibly imagine coming out of the sea can be put on a plate to eat here...eel, turtle, seahorse :( ....shrimp and crab :). Well people, they are blasting some hard cỏre techno hểre at the cybercafe and I feel my not so gentle emotions arising (after a couple òf hours trying to figure out thís video thingy!!!!). So, I'll end my message here saying again that I'm thinking òf you guys, carrying your spirits hểre with me in my heart and imagining you...wherever you are at thís moment, living life to the fullest...lovin yourself and thóse around you. Viva the revolution in Amerika and around the world ...the revolution towards an evolution in spiritual consciousness, love and community. Smiling to you, your friend...Will :)>