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 :)>