Empty Nest.

Impromptu street party with the locals, Saigon, Vietnam.

First bowl of pho and spring rolls, Saigon, Vietnam.

Bare chests of me and Branko in front of the setting sun, Halong Bay, Vietnam.

Beers. Scenery. Kickassedness.

Sitting on plastic stools outside Bia Hoi, a place with 20 cent beers, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Obligatory tourist shot, Hanoi, Vietnam. A true natural.

Rambutan on the beach, Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Slightly rock star photo with Leonie at a restaurant run by former street kids, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Drunken karaoke on Cat Ba Island with the Halong Bay folks.

Another Halong Bay sunset.

That's me up there, top of a climb near Halong Bay, Vietnam.

Halong Bay crew, in totum.

12 days and umpteen insane occurrences since my last post. Can't do it justice. Here's a recap:

1. Tazer Time: yeah so Ron and I hoped his mad dash to the ER would be the last of our troubles, but we were wrong, wrong, wrong. Our first night in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City) we checked into the Giant Dragon Hotel, discovered some bugs, asked the staff to spray, and left for dinner. After some delicious spring rolls and pho we came back, but the bugs still danced on our bedspreads. We went downstairs, told them we were leaving, and asked for our passports back. They refused, saying we owed them $ (for?). Argument and frustration ensued. Fed up, Ron raised his voice and put his finger down on the counter, at which point the hotel manager pulled out a tazer (to welcome us to Vietnam?) and shut the metal gates, locking us into the hotel. We called the police. When they didn't arrive, I ventured out to the police station, which, at 1:30 a.m., consisted of 4 or 5 guys in plastic chairs sleeping in front of a TV playing Vietnamese Karaoke. An interpreter brought me to a back room where a man in his underwear was washing a table. After I explained what happened, he told me to sleep at the hotel and he'd deal with it in the morning. When I insisted he said he wasn't on duty, I'd have to wait for someone else to arrive. A few minutes later, a sleepy man shuffled down to the hotel, heard our stories and told us to pay $10. We refused. He said, "Pay $5." We agreed.

2. Nuthin' But a Ho Chi Mama: in spite of the tazer incident and frequent and aggressive advances by ladyboy prostitutes on motorbikes, we loved loved loved Saigon. The food was fantastic: spring roll smorgasborg, banh mi (vietnamese sandwiches) fresh from a bakery, bun (vermicelli salad), bun bo hue, and of course pho (beef noodle soup). The people were super friendly, even more so than Thailand, the self-proclaimed "Land of Smiles." We bought some clothes from a cool boutique with brands from local designers, and the proprieters invited us for tea and cakes in celebration of the end of summer. We visited the War Remnants Museum, learned about the horrors of the Vietnam War, which I found myself surprisingly ignorant of in spite of my exposure to critical perspectives back home. One statistic: 3 million Vietnamese killed, 2 million of which were civilians. We crawled hands and knees in the dark with bats through the Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive underground maze built for tiny people during the Vietnam War, and only shit my pants twice. Then we shot machine guns, which was weird.

3. Nha Nha Nha: 2 days in Nha Trang, a beach party spot. After seeing the glories of Southern Thailand, I wasn't too impressed, but the beach was relaxing enough, and a daylong booze cruise around the area complete with live band karaoke put sloppy smiles on our faces. Ron and I actually asked the Vietnamese guys playing the guitar and drums if we could take over for a song, so we did, busting out a ramshackle version of Pavement's "Cut Your Hair."

4. Best 3 days of my life: Seriously. Shortly after arriving in Hanoi we booked a 3-day excursion to Halong Bay, easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Countless limestone cliff islands are scattered throughout the glass-water bay, making for picture-perfect scenery in an incredibly calm setting. The first 1.5 days we stayed on a boat with about 14 people drinking beer from afternoon through the night, jumping off the top of the 3-story boat into the water, kayaking, eating, listening to music, and laughing a lot. The 2nd day we went rock climbing up limestone cliffs right on the beach. We'd never done outdoor climbing before and found it challenging and exhilarating, with stunning views at the top. That night we drank excessively at a Karaoke bar on Cat Ba Island, which led to some violent wrestling back at the hotel (read: bottom of dogpile = sore ribs). All in all just a magnificent time, but my description doesn't do it justice because the sum was so much greater than all the parts. It was probably the people. We had a truly unique group of people on our excursion -- everyone was from different places but we got along so well, like old friends after only a few hours (and some Slovakian moonshine, thanks to one awesome Slovakian guy named Branko who brought a 2-liter bottle courtesy of his grandfather). Some of the people I will remain lifelong friends with. We also got extremely lucky with the weather, a gift because it's the rainy season. Whatever it was, I've never been so happy in my entire life. I realized this on the bus ride back from Halong Bay, and tears streamed down my face for several minutes.

5. Hanoi Oy Oy: then Ron left to go home, and I miss him dearly. The folks on the Halong Bay trip took quite a liking to Ron Til Dawn and fancied he'd be something of a celebrity in England. I spent the last two days bouncing around Hanoi with a lovely German girl named Leonie from the Halong Bay trip. Much like Saigon, Hanoi is bursting with culinary delight. 2 weeks in Vietnam has made me a believer: Vietnamese food is the best cuisine on Earth, IMHO.

6. Back to the Present: Today I flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand where I'll do some trekking and make my way over to Laos. I've been through so much in the past few days I can't see straight, but hopefully I'll be ready for my next adventure in the morning. Traveling is becoming so much more than the places I see and the people I meet. This state of mind is intoxicating. I'm not coming home.