Gigantic Trip Recap. Buckle Up.

It's unfortunate, how quickly you readjust to your routine after returning from being away. I got back to Portland after spending over three weeks in Southeast Asia and already it seems like it all happened to someone else, a long time ago. Just ten days ago, I was on top of a mountain in Borneo! And today I fiddled around on a computer, assembling a marketing plan for the next fiscal year. Such is life, I suppose.

In addition to looking at my photos three times a day, I hope that blogging about my adventure might just help me cling to its fleeting magic. So, indulge me, while I share some highlights. (But I should note, there were many highlights.)

We started in Vietnam, where we lucky enough to have amazing hosts and guides in our friends Mike and Karinna, who in addition to looking ridiculously cute in their pointy hats, have been living in Saigon for almost two years. We arrived during the middle of the Tet celebration, which meant that many businesses were closed. Being there during their most revered holiday had its perks, like a slightly slower city pulse and some elaborate one-time-a-year flower displays.

After a few days exploring Saigon, we left on a 2 day trip to Ben Tre, a city to the south nestled in the Mekong River Delta. We hopped on a slow boat with Hai, our guide, and stopped often - to visit a traditional brick factory, eat tropical fruit, ride bikes through the complex network of sidewalk-sized "roads" through the delta, eat an amazing 5 course lunch (more on that in a later post, dedicated solely to food), a stop at a coconut candy factory and the Vinh Trang pagoda.

From Vietnam we'd planned to fly to Bangkok, but when all four of us got to the airport we were rejected because Beardy only had a couple months left on his passport, and in order to not be held liable for him incase Thailand wouldn't take him, the airline wouldn't let him go. He also woke up that day with a really nasty case of food poisoning. To make a long story less long, he got the Visa, but had to wait over the weekend. I went to Bangkok, where between massages I wandered Khao San Road eating just about anything a vendor tried to get me to buy. And without question it was the best food I had on the whole trip. (Food post! Coming soon.)

Thailand has perfected the art of making its guests feel OK about partaking in a bit of gluttony. Amazing beaches are provided for your slothing pleasure, the food delicious, the people predominantly charming, and should you decide you'd like to drag your sorry ass off your beach towel, there are tons of activities that fit the bill. I could definitely spent more time in Thailand. After they sort our that whole political unrest thing.

Then! Beard flew home, and to Borneo I went. I met up with a fabulous lady crew and we spent two days climbing to the top of Mt. Kinabalu, the highest point in all of southeast Asia with a summit at 13,000 feet, which I reached in time to watch the sunrise. Although afterward I would have qualified for a walker and could have developed an unwieldy addiction to prescription strength painkillers, which coincidentally are sold at any old 7-11 over there... I am so glad I climbed that mountain... in Borneo. For the win.

I'm tired. Are you still reading this? If so, that's very kind. Or maybe you're lonely? Or are you trying to fall asleep yourself? It's OK. I'm pretty much done. After the mountain, I found a beach, curled up in the fetal position there - wait, actually, I couldn't bend my legs, so it was probably more like corpse pose. Yes, I assumed corpse pose, with a book, on Mamutik island. After some beach camping I treated myself to a fancy hotel, and went to the most amazing night market. Then I began my long journey back to Portland.

Thanks for playing. You're an incredibly good sport. It's good to be home.