Thursday, November 17, 2011

Ninh Binh and A Glorious Day

It all started on a calm river through the protruding lime rocks on each side. Picturesque


We were taken aback with nothing to say, so we didn't say a thing. We just witnessed.


Oh, and paddled a bit, too.


Under the rocks and through the caves we went,


When we docked with the boat, we got back on our bikes to continue the adventure through never-land.


We took a turn onto a narrow path and somehow ended up in another cemetery, and again, managed to joke about Vietnamese ghosts. We're screwed, haha.


We continued and came to a magical place. Not just your typical Buddhist monastery, but one with harmony and music and bells and whistles.
Z gets a one on one lesson with the Buddha Master Man


And the Buddha Master Man sends vibrations of life and zen out into the world.


Allowing Z the know how to do for himself and the rest of his world.


When we leave, we see the effects of the Buddha Master Man's tunes. Beauty in the world for the people of the world. Green!


And lush living and liberated love.


Something happened here that will be always inexplicable.


Looking up at all these pictures reminds of all the things unknown in the world, all the wonder in the world undiscovered, leaving me and Z in awe.


And then, we look into a small cave to find two seemingly dead goats. I scrunch into the cave, poke the seemingly dead and white corpses, only to be spooked by there grumble and life.

They're Alive!!!!!!!!!!!!1

My Name is Mud

This is what happens when your mud guard on your bike is non-existent and you drive in rainy and muddy weather. After about an hour, I couldn't see. I'm surprised I made it that far.


On our stop to fix the bike, we partook in a little tobacco smoking out of the common North Vietnamese Tobacco Bong. One hit and you're done!


One day, we saw a neat drive through Asian up-rise, so we ventured in through it.


And, of course, we found a Vietnamese cemetery where we summoned old Vietnamese ghosts and had some jokes about them, too. They probably haunt us now because of this. Oh, shit.
On one of our stops, we order some Vietnamese Coffee, and the boss was there to collect.


And we can't forget about our famous German friend, Bjorn. What a character. He wasn't lying either.


Dinner

And another tree climb.


One of my favorite pictures when a small and lovely Vietnamese woman sat down on a bench just under the tree we had just climbed.

Love Life!

Big Buddha in Da Nang

Big Buddha!
"Though he should live a hundred years without seeing the deathless state, yet better indeed is the single day's life of one who sees the deathless state"

The Buddha is the mountain or the mountain is the Buddha.


Wait, what are you doing to the Buddha?



Our favorite Hamburger shop. Vietnamese fast food:


Yo Z, whatcha lookin' at?


Woah.....


Nature porn


And cruisin' again. This time we stop to view the colorful tombstones on the left.

Oh, Vietnam

It was rainy and cold on some drives, really cold.

A Walk in the Park

A walk in the park



Z and I turned onto a dirt road and kept on riding until we found a place to stay. We thought we could just ride into a village, stop at the local Buddhist Monastery, and the locals would simply present a place for us to lay our heads. Haha, what a silly thought.


A nice setting for a sketchy scene.


Walking by the temple as our "host" gave us the ultimate tour of the village. As we strolled along, we witnessed a wedding on the right and up further a funeral on the left. All that was missing was the birth of a newborn, and the Buddhist cycle would be complete. When we returned to the hosts' house, the wife was not happy. The wife, husbands and other randoms we hadn't met before were yelling at each other profusely. Our initial excitement led to confusing and ultimately being kicked out of their village. At once the sunset was a glorious sight, but now, the sun setting was an awaking for us, now realizing we have no place to sleep and darkness was imminent. We left, and somehow made it to a nearby town, found a seedy place with mosquito's as roomies.


Z welcoming our new roomates, the mosquito's.



Some nice women walking along the beach.

We got crabs.

Z strummin' away.

And somehow finding solace in the chaos of life.

Friday, June 17, 2011

I'm On A Boat!

Flag flies high.


While Z was chatting away with a local,


I was being summoned over for an evening Vietnamese soup dish, made with real chicken feet.


After Z and I scarfed down some meatless feet, rain began to come down, and we were invited onto their boat. Z and I looked at each other with wide eyes and quickly accepted and were out of the rain and on a boat. A fishing boat with some real characters.


Cigarettes were had with the crew and the captain.


And the man of the boat...the captain.


The rain ceased and we walked back. Getting lost of course.

Circle of Life!

Climbing to the top of the world!

Then we chill, more relaxing, more views.

When nature calls...