We're almost there...

Good-bye Taiwan and Hello Vietnam

We have arrived in Ho Chi Minh. It is hot... very hot and humid. Today it hit 39 with the humidity... Yes we are sweaty.

Kate enjoying a much deserved mocktail after hours of walking around Ho Chi Minh!

Since I last wrote, we have hiked and biked in Hualien and the Taroka Mountains in Taiwan. The hiking was hit and miss... we rely on public transport so this can be challenging. In the mountains, we endured an very twisty road only to be dropped off on the side of a very narrow road. We walked to the trailhead avoiding cars and bus (and their mirrors), only to find it was closed 200 metres in.... ha.

Taiwan's tourism brochures tend to exaggerate some... we have biked on the "Most Scenic Bike trail in the world" and the "Longest Wooded Bike Trail" ... don't believe everything you read.

Biking in the rain in style.

Hiking in Taroka, Taiwan...

Bright lights, Flowers and Ice rink? in Taipei

On our last day in Taiwan, we decided to get some exercise so we hiked the stairs for a second time (I wrote about them already) to Elephant Mountain in Taipei. This is the one... straight up and straight down by tons of stairs. It was hot... not Vietnam hot but hot enough. We climbed the stairs to the tunes of ... well everything. The Taiwanese love to hang speakers off their backpacks and we get to enjoy the tunes... I climbed to WHAM! - whole album and this weird electronic elevator music that is very popular over here!

So it is time for me to talk about LOST IN TRANSLATION... I have been photographing signs that make me smile. This segment starts because we recently booked a room in Taipei that was "4 stars" but we selected the "room without a view" to save some cash. Frankly, most of the views from our hotel windows are usually the windows or walls of the next building so not loss.... right? Wrong. This time it meant NO WINDOWS! The four stars? Well, it had bunk beds... enough said.

Here goes... enjoy.