The Dr Pepper

Jeff has discovered a little slice of Texas, far from home on the
airport in Seoul, Korea.

Contemplating Naval Excercises

We are currently in the airport in Seoul, Korea. We have an incredibly
long layover here and spent the night sleeping on some soft benches
next to a planter of bamboo. We had our silk sleep sacks that we
bought in Hanoi yesterday, so it was pretty comfortable. If you must
spend the night in an airport, this is probably one of the best. It's
a little unnerving that our stopover coincides with the US-Korea
joint naval excercises. The airport is on an island just south of the
boarder with North Korea. But for now anyway, everything is quiet and
Jeff sleeps on...

Ba Na Hill Station

Sent from my iPhone

Ba Na Hill Station

The ruins are mysterious and fun to explore and the hiking is all
downhill. There's no need to hike uphill, just hop on the gondola and
sail above the tree ferns!

Ba Na Hill Station

The French built the Ba Na Hill Station in the 1930s to escape the
heat. The station is reached by a series of two gondolas. The place is
a wonderland of swirling mist and French ruins with a massive seated
Buddah guarding over it all and irridescent violet butterflies dancing
through.

The Coolest Place in Vietnam

We are wrapping up our time in Vietnam now. Yesterday we went scuba
diving off Cham Island. Jeff was attacked by a Titan Triggerfish. It
chomped his leg and then tweaked my swim fins before Jeff landed a
good punch and fought it off. Apparently this happens often-there was
a sign warning of this fish on the boat.
So, after the miserable heat here in SE Asia, we decided to seek out
the coolest place in Vietnam. Up, up and away to the Ba Na Hill Station!

At the Pepper Plantation

It becomes obvious that Jeff is no Peter Piper and will not be picking
any pecks of pepper, pickeled, or otherwise.

Tuk tuk through the countryside

We piled into a tuk tuk for a trip out to an amazing cave mountain and
a pepper farm. We followed an underground passageway behind a Buddhist
temple into a mountain and after a walk through a cave, popped out in
a hidden valley with a small temple (complete with reclining Buddah)
in the center of the mountain. Khmer school children gave us a tour of
the rest of the karst mountain. It was a mini Shangri-la. See the
video on Facebook.

All's well that ends...

So the night bus let us off at 6 am to stand in the mud and rain
waiting for transfer onto the second to last bus in the series that
delivered us to Kep. Happily, we found a sunny, flowery cluster of
bungalows to stay in. This heaven even included hammocks, toucans
swooping through the jungle above and this kitten for company.

More Night Bus

Here is Jeff in the bunk he gave to me when My bunk had exhaust
leaking into it. We were promised pillows, blankets, free water
bottles and a toilet on the bus. We were given only blankets with waxy
residue and told that the driver would stop if we needed a restroom.
When we stopped, the passengers stormed the W.C. of any nearby stand.
When we stopped in the middle of the night in a dark stand of huts we
squatted next to the road. Good times, good times...