Although I hadn’t been completely healthy in Laos I was definitely feeling so much better than I had in weeks. But a few minutes after take-off on our way to Vietnam I knew I was in for a tough flight. I suddenly was feeling more congested than I had since Mumbai; my eyes were aching, I had a throbbing headache and I could hear and feel the congestion moving and popping in my sinuses (as you can tell this is going to be the sexiest blog to date). Anyone who has experienced this while flying knows it can be scary. These are the sort of symptoms that can lead to a perforated eardrum, something that Ofer has experienced before and still has to worry about. I drank as much fluid as I could and yawned throughout the flight to keep myself clear.

Once on the ground in Hanoi Ofer and I grabbed our bags and headed to find a taxi. A young man in a nice looking suit came up to us and offered to take us to his taxi service. He quoted a price and we followed him to the car. He flagged down a car and put our bags in the trunk as Ofer and I climbed into the backseat. A few minutes into the ride Ofer and I realized that we had just gotten into an unmarked taxi. No meter, no plastic dividing window, no number to call in case of emergency: nada. It appeared that these boys were running a ‘private taxi service’ in their own car to make some cash. Or at least, this was the safest possible scenario we could come up with.

Once out of the terminal Ofer repeated the price to the young man who was now in the front passenger seat. Not at all to our surprise the man chose to raise the price once we were on our way. We had experienced this in India, the second you are in their vehicle the price that had been agreed upon was suddenly out the window. But this was a different situation; we were not in a marked taxi knowing that we can at least call to report unlawful behavior, we were in the back of a car with two teenagers who were skirting the law to makes some cash with no rules to abide to once they have us successfully in their vehicle.

Ofer and I decided to get out. We told the boys that we were going to find another cab and that we wanted them to pull over right away. The driver pulled over and the two boys bickered back and forth and tried to bargain with Ofer. We were both nervous and angry by this point but as we looked out of the car into the darkness of the night we thought that we would be in more danger if we got out of the car by the side of the busy highway and had to find a different way to get to our hotel. We all agreed on a price and were on our way, although both of us were still quite nervous.

This was exactly what we had told ourselves we would never do: get into an unmarked car, especially in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language. But unfortunately the chaos of the airport distracted us from being attentive. Hopefully this was going to just be a lesson for us to learn and nothing serious.

The ride to our hotel in the center of Hanoi took about an hour. It was only evening time but the streets were quite dark. The young man in the passenger seat had fallen asleep, which Ofer said was a good sign, because if they were taking us somewhere to maim us he would probably be pumped with adrenaline not taking a cat nap. Good point. Then we noticed that our driver was drifting into other lanes every minute or so. We had, of course, gotten used to terrible drivers on this trip, but this was different. Our driver was not just fighting to stay awake, every so often he was actually asleep.

Once Ofer and I realized what was going on Ofer spoke up right away and loudly asked the driver if he was ok to drive. The driver momentarily woke up and focused on the road but less than a minute later his head was bobbing down as he drifted in and out of consciousness. We sat in the backseat clearing our throats, coughing, speaking very loudly and clapping our hands to try to ensure that he would stay awake. Of course we were concerned about our safety but I have to admit that we were also very amused. Ofer would clap his hands the second he saw his head begin to nod and I would did my best to come up with a fascinating narrative to speak at the top of my lungs. I felt like we were in a bad improv comedy sketch. At one point the two boys started talking and finally the car was pulled over and they switched drivers. Whew.

Once we got into the main streets of Hanoi we were floored. We were stuck in the worst gridlock we had ever seen. Motorcycles, cars, bicycles and pedestrians were packed together on every street. Shops were still open, people were sitting on the sidewalks having dinner, families were loaded up on their motorcycles and Vietnamese flags waved outside of almost every building. Women walked through the streets with cone shaped straw hats balancing two baskets on either end of a pole. They each had a distinctive lyrical walk as the baskets bounced with each step. It was quite a site.

I was still feeling sick from the flight and we were both tense from the drive when we finally arrived at the hotel. Our hotel was in the middle of the Old City; a convergence of narrow and wider streets winding every which way and with every square inch occupied and busy. We got our keys and started up the stairs. We were on the fifth floor of a six story walk-up. The building got warmer and warmer as we climbed higher and each floor smelled like cigarettes. Our room was very small, not so clean looking and had a mattress on the floor for a bed. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

One of our nights Hanoi Ofer and I settled in bed to watch Pearl Harbor on TV. It has to be noted that I am terrible about watching movies involving mystery, horror, war, death and destruction. My heart pounds and I start worrying that I can’t breathe. Seriously. I have been this way since I was a kid. The only way I can watch that kind of a movie is with the lights on, ear plugs in my ears with my eyes mostly squinted shut. Needless to say, this was how I watched Pearl Harbor that night.

When the drama in the movie really started to pick up I began to smell something. I was convinced that it was smoke. I would mute the movie and sit straight up in bed and ask Ofer if he was smelling what I was smelling. He wasn’t. Ofer stayed calm and continued to lay in bed. I did this about 5 times before I completely freaked out and made us both get dressed and go out into the hall to see if there was smoke. Out in the hall I swore the air looked smokey and definitely smelled like burning wood. There was no way I was going to be caught in a fire on the 5th story of a dilapidated ‘hotel’. The second time I made us do this Ofer conceded to go downstairs and see what was going on, despite the fact that he neither smelled or saw the smoke that I was complaining about.

Ofer came up and told me that the streets were packed with people cooking and eating meals on the sidewalks and what I was smelling was the smoke from all of these home-made stoves. I felt better, but had a pretty uneasy feeling knowing that there were so many people burning things so close to our hotel. Whatcha gonna do.

I completely missed Hanoi. I tried to go out with Ofer but shortly after I had him take me back to the hotel because I was feeling so miserable. I was starting to wonder when this flu would ever end. Ofer stayed with me for awhile but I told him to go out and explore the city and I was sure I would be fine.

Ofer discovered that we were in Hanoi just a few days before their celebration marking the 1000th year since the city’s establishment. Ofer walked around the picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake and reported back that the city was clearly preparing for massive celebrations.

Ofer learned that street signs and lights meant close to nothing in the main area of Hanoi, in fact in a lot of intersections there was no organized system for moving people and vehicles through. On the occasion that Ofer and I both walked around the streets we waited on each corner for a good 5 minutes trying to decide how to cross without being run down. It was clear that it was very rare for a break in the flow of vehicles and that it was unheard of to slow down or stop for pedestrians. It felt like a condensed version of the streets of China.

We learned that if we wanted to ever get across a street, any street, we needed to just step off of the curb and walk in front of the oncoming traffic. We knew that we had a better chance if we walked in front of a car instead of bikes because that way we were relying only on one person to brake for us instead of a few. We had better odds that way. In the beginning it was intimidating but our technique got better and better and our mutual judgement of when was the best time to brave the traffic got in-sync. There is nothing like walking the streets of Hanoi for great team building skills.

For two days I was a hermit in our hotel room; I kept all lights turned off, hardly ate, never showered and slept more than a newborn baby. Every now and then I would wake up and watch a few minutes of whatever English program I could find before drifting back to sleep. Ofer would come home and bring food and massage my head to help relieve my discomfort. If I didn’t know before how committed to me Ofer was, this trip and sickness absolutely had.


We only had two nights in Hanoi and I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to see it just like I felt I wasn’t able to see India. We were both happy that we had two more destinations in Vietnam and hopefully enough time to for me to get healthy so we could go out together and really see the country. I was lucky that in our next Vietnamese destination we would get our wish.

I don’t think that the average person on the street would be able to point out Luang Prabang on a map. I mean, according to late night talk shows it appears like most people on the street can hardly name our Vice President. At least I know I wouldn’t have been able to locate our next destination before I went there.

Ofer’s San Francisco friend Andy mentioned to us once that Luang Prabang in Laos was a place not to miss. So after about 3 seconds of considering it, it was included in our itinerary. Clearly Ofer and I are very impressionable, please don’t use this against us.

Our plane touched down in the smallest airport we had ever seen. In fact the airport was about the size of the house I grew up in as a child. We hired a taxi and began the ride to our new home for the next 7 days. The area we were in in Laos appeared to be a calmed down version of Nepal. People on the streets, dirt roads and open air markets and temples lined our drive. The closer we got to the town center the more restaurants and lodges we saw. They were all very quaint and casual which we were thrilled about considering the chaos we had encountered every time we left our hotels in India.

We rounded the corner along the river and saw our bed and breakfast. It was gorgeous. It was a conservative 2 story building with bikes parked out front and sitting areas outside with a view of the Mekong river. We were greeted by the owner who sat down with us to talk and help us learn about Luang Prabang as they put our bags in our room. Our room was beautiful, so beautiful. We were convinced we were in paradise.


Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage protected town in north-central Laos on the peninsula where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet. It is surrounded on all sides by thick forests and up until 13 or so years ago it had been very isolated from the major towns and cities in Laos. In the 90s roads reached Luang Prabang to allow more trade and tourism. Since then it’s travel appeal has grown significantly. The main area of the city has 4 main roads. Luang Prabang is known for its traditional wooden 2 story houses, and gold roofed temples.


It was late afternoon and we still had some good daylight hours left so we took two bikes provided by the lodge and began biking our way down the side of the Mekong. The river was lined with coffee shops, restaurants over looking the river bank and little clothing shops. The river, the breeze on the bike, the smells of wood burning outdoor stoves...everything promoted complete and total relaxation. Ofer and I soaked it up.


We biked through the center of town where they were setting up the night market in the center of the street surrounded by restaurants, bars and shops. The night market was about 4 blocks long with different kinds of goods being sold on each side of the street. There was jewelry, paintings, skirts, baby books, woven wallets, paper umbrellas and incredibly elaborate quilts. We went back to that market almost every night we were in Laos as we dipped in and out of traditional Lao restaurants to try the local fare and of course the local beer (BeerLao) both of which were delicious.

Lao food is similar to Thai food, mostly fish and chicken in curry mixed with vegetables. The rice is, however, different. It comes in a small dried leaf containers and is very very dense and called sticky rice. I was so happy that I wasn’t yet concerned about fitting into my wedding dress so both Ofer and I feasted daily on their delicacies.

We were so lucky to meet an amazing woman named Natalie who was staying in the same lodge as us. She was our age and traveling alone for 6 months. In fact, she was seeing a lot of the places that were on our itinerary. The three of us became fast friends and spent many meals together and even took a boat down the Mekong as a trio. Natalie is an incredibly strong, happy, intelligent woman. We both had so much fun listening to her stories about Kenya, Rwanda and her last destination Vietnam which we were traveling to next.

One night after a meal downtown we decided to try out a local bar. There we met Israeli’s, Irishmen, Australians, Americans, Englishmen and Swedes. No locals. We were all on similar trips and it was once again an opportunity to meet other people who were eager to explore the world like us. That bar closed promptly at midnight as is in line with Laos law. We heard a rumor going around that there was another bar not too far away that stayed open later.

The next thing I knew we piled in the back of a jeep, in the pitch black of night with 10 foreigners who just happened to jump into the same jeep. We bounced on the seats without a seatbelt and made friends in the jeep as we sipped the remains of our Beer Lao. We walked into the bar and were nearly knocked down by the noise. This was not a bar it was a club. And we were the only foreigners!! They were playing American hip hop and the huge dance floor was flooded with Lao twenty-somethings.


I don’t completely remember how it happened but I think Natalie and I had something like 3 vodka shots. It was the cheapest vodka they had and it tasted like lighter fluid. We grabbed Ofer and headed out to the dance floor. We had a great night of dancing and managedw to make it out and back to the lodge to give Natalie at least 4 hours to sleep before her morning excursion.

Ofer and I took one paddle boat tour on our own to go see an amazing waterfall called Kuang Si Falls. It was a huge park with trained elephants whom we got to watch get submerged and washed in the massive falls. We also did another boat trip with Natalie that took us to the Buddha Caves. It was a motorized boat and we got a great view of the terrain along the Mekong. The cave was filled to the brim with statues. Tiny gold statues to large wooden or stone statues.

One of the most fascinating things we have seen on this trip was the Alms Ceremony. Every morning at dawn every monk who lives in the local monasteries walk down the main street dressed in their bright saffron robes. We had been told that it is a remarkable scene and we were very eager to see it.


Ofer and I woke up around 5:00 am and chose a place to stand on the street. We watched as villagers and tourists lined up and kneeled on the ground with large containers of rice. We were told that every morning the monks are given an offering of rice and that is their food for the day. According to tradition if you want to give rice to the monks you need to have enough to give some to each monk that passes by.

Far in the distance we began to see bright orange robes. The next hour or so we watched as over 400 monks ranging from 6 years old to old men lined the street as far as our our eyes could see. Each monk was bare footed, with a shaved head and carrying a metal pot to receive the offerings. Most were very solemn. They did not look at us, just kept their eyes on their line moving ahead of them. A few though, were talking to each other and some were curiously sneaking peeks at the tourists.


It was a fascinating experience. We had heard stories and read articles that the monks have gotten quite ill from locals and tourists offering old food. But that the government has insisted that the ceremony continue with business as usual to keep tourist money rolling in.

From the moment we stepped off the plane to the moment we boarded our next flight Ofer and I were so thankful that Andy had suggested this destination. We felt as if we had been living in paradise. Every local that we met seemed so content with their life in Luang Prabang.

There was a sense of calm, joy, and peace throughout the entire town. Ofer and I very highly recommend to anyone traveling in this area of the world to stop for a visit in Luang Prabang. We know that it was an experience that we will carry with us forever and that in the decades to come it could be a place we can return with our family and share with them such a remarkable place.

Our final destination in India was what has become a resort town called Goa. Goa was only an hour flight from Mumbai but the two worlds felt completely different. Lush, rolling hills, beautiful large manors that had been built during the Portuguese who first landed there in the 16th century. Goa is India’s smallest state but is well known for its beaches, world heritage buildings, temples and churches. India annexed Goa from the Portuguese in 1961.

We arrived just at the final days of their monsoon seasons which made the area especially more lush and also less touristy which was nice. We had a cute, spacious, apartment-like space to live in for the 5 days we were there.

OK, time for our normal hotel check. Running water: check, bugs on the floor: nope, clean sheets: you can’t win them all. Unfortunately the entire complex smelled like mold including our sheets, pillows, couches and even our suitcases and clothes by the end of our stay.

I was, to both of our disappointment, still sick. We took advantage of the rain to stay inside most days to rest. We were seeing that if I kept pushing myself to be a tourist that I was just going to continue to extend my sickness. The ‘resort’ had a small spa that offered massage and other treatments. They also had a resident ‘doctor’ who would see anyone free of charge. We decided to take advantage of this, my Mom had told me incredible stories of the Ayurvedic doctors who seemed to have tricks that Western medicine had not yet discovered.

First the doctor took a quick history and then put his hands on my wrist. He would touch my wrist with various combinations of his fingers. Then he began to tell me that I was a fire sign, or something of the sort. He said that I am easily tempered and when I am angry I get really angry. Seeing as Ofer and I had already had some trying times on our trip he unfortunately was hitting on some truth. He also said that I love spicy food. Nope, I told him...in fact I have a very hard time eating spicy food. Doctor: 1, Shayna: 1. Then he said that I have back and neck pain. Nope, I never have any pain there. Doctor: 1, Shayna: 2.

He listed a stream of more potential qualities all which were quite far from being the truth. I then outright told him what my symptoms were: sneezing, blowing my nose constantly, sore throat, ears popping and extreme fatigue. He then grabbed a pamphlet and began to ‘prescribe’ spa treatments like massage and a treatment where the pour an oil into my nose. Considering how wrong he had been so far I was not about to let him pour anything down my nose. I did end up doing a massage which actually made all of my symptoms worse since my head was facing down which didn’t help.


After my reading by the doctor he moved over to Ofer. After inspecting his wrist he told us that he was an Air sign, which apparently was much better than a fire sign. He then said that everything looked good and healthy. He didn’t try any guessing games about Ofer’s lifestyle or ailments, he just said everything was normal. We concluded that he had taken enough losses that day and wanted to level the playing field by saying something we wouldn’t disagree with.

Toward the end of our stay I was beginning to have a little more energy and was feeling pretty restless from being in so much so we decided to hire a taxi for the day and take a day trip to see the sites around Goa. We walked along the a beautiful beach and drove through the historic parts of the town. We went into churches, temples, and saw little neighboring towns while our driver told us about the history of the region.

We saw that most of the mansions left over from Portuguese rule are still standing however in most places they are over run by brush and trees and the paint is fading and cracking. It was like looking at the houses from The Secret Garden and Great Expectations.

We also visited a spice plantation. We were shown how all different types of spices were grown such as pepper, cloves, chocolate, coffee and saffron. We also learned about which were the most expensive spices in the world and that they were classified as so because it took so many plants to produce a small amount of spice from them. The top three most expensive spices are saffron, pure vanilla and cardamon.

At the end of the tour they kept with tradition and dumped a ladle of water down our backs as is customary in those parts. They fed us lunch and gave us each a shot of very very strong alcohol. I wasn’t going anywhere near the alcohol and somehow Ofer managed to get them both down his gullet.

We really loved Goa and were so happy to have had a chance to explore this small resort town. We were sad to leave India, I was so disappointed that I had gotten sick in the area I was looking forward to seeing the most. But this is what comes with a long term trip, there are going to be things our of our control that will not always allow things to go as we would have wished. I genuinely hope that Ofer and I find our way back to India in the future since we both felt like we only got to scratch the surface and had so much more to see and learn.