Awesome Signs v5.0

As we trek deeper and deeper into the subcontinent, we've noticed a marked decrease in both signage awesomeness and signage ridiculousness. However, the intrepid photo staff at CIGAWW have found a few diamonds in the rough.

Apparently, BJ services were available at our Saigon hotel:

Ko Phi Phi: "The town for walkers and primitive vehicle users."

P.S. Primitive vehicles is not the preferred nomenclature.

If the suit fits, you must acquit...money from your wallet

Tailored clothing is typically a big part of the SE Asia tourist experience. We passed up the usual spots (Bangkok and Hanoi) for Hoi An, a charming town in central Vietnam.

The team at Yaly Couture went above and beyond for us. If you're ever in this part of the world, give them a shout (think they have write ups in Rough Guide and Fodor's).

We're gonna look like a million bucks at GSB formals. Someone's already got a date!

And don't forget to get a custom-made pair of gladiators to match that stunning dress!

Lessons Learned v1.0

If you ever trek for 30 days through SE Asia, most definitely keep the following in mind:

1. Reapply sun screen to your back frequently when snorkeling for a full day. Who knew!?

2. Bring 1 bottle of sun screen and 1 bottle of bug spray for every 10 days of travel.

3. Don't get roundhouse kicked in the face by Rebecca.

4. Sunrises are more spectacular than sunsets. Get your lazy ass out of bed early.

5. If you're sick for three days and still don't feel better, find a good doctor pronto.

6. Don't take tuk tuks in Bangkok. In cabs, insist that the meter is turned on.

7. In Hanoi cabs, follow your route on a map and make sure you don't get taken for a ride.

8. Don't get on a moto cab with a red faced driver!!!

9. Don't fly Lao Airlines, unless you have a death wish and/or really short legs.

10. Don't let yourself get forced into a pork ball situation, especially in Hoi An.

11. Bring water shoes, like the Solomon Tech Amphibian, and an ample supply of granola batrs and bandanas.

12. You get what you pay for.

Roll Call v2.0

Becca: The Numismatist (specializing in Baht)
Briana: The Diva
Erin: The Heart Breaker
Ilana: The Healer
Jason: The Connoisseur
Joel: The Mensch
Karla: The Super Trooper
Kim: The Champ
Kristy: The Elephant Whisperer
Margot: The Social Nexus
Rebecca: The Black Widow
Sam: The Soulja

P.S. Team tee shirts are in the house. Previous posting of "team tee shits" was a typo, not an awkward activity in Ko Phi Phi. We swear.


P.P.S. We miss you a ton KG :(

Exactly what we need, right now

Big thanks to David Rogers for taking us up on the CIGAWW challenge and drawing up an Indiana Jones style map of our travels. Pls excuse the compression. It wasn't easy to convert the PDF to JPEG in an internet cafe in Ko Phi Phi. The original looks even more incredible. Thanks!

More photos to come soon. The blogger's camera is broken, and new photographers are being interviewed as we speak.

Some teasers till next we speak...
- Sun rise over Angkor Wat
- Fire dancing on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi
- The first official photo with team tee shirts

Umm, Help Please

Fans of CIGAWW have been demanding an Indiana Jones style map of our travels, perhaps with animation of the plane and a trailing dotted line.

Anyone know of a free web app that does this? (Surely Paramout created this Facebook app to promote Kingdom of the Cyrstal Skull and pull in a travel industry sponsor.) Or does anyone want to draw this for us?

Our travels thus far have covered:

Bangkok>
Pai>
Chiang Mai>
Chiang Rai>
Huang Say>
(Mekong Slow Boat>)
Luang Prabang>
Hanoi>
Hoi An>
Ho Chi Minh>
Siem Reap

Pho-Shizzle My Dong-Izzle

Two highlights from Vietnam (we've covered Hanoi, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Mihn City thus far):

1. Pho: We've got a problem. As mature adults, we understand that the first step to recovery is admitting we have a problem. So, out with it: We're addicted to pho. If we could find enough of it to bathe in, we would. If it was available intravenously, we'd shot it up. It pharmaceutical grade pho existed, we'd find a crooked doctor to hook us up.

2. Dong: As mature business professionals, we're embarrassed to be so endlessly amused that the Vietnamese currency is the Dong. And the common denominations are even more humorously large than in Laos. Two Dong to one Kip!!! I'd write a serious commentary on the the inflation of the dong, but well... "I've got a lot of dong burning a whole in my pocket." "Does anyone have any smaller dong." "Gimme a sec and I'll whip out my dong." The sad thing is, I think we're the only tourists to have this much fun with it. Our American born host in Hanoi has been in the country for three years and hasn't heard a single dong joke from any of her many visitors.