allyson and bryan

VIDEO: Is It Rude to Refuse Wine Bottled With a Giant Dead Python? /

When traveling to exotic, far-flung places, one is often presented with the opportunity to do weird, different and/or vaguely frightening stuff. These chances might occur when meeting locals, at a restaurant, or during your average everyday sightseeing jaunt. Since arriving in Vietnam we've been introduced to a number of foreign customs and seemingly unusual goings on. The question that obviously arises is: Do you do/eat/drink/embrace these new experiences, or do you risk offense by erring on the side of (safety and) caution? So far, in most cases at least one of us has chosen the former. Well honestly it's usually Bryan, but I'm here to make the movies.

Not all of these videos are customs or traditions -- a few involve just unique circumstances or tropical wildlife. Some of my favorite Vietnam moments to date:

Bryan, Yung-Yi and Daniel Drink a Shot of Snake Wine
(The wine is actually, literally bottled with live, real snakes. Here are some photos of the bottle.)



Our Cu Chi Tunnel Guide Picks Up a Scorpion
(He's the one that followed Bryan out of the tunnel, as Bryan crawled on his hands and knees in the dark before emerging, shaken up and sweaty. Another photo for your viewing pleasure.)



Pro-Communist Video Shown Before You Enter the Cu Chi Tunnels
(I felt like I was in an episode of Lost.)



A Man Feeds a Monkey at the Mountaintop Temple
(We found out recently that this is called Black Lady Mountain, and that tourists never ever go there. That would explain a lot.)



We Ride the Cable Car With Bizarre Musical Accompaniment
(Also very Lost-like.)



Flying Rice Machine
(We stopped by the side of the highway on the way to the Mekong Delta to witness this crazy rice-machine action.)



Moped Madness
(This was our first experience in the Saigon traffic.)



I hope these help to add a little more of the country's flavor to our photos and blog posts. There's no video, but I did also hold a python during our Mekong Delta trip, and we have eaten some truly exotic meals. Right now, Bryan, Daniel and I are in Mui Ne -- a small seaside town about four hours' drive from Ho Chi Minh City. Today we've hired a local driver to take us to the area's red and white sand dunes, silver lake, and rural market. We're staying for one more night here before taking the bus back to HCMC/Saigon, where we'll get ready for our next stop: Cambodia.

I can't wait to see what local delights await us there.

stars, they're just like allyson @ 9:05 PM  

..........