Mini-Post: Taking the Stairs? Good for You!

We have noticed that if there an opportunity to avoid physical exercise, most humans, Asian and white alike, will seize it. Rebecca and I typically take the other road, rather enjoying opportunities to stretch our legs, particularly while in transit. This usually surprises people. Here’s our adorable exchange from today’s visit to Bangkok airport as we approached the stairs next to the escalator:

Airline employee: *Audible gasp.* “Are you walking??”
Us, laughing: “…Yes…”
Airline employee, smiling: “Ex-er-cise!!!” *moves hands to simulate walking*

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Ho Chi Minh City: Land of Aggressive Motorbikes

We arrived in Vietnam a few days ago (Tuesday the 4th to be precise) and have spent the past few days in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam. The city is absolutely huge. 8 million people, 2 million Coffee Bean franchise locations (not really, it just felt like it) and what seemed like a hundred billion motorbikes. Again, I’m not one for research, but my observation is that everyone here drives a motorbike, including grandmothers, infants and farm animals. I saw a gecko last night at our restaurant and I could have sworn he had a tiny motorbike. (It’s faster than walking.) That said, this post is to tell you about the sport I just invented, in honor of the 2014 Winter Olympics: grand traffic slalom.

Auckland, the City of Many Hills

Rebecca and I atop Rangitoto.

Hello again, Danielle here. We just spent days one and two in Auckland, whose Maori name roughly translates to City of Many Lovers. Fun fact, brought to you by Lonely Planet (honestly, what would we do without LP). We really enjoyed our stay here, and though we didn’t see a ton of lovers (at least not openly displaying it), we did climb many, many hills, or at least the same hill 6 times from the supermarket to our hotel.