Even Mark Zuckerberg‘s family can get tripped up by Facebook’s privacy settings.

A picture that Zuckerberg’s sister posted on her personal Facebook profile was seen by a marketing director, who then posted the picture to Twitter and her more than 40,000 followers Wednesday.

That didn’t sit well with Zuckerberg’s sister, Randi, who tweeted at Callie Schweitzer that the picture was meant for friends only and that posting the private picture on Twitter was “way uncool.” Schweitzer replied by saying the picture popped up on her Facebook news feed.

The picture shows four people standing around a kitchen staring at their phones with their mouths open while Mark Zuckerberg is in the background.

Randi Zuckerberg, who used to run Facebook’s marketing department and now produces a reality television show, eventually said Schweitzer was able to see the picture because they had a mutual friend. Those tweets have since been taken down.

Schweitzer declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press. Randi Zuckerberg didn’t reply to a message via Twitter seeking comment.

Randi Zuckerberg used the dustup to write about online sharing etiquette.

“Digital etiquette: always ask permission before posting a friend’s photo publicly. It’s not about privacy settings, it’s about human decency,” she posted on Twitter.

But Randi Zuckerberg’s comments sparked sharp reactions from people who thought the issue wasn’t about etiquette, but rather Facebook’s often changing and often confusing privacy settings.

“The thing that bugged me about Randi Zuckerberg’s response is that she used her name as a bludgeoning device. Not everyone has that. She used her position to get it taken it down,” said Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy group in San Francisco.

While Facebook has made improvements in explaining the social network’s privacy settings, Galperin said they remain confusing to most people. She added that with people using Facebook as part of their everyday lives, the consequences of fumbling privacy settings can become serious.

“Even Randi Zuckerberg can get it wrong. That’s an illustration of how confusing they can be,” she said.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company recently announced it is changing its privacy settings with the aim of making it easier for users to navigate them.

The fine-tuning will include several revisions that will start rolling out to Facebook’s more than 1 billion users during the next few weeks and continue into early next year.

The most visible change – and perhaps the most appreciated – will be a new “privacy shortcuts” section that appears as a tiny lock at the top right of people’s news feeds. This feature offers a drop-down box where users can get answers to common questions such as “Who can see my stuff?”

But Galperin said Wednesday’s incident also illustrates a general concern about Internet privacy. Essentially, she said, if you share information or a photo with your social network, people in your network have the ability to share that with whomever else they choose.

The mobile photo-sharing service Instagram, which is owned by Facebook Inc., had to answer to backlash to privacy concerns recently when new terms of service suggested user photos could be used in advertisements. The company later said it would remove the questionable language.

Randi, the former head of marketing for Facebook and the executive producer of Bravo’s reality series Silicon Valley, complained when Callie Schweitzer, director of marketing and projects at VoxMedia, posted a photo of Randi and her family (including Mark) reacting to the new Poke app. Randi originally circulated the photo on Facebook to her friends, but Schweitzer posted it publicly on Twitter:

Zuckerberg and Schweitzer have since deleted the conversation, but according to BuzzFeed, Schweitzer originally wrote “@randizuckerberg demonstrates her family’s response to Poke” with a link to the pic. Randi then replied “@cschweitz: Not sure where you got this photo. I posted it only to friends on FB. You reposting it on Twitter is way uncool.”

Schweitzer then attempted to explain:

Zuckerberg appears to be ignoring Schweitzer at this point but going public with a general beef about manners in the social media age:

The incident comes after Facebook privacy issues have recently come to the fore. The company suffered a pr debacle earlier in the month when Facebook unit Instagram attempted to update its privacy policies to allow users’ photos to be employed by advertisers. The company backpedaled, however, after consumers complained.

Get these awesome deals now, before they are gone!

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Who doesn’t love after-holiday deals? Here’s all the info you need to know about this fashionable  promotion.

The Year-End Clearance begins at 9 am Mountain Time (8 Pacific/10 Central/11 Eastern) on Wednesday, December 26 and goes through January 2 at 11:59 pm Mountain Time.

Select single Shells and Accessories will be on sale at up to 75% off!!!!!!

FAQs

Q: Can I put the Sales Shells in a bundle?

A: No, these discounted Shells do not qualify for any bundle discounts.

Q: The Shell I want is no longer showing on the website. Can I still purchase this item?

A: This sale is based on limited inventory and once the items are gone, they will no longer be available to purchase.

All items will be available to purchase on my personal website. Fyi – There are TONS of items going in this sale!  You will not want to miss it – I have seen some highly sought after items on the list! This sale looks to be as amazing if not better than the cyber weekend sale! 

Ha Long Bay was something that we looked forward since we knew that we were heading to Vietnam. Brian decided since we have done so well on keeping our costs down since we got to Vietnam that we should splurge and get a nice boat to stay out there for two nights.

Our journey was a 4 hour bus ride to the marina of Ha Long bay. From a distance you could see the dramatic rugged monoliths penetrating out of dark waters. We follow our guide out to a small boat that will take us to our larger boat where we sleep, eat and enjoy endless views. After a short boat we arrive at the Grand Opera boat. Our Guide keeps calling it the Oprah boat and I think any minute Brian is going to jump off and swim to one of the islands considering that usually when I mention her name he rolls his eyes and tunes out. I can just see in his head Oprah’s face painted on the side of the boat.

Once boarded on the boat we check into the nicest rooms that we have been on thus far on this trip. It’s all wood from floor to ceiling, a big window opening up to never-ending views of beauty.

Just a few minutes to settle in and head up for lunch where we so lovingly don’t have to order, more importantly order the wrong thing. At this point our boat is slowing strolling along through islands on every side just stretching straight into the sky and draping foliage hanging off them like a green blanket. It feels like I am in a dream of relaxation with great food and company. We meet some really great people, 2 guys from Canada Ally and Jason, and two couples from Australia, one of which were a newlywed couple on their honeymoon who gave us all sorts of tips for when we head down under. Those 6 people are some of my favorites on the trip thus far.

After a few minutes to get what we need and head to the small boat to go kayaking. We take a stroll in the boat through the hills to where they take us to a little floating village. We get off onto a rickety old wooden dock floating in the middle of the water in between some miraculous cliff islands.

We are told to not get in the water but Brian doesn’t listen when it comes to swimming so he waits till we are out of sight of the guide and jumps right in. Well why wouldn’t you in this kind of beauty and comfort of the warm air and water.

We spend every last minute out in the kayak before we are required to head back. I could hear Brian behind me mumbling under his breath of not wanting to leave. Brian and I could have spent an entire day out there, not just one or two hours.

It was time to head back to the Opera boat where we sail further out into the bay. The boat is then docked while some of us could get off again and hike up a nearby island. I decided to stay back to enjoy the view and company while Brian ran out to join the others on another adventure.

As for me I had a drink in my hand, an incredible view, and some great people to talk with, I was in heaven! Brian tells me to look out for him when he gets to the top of the mountain. It is over 1/2 mile away but I smile and tell him to be sure and wave.

When everyone gets back from the hike its dark and we are to head down to our rooms and get ready for dinner. We yet again get another incredible meal with more great company. This time we meat a couple, the Vips and Flemming from Denmark. She is a nurse and he is a chemist. They are so very interesting and we talk all night. Even though the boat tour itself is too amazing to handle the best part was really the incredible people we met, every one of them.

Morning comes far too soon and we head to our final meal with most of the people in the group. We were some of the few that scheduled for a two night stay. If you do ever reach this part of the world I would recommend staying for at least 2 nights. Everyone was very sad to leave and us most of all not being able to share any more time with them. But we finish up breakfast and head down to catch a boat with a different group for the day tour around the bay. Our guide for the day, Kenny, is from one of the floating villages on Ha Long Bay. His father started the village over 40 years ago with a few other families. We enjoying getting to know him and hearing about his life living literally on this amazing bay we only get to spend a few days on.

Today was much colder than the one before but we are in a place too grand to care. We lay around on the top of the boat getting to know each other and enjoying the views. Brian is standing on the front of the boat the entire time waiting for his first chance to jump in. He keeps glancing back at me with the look of ” Can I get in yet, can I get in yet? ” No doubt he will always be a kid at heart.

Kayaking was the first thing on the agenda for the day. We weren’t sad at all to go again since yesterday it felt like we only got a taste. More going underneath more amazing cliffs, caves, and tunnels and to where no more tunnels continue and we have to head back.

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On our way out we caught a glimpse of monkeys playing in the trees high on the cliffs. I was a little disappointed they didn't come closer and say hi.

Once we get back on the boat we cruise a bit longer where we head to where people can get out to snorkel. Brain knows I am not as crazy about the water as he is especially when it’s even the slightest bit cold as he heads in without any hesitation. He grabs the first snorkel mask he can find and take a drive right in. You would have thought the boat was on fire with how fast his toes hit the water. I again enjoy more great conversation with Vips and the other guests while most of the men follow Brian right in for their taste of adventure.

This is all so relaxing because on this day we don’t really have an agenda like most tours. There are drastically less people on this day than any other tour we have been on so after lunch we all find our own part of the boat to take a nap or read books while we stroll through the bay. Before heading back to the main boat we make one last stop on an island to do another hike up to the top of another island. The trail is very sketchy but we all make it to the top to enjoy the breath taking views. By the end of our day trip, we have made a bunch of new friends, including our guide Kenny who invites us to stay with is family on the floating village.

Once we reached the Opera boat we are suppose to get ready for dinner but we lay down for what was supposed to be a few minutes, we fall straight to sleep and almost miss dinner. We get a knock on our door that we need to head upstairs. In my drowsiness stupor I throw something on and head up for another great night of great conversation with Vips and Flemming.

The next morning Brian gets up again for the 2nd time to do Tai chi on the top of the boat. Being such a morning person he really enjoys getting up at 6 am to do these things. Me I can’t understand how anything can seem appealing that early in the morning. He knows he might get a snip snap snarl from me if he wakes me up so he tip toes out to enjoy the morning in a way I rarely see. After he gets done I meet him up top for breakfast and head out for the last of our activities, a visit to the Amazing Cave.

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It didn't quite live up to the name perhaps because it had been trampled to death by the hundreds of tourists who pass through each day and who can't seem to stay on the clearly marked paths. The magnitude of the cave is quite impressive. With small galleries and passageways leading to cavernous cathedrals.

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It was very large, more so than most could dream but the flashy fluorescent lights and inconsiderate tourists turned me off from the event. I really just wanted to get out in the fresh air and enjoy nothing more than the views from our boat.

Once we board back onto the Opera boat we pull up anchor and sadly start our journey back to the marina. On our way we get a cooking demonstration while we wait for our lunch. This was funny cause in our daily activities schedule they spelled it a bit wrong. Giggling like teenage girls through our final activity proved to be very difficult.

After we completed our demonstration we ate lunch that we helped prepare. Then laid around until we unwillingly have to leave the boat for our long bus ride back to Hanoi.

About 5 hours into the ride we stopped at a local worn-down restaurant off the road to where you could head over, get a bite to eat and a quick bathroom break.

This place is very worn down and wide open. It had been raining all day so when I headed down the poorly made stairs to the already scary bathrooms I slipped and took a tumble down to the bottom. I took a deep breath before letting out a good couple of curse words. I moan from screaming pain coming from the back of my legs scraping down each tile step. I pick myself up head to a most feared restrooms for women and got out as fast as I could, walking much more carefully back to the bus, which is ironically parked next to the much nicer bus we thought we were getting on to, to begin with.

Once we got back on I take a nice sleeping pill in hopes that it will knock me out good enough that I don’t notice as much of the severe pot holes and ditches that we kept hitting. It helped a little but with each time I felt I was finally relaxing and calming down the driver would slam on his breaks or hit a damaged portion of the road and it would feel like we were going off a cliff. It was a drastic contrast of sensations from calm to complete panic the rest of the way there.

We finally arrive in Hoi An. This city is the 2nd most visited destination in Vietnam, and is known for the romantic atmosphere and never ending options of tailors to make your cloths cheaper than you can imagine. I met a girl earlier in our trip who had her wedding dress made there for less than a hundred dollars. Hoi An is an exceptionally well-preserved and almost untouched from the Vietnam war. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this beautiful and unique heritage site. None the less it has a great history, it was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Asia. Japanese believed the heart of all of Asia, the dragon, lay beneath the earth in this great city.

We get off the bus greeted by pushy taxi drivers, and choose a couple of motorcycle drivers to take us to our hotel. We drive though the crazy traffic, through the endless shops and lanterns lined up throughout the streets. We get to see a good portion of the city due to our drivers not understanding where our hotel was. After much driving we finally made it to our destination. Upon our arrival we found a very beautiful wide open hotel, with grand wood carved entryways. Our room was on the top floor with a large balcony overlooking two sides of the river and out onto the countryside.

Once we get there we are so tired from the sleepless night on the bus we lay down for a quick nap. I woke up about an hour into my nap thinking Brian was on the end of the bed jumping up and down shaking it, but when I looked over he was still sound asleep. I am to groggy to think twice about this and lay my head back down and fall asleep. We later found out that we actually had an earthquake. Once we woke up we head out in search for a restaurant that was recommended to us earlier in our trip. Mrs Sau’s is the place and we find it with no problem. We are greeted by a woman who is Mrs. Sau’s 90 year old mother, her son, and sister who all live there up above the restaurant. We come to find out that this recommended restaurant will be some of the best food we have had on our trip and a place we will continue to return to for all the following days.

After a lazy first two days in Hoi An we decide to head out for some sights to My Son (pronounced “me son”) which is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century AD by the kings of Champa. Our tour guide or “King Tiger” as he liked to be called, was a wealth of knowledge which he presented so dramatically that I started to think he must have learned english by watching professional wrestling.

The temples are dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva. My Son is likely the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina, but a large majority of its architecture was destroyed by US carpet bombing during the Vietnam War. Once we get there we wander around in and out of different rooms such as the library that housed many sacred texts.

We learned that the number 3 is a sacred number in the Hindu religion as it represents the 3 powers of Shiva: the power to create, the power to conserve, and the power to destroy. Each window has 3 pillars to represent this.

We get done with My Son and head over to catch a boat to continue our tour. We first stop at a wood carving village where they make boats and beautiful carvings that are sold in town, or are made for local decorations. Here you get to see firsthand a great talent of these elaborate works of art. I want so bad to buy so many inexpensive wood pieces but resist knowing the extra costs in sending them home. We then head back on the boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery and fisherman out in the water doing their daily jobs, and the wide open landscapes and farming on shore. It was a bit cold and sprinkling rain but it’s too beautiful to care. The boat ride ends back into the middle of town and we head back to relax.

The last day we are there we decide to take a motor bike out to the beach and see the country side. It looks like it’s going to rain but we realize we just have to get over it or we will always be waiting to do everything. So we go rent a motorbike for $4.00 for the entire day. We are ecstatic that this is maybe the cheapest form of entertainment possible. I first take it out for a spin to get comfortable riding it, and then take off to see the beach. It almost immediately starts to rain once we get near the beach but we choose not to care. We pull over a few times to see random things like buffalo eating grass which I got a little too close to and it charged at me right as Brian snapped a picture. We also saw a very unexpected light house.

The beach is completely deserted. Hotels tried to make a go out here but extremely large hotels are completely abandoned and unfinished. We then head up a long drive up the beach in the pouring rain. We really don’t see much but we figure were out here let’s enjoy. The rain continues to get worse so we decide it is time to head back to town.

Once we get back to our hotel we get warmed up and then head right back to Sau’s restaurant for dinner. We have come here for almost every meal and have created a relationship with Sau. She sat down for the first time that night and really told us about herself. About her troubled marriage to an Australian man who is very mean to her, and how much she missed her first husband who died 10 years ago from the flu. We chit chat for a while holding hands and hugging. She in her broken English keeps telling us how she will miss us. We hug a few more times explaining we will see her one more time in the morning before our bus heads out. We head back out on the town for one last night in this laid back romantic town.

We get up the next morning to head over to Sau’s where our bus will be picking us up. She looked like she was crying all night. I am sad to leave her she is the closest relationship we have made with any locals yet on this trip. We hug a few more times with a few tears and say goodbye as we are rushed onto the bus and whisked away to the next destination.

The occasion was The Conversation Hour on Friday November 30th in Melbourne. Randi was in Melbourne for the Australian Skeptics National Convention for 2012. Join in as Randi, Jon and Stella revisit some of Randi’s memories of earlier visits, including the always-asked-about Don Lane episode.

Download the audio of Randi on The Conversation Hour – or listen below.

Randi enjoys a joke during the Australian Skeptics National Convention

After a much needed long night of sleep we woke up to quickly packing our bags and heading over to meet our tour guides for the 2nd day on the Easy Rider tour. We stopped for breakfast and got our first moment of experiencing how locals double everything for tourists. We sat down at a restaurant that surely never sees tourists and when we opened the menu the little old lady serving us was crossing out the prices and writing prices that were double. It literally was only $3 for two breakfasts and two teas but it sure was funny seeing it first hand how things work in this country.

We finished our breakfast, strapped our bags to the back of the motorcycles and headed out. Today was a much more easy going day with fewer stops and much more long distance riding since we had to make it all the way up to Na Trang by dark.

We drove through what they call agricultural city, 70% of the city is farmers. In the past years farming made very little to no money. In recent years farming is booming, and the government doesn’t require farmers to pay taxes so this is a thriving business.  Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee, being known for the best coffee you can buy.   As well as the fight for first in rice competing against Thailand. Flowers are also huge here because they have a holiday for everything. So it was interesting looking out over the never ending view of green houses. 

We then stopped at the dragon pagoda where you can go into the amazing 27 meters multi-story front tower, decorated with special dragon models. The sanctuary is 33m long by 22m wide with its ceiling supported by 12 dragon poles, glazed with terracotta pieces. In the vestibule is Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s imposing statue on a throne.

We then headed over to the 7 story pagoda building.  You can go inside, write down your wishes on paper, paste it on a giant bell, then ring it three times, bring your hands to your heart center, bow your head in prayer, take off your shoes to walk all the way to the top and hopefully your wishes come true. We both did just that and walked all the way up and down. I am not sure in telling my wishes, like it is in America, that they won’t come true.  So just in case, I will keep them to myself.

It was so beautiful and peaceful seeing all the monks walking around in worship and prayer. I had wished so badly that I could speak Vietnamese when a cute little old lady that was working, walks up to me, grabs my arms and just starts talking a million miles an minute. She kept rubbing her hands all over my arms, and kept touching my face as she was smiling. Then she blew me a kiss and walked away as though I knew everything she said. It was weird but comforting as though she so dearly was happy I was there.

We then grabbed lunch to go and headed back on the bikes for the longest ride so far. We went through extremely high mountain ranges with very dense fog and scatters of rain. We couldn’t see all the beauty but it sure was fun.

After a long wet ride up the mountains we stopped right before we started to head back down the other side, and went to a waterfall just off the road that we hiked up to. It was much colder than expected, so unlike the last waterfall we just were in, we just enjoyed the view while we chowed down on lunch. There was a big pool of water at the base of the largest drop of the waterfall and it was killing Brian not to jump right in. So after we gazed a while at more beauty we headed down to get back on the bikes.  We then continued on the rest of the long ride to Na Trang.

Just as we got to the bottom of the mountain we started to get to more flat areas.  We saw things you wouldn’t believe, like how many ducks can you get on your motor, boxes and boxes, little motorbikes with a lot of people on them, families of 5-6 or more on one bike and many more crazy things.

After an interesting ride through the city of Na Trang we finally made it to our hotel after 6-7 hours on a bike ride.

We thoroughly enjoyed this adventure more so than anything we had done thus far. Viet and Coon, our tour guides and motorcycle drivers were perfect. They spoke impeccable English, knew a large amount of historical information, and were safe and skilled drivers. If anyone reading this happens to be going to Dalat Vietnam and are interested in the Easy Rider tour you should contact them. # 0985-301-031.  Just have the receptionist at your hotel call them and they will come over on time and with tons of info.

This is Coon he was my driver (Randi) nicest guy ever

Viet showing us how silk is made from the day before.

The JREF now has a strong West Coast presence with DJ Groethe at the helm in the LA area.  At one time, though the JREF  was housed in a lovely small stucco office building in Ft.Lauderdale.

My own daughter was an intern for Mr.Randi, and actually lived at the office.  I remember her calling me the first night as a neighborhood opossum decided to come up to a window and just STARE at her.  She was a country girl, not used to the friendliness of city critters.

Other city creatures that lived near the JREF were the well loved, but wild, peacocks. At one time pets, they have now become wild.  Linda, who has been described as the “heart of the JREF” when she worked there, used to feed them dry cat food.  Evelyn related how once a peacock was blocking Mr.Randi’s entry into the office. The peacock was in full display, and Randi instead of shooing it away, explained to the love struck bird how things would just “never work out” between them.

Animal problems continued, with rats.  Traps were placed in the ceiling, and at one point it became clear, to the noses of everyone, that something had been caught.  The problem was no one wanted to go up and retrieve the trap.  Evelyn, as intern, was glad to handle any job but this job she refused to even consider.  I don’t know who did eventually get rat duty.

I was lucky enough to get to visit the JREF twice.  One time during an open house for TAM5.5 which was held in Ft.Lauderdale, and once before a TAM adventure cruise.  I put together some photographs into a video, and also have some video of Randi in the same space.

I feel lucky to have visited, it was more than an office, it was more a museum filled with wonders.  I have also been lucky enough to visit the new home of the library, it is also a wonderful combination of books and artifacts from history and from the life of Mr.Randi.

Randi is justly proud of his library

I’m not even trying to kick the coffee habit. I’m only off of it for a week while my teeth recover from a whitening, i.e. bleaching, session last Monday. It seems they are more porous for a while afterward, and more susceptible to staining from coffee and so many of the other good things we ingest in our lives. So, as previously mentioned, I am drinking water and milk this week, and am eating bland, boring food. Hey, I’ve dropped a few pounds, and my waistline is looking a little curvier (no, I won’t post a photo of my waistline in this particular entry).

So, with all of my suffering . . .  poor, poor pitful me . . . you would think my significant other, family, friends and colleagues would be rallying around me, and not even mentioning the “c” word, let alone drinking cups of Starbucks in front of me.

But noooooooooo, some seem to be going out of their way to remind me of what I am missing, like “Mmmmm, this is such delicious coffee. Would you like some . . . oh, right, you can’t have any. Hahahahahahahaha!”

Grrrr . . . .

One longtime reader and personal male friend (who is also a doctor) wrote the following to me after my preceding post about all of this, called Coffee Withdrawal: Day 4 — In the Presence of Blind Faith:

“Was feeling very sympathetic about the coffee thing until you got all ’60s on me, then I got bored. If you’re going to be all flower-power and psychedelic, then you should have left the teeth multi-colored, not to mention the armpits unshavened.”– WS

Hmm . . . what was it they say about wrath and scorned women? And last laughs?

But what about the caffeine pills, you might be wondering. Aren’t they a good substitute?

Short answer: Nope. I’m sure they are warding off the headaches that might come with caffeine withdrawal, but they are no substitute for the flavours and rush, yes, rush, that comes with drinking a good cup of java. And warm milk just doesn’t suffice.

Make no mistake about it: coffee is a drug. It’s the instant tastebud fix that gets soooo many of us going in the morning, and throughout the day. Take away coffee on Planet Earth and you will have billions of zombies sleepwalking though life, i.e. the living dead.

I have also noticed so weird errors slipping in to posts I’ve been writing, like referring to Silverton mayor Stu Rasmussen as “Phil.” ??? I dunno. Thanks to Randi for pointing it out to me.

Warning: All readers except for WS should stop reading at this point.

For WS only: Something else, too, WS, which you will want to file under “Thanks for sharing this with me” or “Last laughs”: the colour of bowel movements is different when you stop drinking coffee — it’s lighter. To digress for a moment: the term “bowel movement” is such a delicate way of putting it, isn’t it? OK, this post is getting very weird now, but there is that matter of a woman’s wrath after being scorned. I wonder, WS, wouldn’t you prefer I talk about the trippy ’60s rather than, you know, the colour of bowel movements? Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee . . .

Jillian

Our next stop was a mountain city established by the French called Dalat. We spent about 3 days in the city wandering around just eating, checking out the University, and riding bikes. It even had a miniature Eiffel Tower in the middle of the city. The French have all left but they left much of their influence behind.  The weather was drastically less hot, you actually would need pants and a jacket at night. The temperature was very refreshing after being in such hot places. 

After a relaxing couple of days we decided that while heading to our new destination we would do an easy rider. This is where you can either rent a bike or you can ride on the back of someone else’s and head out to see the sights. Being two people who are not that experienced on 2 wheel motorcycles we decided that it would be a better idea to hire someone that could take us. We started out in the morning going to “The crazy house”.

I thought through the communication barrier, it is was a mental institution. I was not excited for this event, but after a short ride later we arrive to a house that is mostly made of cement but is elaborately designed with dozens of different walkways with weird and odd shaped stairs and rooms.  This place is much bigger than meets the eye.

No matter which way you go it just keeps going. You never have to turn around and go back. It has so many choices of up, around, side and skinny-ways.

The was building was started by a Maggie Huff-Rousselle. She wanted it to be the ” Fairy Tale house” and resemble a giant tree, incorporating sculptured design elements representing natural forms such as animals, mushrooms, spider webs and caves. This to me was like a playground of architecture.

The budgeting went over on the construction by $30 million so she has allowed people to stay here to make some money. They have a dozen rooms with all different names and very interesting looks. Such as the Eagle, Bear, Cave, Caterpillar rooms. I am not sure how much I would enjoy staying here because of the flock of tourists every day, and they are not cheap for being a typical backpacker.

Caterpill​ar room the bamboo looking stuff on the left are stairs to bedroom. The circles on the right is the shower.

We got back on the bikes to head to the out skirts of the city to a small place called chicken Village. They have a story here that I think has a few versions of a young man and woman who fell in love but she was poor and he was rich and his family would not approve the marriage. They told her that in order for them to grant the marriage she would have to go out into the wilderness and find a chicken with perfect spurs. So she went out to find this chicken with perfect spurs and never came back. They were very sad for her so they built this giant Chicken in remembrance of her. It’s kind of a Vietnam Romeo and Juliet.

The people in the village are almost a different race than the rest of the country. They have much darker skin and some slight other differences. The children are so adorable and excited to see you.  We walked through the town waving and saying hello. After this quick stop, we got back on the bikes to our next stop.

 After this stop we headed out to the Pongour (7 step) Falls. This was by far the best part of the easy rider tour.

Without any hesitation other than how slippery it was we went straight in. We hiked up and down and all round. We were in complete awe of the beauty. The water was very comfortably warm, so we just enjoyed it to the fullest.

No one was out in the waterfall till we got there. Then all the locals came out to make sure your safe and to enjoy it with us. We could have spent the entire day there but we had a schedule to keep.

So we changed into dry cloths enjoyed some time with the locals and headed out again. We drove though the country side in very small towns. We even got to pull over for a few minutes to watch a local cock fight.

As we stopped the little kids scurried out so excited to have a rare sight of us white people. I tried to give them some candy but their interest became scared once I got too close.

 Next stop the Silk Factory and this is something to see. The process of how you make silk is something you hear about but something else when you see it for the first time. They take a little moth which makes small caterpillars, which then makes a cocoon that has silk strung around it in a pod.

The workers then find the beginning of the silk string, pull off the silk in one large silk thread, then the caterpillar dies.  They hook the thread to machines to weave it into material.  The silk is then made into cloths and such. Did you catch all that? Yeah very interesting to us and maybe more so seeing it firsthand.

After the silk factory we stopped for a hike down to what they call ” Elephant falls” this is something you can’t see unless you take a very treacherous walk down and up very steep and slipper rocks.

Were not in Kansas anymore Toto they have no red tape for safety warnings in this country. You take your life in your own hands in this country. They just don’t have the same safety precautions that we are used to. We get down with our hearts skipping a few beats to catch a glimpse of some much bigger falls. It was very beautiful and thrilling to be right underneath it. Since we are getting our dry cloths wet very fast, we head back up top with hopes I don’t trip over my flip flops to a very painful fall.

We headed to our hotel and made a stop at a liquor store where he takes us in the back to show us how rice wine and the most expensive coffee is made. This Coffee is about $50 for about 12 oz and that is before they import it to us in the states.

They put weasels in cages and feed them coffee beans. The weasels don’t digest the beans completely so when they poop out the remains that is what they make the coffee from. This is the most expensive kind of coffee you can buy. I hope it’s worth it but thankfully we don’t drink coffee. Brian will continue to talk about this for days cause he can’t believe he has never heard of this.

The sun was going down getting cold very fast and we still had a long way to go. Driving at night does make me nervous but we were the dumb ones who wanted to spend more time at the 7 step falls.  After a much longer ride then they tell us, we finally arrive at our mountain hotel. This is more like a few bungalows on the mountain side. The roof and walls are not attached which allows all sorts of critters inside. As well as the fact that a Gong music festival is going on just outside our room. It actually sounded like they are in our room. This would normally be interesting in watching or being a part of, but considering the high volume of stuff we did that day, I was way overwhelmed with not being able to go straight to bed. So we tried stahling with eating dinner and watch some of the festival. It was only 7 p.m and I could barely hold my head up. So back to our cabin to watch some shows on our ipad, but the music just wasn’t going to stop us anymore. We were out by 8 p.m. like someone knocked us out with a hammer.

After a much needed change for me we headed out of Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne. This is a fun in the sun town that runs on a very long road right on the beach. Here I thought it would be less hot than Ho Chi Minh since its right on the water. But kid you not it was much warmer and the ocean was like a warm bath. It seemed almost warmer in the ocean than it did laying in the hot sun on the beach. As much as I should have been ecstatic about being on a beautiful beach my sadness was increasing with knowing that it had been almost two weeks and our friend Rob was still not found and with search party’s out looking, no hope was in sight. Rob tugged on one of my heart strings and made me care about him. He was a friend that I couldn’t just let go. I hated that I could do nothing and even when he led me to believe that I was helping at one point it just wasn’t enough.

Our Friend, Lost But Not Forgotten

This unfortunately created more tension because Brian could not understand why if there is nothing I could do about it why I am letting it drag me down so much. He was right I needed to worry about what I could control. Even with grief holding over me and his name repeating in my head almost constantly, I pulled myself together and went out on a day tour of the surrounding areas.

We started with a river walk up this stream to a waterfall. The river was more like a small stream and it was very warm. The rock formations were beautiful and interesting but being from Utah and spending much time in southern part of the state it was hard to impress me. (See blog post Goblin Valley) The walk was very nice and calming, something I needed to get out of my funk.

On the way up we met some very interesting girls from the states who now live in Australia. They went down there to go to school and never really left because they loved it so much. I of course don’t hesitate to strike up much conversation since meeting interesting people on this trip was half the reason I came. As well as we hoped to make it there on this trip.

Once we got back down the river we jumped in a jeep and headed up the coast a ways. We stopped at a harbor where we got a beautiful view of the boats and ocean. There were little kids running around trying to sell you the stuff they had made.

With their big brown eyes looking at you it was hard to say no, but something that I have got good at doing since there are a never ending sight of these cute kids.

We got back into the jeep up to the famous sand dunes.

Now when we get here we have the opportunity to take out ATVs over the dunes. This to me was seemed like another scam. They don’t tell you this is an option but they also only give you about 20 minutes to spend at these dunes, which gives you almost no time to run up and enjoy them so of course why else would you not pay a bunch extra for a quicker run up the hills.

You only get a convenient 15 minutes on them and you can’t tell they are almost undrivable till you are on them. They are destroyed to the point that they turn on and sometimes move forward. The steering and brakes are barely working and we were spending most of our time digging it out or trying to get the wheels to pull forward so we can actually go. I eventually got halfway up the largest dune to where we got stuck and stopped to look at the beautiful view. I started it up to get in what little time we have and frustrated with it and let Brian drive the last couple minutes. To spice things up a bit he guns up and down a hill over a few bumps it loses control to where it throws us from the ATV into a puffy pile of sand to break our fall. After I try and dust sand out of each crevice of my being we got back on and head back to the jeep. Now our overpriced 4 wheeling ride was quickly over.

The next stop, another sand dune conveniently with much more time. We head to the top to watch the sun not go down cause the clouds were covering it. Me and the two girls stand around on top just chit chatting and enjoying each other’s company while Brian runs around like a little kid with all his endless energy up and down the hills.

The best part of this experience was meeting these girls. I decide that as much as I love my cute husband, I need a night out just with me and some girls. So we decided to go out together for dinner just the 3 of us.

Brian, himself, is just as excited for some alone time, since being with each other 24/7 can get wearing. The three of us hop on the back of some local taxi motorcycles and get taken to a mediocre restaurant on the beach that seemed promising except for the fact that they kept taking our food before we were done eating it and were extremely rude when we would order anything but our main course. They would make fun of us and take pictures of us. They brought me a shake I ordered, but it was very warm and I was afraid they might have spit in it. One rule I read once and didn’t follow in this case was that you should never take the advice of your driver of where to go, It’s usually a rip off with bad service. This I hope to not do twice. After much really good conversation and at least a full stomach. We said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotels. These girls more so than any other, so far I hope find and stay in contact with me. I hope to maybe see them down under soon.

The next day we decided that we were going to go and see the largest reclining Buddha in Vietnam. We don’t know how to get there but we thought we would just rent some motor bikes for $5.00 day and head out. When we get down to more understanding of how far it really is we changed our minds and hire two guys to take us out to this place that is a little over an hour one way. It was $15.00 a person and well worth every penny. We thought at first we could do this no problem. We realize that while on our ride out there that we made a wise decision to have someone else that had the skills you need in order to maneuver the Vietnam traffic.

He assures me several times I have nothing to worry that he is a very good driver and after the ride there I was confident that he knew what he was doing. The Vietnamese have a very distinct way of driving. They never really drive super fast they almost never stop but just slow and steady and bikers always to the right. They often use 2 lanes as 4 lanes with people driving on both sides in the same direction, and have a honking system that helps them know where you are and they need to be. If anything on this ride it was stress free and fun having someone worry about everything.

Once we get to the base of the mountain where the Buddha is we get dropped off, head through a gate, and on to a bus to a sky tram.

We get a beautiful ride up to the top of this jungle saturated mountain and then to a restaurant overlooking the back side of the mountain, the valley beneath it and the Ocean in the far distance. Then after lunch, up several hundred stairs two three separate Buddhas. Then up the rest to this incredible beautiful and extraordinarily large reclining Buddha.

We can’t really get over how large it is . We try with a little camera to take as many pictures as we can in hopes to get one that can grasp how large this thing is. After wandering around and making interesting conversation with locals which really is more like playing the game Charades. We then head back down the mountain to jump back on the bikes and to the French ruins.

The French ruins were closing when we showed up so we ran up the hill just long enough to run into a kid named Ken at the top that took us on a little walk to where we could overlook his city that he hikes up from everyday. He comes in hopes to make a little tip for his info and practice his English.

The light was fading fast and so we took as many pictures as we could and headed back to the bikes to hurry back as soon as we could. If riding on these bikes isn’t scary enough, at night its much worse. In this country it’s illegal to not have a helmet, but okay to not have headlights. Thankfully we were close enough I didn’t have to panic for too long and we got home just fine. As just in time for a beach feast on some local fresh Lobster‼!

We are excited to announce that select full-price Shells will be on sale at 50% off Monday only! Go to https://OurAbilitytoAccessorize.miche.com, and click on the Cyber Weekend Mystery Hostess tab on the left. Then, use the link for “Cyber Weekend Sale” in the left-hand menu!

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Your “accessory” in crime,

Debbie

our huts we sleep in

Once I can pull myself together we head over to eat breakfast that they have also provided for us, and then our hosts cute little old dad takes us on a walk through their village during the sunrise.

walking across the river to other villages

Orchard

This I am sure is very funny to these people because walking through their farm we are slipping and falling all over the place.

Papaya tree

These coffins are all over country. In almost every field you see. When someone dies during the war that is where they stay.

Once we get back we have to get our stuff into the boat and head back to meet up with the rest of our group who all chose to sleep in a hotel that night. We switch boats where everyone smells and looks much better than us and head to the Floating market. This is interesting cause little boats just swing up against ours trying to sell us anything they can.

The boats have eyes on the front to scare the crocodiles that no longer are ever seen in these waters.

On the top of each stick is a piece of what they sell so you know which boat you want to go to.

Little children are trained from as small as they can talk to take the trade of their parents. These kids are all around us acting like pro-salesmen making a buck for their families. We pull up to one of the bigger boats and whoever wants a fresh cut pineapple gets off to watch a super quick pineapple cutting lady whip you up a giant pineapple popsicle.

After we finish there we all get back on the boat and head over to the rice paper factory.

This is very interesting how this very essential food source of theirs is reformed into so many uses and made in the back yards of these village people.

They also have a interesting number of puppies in this country. We later find out its cause they wait till they are no longer useful like making puppies and such and then eat them for dinner. This was very sad to me so held the puppies even though they might have thought it was dumb to care.

We all load back onto the boat and head to lunch, then the bus and back to Ho Chi Minh City where I wish out a doubt get my massage and get ready for the next day.

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To my surprise Vietnam was not everything the lady we had met in Thailand had said it was. The people seemed more than excited to see us. In fact they were almost thrilled when us white folk would say a single word in Vietnamese. We got the opportunity to be there during Halloween. People were more nice and excited to see us.

They know this holiday originated in the states so they think it couldn’t be cooler that we are walking up and down their street enjoying it with them. We had so many people wanting to have their pictures taken with us.

All my fears melted away with all their smiles. This is just a place like any other, you have to be cautious about your stuff. Relatively people aren’t out to hurt you. I didn’t ever think I would say this but I actually like it more than Thailand in some ways. When they try and sell you something you only have to say “no” 2 times. In Thailand it is about 10 times. They are much more willing to be helpful. The country itself is cleaner, smells better, and is so easy to get around for even less than Thailand which is hard to believe.

The day after Halloween we went on a tour to the Macon Delta. Which is a group of smaller villages that are on Islands and in more remote areas. It was a long bus ride there but once we got off and on to the boat it felt so nice. Their is something about having someone else figuring out all the places to go for you.

We first started going to 3 different islands that each have different factories. When I say factories I mean people sitting in a hut making things. This was a big eye opener for both me and Brian. When we see something in the states that says made in Vietnam we would think of hundreds of workers in an actual factor on some conveyer belt making these things. No they are families who have started these things in their own villages.

The first one we went to called Turtle Island was an island where they harvest honey. They make a number of different things from face cream from the wax, a certain kind of whiskey, tea, and so much more.

After we were done eating things, holding their bees and snakes, we hopped on these small boats for a boat ride. The next island being Coconut island we were able to buy coconut candy made right there, as well as a hundred different coconut products or you could buy all the bags, shoes and accessories all made by crocodiles from the crocodile farm also on the island. He also offered us some Cobra whiskey which we politely turned down.

The 3rd island was called Phoenix and was where we had lunch. We could then ride bikes, feed the crocodiles. That was a rush watching them jump up to grab it. I was bad though i wanted to have fun with it so I teased them by putting the meat between their eyes. I was making them work for it. We then walked around to see more of the local factories right in their little houses making kitchen ware, baskets, and more.

I put the meat right between the eyes

this is a banana tree. what they should look like.

During this great tour we met some really cool people that we wished we could have spent more time with but our paths just had to go diffrent ways. We hope to see Andy and Liza again somewhere in this big world

We then all got back on the boats back to the mainland where we would head out on a long drive to our home stay. Home stay is when you go and stay with a local family in their village with their families. This was like no other experience I have ever done.

When we got there it was pitch black. We first were taken to a place almost no one would go by themselves, down a dark path to a river bank where we were met with a long skinny boat. Very carefully we were all asked to get in, sit down and hold on. We headed down this long river where in the dark of night we could see millions of fire flies. It was a warm night and a very enjoyable ride. We headed down this river to where he brought us to this house off to the side with no road anywhere in site. We climbed out a little anxious not knowing what to expect to a very friendly family with 2 little girls and a boy, his parents, and a sister. They let us settle into our small sleeping hut and then straight to dinner where we were able to enjoy a freshly caught elephant fish and a well cooked homemade dinner.

our walkway to our hut next to the river

We stayed up for a while getting to know the other guests there. Then headed off to bed where I was a bit more concerned considering the tide was coming up from the river on 2 sides of us and flooding parts of the walk way. He assured us that it wouldn’t come up too far. But not only that, but what creatures I might find in my bed in middle of the night. The bed was mostly just box springs but much more than even they are used to. Just after getting ready for bed and slipping into a very hot room and bed, I lay down to find a lizard scurrying up my leg. Even though I have no concern what so ever for lizards, who really wants a slimy creature crawling up your leg in bed. After I freak out just a little I try my best to find a comfortable spot and fall asleep.

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Once we got to this hotel it was rough morning with several of our things going missing, or breaking. We knew this stuff would be near impossible to find here. We also knew we would have these things happen but not so much on the first day.

Brian had wanted to come here for the fact that he could compete in a Jiu Jitsu tournament. We ended up being too late to register and missed it. We also came here to meet up with friends that were also coming for the tournament but also could not make it in time. So with shrugging off what was no longer possible and decided to head to southern Thailand to meet up with these friends Justin and Rich. Two bad ass dudes that we would love nothing more than spend time with.

But before the fun could begin we of course had to spend 13 hours on an loud bus that played incredible bad movies. We of course got stuck in the front seat right up against the ridiculously loud TV.

After feeling like I was going to break the bus in half with my anxiousness of now being in Thailand for 2 days and hating most of it we finally arrived in Phuket. We got to our unexpectedly nice hotel. Before I decided to fall asleep before our friends got there. I jumped online to check my facebook to find out that a friend of all of ours had been missing for 2 days and I feared the worst. His name was Rob and I care about him deeply. I knew that from past conversations with him that if he had gone missing for any length of time that he was capable of the worst. After much crying from fear of what he could do to himself I fell into a short sleep before Justin and Rich got there.

Our phone then rings, Rich and Justin are down stairs waiting for us. I start to tear up to the fact that I have to go tell my friends the scary news about our friend. We all tried to shrug it off knowing it might be too soon to speculate but also we are too far away to worry about it yet. So we head out for dinner for the first of what I hope to be a great time. We stay up late walking around town with a million Thai people trying to sell us every such thing and then head up to the top of the hotel for more good conversation and a swim in the most awesome pool.

I start to get to tired and head back to the room while the boys head down the street for a snack. I fall asleep and wake up about 2 a.m., Brian is not back and just think they got side tracked and are just having fun. Then I fall asleep till about 4, and Brian is still not back, and I panic a bit but shrug it off for just needing to be calm cause he’s a big boy, and I don’t need to freak out yet. Then about 5:15 I start to freak out. I wouldn’t even know where to start to look for him. I am walking back and forth from the balcony to the front door thinking this is just not like him, something must be wrong. Then just after 6:00 a.m. just as I am about to tear up I hear a knock at the door.

The first look on his face was a look of how much fun he had to a face of OH shit I major screwed up. So by this point in the trip I have not succeeded in my sleeping department at all with the planes, trains, crying, and sickening worry I am about as irritable as one wife can be.

After waking up for a very quick breakfast I head back to the room to see if I can get anymore sleep before we head out for a new night on the town. This night starts out with a run down of everything that had happened the night before that I had missed. This is all fine and dandy but I am still a little but hurt about my rough night while they are out having fun.

We first make a stop off as a Mui Thai Fight. Then off to the most party part of town. This is not mine or Brian’s usual scene but it can be fun on occasion when you just want to see something knew.

This is a complete circus from people out on the street getting you to hold their incredible cute Lemurs for $ with a picture with them. Which of course I am a sucker for.

they also have very elaborate bars that look like a putt putt golf course on steroids, with a million Lady boys trying to take all our money. This was for sure fun to walk through for a short while but I was eager to leave.

this is what the entire club looked like with snakes and all

We settle on a small bar in the midst of complete craziness. We sit around meeting other travelers and playing connect 4 with the over skilled bar tenders who have been doing this for years.

My stomach start to get upset cause I also failed to mention that it’s also not agreeing with my trip. With considering the time and not being well we head back around 5 a.m. me and Brian head back to our hotel leaving our friends to bask in the craziness that this part of Thailand has to offer.

The next morning we have to get up at 8 a.m., which is considerably early after the time we got to bed and had to head to the airport to get up to Bangkok so Rich and Justin could fly home and we could head to Vietnam. Both our flights are at 4-6 am and we didn’t get into Bangkok till 7pm. We find the cheapest $12. hotel in case we actually sleep and spend almost the entire night out on the town.

When we get there we wanted to see the reclining Buddha but after our hour and half cab ride it is closed. So we start to walk and at this point I am having major Culture shock. Even having been here once its still hard to get past the over powering smells, the fact that no one understand you, and that everything is in your face all the time. Not only that they will do anything to take all your money from you.

We somehow stumble upon the local produce market that few to no tourist comes to. This is the highlight for us cause we got to see the authentic part of this city with cheaper prices and better food

So we poke around eating right from the street venders and loving every minute of it. We can’t get over all the weird and interesting foods and candy for sale.

We then jump on a tuke tuke which is very small carriage ran by a motorcycle attached to it and head over to Khao San road. This is a very touristy road with everything you can imagine for sale. From fish, pedicures, to fried insects to eat.

We settle on a few foot massages, Thai massages and haircuts. We could have had an entire spa day at this place for less than $30. We force ourselves to leave knowing we could spend all night there and head to our most interesting and old hotel.

After hanging out in this hotel for a while we notice that a thunder and lightning storm is rolling through. We head up to the 18 floor since it was as high as we could go and watch it from some open windows. It’s sometime near 3 or 4 a.m. and it felt like we were about to be in a scary movie.

The building was like being in a scary version of the “Shining”. The carpet smelled very old and was very warn. The wall paper was barely holding on. The lights were very dim and barely working, with a thunderstorm in the background. it was a fun experience even with little to no sleep.

After a short time later Justin and Rich had to head out. So we said our goodbyes with so many mixed feelings about them leaving. I really wanted to spend more time with such great friends. I also felt bad they had to go home and wait to see if Rob ever shows up.

An hour later we headed out for the airport to Vietnam. On our way we met a lady from Australia who had just moved from Vietnam with her son. She cornered me for some time telling me that Vietnam was the worst place in the world. That nothing was good about it. That all the people there are bad and will screw you over any way they can. So I of course with no sleep and now fear of the country were headed to I curl up in a ball on the plane and cry myself to sleep.

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We chose the space and deep sea. If you are going, I would suggest not doing the deep sea, it was not worth it. But I am very afraid of spiders but now looking back I wished I had done that one.

We did see a deep space, which is for sure worth seeing. Everyone sits in the first row, so if you go don't, it is a way better show from the back row. We could have spent several days in this museum. We wandered around for hours.

After spending the entire day running though that museum and after being completely exhausted, we headed to Grand Central Station which is also a must see. Then back to Trav's for a final dinner and goodbye.

I am very sorry to my readers this blog has been hard to keep up with the spotty internet use. please bare with me it will get more in detail.

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