Rain, rain, go away!

fashion at its finest!

I admit, the rain is starting to get to us a little.   This cooler weather is not exactly what we had in mind for our vacation even though we expected it to be a bit colder and wetter in the north.  I'm thankful for laundry services that are cheap and quick - we've been wearing our warmer clothes A LOT!!!

check out our "first class" train accommodations....;-)

My last post was from Hanoi - right after our amazing tour of Halong Bay.  From there we boarded an overnight train to Hue - leaving Hanoi at 4 p.m. and arriving in Hue at 8 a.m.  Our sleeper car was not exactly what the brochure/pictures let on but it was clean and we all slept better than expected.

they're smiling now .... let's check back in 14 hrs!

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the countryside, as it was dark for most of the way, but we awoke as we were going through the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).  This next part of our journey took us through the part of Vietnam that has borne the brunt of the war and yet, there really is no visible evidence of it as you travel around.  As Westerners, the words Vietnam and war seem to be synonymous and yet once here, you would never really know it happened.

Hue (pronounced Hway) was a wet and dreary destination.  It was rather miserable actually, but in spite of the weather, we toured the Citadel/Imperial Palace and even went on a dragon boat ride down the Perfume River to the Thien Mu Pagoda.

just like our children ... always hungry!

Our hotel in Hue was great and cheap ($28/night including breakfast!). Again, the people have been so wonderful and kind to us, and the service has been like nothing we've experienced before.  In Hanoi, our hotel surprised us with bag lunches for our trip on the train for no extra cost.  In Hue, when we asked about buying some extra baguettes from the hotel restaurant for our road trip, they just gave them to us.  And today, when I asked a lady working at her stall of jewelry on the sidewalk, where the nearest toilet was, she took me by the hand and led me down an alley to her own home.  Lovely, lovely people. 

We left Hue 2 days ago and traveled by hired car (and hired driver) to Hoi An.  It was a 140 km trip that took us 4 hours thanks to the weather, narrow windy roads and crazy traffic.  What we could see of the scenery between bouts of fog and rain was beautiful but unfortunately,  the clouds kept us from seeing most of the mountain views from the high pass we traveled over.  I took a couple of pictures of some famous beaches along the way but we definitely didn't linger there!

reminded us of the Oregon coast

The famous China Beach

local fisherman

rice, rice baby.......♫

We've settled into our hotel in Hoi An and have actually unpacked a bit as we're staying for the week.  This coming week is the biggest holiday celebrated in all of Vietnam.  It is called the festival of Tet and is their celebration of the Lunar New Year.  From what we have read and heard, it is their Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays and New Year's all wrapped in one.  We can already see the preparations underway and are excited to be in this quaint little city for this holiday and all the festivities.  Bet you can already guess what my next blog entry will be about!  Hoi An is a great little place - the shops and streets are tidier than we've seen anywhere, and it has lots of groovy coffee/pastry shops and cool restaurants.  The weather here is a bit warmer - no more toques - and even though it is still cloudy, there's much less rain than Hue☺.  Hoi An is famous for its MANY tailor shops where you can have ANYTHING made - just show them a picture!  We've got in on the action and are having a few items sewn for us and even the kids are getting some shoes made.   Stella had quite a bit of fun picking out the design and colors of her shoes - and surprise surprise, they will be her favorite color yellow and will have pink flowers on them!  Why not?!!  Stella will probably never get the opportunity to design her own shoes again! (Pictures of the shoes to come when we pick them up.)

The food has been really incredible so far ... and cheap!  The four of us can each eat a hearty meal (including beverages and an appetizer like spring rolls) for under $10.  The other night we found a great Italian restaurant and had some yummy pizza and pasta which the kids loved!

Hauling these backpacks around, we've been joking about needing full body massages.  Then just today at the hotel, we noticed a brochure that listed all kinds of appealing treatments.  Would you believe that a full body, 70 minute massage (Thai, Hot Stone, Vietnamese etc.) is only $15 here at a nearby spa?!!!!!!  Manicure/pedicure combos for $8.  Jeff is gonna go book an hour treatment for himself but what he  doesn't know yet, is I'm booking myself an entire day, maybe a few days at the spa☺!!!

We are really excited at how the kids are adapting to their surroundings and at how confident they are in this foreign place.  Max has taken to introducing us as, "This is my friend Jeff, this is my friend Tanya and this is my friend Stella!"  Way too cute!  And just today, when we were bombarded by the locals in the market trying to get our attention to buy their "stuff", Stella replies, "No thank-you.  We're just going over there to buy some popcorn."  Yummy popcorn here - tastes like kettle corn - and is definitely a favorite snack with the kids.  

Must go for now.  ♥ you!

The Dragon's Pearl

After a few days in Hanoi, we embarked on a 2 night / 3 day cruise of Halong Bay.  Our "junk" was called the Dragon's Pearl and was an unforgettable way to explore the world heritage site.

the view from the top deck

 

the view from our room

Wow . . .  there really are no words to describe or do justice to this region.  Even though the weather at this time of year was cool (hence the toques you'll see in the pics) and the visibility was low,  it added an ethereal air to the place.  We really enjoyed sleeping on the boat and eating AMAZING food while we toured around only a fraction of the 2000 limestone islands in the bay.

We deliberately picked a tour that would take us away from the heavily touristed stops, and on this cruise, we definitely felt like we were "off the beaten track".   The highlight of the trip was being taken by row boat to a floating fishing village that consisted of about 34 families.

It was hard to believe that out there,  in what felt like the middle of nowhere, existed a little community of people living on the water!  How their young children survive,  running around with their dogs,  jumping into and out of boats,  really amazes me as a mother of 2 curious and energetic little ones!!!!!   We had tea with the leader of the community and toured the school that was built by the company we sailed with.  Our tour guide grew up in a floating village like this one, but with only 8 families, and knows thes islands like the back of his hand.

Stella and Max would say that the visit to a cave was their favorite part of the trip.  We stopped at a beach and spent some time (much to Stella's delight) collecting shells, finding starfish and even playing with a tiny little crab.

From the beach, we climbed some pretty steep steps up to a cave.

the view from the top of the hike

The kids had a blast exploring inside the cave that was lit up with spotlights and went on for a few hundred meters.

A couple of hours later we were treated to a spectacular dinner inside the cave!

Tomorrow we leave on an overnight train to Hue.  The journey will take 12+ hours but we leave late in the afternoon and have booked a sleeper car.  Our kids are pretty lucky to have the experience of sleeping on a boat and train all in the same week ☺

We have finally adapted to the tine change (no more 6 hour naps in the afternoon) and are feeling good today despite a little tummy trouble a couple of days ago.  The kids are doted on everywhere we go and seem unfazed by all the different tastes and sounds around them.  

So from all of us here . . .  bye for now♥

Good Morning Vietnam!

We have arrived safe and sound! 

Back in Kelowna we had a bit of a plane delay which  made us anxious if we would make our flight in Vancouver.  That coupled with our security search where they thought our playdough and usb cord looked highly suspicous made for an 'explosive' start to this trip. 

It was rather amusing when Max exclaimed with great delight,  "Look Stella, it's Vietnam!",  while we began our descent into Vancouver from Kelowna.  Oh boy, I thought ...  this kid has no idea how much further we have to go!  But I am so pleased to report that both Stella and Max did unbelievably well on the flights.  They slept 9 of the 13 hours to Taipei waking only once,  and then slept through the entire flight from Taipei to Hanoi including the take off and landing!   Yay ... couldn't ask for anything more!

We are staying in the 'Old Quarter' in Hanoi right now.  We are in a lovely little hotel right in the middle of EVERYTHING!  As you walk the city streets bouncing in and out of markets, up and down bustling alleys, you get that "This is why I travel" feel. 

We've been having lots of fun exploring our surroundings - Max particularly loves all the 'motorbikes' and Stella's in love with all the ladies in conical hats carrying fresh fruit.  The population is around 4 million and there are at least that many mopeds here too!!!!   I read on someone's blog that you cannot wait for traffic to stop for you in order to cross the road, you just have to walk out in it and they will swerve around you.  Well, it's true .... there are no crosswalks, no lights and definitely no rules!   We grab the kids' hands tightly, say a prayer  and walk slowly, purposefully through the streets.  Yep, through the streets as the mopeds are parked on the sidewalks!  

Tonight, we enjoyed a show at the Water Puppet Theatre.  It was especially entertaining to the kids as the puppets looked like they were dancing on the water.  Max was pretty enchanted with the dragon and Stella liked the puppets holding torches.  

The kids are getting lots of stares here plus a few head pats and pinched cheeks. 

Jeff's even scouting out some new job prospects here in Hanoi!

Well, it's time to sign off for now.  We're heading on a boat cruise of Halong Bay in a couple of days and I suspect there will be no wi-fi there :)  So until early next week - Tam Biet - that's bye in vietnamese.

Why Vietnam?

So here it goes .... the first of hopefully many entries about our adventures in Vietnam.   No, we haven't embarked on our journey yet, but we are just days away now!

There have been a lot of mixed reactions to the news of our trip but hands down, the question we have been asked the most, is "Why Vietnam?"  (strong emphasis on the Vietnam part☺) 

Time and time again, we have heard stories about Southeast Asia but one country in particular seems to stand out the most in conversations - Vietnam.  A number of years back, our friends (the Thompson's) journeyed for the better part of a year around our beautiful globe and concluded there was one country in particular that they fell in love with - Vietnam.  So, like any smart traveler about to embark on a journey, I went out to find myself a copy of Lonely Planet Vietnam.   I opened it up to the first page and this is what I read:

 "If there is one country in Southeast Asia that everyone has heard about long before they discover the region, it's Vietnam.  Of course, such infamy wasn't always for the right reasons, but this is the new Vietnam and it's one of the most intoxicating places on earth.  It's a kaleidoscope of vivid colors and subtle shades, of exotic sights and curious sounds of compelling history and contrasting cultures.   Nature has blessed Vietnam with a bountiful harvest.  From the soaring mountains of the far north to the carpet of emerald-green rice paddies in the south, Vietnam is little short of stunning.  The curvaceous coastline is defined by endless beaches, lovely lagoons and hidden coves.  Inland, peasant women in conical hats still tend to their their fields and children ride buffalo along country paths. ..... Vietnam is in top gear.  Try and catch it before it reinvents itself as another Malaysia or Thailand.  For now, it remains one of the most enriching, enlivening and enticing countries on earth."   

SOLD!!!!!  I bought the book, we purchased our open-ended plane tickets and are currently packing our bags.  

Some might think we are a little crazy to be taking our young children (3 & 5yrs) on such a journey.  Young, yes, but their ages make them perfectly portable and adaptable!  We think it's an amazing opportunity for Stella and Max to begin to see that how we live here in Canada is not how the majority of the world lives.  We want them to witness first hand that though North Americans have 'much' in terms of material possessions, there's a whole wide world out there of people who are rich in so many other ways. Then there's that beautiful thing that happens when you travel ... the things you learn as a result of being a part of another culture for a couple of months. "Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living" - Miriam Beard

We are eager ... anxious .... excited .... nervous .... prepared ... overwhelmed .... ready.  Sometimes in my apprehensive state I reflect on the words of Dr. Seuss:

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

T minus 5 days!!!!

Hope you will follow along on our journey ... we'll write again from the 'other side'!