Hoi An - Our Last Week

We are now back home and have had a few days to re-acclimatize ourselves back to our regular life.   Maeve is THRILLED to be back with her friends and has been having fun catching up with everyone.  Jet lag took a few days for me to sort out due to a cat and child waking me up in the middle of the night -- but I won't name any names ;-), but Maeve was back at school the next day and did really well.  That being said, Maeve slept 14 hours on Friday night and I slept 12.  So dreamy.  Now that we are finally back, it is so nice to be back in our home.  Thank you, Catherine, for taking such good care of our home and of Ollie.  Maeve was excited to look through her box of Christmas stuff as we'd essentially just packed it all up right before we left on December 28, and she didn't really remember all that was waiting for her.  For me, what stands out is how quiet and organized it is back in Seattle.  Even though a lot of our streets can be fairly narrow here, I now feel like they're so wide and spacious, and there is no one trying to zoom past me or honk on their way by.  Ha.  We should also go away more often as our grumpy cat, is actually being kind to us and following us around... I guess he did notice that his people were gone.

I feel really thankful that we were able to take the time and have the resources to take a trip like we did, and its not lost on me that not everyone can do such a thing, so I really value what we experienced.  I know we're only a few days back, but I do feel like Maeve and I have a tighter relationship after spending 24/7 for 3 months.  Hopefully it will set us up for good things, as the teens are going to be a challenge.  Ha ha.  I was saying the other day that when I was up in my room, and Maeve was downstairs with her friend -- that I think that was the first time in 3 months (aside from Australia) that we'd been in separate rooms.  I'm not sure if Maeve will choose to be an adventurous traveler in the future, and she is welcome to see the world whichever way suits her (with her money ;-))-- but I think there is real benefit in being immersed in another culture for a bit.  It provides an opportunity to witness, appreciate, and tolerate a lot of different things -- whether it be tangible things, or living conditions, access to electricity/water, traffic flows, &/or various communication methods.  As I mentioned earlier -- I do love the chaos of traveling, but now that we're back home, I am relishing in the quiet and organized.

Anyway, I wanted to close the loop and wrap up our Southeast Asia trip here on the blog.  We spent our final week in Hoi An, Vietnam, which was a very relaxing -- we spent a good deal of our time in the pool or at the beach.  Though the skies were a bit hazy and cloudy, it was perfectly warm, which made me perfectly happy.  I had a list of things that I thought we might do there, but to be honest, we had done a lot similar things in other parts of Southeast Asia, and Maeve, in particular,  just wanted to chill our last week of holidays.  And, so rather than fight it, we decided to embrace it.

Aside from pool and beach time, we wandered the night markets in old town (which is really pretty with all the lit up lanterns), we did a day trip to Ba Na Hills, we ate a lot, and were able to re-connect with our fun travel buddies, Dave and Eddie, on our last day in Hoi An.  We finally did some shopping and bought a few souvenirs/gifts to take home, as I hadn't wanted to lug stuff any earlier than I needed to.  We also enjoyed our spa treatments -- I had the last of my foot massages, and Maeve enjoyed her last mani/pedi for a while.  I think I averaged about 2 massages I week on this trip -- I know I'll miss those.  Ha.

We had an uneventful trip home.  We left late at night and flew 4.5 hours to Seoul where we had a 10 hour layover before taking a 10 hour flight home.  So, compared to our flight over, it seemed a lot shorter.  Thankfully Maeve is a patient traveler and the 26 hours or so of airports/traveling wasn't really an issue.

"Relaxing"

We spent 3 days at An Bang Beach.  It was fun to play in the waves.

Lounging and reading books.  We read a lot of books on our trip.  

This was our home for the last week :-).  Our room was second story on the left.

We took a day trip to Ba Na Hills - which has this Golden Bridge.  It was a foggy/cloudy day, so there were no views to see, but it actually was kind of cool to be in the fog.

Quick.  Take a picture!

Because... this was the reality.  Ha.  Selfies and selfie sticks everywhere.

There were a few different gondolas brought us to the top and different areas.

There were even a few amusement rides.  We waited an hour for this roller coaster... at least it was fun. 

I think they were trying to mimic a Disney feel as they had characters wandering around, themed buildings, and some amusement park rides -- this is sort of why I thought we would go here as to give Maeve a break from 'all things cultural' in a kid friendly area.  But in all honesty, it felt weird to be here in the middle of our travels, and it was just okay.  Oh well.  Now we know.  Back to the beach.

Night time in Hoi An is very pretty.  There are lit up lanterns all over the place.  Old Town also blocks off cars from entering, so its easy to explore and shop.

For some reason, my camera didn't really take good night pictures in Hoi An, and I never really got a great night shot.

Our second day at the beach brought with it much bigger waves that day -- we were cautious with our water fun, but we definitely had fun.  I think Maeve jumped and played on the water's edge for at least 4 hours.

Sand with a little ice cream...

Getting clothing tailored is a very popular thing to do in Hoi An.  So, the fashionista was fitted for her own dress.

She loves it...  

More night markets.  More bargaining.  Maeve said I got better at it in the end.  It helped when she stopped begging for something in front of the seller.  Ha.

St Paddy's Day in Hoi An.  We found ourselves at the local Irish Pub... Maeve getting her first glimpse of green beer.

Sleeping off St. Paddy's Day.  Ha. 

Of course we had to find the best Banh Mi per Anthony Bourdain -- He made Banh Mi Phuong famous on his show in 2016.  I have to say -- they were REALLY good.  We ended up going there 3 times.

Maeve gave it two thumbs up, also.

And, the perfect way to spend our last day on our trip was with Dave and Eddie.  Dave and Eddie arrived in Hoi An on the day we were leaving, so we had about 8 hours with them, which we spent catching up, playing in the pool, and going out for Banh Mi sandwiches.  This was our 3rd country connecting with them.  Very fun travel buddies.  

Arriving at the airport for a late flight out.  Maeve fell asleep on the way to the airport, so when I said, "Smile Maeve" - this is the smile that I got.  Ha ha.

Here we are just outside of Seoul airport.  Seoul has little free tours that they offer if you have a long layover, and we opted to visit this temple site.  We opted to stick to just this tour as we were cold!  The temperature was just 5 degrees C/40 degrees F -- that was a drop from 27 degrees C/85 degrees F just 8 hours prior.  Brr.  

The Seoul airport had a few things to keep us occupied like this IT section where they had a 3D printer, a fun mini theater where we were taken to outer space, and some other fun gadgety things.  They also had this virtual game where I participated in a car race.  Apparently I have aged out of these things -- it gave me motion sickness and I had to bail out of the race partway through.  Ha.  How sad.  I'm quite certain my brain is atrophying.

We started doing yoga and gymnastic moves while we waited.

We prepared our bodies for Seattle with a couple of Starbucks.

We also sat there and took selfies.. because what else should we do?

Finally on our flight home and excited to arrive :-).

The sun was shining upon our return and it was a great way to see the PNW again after our 3 month trip.

North Vietnam - Hanoi, Bai Tu Long Bay, Ninh Binh

We arrived in Hoi An yesterday to enjoy our final week in Southeast Asia, but we just spent over a week and a half in the north.  

Northern Vietnam was definitely cooler, and at times wet - but it was okay to get a break from the more intense heat we had in Cambodia.  As we ventured north, it was uncertain if we'd make our connection in Siem Reap to Hanoi.  Our departing flight out of Sihanoukville was 2.5 hours late, which left very little time to make our international connection - but, we were fortunate with very helpful airport personnel who met us off the plane and essentially ran us through all checkpoints to retrieve our bags -- re-check in, run through immigration, and security.  At one point Maeve and I were running from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 like we were on the Amazing Race.  Long story short - we made it, with even about 20 minutes to spare as our departing flight out of Siem Reap was slightly delayed.  Happy days.  I was having visions of spending the night at the airport.  Travel is an adventure and going with the flow. 

The north was less busy regarding activities, and more of a scenic venture.  I really loved it, but Maeve was a bit up and down about it all.  In all honesty, she's ready to head home -- she's super excited about seeing all her friends, eating the food that she wants, not being a celebrity with people wanting to touch her and take pictures of her, and not being honked at on the street every 5 seconds. Ha.  In hindsight - 2.5 months would have been perfect.  But, you never know as you plan these things, and we're just staying in the moment and making the most out of the days we have left.  I have to say, she has been an absolute rock star of a traveler and totally engaged and happy to do everything (for the most part) - but she's ready now, and now I have to parent and try and make things exciting as a bit of the novelty has worn off.  Ha. 

That being said -- we continue to have fun and Hoi An should be a great last week for us.  Here are the pictures of things we did and saw this past week with some stories around them.

Finally... we made it on plane #1

Happy campers in Siem Reap outside our gate - we had enough time to celebrate making our connection with a Blizzard for dinner.

Hanoi is full of little alleyways and secret passageways.  This was how we got to our place.

I loved all the homes with all the balconies and flowers

This was our sweet little Airbnb.  We called it our penthouse suite since it was on the top floor.

I loved eating meals on upper level balconies and taking in the scene.

We took a calligraphy class - and the made these for us as take away  gifts.  My calligraphy work was of similar skill by the end of the class, of course.  Ha.

Wandering around Ho Hoan Klem.  It was like walking around Green Lake, but with a bit more entertainment.

Checking out Den Ngoc Son in the middle of the lake.

Zumba on the lake

Night scenes in Hanoi.

We toured the former Hoa Lo Prison museum - initially built by the french colonists and later used for the POW during the Vietnam War/American War.

It is always interesting to learn from the past, hear both sides, and take a moment to pay respect.

The front of the Hoa Lo Prison.

Hanoi Train Street.  So cool.

Businesses and houses line the tracks just feet away from a still active train track.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see a train, but it was fun to wander up the tracks to take in daily life.

We took in a Lune Production called, My Village, while in Hanoi.  It was great -- great choreography and music and had acrobats similar to Cirque de Soleil.

Drama Queen.  Ha.  She was hot. It was not that hot.

Decided we needed some fruit while wandering the streets.

I found this so funny.. while wandering the streets we saw two dogs with their fur dyed.  These dogs were so vain.  Ha.

You can't leave Vietnam without seeing a Water Puppet Show, apparently. 

En route to our boat for Halong/Bai Tu Long Bay, we stopped at this studio and Maeve picked out this art piece that she wanted for her room.  The lady in the photo is the artist.

Selfies found on my phone.

We did a 2 night/ 3 day tour to Bai Tu Long Bay through Indochina Junk on the Dragon Pearl 2.  I was excited about this boat and chose a smaller one as we always like to get to know people on our tours -- and it was the right choice for us, as we met some really nice people on this trip.  In this region there are over 4 thousand islands that are limestone rock formations that are fantastic to look at.  There are also hundreds of caves all around created by erosion.  My pictures don't capture it, but its worth a visit if you're in the area and want a relaxing few days.

Our fancy cabin.  Last time I was in Halong Bay I think we spent $20 for a night on a junk boat that I'm surprised stayed afloat.  I also vividly remember hearing the rats run through the walls while we were trying to sleep at night.  I decided we needed an upgrade on this trip.  Ha.

One of my best sleeps on this trip was on the boat.  And, I swear the shower was probably the best one over the past 2.5 months.  It had water pressure and it was hot.  It's the little things that bring joy.  Ha.

Checking out the top deck.

Maeve and Daisy

We did two separate kayaking trips during the 3 days. 

Happy smiles... this after I was done lecturing her about kayak paddle etiquette.  I'm pretty sure her eyes glaze over whenever I provide a teaching moment.  ha.  

Beautiful scenery and caves everwhere.

Dusk on the deck.

I'm pretty sure I had a mojito in my hand right then...

The meals were amazing and ridiculous.  They had about an 8 course meal... oh boy.  So full.  Great fun and conversations to add to the evening.  We had a crew of Americans, English, and Dutch on board.

There was also down time to read from our cabins and take in the views alongside us.

Not captured was a competitive Boggle tournament with the family from NC, which was quite entertaining.  Meeting other people always makes an experience for us.

Day 2 kayaking.  Lets just say, its a bit of a miracle that we made it to our destination.  The currents in one section were very strong, and not to lay blame, but the other person in my kayak only provided moral support instead of the physical kind ---- at one point when I was working as hard as I could and not going anywhere, I figured we'd just drift away and they'd come find us.  And, I was okay with that plan.  But, somehow we made it :-).

We packed our fleeces and rain jackets for mainly for northern Vietnam and they were not packed in vain.  It wasn't terribly cold, but similar to early fall in the PNW -- we were certainly happy to have them after getting slightly wet in the kayak.

Lunch on the beach.

Bamboo boats.

We wandered around another cave during this tour.

On the final day we were taken on a tour of floating fishing villages.  It was a really neat opportunity to see what a different lifestyle these families live -- and also be way impressed with how strong our rowers were.  I didn't capture it, but its so fun to see some fishermen row with their feet as they're casting with their rods.

Boats tied together when they're not out actively fishing.

Our party boat crew.  Kathy and "Partner" (aka John, her husband), plus our guide (I'm going to butcher his name, so I'll leave it at guide).

There are also many floating houses built in this region.  I had anticipated a little village of sorts, but they were all separated, but close to other floating houses.

We also had a chance to visit an oyster farm and see how pearls are made and collected.

We found an amazing Italian restaurant in Hanoi that we visited twice.  The cheap food budget is getting thrown out of whack with these more fancy restaurants, but I have to say.. it was so good.  

Last night in Hanoi.

We took the train to Ninh Binh - Maeve's first real train ride.

Ninh Binh is a beautiful part of the country.  This was the view from our front door of the bungalow.

Our home for two nights.

It was a bit cloudy and foggy while we were there, and the pictures don't really do it justice, but the landscape is really so beautiful.

Scenes from Tam Coc streets -- where we stayed just a little outside of Ninh Binh.

We found our equivalent lounge restaurant where we played cards and enjoyed lunch/drinks.

Real life scenes.

Everyone bikes around and it was so pretty.  Maeve was hesitant to bike on the roads, and I wish we could have explored more... but at least we got out to see some of the scenery by bike.  To be fair, Tam Coc had some of loudest and prolific honking in all of Southeast Asia.  On top of that, there were many tour buses coming through the narrow roads who lay on their airhorns as they pass by.  I think I lost a few years and some hearing range.

People tending their rice fields all over.

We headed to Trang An to do the boat tour of the region, and Maeve was introduced to mosh pit style lines.  I told her to hold her own as everyone is trying to get in front of everyone.  We had to wait in line for an hour, but it was worth the wait.

Though the riverways were peppered with boats, they quickly dispersed and you had a little breathing room from the next boat.

We opted for the boat tour that went through 9 caves, and it was super fun.  You definitely had to duck and lay low to make it through some of the caves.  

The pictures don't do it justice, but it really was beautiful.

The next day we ventured to Mua Caves so that we could climb to the top and take in the surrounding views.  The steps were quite steep, but worth it.

I love this picture as you can see some of the boats making their way through the waterways behind us.

Scenic Ninh Binh.  I'm glad we came for a quick visit.

And then... everyone needs to take a night train in their lifetime, so that is how I decided we should travel from Ninh Binh to De Nang to check that off her list early.  Of course we had to wait until 10:30p to get on the train - so this is when you're thankful for the cheap prices as I just booked us a room at a closeby hotel so that we had somewhere to hang for a few hours until departure time.

We got lucky..  our roommates were sleeping when we got on, and then they departed the train at 2am at one of rhe stops, and then we had the cabin all to ourselves.  

Bed head and pizza for breakfast.  Maeve slept like a log.  I woke up a few times because the "soft sleeper" wasn't so soft and I kept waking up because my hip bones hurt.  Time to roll over.  Ha.  It was all good.  I love a good night train.

Okay... that is it for the north.  We have some fun plans for Hoi An and area and enjoying the last few days of relaxation.  I really don't know how we're going to re-enter into the chaos of demands and every day life.  We are quite chill here and often times don't get the day rolling until 10am. I'm going to go ahead and enjoy it while I can :-).