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 :-).
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