From December 8-10th, the 5 of us stayed on a luxury, junk boat on Halong Bay and sailed around sipping cocktails, kayaking in private areas, visiting fishing villages and searching for shells on private beach. It was absolutely heavenly. When we arrived on board, rose petals rained down upon us but luckily, the sky was clear and glorious for our 3 days. The 7th and the afternoon of the 10th were both rainy/grey so we feel extra lucky to have had such a great experience out at sea with calm waters. A highlight for Frunty was trying squid fishing both nights. On the second night, he caught the biggest squid the crew had ever seen! A highlight for Pit was everything!
A highlight for me was being upgraded to a room at the front of the boat with a king sized bed, a bathroom with bath tub, a huge bouquet of red roses by my bed, and our own deck with two lounge chairs to enjoy the sunset. We befriended Ronald from the Philippines, the boat manager, on our first day. He came to us at breakfast the following day and told us to pack our bags and leave the rest to him while we went out on our private boat to Cat Ba island for cycling. When we arrived back later, we were handed a new key and opened the door to our beautiful new room. After that, we did not want to leave the room for the rest of the cruise!! But the cooking class was waiting for us and so off we went to learn how to make deep-fried spring rolls with rice paper while the sun set. I will now include some photos so you can see what I am talking about...too amazing! I recommend this very special way to see Halong Bay!
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Gramma and Grampa Arrive in Hanoi
It was a very exciting morning waiting for Gramma and Grampa to arrive in Hanoi. Reuniting was lots of fun with big hugs and our children are glued to their grandparents which is very nice to see.
A private car picked us all up and took us to our very nice hotel in the old quarter called Hanoi Deluxe Hotel at 28 Bat Su where we left our luggage and then took another taxi to Koto for lunch. It is really good food and service and it is nice to support the street children who work there. It was funny when Pit knocked the bowl of ketchup off the table and it miraculously missed Grampa's white shoes. I don't know how those shoes are going to stay white this trip. I think I will take before and after photos!! (our shoes are filthy!)
After lunch, we walked through the chaotic streets of Hanoi to Hoan Kiem lake where we took G&G to the Temple of Literature. A cyclo back to the hotel for rest time and then a taxi to Luyen's for a special, southern Vietnamese dinner and a chance to pick up all my dry and clean laundry that I had left hanging all day. We were all pretty excited from our day together, a happy kind of tired. Tomorrow we leave for Halong Bay for our two night cruise so I had better hit the hay too. Good night, Papa! Thanks for sending along the items, especially adaptor and from Amy, peanut butter cookies...back to our special diet! Talk soon! xo
A private car picked us all up and took us to our very nice hotel in the old quarter called Hanoi Deluxe Hotel at 28 Bat Su where we left our luggage and then took another taxi to Koto for lunch. It is really good food and service and it is nice to support the street children who work there. It was funny when Pit knocked the bowl of ketchup off the table and it miraculously missed Grampa's white shoes. I don't know how those shoes are going to stay white this trip. I think I will take before and after photos!! (our shoes are filthy!)
After lunch, we walked through the chaotic streets of Hanoi to Hoan Kiem lake where we took G&G to the Temple of Literature. A cyclo back to the hotel for rest time and then a taxi to Luyen's for a special, southern Vietnamese dinner and a chance to pick up all my dry and clean laundry that I had left hanging all day. We were all pretty excited from our day together, a happy kind of tired. Tomorrow we leave for Halong Bay for our two night cruise so I had better hit the hay too. Good night, Papa! Thanks for sending along the items, especially adaptor and from Amy, peanut butter cookies...back to our special diet! Talk soon! xo
Monday, 6 December 2010
No Chance!
Today the children wanted to take it easy and so we hung out at home, walked to Luyen's cafe and I had a massage while the boys watched Space Chimps 2 on the laptop at the spa. We also looked for Chance, our host family's Vietnamese "meat" dog who is gorgeous and has been missing since last night. Nicholas sometimes lets him come home alone from the park. Normally, Chance shows up. But not last night and not tonight either. We are all very worried. I have offered to hang up signs tomorrow morning before Gramma and Grampa arrive. This reminds me of when we stayed in BKK and the very first night, our host family's dog passed away. So sad. Anyway, cross your fingers we'll be lucky and Chance will return. I'll keep you posted, pun intended.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
A few more scenes from Mai Chau
We enjoyed a bit of hiking these past two days in the fresh air. The children did very well...sometimes Pit went on strike though but bravo that he eventually kept going!
Overnight in Mai Chau: noisy pigs!
Luyen's colleagues, friends and fellow couchsurfers spent the night in Mai Chau in this bamboo home on stilts surrounded by rice fields. We ate and slept all in one room and below, the noisy barnyard creatures tried to keep us awake! This village and the surroundings offered many, traditional, Vietnamese scenes of rural life.
Our home in Hanoi and the old city
Picture #1:We are couchsurfing with a Vietnamese-British family in Ciputra International City, between the airport and the center of Hanoi. The Shells: Robin, Luyen, Nicholas (17) and meat dog, Chance, have warmly welcomed us into their home.
Chance did not come home tonight so we have prayed for his safe return.
Chance did not come home tonight so we have prayed for his safe return.Picture #2: We were driven around Hanoi by this chap on the bike who apparently knew where Koto restaurant was located. He really did not but we had fun anyway!
Picture #3: Hanoi has some picturesque lakes that add calmness to a chaotic but very interesting city!
The temple in the middle was very peaceful-looking.
The temple in the middle was very peaceful-looking.
Pictures #4-5: 
The temple of Literature is Vietnam's first university. We crossed a red bridge and entered this beautiful temple where we learned about the mysterious, legendary lake turtle. (picture of Frunty holding the sword on the turtle's back and Pit looking on, wearing their new, comfortable backpacks!)
The temple of Literature is Vietnam's first university. We crossed a red bridge and entered this beautiful temple where we learned about the mysterious, legendary lake turtle. (picture of Frunty holding the sword on the turtle's back and Pit looking on, wearing their new, comfortable backpacks!)Frunty and Pit in front of the Temple of Literature
Overnight in Mai Chau: noisy pigs!
We headed to Mai Chau with Luyen and her colleagues/friends for an overnight visit of this village full of White Thais with black teeth. We enjoyed some delicious, sticky rice stuck in bamboo and came home with a stack of sugar canes sticks. The trip took a long time and Pit did not do well on the way there but on the way back, he mostly slept and did not feel sick thanks perhaps to the orange peel he sniffed the whole trip. We all slept together in the upstairs of a bamboo house on stilts. The driver snored but he was not the loudest in our group. The roosters cockadoodled for hours upon hours, the pigs and puppies squealed ad nauseum and fighting dogs were fierce. So we all woke up slightly stiff and sleepy but still enjoyed a marvelous hike through the rice fields and Pit did not fall in like he did in Bali!
After lunch, some members of our group went cylcing to another village but Frunty, Pit and I explored another area and came across a woman, ushering her white geese through the rice fields with a stick while wearing a conical hat. It was a scene right out of a movie and we followed, at her request, through some tiny paths to her house. It was a beautiful walk. I will post some photos soon to show our latest adventures. Time for dinner back here in Hanoi! Welcome, Gramma and Grampa to Singapore. So glad you made it despite the snowstorms and hope you have some restful days by the pool with your Slings!
After lunch, some members of our group went cylcing to another village but Frunty, Pit and I explored another area and came across a woman, ushering her white geese through the rice fields with a stick while wearing a conical hat. It was a scene right out of a movie and we followed, at her request, through some tiny paths to her house. It was a beautiful walk. I will post some photos soon to show our latest adventures. Time for dinner back here in Hanoi! Welcome, Gramma and Grampa to Singapore. So glad you made it despite the snowstorms and hope you have some restful days by the pool with your Slings!
