I realize we've been a bit slow with the blog lately... and for you die hard readers out there, I apologize.
We've been on the road a lot over the last 3 weeks, and life is just now getting back to normal (as normal as it can be while living in a place where you have rats in your kitchen and the occasional monkey in the yard).
Anyway, Peter, Janet, Myles and Austin went to Vietnam from December 16th -30th (Emmet went home to Canada, maybe you saw him?) We started in the North of Vietnam, in Hanoi, and worked our way down to Saigon. We traveled by plane, train, bus, boat, and scooter... you name it! Below is a quick take on each of the places we hit, and a few photos (if you want to go to a album of our photos from Vietnam click on any of the photos and it will take you there).
Here's a video from our time there:
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| From Christmas in Vietnam |
Hanoi: beautiful but cold and busy. Was 12 degrees (celsuis) when we arrived, which after 6 months in Bali, is cold! We bought some new clothing, Christmas shopped, and headed out of town to...
Sapa: Probably our favourite place. The Vietnamese alps. Big mountains, great views, and yes, cold air. Got down to zero at night while we were there. We dressed for it (no bad weather just bad clothes) but were definitely not expecting it to be so beautiful! Amazing place. Interesting hill tribes, some nice hikes, and a fun way to get there: by overnight train. The way home, not as fun: Austin puked off the top bunk onto our luggage below (luckily not onto anyone).
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| From Christmas in Vietnam |
Halong Bay: We did an overnight on a Vietnamese junk in Halong Bay. Lovely. Met some nice Aussies and Spanish folks, and enjoyed the beautiful rock formations. As Myles said: “Look, another rock island!”
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| From Christmas in Vietnam |
Hue: Met up with our friends from Bali (from Vancouver) in Hue. Stayed at a gorgeous French colonial hotel 100 years old. Town was a bit ho-hum. Had Christmas morning in hotel and a bizarre massive buffet for Christmas eve. Boys were happy to see their friends and got cool Vietnamese lego from Santa.
Hoi An: Another favourite place: Beautiful ancient town known for it's many (many) fine tailors who make clothes to measure. We got some clothes made and had some good croissants (the French left the recipe when they went home). Twins played soccer in street with locals.
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| From Christmas in Vietnam |
Saigon: Peter and twins there for just a night, but Janet stayed and waited a few days before going to Hong Kong to pick up Emmet. She liked it. Especially liked the bike trip she did in the Mekong delta.
And that's it! Vietnam in a page! Stay tuned for news from George and Audrey's visit (Peter's parents) as they arrived in Bali on the 30th of December... we went to Lombok. Amazing place.
