Where are D and B?

McCoy Twins have arrived 12-5-2010

2010-12-09T15:03:00.001+09:00

Denae and I have put together a website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mccoy with pictures and updates of the girls. It's the fastest and easiest site we could find to upload journals and photos to. I'll be trying to update this site as much as I can with pics and journals of their progress.

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, and phone calls...your support is amazing and we greatly appreciate it.

Please pass on this note as well. We need all the prayer warriors we can recruit!

Love,

Brian & Denae

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mccoy

Otsukimi Oct. 24, 2010

2010-10-25T23:11:00.008+09:00

Otsukimi (pronounced Oat ski me) means 'moon viewing' in Japanese and refers to a Japanese festival honoring the autumn moon. This celebration of the full moon takes place in the fall in Japan and is similar to that of the traditional American harvest festivals of Thanksgiving.

The Fort Worth Botanical Gardens puts this on each year and it is a beautiful display not only of the immaculately manicured gardens but also of the Japanese culture and traditions.

Even though the gardens are right down the street from our home, it was our first time visiting there and we were thrilled to be out and about on such a gorgeous Sunday!

Arigato (Thank You in Japanese) to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens for putting this on!

D is almost 20 weeks (5 months) along!

Happy Fall Again!

2010-10-16T12:11:00.008+09:00

I think the last time that we posted anything to this was about a year ago when we said that fall was coming. Well....fall is coming again and we figured we would update you on what has been going on for the past year.

Last fall was full of excitement for us as we had just moved to the Fort Worth area. For the first time in our six years of marriage, we were looking to finally buy a house. I had started a new job with Chesapeake Energy and we figured we would actually be in one place for a little while to come. Just after Christmas, we closed on a house in a location we really liked. The house is a quaint little house of about 1500 sq ft and we decided to take on the project of doing a complete remodel with first focusing on the inside of the house.

We were able to spend a couple of months in the house planning and laying out what we wanted to do before tearing down a few walls, the kitchen, and what seemed to be about everything else. We went through a few contractors and several minimal sleep nights and after about 2 months, we were about where we wanted to be to officially move into our “new” house. With Logan, D’s brother, living next door and helping us out, (all three of us stayed in his one room apartment together for about 3 weeks…that’s love!!) and D’s great vision for remodel and design, the house turned out great.

It’s a good thing we finished our project when we did because it was just in time for us to find out that Denae was pregnant!! Our new remodel is turning into a rearrange now! The first visit to the doctor’s office back in early July, they confirmed she was pregnant and showed us our little zygote that was developing into our little baby. On the second visit a few weeks later, everything seemed to be in two’s: 2nd appointment, 2 people (D and I), 2 nurses and 2 babies. That’s right, two little twins with two beautiful heartbeats. They were about the size of an olive at the time, but stole my heart right off of the bat. We found out later that those two little twins would be identical little twin girls which are doing well so far with mama being almost 18 weeks now. We expect our little angels to arrive sometime early to mid-February.

So with D having twenty little fingers and twenty little toes in her little (but getting bigger) belly, we are settled here in Fort Worth and enjoying the house. We have had a lot going on in the past year and sorry we haven’t been better with the updates, but here are a few pics of the house, the girls, and our trip to Alaska that we managed to pull off thanks for our dear friends Chris and Claire. We spent around 2 weeks visiting them in Alaska and it was definitely a little slice of heaven—after all the stress we had been through with the remodel, it was really nice to take a much needed vacation. We’ll keep posting as we can!!

Take Care and happy fall again!

B&D

A picture of our home on game day. Go UT..but too bad they lost to OU. After 5 years of beign carted around overseas, Bevo finally busted out of his box to cheer on the horns with pride!

B and D at our friend's wedding on 9-11-2010. D is 13 weeks and 4 days prego. Our little angels hanging out at 16 weeks on 9-28-2010.

Best of Friends Already at 14 weeks and 3 days.

Top picture is our sonogram from our first trip to the Dr. The second picture is when we found out there were 2 little miracles on 7-29-2010.

We found out on 7-2-2010 that we were expecting!

The old Copper Mine in Kennicott, AK--located in the beautiful Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This National Park is the largest National Park in the USA--it's 6 times the size of Yellowstone National Park.

Enjoying a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge and admiring the gorgeous weather! Beats Texas 100+ temps! Of course the pic was taken before we knew we were prego.

Hiking Root Glacier

The freshest and coldest water we've ever consumed!

Fly Fishing on the Russian River.

King Salmon Fishing on the Gulkana River.

Our nice King Salmon that we caught!

Pike Fishing in Minto Flats, AK

The Largest Pike we saw! Way to go Chris!

Flying out on the beaver to get to Minto Flats and the cabin. (Notice--we are definitely going to the middle of nowhere!)

The little cabin in Minto Flats.

Exit Glacier near Seward, AK on the Kenai Peninsula (near Anchorage)

Fall is Finally Here!!!!

2009-10-28T01:58:00.000+09:00

House Hunting in Cow Town!!!

2009-09-25T00:37:00.003+09:00

We made it to TX and have been house-hunting for a month now...No luck yet on finding a house to call home!!! We'll keep you posted on our search!~ AND yes...we plan to update the blog sometime this year--we are way behind! Love to you all!

Updates

2009-08-14T07:05:00.001+09:00

Hummmm! I know that we are slacking!!~ I hope to update our blog when time permits :)

Siem Reap, Cambodia Day 3--Last Day of our vacation:(

2009-01-29T17:36:00.005+09:00

We had the entire day to finish seeing some of the temples. Sam-na was available to drive us around via tuk tuk which only cost around $18 for the entire day. We weren’t “ templed” out as the architecture continued to impress us with each new temple we saw. Two of our favorites this day were Ta Som and Preah Khan.

East Mebon

Built: Late 10 century AD

Religion: Hindu (Shiva)

East Mebon is a large “temple-mountain like ruin.” It has 3 different levels and 5 towers. It originally sat on an island called Eastern Baray. This island is now dry. The temple is dedicated to Shiva in honor of the king’s parents. One day, I'm sure they will discontinue allowing tourists to walk, climb, run, or hang on the ruins.

The view from the back seat of our tuk tuk and Sam-na driving! Termite mounds anyone?

Ta Som

Built: Late 12^th century AD

Religion: Buddhist

This temple was like a miniature Ta Prohm. It was built in Bayon-style and contained numerous face tower gopuras, sanctuaries, and a number of outstanding carvings. Similar to Ta Prohm, a huge tree grew from the top of a gopura and was destroying the gate but it was a great photo opportunity.

This temple was really neat because not all of it had been restored.

Similar to Ta Phrom, this tree had completely grown around the building.

The colors here were fabulous.

We took a break to have some coconut water. We really wanted to try them. Mine was super sour, but it was worth the experience.

You put the lime in the coconuts....

Neak Pean

Built: Late 12^th century AD

Religion: Buddhist

This was a small island temple and was one of the last temples to be constructed by a Khmer king in the Angkor area. The main temple sits at the center of eight pools. Our brochure states that “Originally known as Rajasri, Neak Pean took its modern appellation, which means ‘coiled serpents,’ from the encoiled nagas that encircled the temple. The temple is faced by a statue of the horse, Balaha, saving drowning sailors.” Even though this temple was originally dedicated to Buddha, it also contains several Hindu images. The waters here were thought to have healing powers. Unfortunately, we were there during dry season which gave this temple a quite different look.

This was the largest termite mound I've ever seen.

I guess this would look completely different during the rainy season.

Preah Khan

Built: Late 12^th century AD

Religion: Buddhist

This temple was a huge monastic complex and was completed in 1191—it’s full of carvings, passages, and amazing photo opportunities. It used to be a Buddhist monastery and school with over 1000 monks. King Jayavarman VII lived here for a short time while Angkor Thom was being built. This temple was dedicated to the Kings Father. Some of the Buddha images here were vandalized in the later Hindu resurgence. Cylindrical columns on the temples western side are one of the only examples of round columns and could date from a later period. Children hanging out near the temples to sell itmes to the tourists. This was amazing to see how the building was still standing with this gigantic tree perched on top of it.

Terrace of the Elephants

Built: Late 12^th century AD

Religion: Buddhist

Well, this is exactly what it says it is: a long terraced wall adorned with carved elephants and garudas. The sculptures here were impressive and included a five headed horse and scenes of numerous warriors and dancers.

Phnom Bakheng (Bakheng Hill)

Built: Late 9^th century to 10^th century AD

Religion: Hindu (Shiva)

This temple is actually built on top of a hilltop with a great view of the Angkor Wat temple and the Tonle Sap lake can also be seen from here—which makes it a popular spot for viewing the sunset. It was the first major temple to be built in the area when the former capital was moved to Angkor in the late 9^th century. It served as King Yasovarman I’s state temple at the new capital city called: Yasodharapura. Black Elephants were available to take us to the top, but we chose to take the hiking path!

From the top of the temple, Angkor Wat could be seen from afar.

We basically had to climb down these steep steps. Check out the ladies above me.

The Black Elephants

One last look at Angkor Wat.

B wanted to get his hair cut and I was looking forward to a foot massage--so Sam-Na took us to a street where we could accomplish both. $3 later, B had a $1 haircut, $1 shave, and gave the guy a $1 tip. He came out with half a shave and tears in his eyes due to a dull-single-bladed shave with a straight-razor, no side-burns and B said he just kept cutting and cutting and cutting...hehehehehe--Chock it up to a "cultural experience".

We then headed back to the Soria Moria to watch the sunset, enjoy a glass of vino, and to rearrange our bags for our flight back which departed at 1040 pm.

Cambodia will always have a special place in our hearts and one day we hope to return! I highly suggest reading First They Killed My Father or another book about the Pol Pot regime before taking a trip there to get a better understanding of what their culture has been through over the last 40 years.

These are the wild monkeys we stopped to see while we were on the tuk tuk.

Siem Reap, Cambodia Day 1

2009-01-27T21:59:00.000+09:00

Off to see the amazing temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia! Our flight got in around 12:40 pm and we were picked up by a happy man named Sam-na. He took us directly to our hotel:

Soria Moria Boutique Hotel
Wat Bo Road, Siem Reap,
Kingdom of Cambodia
Phone: +855 (0) 63 964 768
$50/night (includes breakfast)
Email: mail@thesoriamoria.com

Website: http://www.thesoriamoria.com/

We dropped our luggage and then headed back into the car around 2:30pm for a tour of a few temples (Bakong & Preah Ko), a visit to Tonle Sap Lake, and the fishing village of Kampong Phluk.

We saw two temples in the Rolous Group: This collection represents the remains of structures from the Hariharalaya which was the first major capital of the Angkorian-era Khmer Empire. According to our brochure, “The ancient capital was named for Hari-Hara, a synthesis of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu.” Jayavarman II established this capital city and it served as the Khmer capital for over 70 years. Bakong and Preah Ko were two of the first four temples built in the capital city. The last King of this empire: Yasovarman I built the first major temple at Angkor: Phnom Bakheng. He then moved the capital to Bakheng in 905 AD.
Bakong

The Bakong TempleBuilt: Late 9th century AD
Religion: Hindu

This temple is located at the center of the old capital. It is quite impressive. It was constructed by King Indravarman I as his state-temple. The temple-mountain architecture of Bakong (the first temple of its type) set the architectural tone for the next 400 years. This temple was built with stone rather than brick. Over the years, this temple has been expanded by various kings—some as late as the 12th century.

A Grand View from the top!

Resemblance?

Preah Ko

Built: Late 9th century AD
Religion: Hindu (Shiva)

This was the first temple King Indravarman I built in Hariharalaya in 880 AD. There are 6 small brick towers on a sandstone base that remain. The brick towers are decorated with lime mortar lintels and other decorative work. A steel foundation was found here under the gopura of the first enclosure, but it has since been removed. Its name means “sacred bull” and it was derived from the statues of bulls at the front of the central towers.

The carvings were so interesting to look at!

Wow!

If you are traveling far distances in Cambodia, the best way to get around is via an automobile. A tuk tuk is great for shorter distances, but due to the heat and dust, a car is usually the best option for comfort. On the way to the lake, Sam-na (our driver) took us through the Cambodian countryside. We got a good visual of what the “real” Cambodia was like away from Siem Reap. The rice paddies were so lush and green. We felt so grateful for everything we have and own after our tour through the countryside and the fishing village. Kids here still find pure joy in playing with the simpler things in life. Shelter is simply a house with a thatched roof and some people did have electricity and televisions. Clean water was retrieved out of buckets—need I say more? We have so much to be thankful for.

There were a few towns on the lake we could visit Kompong Phluk and Chong Khneas—the latter which is mostly inhabited by Vietnamese living on floating villages. We heard Chong Khneas was very touristy and having just come from Vietnam we decided to visit the fishing village of Kompong Phluk.

Sam-Na drove us to the furthest point that the car could go. We parked the car in the little town, and there were two men waiting to transport us. It was now bumpy dirt/sand road for 3-4 miles…and I felt the need to be on a 3-wheeler vs. a 2 wheeled moped. Riding in sand can be a little stressful. I thought we might fall off the moped at one point when our wheel spun in the sand. My little guy tried to ease my fears and kept saying, “ok, at the end you give me tip?” I just kept replying, “If we get there alive.” Thank God for face masks in this country—they really did help keep the dirt out of our mouths. From the mopeds we were transferred to a larger boat which took us through the fishing village. We passed some children getting onto the boat and a part of me wanted to give them everything I had—even the clothes on my back. We gave them water, granola bars, and balloons. They loved the balloons—and it was so neat to see a child’s smile—this was worth it alone.

A little boy helping his father.

On our boat--I felt so bad--It was huge and we were the only 2 people.

The fishing town of Kampong Phluk.

Keep in mind, that these pictures were taken during the dry season.

Seeing how this community lived was more than an eye-opening experience. Their life is the water and this is what they know. Children were playing in the water and helping their families with chores. Some didn’t even have clothes. It just broke my heart to watch the people/children bathe and brush their teeth in the muddy brown river but they don’t know life any differently. On our boat ride through the fishing village we threw the kids balloons—they dove into the water to retrieve them and were so happy and thrilled. I wish we had brought more to give them.

Look at the pig!

At the fishing village we jumped onto a smaller boat and took a tour through the mangroves—this was really neat. We were trying to imagine what it was like here during monsoon season. Sam-na said that we wouldn’t be able to see any of the mangroves because most of them would be completely submerged by the lake’s rise in water.

The kids playing!

Rowing through the mangroves.

Tonle Sap Lake (Boeung Tonle Sap)

This is Cambodia’s great lake and in the “wet season” it’s one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia. The name Tonle Sap means “large fresh water river” due to the unique phenomenon that takes place here. Cambodia has two seasons: wet and dry. During the monsoon season, the Tonle Sap River (the river which connects the lake to the Mekong River) reverses flow and water from the Mekong River flows up the Tonle Sap river—filling the lake and the floodplains around it creating a rich and diverse ecosystem. This lake provides for half of the fish consumed in Cambodia. The people who live around this lake in stilted homes or floating villages adapt to the cyclic nature of the rising and falling waters in order to provide for their families. These people are the definition of “true fisherman” whose lives revolve around the daily catch.

We watched the sunset over Tonle Sap Lake that evening on the bow of the boat and then headed back to the mopeds for our journey to the car.

Brian with Sam-na!

When we made it back to the car, a group of children were sitting outside and we started to give them all pencils—before you know it their whole family was outside and we were just having a good old time taking photos. The children were so polite and the mothers were very kind as well.

This was one of the best cultural experiences we had during our time in Cambodia—to see the way people lived here and to just imagine what it was like during the reign of the Pol Pot Regime. The Cambodians have been through so much over time and have such huge hearts and so much to give—the people we met were some of the most sincere people we’ve encountered while traveling abroad.

These are videos from our tour.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) & Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

2009-01-27T14:36:00.005+09:00

Ho Chi Minh City: Jan. 24-27, 2009

The bus ride to Saigon was not quite as exciting as the ride to Mue Nei, but we were still fortunate to be part of the game of chicken that that the bus driver was fully into on the way back. Heaven forbid that bus drivers in Vietnam don’t partake in this game that risks the lives of their passengers. We made it safely to Saigon and found our little hole in the wall “bed and breakfast” called The Ordinary B&B that we called home for the next few nights. It was ordinary for sure and definitely not a “boutique B&B” as it had stated. We dropped our bags and pulled out the city map to find out where we were in this large city to see if there was anything worth seeing before we went to bed for the night.

First Impression of Saigon: 1 trillion mopeds!! That’s right, I believe I numbered Hanoi with upwards of a billion mopeds, but this city takes the cake. I’m not sure if it is because the sidewalks are a little bigger that it just looks like more, but there are more mopeds in this city that you can swing a stick at. Same rules apply for how many people you can fit on a moped or what you can fit on a moped, and again, we say just about everything. With the TET Holiday coming up, the streets might have been a little more crowded than usual, but I wouldn’t know the difference anyhow. I just knew that I couldn’t cross the street or even try until that light turned green for me to walk. (Check out the Line up of mopeds)Cu Chi Tunnel Tour: Jan. 24th

(This is where B's still needs to finish his story! Hopefully one day that'll happen becuase he's a really funny writer! But for now, I'll fill in the rest of our trip details.)

We decided to use Delta Adventure Tours (http://www.deltaadventuretours.com/) to book a 1/2 day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was around $16 per person. We took the boat there and returned via the bus. Cu Chi was a major battleground during the Vietnam War. We were able to visit and also go into a section of the 200km tunnel network system located at Ben Dinh 50 km from Ho Chi Minh City. http://www.cuchitunnel.org.vn/

On the way there we went through some water that was pure black. I've never seen water this dark in color, and the smell was about enough to make you puke with one sniff. We thought the German lady behind us was going to lose it. We quickly put on our face masks and held our nose until we got through the raw sewage. The housing along the way. We have so much to be thankful for.

This area was well known during the 1960s for its facilitation of the Viet Cong. The Viet Minh originally dug some of the tunnels during the French invasion. Most of the Cu Chi area was taken over by the Viet Cong and these tunnels became their area of refuge and everyday life. The tunnels were an effective network for waging guerilla warfare on US troops. The tunnel system stretched from Saigon all the way to the Cambodian border. It was a 3 tiered system, and the lowest level was where they would run to in case of an emergency or for survival if needed. The tunnel system was comprised of various types of trap doors, storage areas, hospitals, kitchens, meeting rooms, living areas, command centers, etc. They basically had an entire community underground. At one point, there were 7 villages and 16,000 people living in the tunnels.

The Viet Cong’s strengths in the Cu Chi area was one of the reasons the Johnson administration decided to involve the US in the war. In order to deal with the threat of the Viet Cong in the south so close to the capital, the US established a base camp in Cu Chi. Unfortunately, they built this large base camp right on top of the Viet Cong’s tunnel network. The 25th Division lost many soldiers due to surprise attacks (shot to death in their tents at night) and it took them months to figure out how this was occurring. The tunnels definitely gave the Viet Cong an advantage. They would initiate attacks and then disappear into their trap door and system of underground tunnels. The Australians also helped the US launch large ground operations but never managed to locate the tunnels. As a result, the US turned to the use of chemical defoliants and napalm, but the Viet Cong still remained safe in their tunnels

The US then began to send their soldiers down into the tunnels once they were discovered. They obtained the name of “tunnel rats” and there was a really high causality rate of these soldiers. The Germans implemented the use of German Shepherd dogs which were still easily taken with the trap doors. The Viet Cong would bathe with American soap to deter the German Shepherds from finding them. They would even wear captured US uniforms to confuse the dogs. In the late 1960s, US B-52s carpet-bombed the whole area and destroyed a fair amount of the tunnels and the surrounding area.

Our guide reinforced how difficult of a war this was. Since both sides were Vietnamese, it was difficult to tell a bad guy from the way he looked. The only way a Viet Cong soldier could be identified was by his sandal strap tan. If they wanted to know which side they were on, they’d ask the soldier to remove his sandal.

Many important events were planned from the tunnels like the 1968 TET Offensive.

-Lonely Planet Vietnam

Our guide reviewed the map with us of the area and of the tunnel system. The fierce area of battle became known as the "Iron Triangle."

Brian getting into one of the little entrances below. This is how tiny it was. I guess it's a good thing that the Vietnamese are super small individuals. This is another entrance. Only 2 of the tunnel systems are still kept open for tourism. The other entrances--so our guide told us--have been sealed up with concrete.This little hole by our guide's feet is an example of where the smoke would come up when the kitchen was in use. The Viet Cong would have to cook at a time of the day where it wouldn't be noticeable. The best time to cook was when it was foggy or raining.

An example of the trap door system. Yikes.

Going into the tunnel.

We had to both squat and walk with a hunch in our back in order to walk through the tunnel. I can't imagine having to walk like this all the time. At one point, I was walking like a monkey with bent knees...:) They measure around 80 cm wide by 1.2 m tall.

An example of the height of inside the tunnel. This is a German friend that we met on our tour.

Going to Vietnam as Americans, we didn’t know what to expect. The people were amazingly nice and welcoming. Our tour guide reiterated that feeling we had when he told us how they don’t hold grudges on the past, but how they are progressive and want to move forward. He said when he was younger that his dad would make him exercise and train as if he was going to war. His dad never thought there would be a time when they weren’t fighting. In Vietnam, to us, it seemed as if they welcomed any tourist with open arms. We really have enjoyed the people in this country BUT BEWARE....the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City is very Anti-American.

We stopped at the War Remnants Museum on the way back from the tunnels. The museum houses machinery, aircraft, weapons, photos, and documents mostly on the war with America. It was first opened in 1975 to display exhibits on war crimes and aftermaths. An interesting exhibit they had was a collection of photos taken by 134 war reporters (from 11 nations) killed during the Vietnam War. Some of the photos on exhibit were the journalists last images to take before being killed.

The photos of the My Lai massacre March 1968 and the bottled fetuses damaged by the usage of Agent Orange were very disturbing. We also viewed a model of the Tiger Cages here-the French colonial prisons (basically torture holding cells).

Four times the amount of bombs used in WWII were dropped on Vietnam during the war. From 1961 to 1971, the US sprayed 72 million liters of toxic chemicals over Vietnam including 44 million liters of Agent Orange containing 170kg of dioxin. It was later found out that 1 Tablespoon of dioxin could kill a city of 8 million people. From walking through the city, the effects of Agent Orange were still visible in the many defomed people we saw.

Back to Saigon to celebrate TET. This cute lttle girl was playing on the hammock.

After the North Vietnamese victory in 1975, the first piece of legislation at the first National Assembly in 1976 saw the name change to honor the country’s greatest nationalist leader. The city's name was changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City. The city has around 8 million people and 3 million mopeds!! Compared to Hanoi, it has wider boulevards and grand colonial facades in central District 1 that were contributed by the French.

City Hall below and Nguyen Hue Plaza: This building was originally a French Hotel and was built between 1902 and 1908. Visitors aren’t allowed indoors, but it’s great to look at the amazing colonial style architecture at night or during the day.

We stopped to watch a band perform in preparation for TET.

We also had to grab a bite to eat. We settled on a little food stall serving Pho Ga!

The city was decorated as if it were our Christmas. Lights were up, flowers were arranged, and the people were with their families enjoying the night.

The whole promenade was lined with flower exhibits and amazing arrangements and landscaping.

Here's one of the many flower exhibit examples.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi—Happy New Year!

TET: Tet Nguyen Dan (Festival of the First Day) aka Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year. This is one of the most important dates in the Vietnamese calendar. Families all reunite and gather together to celebrate the coming year and to also remember those that have passed before them. TET is a time to gather and celebrate and many people take the whole week off from work to be with their families. It might take some people a week to reach their families with the terrible traffic during TET. This is why we were able to see all the chaotic TET preparation in Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, and the traffic to Mui Ne—the deliveries and purchases of decorations and fruit trees not to mention those trying to get home to their families was in full effect.

According to Lonely Planet Vietnam, “TET rites begin seven days before New Year’s Day. This is when the Tao Quan—the three Spirits of the Hearth, found in the kitchen of every home—ascend to the heavens to report on the past year’s events to the Jade Emperor. Altars, laden with offerings, are assembled in preparation for the gods’ departure, all in the hope of receiving a favorable report and ensuring good luck for the family in the coming year. Other rituals as TET approaches include visiting cemeteries and inviting the spirits of dead relatives home for the celebrations. Absent family members return home so that the whole family can celebrate TET under the same roof. All loose ends are tied up so that the New Year can be started with a clean slate; debts are paid and cleaning becomes the national sport. A New Year’s tree (cay neu) is constructed to ward off evil spirits. Kumquat trees are popular throughout the country, while branches of pink peach blossoms (dao) grace houses in the north and yellow apricot blossoms (mai) can be found in homes futher south. On New Year’s Even the Tao Quan return to earth. At the stroke of midnight all problems from the previous year are left behind and mayhem ensues. The goal is to make as much noise as possible. Drums and percussions are popular, as well as fireworks. The events of New Year’s Day are crucial as it’s believed they affect the course of life in the year ahead. People take extra care not to be rude or show anger. Other activities that are believed to attract bad spirits include sewing, sweeping, swearing, and breaking things.”

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!

Our friends we met while waiting for the fireworks. They didn't speak English and we didn't speak Vietnamese, but we had a great time watching the show. Their little girl just loved B.

Check out the mopeds.

D shooting a live round on a M-16 riffle. $1 per round. Take special note of the Sony headphones. That's right...no eye or ear protection. How's that for safety?

B shooting...of course he was a lot more accurate than me!

Ho Chi Minh City: Mekong Delta

2009-01-26T22:15:00.000+09:00

One Day Mekong Delta Tour (My Tho--Ben Tre): Jan. 26th

It was around a 2 hour drive to the Mekong Delta area. We took a break at a rest stop where we noticed the price of Agarwood. A small piece of Agarwood around the size of Brian's arm was around $1200. I guess the wood is basically like a type on incense--it smells really good! BUT I would never pay this much for a piece of wood...!!

There were orchids growing from the rooftops---simply gorgeous.
We loved this Buddha but of course, she was wood, and was around $200.oo.

The Mekong Delta area has seen its fair share of challenges. It used to be part of the Khmer Kingdom and was part of Lower Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge initiated many raids on the Vietnamese villages in this area, and in 1979 the Vietnamese had had enough. They invaded Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge government from power. This government was also responsible for murdering 2 million innocent Cambodians. The types of people that reside in the Mekong Delta area are mostly Vietnamese but there are also inhabitants from China and Cambodia. The Mekong delta is a maze of waterways, and the region has around 17 million inhabitants living here. Most of them rely on farming and fishing.–Lonely Planet Vietnam

We passed by the floating Fish market in My Tho, but with it being TET holiday, this area was closed. We then toured around the four islands: Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix. The names of the islands symbolize the following:
Dragon: Prosperity
Unicorn: Power
Turtle: Longevity
Phoenix: Beauty

Mekong Delta Tour:
We then visited the village of Ben Tre and enjoyed fresh tropical fruits, pure honey, and traditional liquor.

Beeeeszzzzeee!

This is where B decided to meet his new friend: a huge Boa contstrictor. They even had a bottle of the scorpion and snake blood liquor to try—We refrained.

Cheers to our Canadian Friends!! We tried some sort of Banana Liquor (I think!)

We sat and enjoyed the fruits of the area and listened to some typical Vietnamese music.

Rowing on a small little boat on the muddy canals was fun. We were able to see all the lush vegetation that this area is known for. We even were able to see how coconut candy was made. This was yummy and sort of tasted like taffy, but was made with coconut milk. After lunch, our Canadian friends and us took off on some bikes to explore the little village!

The Muddy Mekong!

Traffic Jam on the river!

Our Guide

This area makes 50% of the rice produced in Vietnam. Manual labor is the machine here when it comes to planting the rice, and they rely on the water buffalo instead of tractors. The Mekong is Vietnam’s main rice production area along with the cultivation of sugarcane, fruit, coconut, fish, shrimp, etc. It’s a rural area but heavily populated due to the opportunity for jobs. 4.6 million tons of rice are produced in Vietnam with most of that being produced in the Mekong Delta area. Vietnam ranks 2nd in rice production just behind Thailand, and the USA ranks 3rd.

Coconut Candy anyone?

The process of making it:

A water buffalo chilling in the water at lunch. I felt so bad for this poor thing. He was on the shortest leash ever.

Admiring the gorgeous flower arrangements set up for TET around the city.

WalkWalking back from the Ben Thanh Market—formerly known as Les Halles Centrale was first opened in 1914, and you can find almost anything in this market--we saw many people out and about the streets enjoying their holiday!

Now can you imagine how many mopeds there really are in this city?

We took a walk over to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh--It wasn't too far from our hotel and it was really neat to see such a large Catholic church right in the center of the city.

It was built between 1877 and 1833 with bricks brought from Marseilles, France and stained-glass windows from Chartres. There is a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary that sits in front of the church.

The Cathedral

Video of rowing down the Mekong River.

Traditional Vietnamese Music

Street Chaos!

How to cross a street in Saigon!

Mui Ne

2009-01-24T13:28:00.000+09:00

Mui Ne: Jan. 22-24, 2009

The bus ride was going well until we actually started moving. Again, the bus is the lion of the road and the mopeds are merely the packs of dogs. I guess the first part wasn’t so bad. I was listening to the headphones and off in my own little world and D was reading about the next place we were heading to. Not so bad and we had our own seats in the back of the bus and nobody was really bothering us. That was about to change. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught that D had a sort of concerned face and was taking a gander to the seat behind us and on the left side of the bus. I looked at Denae and she gave me a darted look and said, “What is wrong with that lady?” Not really knowing what she was talking about and not having heard anything but Pearl Jam or Elvis or whoever I was listening to for the past 30 minutes, I took out my headphones and looked back to the rear of the bus where I noticed a little Vietnamese lady. This little lady was kind of curled up and holding her stomach and was right at the feet of the 2nd bus driver who was sleeping along the whole back row of seats. She was making this sort of groaning noise and had a look of pain in her face. D looked at me and said, “I think she’s having a baby!” I couldn’t see as to whether or not this lady was in fact pregnant, but she was holding her stomach so this could very well be possible. Oh crap, I didn’t want to see or smell a newborn baby during this segment of our trip…not that way anyway. All I could think of after D mentioned that was the film they show you in the 5th grade, The Miracle of Life, and how nasty the process actually is going on all over the back of the bus. Those were my initial thoughts anyhow, so I pointed to the 2nd bus driver in the back and asked him if she was alright. He said a few words to her and she sort of groaned back something and nodded her head. “She’s alright” he says back to me, but I wasn’t buying it. There was something wrong with this lady, but I felt like I couldn’t do much at this point.

I went back to headphones while keeping an eye on this lady. A few minutes passed and D shook me with a bit of concern and said “Oh my gosh, I think she is crapping in a bag”. Immediately more concerned that I had been about this stranger, I investigated by glancing over to see that she was fumbling around with something below her pant line. That was about enough for me. I went to the front of the bus and told the driver and asked if we could get her somewhere where she could get something for whatever it was that she had. “We’re not stopping anytime soon”. Holy Crap, you have to be kidding me, I have crap lady in the back with us who might give birth or die at any moment, and they won’t stop because they want to play lion of the road with the mopeds and other passing cars. I went back to the back and opened the window. It didn’t really smell like she had crapped or anything, but I think I didn’t want to have to go that far with it so we stuck our noses out of the window and put our face masks on in case it was the infamous Avian Flu. Eventually, the 2nd bus driver woke up from his slumber and said something to this lady in a sort of a, Get the Hell Outta Here tone of voice. And she got up and went back to her seat where it looked like she sort of curled up there.

So, with the first part of the bus ride out of the way, we got to stop at a locals place to rest and use the bathroom. D and I were the only white people there, and there was no shortage of stares heading our way. I thought we blended in with the locals, but D and the 500 others around me informed me that my thinking might have been skewed by Ms. Poop-a-loo in the back of the bus. A quick break and we were back on death race again for another two and a half hours. The last hour seemed to drag on as we fought traffic with the rest of Vietnam who was heading in the same direction that we were going. It was the TET Lunar New Year Holiday—which is the largest holiday in all of Vietnam. Everyone heads home to be with their families sort of like we do for Thanksgiving. What should have taken 4 hours to get to where we were going, ended up taking about 5 ½ due to the TET Holiday. We finally made it and checked into the hotel around 130 am. We had a little trouble with our room, but we were so tired that we ended up in a room with two twin beds and slept magnificently after our wonderful journey.

Mui Ne -Is rated one of the best laid back getaways in Vietnam—this town has a consistent windy breeze that brings kite surfers from all over the world.
The next morning at the Blue Ocean Resort was quite nice although we had to switch rooms due to the fact that the hotel gave us a room with two twins beds instead of a single bed for the two if us. Not a big deal on our end, but it is nice to get what you paid for. After the move, we crept out towards breakfast near the beach and enjoyed the spread of fruit that they had there. The fruit is pretty awesome due to the climate, and Vietnam is the only producer of Dragon Fruit (Mui Ne is where they are all grown), a pink on the outside white on the inside with millions of little black seeds about the size of small sesame seeds and tastes like water with a weird sort of consistency. Maybe the description doesn’t do it justice at all, but it tastes fairly interesting. Some people say that it doesn’t taste at all, but it’s up for debate. I sort of liked it, but wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth to find it. Anyhow, breakfast was great, and D and I walked around to find a nice spot on the beach to relax and that is what we did for the day. We relaxed right on the beach and watched the kite surfers speed through the ocean and catch some good air while others were just getting the hang of it. I looked into it, but far too much for my budget to get into something that would take up a lot of my time. I passed and just enjoyed watching everyone else have a great time although I did join them in the water for a swim.

Blue Ocean Resort (a Life Resort Hotel)

(The Kite Surfer Instructors)

(I see Batman)

We can’t sit still for too long, so I decided to take a break and go look to see if there was a tour place that could take us to see a few nearby places that we had read about in Mue Nei. Not too far from where we were staying were some red and white sand dunes that we wanted to catch at sunrise and also a fishing village that was supposed to be pretty picturesque. While I was out, I booked a place to pick us up at 0500 in the morning in a Jeep to take us for sunrise at the White Sand Dunes. I was surprised to see that many of the places, including the one that I booked through, catered to the Russian tourists and most of the signs around this strip where we were written in Rooskie. I also ran across a massage place that did Thai massages for $11 for an hour, so I took note and cancelled the one we had at our resort right across the street that was for twice as much.

(A picture of our room on the far left bottom)

The spa place where we went towards the end of our day at the beach was a small little joint. We walked in and there were a few people there getting foot massages on the first floor and we told them we wanted Thai massages so we climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor and each took separate “rooms” although we could still hear each other breathing through the curtains that separated us. If you don’t know, a “Thai Massage” is composed of a high pressure massage where the masseuse applies large amounts of pressure over the body and then loosely massages them out afterwards. I had never had one of these massages before, so this was going to be an experience for me. As I lay down on the bed in my underwear, I could see only the ground through the hole that massage beds traditionally have. I could hear the masseuse, a 90 lb Vietnamese man, moving stuff around and preparing for the next hour that he would work.

Before I knew it, this little man had jumped on the bed and was standing on my back. Quite a bit different from the last massage that I had. Usually my massages go like this; a woman in a quiet room with some low playing soothing music rubs my body for around an hour and sometimes I have to tell her to apply more pressure so that I feel like I’m having a good massage. Not this time, little dude meant business and somehow, while standing on my back and balancing with one foot, used the other foot to push on my arms until there was an excruciating pain on the back on my tricep. “Ouch”, I thought, “What the hell was that? That was probably a mistake and the next time it should feel nicer….right?” Boy was I wrong. This guy, although small, continued to use his feet, hands, and whatever other torture devices that he had in his satchel to deliver more pain to my body in a one hour session than I had ever paid for in my whole life. I paid for it…..right, I know, I’m crazy. That’s what I was thinking just as he cracked all of my toes and then began to punch the living *hit out of my feet. Demons out. This guy had probably performed a few exorcisms before in his lifetime I thought this wasn’t his first rodeo.

Suddenly, I heard a huge thump on the ground. Come to find out, D had the 150 lb. man and I had the little 90lb. devil. D’s guy stood and stomped all over her back—jabbing his foot into her arms—and she was in a lot of pain. He somehow lost his balance and fell off her back and onto the ground. How did she get the bigger guy who was almost 50 lbs. heavier than her? Back to my massage: at one point, it hurt so bad that I started laughing because I couldn’t cry. The remarkable thing is that after all of the pain and malice on each appendage, he would softly massage the part out, and it would feel like a million bucks. Like you would expect it to feel. This feeling only lasted about five seconds though as he started to move to another spot on the body and you could only anticipate what he had done to the left was coming to the right and it might be worse now that you know how it would feel. The anticipation of the pain left me more tense than relaxed during most of the massage, but afterward, I must say, I felt like I was floating about 10 feet off the ground. I’m not sure if that feeling was enough to make me want to go back to the exorcist again, but it was nice after it was done. (P.S. I ended up with 2 bruises that turned into scabs the next day….Final Score: little man one, B zero).

After the massage, D and I went out for drinks and some dinner. The benefit of being right there on the beach and near a fishing village is that you get really good and fresh fish. D and I walked along the restaurants that were doing Vietnamese BBQ (grilled fish), and we stopped at one that had a good spread of fresh fish. We checked the eyes out to make sure they were clear and decided on one of the Red Snappers that was left and watched as the gentlemen at the restaurant grilled it right there. The fish was about a 3 ½ to 4 lbs. of fish and probably more than we needed, but it was one of the smaller ones that they had there and the others didn’t look as fresh. Whatever sort of sauce they put on this fish did the trick and D and I were amazed at how good this fish was. The whole meal, to include sides, salad and a couple of beers was less than 20 bucks and we wouldn’t have to eat for another day or so.

(Amazing Red Snapper and morning glory)

The Jeep driver was there promptly at 0500 in the morning and we met him in order to get to the sand dunes early enough in the morning to see the sunrise. The ride was nice and bumpy as most Jeep rides are, and the temperature was nice that early in the morning. We arrived at the first stop on the trip which took about 40 minutes or so to get there. We were the first Jeep there, but we were closely followed by a few others who had the same idea. A total of about 10 people or so walked up to the dunes to a spot that was good for photos, and we made our way there with the help of about 7 or 8 stray dogs.

(The beautiful White Sand Dunes)

These dogs seemed to be out there just to have fun and wake up a little bit in the morning with some company. It was like we were their cup of coffee. They stretched on the dunes and played around and even showed us the proper technique for sliding down the dunes. I would have taken one home if I didn’t have to worry about getting them back or the diseases they probably carried along with them. Instead, we took a few photos to remember them by. By the time the dogs had finished introducing us to the dunes, the sun had risen just right to get a few great photos.

The sky was clear and bright blue with pinks and purples strewn throughout. The contrast of the white sands and the hard lines of the peaks had created a sight that seemed to have a sort of peace and awe about it all.

As it is at any tourist site around there, there were a few children there selling rides on their sleds, which were sheets of hard plastic. Since I hadn’t had the chance to go skiing yet this year, I thought this might come close. I was pretty impressed with how fast you can go sliding down the dunes. It was a good fun, but coming back up was enough to take the breath out of you. D and I each took turns and then tipped the boy for letting us use his sled.

(Red Canyon)

Back to the Jeep, we passed by Lotus Lake that was at the base of the White Sand Dunes and headed to the Red Canyon and Red Sand Dunes. Although not as stunning as sunrise, the Red Dunes were still fairly impressive. When we got there, we were “greeted” by swarms of children who wanted to sell you all sorts of trinkets and rides on their sleds. We didn’t buy anything, but we did have a handful of balloons for the kids there. There we about 5 kids there when I pulled a few balloons out of my pocket, but immediately thereafter, a few more showed up to collect a balloon or two. I was a little upset to see that a few of the kids were grabbing and stealing other kid’s balloons. I made sure that everyone got one and that’s D’s new friend Tuey got two for being so nice.

(Below: D’s friend Tuey. She would have taken her home if we could have. Her English was so great. She told us that she learns English not in school but only from tourists. She also could tell that we were Christian by looking at D’s rosary bracelet. She said, "I'm Buddha." It's amazing how much these children who don't have much but the basic necessities in life can learn so much from tourists visiting the dunes nearby their homes.)

The rest of the Jeep trip was to a market that was as crazy as Hanoi and a stop to the fishing village for a few great photos. Knowing that we had to catch the bus later, we cut the tour a little short so we could actually do what you are supposed to do on vacation and relax a little bit for the last time on the beach.

(The Fishing Village)

(Cleaning the debris out of the fishing nets)

(Video of B sledding down the White Sand Dunes)

(There goes D!)

Hoi An

2009-01-22T11:59:00.001+09:00

Hoi An: Jan. 19-22, 2009

(The small quaint picturesque town of Hoi An was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. According to Frommer's, "From the 16th to 18th century, Hoi An was home to Vietnam’s most important port and trading post (ceramics with nearby China)." The town houses 844 protected structures and historical landmarks. You can easily see the proof in the architecture that many Japanese and Chinese had passed through this town on their trading routes. Cute cafes, historical homes (we only biked by them, but didn’t go in any), and numerous tailor stores (that we found ourselves trapped inside of) dot the city map of Hoi An. Definitely a city not to be missed on a trip to Vietnam.)

A day by day recap of the City of Hoi An is not really necessary as it was filled with D’s ultimate dream of shopping for cheap (which adds up to not so cheap) tailored clothing, the way you want it and in a little bit of time. What is worth noting is the character of this little town, the French feel that has been left behind from their presence, and the beaches that are only a stone’s throw away from the old town. D and I started our stay in Hoi An after a bus ride from Hue that took about 4 hours. Four hours on a bus with locals, tourists and all sorts of other weird people like us who end up taking busses because they are cheap. For about 4 bucks a piece, we landed seats on this bus and kept to ourselves for the ride that we hoped to walk out of alive. In Vietnam, the buses seem to rule the roads. They are the lions of the streets so to speak. They go where they want to, when they want to, and how fast they want to. They’re just bigger than everyone else, so the drivers get this sort of high off of the fact that nothing will be able to take them in a head-on collision. To prove this, our driver frequently drove in the left lane and honked a deafening horn to warn the others to back off. I believe that a pack of Mopeds could take a bus if they teamed up by using strength in number type tactics …God knows there were enough of them around. Anyhow, a few hundred near misses later and a new pair of shorts, D and I hopped in the car that our hotel had sent for us and arrived at the Ha An hotel in Hoi An. http://www.haanhotel.com/

According to the pictures that we saw on the internet, the Ha An looked like a quaint little hotel that was done up fairly well for a good price. We were greeted by the 90 lb. bus boy who wouldn’t allow us to lift a finger even though we had the two enormous bags that were about twice the size of this guy, and he escorted us to the lobby where the receptionist gave us a welcome drink of ginger tea and explained to us about the hotel and the little city of Hoi An. Thoroughly impressed, we were shown to our room that had fresh rose petals on the bed grouped in pairs of three and places across the fold down on the sheets. D and I took a look around at this unexpected surprise of a room (only $50/night) and just as the words, “Everything about this place is awesome” came out of my mouth, the words that immediately followed were, “Except for that HUGE Freaking spider!!!” (Pardon the language). Close your eyes D, go to your happy place, but whatever you do don’t look at that thing.

Our new enormous friend lingered on the desk next to the television and was crawling methodically across the shortbread cookies that we had picked up from the lobby just minutes before. I thought he was going to eat the cookies in one bite given that it wouldn’t have been a problem for him with the size of this thing. This thing wasn’t your ordinary cob spider…..it was the Arnold Schwarzenegger of spiders. He must have been using the hotel gym for quite some time now. Knowing that D is terrified of anything that is 30 times smaller than her and she can’t speak to and get a response out of, I grabbed my shirt and with one swift swing, sent him to arachnid heaven. Sorry, a bit cruel, I could have just scooped him up and threw him out the window or something, but I knew that if this thing wasn’t dead, D wouldn’t sleep for about three nights knowing that it might come back for revenge of not letting it eat that darn cookie. Also knowing that just because there was one enormous spider in our room, D must be thinking that the whole family lives there as well. I picked the spider up with some toilet paper and walked downstairs to show the receptionist. I told her that we had found a spider and told her that D would probably not sleep in that room at all if we had to stay there and if she would be so nice as to move us to another room. With a concerned face, she asked “did you kill it?” You bet your butt I killed it lady, you think I was going to let that thing crawl around in my wife’s mind for another millisecond? I don’t think so. She seemed a little upset that I had killed one of nature’s creatures and went on to explain, “These are no problem to us, I can pet them and talk to them and they are fine.” Really? I guess I could have taken that approach if I had thought about it or tried, but given the sensitive nature of my wife’s arachnophobia, I felt compelled not to strike up a conversation with this creature that, by now in D’s imagination had grown 2 inch fangs and 20 more eyes, and decided that a quick death was better than a sleepless night. Selfish I know. She told us that the hotel was booked due to the Lunar New Year being right around the corner and the only thing she could do was upgrade us for 10 bucks more to a larger room. Done.
Minus the spider encounter, the one other thing that this hotel offered was an excellent breakfast buffet.

We don’t usually like buffet style food, and we don’t usually get buffets for breakfast. This was a great exception. They had everything and the fruit variety that this hotel had was crazy awesome. I don’t think I have ever had pineapple as good as the pineapple in Vietnam and I must have eaten a pound of the stuff every morning after waking up. The omelets were cooked to order and were terrific. D continued to eat passion fruit—her new favorite fruit—like they were grapes. A spread of other items and endless coffee and you could stay there all day. We would have but we had to get to shopping I guess. With the room and the spider situation suppressed for the time being, D and I had wanted to take advantage of the tailors in Hoi An that the town in known for. We walked around the main drag and passed the market where we picked up some pearls and bracelets for D and some friends. On to the tailors, we shopped around a bit for pricing and to tried to avoid the foreigners discount that seems to be a recurring trend around this joint and ended up stopping at a place that a friend had recommended. We looked at the fabrics and asked if they could do certain styles and if they could mend a few things or make exact copies of some stuff that we had with us. The response to all the questions was, “we can do anything.” This statement turned out to be true as we tested out the bold statement and I had a few shirts made and had corduroy pants copied that I have had for awhile and like the style. They nailed everything right down to the belt loops. There were a few things that were wrong on D’s stuff, but over the next few days, we eventually got it right with a few fittings. I had some suits made that turned out nice and was about a third of the price that I would end up paying for back home. As if we didn’t have enough clothes already in our 2 ton bags, we decided to test the durability of our luggage to see if it really was good quality. What we ended up doing was buying a $10 bag to hold the rest of our goods that we had now acquired. Oh well, vacation is nice in a place where dinner is 6-7 bucks with beers included.

Central Market (Where's D?)Through all of our back a forth to and from the tailor shops, we got to see a bit of the old town of Hoi An. Every street is lined with tailor shops and souvenir shops with girls who stand there and, in their best Engrish, inform us that, “you need new clothes, custom made….you need suit……you need shoes, we make them here. Sir, Sir your wife is pretty…where you from?” This goes on and on wherever you are. If you can get past that little nuance and the guys on the motorbikes asking you “you want motorbike ride…you need motorbike? It's safe. Cheap….. Sir, you want motorbike?” (Although it is clear as day that you are actually riding on a bicycle and have a viable means of transportation) then you can see the small town charm that this place has. Little shop owners making silk lanterns and families that live in the town hanging out down by the water market, it is the kind of place you could stay at for weeks and never get sick of (Except for the motorbike dudes).

(A man selling baskets from his bike.) (The bathroom at the tailor shop: Enter with caution.)

(We spent a lot of time on Tran Phu and Le Loi Street shopping and going to the tailors.) Through all of our back a forth to and from the tailor shops, we got to see a bit of the old town of Hoi An. Every street is lined with tailor shops and souvenir shops with girls who stand there and, in their best Engrish, inform us that, “you need new clothes, custom made….you need suit……you need shoes, we make them here. Sir, Sir your wife is pretty…where you from?” this goes on and on wherever you are. If you can get past that little nuance and the guys on the motorbikes asking you “you want motorbike ride…you need motorbike? Cheap….. Sir, you want motorbike?” (Although it is clear as day that you are actually riding on a bicycle and have a viable means of transportation) then you can see the small town charm that this place has. Little shop owners making silk lanterns and families that live in the town hanging out down by the water market, it is the kind of place you could stay at for weeks and never get sick of (Except for the motorbike dudes).

Thu Bon River

(A man making lanterns. We wound up purchasing some for our "one-day" future patio.)

D and I explored the city by bike and cruised to the other side of the river where we found a small spot to catch sunset and a beer in a place that was a diamond in the rough. Right on the bank of the river, we ordered our .70 cent beers and watched as the school kids throw their bikes and mopeds on the boats to take them down the river and the old ladies in their coolie hats row back and forth across the river picking people up and delivering goods for small change. Boats with loud generators rigged with a prop and converted to be a motor filled the river and it was a river traffic jam that seemed as normal as the 5 o’clock traffic in any metropolitan area. Not worried about drinking and biking) although we should have been with the mopeds on the loose) we hopped back on the bikes and went for some local cuisine.

(The little town of Hoi An)

(Watching the sunset)

Now, the only things that might like food more than D and I are rats. You know the four legged creatures that stir at night and move in darting movements that bring a sort of finishing touch to scary movies and stuff like that. Well, there is no shortage of river rats in the city of Hoi An as we found out on the way back from dinner on one of the nights. Hoi An shuts down around 9:30 pm or so and once that time rolls around there is nobody, and I mean nobody, on the streets. You can’t even find the motorbike guys to bug you if you want to….wait, those guys are still out, but they are hanging around the one or two bars that are still open like vultures waiting for some drunken tourist who might think it is a good idea to cruise with these guys after a few beers. As denae and I walked back from dinner, we noticed a small dog in the shadows. Maybe it could have been a cat, but it didn’t move like either of the two species….a rat it was. I have seen a rat or two in my lifetime, but these took the cake. They could easily be mistaken for a cat or dog as proven by us and just coming from dinner, ensure that you will say your bedtime prayers so that you won’t get sick off of whatever it was that you just ate and hope that the beef Pho that you said was soooo good wasn’t our newfound night stalkers. I guess it adds to the “character” of the town and is probably why everyone splits so early in the evening around there.

(Silk lanterns at night)

(Moped taxis--Need a ride?)

After dinner and a good night’s sleep, D and I woke up with an agenda to finish up our shopping adventure and to ensure we had all our “stuff” before heading to a different hotel on the beach to relax a bit. From city to city, D and I have a tendency to budget travel. Mostly because we can’t afford to do it any other way and because we don’t see why spending more money should make your trip more fun. So when we splurged to stay at a resort on the beach the last night we were in Hoi An, it was a truly nice experience. Not that we hadn’t been spoiled enough at this point, we wanted to do absolutely nothing and relax on the beach for a day or two. This feat is something that we have trouble accomplishing as we are usually running around trying to cram 5 lbs of crap in a 2 lb bag.

(Picture of the Ha An Hotel)

(One of the tailors we used.)

(Instead of cars or trucks, they use baskets to make deliveries!)

(Japanese Covered Bridge)

(More pictures of the Japanese Bridge)

(Last minute purchases: Lanterns)

(Amazing Pho Ga. We found a cute little place to grab lunch before heading to the beach!)

(Cheers!)

Anyhow, we grabbed our stuff and rolled to the Victoria Beach resort where we had planned on staying for a night before we flew out the next day to Ho Chi Minh. In all of our traveling, we have only stayed at two other beach resorts and that was only for one night in the Bahamas and also in Marbella, Spain.

Victoria Hoi An Resort on Cua Dai Beach was simply paradise: http://www.victoriahotels-asia.com/

We arrived at the Hotel by taxi and we were immediately greeted by the bell hop who wouldn’t allow us to touch our bags. Ok, if that’s the way this will be, I won’t throw up arms about this one. We were directed to the lobby where we were greeted by the receptionist and all of the busy in our lives stopped. We instantly relaxed and were given another one of those welcome drinks (which now seems to be customary to this little town) that were fairly awesome. The lobby doors opened to the front of the hotel and were also opened to the back that faced the pool and the beach creating a beautiful view during the daytime. Fortunately, the weather we had was nearly perfect, so there was a cool breeze that flew through the doors and made you feel like you were in a movie or like you might not belong at a joint this nice. The ceilings were about 20 feet high as well adding to the effect and there was nothing cramped about this place. We enjoyed our drink and were oriented the hotel and given out room key that had a carved wooded keychain on it in the shape of a fish; reminding us that we were at a hotel on the beach, and big enough for us not to forget to leave it at the door in case we left the hotel for anything.

We could tell right away that we were going to enjoy this so we tried to take full advantage of plopping our butts on the beach and relaxing. The whole hotel had sort of a Spanish feel with yellow stucco design and terra cotta tiles on the roof to compliment the Spanish floor tile throughout the walkways. The hospitality was overwhelming and the staff couldn’t do enough for you. Trip Advisor will get a 5 star from us on a review. I could get used to this I think. The beaches of Hoi An had sort of an orangey color to them that met the teal water to make a great place to kick back and enjoy a beer or two. Being the little fish that I am, I took a swim and found the water was just about perfect. A little chilly when you first get in, but once you move around in it for a minute or two, your body warms up to it. Body surfing was in call for a little while so I waited for the perfect set of waved and waited for natures boost to help me swim ashore. Let’s do it again. When the water is at that temperature, the best part about it is getting out and having the hot sun warm you back up and dry you out while you lay down on the beach. D found her refuge in a book and was totally content with a huge smile on her face while sitting by the ocean listening to the waves.

(A picture of our room)

(The gorgeous pool)

(Relaxing on the beach)

(Having fun in the water)

(Watching another beautiful sunset)

The receptionist greeted us when we came back into the lobby and told us that we had a message from one of the couples that we had met on the tour of Halong Bay, Gerard and Angie. Gerard and Angie are from Australia and Gerard is part owner of a clothing company that caters towards the rodeo crowd with a mix of surfer style threads too. Interesting I thought, but it turns out that it’s a pretty cool style. I called Gerard and we met both of them at a great little restaurant in the old town. It was nice to have a couple to b.s. with over dinner and to reminisce about the trip to Halong Bay which was so awesome. Gerard and Angie had just rolled into town from Hue so D and I got them up to speed on the town on how we saw it and the little ins and outs that we had found by talking to people and just cruising around ourselves.

We indulged in dinner and dessert and D and I both had a scoop of ice cream. I thought to myself how jealous I was that year-round the Vietnamese live in a climate that you can enjoy ice-cream to cool you off. I’m not saying I don’t eat ice-cream in the winter in cold places, but it just isn’t as appealing as eating it in the winter when it’s 80 degrees outside and feels like summer when I know back home the high would keep the ice cream that we were eating frozen all day long just by leaving it outside on the porch. I got cinnamon ice-cream as it was the first time since Italy that I had seen it offered anywhere and remembered how terrific it was there. D got passion fruit sorbet. This is something that needs a description of its own. D’s new love is not me, but passion fruit. In the morning she ate about 5 of these little boogers and was wanting more. The only thing that kept her from partaking in 10-15 each morning was me reminding her that if she kept it up, she would have to make more frequent trips to the lovely public restrooms that Vietnam offers. This fruit, if you have never tasted it or seen it, is about the size of a racquet ball and is red in color (like the kind of red a mango gets when it is fully ripe) when it is ripe. When you cut this in half, there are seeds that are covered in a sort of slimy pulp that you scoop out with a spoon and eat all at once, disregarding the seeds and swallowing everything. The fruit is mostly tart like a sour patch candy or something and has a sweet, sugary taste to compliment it. They are very good and I think D would leave me if one of these things grew arms and legs and could carry on conversation. The Sorbet that she ordered tasted identical to this sort of flavor and ranked up there with one of the best ice-creams that has hit my mouth to date. It didn’t lose any of the flavors of the fruit like some sorbets do and there was nothing else added to it. Just fruit that was turned into a heavenly scoop and placed in from of my wife. D is happy and B chalks up brownie points. Go Sorbet!!!

D and I knew that we had to check out in the afternoon because we had only decided to stay for one evening at the Victoria. In order to maximize the use of the facilities that they offered, we asked if we could leave our bags at the hotel while we stayed on the beach due to the fact that we were flying out later that evening and we didn’t want to have to spend a whole lot of time at the airport or some other place with a bunch of bags. The hotel was accommodating and offered for us to utilize their spa facility in order to shower after being at the beach all day. A very nice gesture that we jumped on and went about relaxing a little more. The morning was a little overcast, so D and I thought it would be in our best interest to utilize the spa and sauna facilities for the morning. Good choice. We walked into to this relaxation and aroma therapy room that smelled like eucalyptus and had that spa sort of feel. We each went to the locker rooms and threw on bathing suits and relaxed for a few hours in the steam room and the spa. The day went by slow which we were grateful for and I got to go body boarding on the beach while D sat by the pool and read her book. This ended up being one of the nicest places we stayed and we felt like honeymooners again.

We had decided to push our flight back to the later flight in order to enjoy the Victoria a little bit more. In doing so, we rode the margin of time that we had from the time our plane landed to the time we had to be on the bus that was going to get us to our next destination of Mue Nei. We had some people tell us that it only took about 30 minutes to get to the travel agency and others that told us up to an hour or more. We had about an hour from the time that we landed to get our bags, get in a car and head catch a bus. I’m glad we pressed this envelope a little and enjoyed staying at the beach as opposed to staying in Saigon for that extra three hours that we would have had because in hind sight, it all worked out fine. We had a car pick us up from the travel agency that we booked through which was well worth the cost and they got us there with about 15 minutes to spare (plenty of time). In that fifteen minutes, I had time to run across the street to get us some 5 dollar dinner and hop of the bus safe and sound……for that moment anyway.

Onto Hue...

2009-01-20T01:31:00.014+09:00

Hue(Pronounced Way): Jan. 18-19, 2009

D and I arrived in Hue after a short flight from Hanoi and found our way to our little hotel where we dropped our bags and reverted to our travel books for recommendations on where to grab a bite to eat for dinner. We found a small little restaurant that ended up being fairly good and got some local cuisine and a few beers for around $6 for the both of us (this is part of the reason we roll around everywhere instead of popping, or running!!). With dinner complete, it was time to check out the town for us to check out the town for another beer to hang out before hitting the hay. D and I found a local bar right around the corner from our place and D was pleased to see that they were serving Pastise while I threw back a couple of 80 cent beers (they seem to taste better when they are cheap). We met a few more travelers that had just come from Hoi An where we had planned on going the next day so we picked their brains a bit about where to go, what to see and what tailor shops they recommended as Hoi An is known for their tailors and as the place to get cheap clothes made to fit. Feeling good by now, we called it a night so that we could wake up and tour the city the next day.

(Accoriding to Frommer's, "Hue was once Vietnam’s Imperial City and later the country’s capital under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). In 1803, under Gia Long’s reign, the citadel and Imperial City was built here on a former royal site. The area has since been scarred by wars with the French and the USA.")

(There were many colorful colonial style buildings that gave this town a great feel. You could tell that the French had presence here.)Hue, a city known for the battles that have taken place during both the French occupation and the American Vietnam war, was waiting for D and me with blue skies and perfect weather. We ate breakfast at the hotel to charge our batteries and then took off on the complimentary bicycles that the hotel offered. I tell you what; there really is no other way to explore small towns, no matter where you are, than on the back of a bicycle. It gives you the feel like you are 7 years old again when that was your only form of transportation. A car will give you a quieter view, but you don’t get the same experience as with a bike. I mean, you are more mobile, you don’t really have to abide by all the traffic rules and you cover so much more than walking the same paths. Plus, where how else can you battle with the Mopeds of Vietnam without having to be on one?

Our first and only stop on the bikes in Hue was the Citadel. We paid about 50 cents to park our bikes with an old man sitting outside of the gates and walked our way through to begin our self guided tour. You could tell that like most of these historical sites around the world, the Citadel at Hue must have been a real site to see in its day. The walls were made of what we would relate to as a stucco type facade and were painted in bright yellow mineral paints and intricate designs that set up against the clear blue sky made for a picturesque walk through a little bit of history. The fort was a little bit in shambles due to the bombings that it took during the war and the toll that it’s other nemesis, time, had taken on its walls. Every corner had a brief description as to what you were looking at, and there were plenty of great photos that were taken inside. Fairly relaxing and interesting, D and I cruised through this old fortress for a few hours in the morning and enjoyed the warm air.

(Flag Tower (not in picture) is the focal point of the Imperial City, this tower was built in 1807 and once flew the yellow flag symbolizing royalty.) (There were an overwhelming amount of goldfish in this little pond waiting to be fed yet once again in the early morning. The fish were very large and fought for the food as if they hadn't eaten in years.)(In front of the main palace are two mythical ky lin animals, supposedly, they have amazing eyesight and keep an eye on the emperor--watchign all good and evil that takes place.) Taking fun pictures around the Citadel.

(The Forbidden Purple City: This was once home to the emperor and his concubines. We walked around what remains of the Imperial city. A lot of it is currently under renovation. We stopped by the Thai Binh Reading Pavilion which had ceramic and glass mosaic detailing on the roof.)

A beautiful painted gate.

Gorgeous.

(Thien Mieu Temple below: Built in 1922, this temple pays tribute to 10 of the last Nguyen dynasty emperors.)

(Hien Lam or Glorious Pavilion below has 9 Dynastic Urns in front. The urns were cast from 1835-1837 and each urn represents a Nguyen emperor.)

Yipee!

B by the big drum!

Back on the bikes, we took off to explore this small town to get a feel for it and hit a few side streets where we saw kids leaving school and the Vietnamese girls in their traditional white robes that look so elegant and pristine as they hold their posture straight while riding and chatting together on their bikes. We had found another recommendation in our guide book to eat lunch at so with our, in book we trust attitude, we hit this small little local restaurant called the Mandarin Café. Upon entering, I noticed the photos that covered the walls of this ten table restaurant and how interesting they were. They all seemed to catch the real character and lifestyle of the Vietnamese culture and whoever had taken them really had an eye for photography. I was quickly greeted by a gentlemen who handed me a photo album and said “here, take a look at my photos”. He was the owner of the café and the man who had taken all of these photos as a hobby of his. He sold these in his galleries in Paris and Saigon as well as right there at his restaurant of course. As I looked though this album, the kind that had the acetate that you peel back and stick your photos to, I was amazed at all the great shots that he had captured. D and I picked out our two favorite photos and enjoyed the rest of our excellent meal before heading out to take some more photos of our own and catch our bus to Hoi An.

(This is a picture with us and the owner of Mandarin Cafe.)

(Being inspired from looking at all of his work,we rode our bikes to try and

capture some good photographic shots.)

(These ladies were fishing for a type of snail--so we believe.)

Yeah for riding bikes!

(In Hue, we didn’t have time to take the little waterboats to visit the temples or the Imperial tombs. We also really wanted to tour the tunnels of Vinh Moc, Khe San, and the DMZ: Demilitarized Zone. Quang Tri Province, where Hue is located, saw some of the heaviest fighting during the US/Vietnam war. It was the area hardest hit by the US. Accordig to Frommer's, “Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, an agreement brought peace to Indochina after its struggle with French colonists. Vietnam was divided into north and south along the 17th Parallel. What was meant to be a short term political fix became a battle line known as the DMZ, a tangle of barbed wire and land mines bombed and defoliated into a wasteland.

(Riding the bus to Hoi An.)

(The bus ride took us through some amazing scenery: rolling mountain tops with wet luscious rice paddies in the distance.)

(A rest stop that we took brought us to this large lake. It was really neat to see the boats on the water just peacefully sitting there, but what you don't see is the large pile to our right of stacks and years worth of trash and plastic containers--it's a shame.)

Great shot B!

(The ocean view: We were almost to Hoi An. A part of us felt like we were in

Italia with the scenery.)

(The video below is taken on the bus and is a glimpse of what the countryside in Vietnam is like.)

Video of riding across the bridge in Hue.

Cruising on Halong Bay

2009-01-18T23:05:00.000+09:00

Day 3-4, Halong Bay: Jan. 17-18, 2009

Waking up knowing that you are going to have a great breakfast again is something that I cherish so I was ready to go when my watch alarm woke me up to the faint beep-beep-beep that would normally never even stir me. Excited about the day, D and I were ready to step off on our side trip to Halong Bay to stay on a Junk boat for a night and experience one of the gems of Vietnam. Halong bay consists of over (3000 –check this number) small islands made of limestone that seem to have just fallen into the Gulf of Tonkin and stayed where they currently lie. Each island looks like a small mountain covered in green with a base that has been eroded away by thousands of years of the waters crashing against them. This makes for an outrageous scene and because the waters are naturally calm, makes it seem a bit mystic while riding on the bay.

D and I booked this trip on The Pinta Cruiser Junk Boat that was recommended through our hotel in Hanoi, and the package included a pick-up from the hotel. 8:30 am sharp and we were off. On the way to Halong Bay, we shared the 11 passenger bus with 5 other people. We found out later, they were all from Australia, but all from different parts of Australia. We struck up conversation with the couple that was sitting closest to us on the bus and made good conversation just about the whole 3 ½ hour bus ride to the bay. All of us would be on the same “junk” boat for the evening, so we figured we should get to know them now as we would inevitably meet later anyhow. The two Aussies, Gerard and Angie, were from Brisbane and ended up being really great people along with the others as well.

On the way, we passed through the Vietnam countryside and got to take photographs in our head as to what goes on in the villages outside of the tourist towns. Although there were not a Billion, or even a million mopeds, there were quite a few along the way and, true to form, there were trees, ducks, pigs and everything else you can imagine on the back of these little two wheel wonders. The individual little towns along the way seemed to be as basic as you might possible imagine. A salon, a market and a moped mechanic seemed to be staples and in between, there were rice paddies along the whole route. Old ladies and hard working men dotted the countryside with their coolie hats while they dredged through the mud of the rice paddies.

When we got to Halong Bay, we tossed our luggage onto the boats and were greeted with a welcome drink made of fresh watermelon juice. Back up, the luggage… apparently, 5 years of traveling on our own through different countries around the world isn’t quite enough for Brian and Denae to figure out that we don’t need to pack everything and the kitchen sink just for a short vacation. We have already discussed the excuses that “we didn’t have time to pack right” and “we haven’t ever taken a trip this long, so we’re not really sure what to bring”. These excuse plus more that we have thrown in there still doesn’t change the fact that we had 2 enormous bags and another two “small” bags with more crap in them than was really necessary. We were “those guys” on the boat with too much luggage. The people we hung out with on the boat would ask how long we were staying in Vietnam. Probably expecting that we would say a year…at best 6 moths with bags we had, but No Way Jose, a mere two weeks and we were blowing this popsicle stand. No worries though, the worst that it amounted to was a few snickers at our expense and that’s not so bad, just luggage I guess. I digress. As we parted form the port, we past all of the other junk boats that were docked there and finally made it to a little open water. The first time the whole trip that there weren’t more than 70 or so other vehicles, cycles and vessels within ten feet of us (I know it was only the second day, but remember, A BILLION MOPEDS).

(A glimpse of Halong Bay)

(There are a number of stories regarding the legend of Halong Bay. Here goes another one from Frommers: “A Vietnamese fable says that the towering limestone-karst rock formations at Halong were formed with the crash landing of a dragon sent by the prehistoric gods of early Vietnamese animism to protect the country form an invading navy. The picturesque area did, in fact, play host to some important Vietnamese naval victories against Chinese forces, but the bay is most famous for its UNESCO World Heritage status, its emerald green water, and the 3000 islands of towering limestone in the Gulf of Tonkin. The total area of the bay is around 606 sq. miles.” –Frommers: Vietnam 2006.)

Our tour guide explained to us the legend of Halong Bay and how a Dragon from the water and a fairy from the sky had fallen in love to produce 100 sons of which the Vietnamese were born. Stories were told and friends were met as our boat pushed through the calm waters of Halong Bay. The day was sunny out, but there was a fog or a mist in the air that didn’t allow us to see much past about 5 miles or so. Still quite a ways, but I could imagine that on a totally clear day, this place would be even more magical than it already was. Instead, we got the feel that there was something really mystical about this place. The fog added to it and as we creped through these mountainous islands, you felt calm and relaxed.

(Enjoying the fresh air in Halong Bay.)

(The floating village near the cave)

(Emerald green waters of Halong Bay)

(Our amazingly fun group: Alex, Gerard, Angie, Sarah, Robbie, and B)

(A view climbing up to the cave.)

We stopped at a particular island to see a cave that had been discovered by the French in 1901 while they had occupied Vietnam. The Viet Cong had also used this cave as a hide-out during the war with the United States. The cave is called Surprise Cave and we weren’t sure if it got its name from the way it was found, or the prominent natural phallic symbol that you can’t miss upon entering the second cave in the complex. Either way, it was a very interesting cave as the ceilings looked like they had been formed by the water as they were smooth without stalactites hanging from them. The colored lights created a sort of Gaudi style picture and was truly a surprise for the both of us.

(Surprise!!)

(Simply awesome!)

(Lighting and a walking path through the cave was added in 1999.)

(Exiting the cave with a lovely view.)

(Sunset!)

Back to the boat, we continued to cruise around and anchored for dinner. The food on this boat was incredible and seemed like it just kept coming. Every time we thought we were finished, there was another chicken with lemongrass or beef vegetables dish coming our way--a great way to experience the food of the culture as well. Just when we thought we were done, our tour guide had everyone come together, and to our surprise, brought out a cake that said Happy Anniversary to the both of us. Apparently, the tour group we booked through asked if there were any special occasions when we signed up for the cruise. Denae replied to let him know that we were taking our Vietnam trip to celebrate our 5 years of marriage. We had forgotten about that little questionnaire, so this was really nice to have a few others to celebrate with. It was a pretty big hit too, because they gave everyone cake and booze to celebrate (Go Us!!). We listened to our tour guide tell ghost stories and then rolled ourselves up stairs on the deck to enjoy the clear skies and the beautiful stars that capped off a wonderful day and an even better evening.

There is something about waking up, opening the door to your room and seeing huge mountains that fall into the water. That’s exactly what I did the morning I woke up in Halong bay. Sleepy eyed, with a toothbrush in hand, I opened the door to our cabin to check the temperature outside and to see if I needed a light coat or not. As soon as I opened the door, that unbelievable feeling awe that Halong bay brings to you hit me right in the eyes. So, forgetting about how cool it was or whether or not I needed a jacket or not, I brushed my teeth while staring at natured beauty while it had me in its grasps. And we cruised to a small floating fishing village about 15 minutes from where we had anchored for the night.

We arrived at the fishing village which was neat to see how people can adapt to an environment no matter what conditions or where they are in the world. Floating houses and villages had vegetable stands, schools and some normal conveniences that we enjoy in our commercialized lifestyle. These people just live the way they knew how and for them, we were their opportunity to make a little pay-dirt while they could.

Women and children would cruise up to the side of the boat selling anything form fresh cultured pearls to Pringles and water. When I say children, I mean girls who are about 7 years old who would row the boat (sometimes with their feet) while their four year old sisters and brothers would help show off merchandise all while keeping an eye on the 10 month old child who was sitting on the seat just enjoying the feel of the boat. Gives you a little perspective as to how they live their lives on a daily basis. Seeing as our room was on the bottom deck, the girls from the village would row up and peek their heads over the side and with their best pouty face ask us if we would buy shells that they had collected from the pearl farms. Not really interested, I went to the room and grabbed a couple of boxes of crayons and balloons that I had brought along for the trip after our neighbor had mentioned that the floating villages of Siem Riep (where we are heading) were so filled with poverty, that she wished she had something to give the children. I figured, every kid loves balloons and a few crayons could brighten up anyone’s day (an artist’s perspective of course). The kids were all smiles when I passed over the balloons which made me feel better than collecting another shell souvenir that would eventually make it to our junk pile at home.

Up to breakfast, it was another meal where there was entirely too much food, but where everyone felt compelled to eat whether their stomach told them to stop or not. The food was just too good not to and so once again, we rolled upstairs to enjoy the views.

(The children in their boats.)

(The little baby along for the ride with big sister.)

(A view of our boat.)

Not too long after breakfast, our guide came up to grab us to see who wanted to head on a kayak tour of the bay. D and I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity and so five minutes later we were off, paddling our way through the mountain islands with yet another perspective of this bay. We ran into another fishing boat with a man and his daughter on it so D and I made our way over there and handed over a couple of the balloons that we had in our pockets. I’m not sure if I have ever seen somebody so happy after receiving such a tiny little gift of color and plastic. This girl’s eyes lit up with gleaming joy. Again, I had that good feeling all over—seeing someone smile from the tiniest gesture.

(Paddles up!)

We continued on across the bay and our tour guide, Hang, had told us that he would take us to a few caves to check out. Hang took us to a remote section of the bay where we could hear nothing but birds and the water as we cruised through these natural arches and caves and ended up in a small lagoon that looked perfect for swimming. On the way out, we noticed a monkey climbing on one of the mountain faces and got a feel of exactly how remote the place was. When we looked up, the local boat police were waiting for us right outside of one of the cave entrances. Hang told us to continue on while he paid a small fine for trespassing and taking us into the caves and coves which was a protected site. Go Hang!!!

(Smile!)

(How relaxing!)

(A lady going back to her village.)

(Our Junk Boat: The Pinta Cruiser)

(The man coming to pick up and store the kayaks.)

(The children still trying to sell us their shells.)

After the kayaking trip, we headed back to the boat where we all enjoyed the top deck once more and exchanged information with our new friends we had shared our experience with over the past 24 hours or so and cruised back into the harbor to catch our bus back to Hanoi and then our flight to the town of Hue.

(Kayaking through the caves in a remote and beautiful area.)

(Watching the sun set!)

Vietnam Trip: January 15th-30th, 2009

2009-01-17T22:19:00.000+09:00

HANOI, VIETNAM:Jan. 15 to Jan. 17, 2009
(Recap started by B on Jan 22nd 2009)

Ok, lets see if I can do this….recap the past 7 days here in Vietnam and actually do some justice to our trip. We’ll start with day one in Hanoi. We flew in from a brisk 25F temperature ready to embark on the first two week vacation that D and I have ever taken. I know it seems kind of weird... we lived in Europe for four years and back and forth to the US over 5 years of marriage, and we have never done two weeks of vacation at a time.

Hanoi was our first destination, and it seemed to be a swift kick of reality as to how the other side of the world operates. I’m not sure what I was expecting of Hanoi, or the culture in Vietnam, but we got a good dose of it right off the bat on our car ride to the Hotel. In a few words, ONE BILLION MOPEDS!! I’m not exaggerating either. I mean, it was like the whole country of Vietnam had decided to ride mopeds all at the same time, in Hanoi. Pretty funny right? Sort of, if you are reading this and weren’t in the middle of this Sturgis for mopeds on the way to the hotel. It was nice that we were actually in a car and that we didn’t have all of our stuff strapped on the back of one of those things (which I am sure could have been done after seeing some of the stuff they put on these motorbikes…the best was a live calf that was strapped down). The Church Hotel (http://www.churchhotel.com.vn/) was nice and a place to rest our heads before our trip around Hanoi the next day.

Day 2- Hanoi…the next day. Breakfast was extraordinary for a “breakfast included” type breakfast. There was no buffet, no half stale cereal that was supposed to be considered breakfast, just a lovely waitress ready to take our order, that’s right, they had a Menu for us with a selection and after a fresh squeezed juice and some omelets, we were ready to go. The concierge helped us find our bearings and pointed out a few things on the map that our Frommer’s and Lonely Planet had recommended and we were off. Not so fast, look both ways…..or did you forget the BILLION MOPEDS? Oh yeah, 8 O’clock in the morning, and still Sturgis is rolling on. We found that crossing the street was more than a chore, and if you stood too long waiting to cross the Sea of Mópedie, then dude would sneak up beside you and offer you “Motorbike ride…really cheap….where are you from?” and wouldn’t take the hint after you walked down the street for another 400 meters saying, “No thank you.” Slow, methodical walking…never stop, never back up and ensure you cross in pairs so that you can have eyes on both directions, and GO! That’s how you do it. Seems like a chore to cross right, it is.

After mastering the cross walk and crossing the street (two different tasks that we should be awarded medals for) we did get to see a lot of the culture of Hanoi. We headed straight for the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, and then to the One Pillar Pagoda that is known as a place Buddhist go to in order to pray for fertility.

(The entrance to the One Pillar Pagoda that we completey missed. 30 minute walk around, and we finally found the pagoda behind this gate.)

(Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum: He lies in state here in this building. One is able to view Ho inside the mausoleum: hours: 8-11 am. He wanted to be cremated, but the Vietnamese did not grant his wishes. I found it interesting that Ho usually isn’t here in the months of October and November because his body travels to Russia for maintenance. Unfortunately, the mausoleum was also closed on the day we were here.)
(We couldn't find the One Pillar Pagoda--finally we were able to locate it!! As it's name suggests, there is one pillar on this lovely pagoda built after the King had a dream in 1049 (the current one is a replica). Prayer here is said to bring fertility and good health. Although we’re not Buddhist, we paid a visit just in case to cover our bases.)

(Hanoi's population is 3.5 million people with about the same operating a motor-bike.)

(Quan Thanh Temple: was built during 1010 and 1028 and dedicated to Huyen Thien Tran Vo, the god who reigned over Vietnam’s northern regions.)

(Tran Quoc: was built in the 6th century and is one of Vietnam’s oldest pagodas.

It is located on Cayang Island in the middle of West Lake.)

(We love our guidebooks!)

(Walking around the temple)

(The Pagoda)

We were on our way again to find a site where, according to the 2008 version of the Lonely Planet, there was supposed to be a downed B52 bomber that was shot down during the Christmas Raids of Hanoi during the War. Although we didn’t find the bomber, we did find the “lake”, or mud pit, where they were doing some construction and had subsequently taken the plane out about a year or so ago.

The neighborhood that this was in was fairly interesting and D and I got to see authentic Hanoi (By “Authentic” I mean more mopeds and harder street crossings).

(It is possible here to carry anything on a moped, orange trees--huge planted in pots, lemon trees, cement sculptures, pigs, chickens, you name it...It can be done!)

(Check out the flower moped to the right.)

(Shoes at the market)

Fortunately, we stumbled upon a small market where we bought some star fruit for about 50 cents, got a few good pictures and were blessed by seeing roasted dog. Oh crap, close your eyes D, there it was, bigger than S@%!, Fido, roasted and ready to serve with his little tail sticking up, slightly curved but no longer wagging, like it was as normal as brushing your teeth before heading to bed. I thought D was going to cry, so I told her it was a Goat (although I knew it wouldn’t fly any better than a pregnant pole-vaulter) and hoped that she would believe me. That didn’t work so well, so we left a little more cultured than before the little market alley and went on to have a little lunch; ensuring that we ordered vegetables and noodles of course.

(Fido has seen better days :()

“Tit ran” snake is on the menu 6km from Hanoi in a little town called Le Mat “snake village” people eat snake—a so called male aphrodisiac and a natural version of viagra..we refrained on drinking the rice whiskey filled with snake blood and avoided the 7 course snake meal and the town all together. There is also a town where the same goes for dogs. Supposedly, these dogs are bread for eating...sort of like the horses are in Italy and France.)

(The fruit was simply amazing all over Vietnam.)

(Go ahead...give it a try!)

(Now you go, SMILE!)

We had planned to eat lunch so that we could reach the Hoa Lo Prison (museum), later nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton by the American pilots who were shot down during the Vietnam war, fairly easy after our dog-less meal. This was something that was high on my list of things to see as I have read a bit about it, and have seen a few documentaries on this prison after going through SERE school and just given the nature of my business. We found the prison to be mostly torn down, with just a small portion left as a museum to show the historical relevance that this had throughout the French Colonization in Hanoi and how the Vietnamese used it during the Vietnam War as well. It was a strictly informative tour as we walked around and looked at the pictures of John McCain and the other pilots who had been shot down during the war and noticed that they didn’t portray anything about the rope tortures or how completely horrible the conditions were. Something to see for sure, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit it.

(Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton): This prison was constructed by the French in 1896 mainly to house around 450 political prisoners—numbers rose to 2000 in the 1930s. It was taken over by the Vietnamese 1954 when the French left. It housed POW’s from 1964-1973 and was a major detention facility. Senator John McCain was an inmate here along with many others. There are numerous stories on the walls and facts about how the prisoners here were treated and punished. Only a fraction of the original prison remains today--we were able to view the French guillotine, torture rooms (where prisoners were attached to clamping devices to keep their legs or hands from moving), and examples of the female and Vietnamese political prisoners’ quarters.)

After Hanoi Hilton, another Buddhist temple (Quan su Pagoda which is one of the most important temples in the country…it was constructed during the 15th century. Today it is the headquarters for the Vietnam Central Buddhist Congregation.) and off to do a city walk that had been outlined in one of our trusty travel books. Let me tell you, the travel book describes this walk as the best way to see Hanoi’s old town by foot. What it failed to mention was that during this walk you were to risk your life over and over again trying to “cross the street” and that you should update you will prior to embarking on this adventure. With all that said, D and I took the walk without regret attitute, dodged a few motorbikes along the way and got to see a tremendous amount of the chaotic city that, after a while seems to settle in on you and almost becomes normal in a twisted, outlandish sense of the way.

(Hoan Kiem Lake: According to Frommer's there is also a legend that goes with this lake. "The Legend of the Lake of the Recovered Sword. In the mid 15th century the gods gave emperor Le Thai To a magical sword to defeat Chinese invaders. While the emperor was boating on the lake one day, a giant tortoise reared up and snatched the sword, returning it to its rightful owners and ushering peace into the kingdom.” Tortoise Pagoda is in the center of the lake, but we didn't see any turtles.)

(The entrance to Ngoc Son pagoda)

Bridge of the Rising Sun(The Old Quarter is a maze of numerous streets that aren’t big enough for all the mopeds. This area dates back to the 13th century when each street specialized in a certain trade. It was pure chaos as motorbikes, cyclos, produce sellers, intertwine to try and make their way through the streets. My head was spinning from the commotion. It was soothing to walk into a shop and look around for the pure means of having silence with no horns tooting. Still today, some streets offer the same trades they have for years as other streets have changed. Hang Via—bamboo trade now but this street used to be used for selling cloth.)

(The Vietnamese getting ready for TET: Lunar New Year)

(chaos in the Old Quarter)

(Break for a Bia Hoi (beer) and this is the food menu)

Back to the Hotel to regroup and grab a bite to eat just before our last event of the day…..the Water Puppet show (roi nuoc) held at the Thang Long Water Pupper Theater. Sounds interesting, right? Right!! (Supposedly, it’s been around for 1000 years and started with rice farmers who worked in the flooded fields). Set up like a stage with a pool in front of an Oriental style building, puppeteers (each who are trained for a minimum of three years) create a story with puppets that are intriguing and, with the addition of the live music, creates a fairly interesting show for about an hour.

Although we couldn’t understand a single thing that was being said during this aquatic charade, it was neat to experience this weird piece of culture that I’m not sure you can find anywhere else in the world. Sound like a packed day? It was, but well worth it and it made for a great night’s sleep before our next day’s adventure to Halong Bay.

(Video: Hanoi--touring the city!)

Shanghai, China

2009-01-09T15:45:00.038+09:00

My friend Anna and I decided to head to Shanghai, China for a 4 day get-away Jan. 6-9, 2009. It's the first time I've traveled with a good friend in a while. Usually it's just B and me. We had a nice time seeing the sights, culture, and shopping of course. Shanghai though is literally one of the dirtiest places I think I've ever been. We arrived to start dodging snot rockets and people spitting on the streets. The taxi cab drivers will try to rip you off coming from the airport--We were taken for a joy ride, but the door man at our hotel quickly told him what fare we should pay. And beware of the local fruit stand that wanted to charge us $12.40 for 4 banannas and 4 oranges. Yes we are foreign, but do we have idiot stamped on our foreheads? Everything is up for bargain--so the first price quoted is usally way inflated. Take 10% of the price they quote you...and use this as your starting price. If they don't budge, then you know you've asked for too low of a price. Shanghai is currently a construction zone--the city is getting ready for World Expo 2010--it will be amazing if they are able to complete all of the buildings in time. According to Fodors, "In 1987 there were about 150 high-rise buildings in Shanghai, and today there are 3000 or more. They also house 1/5 of the world's construction cranes." The dim-sun was yummy. We indulged on dumplings when we could!

Not too far from our hotel...anyone up for some fish?
Very large eels--and some other looking snake creatures in the buckets behind. Check out the dirty mops in the background--just a quick idea of the filth in the city.
On one of the main shopping streets in Shanghai: Nanjing Road.
The weather was cold and rainy...so we grabbed some lunch. We decided on Pho (Vietnamese noodles)--the menu read: Noodles with beef and broth. Yummy--I needed some soup to help my nasty cold go away. It arrived --and we found out that it contained tripe (stomach lining), cartlidge of some sort, and the lady called the little meat balls: beef balls. Of course, I thought that they were little cow balls. I soon found out that the Chinese eat anything that walks, crawls, slithers, flies, or moves. Without hesitation, I quickly removed all of this stuff from my bowl.
Anna's face is priceless...looking at the stomach lining!
Yep. That's a chicken foot. The only other place in the world where I've seen people eat these is in Barbados. They are considered a delicacy there.
Dried anything: chicken, duck, you name it...they had it.

Look Kids! I brought you home a pet called Piggy in a bag! Can you imagine?

A view of Nanjing Xi Lu.

It was a rainy and cold day!

D modeling her lovely face mask....no seriously...at first, I never thought I would wear one. After having numerous sinus and respiratory infections, I'm giving it a try. I think it's a lot easier to get sick when you are in a city with 15 million people, and my immune system is just not strong enough to keep up.

A view from our room at The Salvo Hotel. It had a great location.
Jan. 7th Itinerary: Explore the Old City of Shanghai, see some temples, do a little shopping, walk around the French Concession area, break for gluewein, see an Acrobatic performance, eat dinner in the Xintiandi area.

Yeah!

There are several shops around this area and of course...a Starbucks.

Fodor's describes a brief history of this area: "This area of the city has been inhabited for over 2,000 yers. It started out as a fishing town, but when Shanghai was carved up by foreign powers, one part of the central city remained under Chinese law and administration. Surrounded by the ring road of Renmin Lu/Zhonghwa Lu, these old winding back alleys eventually became notorious as gangster-and opium-filled slums until the Communists cleaned up the area. Today the vices have disappeared for the most part and only the narrow meandering lanes and a dwindling number of tiny, pre-1949 shikumen houses are still standing. Rapid developmet means that the Old City is fast losing its historical building's and laneways to be replaced by shiny apartment blocks."

Huxinting Teahouse: a very old tea house with a prime location!

Cheers!

I love these rock formations.

Yeah...a nice walk in the peaceful gardens.

Everyone told us to get steamed pork dumplings at Nan Xiang in the Old City right next to Yu Garden.

Drummers playing right outside of the Old City area. Will you take a picture with me? Sure!

The dragon bridge.

Temple of the City God (Chenghuang Miao)

By one of the gold figures.

Different figures people pray to.

I love this shot.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is held towards the end of January.

Chen Xiangge Temple

This temple was originally built in the 1600's but destroyed. It was recently rebuilt in the 1990s, and now is a nunery.

This is where people light candles and burn incense.

An area near the French Concession below. I was amazed at how these women wash their clothes in the freezing cold in a sink on their balcony. They then line-dry them in the polluted air. The French Concession is a very artsy area--with cute little boutiques.

Just like in Beijing, it was fun to see older couples dancing in the park!

We never had time to see an acrobatic perfomance in Beijing, so it was on the list of things "to do" in Shanghai. Our hotel kindly booked our tickets to the show. Talk about talent--a cast ranging from young children to adults--the stunts and acts we saw were amazing.

These guys would literally fly from rope to rope with no safety cable.

The ultra flexible girl.

These gals were spinning plates on sticks and then walking on each other's heads.

Wow!

The main girl below is balancing a stand on her shoulders that holds the other 2 gals. They are doing all of this while still spinning and balancing their plates on the sticks.

The Yo Yo Girls--I believe this is a traditional Chinese toy--I'm not sure of the exact name.

Hoola like a slinky.

Balance Act 101-

One day...in my wildest dreams.

With no safety cords attached, this couple twists and ties themselves with this blue silk to perform an amazing acrobatic performance.

Tricks on a Bike...how many people do you think you can fit on a bike?

Balancing on metal pipes.

Crazy!

Delish Dumpling Soup!

This is just what we needed. It was freezing outside!

Jan. 8th we toured the Jade Buddha Temple which is home to a 6 1/2 ft. tall Buddha made with white jade. She wears a robe with gorgeous jewels and was brought to Shanghai from Burma. Around 100 monks live her on a regular basis.

The Happy Buddha.

Statue in a small museum there at the temle.

Happy Happy Buddha.

1000 year old tree trunk ornately carved. It was very impressive.

Three Buddhas in one temple hall.

Another Buddha on the other side.

From the Jade Buddha Temple, we took at taxi back to the French Concession area: We found a cute little shopping area on Taikang Lu.

Cute little cafes outside.

A nice little break from the large shopping malls in Shanghai.

This area is home to crafty boutiques, bars, cafes, and studios.

Laundry?

Off to the Longhua Temple (Longhua Si). This temple is considered one of Shaghai's busiest temples. The temple is thought to date back to around the 3rd century.

The pagoda in the background is from the 10th century.

The tree was covered with orange, red, and yellow ribbons.

At the Temple gate.

The first hall in the temple. You can see the big Happy Buddha inside.

An ornamte golden Buddha.

A man praying.

Another hall inside the temple.

The monks chanting. The rhythm of the chanting and humming is very relaxing. Buddhas. An older monk on his way back from prayer.

Neat tiles stacked against the wall of the Temple.

We walked by this area below. It looked super dirty.

The sun is trying to break through the smog. It wasn't cloudy--Forecast: Sunny.

It's sad to see how bad the pollution is here.

This is how women transport their children and some carry their babies in their arms while another person drives the moped.

Want to take a dip anyone in the river? Check out the amount of trash floating in the water.

Hong Qiao Pearl Market near Yan'an Road West and Hongxu Rd.

We took a morning walk along the Bund and the riverside promenade. Some of the older buildings here were built before 1949. It's the best place to get a great view of the Pearl Tower and the Pudong area across the river.

Pudong's famous skyline in the background. You can also see the Oriental Pearl Tower amidst the fog and smog. The Oriental Pearl Tower is 1535 ft. tall. The Jin Mao Tower recently surpassed it in height. It's 3 spheres were designed to resemble pearls--hence "Shanghai, Pearl of the Orient." There is an observation deck at the top, but we didn't have time to go up there.

Anna with the Pudong area skyline.

Cheers!

The Huangpu River runs through Shanghai.

Memorial to the Heroes of the People

One last shopping detour: Qi Pu Clothing Market. 3 large buildings house all types of clothing goods and accessories.

Craziness in the market. Check out the guy passed out in the background.

Overwhelmed with spinning heads!

The amount of people here was insane. One guy said it best...he said "It's like they opened a can of rats and told them to run as fast as they can." Toliets here...don't bother...you will probably lose your stomach and privacy for that matter.

A view of the crowded bridge.

Wow--we made it out alive!

And we made it...safely back to the airport.

We enjoyed our last glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Videos from the trip are below! Enjoy!

Hop on that bike...

Drummers outside of the Old City

Hat Boys

Hoola Girls!

Yo Yo Girls

Monks Chanting in the Temple.

Chaos in the Qi Pu Market

Christmas at B & D's

2009-01-05T19:17:00.000+09:00

It's Christmas at B & D's. Hey Family--thanks for sending the package with all the goodies. We had a blast opening up all the wonderful gifts that you sent to us. Once again, you all outdid yourselves. It wasn't the same opening them without us being all together....so next year, hopefully we'll all be together again! Sending love, big hugs, and many thanks for the awesome package. Check out our funny picture below.

Hey--I love this shirt.
AND B really loves this one!!

Good find mom!

Horray for Christmas packages!Just in time for the Rodeo--great shirt!

5 Years!!

2009-01-03T17:10:00.005+09:00

Wow! How time flies...5 years ago today, B and I were meeting at the altar to say our vows and encounter in the sacrament of marriage! A wonderful journey to say the least that this last 5 years has been for the two of us. We've lived in 4 countries in 5 years and have managed to stay sane with all the moving--how could we not providing the travel opportunities that were in front of us. We are so greatly blessed and are very thankful for the luck that we have had. We celebrated our 5 years by going to the LG Sakers basketball game with Jason and Anna to watch our friend Brandon #5 play. They won the game!! We went back to the house, and B grilled steaks and we opened a nice bottle of Barolo! Cheers to many more years of fun, laughter, happines, and adventure!

B pounding the rice before the game!

The Koreans make a type of dessert out of this mashed rice.

Hiii-yaw!
The cheerleaders dancing!
Brandon going for a slam dunk!

Go! Go! Go!

Brandon Crump and his teammate Ivan!

Another dunk!

Anna and D at the game!

Go B Crump!

Yummy Steak Dinner!

2009-01-01T00:11:00.001+09:00

Our friends, Michael and Kristin, were hosting a New Year's Eve Fondue & Wine Party! We all had a great time cooking our meat and veggies...and dipping it into the delicious cheese and chocolate fondue they made.

Jason & Anna

B & D
The Girls: from L to R: Anna, Rebecca, D, Stephanie, and Kristin!

Michael and Kristin --the hosts!

We love fondue!

You can barely see the little house in the background that houses the city bell. Due to the old main city gate being burned down last year by a crazy farmer, many policemen were protecting the bell. Bosingkak in Insadong houses the city bell. It is only rung on New Year's Eve when large crowds gather to celebrate. According the Lonely Planet, "In Joseon times, the great bell was struck 28 times every night at 10 pm to ask the heavens for a peaceful night and to signal the closure of the gates and the start of the nightly curfew, which was enforced by club-wielding watchmen. It was struck 22 times for the 33 Buddhist heavens at 4 am, which signalled the start of the new day when the gates were reopened. It also sounded when fire broke out."

Anna & D waiting for the countdown!

Cheers!

It was a super chilly night!

B trying to talk to the guards.

B & J about to shake up the bottle!

Whoohooooo~

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1--Happy New Year!

Taking a walk by the city stream!

A video of the countdown! B shook up the bottle of cava to clear the crowd. I felt bad for the young policemen who were covered in it. It was even legal to light roman candle fireworks in the city--It was a lot of fun! There's really no city event here that takes place without a protest. Check out the huge flags in the background. I'm not sure what these guys were protesting.

Nutcracker

2008-12-30T00:08:00.002+09:00

There's nothing like sitting in traffic and taking a taxi 45 minutes to a theatre...only to show up to find out that you are at the wrong theatre...same performance "Nutcracker" but wrong place. Whew--well, we were able to buy a few more tickets at a discounted rate to see the Nutcracker! The costumes were beautiful...and the dancing amazing.

On the Border Mexican Restaurant

2008-12-28T23:51:00.001+09:00

Nothing like celebrating 30 twice--We went out to On the Border...and they gave me a yummy chocolate brownie cake--and we all got a free round of margaritas! Now--that's awesome. The birthday you keep on celebrating!

Yeah!
Feliz cumpleanos 24 days later!
Mis amigos!!

Noryangjin Fish Market

2008-12-27T22:58:00.012+09:00

We had always wanted to go tour around the fish market here, but we just hadn't made it there until 12-27-08. Jason wanted to go and get some good fish to make a nice dinner...so off we went ...it was freezing cold out! We walked all around the fish market with smells just undescribable! I think we saw almost every sort of fish...even the tail of a dolphin--now this is just plain wrong. Some of the fish were swimming upside down (not enough oxygen in the tank), and some were just super crammed together. It took us a while to decide what to have for dinner:...we settled on George the 3.8 kg Lobster and Tom the Flounder!

Check out the sting-rays and their smiling faces. They arrive here in big containers all frozen in a single block of ice. Now...that sounds yummy :(

The octupus
Anna and D with hot tea in the market.

Sting-rays!

Check out that fish....We had to breathe through our mouths due to the awful smells!

Sea squirts: AKA Penis fish. I think their Korean term is: meongge.

Check out the lady balancing the tray of food on her head!

Fish Fish Fish!

Fish galore and more and more! Check out the innards--sick:(

Hello Mr. Crab!

The scene at the fish market.

Harry the crab!

Jason and B at the market.

A view from above!

Little pretty fish! One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish...

Snacking on yummy treats: dough filled with cinnamon and nuts then lightly fried.

George our Lobster weighing in at 2.2 kg.

Giant George!

No...not in my hair!!

Steamed George--I felt so bad for the poor thing.

He was a nice treat though and tasted super yummy! B's tummy was super full. heheheh!

Video of live octupus swimming around. The Koreans actually eat live octupus--which is super dangerous, but they seem to like it. Can you imagine if one got stuck in your throat?

Anna and D at the market--Yummy smells!

A Polish Christmas (2008)

2008-12-24T19:34:00.002+09:00

Due to our Thailand trip being cancelled, I was rather bummed for a few days! I had to find a way to get into the Christmas spirit...so I hosted a Cookie Exchange party, and Anna and I made Christmas wreaths for our doors with all fresh berries/greenery from the Flower Market. They turned out awesome...and we had a fun time making them. See the picture below! It was hard not spending our usual Christmas at home with family--we missed everyone--but it was really nice to spend it with friends we met only a few months prior. We know that our friendship with them will only continue to grow and prosper--and we hope to always be in touch! The one positive about moving around so much is that we are granted with the opportunity to meet such great friends!~ Merry Christmas to All!

The Spirit is in the air: A great night of snow in Seoul on Dec. 23rd.
Our Christmas Tree: Victoria gave us her fake one since they were moving...usually we just love the smell of a real tree, but this year...we took the easier alternative!

A Polish Christmas: Christmas Eve--Baumann House

Anna made a fabulous Polish dinner that we all really enjoyed and will always remember!

Anna was dog sitting: Hanna above..and they have a dog named Lucy. Both are Boston Terriers.

D and Anna by her Christmas tree!!

B and Anna in the kitchen!

The table--looks gorgeous with the red beet soup!

Cabbage Stew.

Perogi: We made mushroom/onion and meat perogi! They were super yummy!

Paszteciki: A pastry dough filled with meat stuffing! -Delish!

B and Jason with the grilled salmon.

All of us at the dinner table!

Off to mass... Bernard, a German parishoner at the church, brought Gluewein and shared it with everyone after mass. Anna and I had been craving a good cup of gluewein. Jason and Anna also lived in Wiesbaden, Germany for a few years before moving to Seoul.

We went back to chill out at their house and spend the night!

Playing around!

Christmas Day at City Hall Square in Seoul! It was I think around 18F--super cold outside!

The Cheongye Stream decorated with lots of lights!

B by the stream with a nice hot cup of chai tea! Yes, we support one of the many Starbucks located here in Seoul!

Video of Christmas music played near the stream. The area was filled with people--many groups and families walking along the water to enjoy the chilly Christmas night.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T16:56:00.003+09:00

Merry Christmas….From the Other Side of the World!!!

Well, it’s been another one of those years for D and I as we have made yet another move in our almost 5 years of marriage. WOW, 5 years!! Seems like it has flown by and we have so much to be thankful for as we are both very fortunate to have each other, our health and great family that have supported us through four moves in five years. We are saddened by the loss of Denae’s grandmother, Mrs. Yvonne McMurray, in April of this year. A day that we knew would come, but that we would never be ready for. Maw Maw was such a great lady and such a true friend to Denae. We know she has been watching over us though and always will.

This year’s pace has not slowed down in comparison to the past four, and it seems like things just keep getting busier as you check something off the list. We started the year in beautiful L.A. No, not Los Angeles , but Lower Alabama !! That’s right, beautiful Ft. Rucker where the barbecue is great, the towns are few and far between and so are teeth in that neck of the woods. We were re-stationed there so that I could attend the Captain’s Career Course, and we made the best of our time by spending most of it at nearby Destin, FL. on the weekends. I attended survival school at the end of the course and had a small surgery done to correct a deviated septum. After that, Denae and I prepared for our next move to Seoul , South Korea .

Both anxious and excited, we hopped on the plane and landed on the other side of the world, once again! So far, this has been a great assignment. We finally have the opportunities around us that a big city offer and we have met some good friends and neighbors that have kept us great company. Denae has been getting involved with the American’s Women’s society of Seoul , volunteering her time to teach children English, and also holding and nurturing newborns at an orphanage here. It never surprises me that she does so much and still has time to squeeze everything else in. My job has been great and has given me a different perspective than I have been used to.

As we look down the road, we will find ourselves moving again. Where we will end up, we’re not sure, but we know that we have the greatest family and friends to help us along no matter where we end up. Thanks for everything and we wish you a very blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year from the other side of the world!

Korean BBQ & Monkey Bar!

2008-12-22T18:08:00.000+09:00

12-19-08 it was out on the town to enjoy Korean BBQ and then off to Monkey Bar!

Thanks John and Rebecca for planning the evening!

Jason and B!
Anna and D!
Dancing!

I want you to dance on this pole!

A little bit of pole dancing in my life....Cheers!

The fire man at the bar!

Super cool!

Cookie Exchange Party

2008-12-22T18:03:00.000+09:00

Cookie Exchange parties are always a lot of fun to attend--I love it because everyone leaves with a nice assortment of various types of cookies!! Since our trip to Thailand was cancelled due to the hooligans storming the airports to shut them down for a week and overthrow their Prime Minister, I decided to host a little party to get everyone in the Christmas spirit!

From L to R: Jackie, Rebecca, Anna, Kristin, and Bridget

Smile for cookies!

Orange Night

2008-12-22T17:58:00.000+09:00

Orange Community hosts Orange Night here in Seoul. This was on 12-12-08. We had a fun time at Jazz Story bar and restaurant! From L to R, B, my client, Connie, Wilson, D, Emily, and Steven!