Halong Bay

One of the things we planned, booked and paid for before leaving
Canada was a tour in Halong Bay, Vietnam. It was a good thing we did it ahead of time, because I don't think we would have splurged on such a tour if we had waited until we got here. However, having said that, it sure was nice to treat ourselves to something way above what has become standard for us.

We took a bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay, which took about 3 hours. This is a photo of our boat as we headed out from the pier.

We had a lovely lunch on board, while we headed to our first stop on Titop Island. The pagoda on top was our destination after climbing 427 steps to get there.

It was a bit overcast today, but that was just as well for the climb. It was hot enough without having to deal with blazing sun as well. And even with the overcast conditions, the views from the top of the hill were awesome.

Our next stop was in a bay where we had the option of kayaking or going to a floating village for a look. Even though the kids and I had had quite a tiring experience kayaking on the Mekong, we decided to give it another go. We really were glad that we did. There was no current and the paddling was as leisurely as it comes.

We paddled through a cave into a lovely, clear pool on the other side. There were suppose to be bats in the caves, but we didn't see any. Likely just as well.

As you can see, Kelly really made the paddle a leisurely one. Given there was no current to deal with, Campbell didn't mind at all.

We went through one more longer cave that also led to a lovely quiet spot where we searched for monkeys. Of course, when we didn't see any, they informed us that they have only seen monkeys twice in the past year. It was still a very nice paddle. It was also a perfect way to end the afternoon. We got back to the boat about 5:30 and had some time to relax before dinner. Our dinner was quite the galant event, which everyone enjoyed. After dinner, a number of us gathered on the poop deck just to enjoy the evening. The stars were brilliant and the company was great. The staff of the boat managed to get us all to try our luck at squid fishing off the boat. Probably a good thing that none of us managed to catch anything. By 11:00 we reluctantly called it a night.

The next morning was glorious. The skies had cleared and it proved to be a spectacular day. We started our morning at 6:30 with tai chi on the deck. I think our instructor found us more entertaining than skilled!! However, he was very patient and we felt great once we were done.

We actually got the sails up this morning and went for a little jaunt to some caves before our breakfast.

It is very difficult to capture the enormity and breath-taking beauty of the caves on film. It actually reminded all of us of a Disney Studio. We hiked through the caves for about an hour before coming back out into daylight.

And when we did emerge from the caves, we felt like we were in the middle of rush hour. We sure weren't the only tour on the bay and the caves were a hot spot that morning.

Campbell got in a bit of reading time on deck before breakfast was served.

We had a fabulous buffet breakfast that kept us going right up to dinner. We just had to keep telling ourselves not to get really comfy with the whole 1st class thing as it won't last long. But it was very enjoyable while it did.

Kelly was happy to spend the last few hours on the boat soaking up some sun on the deck. We were sad to end our tour and take the 3 hour bus back to Hanoi, but the end of one thing leads to the next and we're off to Beijing tomorrow to continue our travels.

When it rains...it pours

We were all woken up during the night by a thunder clap like I have never heard before. It sounded like it was from right on top of our hotel and reverberated down through the whole building. I'm not sure what time that was, but the storm continued for the rest of the night. When we walked down the 6 flights of stairs to the hotel lobby (none of us felt comfy about getting into the elevator), the water was up over both the street and the sidewalks and it was still raining. We had discovered a restaurant about 2 doors down from our hotel the first day we arrived and had gone to breakfast there the next day and wanted to go this day as well. We took our shoes in hand, hiked up pants and skirts and ventured out. By the time we got 2 doors down, we were drenched. The storm continued through breakfast and everytime there was a flash of lightening, followed by a thunder clap, the staff were under the tables and Kelly and I were clenching hands. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The restaurant owner took pity on us and uprooted one of his patio umbrellas to walk us back to the hotel with.

The photos really don't need any commentary.



We decided to take a taxi to the airport early because the main road to the airport had already been flooded and impassable so we thought it would be a good idea to go before we weren't able to get there at all. It took us about 4 times longer to get to the airport than it normally would have, but we were happy to be there at all. Our flight was only delayed by one hour and by the time it left, the storm had actually passed and the rain had stopped. That made us all feel much better. So...off we went to Hanoi.

Hanging out in Hue

We stayed on our paradise island as long as we could. But, finally at 4:00 we had to get back on the boat and head back to Nha Trang. We took the 8:00 night train from Nha Trang to Hue. None of us slept particularly well, but at least the scenery along the sea was beautiful once the sun rose. We arrived in Hue about 8:30 in the morning and walked the 2 kms. to our hotel. We were all quite tired, but we still managed to find the market and then some other stores and find ourselves some great souvenirs to buy. It seems we are never too tired to shop.

The next day we decided to rent some bicycles. We hadn't managed to get ourselves run over walking so we though we would see how we do on bikes.

We got state-of-the-art one-speed bikes and headed out to see what we could see in Hue.

The old city has a wall all around it and then a second wall that surrounds the Citadel. Above is one of the gates into the inner city. The streets throughout the walled portion of the city are really interesting and lots of fun to wander up and down.


All that cycling can be thirsty work!!

There was water all around the wall and these workers were in boats but almost buried in the vegetation.

At one point in time, we all made it across the train tracks except for Dean. He had to wait on the other side until a train went through, which took quite some time. Once the train did go through and the barricade was lifted, we all were quite happy to wait until the throng of traffic went by us before heading back out on the road.

Campbell seemed to spend quite a bit of time finding a place to wait for us. Nothing like plunking your butt on a spare cannon.

We cycled out of the city about 5 kms. to get to this pagoda. We found a parking lot for our bikes and wandered around for quite awhile.

Campbell and Dean enter the main section of the pagoda.

Once we returned our bikes, we needed a bite to eat. Kelly and Dean look rather happy with their end-of-biking drinks.

Kelly was thrilled to be able to leave her mark on the wall of the restaurant, as so many others had before her.

Even Dean had to get into the act.

Paradise found - just in time

So I am finally up to date with the blog and I am actually in the place I am writing about. It seems up until now, I have been about 2 countries behind!!

Although we burned out a day earlier than planned, at least the plan included a beach getaway where we could relax for a few days and re-energize. We took the night train from Saigon to Nha Trang, arriving at 5:10 on Sunday morning. The Whale Island Beach Resort sent a driver to pick us up at the train station and drive us about 2 hours north of Nha Trang. We were amazed by the number of people up and exercising along the waterfront at 5:15 on a Sunday morning. There were joggers, stretchers, swimmers, Tai Chi'ers, other Asian exercisers that I didn't recognize, and numerous other people just out and about.

About 2 hours north of Nha Trang, we transfered from our mini-bus to a boat for the final trek to the island resort.

It was about a half hour boat ride across the bay to Whale Island.

This was our first view of the bay and the resort's boat dock and it looked oh so appealing.

This is the view from the restaurant of the resort looking back across the bay.

Here is Campbell on the doorstep of his and Kelly's bungalow rinsing down after a jaunt in the sea.

The resort is great in that everything that is available just gets charged to the room. I can hardly wait until we check out and get the bill!! But, in the meantime, we all enjoyed the various activities that were available. Kelly rented snorkeling gear to check out the coral reef off the beach. There was beautiful coral and some pretty amazing fish as well. The water is crystal clear and really warm.

The kids also rented windsurfers and had varying degrees of success. There was an instructor who seemed quite willing to help, but neither of the kids could understand him so his help was limited to what he could sign with clarity. Kelly seemed to get the hang of it quite quickly and spent a long time out on the water.

Campbell didn't seem to have any problem getting up on the board and staying there, but he had quite a nack for going backwards. He never really did figure out the best way to move forwards, but enjoyed his time out on the water anyway.

All the meals are included with the price of the bungalows and Kelly was in her glory when she managed to snag everyone's brownie after dinner one evening. The meals have been fantastic and no one will starve here. Breakfast is always fruit salad, eggs, rolls, jam and coffee. Lunch and dinner have been 4 to 5 course affairs with fresh fruit, at least one appetizer, fresh seafood, and rice or noodles with vegetables and desert.

This is the view from our bungalow down the beach to the restaurant and bar.

And here is the end of another day in paradise.

Burn out

After another 6-hour bus ride, we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. Most people still seem to call it Saigon. We spent the first day touring the city, shopping and trying to stay alive while crossing the street. The drivers here are wild and street light, stop signs and lanes mean nothing to them. I have no idea how everything seems to work and no one runs into anyone or anything. We decided the key is to just step out and walk and a steady pace so the drivers can anticipate where you are going and avoid you. So far it has worked, but it is very hard on the nerves. I have learned not to look out the front window when we are driving because I would rather not see the chaos in front.

On day 2 we decided to head out to the Cu Chi tunnels to check them out. We headed for the main drag to get a taxi to take us to the tunnels. However, it was REALLY hot and we were really tired and we quickly managed to talk each other into going to an air conditioned cafe for a drink before heading out to the tunnels.


Well...this is as close as we got to the Cu Chi Tunnels!! Sometimes you just have to admit that you are burnt out and a rest is more important than another site. We will read about the tunnels some other day and ask our friends, the McBrides, to show us their photos of when they went to the tunnels last year. We're counting on you McBride family to fill us in on what we missed. In return, we will tell you how nice the drinks were in the air conditioned cafe!!

Kelly's passions

Kelly seems to have two main passions on this trip. One of them is her books.

Kelly can never have enough to read, which is great. But Kelly also will never throw out a book or leave it behind. Above is the stack of books Kelly is now carrying around with her!! We will try to send some home when we get a little closer and the postage is 10 times more than the value of the books.

Kelly's other passion is banana splits, which she seems to be able to find pretty much everywhere.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

It is hard to believe the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and how they could have happened so recently. The museum was quite an emotional experience. It was good that we had seen The Killing Fields while in Siem Reap as it gave us all a bit of context as to what happened.

Campbell stands in the front grounds of the museum where 14 people from the prison are buried.

Kelly looks out to the courtyard from the second floor of one of the prison buildings.

Here is part of a poem that was hung on a wall. We will have to look it up when we have a chance as it is a very good depiction of how the Khmer Rouge took away everything from the people.

Some of the photographs at the museum were very graphic and certainly disturbing. The biographies of some of the prisoners as well as some of those who worked at the prison were most revealing. Again, it is so hard to believe that such things could happen so recently and that no one seemed to do anything about it. The fact that we knew so little about it before we arrived here is telling in itself.

Boat ride in Pnomh Phen

We decided to take a boat ride around Pnomh Phen to get a different perspective of the city. It was a wonderful idea and we saw a lot.

We had to the boat to ourselves and we all settled in for the tour.

Some of the sights along the shore.

The old and the new.

Where the Mekong and the Tonle Sap merge. You guessed it - the Mekong is the brown water!

We toured beside a floating village.


It was quite the busy spot.

We all enjoyed the ride and enjoyed seeing the sights along the river. It was a pleasant way to experience a very busy city.