Ha Long bay and Sa Pa

Two of the most beautiful places in the world. Both almost completely fogged in! Oh well, having a blast. Just heading to Cat Cat village. Will post some details tomorrow when we get to Hanoi. NYE will be spent on the overnight train. Trey thinks it is SO cool, I think it is a night of no sleep and worrying we are going off the tracks!!!!! Happy New Year my friends!

Epic

The past 2 days have been in.cred.ible! Yesterday (Christmas day) started with our usual breakfast delicious. The kids then realized that the staff had hung gift bags for them in their Christmas tree. So sweet of them! The people here have made this such a special stay. We then read the real Christmas story followed by lots of Christmas songs. It hasn't felt like Christmas here and, but that made it all come real.
We walked to a smoothie/ice cream store for lunch. The smoothies were the perfect way to kick the heat. An amazing bonus was the gal who ran the place invited us all back for dinner tonight! Said her mom is a great cook and they would love it if we came back. Wow. After some hanging out by the pool the owner of our hotel offered to take Trey and I for a scooter ride. The absolute best way to get a feel for the town. I am amazed how much this place has changed in the past 5 years. The thriving waterfront is one example. The bridge by the market is another as it opened up a whole new part.
We ended the day with a great pizza party. It took 4 hours plus to get our pizzas- they were delivered in waves and a power outage meant the last few were cooked over coals - but great!
Today. Holy cow. We did the "hot tour" of the area. That meant a boat picked us up at the hotel. First stop was brick making. Way more interesting than it sounds. Second stop local fruits and traditional music. Stop 3 coconut juice. Stop 4 coconut candy (eating it while still warm is so good). At this point the kids got back on the boat and we rode bikes to where they make sleeping mats. The kids took a motorized rickshaw to lunch while we go to cruise on the narrow, beautiful paths. Follow this with a delicious lunch followed by riding in tiny canoes back to the boat. A beautiful, hot, entertaining way to enjoy Ben Tre!
Tonight dinner at the smoothie gals was the best meal we have had on this trip. No better way to end this amazing stay in Treys birthplace. Banh Xeo, soup, spring rolls, fried rice, corn (Treys fave). Follow this with so many beautiful fruit plates.
Tomorrow we head to Hanoi. We will be in the north for the rest of the trip. Time to put away the swimsuits!

Christmas Eve

And what a Christmas Eve it was. Not really sure I can put today into words. We got to Ben Tre last night after about a 7 hour drive. Walked through town to a fantastic place for dinner. I may need to walk the route again and get some photos.
This morning we headed over to the care center where Trey spent his first nine months. Only one of the nannies are still there, but they called two others who came right over. It was beautiful to see their response to the kids, and the kids to them. We spent a few hours there talking (through an interpreter) and playing with the babies. Some of our travel group brought gifts for the older kids so as a thank you the kids sang a song for us. So cool!
Tonight we went to a Christmas buffet. Our hotel owner warned that they can get a bit vicious getting to the food. Happy to report no injuries.
Tomorrow we have nothing planned except enjoying Christmas. And hopefully getting my laundry back .... Details.
Merry Christmas!

Fairy stream

On our last day at our beautiful beach resort we did a little hike up the fairy stream. It was a pretty cool stream that runs through the red sand dunes. We hiked up to the top of one of the dunes for some awesome views. We didn't actually see any fairy, but some beautiful sites and a few cows. Lots more pool time and a bit on the beach to watch crazy kite boarders.
On our way to our room tonight we stopped by the pool where a trio was rocking a bit of Simon and Garfinkel. Good in any country!
Tomorrow will be (another) long drive as we head to Ben Tre. It will be about 7 hours - but based on our ride here that can mean almost anything!
I have cool pics, but alas the iPad won't allow me to post.

A day at the beach

Ahhh. This is relaxation. We are at a beautiful resort on the South China Sea. It is an amazing place with tons of flowers, views and kite boarders. Started with a morning buffet with about 5 million options and as many cups of coffee! Perfect way to kick off the day. A little beach time. A little pool time. A little park. A little ping pong. More beach. I have one happy/tired kid.
We had dinner at this little place down the street from the resort. We are now a group of 20 so you can imagine how that would overwhelm any place here. It took a loooong time for food, but totally worth it. We ordered a second beer since the food was taking so long, they had to call out to have more delivered.

Loving HCMC

What a fun day! Walked into town this morning to grab some snacks before we head to the beach tomorrow. It was good to get out and explore a tad. A little swimming before heading into the city. We did a little shopping at Ben Thanh market and stopped for ice cream. Roamed our way up to the Reunification Palace. A great idea except it closed at 4, we got there at 5. Oops. Oh we'll, it was pretty from the outside. Stumbled on a really great restaurant for dinner. The city is decked out for Christmas. It was amazing to see all the lights, people and posing! Such an incredible city. Trey and Jonah decided they are "brothers in spiky hair". I think they do pretty good star jumps too! I have a great photo of them that won't load. Will try again later!

Day one and a dang tall building.

We had a great day one. The area we are staying is in district 2, so not in the city. It is a much different pace out here. We chose it to have a way to rid ourselves of jet lag, and it seems to be working. We had a nice breakfast outside along the Saigon river followed by about 3 hours of pool time. It is somewhere in the 90s so it was perfect. Went into the city later afternoon without any real plan of what to do. Looked up and saw the Bitexco tower which Barbie had read something about. On the spot decision to take a look from the top. Viewing deck is on floor 49 and some pretty amazing views. Since I can't post any photos the link will have to suffice.
http://veryvietnam.com/2011-10-03/hcmcs-bitexco-tower-5-in-cnns-20-iconic-skyscrapers/
It's almost 8 and everyone is crashing. I am not far behind.
More tomorrow!

Made it!

I realize I am stating the obvious, but Holy Cow that was a long flight. Door to door it was 31 hours. Just waking up Tuesday morning and I am so excited to get going. Driving through the streets oh HCMC last night brought back so many memories.
Let's get this party started!

12.12.12

12.12.12....our 5 year Family Day.  And as my sister reminded me - a new moon.  I am excited for the possibilities!  We are leaving for Vietnam on Sunday morning.  After over a year of planning I can't believe it is finally here.  12 of us board a plane at 6 am.  We meet up with 4 more in Chicago.  And then 4 more on day 3 in Vietnam.  While I am not looking forward to the flight, I cannot wait to get there.  The smells.  The food.  The people.  Can't wait to see what has changed and what feels exactly the same. 

As I look back on the past 5 years I cannot believe this life we have together.  I had no idea what I was getting into!  Here is one of my favorite photos from 12.12.2007.  He was a little gumby boy!  Check out the socks that go up half his leg.  And those cheeks - don't you just want to squeeze them? 

Next post from Vietnam!

The countdown

Trey and I are so excited to head back to Vietnam!  We leave on December 16 for about 3 weeks.  The itinerary is almost final.  Saigon - Mui Ne - Ben Tre - Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Sapa - Hanoi - Home. 
Tickets are booked.  Hotels are locked down.  I can't wait.  I am going to try to reinstate the blog to document our trip.  So check back mid December if you want to follow along.