Photo Highlights

As promised, here are some photos from our trip. Sort of a 'best of' photo collection here out of almost 300 pictures we took during our trip.

Messing around at an amusement park (Nha Trang)...


We saw some crazy animals throughout our trip. Like this peacock in Nha Trang...


And these Vietnamese pot bellied pigs in Sa Pa...


The water was warm and crystal clear and very salty (Nha Trang)...


The city streets are busy (Hanoi)...


Think you can navigate through this?


We went to this place to see a dead guy (Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi)...


It was so foggy in Sa Pa, you could barely see the terraced rice fields...


These young girls made handicrafts high in the mountains of Sa Pa...


My dad likes to mess with people and animals. Like this goat (Sa Pa)...


Joe and I just mess with fake animals (Halong Bay)...


Halong Bay is a registered World Heritage site. Indeed it is majestic...



My favorite photo taken in Sa Pa during one of the walking tours. That's Joe walking into the fog...

Home!

Our flight was delayed from Chicago to Harrisburg, but we still got home on Sunday by noon or so. It was disappointing, I had my day planned out to be a day for rest and re-balancing my internal clock. But since we were still in travel mode, we didn't really get any time to rest.

Even coming home has been an adjustment. Since the house is so new to us, we weren't immediately calmed when we got home. I'm sure we'll get our bearings straight in a few more days.

I will be spending some time this week sorting through the pictures we've taken during our trip and maybe post some highlights. I hope you guys are still interested in checking them out.

Insomnia

I wasn't able to sleep all night. My mind is racing. I don't know if I can't sleep because of the time difference, because I already slept on the plane from Hong Kong or if I'm just really really anxious to get home.
We are already back at O'Hare waiting for our flight. We're just sitting here waiting and using our phones to catch up on news and stuff. Hopefully we'll be home soon.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

What would Uncle Ho do?

Ho Chi Minh is a national hero here and people still call him uncle. We went to see his body at the mausoleum in Hanoi. Joe thought that was pretty creepy.
He's the guy responsible for bringing communism to Vietnam. You can often see Uncle Ho iconography around the city.
We were kind of scared ahead of our trip. Phrases like arbitrary interrogation made us want to stay home. But in reality, all I think communism is responsible for is lack of progress. Construction is slow, we have seen half complete bridges where it looked like no one has worked for days. People still use hand tools, although we have seen machine tools though few. Social problems are the same they just present themselves in a different way.
Just slow slow progress yet I'm sure each year it becomes more Americanized and tourist friendly.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I'm ready to go home

Joe can't wait to be home to have some pizza. I am craving cold drinks and ice cubes. I am not going to miss the mosquitoes here. I got bitten all over my arms and legs. We won't miss the insane traffic and noise. We are ready to come home!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Stuck in Chicago!

Our flight out of Hong Kong was delayed 4 hours, which made us miss our flight to Baltimore. So many problems with the airline that we are stuck in Chicago for the night. We hopefully catch a flight to Harrisburg in the morning in time to catch the Superbowl.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

A frog, a squid, an eel, a turtle and ALMOST a snake

Aside from Nha Trang, we ate some different things during our trip. Our first day here Joe ordered frog satay and I had a hunch then that we would be eating some exciting things.
Clams at Halong Bay that aren't available at home. Squid that was a lot thicker than anything I've ever had before. And ... A turtle. I wanted to try turtle just to try it and know what it was all about. I got to pick him out of the tank and everything. i was excited and then when it came to the table I felt bad. And then when I saw the head and feet I got scared. But both Joe and I ate it, thought it was pretty good although it leaves a sticky aftertaste in your mouth. Joe made me have the head since I was responsible for the poor guy's death.
And then there's the snake. Our last night here and my dad took us to a place where we could order the scary stuff. This is the same place we had turtle. I had wanted to also try snake (why not, right?) and had one brought out in a bag and weighed and everything. But my dad was scared of snake, my dad had already ordered 4 other things and the dinner was getting expensive. The waitstaff told us we would never be able to eat it all. So the snake was spared from the Sophie guillotine. I was willing to try it once and know what the fuss was all about. You can't say I'm a picky eater.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Patriarch in Ben Tre

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Return to the fatherland

We took a 3 hour drive out of saigon to my dad's hometown, Ben Tre. We had to ferry the taxi twice over two different rivers to get there. We thought maybe the driver would wonder what he got himself into.
Once we got to Ben Tre, my dad picked up 2 gift baskets and headed toward his childhood home. It is typical for a house to pass from generation to generation. My grandfather's oldest brother is the current owner of the Le house. And his children and nieces and nephews own the houses next door and across the street. The houses were simple, nicer than I expected though. I thought we would be dealing with dirt floors. The houses are surrounded by coconut and durian trees and pineapple bushes. They had 2 dogs and a teeny tiny little kitten that kept jumping on the table as we shared a meal.
All the distant family members were excited to see me. They would put their hands on my shoulders, squeeze my arms and face as if to size me up. They did the same with Joe, shaking his hand and remarking on his height.
We dropped off the baskets and all the things we brought with us from home- Hershey's chocolates, Dove soap, Starburst candy. We shared a meal, met all the relatives, spent some time and then headed back to the city. It was probably the most interesting day of our trip.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Preparing for the new year

The city streets are already preparing for the new year. Dried fruit is neatly displayed and boxed cookies and biscuits line the walls of each stall in Hanoi and saigon.
Typically families make gift baskets of dried fruit, candy, tea, or liquor to give to their elders or to dead relatives. You can also buy pre-made baskets, like the ones pictured here.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

my dad is all about 3 things

1. Bonsai
2. Orchids
3. Tiger teeth
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Disappointment in nha trang

We spent 3 days in nha trang, a supposed beach town, but we were unfortunate suckers that booked whole day tours and only were allowed 2 hours at the beach. Instead they took us to creepy deserted amusement parks that were still in construction. And we spent so much time on the bus, we became very annoyed.
It's a shame nha trang is commercialized (or at least a poor attempt). They have very very nice beaches. The day tours left a bad taste in our mouth. We were actually happy to go back to the city.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T