Welcome to here!

I LOVE TURKEY!!! This country is so amazing, we already know we want to come back some day. So, so, so awesome! So, the Blue Cruise along the Mediterranean coast was fantastic, and I have to say that it was a lot about the scenery and the beautiful weather, but most of it was really the people. There were 18 of us, not including the captain and the adorable Turkish boys that were the crew. We met people from Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Germany, and Libya. If we hadn't bonded as well as we had, the cruise would have been much more uncomfortable, but as it was, we got outstanding scenery, delicious home cooked Turkish food (including the breakfasts, which are fresh tomatoes, a variety of cheeses, olives, a hard boiled egg, and all the fresh Italian bread and preserves you could manage. Oh, and Turkish tea, LOTS of Turkish tea!), and made new friends along the way.

Our cabin was at the back of the boat, which was super noisy when we started off early the first day. At 5:30 am I woke up scared we had to escape a tsunami or something...Ryan laughed at the idea of a tsunami in the Mediterranean, but to my sleep deprived mind (thank you overnight bus!), it was the only reasonable answer to why on the deep blue sea we had started the boat at 5:30 am. Turns out, they were just starting out early to give us a head start to beautiful bay # 379 that we got to jump in and swim around. I was thinking that lazy was the name of the game on a blue cruise, but not when you are me. I was busy taking pictures, having conversations with other travelers, eating, swimming, laying in the sun on the blue mats they had laying all over the deck, snorkeling around some amazing rocks that just jutted right down into the teal and navy blue swirled water, visitng Kas (pronounced cash), hiking up to a Byzentine castle, eating Turkish ice cream and buying grapes and visiting tombs from literally sometime B.C.,writing postcards, and just soaking up both sun and sea as much as possible. So awesome.

Ryan napped quite a bit the first day, while I swam around and got a few scrapes from the waves and rocks mixture in the Blue Lagoon. But, after dinner that first night, and bonding with the rest of the travelers when the first captain drank too much beer and fell in the water (yeah, that happened- eeek!), he actually really seemed to enjoy the pace of things. Luckily, we got a new, sober captain pretty much right away, who was named George, was hilarious, And yelled "welcome to here!" in a thick Turkish accent every time we arrived at a new, gorgeous harbor to snorkel! It applies, everywhere! Both Ryan and I loved him, and Ryan made friends too, and we spent equal amounts of time chatting with others, or cuddling on the deck at night under a million and one stars. I can say that we both loved it. What was my favorite part? All of it!

Everyone on the boat was really sad to leave on Tuesday. It was hard to say goodbye, after 4 days on a boat together, we took lots of photos, shared hugs, e mail addresses and it will result in continued friendship over Facebook, which will hopefully mean crossing paths again someday. :) Happiness on the Buket Boat blue cruise! I hope to do it again someday!

But, as all good things must come to an end, we were whisked away from each other on several buses, some people going on to Olympos, to stay in treehouses for a few nights, while we hit the road to Antalya for the rest of the day before our next overnight bus to Cappadocia.

Antalya was an extra added bonus in Turkey, because we didn't really have much time (just a few hours), and we really had no idea what to do there until the day before when we were sitting on deck with our new friend Alana from Australia, and she mentioned she had been there, and that she had hired a taxi for a reasonable fee for a few hours to take her to see some of the Roman ruins in the area. Holy Roman ruins, Batman!! I've never, ever seen anything like them really, perhaps the colluseum in Rome comes close, but the level of remains was spectacular. First, we visited the town of Perge, which was basically a full roman era town, complete with columns, roads, a canal, store fronts, a fountain, and parts of churches still remained. It was fantastic! It is actually still an archeological site, we even waved to a few guys getting off their shift as they walked away with barrels of Corinthian style column pieces. So much history was just laying around everywhere. One column still had faint etchings that was a full on piece of art. We walked down the street, paved with thousand year old paving stones, observed broken pipes running down the sides of the streets, and when I went near the remains of an old store, dusted a bit of sand away with my toe and found glass mosaics, still embedded in the sidewalk. This place had ghosts of a past that were practically still tangible. Breathtaking! It was getting late, so we snapped maybe the 1000th picture and got the taxi to another ancient site called Aspendos. Aspendos is an old amphitheater, which is outstandingly still mainly in tact, much like it would have been during the age where performances would have taken place there. A theater geek's (like me) dream! First off, there were very few people there, which made us feel like climbing up and down the stone seating for 15,000 (!?!?) was like stepping back in time. It was huge, older than I can fathom, with acoustics that made whistling sound like a damn symphony. Just incredible. We explored up the top, walking around in the sunset light through tunnels that made me think that this is why every baseball stadium in America is designed like this. Some things worked then, and they still work now. Way to go Romans, way to figure that out!! It's astounding!

We were tired from a full days worth if touring crammed into a few hours, and the sun was setting over the mountains as the taxi driver took us back to the bus station. When I say bus station, I'm sure it conjures up images of a dingy hall full of grimy plastic sears stuck together in rows, which is NOT the case in most of the Turkish towns we've had the pleasure to visit by bus. Turkey does not, as it turns out, have an extensive railway system much like the rest of Europe, but it makes up for this with an EXTENSIVE bus and roadway system that is both economical, and comfortable. Even the 3 AM bus stops along the way were bustling roadside plazas that had everything from shopping to a full cafeteria, to the little old ladies that sat outside covered up in their head scarves making "pancakes", which is like the Turkish version of a crepe on a convex grill with fresh ingredients like spinach, cheese, and potatoes.

The bus station in Antalya was much like a very nice airport, where we could leave our luggage, choose from multiple restaurants, get more Turkish tea, take a break at the Internet cafe and it was truly what we needed before our long overnight journey. The bus left at 10, but actually, I was so exhausted from the past few days that I slept nearly the whole way! Not the best sleep ever, but it did the trick. Only woke up once at the rest stop for a 3 AM pancake! Ryan slept too, which is a frickin' miracle!

We arrived in the Cappadocia area at 6:30, about 2 hours ahead of schedule! We watched in awe as the sun came up and at least 100 hot air balloons filled the sky over the conical shaped rock formations that crowd this part of the country. We groggily got a shuttle bus to take us to the centre of Goreme, where of course, our tour company was closed. We found a few open tour companies that could direct us to our cave hotel (actually set in one of the conical rock caves) down the street. We lugged our backpacks, and upon waking up the girl in duty from her sleep on the couch, we felt so thankful that our room was free so we could have a rest, shower and grab some even more delicious Turkish breakfast before we headed out on a day tour of the area.

We visited an underground city (9 levels down), a monastery built within the caves, hiked along a river in a canyon and had apple tea with my friend Juana from Singapore who was an old couch surfer of mine (I knew she was in the same town, but we just randomly met on the trail in the canyon!?! How does that happen!?!) and we climbed up and down plenty of fun rock formations!It really is a crazy landscape! We had just enough strength left to enjoy a wonderful dinner down in the center of town, where we saw the same girl from our hotel who we woke up that morning, she talked to the manager, and got us a huge spread of food to enjoy with our meal! The Capadocian wine did just the trick to get us to quickly drift off to sleep in our cave room (beautifully remodeled, but still looks like the guys house who turned this into a hotel, but cold!).

We got up today at 4:30 in order to make the shuttle for our own hot air balloon ride over the landscape!! Whoa!!! I'll share a picture, because words can't to it justice to highlight the peace and awe that resulted from floating high above the rocks and canyons as the sun lit up the balloons and the landscape. Whoa.

We did another full tour today, but we were really really tired, and I think yesterday's tour was a bit better. Today was still good, but my stomach was acting a little funny, which made
Me not want to hike around inside the rock dwellings as much as I did yesterday. After lunch by an Arabian horse farm and some Turkish ice cream, I felt a bit better, but we were totally due for a nap and a shower when we arrived back at our cave this afternoon. I'm glad today's tour was a little shorter because I have enjoyed sitting up on the shared balcony, overlooking the caves and watching the sunset around the cones and the fairy lights of the city turn on. Might be time for one last meal of amazing Turkish food before heading for bed! Italy begins tomorrow!!

Turkish Delight

A new continent!! How refreshing! After Thailand, which in the end, wasn't that bad (despite the mental breakdowns, phone swim, and shelling out for an iPad in Bangkok... Maybe Ryan would disagree!) we were due for a change!

Our travel day to Turkey was another long one. This trip sometimes feels like a series of modes of transportation connected by brief stops for history and culture, rather than the other way around! I'm pretty sure we won't remember much of the travel days in the end. I've used traveling days as times to catch up on A. Sleeping B. Reading the travel guide for the next place or C. Blogging/journaling. I had a lot of time for all three because it took over 15 hours to get from one bed to the next on our two flights to Turkey. We had a 2 hour layover in Qatar, which looks much like any pictures of Dubai/Abu Dhabi/any super desert-y town/country in the middle east. It's actually only one peninsula removed from the UAE, and it seemed nice enough, hot enough, and nutritious enough while we stopped over. Highlights being shopping in the gift shop for a keychain for my nephew, Jonathan and a little picture, as well as sampling some middle eastern rice and lamb dish that was delicious. It had golden raisins in it- I consider golden raisins a welcome edition to many rice dishes. Luckily, we didn't almost miss the second flight. Qatar Airways boards an absurd HOUR before the time for take off, so the first flight crew was wandering around the airport looking for us while Ryan was using the toilet- we were definitely the last ones on the plane- does wonders for the American reputation I'm sure...Anyway, we were nice and early for this one, and then waited to board the plane on the Tarmac in the type of heat that distorts distances, making it seem like a mirage of sand, sun, and jet exhaust was surrounding us. How cliche.

We landed happily in Turkey, excited for a new continent, a break from noodles, noodles, and more noodles (or just rice for Ryan). We had a serious craving for a kebab and sleep. After our taxi driver asked for directions 4 times, and we went by our hidden hotel maybe twice, sleep won. We slept for 12 hours!

Yesterday we got up and had a lazy morning. This hotel is less like a hotel and more like an apartment in a 4 story building. Our apartment takes up the whole floor, consisting of an entry, blue tiled bathroom, living room with a kitchenette and a bedroom. Good going Ryan! He booked this one, and it's great to have the apartment feel again! I guess they upgraded us without us knowing, so we hadn't brought much by way of food, so we basically had our snacks for breakfast, and then got around to head out to lunch. The guy in the office downstairs recommended a great Turkish buffet place right down the street, and one of his guys took us their personally! It was delicious! We tried the best moussaka (eggplant and meat type stew) rice pilaf, and a fresh stuffed green pepper. Holy yummy. I think we might go back for lunch today! They also served us homemade baklava and Ryan tried the rice pudding. Mmmm. Yeah, definitely going back for lunch!

After lunch we headed out and walked up and down the winding cobbled streets of the Old Town in Istanbul to see the Blue Mosque, which is stunning in architecture, the inside domes are covered in tiles, humongous marble columns supporting the arches of the ceiling. The place was breathtaking inside. It is still a working mosque, but it mostly was tourists when we were inside because it's only closed during the several prayer times each day. I had to buy a new purple scarf to covet my head in respect.

We then made our way back out into the beautiful weather. Another fantastic thing about Turkey is that it's not 800 degrees with 100% humidity. I really loved Asia, but I was growing tired of sweating every day, all day. So. Much. Sweating. Ew. Here, though, the weather is glorious! 75 and sunny! We walked through the park over to the church turned mosque turned museum of the Aya Sophia (Hagia Sophia, same place). It's another's beauty of a building. More soaring ceilings, and this one had a bit more history around the layers of beautiful colored jewel mosaics that had covered the ceilings and walls. Only bits and pieces of the mosaics still can be seen after some uncovering of layers of plaster and/or marble slabs. It was such a mix of cultures and religions, but all of it was impressive. So much history!

After getting off our feet for a bit at the little outdoor cafe, we made our way back to the apartment hotel by way of the Egyptian obelisks that line a park, where I tried a Turkish drink from a street vendor that tasted a little like warm, cinnamony yogurt, and then a street vendor tried to sell us guidebooks, then moved on to trying to get us to come to his carpet store by asking Ryan if he had a beer belly, then telling me I look like Angelina Jollie. Seriously dude, you MUST work on your sales pitch!

It was turning into a glorious sunset as we made our way back down the hills and stoney streets, twisting and turning through what felt like several back alleys, but led us directly back to our hotel! Ryan is a map wiz! We stopped in quick at a tiny market where we mimed to the old woman having tea that we wanted to buy water, some soup mixes, and some fruit (including some superb looking tomatoes) to take back to our kitchenette.

Later, we went hopping back up the road to grab dinner from a restraint where we dined on the sidewalk, watched the local neighborhood boys walk around the narrow streets and tried some Kurdish dish made in a clay jar. The waiter brought it out, still in a bed of flames, then used a metal tool to pop the top right off the clay jar. It was a tasty stew mix of beef, chicken, mushrooms, onions and too many spices that I could never name . Two for two in the Turkish dinning department! So good! We finished off the night sipping little clear glasses of the traditional Turkish apple tea. It's quickly become a favorite. I'm glad we have more time here! We are going to visit the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market today, so I'm expecting even more pallet pleasing experiences. So, so far, Turkey is truly a delight!

Operation Boondoggle

My body has revolted against me. I've lost 25 pounds. I ate barely 1200 calories today, 600 of which were Sprite. My traveller's diarrhea stopped simply because the only solid food I ate was white rice. I have become a Top Gear special without the cars, but with the breakdowns.

What keeps me going is Jane's loving care and my fervent desire to consume a turkey sandwich in Turkey.

One night in Bangkok and the rest is...

When I decided to give Thailand another shot (my first adventure to this country was with a Korean tour group when I was teaching there- it was basically little Korea with that tour, and it sort of left a bad taste in my, and my teacher friend Mandy's mouth) I really wanted it to be better, more Thai, and not as fast paced and planned as a tour group. Sometimes, God laughs, and grants you what you wish for.

We arrived in Bangkok very, very late, and upon arrival, we thought we'd arranged a pick up from our hotel (which was nearby, because we knew we would arrive late), but no one was there and we didn't quite understand the visa entry business, which we found out we didn't need after all. There was much wandering around the airport and a lot of "fine, we'll try it your ways", but once we finally made it through immigration and customs, which was WAY easier than we made it, we found the entrance that we were supposed to meet said driver. There were lots if people there with signs, but none for us. I'm pretty sure I walked around like a dog chasing its tail for a few minutes before a lady found our name on a list and we were corralled into the waiting area. My backpack does not make for a very good pillow.

Our driver finally came, and we got into the hotel around 2 am, which had a cool loft set up, but brown water stains ran down the sloped ceiling and whilst trying to fall asleep at 3 am, a rooster kept crowing outside. He was clearly mixed up, or crazy, but perhaps he was just an omen for the remainder of our time in this country.

The shower in this place was not appealing in the morning, and neither was the "breakfast buffet", which was the lamest excuse for breakfast we've had since we started our trip. We ate toast, which suites Ryan fine since he has been hit by the dreaded travel bug, some say Delhi Belly, or travelers diarrhea. Now, since I had already suffered through my own bought of terrible tummy, in Cambodia and Vietnam, I could relate to the pain and discomfort brought about by said illness, but I just sucked it up, did what I could to stick to any semblance of the BRAT diet that I could find in Southeast Asia, and finally took the Cipro that my Dr. Had pre-prescribed for me. It all cleared up fine. Now remember that Ryan is a guy, and when guys get sick, it's not just a fix it and forget it type deal. He MUST have exclaimed that he was dying at least 30 times over the course of the last few days. I love him dearly, but whoa. Please Google "Man Cold" and watch the You Tube video for an accurate description.

So, we were exhausted, but the hotel sucked if we were honest, so we decided to head downtown Bangkok to the second place we'd booked (knowing it would be closer to the sights). Dream Hotel (no lie) is pretty cool, but slightly alarming with all it's neon blue lights. They've taken modernity to a whole new level. But, it didn't have water stains, or a rooster crowing through the night, and it had a bed with underlit blue lights. Luxury?

We needed a nap already, and since I've seen most of Bangkok sights, and Ryan was clearly dying of the plague we slept for a bit. We later went out to Kho San Road to meet up with our my friends Ashley and Justin, who I've mentioned before(find a link to their blog on my packing list post). I taught with Ashley in Spanish Harlem, and we had only ONE day in both our round the world trips (theirs is more like a year and a half- sheesh! Ryan would have been happy with just Korea and Vietnam!) where we could meet up. So, our one night in Bangkok(sing it, I know you want to), was actually a highlight. At least for me. I ate yummy pad Thai and drank beers with friends. Oh, and we ate a few fried grasshoppers. It's not Thailand if you don't eat dead bugs! Ryan had rice and broth and drank Sprite, but he did get along with Justin really well, so overall, it was positive. Thank God. It might be one of the few things that saves our memory from Thailand. Eek.

Next day we got up and organized ourselves for the trip to Koh Samet, an island that both the Internet and our guidebooks had said was about 3.5 hours away from Bangkok, which seemed about perfect for our time and budget in Thailand. At the bus station we learned that it would be another 1.5 hours before the bus left, plus we bought tickets for the ferry boat to the island from the closest pier. We tried eating lunch, but Ryan decided on bruschetta. Turns out bruschetta, a bad stomach, and a 4.5 hour bus ride, plus being ripped off for a speed boat that is overflowing with other tourists to the island, which is both bumpy, dangerous, got marooned on a sand bar at one point, and sends your husband into a full blown panic attack, well, it doesn't mix well.

We had to jump off the boat and wade through the water to check in, getting wet from the rain that had started hours before, to simply make the ride that much more enjoyable. We had finally made it to our bungalow and dry and warm bed, of which i had been dreaming of to make it through the past 8 hours. However, Ryan just laid there for awhile claiming he would never get on a boat ever, ever again. Didn't bide well for the return trip, but the massive stomach pains wracking his his body from avoiding the on board bus bathroom, or the Asian style squat toilets at the pier had mostly just broken his will to live. Lovely! We both just decided to go to bed.

I had high hopes that yesterday would be better. I went to breakfast alone based on Ryan's still aching tummy and the fear of, well, the world at this point, and took a walk along the beach in search of anything that might be suitable for a bad belly. Nope, not much, clearly Thailand isn't the place for bland food. Hrmmm.

I went back to find my beloved in bed, and later I coaxed him out on the balcony to take in the views of the ocean and soothe the soul, a la 1845. It kinda worked, we ended up taking another walk along the beach, and took a few pictures, I had a crepe, Ryan's mood and spirits improved though. I think his Cipro is finally starting to kick in.

I thought it was a very nice afternoon, all sunny and beachy, and I was ready for a swim. I left Ryan to rest and went down the beach left my towel, shirt and worries on the shore and went to float in the crystal waters for about 10 minutes! Ah refreshing!

Upon reentering the bungalow, all calm and carefree feelings vanished the instant that my phone fell on the floor. I then realized that my iPhone had been tucked in the strap of my bathing suit, and likewise had taken a dip in the ocean with me. Cue Jane's mental breakdown here. No bueno. Maybe Ryan is right, maybe we should have just quit after Vietnam. I am a total idiot.

Well, I guess when one door closes, yadda, yadda. Ryan leapt from his funk to my rescue, found rice at the front desk (at first they brought him cooked), and rinsed the salt water from the phone, and now it sits, entombed in a plastic Baggie of dry rice. I have absolutely no hope that it will turn on again, and Ryan has promised that we will look for an iPad when we go back to Bangkok, and I guess we've been wanting one anyways for awhile. This decision was compounded by the fact that my Nook charger crapped out, no kidding, 1 hour after the phone fiasco. I'm sure the next few days of 6 hour travel, then a day of 14 hour travel to Turkey will be super delightful.

Needless to say, Murphy's law is in full effect in Thailand. It's pouring today. I went to get a massage to make myself feel better. I do, a little. I suppose I shall take Ryan's phone back to him now. Maybe I'll read nothing, and watch the rain on the sea. I don't know if I'm willing to give Thailand any more shots after this round.

Delighted by the Descending Dragon

One of the things I knew I had to see in Vietnam was Halong Bay. Known for its huge limestone rock formations that jut out of the sea (well over 1500 of them) known as karsts, the pictures if seen made me drool. I couldn't wait to get there, so when the bus picked us up on Sunday morning, the 9th of September, I was very antsy on the 3.5 hour bus ride. I knew amazing scenery and relaxation on a 3 day cruise was coming! Here are some journal entries I wrote:

11:11 PM(Day 1) Driving in to Halong bay we had a little rain, but that just made for some seriously awesome clouds once we got to the bay. I took so many photos, this place is ridiculously amazing!

We were welcomed on board with fresh fruit juice, which is the custom here, then given the run down as to how our day would look. We were assigned a cabin, which seemed a little small, but the bathroom tiles were super tidy, the window stretched the whole way across the room, and it was clean, fresh and nice looking with wood panels. Very classy as we say in the Daniel Clan. :)

Lunch was no lie-9 courses! Yummy seafood and stir fries and rice. Ryan wouldn't shut up about the crab cakes (actually served in the crab shell). I could barely finish lunch before I grabbed my camera and headed out on the deck. Our tour guide showed me the rock formation that was on the 2000 dong bill. I held it up for a contrast picture. All the rock formations have names, usually loosely based o the shapes they take. We headed up to the main deck and took pictures for awhile. We also made friends with a British couple, and another couple from Toronto named Carol and Dale. We liked them a lot! Hit it right off and spent time chatting and ogling the scenery. Huge mountains of limestone jutted out around us while we talked about our transient lives at the moment.


We boarded a smaller boat in the afternoon and our tour guide took us up many steps to visit Amazing cave and it was actually amazing. I will never forget the name, mostly because our guide said it a billion times. But, it was actually very cool. Don't know if words will explain how cool it was. Saw lots of interesting rock formations there.

Had a nap, watched the sunset from the roof, took a cooking class (well, we rolled a spring roll), and even sang some karaoke before we settled in for the night. Well, at least me. Ryan was asleep at 9!


4:07 PM (Day two) of Halong Bay (before the nap!) What an awesome day! Thank god we booked the three day/two night trip. It's simply amazing here. So breathtaking!

We had a delicious 11(!!!???) course meal last night followed by an asinine attempt at squid fishing, then a little karaoke. One of the best parts of the night was sitting up on the roof deck alone and taking pictures of the sunset peeking through the karsts. So relaxing. This place of beauty and serenity really is relaxing and calming. A nice break from our fast paced trip.

Today we had a yummy egg and toast breakfast after I got up early for Thai Chi on the roof at 6:30! Haha. I'm so not graceful, but the scenery was a beauty! We got on a different day boat for the day and set of to pick up a few more travelers from other boats. Turns out some of them were actually being transferred to our boat for tonight, so yay, new friends! We met brothers and their girlfriend/wife from Canada, and an aussie guy and his Vietnamese girl friend (whom he treats very badly, but thinks it's funny and cute, but it's actually disturbing.) Anyway, the rest if the people were lovely.

We sailed for a bit around the bays, but stopped in a more secluded area to take out some kayaks. It was amazing!!! The scenery, the rocks jutting strait up from the water, the calm green around us, nothing but the sounds of our paddles, the bugs humming in the mountain brush and our occasional echoes of laughter and "Ahhhh"s just to hear ourselves. We paddled through several tiny caves, each time reaching more and more secluded areas. We had to take care and paddle around the water that would drip down from the limestone. One cave had quite large stalagmites that we had to duck under in order to reach a tiny lake. It was so picturesque that we actually HAD to have another couple take our picture.

We got back to the boat and sunned ourselves on the deck before we arrived at the most beautiful bay with tiny strips of sand at some of the bases of the rock.

Our fun for the afternoon was probably a highlight of my trip to Vietnam overall: jumping off the top floor of the boat in Halong Bay- unforgettable. The setting was astounding, the sun was shining, lunch had been perfectly done shrimp and fish, stir fried veggies and rice, and of course, dragon fruit for dessert. Heaven. We took pictures of all of us jumping from the top, we swam to one of the little beaches, keeping a keen eye out for jellyfish. The beach was pure white, the rocks coming right down to a small stretch of sand. We investigated a few books and crannies in the rock, but the sand was a little squishy and we didn't know what was lying beneath, so after I found a purple shell, we swam around in the shallows, talking and wondering what the sign said in Vietnamese, wondering where the Aussie guy had gotten off to when he cam around a bend- he'd swam through a little cave/hole in the rocks! A lady in a boat selling all sorts of snacks rowed over to us, hounding us to buy her wares, at one point, even holding up a bottle of vodka, as if any of us would jump up out of the water and pay for it on the spot! So crazy!

We swan back to our boat and jumped off several more times, floating around after each jump in the super salty water, working on amazing sunburns, just taking in all the rock, water, and sun scene around us. Amazing.

We called it a day when we saw a little jellyfish, nothing near the size of ones we'd seen in other parts of the bay, but that rounded up our day of fun in the sun and surf. We cruised back to our boat simply baking in the afternoon sun, past a floating fishing village and stopping once to check out a pearl farm. The lady planting tiny pieces of shell in the oyster shells was interesting. Of course, they all hoped we would buy, and we all took pictures and hoped they would t harass us too much. It was nice to see, and as the sun got lower, it got a little cooler. I spent the last part of the trip on the first floor under a fan with the shades drawn (you can only have so much sun!) looking through my pictures of the day, which there were a ton. People of New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Chicago- ready yourselves for a picture slide of a lifetime! Begin making popcorn now. Maybe you might want to bring your sleeping bag too! :)
We are comfortably back on the boat, after showers and a rest. I grabbed a cocktail and sitting rooftop, regaling the days events lest I ever forget a moment!! I keep thinking "I'm gonna dream of this moment in the future...I'm gonna want be right back where I am living this moment."But for the moment, I am content watching the sunset clouds and listening to the sounds of the bay around me. Dinner (another amazing 11 course sure!)is coming, and then my day of amazing memories will be complete! I love it here.

And now the present: we are back in Hanoi, a little sad actually, because this means our 3 weeks in Vietnam is up, we move on to Thailand tomorrow. It's been so amazing here. It's like every emotion all rolled in to one. It's crazy, noisy, big, small, charming, yummy, thoughtful, awesome, alarming, calming and totally unforgettable. I feel like we've seen so much here, and I've learned a lot, thought about my Uncle Steve a lot, experienced many new foods and really come to realize that holding on to your national identity is something very amazing. The conical hats don't seem as funny anymore, although I I still think they are cute. I think more now, they represent a country that has embraced their way of life, and an iconic part of their dress is also still very functional. It makes me think, not much has changed here over time, well, yes and no. The culture has lasted thousands of years. How amazing, and inspiring really. I come from a culture of constant change. The world is getting bigger and smaller all at the same time, but things in Vietnam, while modernizing and growing to promote tourism, has shown me something about longevity in culture, and holding on to the things that might be ancient, but still work every day.

Trains, planes and automobiles in Vietnam

We've truly run the gamut of forms of transportation around Vietnam. We just arrived in Hanoi last night after several days in Hoi An and then a quick day and a half in Hue.

So, I shall start by regaling the loveliness of Hoi An. It has been my favorite town on the trip, hands down, from it's colonial style little streets to the river, the lanterns dotting every storefront, restaurant and bridge, to our tropical little hotel. We loved it there and even booked an extra day, but truthfully, I wish we'd booked at least 2 more. Alas, our time in Vietnam is running down (we have a flight to Bangkok the night of the 12th), so we wanted to move on and see Hue and Hanoi and really wanted to leave time for Halong Bay in the north with its limestone karsts! Lots to do!

We made the most of our time in Hoi An with many leisurely strolls down the streets along the river, enjoying the lovely cooking smells coming from the eateries, the multi colored lanterns hanging across the street and in the open air store fronts selling all sorts of cute trinkets including scarves, placemats, jewelry, bags and the lanterns themselves. At least two of the shops I stopped in on my last day had families lazing around in the afternoon heat making the beautiful silk lanterns. Everyone from the grandma, gluing the frame, to the son, threading colorful tassels, everyone had an eye on their work, but also following the singing program on the tiny TV.

The whole city seemed to be filled with charm and something a little whimsical. We walked across the ornate Japanese covered bridge, and one day we took a tour by bus and then back by boat to My Son temple ruins. Much of that area was bombed heavily in the war, but it was a truly amazing setting up in the mountains with the clouds rolling over the tops. The ancient ruins paled in comparison to the awe inspiring temples in Ankor Wat, but it was a nice day, a good hike, and having a simple snack on the rickety boat that brought us back to town was a highlight.

That day we had just a short time to stop for lunch at one of the best meals we've had at a little place along the river. We noticed it just as the boat dropped us off, so we feel like it was meant to be that we stopped in. Mr. Kim called to us from the street, as they tend to do in Vietnam (we'd stopped at a little place on the opposite bank twice because the first time they had a happy hour drink advertised called the Jungle Jane, the second day because they remembered us and the cocktails were superb!) Anyway, I'd read about Mr. Kim and Cafe De Amis in my guide book, and it certainly didn't disappoint! There were three choices on the menu- seafood, meat, or vegetarian. These dictated the ingredients, but you got the specialties of the day as far as a soup, an appetizer, a main dish and a dessert. I had the vegetarian set and Ryan the meat, and both were unbelievably good. The Vietnamese spring rolls were to die for. We wished we'd had more room! Mr. Kim had us sign his guest book, which had rave reviews from all over the world! So glad we didn't miss Cafe De Amis!

I actually arrived in Hoi An with a long list of restaurants to try and not enough time to try them. Even the breakfasts in the hotel were good! Pho, Vietnamese noodle soup with chicken or beef has been good everywhere, but Hoi An had some specialties that were to spectacular. One night we had what they call a 'pancake', but it's more like an omelet that you wrap in a lettuce leaf and dip in a peanut sauce. It was amazing. Even MORE amazing than that was my favorite dish I've had so far called Cao Lao. It's another local specialty that has thicker rice noodles, a soy sauce and 5 Spice mixture in the bottom, mint leaves, coriander leaves and bean sprouts with a marinated beef. It's so yummy, I can taste it now!!!

Luckily, I won't have to miss it, because we decided to take a cooking class at a little restaurant called Gioan. Ms. Hanh was our chef/teacher, and another Australian girl named Angela joined us for our class. It was so much fun! The ingredients were so fresh, bought from the market that day, and Hanh was so cute and energetic, she had us singing things like "chop, chop, chop"! We totally loved her, and you could tell she loved her job! We chose to make 5 different dishes, including the Cao Lao, and they let us take notes in our personalized cookbook to take home. So, so yummy! We might have even rivaled Mr. Kim (shhh, don't tell him!) It will certainly be one of my favorite memories from Vietnam.

Another highlight of Hoi An was the tailoring. There were tailoring shops everywhere! I swear everyone in this town is an artist, a tailor, or a chef. I love that town! I had a purple wool coat made, and Ryan several suits and shirts. We selected the fabrics and styles and the rest was done, with one alteration fitting, within two days. How awesome is that!? I'll let Ryan give a more detailed account in a blog entry to come, but it was amazing, I'll vouch for that!

We left Hoi An (sniff sniff!) on Thursday morning and took a sleeper BUS to Hue, about 3 hours north. We didn't have long there, but we found a great deal on a very nice colonial hotel set in the heart of the city. They were very kind to us, and even upgraded our room for free. River view- yeah! We swam a bit in the pool, and had delicious French food at a recommended place down the street. Yesterday we booked a car and driver to take us around to a tomb, a pagoda and a citadel in Hue. The scenery was nice, the tomb more like a temple grounds, surrounded by lakes and lots of beautiful iron dragons adorning the rooftops. Very peaceful, but also VERY hot. After walking around for about 4 hours to the places above, Ryan was beginning to show signs of mild heat stroke (no bueno!!) so we went back to the hotel and got a room for a few hours so we could shower and nap before our flight at 10. Ryan was good as new!

We got in late to Hanoi last night. I had arranged for a driver to pick us up from the airport because Hanoi might be even more famous for their taxi scams than Ho Chi Min. I don't know if this was a good idea in the end, because, no lie, a family on a motorcycle ran smack into the car on the way to the hotel. That scared the #%^* out of me! I saw it kind of happen in Slow motion. A mom and dad had their 3/4 year old riding between them were on the motorcycle and pulled out of a side street just as we drove by. I've seen that a thousand times in this country, no one hardly looks where they are going, which is why God invented horns in Vietnam I think, but they just pretty much sideswiped the car. I thought that baby was a goner, but while I sat there with my hands over my eyes, Ryan said they were all sitting up and talking. No one was bleeding. They were all rubbing their legs, and the dad, I'm pretty sure must have broken his calf bone. I was really upset, but a lot of people came out to help. We didn't really get to see if they went to a dr. Because after about 8 minutes the driver got back in and drove us the rest of the way to the hotel. I guess I must have been pretty shaken up, because about half way through check in and a sip in to my complimentary orange juice, I started to tear up. The hotel apologized many times. They explained the area on a map, and then gave us a discounted price for our second night here. When we got to the room, they had decorate the bed with flowers, a bottle of wine and a little cake that said Happy Honeymoon! It pays to play up our newlywed status! That calmed me down. We had an amazing sleep on a super comfy bed (a cloud?) and then even though we slept past breakfast, they offered to bring us up tea, coffe and pastries. We ate on the little covered veranda in the room. Nice.

It's been kind if a lazy morning, but after all our tromping around yesterday in the heat, we needed a restful morning. There is lots to see in Hanoi, and tomorrow we go to Halong Bay for 2 overnights in a junk (large Chinese fishing boat with cabins and sails). I can't wait for that!

We plan to walk around the old Quarter of Hanoi today, try some local Pho and maybe see a water puppet show tonight. Until next time!