Sunrise over Halong Bay (and part 2)

Our last day on the bay started with a very early morning for me feeding the baby, so I figured I might as well head up on deck and see the sunrise. Victor was happy to continue to sleep peacefully snuggling with the baby. It was so serene and so beautiful to see the colors change. 

 We spent the rest of the morning on a small little island with a fantastic panoramic view of some of the bay. There was also a small beach that people were laying out and swimming in, but from our experience the day before, we opted not to get in the water, and just enjoy the views.

After that, we sadly had to start sailing back to Ha Long city. I was sad to leave this peaceful place. A world away. Grateful to have had the chance to see it!

Cruising Halong Bay {part 1}

The highlight of our Vietnam trip (and our main reason for going) was to visit Ha Long Bay. Well, maybe I should say my reason. Victor had never really heard of it, and he quickly realized as our junk boat started on its way, that this place is one of the most surreal places on earth. 

We were supposed to spend two nights on our boat, but unfortunately because of a supposed storm, we had to stay in a janky hotel in Ha Long city the first night, but first we did get to sail out and get a taste for the awesome landscape. The next day we got back on and spent the next two days cruising around. 

One of the highlights of the cruise was all the people we met, literally from all over the world. Austria, Spain, Israel, Malaysia, Lebanon, Australia, Germany, France. Everyone was so nice and it was such a fun part of our cruise was getting to know everyone. We also met a super nice couple from England when we went to see the huge caves who were also LDS and are in the same ward as some of our good friends from Romania. (The fact they were LDS was attributed to Victor's BYU jacket he wears whenever we travel. Seriously, we have met so many members of the church this way ha). 

Anyway, here is a massive amount of pictures! The beauty of this place was unreal. 

 ^^someone is a fan!^^

^^our junk boat^^

Once we got back on the boat the next day, we sailed further in the bay to the floating fishing village. Victor kayaked through it while I rode in a small rowboat with one of the villagers. Great for Victor, because I was able to take pictures of him kayaking through incredible scenery. 

 

 Loved seeing such a different way of life. Can you imagine living here?? I read that even though they usually float separately, in storms they all come and connect together.

When we got back to the boat, Victor and I decided to take the plunge into the Gulf of Tonkin. It was COLD. We'll call it the Tonkin polar plunge. We swam around together for a little but it was short lived. But hey, now we've swam in the Gulf of Tonkin. You may be wondering where J was while we went swimming together. Well, he was being held by one of the chefs. And when we ate our meals, he would be being held by one of the servers, or hanging out with the captain. They all loved him. He was the most popular person on board! I've said that the Japanese love babies, and the Balinese a little more, but they have nothing on the Vietnamese! They just come and scoop them up from you if they can. That's why we kept him in the ergo carrier so often ha.

We also did a cooking class on board learning how to make Vietnamese spring rolls. Fun times.

Sailing around this place was just so peaceful and reverent. It was such a cool place. Victor and I commented that it would be so fun to jet ski around all the limestone pillars that jut out everywhere, but then again, that would totally ruin the special feeling in the air. So sweet. 

Good Morning, {Hanoi} Vietnam!

The main reason we went to Vietnam was to visit Halong Bay, which I can't wait to post about because it was definitely the highlight of our time in Vietnam. We also spent a few days in Hanoi...probably one too many days ha. You really don't need more than two days in Hanoi to see the sites, if that. Every traveler we met on our trip usually was on the go go go hopping around to different parts of the country. We definitely took the more leisurely approach by just hanging around the north part of the country. Mostly because of the baby, but also because of time and money. 

Hanoi was unlike anywhere else we have been. A crazy lively, and always LOUD city. Traffic was INSANE. Worse than anywhere else we have been, including the Dominican Republic and South America. A red light means nothing there! Even one-way streets sometimes seemed more like suggestions. Crossing the street was nuts. You just have to blindly walk and watch the cars and scooters not slow down and swerve around you. Our first night there was pretty mind boggling. 

 My favorite place we visited was the Temple of Literature. It is Vietnam's first University, founded in the year 1076. I just loved that it was a place celebrating education. All the shrines were of Confucius. A nice contrast compared to the other main site of the city: the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. I didn't take any pictures of that place because you weren't allowed to take pictures of the frozen body, and I had no desire to take pictures of the complex because they were pretty rude about it. The guards wouldn't even let an old Vietnamese lady hold on to the hand rail in the mausoleum. Victor saw the guard take her arm off and tell her to walk in the center of the aisle. What a joke!

Anyway, back to the Temple of Literature!

 Another place that left a sour taste in our mouths was the Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the "Hanoi Hilton"---where American POWs were held during the Vietnam War. Before that, it was for Vietnamese political prisoners when France occupied Vietnam. Not only was it full of the most b.s. propaganda that said that they made it the best conditions possible for American POWs, but it was also decorated in bad taste about their own Vietnamese, like playing kitschy haunted house music in the dark isolated prison cells and torture areas: not respectful at all to their own people who died there for political reasons.

We spent our last day (New Years Day) going and seeing the floating water puppet show, a Vietnamese art that starting in the flooded rice patties. This was the oldest water puppet theater in Vietnam and it was fun. Baby J loved watching too. 

 ^^the puppet masters^^

And then after we did some shopping (bargaining there sure was a pain in the butt though!) and I came sooo close to almost getting pick pocketed by an old man. I am so thankful I turned around at the perfect time. He knew I caught him as he turned to a store, and seriously, what could I say to him when I know he probably speaks no English?? I was mad, but still feeling so grateful nothing happened.

Despite all that, we ended on a good note walking around the lake in the center of the city. 

Long post, sorry! I just wanted to get Hanoi out in one post and not drag it out. So there you go. Hanoi. One of a kind. 

Christmas Day in Taipei

Oh hey! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

We've been out traveling since Christmas and we are soo glad to be back in Japan. We had a great time, but clean, quiet, orderly, polite, etc. is a welcoming thing coming back to Japan.

We left early Christmas morning and headed to our first stop on our trip: Taipei, Taiwan, where we had a layover until the next day. I didn't know what to expect for Taiwan. I was expecting China, and it was, but not really. We were very pleasantly surprised. Taiwan is open and welcome for tourism. They are happy to have tourists and you can tell they have done a lot to make it tourist friendly. Not to mention, people speak great English: not always the case in mainland China. We are realizing now that a return trip is necessary. Here's hoping we can sometime.

It was a bit rainy the whole day, but not cold thankfully. We headed to the center of the city to see the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial and walked around the gardens and saw the changing of the guards. Learned a bit about Chiang Kai-Shek too, since before we really had no idea who he was haha.

 ^^their concert hall. how cool would it be to perform in there??^^

 ^^Chiang Kai-Shek everything^^

We also headed to Taipei 101, a huuuuge building, the fourth tallest in the world. Wow! ;) Because of the weather we didn't see much from the top. 

  But on the ground floor was the famous dumpling restaurant Din Tai Fung, and we had an absolutely delicious Christmas feast devouring tons of dim sum.

 ^^every dumpling has to be perfect or it gets thrown out^^

Fascinated by the dumpling making.

And we may have come back here on our second layover at the end of our trip. Victor just had to have the dumplings!

Hopefully we can come back to Taiwan and experience more of the country. We had a nice Christmas day together. This is the first time since being together that it's just been our little family on Christmas. So far our only Christmas tradition that's been consistent as a married couple is traveling for Christmas. And we love it!