Two Years in Okinawa

I love looking back on what we have seen and done this past year, but it's bittersweet because 2014 is the last full year that we will spend on Okinawa. We are still waiting on exact plans, but we know we are leaving the island this summer, and it breaks my heart!

So we will try to do as much as we can with the time we have left this year. We have A LOT of visitors coming. The Hotel Castro is booked every month until May! So we will be doing a lot more Okinawa site-seeing. And depending how long we stay, maybe we can take one last trip together. 

We are so grateful for the chance to live in this wonderful place!

Traveling with Baby Lifesavers and Tips

^^diaper changing on the go. no changing tables to be found in Vietnam ha^^

Traveling with our baby has been really fun for us. We are really hoping that traveling with him this early will condition him to be a good little traveler. Fingers crossed! Since traveling to Tokyo, we have taken him to three other countries in Asia, but these items make for easier traveling anywhere, really. 

1. Ergo baby carrier, or any structured carrier. I still love my wrap and bring it traveling, but the ergo has been better for us in everyday traveling. It's quicker to put on, and for places like Bali, not as hot to wear. In Asia as well as places like Europe, a baby carrier is the way to go for babies since most countries' sidewalks may not be so stroller friendly. Also, the carrier helped not having tons of people touch the baby (which they totally would have if we had him out. Tons did anyway, and that's why we had number 3.)

2. I didn't use a pacifier clip until we first traveled at three months, but it's the best. First I had these cloth ones but the baby would drool all over them making them wet and gross. So, I got these way cute leather ones from this store on etsy. Funny story: when they came in the mail I was excited and was being all cheesy as I clipped it on J saying, "oh J look how cool you look!" Victor joined in on the cheesiness, chiming in, "yeah J, you are going to be so cool at the........mommy hang out groups!" Hahaha. Cracks me up.

3. Face and hands wipes. Great to keep germs away after he's been touching who knows what. Also, like I said, people were touching his face all the time, and he even started breaking out again on his cheeks. Starting to wipe his face with these helped clear it up really fast. 

4. This thing has been so handy and easy to get to. Even though the changing kit (number 5) has a wipe container, I thought it was still easier to have this handy for things like spit up. 

5. I got this changing station from a baby shower put on by the USO (love me some free events!) and it has been great for traveling, since I don't bring my usual diaper bag. It's also seen in the photo above. It has definitely been a lifesaver in our trips outside of Japan, since we've had to change the baby in some random places like in the middle of the bustling market in Bali, or at a janky rest stop on our way to Halong Bay. 

6. All of these things I keep in a basic backpack instead of my diaper bag. It just is so much easier when you're running around or wearing the baby. But be warned! I usually prefer an over the shoulder bag when traveling for my wallet and stuff so I can keep it right in front of me to avoid pick pocketers. Like I said earlier, I caught an old man in Hanoi trying to open my back pack and if I hadn't, he would have gotten my wallet. After that I made sure to put my wallet under stuff, and right next to my back to make it harder to get to. 

^^happy little traveler!^^

As far as packing, we all share a checked suit case, so with the baby's stuff, I divide up clothes and pajamas and pack them in grocery bags so they don't get all mixed up with our stuff. It's been really easy this way. My carry on bag is this bag  and that bottom compartment is just for baby's stuff. It makes it so easy to keep stuff separated. 

So there you go. Hope it helps! 

Now if you have any advice for dealing with a grumpy baby on a plane, I am all ears. Unfortunately we are starting to experience that more as the baby gets older. I think it's signs he is getting bored. Yikes. But thankfully, those have really been the only super challenging times. 

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.