12/20 - Hanoi
Gavin and I both arrived late that night after flying for almost a complete 24 hours. I was waiting for him at the wrong gate so he was the one to surprise me. He tapped me and asked if I was waiting for someone special. With tears in our eyes, we were both super excited to see each other. My awesome mom got us a very nice hotel room for two nights. I mean no flip flops in the shower, robs, a balcony over looking the lake. It was great!
12/21 - Hanoi
We had an amazing, out of this world breakfast included with the room. i felt like a little kid in a candy store! maybe just a girl that had been in Africa for three months. We meet up with the girls at their hotel and booked a two night, three day tour to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. On the way to the girls hotel, it was so much fun to watch Gavin see the city. We almost crashed what seemed like nine times but the driver knew exactly what he was doing! And motorbikes were everywhere. We went with the phrase that all traffic rules and lights are just a suggestion. We walked around the Old Quarter and had our first taste of pha! Gavin was like a little kid in heaven eating it!! We found bia hoi (local beer that only cost $0.20). We went to a water puppet show and watch some of the local traditions rein-acted. The local music was the best part. We had pha for dinner just on the streets of Hanoi!
12/22 - Halong Bay
We headed on the tour of Halong Bay which started with a 4 hour drive to the the bay, a small boat ride to the big boat we would be sleeping on. We got our little boat room with huge windows and it was awesome. We had lunch on the boat, headed into the mountains, went to the island where we hiked to the top and got to put our feet in the cold water, went to a huge cave, kayaked (well Gavin kayaked me around!), and back to the boat for dinner. It was quite amazing! Sleeping on the boat was no problem and waking up with views of the mountains was incredible.
12/23 - Cat Ba Island
We continued thru Halong Bay to Cat Ba Island. We stopped at a local pearl shop where they grew pearls right on their floating store and homes. It was quite amazing. We also stopped at an island and got to hike to the top. We had no monkey sightings besides maybe Gavin! When we got to the island, we rode bikes to the local village. It was amazing riding thru the lush mountains on roads that nobody was on. We rolled into the village to get our little bungalows on the side of a mountain. What a place to stay! We then hiked to the top in only flip flops. It was worth it! What beautiful views!!!
12/24 - Hanoi
We headed back to Hanoi in the morning. That evening, we went out for Vietnamese style Christmas Eve dinner. We even got to go with the locals running the hostel to their private karaoke room. What a great experience to hang out with the locals. They scream songs and dance crazy!
12/25 - Hoi An
We woke up super early to catch our flight to Danang where we then got a taxi to Hoi An. We slept a few hours then woke up to explore the town. And what a cute town! Food, clothing, shoes just everywhere! We both picked out our materials and patterns for our tailored clothes. It was so much fun walking around. Gavin found a wonderful restaurant and we had a great Christmas dinner together. We got to talk to his parents and wish them a Merry Christmas!
12/26 - Hoi An
We had to get some adjustments made to the clothes, we walked around the market which included pig legs, all kids of fish and veggies, we ate a ton of great food, we rode bikes to the beautiful beach, we had dinner in An Hoi and we lite lanterns and made a wish on it as they do on full moons! Not a bad day! And I got to talk and see most of my family for their Christmas over Skype!
12/27 - Dalat
We woke up early again to fly to Dalat. The weather was amazing when we arrived and the air was so fresh! We walked around the huge flower garden, went to the crazy house which had amazing views of the city and walked around the night market! The night market was my favorite market on the trip! We headed home to have wine on our private balcony overlooking one of the main streets.
12/28 - Dalat
We went on a motor bike tour of Dalat. The tour included stops to see views of the mountains, hear about the country after 1975, taste rice wine, see weasel coffee, see the flower growing green houses, see the coffee plantation, have local lunch, hike around and under the Elephant Waterfall, see a massive gold Buddha statue, and sit on a motor bike!! It was really a great trip and only cost us $22 for the entire day. That night, we ate by the night market and enjoyed the city!
12/29 - Saigon
We took a 7 hour bus ride to Saigon. We arrived at our hotel in the backpackers district and the location was great. We walked around the city, while motor bikes dodged us, to see all the New Years decorations, visit the night market and have drinks on the side of the street. It is a bustling city!
12/30 - Saigon
Maybe the day I scared Gavin away. I was super sick and just need to stay in the bathroom! He was so sweet and got me a coke, crackers and beautiful red roses when he got back from lunch! Feeling better, we headed out for dinner and a low key night.
12/31 - Saigon
We went on a half day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels outside of Saigon. I was still not feeling good but made it thru. I was not able to even make it into the tunnels as they were so small. Gavin made it to about the third opening - good job!! Their life was pretty crazy during the war. When we got back to Saigon, we went on the walking tour of the city which included visits to the cathedral, post office, statues, opera house, etc. It was hot but fun to explore the city with Gavin! We even made it to his mom's old church and high school. He was beaming as he got to see where his mom grew up! What an experience! We headed home to get ready for New Years. We got to meet up with my friend, Benny's cousin. We went to a bar and had bottle service, free champagne and got to hang out with a group of locals. We got to see the local girls dancing, have sparklers and take in the new year. Gavin and I participated in the onstage game. Three couples were competing for the first blindfolded girls to pop all the balloons strapped to the boy. We lost but had a great time being stared at and cheered on. We had such a great New Years and made me so excited about this coming year!
1/1 - Saigon
We went to the Reunification Palace and got a free tour. It is beautiful building with a lot of history. Gavin thinks it is the home of his future office! That evening, we went to Benny's parents house where his mother cooked up a traditional Vietnamese dinner. Yum! And we went on a motor bike ride with his cousin and parents to see the upcoming District 7 and a few Christmas lights. It was very nice! And they are a wonderful family!
1/2 - Saigon
We went on a Mekong Delta tour outside of Saigon. It was a lot of driving and we only got to see a few boats in the floating market, and a few things being made. It was not the most beautiful place but we got to try elephant fish and some local candies!
1/3 - Saigon
We walked around the market, went thru the War Remnants Museum which was very interesting for an American, learned a lot about the war from the Vietnamese current governments prospective, had a wonderful French dinner and drinks on the rooftop of the Sheraton Hotel which overlooked the city. It was all very nice for Gavin's last night in Vietnam.
1/4 - Saigon
Gavin left this day and Jordan would meet me the next morning. Gavin and I left on a sad note. Please keep our relationship in your prayers.
1/5 - Saigon
I showed Jordan around town....same sights as listed above. That evening, we had dinner with Benny's family again. This time we got to help cook the leftover stuff. It was really fun. His cousin and neighbor drove us around the city and back to the hotel. They all asked about Gavin and wished him a safe journey home.
1/6 - Saigon
Jordan went to the tunnels in the morning and we just hung out around town.
1/7 - Saigon
Jordan and I took the bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. More details once I start with the Cambodia blog!
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