Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is a beautiful natural wonder in Northern Vietnam The bay, known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands (|there are 1600 of them!), covering an area of 1500 sqm. An absolute must do when in Vietnam. Touring in the bay is done through the hundreds of Junk Boat tours, booking online is not a good idea which was why we waited until we were in Hanoi so we could talk to someone and pick our boat. There are several classes, and none of them are cheap (better deal if you book in person). We went with a mid range and were pleasantly surprised. Our shuttle came to pick us up to take us to our ship

getting an early start, it was 9 am and we were having beers

 Paying attention to weather is key (which we did not do) and you really only need 2 day 1 night tour (we did the 3 day 2 night). It was cool and drizzly almost the entire time we were there, so having 3 days on the boat meant there was a lot of down time. We had a beautiful room that was big enough for all of us with our own luxurious bathroom. The kids were pretty excited as they had never slept on a boat before, so the novelty of it seemed pretty cool.  

The roof of our boat

that is the girls waving hello rom our room. The rooms were actually beautiful inside, much nicer then is seemed from the outside

we drove around for hours and the views were all spectacular- too bad about the weather

Our itinerary was pretty full, they had us going kayaking for a couple of hours in the bay, the rain held off so it was quite lovely. We were all a little bummed the sun wasn't shining, despite the grey, the bay was stunning. 

The second day the sun was trying to peak out and we headed for a day trip to Cat  Ba island. 

National Park in Ha long Bay

When we arrived we picked up bicycles and went for a beautiful ride through the mountains and rice patties to a small town. It was pretty amazing. 

getting off the small boat at CatBa National Park

Here's the part in the story where our trip went downhill (pardon the pun). Annie being the donkey that she is decided to race Johnny on the bikes...flying down a big hill to the non existent finish line, she hit a patch of loose gravel and went flying over the handle bars hitting a scooter. Pretty hard apparently, Johnny said is was ugly. We luckily had an RN on board with us and she suspected Annie had a couple of cracked ribs. She also had some codeine with her, thank goodness, Annie was out of commission for the next couple of days...she was in so much pain, couldn't do much of anything..it was awful. (Note  she is incredibly strong and bounced back wayyyy sooner then anyone expected, no kite surfing for her but at least she was able to enjoy the rest of Vietnam from a standing position :)

we went to a floating fishing market on the way, pretty interesting, very stinky!

That was it for Ha Long Bay- very pretty, definitely glad we went, we all wished the weather cooperated, would have made for a way better trip. Three days two nights, was a little too long, two days would have been perfect. 

So Long Ha Long! 

Vietnam- Hanoi and BFF's!

I was so excited for Vietnam, my very best friend was coming to visit us and I couldn't wait! Annie is quite a traveller, has been all over the world, so it was pretty hard to find a place that she had never been, but was on our list. She chose Vietnam mainly because of the kite surfing, Mui Ne (which is was down at the bottom), is known for it. The plan was made and we were meeting her up at the very top and slowly working our way down. We had 2 weeks and a packed itinerary, starting in Hanoi. We chose the Spoon Hotel, beautiful little boutique hotel within walking distance of the Old Quarter, cheap, clean, comfy beds, and a delicious breakfast, couldn't ask for more and it was only $45/night!

The view from our hotel

We got into Hanoi quite late so quickly had to usher the kids to bed, (after hello hugs and tears of course), Annie and I stayed up until 2am gabbing away...(we had so much to catch up on), I finally tore myself away to get some sleep. 

The girls LOVE their Aunt Annie

The next day came quite early. After Breakfast we quickly sorted tickets to Ha Long Bay as well as the overnight train to Hoi An, and away we went to explore the city. Chaotic, yet spell binding, it's hard to describe, through all the traffic and noise, there is still this calm sense of beauty..most building you looked at, even the crumbling ones had something charming about them. Every space seems to have something crammed in it, whether it's a make shift patio to enjoy yummy coffee, or street food carts, there is something to look at on every corner, talk about sensory overload.

No lights anywhere, its every man for themselves when crossing the street

this is quite a calm intersection compared to the rest of Hanoi

My favourite picture, these ladies are everywhere, selling the most beautiful flowers for super cheap. I wish we had them in Toronto

We headed to the Old Quater, it was about 20min walk,  but so many sites to take in along the way.
Now you may have heard that in Vietnam some people eat dog. It is not as common as you may think, but it is still around. We had prepared the girls for this, explaining that in some cultures they eat different things. It is not everywhere, however there was one part of the street where we came across some cooked "meat" and unfortunately Livy caught glimpse of it and was devastated. I read a great article about eating dog in Vietnam, the author wrote about her experience when confronted with dog meat, she worded it much better then I ever could so I will simply refer you to it, she also has pictures so warning if you do not want to see do not open the article. To sum up I loved her conclusion...

We believe the correct answer is that nobody is wrong. Given our culture, Westerners are “right” to be shocked by eating dog. Given theirs, the Vietnamese are “right” to consider it normal. Here’s the deal: if you don’t cram “Roasty” down my throat, I’m not going to cram my ethics down yours. We’ll just agree to disagree on this one, and move along.

http://hanoi.for91days.com/eating-dog-vietnam/ but seeing some cooked dog on the 

After I read this article to Livy, she actually felt much better, she said the author made her see that her ethics are hers to choose, and she will try not to judge...all in all it was a pretty good life experience...still, ewwwwwwww


We arrived at Hoan Kiem Lake, a very pretty area, right in the heart of the city, surrounded by cafes and walking paths. In the centre of the lake is Ngoc Son Temple where you have to cross a little bridge to get to. We then hopped on a small little cart, (kind of like a Tuk Tuk, but slightly bigger), and had an hour tour of the Old Quarter, 

our little bus for $7 to tour the Old Quarter

The jail during the vietnam war

Bach Ma temple

Well that was it for Hanoi, a great spot to spend a few days, a perfect place to start our journey.

Koh Samui and Koh Phangan

Originally we were going to head right to Koh Phangan (pronounced Panyang), we had been there many years ago for full moon party (admittedly I remember nothing of this island) and had heard that despite the party it was a lovely island with tons to do. Coincidentally, we were set to arrive the day before full moon, so everything was booked and crazy expensive,  we decided to stay in Koh Samui for a few days. A very busy place, not one bit not touched by tourism. much like a small city, it was way different then we remembered. The beaches are still spectacular though and there is lots to do, from Muay Thai boxing, bars, fisherman's village, waterfalls, temples, hikes, endless massage places, Samui has it all- everything except tranquility. If that's what your looking for, maybe try somewhere else. The roads were a little too crazy for me to be comfortable with a bike. We decided to rent a car for the day and explored ourselves. You can drive around the whole island in a day and hit most of the sites.

Big Buddah Statue

 Mueang waterfall

one of the many spectacular beaches in Samui (Silver Beach)

this was the beach near our hotel Chewang Beach- very busy but soft white sand and clear water. We paid $20 at a fancy hotel for use of there pool and beach chairs. Felt like a queen for the day. 

The kids were happy to move on, they did not love Samui, even though it arguably had some of the nicest beaches all around (after Phi Phi) the vibe is just very busy, (think Starbucks, malls and bars). After 3 days we said good bye and boarded the ferry to Koh Phangan.

We decided to stay in Haad Rin Sunset (otherwise known as Full moon Party Beach) we figured it would be fine as all the party goers now left and the bay itself is incredible. Thank goodness we had only booked 2 nights. Haad Rin itself was pretty cool, had a beachy vibe, with small narrow streets, lined with restaurants and shops From afar the beach was as spectacular as we remembered...but what you can't see is all the broken glass that COVERED the beach. I am talking everywhere! You could not step one foot on the sand or in the water without fear of getting severely cut up. 

I have to admit I was very disappointed we could not attend the party- in my head I think I'm still 20

the unusable beach- full of glass

that's me picking up glass - the men you see in the water are workers, working around the clock fighting a never ending battle. I cannot believe they still use bottles.

Haad Rin sunset side

We hired a driver for the day to take us to some of the hot spots Koh Phangan is known for. We thought once we had a look at some different areas we would book something else. 

our ride for the day- girls loved hanging out in the back of a pick up- it felt very "country"

What an awesome day. Phangan is an amazing little island, so many places to explore, we were only here for 5 days and immediately wished it was longer. From the Phaeng Waterfall (no actual water as it was dry season- but still an awesome hike), Salad beach, Secret Beach, Haad Yao beach (that's where we ended up staying). Ko Ma, (so beautiful and we only saw from the look out), Chaloklum, with the best beach Malibu beach, The sacred tree...the list is endless. We never even made it to the North East side where arguably the best beaches are.

Secret Beach-Obviously not so secret but quite beautiful

Ko Ma if you look close you can see the spit to walk across at low tide

probably one of my favourite pics of the whole trip- at Malibu Beach

Malibu Beach

the oldest tree in Phangan

Haad Yao

We ended up finding a great spot in Haad Yao a pretty little bay with hotels all along the water- we rented a cute little bungalow for $45, the best part was it had pool and the resort was literally right on the beach.What an awesome surprise to discover a DJ spinning the first night in our bay, it was amazing, fire throwers and dancers, little bean bag chairs and lanterns all around. Such a festive laid back vibe. It was amazing.

watching the sunset from here was pretty special

Haad Yao by day

Probably the highlight of Thailand was visiting An thong National Marine Park- an absolute "must do" day trip, you can do from Koh Samui or Koh Phangnan (we found out it was cheaper to do from Samui so if your going to both book from there). It was incredible.

We stayed for an hour, there is a hike to the look out or a cave tour- we chose look out

A very tough hike to the top...absolutely worth it!

One of the stops within the park- Emerald Lake

A very comfortable ferry ride to the Marine Park

We spent the rest of our time hanging out, snorkeling, (Johnny went diving) and just enjoying this perfect island. We are so happy we came as it was probably our favourite. Definitely one to come and visit, sadly we missed visiting the neighbouring Koh Tao (we had heard that was lovely as well)- 

We'll just have to come back

Our last night in Thailand this was our hotel

Saying Good bye- off to Bangkok then to Vietnam!