China Beach - Vietnam

Early the morning after our trip to Halong Bay we, along with the Klepfer family, flew to DaNang, home of China Beach. This was the area where in 1965 US troops were first deployed for the ground war during the Vietnam War and was home of the biggest military complex in Central Vietnam. Some may remember the TV show China Beach, which was actually set on the beach directly in front of the hotel we stayed at. It was very surreal knowing that such a large part of US history and bloodshed was right where we were walking.

The flight from Hanoi was less than an hour so we were at the airport and ready to go to the hotel before 8 am.  The kids were excited when they saw our welcome drinks.

The Furama, our hotel, was amazing. It has to be one of the best hotels we have stayed at thus far.  The grounds were full of lush, tropical plants and flowers. There was a lagoon pool, as well as a pool that overlooked the beach and ocean. I could easily live there. I wonder if a job search would have any hits in Matt or my field. Ha ha, just joking.

The beach itself went on for miles and miles. This area is just starting to be developed, so along the beach you could see resorts and condos. While the tourism is very mush needed for the people of Vietnam, I hate to see such a beautiful and calm area become littered with resorts and businesses.

The hotel was pretty quiet, but the kids kept busy swimming, playing on the playground and even jet skiing.

And while the kids were busy playing with each other, the adults were enjoying some time to chat, read and of course sip fruity drinks.

At night we tried a few local restaurants as well as some of the food offered at the hotel. We clean up pretty well, don't we?

We absolutely loved China Beach. We have already determined that we will come back when we go to  Southern Vietnam.  You can see more pictures from China Beach here.

One more entry from our vacation in Vietnam left. Stay tuned!

Halong Bay - Vietnam

One of the "must see's" in Vietnam is Halong Bay. This bay consists of over 3,000 limestone islands covered in vegetation. Some of these islands house small fishing villages, while others have caves to explore. and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You can take a day trip boat through part of the bay or choose to stay overnight on one of the "Junks".  You have the option to stay multiple nights, seeing more of the bay, however we opted to stay one night considering we were short on time and between us and the Klepfer family we had 5 children to entertain.

Unfortunately there was alot of fog coming off the water while we were there, but the views and trip was still breathtaking. I can only imagine what it looks like during a clear time.

It took us 3.5 hours to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi via a shuttle bus. While the drive was long, it was interesting to drive through some of the "countryside" of Vietnam. Part way through we stopped at a rest area to grab snacks, drinks and for a bathroom break.

One we arrived at the port we had to board a hopper boat to our "Junk". The kids were excited to be going on a "cruise" for 2 days.

We arrived at our "Junk" (I have no idea why they call the boats this) and got checked into our cabins. The Junk was awesome and the rooms were quite spacious.

There was a total of 10 cabins on the Junk. The other "Junkmates" consisted of a couple that barely spoke to anyone, an Asian couple, two guys vacationing solo and two couples who were backpacking across Asia. They turned out to be a very fun group of people.

The afternoon was spent eating lunch, exploring the caves, kayaking, and cruising around the bay looking at all the islands and little villages.

The meals served on the Junk were awesome. The kid enjoyed sitting at their own table eating all the decorative food.

After dinner we cruised around the bay some more and then had a fun night of karaoke. Even Matt joined in the fun!

The next day we cruised around the bay taking in all the sites before returning back to the port and heading back to Hanoi.

You can see many more pictures here.  It was an awesome two days and I highly recommend anyone going to Vietnam to make sure they visit Halong Bay. You won't regret it.

Next up?  China Beach!

Good Morning Vietnam!

Last month our family went to Vietnam for Spring Break. It has been on my list as a "must" do while we live in Japan and I am so glad we decided to go early in our time here.

Vietnam is a much larger country than one would think. To really do it properly we needed to split our trip up and hit the north in this vacation and will return probably next year to do the south. There were so many places we did not get to see, but we managed to cover alot of ground in the 7 days we were there. We went to Hanoi, Halong Bay, DaNang (China Beach) and Hoian on this trip. I will split my entries up, otherwise this one would be about 10 scrolls long.

We flew into Hanoi, which is the capital of Vietnam. We loaded up into the shuttle van and sat back to relax for the 45 minute ride to the airport. However, we were anything but relaxed while riding in the van. I am not even sure how to describe what the streets were like, except maybe with the words total chaos. Picture Madison Square Garden on News Years Eve, but with cars, scooters and bikes. Traffic rules go completely out the window and one might as well just duct tape their horn down because "horny" is what the Vietnamese are.

We stayed at this little boutique hotel located in the Old Quarter. We got our hotel after midnight and the front desk staff and bell hop were waiting for us at the door. Customer service throughout all Vietnam is amazing. Even better than here in Japan, and Japan has some of the best customer service I have ever seen.

The next morning we hit the town running since we only had one day to try and see everything on our list. The first place we went was to Ba Dinh Square to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. We waited in line for an hour to see this former ruler preserved and laying on display. To the Vietnamese it is an extreamely holy place. To us it was a bit strange. After we paid our respects, we walked all around the grounds, which were pretty cool.

Next we went and walked around Hoan Kiem Lake, Lake of the Restored Sword. Getting to the lake was quite a challenge, considering we had to play Frogger to get across the streets.

Next our goal was to visit Hoa Lo Prison, the place where John McCain and other American POWs were held during the Vietnam War. The place is nicknamed the Hilton Hotel, so when we asked for directions and finally resorted to a taxi, they dropped us off at the Hilton Hotel, rather than the actual prison. After alot of walking, we finally found the place. It is hard to put into words what it felt like to stand and see exactly where these men were held. Interestingly, all the photos and descriptions showed the POWs laughing, playing cards, singing, cooking and writing letters home. Somehow I find it hard to believe that is truly how their time being held there was spent.

After lunch, came shopping and walking around the old quarter.This is when we truly got a sense of Vietnam life. People were sitting on street curbs, some on small stools, others on crates or just the street itself, eating and drinking. The streets and sidewalks were filtered with liter and food. There was people everywhere, horns honking, really mass chaos. The Old Quarter was store after store after store of shoes, clothing, toys, sunglasses, handbags, decor items, food stalls and art galleries.

Fly By Post

Useless trivia of the day:
The movie Good Morning Vietnam, staring Robin Williams, was filmed in Bangkok, Thailand -- NOT Vietnam. Why do I even care?  

Because our Visas have been approved and we are heading to Vietnam for spring break!

Check, check, check! That is the sound of me marking items off my to-do list before we leave Friday morning. Sadly, I still have about 15 things to do before I can even start packing.  And while I should be folding laundry, cleaning out the fridge, balancing the checkbook, and doing our taxes, I am sitting here surfing the net, blogging and procrastinating. (I have even been looking up pet beds and we don't own a dog!)

The next 34 hours will be full of cleaning, packing and finishing off my to-do lists, so I won't be blogging again before I leave. I know, my blogging has been slacking lately, but I promise to do a better job once I dig out from everything. And my Google Reader keeps expanding (is there a limit on unread blogs?) but please keep posting. I promise I will get you your blogs soon.
 
In general, the next month will be crazy with spring break, 21 days of guests (yes, people are visiting! Woot!  Woot!), the International Food Day, softball games, meetings, and school activities. But with all that craziness, there will for sure be several "bloggable" incidents. After all, I haven't even come close to meeting my "stupid moves by Alexis" quota for the quarter yet.