A Viet Nam Visit: Halong Bay, Danang, Nha Trang and Dalat

so, halfway through our vietnam trip, my camera died.  i had even fully charged that lithium battery within an inch of its life before we left!  at the time on the trip, i just couldn't figure out why my camera would up and die on me.

and then i saw the veritable photo shoot i hosted on the boat at halong bay. a photo shoot of the chrispinator and me. well, mostly me and the strange faces i make.  

and then i knew why my camera died halfway through our trip.

while in hanoi, we decided to take a day trip to near-ish by halong bay. gorgeous, gorgeous halong bay.

leaving the docks for the bay

it was an exciting trip, mainly for the gorgeous views, but also because i dawned a sweatshirt for the first time in nearly a year and we ate delicious food while taking in the views.

this is a hoodie! and i'm wearing it!

hey open, beautiful waters.

might be a favorite photo from the trip. isn't el tophoro handsome as shnat? 

part of the floating villages

we were, in fact, still married when we visited halong bay.

shall we begin the photo shoot?

are you serious?

part of our boat tour was a stop at the near by caves. gorgeous.

on our last day in hanoi, we stopped at a gourmet ice cream shop.  as if you couldn't guess, mine is the larger one.

topher: "can i eat it already? i hate melted ice cream!"

 we took an overnight sleeper train from hanoi to danang.  the approximately 15 hour trip began with a stop at a nearby deli for some refreshments that we hoped would make sleeping easier, and whatever food we could grab.

i am a tiger.

chris did not like his chicken sandwich.

but i loved mine!

 we shared our sleeper cabin with a family of four from switzerland. they were on the last two months of a year long journey around the world.  that they just decided to take with their two young children.  you know.

after miles and miles of bumpy sleep and then gorgeous coast line, we arrived at the beach of danang.  danang was a popular beach for american soldiers to escape to during the american war.

we enjoyed a ton of great, fresh seafood.

and i even got to enjoy some delicious wine one evening, while chris slurped on some ice cold beer.

we spent all of our four days in danang on the beach, lounging.  i didn't bring my camera down with us until we took a nighttime stroll.  to capture the water, we had to go sans flash, and after some wine...well, you get this.

after a relaxing time in danang, we hopped another train- soft seats this time- and traveled to another beach destination of nha trang.

we again spent a glorious three days enjoying delicious food and glorious sun.

we spent one great evening in, enjoying wine and chocolate.

our final stop was the beautiful town of dalat.  built as an escape for the french during their occupation in the 1900's, it's like a mini european hideaway.  with windy, yet very hilly streets and ample park and natural space, it was beautiful.

we spent a couple of days soaking in the chilly weather at the large lake, and wanted to walk the course of the lake, but i was taken down by an achy illness.  so we opted to sit and enjoy the views.

the eiffel tower inspired cell tower

the final picture we captured before the camera died.

if you look closely in the final picture, you can see my swollen eye, where a mosquito bit me and caused me to look a bit... uneven.

oh vietnam, how you cooled our bodies and warmed our tummies with deliciousness.  thank you.

A Viet Nam Visit: Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi

every year each april, cambodia celebrates khmer new year.  while the holiday is officially only three days long, schools close for a duration much longer than that as everyone travels to their homeland to spend time with loved ones.

topher and i decided to take advantage of that time to spend time with our loved ones in cambodia- namely, each other.

a large group of volunteers in cambodia chose to visit vietnam during the break, but somehow each travel group managed to visit different cities at different times, and there was minimal random run-ins, which it's safe to say, surprised us all!

Vietnamese Dong

i'm officially a big fan of vietnam.  beyond the delicious food like pho, spring rolls and crispy noodles, the weather in central and northern vietnam was gorgeous, and traveling around the country via train was a wonderful way to see the beautiful coastline.

chowing down on vietnamese food and beer at the night market in HCMC

chris and i started our trip down south, bussing it to ho chi minh city (or, saigon) and spending two great days bumming around with some fellow volunteers.  

we spent the first full day visiting the near by cu chi tunnels, used by the vietcong to evade the american enemy during the american war.

tiger booby trap at the tunnels

an opening to the tunnels

i may look happy but i was actually disgusted by the sound of machine gun fire that littered our visit, as part of the experience can be to purchase rounds to fire them off, just as they did during the war.  tourism at it's best, that is.
 

we even had the chance to walk 500 meters through one of the tunnels, widened for tourist use. i made it 100 yards, and chris went all the way!

while in ho chi minh, we got our first taste of subway in over nine months, enjoyed some delicious vietnamese and indian food, and even found cheap, familiar beer. i even enjoyed a personal pan pizza all by myself for lunch before we departed via plane to hanoi.

indian food where instead of lessening the heat, the chef accidentally added even more chillis. awesome.

chris: "beer with taste and then cheap american beer!"

kate: "i can drink my cheap heineken while eating a kit kat, yes i can!"

personal pan pizza and fountain coke. my personal version of heaven.

in hanoi, we spent three days enjoying chilly weather, gorging on pho, and downing as much bia hoi as we could.

crispy beef noodles.

crispy, delicious spring rolls

bia hoi

bia hoi is daily, freshly brewed light pilsner beer that small restaurants and stands sell beginning in the early evening and late into the night (as long as it lasts) for very, very cheap. 

bia hoi

chris and i enjoyed some delicious food in hanoi, like catfish spring rolls and crispy ostrich.

catfish spring rolls

ostrich. amazing.

we also took a day to walk around, and enjoy the vietnamese women's museum.

waiting on some delicious pho.

phooooooo!

the women's museum.

inside the women's museum.

at the large lake, hoan kiem, in the middle of hanoi

we even found delicious caramel and cheese popcorn!

we also couldn't get enough of the fresh fruit smoothies we found everywhere.

up next: ha long bay, danang, nha trang and dalat!