Don't worry -- you didn't miss the sequel to Robin Williams's movie. We just thought this sounded cooler than labeling our posts "Part I" and "Part II" :-)
While our main reasons for going to Vietnam were to visit Danang and the Hanoi Hilton, considering that our Vietnam visa was the most expensive to date we made sure to pack as much as we could into our three weeks. We toured Hue (the former capital city), the DMZ, Hanoi, Sapa, and Ha Long Bay. Hope you enjoy the photos!
The architecture of the Imperial City was so cool!
Stephanie thought this statue looked like our dog, Lana gets. We later found out it's a dragon-horse. Wishful thinking, Steph.
Kids will be kids -- Brian had a split in shorts and the kids were whispering and pointing at his butt. As anyone would do in this scenario, Brian purposely dropped some change and bent over to pick it up. The students burst out laughing and then clamored to get their picture taken with him.
DMZ
The main tourist attraction at the DMZ are the Vinh Moc Tunnels. The tunnels were built to shelter people from the bombing during the war, though American forces believed the tunnels were also being used to supply goods to the North.
The tunnels were tiny and dark! Brian struggled to find room just to sit down. It was hard to imagine people living in them for six years.
Before we went into the tunnels, our guide told us that there were family rooms and maternity rooms inside (something like 17 babies were born in the tunnels). We imagined something much bigger than a room that could only fit one cot.
HANOI
One of our favorite things about Hanoi was the food. Here's Stephanie digging in and wrapping her own spring rolls.
We saw a lot of barbers set up shop on the street. Brian felt it was time for a haircut (the beard went untouched). Stephanie served double duty, taking pictures for us and for the barber :-)
Look at all the coffee!!!!!!!!!
Stephanie perusing one of the many street markets in Hanoi.
One of our guilty pleasures on the road is watching the show "Cupcake Wars" online. When we walked past this cupcake store we couldn't resist stopping in and trying (ok...devouring) their cupcakes! Our favorites were their keylime pie and mocha cupcakes. Yum!
SAPA
After spending a couple days in crazy-busy Hanoi, it was refreshing to arrive in Sapa and be greeted by the mountains.
Sapa has amazing terraced rice fields. We got to spend a whole day trekking through this beautiful landscape!
Stephanie trying to learn the names of all our guides. There were 2 Su's, Ku, Tu, Bo, and Do...she thinks. These lovely ladies are Hmong and are wearing traditional clothes (which they wear all the time...not just because we were there).
Their weavings were stunning. And they dye the cloth using indigo!
Spinning hemp yarn.
Brian & Bo. They were besties by the end of the day.
Stephanie discovered that all those years of gymnastics did not prepare her for walking on rice terraces.
One of the women carrying bamboo shoots down to the village. We just thought this was a cool picture.
Our group! Our guide is in the middle. In case you're wondering if she's a child, she's not - she's 20!
The next day we went to Bac Ha Market and got to see another Hmong people -- the Flower Hmong. We loved the vibrant colors!
HA LONG BAY
(Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Here comes our boat!
You know you've got a skilled captain when he can steer a boat with his feet!
Our first glimpse at some of Ha Long Bay's 2,000ish limestone islets!
As beautiful as the karst is, the highlight for us was the fishing village. This village is boasts 200 families and 800 people.
After failing miserably at kayaking in Laos, we were determined to succeed in Vietnam. Mission accomplished!
One of the fishing boats. The lights are for when the men go out at night and help them attract squid.
It was wild to see houses floating on the water. From what we understand, thirty years ago the fishermen's wives didn't want to live on the boats anymore but also didn't want to live in town as they would never get to see their husbands due to the distance. So, they created these villages.
How the villagers get their goods.
Brian and some of our shipmates swimming in the bay. He's the one with the beard.
Brian doing some night squid fishing and catching everyone else's dinner. The boat's crew was great about making him non-seafood :-)
Waking up to green water, karst, and the morning mist was magical!
We were also victorious on day 2 of kayaking around Ha Long Bay. Score!
These rocks are the iconic Ha Long Bay rocks. They're in a lot of pictures, posters, etc. Naturally, we had to take a photo ourselves.
Night 2 of our Ha Long Bay adventure was spent with a family on one of the islands. We learned how to prepare spring rolls. Brian was assigned to cut glass noodles with little scissors. Stephanie was given the big butcher knife to chop mushrooms. Hmmm….
Brian enjoying the fruits of our labor.
The family was up & descaling fish bright and early.
Before we left the island and Ha Long Bay, we got to ride bikes around the island. Stephanie was waiting for everyone to break out into songs from the "Sound of Music."
