Christmas 2008 - Vietnam

After a whirlwind December, we were more than ready for a Christmas vacation. We started off by flying into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south. We only had the afternoon to spend there so after checking in to our hotel, we hit the streets. We were hounded by the cyclo drivers and finally agreed to a pair of them taking us to see some of the city sites. We started at the war remnants museum which turned out to be the highlight of the afternoon. It was very moving and although we knew it was propoganda and very one-sided, it still was amazing.




The next morning, we flew to Hoi'An which is on the coast in about the middle of the country. A co-worker at school had been here for the October break, so had recommended a resort to us. It was indeed very nice! We had a beach front villa so were able to fall asleep listening to the waves crashing. Hoi'An is renowned as a mecca for custom tailors and of course we had to try them out. We both came away with several additions to our wardrobe to the point we were getting worried about the baggage allowances on the airline. We filled our carry-ons and managed to squeak in almost a full kilogram under the max for both suitcases.
We actually rented a motorbike one afternoon to get us back and forth from the resort. Traffic was nowhere near as daunting as that in Ho Chi Minh.


We spent Christmas eve at a gala banquet at the resort. As much as we were enjoying everything, it was hard to be away from family and Yvonne had a few teary moments. Fortunately, we flew to HaNoi on the 26th where we met up with Connie. It was fantastic to see her and have our Christmas together. We sipped wine and opened presents, and Santa even brought them matching PJ's.



We spent a couple of days wandering the streets from shop to shop. The weather was actually pretty good. We had anticipated cold and rain but it was quite comfortable. Traffic here was even more mind-boggling than Ho Chi Minh. There seems to be no rules, but amazingly enough, it works. After a few days, we were able to cross the street without too much angst. It seems the trick is to keep walking at a steady pace and don't make eye contact. The traffic adjusts, parts like the red sea and just goes around you.



We took a cooking course one day and now have a couple of new dishes to try on company: green papaya salad, sweet and sour shrimp, fish soup, and fresh spring rolls. We even got to eat it all when we finished!




For New Years, we had
booked a two day junk
boat trip on Halong Bay.
We left early morning on the 31st for the three hour bus ride through the countryside. We had a New Year's Eve dinner on board, then were able to do some squid jigging after and I managed to get one. We toured some caves, a floating fishing village and generally just sat on deck watching the scenery. Very relaxing!





We ended up back in HaNoi the evening of the first and flew back on the second, Connie to Hong Kong and us to Macau. It really was a great trip and having Connie along made it so much better.



Guess what we didn't order.


Now it's back to work for three weeks to finish off the semester and then to Cebu, Phillippines for Chinese New Year.