Sky High in Hanoi

Today is our last day in Hanoi and our last day in Vietnam so we got an early start wrapping up on any last minute stops we hadn't gotten to yet.  While we started our day in the Old Quarter, we quickly left to the more developed part of the city which we hadn't gone to yet.  We headed over to the Lotte Center to go to the Observation Tower and Sky Deck on the 65th floor.  While the elevator was very smooth, you could tell it was going really fast.  And before we knew it, we were there.  We got there right when they opened and it was a weekday which meant that admission was reduced and there wasn't a soul around which made it much easier to take pics.  I can't imagine how crazy it would get on a weekend.   

  

After checking out the SkyDeck, we explored the large grocery store in the Lotte Center and got fun food souvenirs to take home.  We then made some quick stops at other tourist attractions like Bach Ma Temple and the Temple of Literature

 

Sitting on the Dock of Halong Bay...

Yesterday morning we got picked up bright and early at 7:30am to go on a 2 day/1 night cruise at Halong Bay.  Our company, Alisa Premier Cruise picked us up and the van was a good indicator that we chose well.  There are so many Halong Bay cruises in every budget but considering you're stuck on the boat with limited entertainment and food, Will and I decided it was worth the splurge to be comfortable and have a clean, modern boat.  The ride out to the port is about 3.5 hours from Hanoi but it was a comfortable ride and we made a couple pit stops.  We made a bathroom stop as a mega store that sold all types of handicrafts and souvenirs but aside from the clean bathrooms, that was lame.  We also stopped at a pearl farm which was pretty interesting because I had no idea how pearls were cultivated.

From there, we arrived at the port where we go on our boat which would be our hotel for the night.  We were immediately served lunch before we got settled into our room which was NICE.  The Halong Bay boats are pretty small, about 15-20 rooms max and every room on our boat had a balcony with the most beautiful view.  The room was super modern and clean and our bathroom had two showers! 

 

Hanoi: Quaint and Cute in the Old Quarter

Late last night we arrived in Hanoi, pretty late.  We were already scheduled to land at 12:15 am but with a delay, it was almost 2:00am when we touched down.  The drive to the Old Quarter to the hotel was rather strange because everything was pitch black.  There didn't seem to be any signs of life, such a contrast to Saigon.  Hotels seemed to be dark and there were barely any cars on the road.  Once we arrived at our hotel, La Storia, the super sweet staff had been asleep on the floor while waiting for us (a little weird to see but apparently a common thing among these small boutique hotels- same thing happened at the Saigon hotel), and they quickly showed us to our room.  We were exhausted so we went straight to bed.

This morning we got up and had the free breakfast which was a pretty tasty mix of American and Vietnamese food.  Then we went about our day walking around the Old Quarter.  Hanoi's old quarter is pretty neat compared to Saigon.  It's definitely "old" and quaint looking and while there are an insane amount of motorbikes everywhere, it's so much smaller and more compact.  There's also an interesting mix of old and new culture with old ladies carrying fruit for sale on their back.  

For lunch, we had Bun Cha at Bun Cha Ta which was known for having amazing Bun Cha.  We originally going to go to the infamous shop where Anthony Bourdain and Obama went to (and the table is memorialized) but we actually heard from locals and read reviews that that restaurant wasn't particularly good.  It was more convenient in terms of Obama's motorcade so we decided to pass.  We were excited to try this new place because we loved the Bun Cha in Saigon and we figured it would be even better in Hanoi since it's a dish that originated here.  Well, it didn't disappoint.  The Bun Cha here was delicious! 

Walking around and getting HANGRY

This morning we got up and worked out in the park like we have been here since the park is so close by, followed by our free breakfast at the hotel which has been really tasty each day.  It was a little rainy today but we used it to do any finishing up of anything we missed previously.  We first set out to find the place that is supposed to have the best Banh Mi sandwiches (actually called Banh Mi Hong Hoa but called "Lesbian banh mi" because duh, the ladies who started it are lesbians- totally random name) but unfortunately, my intel was wrong and it wasn't open until the evening.  Then, we travelled to go to Marcel Gourmet Burger which I read was a delicious burger place, just to find out that it is closed on Mondays.  :(  At this point, Will was about to kill me but eventually we made it to Bun Thit Nuong Chi Thong where they were supposed to have the best bun thit which is the vermicelli bowl with pork and egg rolls, like we often eat at home.  It was delicious, but tasted just like it does at home.  Not better or worse.

Scooting around Saigon

Today we spent most of the day walking around Saigon.  First we got up and had a delicious hotel breakfast.  All of the hotels here in Vietnam are so cheap and they all include a free breakfast with lots of yummy choices!  I actually LOVED the pho that they had at the hotel and both Will and I have been eating a ridiculous amount of dragon fruit.  After breakfast, we headed to Ben Tranh market.  While this market was billed as one of the must-see things in Saigon, we didn't spend much time here.  Once you've been to a few markets around the world, you start to realize you've been to them all.  This one had some fun food and snacks but for the most part, it sold fake goods and clothing, none of which we were all that interested in.

Afterwards, we ended up running into a fancy shopping mall.  I don't think I mentioned this yesterday but it is hot AF in Saigon.  We were making our way via walking to the Notre Dame Cathedral and stumbled upon this fancy mall (which there are many of of, btw- with multiple floors of stores), and decided we need an A/C break.  In it, we found a fancy movie theater and being the movie buffs that we are, we decided to take a break and go see Mission Impossible: Fallout.  This movie theater was really nice and even had some screens with "movie beds" where you could lay down and lounge with drinks and snacks but that didn't work out with our timing and movie choice.  Instead, we decided to go to a normal movie screening.  Now it's actually a random tradition that we see a movie in a foreign country.  It is because 1) We love seeing movies and there's usually something out we don't want to miss and 2) We figured it's interesting to see how theaters are different around the world.  However, like our normal tradition, we fell asleep part way through the movie.  Or for me, for most of it.

Hitting the Ground Running... Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta

It has been a LONG day. We got in late last night to Ho Chi Minh (aka Saigon), our first leg of this trip. We flew from DC to Beijing but our connection in Beijing left late so we didn’t get to our hotel until about 3am and by the time we got into bed, it was 4am and we were wide awake!! We got up at 6ish and were picked up by our tour company at 7:30am to see the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta.

Today was a full day. We got picked up by a fancy van with leather reclining seats and WiFi and usb chargers. There were 6 people in our group including us and they had drinks and snacks for the ride. Our tour guide Betty was super enthusiastic and full of jokes that were a little lost on our crowd but she was kind and tried hard. Our first stop was to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was about 1 1/2 hours outside of Saigon. On the ride there we watch the documentary/info video which is def some propaganda about the Americans but the actual tunnel tour was really interesting.  We got to see and hear about all of the tactics the Viet Cong fighters used against the Americans. Obviously as an American, it is a strange experience to hear what they had to endure but from a historical perspective, it was interesting to hear about their simplistic but effective tactics. Obviously the side you hear is skewed to their version of history but it wasn’t overly offensive as not much opinion was added in.  As a side note, I acknowledge that it may or may not be appropriate to take photos here. I wrestled with the idea but ultimately, I decided I was ok with it.

Hanging Out & Hanging Ten at Bondi Beach

This morning we started the day by having breakfast at a cute cafe around the corner from our hotel.  Will is the ultimate travel researcher and found a place that sold Kaya Toast.  Kaya Toast is a common breakfast dish in Singapore but we first tried it in L.A. at a restaurant by Susan Feniger six years ago.  Since then we've only been able to find it at one other place and that's in Denver so we were excited to try it here in Sydney.  While this cafe definitely didn't have the presentation of a celebrity chef, it was still delicious!  yum!

Bondi Beach is an iconic beach and Australian landmark so not only did we have to go there, we had to surf (or attempt to learn to surf)!  While I have taken a lesson once in Peru with my brother, Will had never tried it so we were both very new to the sport.  We headed over to the beach in an Uber for a 9:00am lesson with Let's Go Surfing (https://letsgosurfing.com.au/).  Walking to the surfing school, it was pretty chilly so I have to admit I was concerned about the temperature but we quickly got suited up in wetsuits so I figured we'd be fine.  When we walked over to the beach, walking on the sand was freezing since the sun wasn't out yet.  We began the first part of lesson on the sand practicing postures on the board.  Then we were out on the water!  Luckily, the water was actually pretty warm and there was hardly a "Wow that's cold!" moment as we walked right in.  There was one instructor to 5 students and we immediately practiced getting on waves that he pushed us out on.  We basically were practicing how to get up and Will got up on his first try!  Woohoo for him!  I got up the second time but was 50/50 for all the future ones.  I had a much easier time getting on the board in Peru but the waves here were definitely a little bigger and less steady.  After practicing a bit, we took a break on the sand before going back into the water to try to catch our own waves.  Neither Will or I quite got the hang of being able to pick out which waves to paddle out and get on before they died out but it was fun trying!

After our surfing class, we did a quick clothing change and hung around Bondi.  It was the most beautiful, sunny, warm day!  Lots of surfers were in the water and there were tons of people on the sand and on the lawn sitting around and having a picnic.  There were also a bunch of people hiking from Cogee but we skipped that because my foot was hurting!  Instead, we went to an adorable farmers market and got a dim sum snack and then just walked around the cute little shops!  Afterwards, we went to Bill's restaurant for an Aussie brunch!  It was delicious!

Conquering the Bridge Climb

Today was Bridge Climb Day!  While I was not that interested in doing the bridge climb, Will surprisingly wanted to so we did.  It was more fun that I expected though and I was glad we did it.  It wasn't scary at all and it was a cool vantage point of the city and you got to hear to hear some interesting information.  Everything was super well organized and well done but it was kind of pricey for what it was.  It was very fun except it got super windy when we were up at the top!  We're talking 50 km/hr winds!  We definitely had to hold on so we wouldn't get blown away!  The views were incredible though because you got to see how many bays were on the water and all of the boats that were out!  Sydney really is a beautiful city!  We weren't allowed to bring our own cameras though (or our own anything) so we didn't get any pictures of anything else. 
*Random note: For safety reasons, everything was clipped to us.  We couldn't bring anything with us and they even checked with medal detectors.  They gave us the clothes, the hat, the fleece, the headphones, and EVERYTHING was clipped in so nothing could go flying off or away!

 Afterwards, we walked around to get fun views of the Opera House before heading to The Rocks for lunch.

Meeting the Marsupials!

Today we started the day by walking by Paddy's Markets.  Now Will & I both love a good market but we weren't at this one for too long.  It just had a bunch of little knick-knacks and junk.  We moved on.

Next we walked over to the Queen Victoria Building which is just a beautiful old building with a bunch of high end stores and cafes.  We were there to go to the Palace Tea Room (http://www.thepalacetearoom.com.au/) which was a place Will found because he knows that I love a good tea!  Since we still had plans to eat lunch later in the day, I had the breakfast tea and Will had the devonshire tea and shared so it was basically a full afternoon tea between the two of us!   I loved it!  The place was adorable and just oh so cute and everything was delicious!  We just had to do a tea with the British influence in Australia!

 

After afternoon tea, we walked over to Darling Harbour to check out the Wild Life Sydney Zoo!  While there were many various options of zoos around the area (ex: Taronga), this one focused on Australian animals specifically and was super convenient.

At the zoo, we got to see a bunch of animals native to New Zealand.  Most of the animals were in enclosed cages so I was surprised when we walked through the Kangaroo enclosure and there was a kangaroo on the pathway, not behind the ropes (not that the ropes were a big deterrant).  Luckily, there was a zookeeper in there at the time doing feedings and checking on the animals so she let us know that we could pet the kangaroos.  One wasn't really feeling it and jumped away.  Another though rolled on its side just like a dog would when they wanted to be petted on the belly.  It was adorable.  We also ran into a animal handler in there with a snake and of course, Will wanted pics!  Beyond the typical exhibits at the zoo, we paid extra to do the "Koala Encounter" and get up close and take a picture with a koala.  Unfortunately, the koalas were all sleeping during our photo op which isn't surprising since koalas sleep 20 out of 24 hours a day!  Because of this, it is actually illegal to touch koalas so that way they won't be disrupted and can get their rest.  While the koala wasn't super cooperative for our photo op, we were shocked when the zookeeper pointed out that the mama koala had her baby starting to peek out.  They usually stay in the pouch for the first 6 months of life but today was the first day that the little joey was starting to make an appearance.  It was so darn cute!