Well, last Saturday, we headed out to Ha Long Bay(a World Heritage Site) with the Stecki family! We are becoming fast friends, they are a wonderful family! With babies, toddler and a pre-teen in hand, we took the long bus ride (3 1/2 hours) with an additional 1/2 hour stop, we arrived at Ha Long Bay. Make sure you get an itinerary of your trip, so you know what to expect (psst, Rob forgot this detail)! We had some unexpected stops and detours along the way, extending the length of the trip and it became hard on us and the children!
The driving is amazing and very frightening! No seatbelts and heavy utility trucks coming head on, along a two lane highway! It felt as if we were playing a game of chicken, whoever was larger seemed to get the right a way! Then we had Miss. Claire, an active toddler, refusing to sit down! We had a half hour stop at a shop in some roadside town, where we bought a beautiful silk Aoi Dai (spelling questionable!), the traditional silk dress, for me! It is absolutely beautiful! We also bought Rob a matching silk shirt!
We had a private car for both families, accompanied by our driver and guide, Kenny. We arrived at Ha Long Bay and we were escorted to our junket, 3 boats deep! The floors were very slick, most having tile underbellies! Carole demonstrated her flexibility in taking a very deep lunge, in an effort to save herself and her baby in tow! Subsequently, upon return, Suzy biffed it on a tile, floor, slick with fish residue! We all smelled lovely by the time we returned back to our hotel!
We then sailed a half hour and explored an amazing cave! The pictures speak for themselves, breathtaking! We had opted for the overnight stay in a hotel as opposed to the boat, since the rooms were small cabins, the family could not all fit into one and it was very cold at night. We then sailed aboard our junket another hour, until we arrived at Cat Ba island! Then, this is where I became just a little bit uneasy, to say the least! We boarded a World War II era bus, packed in like sardines with seemingly no sign of shock absorbers, for the winding ride to the other side of the island! Our driver took us along the winding road through villages with dogs, goats, other livestock and people running across the road. We had to swerve to keep from hitting a dog! We were relieved to arrive at our hotel in one piece! I must say, Suzy REALLY stepped out of her element on this trip! This is the first time she has traveled internationally, let alone taking an overnight trip like this with the Christners and to end the trip with a major slip and slide! You go girl!
Our hotel was a 3 star hotel, but the matresses were rock hard! We had a fitfull nights sleep but the views of the sleepy fishing village were just beautiful! We had a newer model bus for the return trip, the following morning! We greeted our French friends, who had stayed on the junket overnight and they confirmed it was very cold, so we felt we had made the better decision! We finally returned to our hotel at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, smelly, tired and in awe of the beautiful scenery we had witnessed !
Monday, we returned to the Old Quarter for more shopping and lunch at the Kiti Restaurant, a must visit! The two men then went to Exotical Spa for an hour and a half massage last night! They came back like wet noodles, so worth the $22 they had spent! Rob highly recommends each father who comes, needs to visit! You can pick up their business card at the front desk of the Somerset!
Today, the men went to pick up Nolans' passport and we have his medical examination tomorrow morning. We have our USCIS interview Friday a.m., then will pick up his visa! We have a few more days before we leave, so we are limiting our excursions to day trips. We still need to see the Water Puppet Show, which we had opted to delay for this week. We will also go to the Army Museum and the Museum of Vietnam Ethnology. With a new baby, a toddler and a 9 year old, I am finding less time to post updates, needing every spare hand and then some! Oh, Mrs. Smith, Caitlin IS fitting in her reading, writing and math homework! we are cracking the whip! But.......... what a class field trip she is having! She misses all her friends and says, "Hello", to each and everyone!We too miss our friends! Thank you, dear friends, Kendra, Mark, Colin, Grant and Cam for watching the house and taking such great care of us! Also, Grandma Linda, I will once again post that beautiful blanket you made, wrapped around our beautiful baby boy! I just LOVE that photo! You are all so kind to our children!
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