Vietnam... I have left a piece of my heart there..

So one day I mentioned casually to Scott I wanted to try egg coffee in Hanoi.. like a far down the road bucket list item.. .. HA.. know what happened??  you guessed.. trip was booked and the girls and I were going to be spending 16 days in Vietnam traveling with Intrepid Travel!!  

So after 36 hours of travel.. BA to Rio to Dubai to Hanoi... we landed.. and while I was nervous, scared, anxious, etc.. it all melted away the moment we landed.. what a gloriously welcoming country... 

I am so thankful for these 16 days.. every second of just being the three of us.. giggling, chatting, arguing, working together, giggling.. just being... truly the best gift I could have ever received..

here are some of my favorite photos and moments on our amazing trip.. Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Mekong Delta and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

Our first breakfast in Hanoi.. could not pass up the Pho! 

to say I ate alot of Pho could be an understatement.  it was hard to resist and amazing!

Of course we landed in Hanoi (where it was the coldest it has been in 10 year!!!).. and immediately we had a food tour booked.... while we were exhausted this was the most amazing way to get right into the food culture of Vietnam.. and of course to have my first (of many, many) egg coffees.  They are as good as I hoped and worth the trip indeed!!

Street food is abundant here.. so many things to try and try we did!!  Bun, Sandwiches, Fruit, Pho, Pork, Rice Pancakes.. you name it.. we tried it!!

Did I mention it was BRUTAL cold in Hanoi.. unexpected.  thankfully there was a North Face "outlet" on like every corner.. LOL.. we had to buy jackets, gloves, sneakers (cause who only brings Tevas (ME).. )

So of the many amazingly cool things we experienced, the coolest (and oddest) was our breakfast with the Buddhist Monk from Brunai who was in Hanoi building a temple with his brother..   

I have a new respect for many things.. one of them being street vendors.. 

During our time in Hanoi we visited the Ho Chi Minh Monument, the Temple of Literature, the Womans Museum and generally walked around and felt lost alot.. 

In every city the motor bikes are insane.. in amount and in the way they ride.. normally the woman has her legs crossed and she did, but of course uncrossed them to go to the traffic light.. I am just glad they all wear helmets

From Hanoi we went to Ha Long Bay...  So let me say I am not an overly emotional person.. but when I saw Ha Long Bay it brought me to tears..  there is video and I am sure for a beer Scott would show you... but I was so moved at the beauty and splendor of Ha Long Bay..   We spend one night in a Junk Boat (just a fancy wooden boat).. we saw caves, Cora kayaked, Nola and I played cards, the made our own spring rolls, went to the beach and basically just wished we had ONE more night!!

Ha Long Bay

the beach at Ha Long Bay

SO COLD.. but they could not resist shell collecting and dipping their toes in the water!!

So from Ha Long Bay we boarded the overnight sleeper train to Hue.. the former capital of Vietnam and home of our guide Quang..   let me tell you one thing about sleeping on a train.. here it is.. you ready??  there are flights.. find one.. :)  LOL..   and also.. thank you Alice for confirming my need for a sleep sheet.. :) 

Rain in Hue and cold did not stop us from exploring this amazing city.. it was my favorite city of the trip.. it is small and charming and made better by local lunches with Quang's family and friendly neighbors who are eager to show and tell you about their Vietnam.  This amazing site is the Citadel.. built during the Chinese rule over Vietnam

This kid.. she is a keeper.. an amazing traveler.. thoughtful, absorbs everything she can learn about a place and eager to be with you!  I am thankful for her.

let's look at the amazing structures... BUT MOM... we wanna feed the Koi.. LOL.. so we fed the Koi.. 

the colors in this photo don't truly show the colors in person .. 

my ray of sunshine on a cloudy day

beauty

so in Hue we ventured out alot of just roamed.. we walked here and there and everywhere.. and came upon a sandwich.. but not just any sandwich.. this sandwich.. made by this sweet lady on the street who was kind and patient with us.. no english.. no meat.. etc... it was heavenly.. the best food hands down in Vietnam... and all for .43 cents USD

How could I not show you our sweet lady.. 

So from Hue we went to Hoi An.. which is a quant little town with an amazing old quarter that takes you back in time.. markets galore, shopping, tailors (yes.. we had TONS of handmade clothes made).. the river, the food, the cooking class.. oy.. we did alot in Hoi An

Nola trying her hand at making the dipping sauce we have become addicted to on this trip.. amazing cooking class.. 

our finished product.. so yummy 

we may or may not be getting an egg sandwich with cucumber, carrots, amazing sauce and cilantro.. may or may not.. :)  

So I have so many 'favorite' parts of this trip.. kind of like I have so many "favorite' meals.. but this was really a favorite.. a 15KM bike ride thru the country side of Hoi An.. I truly have a deep appreciation for every grain of rice I eat and every noodle I slurp up.. 

This local family made rugs out of tall grass they dry and dye with natural colors.. Was a privilege to meet them and be in their home.. Cora and our travel mate Ben got a chance to learn how things are done.. :)

So we got the coolest noodle making lesson.. from a master noodle maker who in 6 hours every night makes over 300 lbs of noodles one round disk at a time (and then they are cut by hand into noodles).. Vietnam likes fresh noodles.. never eat dry!!

never take a noodle for granted.. ever

So from Hoi An we traveled (by plane.. BY PLANE.. ) to the amazing Mekong Delta for a homestay with a local family for a night.. We were treated to a boat ride down the delta, coconut candy making, an amazing lessons on fish spring rolls

that's right.. that fish.. goes in a spring roll (and my belly was never happier)

at our home stay our guide Quang gave us a lesson on fried spring rolls.. (YUMMM)

the Mekong Delta in the morning.. 5:30 am and I had the place to myself.. I drank in the beauty of this country and said a thank you to the lord for this amazing journey

Well back to the big city of Saigon!!  Ho Chi Minh to 'youngers' but Saigon... An amazingly busy, busy city!!!  We loved it!!!!!!  The chaos, the noise (though the rooster crowing was a bit much).. but we loved it..

the busy market... we tried to shop as best we can.. lol. but in Vietnam you haggle for everything you buy.. EVERYTHING.. and let me say.. the locals got the best of me.. but we still shopped.. LOL.. 

and saw some famous stuff.. :)  the Post Office of Saigon (same designer as the Eiffel Tower) 

the cathedral of Notre Dame (because everything is a copy in Vietnam).. was closed for renovations.. guess I will have to go back!!  sad for me.. NOT... 

Independence Plaza.. the history of Vietnam is amazing.. from Chinese Rule, to French Rule.. to wars they didn't expect to finally celebrating 40 years of being the amazing country they are.. they are in their infancy of being the Vietnam we saw.. and I look forward to going back.   

and with that.. our final goofy selfie in an elevator for 6 that the 3 of us barely fit into.. LOL.. what an amazing adventure with my girls.. we are already planning next years!!