Sumner

Today we drove to Hoi An. On the way we got into a traffic jam. One side of th road was completely stopped but the other side was sill flowing normally. We found out that there was some construction and they were letting people on one side through for thirty minutes and then the other side for thirty minutes. Well we got through and then our guide asked if we wanted to go on the pass over the mountains or through the tunnel. the drive over the pass was going to take forty-five minutes whereas the tunnel would only take fifteen. It was hazy and we had heard that the roads were a little scary. So we decided to give it a miss because we really didn’t want to crash off the side of the road and there wouldn’t be much of a view because of the haze. The tunnel was six kilometers long (three miles). Twice a long as Eisenhower (the big tunnel) in Colorado. It also seemed longer because we were going slower (only about forty M/H) instead of seventy. After going a little way we arrived at Da Nang We drove to a museum with many statues from the Cham people. Many were pulled from some Cham towers that we are going to see tomorrow. We then went drove along the beach where the Americans first landed during the war. We stopped and took some photos and then we saw some of the hangars that we used. Then we went back to the car and drove to Hoi An. We went to the market and saw many people selling things and then we went to the fish part of the market. I to this day haven’t figured out how people with stand the smell! It’s absolutely terrible even in the regular market! Anyway we went to a restaurant that was pretty nice compared to some of the places that we have eaten at. It was good food but we were kinda disappointing that we hadn’t gotten to eat good street food. Then the guide showed us a bridge that in times past separated the Chinese and the Japanese parts of town. It was just a small covered bridge but it had, in the middle, an area that issues were resolved between the two sides of the bridge. Then Phong showed us a shop that sold custom made clothing so we went in and were just going to look around but then dad decided to get a suit. I just waited downstairs while they were upstairs looking at designs but I got bored after a while so I went up to see what they were doing. Dad was looking at the many different designs of suits but they all looked the same to him so he just picked one and a color. Then they measured him. They took lots of measurements and then went downstairs to take pictures of him. I guess they did that so that they could see what his body looked like. Then we drove to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we went to a little gazebo where we went through all the stuff and had a drink. Then we went to our room, got settled in and then rented some bikes from the hotel and went wandering on the back roads for a while. On our explorations we ordered mom some jeans at the place that one of the employee recommended After our bike ride we had dinner at the hotel and then went to bed.

Sumner

Today we had our first day in Hue. We had a buffet breakfast in the restaurant and then met our guide at the front gate. His name was Phong, the same name as the guy that took us on our tour of Ba Be Lake and Phu Tho. We got into the car and went into town and went on a boat trip to a pagoda. It was like all pagodas basically lots of altars and incense and buildings. Then we went to the old palace of the emperor of Vietnam. (FYI, Hue was the old capital city of Vietnam.) On  the outside was a mote system and a wall that was supposed to look like a star (I didn’t look like a star to me but it must have to someone). Then there was another mote system with another wall that enclosed the palaces. We went inside through the gate. One interesting thing was that there were three gates. One for the mandarins (government officials), one for the king, one for the commoners, and one for the elephants and tigers and wild animals. We went through the mandarins gate. We got in and there were two pools with fish on either side of the path. You could buy some food to feed them. It was amazing when you did because literally hundreds of fish fought for the food! Then we went up above the gate where the king would give speeches to his people. Then we went down and went to some palaces. It was sad but allot of the palace was bombed during the war. Since it was only one hundred kilo form the DMZ it got bombed from both sides. We toured around all the palaces and saw where they were trying to restore it. I was glad that we had a guide because we would have been clueless on where to go and what everything was. After touring the grounds we went back outside (this time through the elephants gate) and saw nine “sacred cannons.” They were sacred because they were never used and nine is a lucky number. After seeing the palace we went to a tomb of one of the kings. there was a lake and a nice island in the middle. We learned that this tomb was not only a tomb but before the king died he used to come to his tomb to wright poetry and just enjoy the area. Then we went to a place that had some statues and had an autobiography of the king. After seeing that we went to the place where the coffin was. Nobody really knows if the body is actually there because nobody has opened it. After the tomb we got back int the car and he asked if we wanted to see another tomb. We had had enough tombs so we said that we just wanted to go back to the hotel. Then dad, Hannah, and I went swimming and then we hung out for a while in the resort. When it became tome for dinner we went to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner. Time to hit the sack!

Sumner

Well today is our last few hours in Hanoi. After breakfast we went to the air port for our flight to Hue. (Hue is located in the central part of Vietnam.) It took only one hour to get there and when we did we had to show our baggage claim tickets. Mom was so unused to having to do this so she had to dig for the tickets! Anyway the airport was extremely small so we just walked outside and people with signs were there waiting to pick people up. We found our guy and then got into the car to go to our hotel. As soon as you walked in there was a great atmosphere, trees, grass… The first things that you saw were some handcraft shops where you could buy things. Then the lobby. Behind the lobby was a restaurant for lunch and dinner and to the left of that was the internet cafe. Behind this were rows of rooms set up with little houses that made it feel like a neighborhood. There were two swimming pools and another restaurant that served breakfast. There were spas and beauty salons and all sorts of other stuff. We were greeted and then sat down and an employee talked to us about the services. Then we were shown to our room. It looked on the outside like it wasn’t a connecting room but when we got inside we saw that is was. The rooms were mirror to one another so I will take you on a tour of one and you will just have to switch it around in you head to have an idea of what it was like. I’ll tell you about our room just because I want to. When you entered into your room you were in a little corridor that if you walked forward a little bit and looked to you right would be a huge bathroom that I will tell you about in just a minute. If you keep on walking you would in the main room and to you left would be the door to the other room and your right the bed that I slept in. Walk a little further and you would be in the center of the room with a steep right in front of you and a sofa. To your left is the mini bar and the closet. If you went around the sofa and down the steep you would be right next to a desk. Walk a little further and the TV would be to your left. Look right now and you would be looking over a coffee table at the bed that Hannah slept in In front of you just a little to the right are the doors to go outside onto the balcony. Outside were some chairs and a little lounge thing. OK now I will tell you about the bathroom. As soon as you walked in you would see yourself in the mirror and underneath the mirror the sink and amenities. Turn right and you would be looking at the shower and then tub. The water from the shower just flowed down to a sunken area with rocks and went to the drain. Go forward and do a right turn you wold be seeing yourself in another mirror. Look in the opposite direction and you would be facing a towel rack. Walk a little further and turn left you would be facing the toilet. Well that’s all, the only difference between the two rooms is that mom’s and dad’s didn’t have the extra bed like the one that Hannah slept on. Then we walked around enjoying the nice atmosphere and finding the pools and restaurants and the spa ext. Then we had dinner at the restaurant. Dad had hot pot. (By the way what I ate at the Kangaroo Cafe wasn’t hot pot it was clay pot.) Basically hot pot is a big wok set up on a little burner. You had some broth and some other vegetables. Then you have to add all sorts of different ingredients to the mix to cook them. Once cooked you would roll it up in a piece of rice paper. I forgot what I had but dad’s meal was memorable. After dinner we went to bed.

Hannah

 Sorry I have not been able to post my blogs. But I will tell you all about our adventures at Halong Bay. First we had a four hour drive to Halong Bay. ( Not a bad drive.) We arrived at a place that sold a lot of different stuff. It went from Jewelry to food. Of course we did not buy anything. I felt sorry for the driver because my dad had spilled some red juice on the floor.( I do not know why he brought the juice in the car in the first place.) So the poor guy had to clean up the mess. He had said we would have a 15 minute break. I think that was his lunch break.Then when dad thought the 15 minutes were up, we started looking for our driver. We found out that he was still in the middle of eating his lunch, so we started out again. When we got there. we were welcomed with wet towels,( that’s the custom in Vietnam.)and tea. We waited for a while and then got ushered to the HUMONGOUS boat. Well it was big, but since I am small, it seemed that big. We had a warm welcome of rose pedals falling on our heads.( Pretty fancy stuff huh?) Then we  got directed to the dining room. It was set with fancy glasses,plates, and the napkins were folded into the shape of a kind of bird.We had a speech from the manager, and then got our keys to our rooms. Sumner and I shared a room together.( Away from the adults.) We looked at our room, and then headed back upstairs for a yummy buffet lunch. I do not remember what there was, but it was good anyway. The first thing we did was go on a boat to this really cool cave. It had three different chambers in it. The first chamber was 300 square meters, the second chamber was 400 square meters, and the third one was 900 square meters. They were huge. And if you had a good imagination, you could see different animals, and people in the rocks. Got to go!            T.B.C

Today is our last day in Hallong Bay. We woke up a little later that yesterday so we definitely didn’t see the sunrise. Breakfast was about the same as yesterday but that’s OK. After breakfast we packed up our things and then went to see the cooking demonstration. Today they showed us how to make fresh spring rolls. You basically had to put the ingredients on evenly and then roll it up. No need to pinch it in. Then we went to Te Top Island, the island that we dropped off the two day people yesterday. We hiked up to the top of the island and had a wonderful view of Hallong Bay. Then after staying for a few minutes we hiked back down and go onto the boat. We packed up as we sailed through Hallong Bay and then went up to the sun deck to see our last views of Hallong Bay It was so beautiful, islands with very steep bare sides and then lush, greenery on the top. There were, it seamed, thousands of islands. Then we arrived at port. We were all sad to leave such a pretty bay but we have more great adventures to come! We got our luggage and then got into the car to take us back to the Elegance for one more night. On the way back we stopped at a place “conveniently at the half way point” It was a place that sold all sorts of arts and crafts and a restaurant. We ate some food and then got back in the car. When we arrived at the Elegance we were welcomed warmly as always. We got some pictures with the manager and the staff because the manager won’t be here tomorrow. Then we walked around Hanoi for a wile and had dinner. (Look near the bottom for what I meant to say.) I think that it would be proper to decide the Elegance in more detail than I have because it was such a memorable hotel. It had glass doors in the front and to the right of the doors were a sofa and a coffee table. it you walked in a little way to your right would be a travel desk where you could organize a tour. Opposite of the travel desk was reception. If you went to the right of reception were some chairs and a news paper stand. Opposite of the chairs was an elevator and if you stood in the middle and walked towards the back of the hotel you would be in the breakfast room. Behind the tables on the back wall is a mural/painting that showed a scene in Hanoi. The only thing missing was the multitudes of motorcycles. To your right is the cooking area which has a stove and a refrigerator and some counter space. It was extremely small only about five, maybe six, square yards in total area. It must have been extremely hard to cook because the squashed three sometimes four people in the space! OK now if you walk back so that you are in the lobby facing the travel desk you will see the bottom of the stairs. On the second floor if you turned right you would be facing two rooms and if you tuned the other direction on you left would be the elevator and if you walked just a little further to you right would be a bathroom that guests waiting for a room or those who have already checked out. In front of you is a lobby with a TV and a few chairs and a sofa. It also has two computer for guests to use. On the furthest side away from you is a little overhang where you can see the first floor. If you kept on going up the stairs you would be on the third floor which on you right would be tow rooms and down the hall one more room. On of the ones that we stayed in. The rest of the eight floors are basically the same so I will not bore you any more with my explanations and move on to…Oops I made a mistake. Right before the tour of the Elegance I said “Then we walked around for a while and had dinner.” But really this is what happened.
We had been wanting to do a cicilo ride but we hadn’t been able to. Did I tell you what a cicilo is? If I did you get another explanation. A cicilo is a cross between a stroller and a bicycle. The back wheel of the bike and the seat are at the back and the stroller type thing is front with a little bar at the back that the driver uses to pedal. The stroller is just a metal thing that is sorta like a sofa just really short. It also has a foot rest and two wheels on either side. We asked the receptionist to call one so that we could tour the old quarter. They came and we got in. Hannah and mom got into one and dad and me in another. Then we toured around. I felt bad for our guy because he had such a heavy load. We had asked for an hour tour but we only got a forty minute tour. Oh well it was very net to do because we could really enjoy the sights without having to dodge things on the sidewalk and cross streets. When we got back we payed them and went back to the hotel. Then we went out to dinner and went to bed.

Sumner

Well today was our second day on the water. I woke up and was hoping to see the sunrise but since it was so hazy you couldn’t see the sun. We enjoyed the scenery that we could see and then went up for thirty miniutes. It was interesting, kinda like a cross betwene yoga and dancing and taekwondokarate (whatever you want to call it). After tai chi we went down to breakfast. It was a buffet breakfast with all sorts of bread and fruits and pancakes and french toast and egg and pho and noodles and fried rice. They had a good mix of western and Vietnamese food. Anyway we ate our breakfast and then sailed to Ti Top Island where the people on the boat who were only going for two days got off. By the way, there is a choice of a two of three day tour of Hallong bay. We went with the three day tour because we could really expeirience it. This is how it works. The big boats like the ones that we stayed in come out of dock each day. Do all the things that we did on the first day and then spend the night. In the morning the people going for a three day tour get onto a day-boat and do the things that I will write about in just a moment. The big ship goes back to port and gets more people and then comes back to meet up with the day boat and picks the people back up. Then the next day the three day people do what the tow day people did the day before and the cycle starts over again. That way they can two and three day people all on one boat. So because Te Top was what we were going to do on the third day we didn’t go this time. After we dropped them off we got into the tender and were taken to a day boat. It wasn’t anything special, just six tables lined up along the sides with wood benches on the fron and the back of them. The boat had life jackets which is always a good sign. In the back there was a little kitchen/nap room for the crew and if you went around that you would be at the bathroom. All that I have described so far has been on the first level so I will move to the top level and telll you what is up there. Basicly it is just the captian’s area and a deck with a few chairs. Anyway we sailed for a while at a good clip but about half way through our journey to Cat Ba Island the engine had troubles and we slowed down allot. We saw ships that were over the horison come and slowly overtake us. We made it to Cat Ba island safely though. We got out of the boat and were given a choice of going on a motorcycle or a bike. We went with the bike because we could enjoy the scenery better. Then we biked to a village. It wasn’t very big but we saw some activity. It was basicly just three streets. One leading into the village and a road leading off of that to another road. All around the village were rice patties. Anyway we got to the end of the trail/road we got off our bikes and went on a hike through the forest. It was almost as if we flew back to Colorado in an instant and were hiking thorugh the forest. The only diference was that it was very hot and had more exotic plants. It was wierd but there were no birds! We didn’t see them flying of hear them sining, there was absolutely no sign that there were any birds. We asked the guide and hea said that they are hunted for food and that’s why there aren’t any birds. We hiked up for a while and then got to a cave. It wasn’t very big but it was still dark. After the cave we went back down to our bikes and went back to the dock. Lunch was readdy for us so we ate. The food was very good and we even got brave enough to eat some squid! Dad tasted it and said it was like cucumber. I tried it and I guess that I can see why he compaired it to cucumber because it is sorta cruchy at the beginning. After the crunch though feels like you are eating rubber. After lunch we sailed to a protected cove and got off to kyak. Mom and I went togather and dad and Hannah went together. We went to a big opening that led us to another open area. The tide was obdviously going out bacause we had to paddle upstream to get to the second area for kyaking. We paddled in the cove for a while looking at the beautiful scenery . Mom and I even went into a fishing net on accident! After we paddled for a while we went back through the tunnel and to the day boat. We managed to get on safely without falling in but one person in the group fell in. We then went back to the big boat and then sailed to the docking place for the night. Then we had dinner which was a set meal of all sorts of different seafoods. It was very fancy everything was presented nicely, they never just plopped it on the plate. It was also the first time that I was served a meal in courses like that. We had many apitizers, a main meal and a desert. After dinner we flopped into bed.

Sumner

Today we woke up ate breakfast and then started to get ready for going to Hallong Bay. Let me tell you what Hallong Bay is. Hallong Bay is located on the east coast of Vietnam in the big part at the top. It is a huge bay filled with big rocks called carsts which means that the sides of the rocks go almost straight down. Anyway I’ll tell you more about it later. We had organised the tour with the hotel so a hotel driver came to pick us up. Then we drove to Hallong Bay, a four hour trip if I remember corectly. We had decided to go with a company called Paridie Cruises because the hotel had recomended it and it had it’s own dock so it is much easier to goet on the boat. Anyway we got to the dock and waited in the loby until we were called to go onto the boat. We walked down the gangplank and then entered the boat. We walked in and were greted by flowers falling on our heads! Then we were directed upstairs to the eating room where the manager (his name is Jonas {pronounced yo-nus}) introduced to the staff. Then we were given our keys and went to our cabins. We had two cabins one for mom and dad and one for me and Hannah. I’ll tell you more about them later. After settling into our rooms we went back up tp the eating room for a buffet lunch. While we had lunch we departed from the dock and sailed out into HallongBay. Once lunch was done we went back down to the room for a miniute.

Hannah

So, today was dad’s first day in Vietnam. But thank goodness he made it to Hanoi safe and sound. This morning we decided to do a walking tour around the old quarter in Hanoi. (Without the crowds, Sumner was our guide.) We started at Yen Thai. ( That is where our hotel is, 3 Yen Thai.) and ended at the Ngoc Son Temple. (In the middle of a BIG lake. During the tour around Hanoi, We stopped for lunch at a place called Quan An Ngon. It is a place featuring various traditional Vietnamese food. Me and mom ordered some Vegetarian Dumplings, but they turned out to be basically hot steaming rolls. They were good though. Dad ordered Shrimp with Lemongrass and Chilies. He was I guess expecting the nice small shrimp that we Westerners eat. But instead, they were HUMUNGOUSLY large shrimp, and they still had their skin,and feet, and so forth. After lunch we went to the lake. WE were going to have a cyclo ride. (That is were you go in basically a cart where the oldish men drive you by peddling their bicycles.) But we never got to it. We are resting now in our hotel room, waiting for the time that we will get dinner. (Well at least me.) Sumner and I were going to really go right around the corner to go pick up the stamps that we had ordered. But dad will not let us. Now since dad is here, we have to be more cautious.  I just finished packing for the 2 day boat trip at Halong Bay. I am excited because we get to go kayaking. For the first time!!!
Boo Hoo, We only have basicly one more day in Hanoi! AND Sumner, Mom, and I have been here for 3 weeks! (half of our trip!) I think I have gotten too used to Hanoi. I have also met some really nice people here, so I wish I could live here. (For a little time.)
 We just finished a scrumptiously yummy dinner. We all did not have anything special, so I don’t need to tell you what we had for dinner. Dad made it through the day without taking a nap.

~Hannah~

Guess what? We went to church today. We went to a international church. It felt I was in God’s family because there were people from more than 30 DIFFERENT nations attending church! Wow that is a lot of different people. Church there was a lot different to  our church at home. (Foothills Bible Church.) It was an  A LOT  smaller group, and the pastors seem to switch of every Sunday! Today their was a guest speaker who I think was from the Philippines, but I am not 100% sure. But I am sure that I did not fully understand the sermon, because his English was hard to understand at times. Also they did not have a certain building for the church. The sanctuary was a  ballroom from a BIG hotel. After we sang a lot of beautiful hymns, we did the offering. After the offering we had the sermon of something. I did not fully understand the topic of the sermon. Soon after the sermon, we finished church. We tried to hail a taxi, but the first driver said we could not go to our destination.( Which was to have lunch.)We finally hailed a taxi that would take us to lunch. We had lunch at a place called KOTO’s ( Which means Know One Teach One.) It was a school/restaurant that took in 30 students each year. Those students were either street kids, or disadvantaged kids. Such as the kid lived in a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very poor family, and could not afford for the kids to get education. When we were at the H’mong Mountain Retreat, we did a cooking class with a guy who came from a really, really, really, etc. And went to KOTO’s. And now, he is the Master Chef at Sapa Rooms. (The place we stayed a in Sapa.) We all had yummy lunches. Then we wandered our way to our hotel. After 3 seconds in the hotel, we headed out to go see if we could go get tickets at the Water Puppet Theatre. But when we got to the place where you order your tickets, the lady at the desk just said NO in the most rudest way. So finally we got her to give us some tickets for 9:00 tonight. I am really excited. Now we headed back to our hotel. But then I remembered that we had ordered some beautiful hand carved stamps. We got those back and finally went back to the hotel. now we are just hanging out in room. AND Dad  is on his way to Hanoi. I am SO excited. But he comes in the hotel at 11-12:00 at night! Surely we will be asleep! (hopefully!)

Hannah

Today we did a cooking class. It was fun, but I only had fun for a little bit. Why? Because We were making yummy fried spring rolls, when our cooking extraordinaire was trying to flip the spring rolls, she accidentally dropped them in the very hot (to me) cooking oil. It  splattered on my hand. It was not a very bad burn, but it still hurt very much. But I also learned how to treat a burn, with out ice, and the pain goes away pretty quickly. You need half of a lime or lemon. Then you simply squirt the lime juice on the places where you got burned and you are good. Also you can use some white light vinegar. After a while the pain will go way and you just have to be careful about where you put your hand.