Vietnam Le Finale

This is pretty much how the last days in Vietnam were.  A perfect ending at Mia Resort Nha Trang.

Check out this monster I found in the shower.  He was about the size of my hand.

 Family spa day.

 

Happy hour.

Shannon's long lost Vietnamese Sister Bi Lee Nyuell. 

My one day excursion into Nha Trang had one purpose.  Before I could work up the nerve to eat seafood on the beach, I had to get some liquid courage.

Lobster on the beach in Nha Trang.  The lobsters were $5, $10, and $15 dollars based on the size.  I was petrified it would make me sick. So, I decided that if I was gonna get sick, it would be from a small lobster and not a huge one.  That's my lobster on the right.  I made it a point to be there early (11am) because I'm not trying to eat lobster that's been sitting outside all day.

One more reference for Google:  Lobster on the beach on Nha Trang.  There were a few of these vendors in front of the Louisiana Brewhouse if you're trying to figure out where to go.

I can say that I did not get sick at all and that it was hands down the best lobster I've ever had.  She drizzled this garlic sauce on it while it cooked and I don't even know what the side sauce was.  It was superb.  My trip to Vietnam was complete.  Despite a few setbacks, a great time was had by all.  I'm thinking Northern Vietnam very soon.

Isabella being her goofy self and Max eating the plate of complimentary fruit in the back. 

I continue to be so impressed with my kids.  They have eaten things in places most Americans wouldn't try or wouldn't go because it didn't have a 100% sanitation rating.  They have seen and done amazing things and show amazing patience and willingness to try things.  Isabella and Max, when you read this years from now, know that Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.  You have done more things than most adults even dream.  I can't wait to see the amazing adults you will become.

-Love Daddy.

Vietnam Part 3

January 1 was a rough morning and I didn't even make it to midnight.  We rode back to town from the Farmstay to catch an early morning train.  I ran across the street for some coffee to go.

 Max continued to shy away from Asian women as Isabella watched on.

 We were originally told that we could make arrangements for a sleeper cabin on the train when we arrived in Vietnam.  Of course, when were tried to make those arrangements, only seats were available.

We were not amused as the train ride south was 14 hours. That's almost the same as our flight Stateside to Korea without the decent food, nice seats, friendly service, inseat videos, pillows......you get the idea.  It sucked, but it was an experience.

I will say that for about a 2 hour stretch of that ride, it was stunningly beautiful.  The ocean out one side and the jungle on the other. 

 

I finally had to take the kids to the dining car if that's what you want to call it.  We ordered noodles which was OK.  The only problem was the motion of the train made our soup slosh all over the table and eventually down my pants.

Finally, we made it to Nha Trang.

Vietnam Part 2

After an hour and a half flight to Dong Hoi, we found ourselves at what might be the smallest airport I've ever visited.  It could accommodate one plane.  It had one departure gate and one arrival area.  After we walked from the plane (You can see the blue plane in the background) to the baggage claim they truck your bags to the baggage carousel.  I'm all like "What's the point?"  they should just let us take our bags right off the plane.

As Max was watching the Grinch on his iTouch, I caught this guy enjoying the movie as well.

A van picked us up and about 5 minutes into the ride we must have looked bored because the driver popped in a DVD. I'm thinking maybe he's putting on a bootleg copy of Little Mermaid for the kids.  Instead, it was the video of the local bull fights.  The kind where 2 bulls try to gore each other.  I can't understand why it's not on Netflix.

We arrived at the Phong Nha Farmstay.  It was way the hell out in the middle of nowhere.  Like, this was the only thing you could call a hotel for miles.  It's owned by an Australian guy and his Vietnamese wife and is part backpacker hostel and part B&B.  The food and drink were excellent, the people and hospitality were great,  and the tours we went on were amazing.

These rice fields that surround the farmstay are massive and were being worked by hand by about a hundred farmers.  Old school rice farming not like Korea at all.

With the weather a bit cold and no TV, we were forced to make our own fun.

This area is known as Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park.  This area is just  being developed for tourists and we definitely got the feeling we were among the first wave of people to come up here.  The limestone deposits make for stunning vistas, blue water, and some of the largest caves in the world.

Shannon and her inappropriate hiking shoes.

Shannon was complaining there were no pics of her so I had to immediatly take one.  Here she is walking up to Paradise Cave.

At moments like this I wonder why I even bother with taking pictures.  You can't possibly convey the size or beauty of things like this.  BTW Isabella had run off with some kids at this point.

Here is the same picture as above, but with the cave visible.  It was long.

After Paradise Cave, we drove through the scenery and went for a lovely nature walk that we were assured had been swept for explosives.  Apparently they found 17 bombs on the path alone.  Laos is the most heavily bombed country, but this area of Vietnam is the most heavily bombed area on the planet.

 We ended the cold day with a short kayak trip down the river above and docked at the mouth of a huge cave called Dark Cave.  We dumped everything we didn't want to get wet and put headlamps on.  We swam so far into that cave that it lived up to it's name.  Isabella whimped out, but Max was a trooper.  It was the size of an airplane hangar.  Later, the guides urged us to take shots of rum to warm up.  It was an amazing day.

The next day we opted for a motorbike tour that required no motorbikes.  We were taken by Jeep to a Vietnamese War Memorial, then to boats that will take you to Phong Nha Cave.

My wife's graceful entrance into our horseless carriage.

The tunnel was low and during the rainy season no boats fit through the tunnel.  The below picture is really an attempted picture of the low ceilings you have to pass under and NOT the Vietnamese girl's butt and you'll never prove otherwise.

 

 We returned to the Farmstay to enjoy the New Year's party.

 

The meal was great. 

The next day we boearded the train ride from hell to get back to warmer climates.