A Visit to Vietnam: Surf

This entry is called surf because we spent a lot of time on the water.

Our next field trip was a day tour in the Mekong Delta. This was a must-do on my list for Vietnam. Thankfully, we were doing it as a group as opposed to just to two of us. As a group, we had a translator, which was so helpful. I may look Vietnamese (and I may have a Vietnamese last name), but I don't speak or understand the language!

We started the day off with a bowl of pho in downtown Saigon, and then we were shuttled off to My Tho. My Tho, which is located in the Mekong Delta region, was a three hour drive south of Ho Chi Minh City (in a lot of traffic). The Mekong Delta is a maze of rivers, swamps and islands, which you travel through by boat. On the river, there are floating villages and markets.

To start our tour, we took a long-tail boat from the port to the first of four island, Unicorn Island. There, we stopped for kumquat honey tea and a sample of the tropical fruits grown in Vietnam. Durian is a must-try in Vietnam. It's a very fragrant, unique tasting, sweet and creamy fruit. Durian was one of my favourite fruits while I was growing up (in Canada), but unfortunately, I've developed an allergy to it. Jackfruit is another plentiful fruit in Vietnam. It has a slightly subtle sweet, milky flavour. We saw so many jackfruit trees during our walk through the island. During our tea time, a group of Vietnamese women also sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" in Vietnamese and English to us.

Soon after, we headed towards the dock for a journey into the river. We got into a rowing boat with two rowers and set off into the busy canals. It's amazing how smoothly traffic flows on the river. Everyone moved at the same pace (I guess no one is in a hurry to get anywhere), they knew their safety zones, and everyone was respectful of one another.

Even though there was an abundance of greenery, there was no shade and it was very muggy. I came prepared with my fedora hat, but everyone else was loaned a conical hat.

It wasn't a very long voyage - it only felt long because of how slow the boats moved, but it was a very smooth and enjoyable voyage. Soon, we were at another dock, and what do you know! Our long-tail boat and tour guide was already there waiting for us. We got back into the boat and sailed to Turtle Island, where we were shown how coconut candy's made. We got to sample a few different flavours of candy. While I had heard that they try really hard to force or guilt you into buying the candy, our tour guide and the workers did not pressure us at all.

We were then led down a dirt path for a horse pulled carriage to our lunch destination. They had a very small, young adult horse pulling the six of us. We were wary but she did it!

It was an interesting restaurant experience. There was a little zoo with a crocodile pen, caged pythons, chickens and porcupines in the same compound. The restaurant, Viet Nhat, had open air seating under a pavilion by the river. Our tour guide ordered a bunch of local dishes for us. We had fried elephant ear fish, salad rolls, stir-fried morning glory, and fried rice.

After lunch, we walked around the zoo area. They had a lot of tourist activities. You could buy a fish and feed it to a crocodile on a fishing pole, or buy a bucket of small fish to feed bigger fish.

Soon after, our tour guide was back and we were in another boat heading towards another island. Phoenix island was next. Phoenix island was probably the most lush and charming out of the all the islands we visited. Lots of greenery surrounding colourfully painted dragon pillars.

A note worth mentioning... We saw a lot of caged roosters on the other two islands, but on Phoenix, we saw a lot of advertisements for cockfights, which took place earlier in the day. We were also shown a large arena used for cockfights. It is a cruel reality, but this is real life in Vietnam. Cockfighting is a legal traditional sport in Vietnam. It is only illegal to bet on the sport.

Phoenix island was pretty much deserted by the time we were touring it. Perhaps most of the tourists passed through in the morning during the cockfights. We passed a narrow bridge made of two bamboo poles known as Monkey Bridge (bottom left). I didn't dare walk across it, but some of us did. We toured the thatched museum dedicated to the Coconut Monk, and viewed the Hoa Binh Tower. We also walked along a couple rows of souvenir shops before arriving at the other end of the island, where our original long-tail boat was waiting for us.

I'm not sure why we didn't visit Dragon island, but by the time we were leaving Phoenix island, it was late in the afternoon and we were all so very exhausted. On the way back to the mainland, we enjoyed a young coconut.

It took a little less than three hours to get back into the city, and most of us fell asleep during the ride.

Our group headed to Caravelle Saigon for dinner. We were severely underdressed for the five-star hotel restaurant, but a reservation had been made earlier in the day, and it couldn't be cancelled. Luckily, Ho Chi Minh City was full of tourists, so we managed to blend in. There was a wide range of food from sushi to wonton soup to salads. There was also a seafood buffet which featured a raw bar. You're able to choose your own seafood, and how you want it cooked. There were many different types of desserts, including a chocolate fountain. Our meal was delicious!

We hit the road right after dinner. We had a 1.5 hour drive back to where we were staying, and we had a loooong day. Coming up, we'll be on land! Any guesses what that entry will be called? Stay tuned for more fun in Vietnam!

A Visit to Vietnam: Introduction

Last week, we made an overseas trip to Vietnam. It was a short trip, as my fiancé was there on a work tour, and I was tagging along for a few days of sightseeing. This was our first time in Asia; and although, we are both Asian and we were warned - there was still a bit of a culture shock!

Over the years, Vietnam has become one of Southeast Asia's most popular tourist destination. Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it was known as before 1976, is a completely modern world. The city was hectic and chaotic, but the suburbs were much calmer and traditional.

Our flight to Vietnam was our longest flight to date. We flew 12.5 hours to Taipei and connected from there to HCMC on a 3.5 hour flight.

The first few days did not involve much sightseeing. We stayed in the Binh Duong province, a significant manufacturing zone just an hour and a half north of HCMC. Although there was heavy traffic, it was a quiet area. Not many people spoke English in the province. During these first few days in Vietnam, we also ate a lot. I felt like we were going on a bit of a food tour! Every morning, we woke up when the rooster crowed to enjoy the sunrise (pictured below) and we were served a home cooked Vietnamese breakfast - usually rice or noodles.

Also pictured above is home cooked Vietnamese pork noodle soup, also known as banh canh. It is a simple, clear pork stock packed with flavour from hours of simmering with thick, chewy noodles and pig's knuckle. I usually opt for just the meat, and skip the knuckles, but I definitely recommend this dish!

We visited cashew forests and supermarkets to try locally grown fruits (above). Of course, we had to have pho in Vietnam. Unfortunately, it was not homemade and tasted very much like the pho at home. We also tried drinks from Phuc Long, a popular tea and coffee chain (below right). I would consider it as the Vietnamese Starbucks because there was one at just about every corner in the city.

We also experienced our first Thai massage. In my opinion, this is a must-do! Masseuses do not use oils or lotions in a traditional Thai massage. Instead of "massaging" the muscles, the body is pulled, stretched, rocked and compressed. It was definitely not what I was used to, but it did relieve some aching muscles!

We were off to somewhat of a slow start, but it gave us a bit of time to get into the rhythm of life in Vietnam. It also allowed us to get used to the hot, dry and humid weather because we were spending equal amounts of time in the outdoors and in air conditioned spaces. I can't imagine how hard it would have been had we been thrown into the "desert" right away! But boy, people weren't kidding when they say it's a different kind of hot in Vietnam. The air is so thick you could almost cut through it with a knife. It was definitely not comfortable if you are outside for a long period of time, but we were a little accustomed to this weather due to our trips to the Caribbean (minus the ocean breeze). And I enjoy hot weather, so I wasn't as uncomfortable as my fiancé.

In the next half of the week, we toured the Mekong River and Ho Chi Minh City. Stay tuned for our surf and turf adventures in Vietnam!

Pit Stop in Portland

Vancouver is a beautiful city to call home, but I've always had a yearning desire to travel the world. I'm always planning our next trip - even before we return from our current trip. However, our next family cruise will be in September, over a whole year later after our last. So at the beginning of the year, my girl friends and I decided to go on a road trip in the spring to get us the heck outta Vancity.

We decided a long weekend trip to Portland, Oregon would be a good idea for a girls' trip. We didn't do much planning or research prior to this trip. Granted, two of my friends had gone on road trips to Portland before, so I put my trust in them.

Our Friday started at 7:30 AM. One of my friends drove the entire time. Yes, she's a trooper! It took us a whole day to get to Portland. This included a long border wait, a lunch stop at the Cheesecake Factory, a stop at Uniqlo in Bellevue, a couple bathroom breaks and a stop at the Nike outlet. By the time we arrived at our hotel, it was 8 PM. It was a looooong drive.

We stayed at a Best Western just outside of the city centre near the airport. It was a close 10-15 minute drive into Downtown, but because it wasn't in Downtown, the rate was much lower. We settled in at the hotel, freshened up, and headed into town for dinner. Because it was late, we headed to the Pine Street Market for Marukin Ramen and dessert from Wiz Bang Bar (Salt & Straw). We also got some freebies from Trifecta Annex. At the end of the night, they leave out unsold pastries and bread. They were still fresh!

Our Saturday started with brunch at The Tin Shed, where we had to wait about an hour for a table. No biggie, because the food was delicious!

We walked around the Alberta Arts Neighbourhood, and popped in a few stores and grabbed a coffee from Petite Provence. The area had a lot of street murals on the buildings.

Afterwards, we went back to Downtown. We found a great brick wall for a photoshoot, but we eventually decided to walk over to Northwest District. It was quite a walk - almost 20 blocks! There, we stopped by Blue Star Donuts and shopped around the area. We walked back to Downtown for dinner. We ended up waiting for over an hour for a table at Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen. It's similar to Phnom Penh in Vancouver. I personally prefer Phnom Penh for its authenticity and taste.

The next morning, we had a plans to head out to the coast. But first, we stopped by Voodoo Doughtnut early in the morning. Even though we were there at opening, we still waited for about half an hour for our donuts. The drive to the water was about an hour and a half on a one lane winding road. Upon arrival, we grabbed a quick bite at Tom's Fish and Chips. We spent about two hours walking along the beach, and admiring Haystack Rock. It was very windy and cold; the waves were roaring.

We started our trip back home in the late afternoon. We stopped for dinner at Red Lobster in Lynnwood before crossing the border late that night.

So that concludes our girls' trip! It was a lot of time in the car and a lot of food (and a lot of waiting!) in a short amount of time! I would have enjoyed a longer road trip, just to able to take everything in. However, we did the best we could with three days, and it was definitely worth the trip.

One Disney Day

Remember when I said we weren't done? Well, this post is way overdue! With new responsibilities at work and wedding planning in full gear, I've had to put blogging on the back burner. May is starting to look a little bit less hectic, so I can finally finish this post which has been sitting in my Drafts folder for the last eight weeks. 

Let's take this back to the very beginning, shall we? 

One of our very first trips together as a couple (eight years ago) was to Disneyland. I hadn't gone since I was a kid, so I was initially a little reluctant. Eventually, I came around, and needless to say, it was the best decision I made.

If you are wondering... yes, the Disney experience as an adult is just as incredible - especially when you haven't been there in a decade. There is something so magical about the way Disney makes a person feel. It brings out the inner child in all of us, and Hakuna Matata! Disney allows us to cast all our worries aside and be happy, even if it's only for a little while.  

Disney is completely life-changing. In no other place on Earth had I felt more happiness, more magic, more joy... or more frustration, more impatience, and more broke in my life. Nope, Disney is not all pixie dust. There's blood, sweat and tears. Disney is not for the weak, and while it is one of the many things that brought my fiancé and I together, it was also something that truly tested our relationship. Nonetheless, Disney hold a special place in our hearts. 

The last time we visited Disney World was in 2013. We couldn't fit a trip in during our Oasis of the Seas cruise in 2015. So this time around, we wanted to make sure we got our Disney fix, even if it was only for a few hours.

We disembarked around 9:30 AM. We chose not to walk off the ship with our luggage because it was a little too early for us. We needed our sleep and we didn't want to be too tired, especially since the fiancé would need to drive us to Orlando. Luckily, the timing worked out just fine. We took a taxi to the airport, picked up our rental car and we were on our way. The three hour drive from the port of Miami to Orlando wasn't as bad as we had heard. We did not run into much traffic, although we did take the turnpike to our destination. 

We arrived in Orlando around noon and made a quick pitstop at Target for some snacks, toiletries and water. We checked into our hotel to freshen up and pack our bags for Disney World. Because we were only staying for one night, we chose to stay at a moderately priced Best Western rather than a Disney hotel. All hotels on Disney property have park tickets for sale, so we purchased our one day park ticket for Magic Kingdom at the hotel. This enabled us to skip the Ticket Office queue at the park. Unfortunately, we just missed the shuttle to Disney so we had to wait quite a while for the next one. Because we were not at a Disney hotel, the shuttles came less frequently. After switching from the shuttle to the monorail and going through security checks, we were in Magic Kingdom at 3 PM!

As we reached Cinderella's castle, the Festival of Fantasy Parade began. We had walked right into an area where you cannot leave unless there was a break in the parade, so we decided to stay and enjoy the celebration. 

First order of business, the most important reason for our visit... Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! We were quite excited to ride it. It was a 75 minute wait with no FastPass+. We sucked it up and joined the queue. Mine Train is kind of like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was bumpy, exciting and it was fast! We loved it.  

Next, we grabbed a quick bite at The Friar's Nook. Their speciality is mac 'n' cheese. It was our first meal since we left our cabin around 8:30, so we were starving. Next up was Splash Mountain. Since it was scorching hot, we needed to cool down. This was one of the few rides we had a FastPass+ for. But even with a FastPass+, we still had to wait a good half hour for the ride. We treated ourselves to a Dole Whip afterwards and watched the Mark Twain Riverboat sail into the sunset. 

We actually got a whole lot done in nine hours! We managed to hit up our favourites: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Journey of the Little Mermaid and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. I don't even think we stopped to eat!

We wanted to be close to the castle for the viewing of Wishes so we headed over to the area early. Luckily, we found a good spot about half an hour before the show. Wishes always makes me emotional, no matter how many times I watch it. This show was as magical as the last. Little did I know it was the last time I'd be watching it. (Last week, a new fireworks show, Happily Ever After, replaced it.)

It was a nightmare getting out of the area after Wishes ended. I definitely remember Magic Kingdom being more organized three years ago, but this was by far one of the most suffocating crowds I'd been in. We managed to squeeze into Tomorrowland for Space Mountain and Stitch's Great Escape. After a quick walk through Storybook Circus, we ended up at Peter Pan's Flight for our last ride. As we walked back to Main Street, Disney's Electrical Parade was starting so we stayed behind to watch it.

We left the park well after midnight and caught the last monorail and the last bus back to our hotel. We checked out early the next day to make the drive back to the Miami airport to catch our flight home. We were ahead of schedule, so we even managed to make a quick stop at Sawgrass Mills! (However, in hindsight, it was a bad idea as we just made it to the airport in time for boarding.)

When I first thought about whether a day trip to Disney World was doable, a lot of people told me it would be impossible. And I had thought so too! There were a lot more negatives outweighing the positives. It was going to be a lot of driving. There might be traffic. It was going to be expensive. We would only get a few hours at the park. So throughout the cruise, we went back and forth. Eventually, halfway through the cruise, we decided it was just easier to go shopping at Sawgrass Mills. We even booked a hotel in Sunrise, Florida! But on our last day on the Carnival Glory, we were longing for Disney again, so we decided to make the trek to Magic Kingdom. Let me tell ya, it was well worth it.

As Walt Disney said, "if you can dream it, you can do it." And you know what? Call us crazy but "it's kind of fun to do the impossible."