Ha Noi - Ha Long Bay

Our last stop on our travels during the past week was Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay, located in Northern Vietnam. This visit was a shock to my system since it was the first time I have felt cold weather in over a year. I mean cold weather as in the month of November in Utah + a little humidity. Enzo thought wearing socks was pretty funny and Drey kept asking why his pants were so big?

Wednesday - Ha Noi

Our hotel had a crib set up for us knowing that we had a baby. Drey was more excited than anyone and wanted to relive the good ol' crib days.

Wish me luck on trying to get Enzo to sleep in a crib when we return to Utah. This kid is used to a King size bed!

We took a little walk around the city to see the Tet celebration and flowers. 

buying hot  dogs (I think).

The famous red bridge.

I actually saw geraniums and a supertunia ....get out! made me a little homesick.

Enjoying the BEST soft ice cream around. Coconut ice cream on a homemade sesame cone...mmmmm.. even the cold weather won't stop us from eating treats.

After a little nap for the boys we went to a water puppet show.

This was very fascinating to watch. I had a hard time at first trying to figure out how they were manipulating the puppets...are they swimming under water? Oh I get it, the puppets are on long sticks..haha.

At the end they revealed the puppet masters. To the left are the singers and instrument players.

It actually was a pretty cool experience.

Then for a ride on a Xich Lo...only in Nam.

Thursday - Ha Long Bay. We took the three hour van ride from Ha Noi to Ha Long Bay for a quick two day/one night stay on the Bay. Ha Long consists of many islets most of which are made of limestone. It's a remarkable place to visit.

Our ship, HaLong Phoenix Cruiser

Captain at the wheel and his first mate...

These ladies row around the bay and bump up next to the ship yelling at the passengers asking them to make a purchase. Then they use a net on a long pole to send it up to you. It's a mini snack bar / grocery mart on water.

The first afternoon was spent touring a large cave and visiting the beach.

view from the top

Do you think he's excited to be on the beach? 

rolling around in the sand

playing in the water...pants on and all, only because he's a 3 year old...

I have never seen Drey pull this face but I love it! What a goofball!

The second day we kayaked around the bay. Jane and Herb stayed back to watch the boys.  

This is what they had to deal with. Enzo was ready to jump out the window and onto our kayak when he saw us pass by.

Let's be honest, Troy did all the work and I took the pictures. In my defense,  I am not much of a kayaker  and I was just  pushing us around in circles. 

Coming back to the mother ship...I was a little relieved that I remained dry and didn't dump the kayak.

Our last activity before debarking was learning how to make fried spring rolls. 

Please ignore this face... I'm pretty proud of my springroll.

Vietnamese springrolls are the best!

Ha Long Bay was awesome and I enjoyed seeing another part of Vietnam. However, the cold weather made me glad to return to Saigon. On to the beach please :)