2015

It's 12:47am on Jan 1st, 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Vietnam.  Fun to be the first of our family to bring in a new year!  Hope it will be a grand new year for everyone!

The Real Vietnam Countryside Bike Tour

IF you ever think your life is too hard, spend a day with the Vietnamese in their pursuits.

Barefoot.  Keeping the troughs free of mud.  Collecting the small crabs that are there.  I am sure they bite!

Sweet potato farming.  Again barefoot.

The biking group taking a 'selfie'.  The tour guides are in the orange top (Tringh) and behind her in the orange cap (Lily).

Fishing.  Yep, fishing.

Our biking trails were awesome.  Okay, pretty mucky, but fun!

This was before we biked across.  Feeling pretty confident.  

The bridge is the only way across the water.  Several families go together to build it and then they take turns collecting a toll from those who cross.  It is literally made of bamboo poles latched together with a strong netting material.  Really fun to bike across.  About 1/2 kilometer long.

One of the kids had a bike wreck so we had to make an unexpected stop to patch him up.  The villagers all came out to witness the production.  I loved it b/c the kid wasn't really hurt at all and it gave me a chance to take more pictures without holding up the group!

Sights of a fishing village

Oh, the zoom on my camera broke so all of the pictures were just what the camera eye could see.  Made it difficult, however I was proud of myself for getting what shots I could.

Another idea of one of our bike paths.

Time to cross to the next island.  We loaded up all of our bikes on this small boat.  Plus 11 people!  The boatman just dug his pole into the mud to anchor the boat.  The plank of wood loads in bikes and people.

This time we had a proper dock to unload onto.  Of course made of bamboo.  The man is Anton from Melbourne Australia.  He is a basketball player so he and Dad had fun talking sports.  

We biked from island to island, and from village to village

They invented these saucer type boats to avoid tax, since they are baskets and not boats.

The boats are not easy to navigate since you have to paddle differently than you would in a canoe or kayak.  If you paddle on the sides you will only spin.  Dad and a lady collided like bumper cars.

Best of Hoi An

There is an 'eye' on each boat to ward away the demons in the waters.  However our bike guide said it's probably more useful because then the fishermen will know which end of the boat is front after a night at the bar.

You buy a lighted lantern from a vendor( obviously they sell better if the vendor is a child)  Then you place the lantern on the river.  It's beautiful at night with dozens of lanterns floating on the river.

Ferry Crossing.  Full to capacity.

Tom on the hunt for a leather overnight bag

Crabs and fresh fish from the market to the restaurants or the street stalls.

I bet these eggs are really fresh.

Smokin' a cigar and probably 99 years old.  Love her sweater pinned together.

Pho noodles at the market

Best food we have eaten yet was from this hole in the wall.  Restaurant named Pho Xue.    Every bite was YUM.  Next time I'll take pictures of the food. Forgot.

Natalie, I am sure you could have done wonders with this window.

My Son Sanctuary relief

My Son Sanctuary

(Dad is in the blue jacket under the black umbrella)

My Son Sanctuary from 4th century AD to 13th century AD.  This is about an hour west of Hoi An.  Hoi An itself is quaint and picturesque, with the Central market of colorful stalls and shops.  

Hanoi

Hanoi is hard to capture in a few words.  Traffic, people, street vendors, sights, smells, food.  The streets are teeming with action.  The sidewalks are used to park the 2 million motorcycles, so you walk in the street.  The lights and crosswalks are only suggestions, but the chaos all seems to flow.  You learn quickly how to navigate through cars and cycles and motorcycles and vendors.  Some people would think the town is too crazy but we liked it.  The Vietnamese are a friendly, smiling, welcoming people.