Happy New Year!

 Day 107 – Written by Aus en route to Bangkok on December 31, 2010

Greetings everybody, we hope you all enjoyed a great Christmas and holiday.  We had a fantastic time for our Christmas in Koh Chang.  Time has continued to fly by, and we are now en route to Bangkok to spend New Year’s Eve with Craig before saying goodbye to him tomorrow morning.  We were all very sad to have to leave Koh Chang and the rest of our friends there, but with Craig on his way home on an early flight tomorrow we had no choice but to leave if we wanted to spend his last night in Thailand with him.  So we now have our sights set on a Bangkok New Year celebration.  It is possible that it could be more mellow than the ones we are used to with friends back home, as we kind of overdid it last night with our farewell to Koh Chang partying.  

Before I go on detailing our time in Koh Chang and our Christmas celebrations I would like to say Happy New Year to all our friends and family back home.  Again, we will miss our usual New Year’s party with the gang back home, and miss being near family for the end of the holidays.   But we certainly have nothing to complain about and are lucky to have our good friend Craig here to help us ring in the new year.   As New Years is somewhat of a time for reflecting, we found ourselves going through the process of summing up a few of the year's travel fun facts.  We found it ineresting to know that in 2010:

- we have been on approximately 76 flights between the two of us in 2010, averaging about 3 hours each in duration, meaning over 100 hours in the air each.  We estimate the the total kilometers travelled in the air for each of us individually at about 70000 km or more. 

- we have travelled to 12 countries and heard 12 different languages.
- we have had all sorts of great adventures and could not pick a single or even shortlist of favourites, each place has felt like the forerunner for favourite while we’ve been there, and we have special memories of all our travel destinations. 
So there you go, lots of travel for us obviously this year, and 2011 is looking like it too will include similar totals.  We find ourselves feeling very lucky, and also very grateful to all who helped us make this all happen by contributing to our trip of a lifetime with their wedding gifts.  If you are one of those people, thank you!  We have had some amazing experiences, in many cases, thanks to great and generous gifts.


Now I will proceed with the regular blogging.  When we last posted it was Christmas Eve and we were gearing up for our Christmas party.  Well it did not disappoint.   Koh Chang Christmas was a real blowout.  Too hard really to try and capture all  the details, so I will just say that we partied until very late and had a fantastic time with all of our friends during the Lonely Beach Nature Bar Christmas party.  It was a massive party right on the beach complete with fireworks, fire dancing, and even people jumping through fire hoops (not us of course, as we value our lives).  Here are a couple shots of our night Christmas Eve:
Tim & Terry enjoying Christmas Eve dinner at Nature Bar…

Gearing up for a big night!

Fire show…….

The fire show was not entirely limited to professionals, and all who were brave (read stupid) enough to try their drunk luck at jumping themselves through a ring of fire were welcome to give it a go.   It almost looks like Craig is thinking about it in this photo…….

Someone who actually did it successfully…..

At midnight there was a big celebration to officially celebrate Christmas, and they had more pyrotechnics up their sleeves with a big sign wishing Merry Christmas…..

The Knotty Travellers celebrating Christmas in Thailand…….

After the big party, we got only a couple hours of sleep before Kim was up and jumping on the beds alerting us all to the fact that it was now finally Christmas day.  We all had a bit of a slow start that morning and tried as best as possible to keep the party going from the night before.  At breakfast I’m not sure whose idea it was but we ended up all starting our days with tequila shots… and so the Christmas day party had begin!
We topped off the day with a homemade Christmas dinner cooked by our friends at the Nature Bar.  After dinner we headed out to Kai Bae for a some final cocktails before collapsing into our beds at about 9PM.  It had been two solid days of Christmas celebrations, so we were exhausted.  Here are a few photos of our Christmas…

Kim alerting Craig to the fact that it was now Christmas morning……



Tequila shots after breakfast… a healthy way to start Christmas day on Lonely Beach!

Dressed as proud Canadians with me even earning the name ‘Captain Canada’, we are feeling good on our way to the daily ritual ‘Sunset beer’ at Nature….

Christmas Dinner….

Not actually taken Christmas day, but Craig decided to make use of the Santa suit before we all left on our last day.  People still seemed to like it despite being a week late….

On boxing day we were set to start a scuba open water diver certification course, but due to prolonged exhaustion we decided to delay.  That turned out to be a good idea as we all needed some extra time to recuperate after all the excitement.   Our boxing day was spent taking it easy and grabbing some sun by the pool.  We also watched Christmas Vacation because it is a Christmas tradition, and it’s hilarious!  Due to our delay on boxing day, we had to wait an extra day for our instructor to become available again, so we spent the 27th exploring a bit of the island.  We had hoped to go on an elephant tour, but due to it being high season we were unable to get a booking.  Instead we explored Bang Bao, the fishing village at the bottom of Koh Chang island.  The fishing here is quite good, and most catch is sent off the island for export.  We managed to find a place that was serving fresh catch and Craig and I ordered a massive platter of fresh BBQ’d seafood, it was fantastic.  Some photos of our day exploring…

Filling up our bikes with Cola bottle gasoline on the way to Bang Bao….

Bang Bao pier

Our awesome seafood platter…

Another little beach community south of Bang Bao that we explored called appropriately, Tropical Beach….

And a few more scenes from Koh Chang not necessarily tied to any particularly interesting stories….
Kim and Craig enjoying a swim…

Kim and Tim while we watch yet another beautiful sunset….

Kim and I at yes, another sunset….

Tez and Rachel, great friends, having a laugh at the nature bar

Our daily scenery and setting on Lonely Beach while we would watch sunsets…

After our day exploring, we headed home and began our course of study for the scuba course.  Our instructor Steve was quite the drill sergeant and he had us spend about 3 hours doing knowledge review and quizzes.  We got an early night and got set for our diving the next day.  Luckily, this time there were no reasons to further delay our diving, and we were bound once again for the pier at Bang Bao to meet our boat.  We got quite lucky in doing this course, as we had essentially 2 instructors (due to Tim being a divemaster student, he was able to assist in our instruction) for a group of 4 people, so it was very personalised attention.  We had a great day and start to our 3-day certification course.  Unfortunately Craig decided that diving is probably not for him, and he opted not to join in on days 2 and 3.  He instead chose to make the most of his last few days in the sun and he spent the days on the beach and pool at the hotel.  We continued our diving and I am now proud to say that Kim and I are certified open water divers, meaning we can dive anywhere in the world and can go to a depth of 18 metres!  We have been told that diving in Egypt is not to be missed, so perhaps we will use our new skills there if/when we get there.  Here are a few photos of our days in the scuba course….

Chilling out on the sundeck upstairs waiting for the dive site….

Feeling very streamlined in our wetsuits……

A panorama of the scene aboard the boat…

One day when we came off the boat we had a great sunset in the distance as we came off, it was nice, like every day in Koh Chang….

Tim with Scuba Steve, our instructor for our Open Water course….

Kim and I and Andreas finishing our written exam….

Once we finally were certified, of course we had to celebrate, and the timing happened to coincide with our last night in Koh Chang, so we ended up having quite another big party, which was really not planned.  We had planned to save our energies for today, but it did not turn out that way and we were out until near dawn. We met a nice couple from Sweden during the course and they joined us for the evening.  We had been hoping to take in a Muay Thai boxing fight as there had been a large poster up all week advertising a match, but when the time finally arrived we learned that it was a bit of a ploy and we were actually in a ladyboy bar where the slogan was “Tuck It!, Have a Bucket!”, and of course the fights did not happen.  We didn't let that spoil our evening through, and we had a great night enjoying our last night with great friends on Koh CHang.  Here are a few photos….

Craig modelling the vodka red bull bucket, a Koh Chang favourite….

Kim at the Scubar enjoying some Banana Chocolate roti pancake from across the street, the best street food on Koh Chang…

At the Om bar with our Swedish scuba friends, Andreas and Ann….

And that is it….you are now up to date.  We wish you all the best for a great New Year’s Eve and a safe and happy 2011. 

Until next time,
The Knotty Travellers

Merry Christmas from the Knotty Travellers

Day 100 – Written by Aus in Koh Chang, Thailand on the morning of December 24, 2010


First off, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.  We hope that all of our friends and family are enjoying their own version of Paradise for Christmas.  The only thing that could make ours better is having more of you, the people we love, around us for the holidays. 

As you see from the header, we are now on our 100th day of travel.  That is approximately halfway through our trip.  That is amazing to us, as we have been anticipating this trip for so long and now that it is here it is just flying by.  We thought that seven months was a lot of time, but we are finding out that we are just scratching the surface of all the infinite possibilities available in terms of adventures and travel.  We have already had to cut some places off our wishlist, notably Maldives (due to cost), Mongolia (due to time), Nepal (time), Russia (visas), South Korea (security), Turkey (time),and the whole of South America.  Time just flies, and we are definitely loving every minute, but as usual, we want more time!  For now though, we are savouring every minute of having a few friends around for Christmas. 

When we last posted, we were on our way to Bangkok.  Well we obviously made it, and are now all the way down in far south-eastern Thailand on the island of Koh Chang.   And we are pleased to report that we have successfully rendezvoused with Craig.  We have also met Tim from England who is here doing his scuba master’s course, so we have a nice little ready-made group of friends to spend Christmas with.  There is not much to report on in terms of events since last post.  We arrived in Bangkok, had a frustrating experience trying to catch a shuttle to the Best Western at the airport, and then had another Bangkok taxi experience trying to get downtown to apply for tourist visas for visiting India.  This blog entry though is not so much like the rest of our posts, but more of just a way to say all the best to everyone at Christmas.  So rather than go into great detail about our last few days, I can tell you that after a comfortable minibus ride and a short ferry trip, we have arrived in what can certainly be described as Paradise.  It is not overrun with tourists, the vibe is chilled, the weather is amazing, and we have great company.  We hope everyone else is as content as we are over the holidays.   For your amusement some photos of our surroundings for Christmas…..

We pulled out the welcome mat for Craig at the airport, who also has a flattering nickname….

Our digs over Christmas……

And now a shortened but special Knotty Traveller rendition of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas’:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Koh Chang, we were so happy to see our old friend from Pang….

The stockings were hung by the bedpost with care….

In hopes that Saint Timothy, soon would be there…

The children were nuzzled, all snug in their beds, while visions of Changovers danced in their heads….

and Kim in her swimsuit and I in my cap, the Knotty Travellers had already been across half the world map.

When in the nature bar there arose such a clatter, the beer just kept coming, platter by platter….

Away on our motos, we fly like a flash, we have such a good time here on so little cash.

The big full moon party that we had just missed, had just intersected with the winter solstice.  When, what to our wondering eyes should appear, but our good buddy Craig with fistfulls of Thai beer. 

With the time flying by, so lively and quick, Of all places to spend Christmas, this was a great pick.  More rapid than eagles the hours fly by, we’ve all enjoyed a few plates of Pad Thai.

Now Kimmie! Now Craiger! Now Tim and Terry!  We are sure that this Christmas will be very merry.  With Tim right next door and Craig down the hall, every bit of the day, we are having a ball.

Christmas came early when Craig brought our new iPhone, and now Kim can’t even leave it alone. 

This must be about as good as it gets, and we are being spoiled by world class sunsets.

We miss those back home, but have great friends here.  In just a week, it will be the New Year.  We’re loving each minute and the trip has just flown, its quite safe to say that our minds have been blown.

The nights are cool and the days are hot, 2010 was the year that we tied the knot.  So thankful to all who gifted our marriage, we’re hoping for some time before we  travel with  baby carriage. 

We have scrimped and saved to put this trip within reach, and now we’ve found paradise here on Lonely Beach.  With the sun on our faces and a great group of friends, we hope that our time here never ever ends. 

We wish we could share these great moments with you, but we hope that great moments are finding you too.  With friends to my left and friends to my right, I should sign off and say Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Cheers,
The Knotty Travellers

Wham Bam, Thank You Vietnam

Written by Aus, aboard flight to Bangkok from Hanoi, December 20, 2010.


Well here we are on yet another international flight, to yet another country.  It is amazing how quickly time flies, and Vietnam was no exception.  This time we are bound for Thailand, where in approximately 12 hours we will rendezvous with our good friend Craig, who will be joining us for 10 days in Eastern Thailand, and New Year’s  Eve in Bangkok.  We are very excited about having a friend with us over Christmas, and are hoping it makes us feel more like being at home.   We will both be missing our families and friends a lot over Christmas, so having one familiar face will be great.  Kim also has a friend from England named Tim who is currently in the same area we will be in, so we will expect to see him over the holidays and we look forward to that.  But now is the time for telling the stories of the remainder of our time in Vietnam.

When we last posted we were on our way to Danang, which is in central Vietnam.  We had a fantastic time in Ho Chi Minh City (AKA Saigon), and we continued to be impressed with this country when we got to Da Nang.  We did not spend a lot of time in the city of Danang, it was more of a jumping off point for other adventures in central Vietnam.  We stopped quickly before leaving the city at a museum featuring the Champa culture, which is essentially Hinduism.  The Champa were displaced from this area when a prince gave away most of central Vietnam as a dowry for a Viet bride.  She is said to be the most expensive bride of all time.  Da Nang is also famous for its beaches.  They are world class, and the rapid pace of resort development reflects that.  Driving along what was known by the Americans during the war as ‘China Beach’, you could really see the place changing, and it is happening quickly.  You see megaresorts on one side of the road and villas, and apartments, and evidence of lots of new money, and on the other side of the road you can see the remnants of the displaced culture.  Farmers are becoming shopkeepers and construction workers, and everywhere you look you can see bulldozed land and construction materials.  The Vietnamese have an amazingly progressive attitude toward it all, in that they know it benefits them economically, and they are happy for it, so they tolerate things like having their favourite fishing spots being privatized for tourists.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world that is so open to change for the sake of foreign investment.  For better or worse, Vietnam is changing rapidly.  I have to say, we appreciated all the little comforts such as a strong communication infrastructure where high speed internet was a given, not a luxury.

After Da Nang we were off to the charming little city of Hoi An, which is famous for its many tailor, shoe, and jewellery shops that will make custom fitted items for you in 24 hours.  It is also a beautiful and tourist friendly city that has an old French quarter that is off limits to motorbikes (which is not always obeyed).   We really enjoyed walking around the streets and browsing the many shops.  We had a guided walking tour (though it was not necessary as the streets are very pedestrian friendly and things are very close), and we had a short river cruise to check out some spots on the fringe of the city.  We also took the chance to to get some items made.  Kim was after some dresses for New year’s Eve, and I loved the idea of getting some custom made shoes to fit my giant feet.  Kim found a nice little shop called Trang that was right near our hotel with a very clever name, the Hoi An hotel.  I also took the opportunity to get a ring made as the cheap travel rings we had been wearing that we got in Fiji finally broke on us, as they were just hematite.  Here are some photos of our adventures in Hoi An…..

Lunch at a great little place called the Cargo Club…if you go here, have the vegetable curry soup…best 42,000 dong (about $2) you will ever spend….

River cruisin’ in Hoi An….

The Japanese covered bridge, going way back in history to when Hoi An was a large trading port on the silk road.  Another interesting fact is that during typhoon season, this bridge and most of town will be covered by flood for days on end….hard to fathom but apparently true…

An embroidery shop, another tourist draw to Hoi An. They had beautiful hand embroidered artwork that we wish we had room for in the luggage…

This poor girl who gave us the tour was able to speak enough English to deliver the tour, but had a hard time catching a few of my jokes about patio lanterns and baby silk worms.  Kim felt bad because I think the tour guide thought Kim was laughing at her…

One of the many custom shoe making shops in Hoi An…..pretty much all the shops are either shoemakers, tailors, or jewellers…

Of course we took the opportunity to get some custom shoes made at a price we could afford.  Here’s Kim contemplating the infinite possibilities….

Pretty simple process really, at least for the flip flops we had made.  They just trace your foot on a piece of paper and measure the height of your feet.  Easy.

And Kim could not stop at just shoes.  At these prices why not take the opportunity to get clothing custom made t your specifications and exact measurements.  Here’s Kim being fitted for a few outfits she had made……

Apart from having dirt cheap custom shoes fit for giant feet, Hoi An also had a local beer on offer called Larue that could be had for 4000 dong per glass, which is about 20 cents.  Cheers!

 And now some street scenes from our walking about in Hoi An….

This lady was chewing betel nut, not sure if it has any psychotropic properties, but she sure was happy, and that made us happy…

Kim snapped this one a father teaching his little boy about how to clean fish, a very necessary skill for local people…..

Our second day in Hoi An we got to take a tour of the My Son (mee shoon) ruins, another remnant of the Champa culture now displaced.  It was really neat, but they have had a hard time keeping the buildings intact, with only one of many complexes still intact.  They are reconstructing many currently, but we were glad to see what was still standing.  Again, hard to describe and easy to show……

More panoramas, which we cant get enough of now that we have this new camera

Our guide, Na, is in this one and is sporting her umbrella and sun hat, again to keep her skin fair…..

After the My Son tour, it was back to Hoi An for another leisurely night strolling the streets.  We really loved the atmosphere of Hoi An, and if anyone of any age is planning a visit to Vietnam, we highly recommend you see it.  The next day we awoke to rain, and were sad to have to leave Hoi An.  But we knew we had yet even more great things planned for us in Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam, during the time of the emperors and dynasties.  We visited the Imperial City, including the citadel, the forbidden city.  Now I will ask you to please hold your laughter, as her misfortune is now becoming comical, but I have to tell you of yet another injury for Kim.  This time while descending the stairs at the gates of the Imperial City, Kim had a fall that was quite concerning.  The stairs were wet, and they are of course well used due to the high volume of tourists, so they are extremely slippery.  Kim started falling, and since it was raining and quite cold, she had her hands in her pockets and could not do much to brace herself or stop her fall.  It was hard to watch, myself, and our guide, Na, were both at the top of the staircase above Kim as she fell, and there was nothing we could do.  I was just thinking please don't hit your head and try to sit down.  Na also looked terrified.  After some twisting and turning Kim eventually stopped, and she got up quickly and laughed at herself, so that was a relief.  She figured she got away with just a few bruises on her legs.  But after a few hours her toe was feeling quite sensitive, and we’re quite sure it is broken.  So she has braced it and is hoping for it to heal quickly.  She is fine and this one is just a small issue we can live with.  So no need to worry, and its okay to laugh---we both did.  Here are some photos of our visit to Hue. 

Kim with Na, sometime after the fall, feeling fine….

Na took this one, she said it is much better when you get a perfect reflection

This one shows the long historic connection between the Buddhists and the Nazis…..

That was obviously a joke.  If you believed me, go directly to jail.  Do not pass go and do not collect $200.  We were explained that the symbol that looks similar to a swastika is the same meaning as the yin and yang symbol.

This one is a fun photo because it looked to me like happy Buddha was on his cell phone….

Monks, monks, and more monks.   There are places of worship everywhere.  This is true not only in Vietnam, but has been a theme throughout Asia thus far.  It seems religious ritual is more part of their daily lives here than it is for most western religions.

Emperor Goofball…..

After a full afternoon of touring we were dropped at our hotel, the Huong Giang Hotel, which was again impressive.  We really love how far a dollar goes in Vietnam.  We were pretty exhausted and didn't feel like venturing out in the rain, so we found a little pizza delivery place that worked out great—it wasn't Pizza Pizza but for impromptu pizza delivery in Vietnam we were impressed.  The next morning we woke up and had another lovely hotel breakfast featuring lots of fresh fruit and sampling some of the local mystery dishes.  Our day was filled by visiting the tombs of a few of the emperors in the countryside around Hue.  Each tomb reflects the personality and character of the emperor buried there.  We visited two very different tombs that certainly reflected different personalities.  One was a nice laid back modest (as much as an emperor’s tomb can be) complex in the forest, and the other was an over the top gaudy glam-fest. 

It was interesting to think about how people with the means and ability choose to immortalize themselves.  Obviously as an emperor you probably develop quite an ego, but it was interesting to see some contrast in how a few of those with unlimited means chose to make their final resting place and physical legacy.  Anyhow, a few photos of our tour...

We may have been visiting tombs, but we kept the mood pretty light.  Here’s Kim trying to blend in…..

She also found a dragon that she had to play with because she thought it was cute…

This is the tomb of the more vain emperor….

The Knotty Travellers in Hue, Vietnam……

After the tombs we were headed to the airport in Hue to board our flight to Hanoi, the biggest city in northern Vietnam.  We arrived from our Vietnam Airlines flight and were greeted by our guide as we were becoming accustomed to with all the fantastic service we were receiving from Ann Tours, our one-stop-shop Vietnam tour booking choice.  When we arrived we had a small complication to explain to our guide.  We had orders from Kim’s doctors to get some follow-up tests to confirm she has rid herself of her parasite, so we thought we would take advantage of a driver and English speaking assistance from the guide.  However, nothing is as easy as it may seem.  We asked the guide to take us to a hospital and help us explain the tests we needed.  Well he made an attempt at it, but he was no medical expert himself, so after about 30 minutes of frustrating communications where he was insisting he could get them to understand while we tried to bite our tongue that we could tell he was wasting his time, we decided to move on from the first location.  Our guide explained to us that he had a date that night and that we may be better off waiting until the morning to take care of the testing.  That turned out to be decent advice, and after a nice night’s sleep in the Medallion Hotel in Hanoi, we woke early to head out the International SOS Clinic where they spoke very good English and instantly understood what we needed.  They were expensive, but it was the only option we had, and we have insurance so, whatever!  Anyhow, I am happy to report that the tests revealed that Kim is parasite free, and just for good measure I was tested as well and also no parasite.  Now we could put that whole mess behind us and focus on enjoying northern Vietnam, starting with our full day tour of Hanoi. 

Our first stop on the Hanoi tour was the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh.  Maybe we were ignorant about what a mausoleum was, but we were both very surprised about the whole experience.  It was weird.  First of all it was a circus of tourists, with lines and sub lines and security checks and screenings, and a gradual progression towards a hands at your sides, no talking, look sombre, no cameras or devices of any kind, single file march around a large room containing Ho Chi Minh’s very well preserved remains.  So it was interesting to see, but we did not like being herded as we were.  However, if you’re in the neighbourhood, I suppose we can still recommend a visit.  We also learned at this stop that Hanoi is celebrating its 1000^th anniversary this year, being founded in 1010, it is I think the oldest city we have ever been in (that we know of).  At this stop we also saw the Presidential Palace and One Pillar Pagoda, both of which were not all that interesting to be honest.  After the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum we went to the Ethnology museum, where our guide tried very hard to make a boring museum interesting.  I suppose it would have been interesting if your only stop in all of Southeast Asia were this one museum, but we have the luxury of actually being able to travel to all the places featured in the museum and meet many of the different tribes and peoples whose cultures were on display.  So we moved through that pretty quickly as well.  We did enjoy driving around the city, particularly near the West Lake area and the French quarter.  We saw the Temple of Literature, which is Vietnam’s oldest university – also boring I’m afraid, even for Kim who is a proud member of the education system.  The most interesting stop of the day was probably the Hoa Lo prison, known by Americans as the Hanoi Hilton.  It had a very long history about the different time periods in Vietnam’s history and we learned some things about the various foreign occupations that had taken place.  We learned also about the American experience during the war, which relative to the brutality we saw in southern Vietnam and the men actually out fighting, I think the prisoners of war had it pretty good.  We finished our day with a water puppetry performance (an art form unique to North Vietnam), and a cyclo ride through the French quarter before settling in at our hotel after the long day.  Here are some photos...

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum….

The museum of literature, where these two twin girls somehow reminded me of ‘The Shining’….

The water puppetry performance….

A couple taking wedding photos near one of the lakes on the red river….

Wide load…..

Our cyclo ride….

The next day was something we were really looking forward to, as we had heard all about it from other people we met saying it was the highlight of their time in Vietnam, and that was the overnight cruise in Halong Bay.  Like the rest of the accommodations we had in Vietnam that were all arranged through our tour operator Ann Tours, we were travelling in style for this part of the trip, aboard one of the nicer boats out in Halong Bay run by Paradise Cruises.  They call these boats ‘junks’, but that name is not really appropriate, as most are well outfitted and even the competition looked pretty darn comfortable.  We were told that Paradise cruises are #1, and we can believe that, as we were treated quite well.  At this point I have to mention that our tour guide in Central Vietnam, named Na (she works freelance, if you need a guide in central Vietnam, ask for her), deserves big thanks, as she learned it was our honeymoon and made a point to tell the company to go out of their way to get special bonuses for us for the rest of our time in Vietnam.  Our cabin aboard the cruise was probably the nicest touch, with a nice bottle of champagne prepared for us, complimentary of course, along with a dozen roses and rose petals decorating the bed.  Nice touch.  We are constantly thankful for our good fortune in life and the great things we have been able to experience on this trip, we try to not take anything for granted and savour all these moments.  It has all been so amazing.  Halong Bay is no exception, it is a beautiful place and the cruise was a great way to see it.  I can’t really do justice to much of it with words alone, so again here are some photos to help illustrate....

Enjoying our champagne on our balcony….savouring a moment….

When anchored for the land stops, the boat would be approached by these floating mini-markets.  Pretty convenient really because on the boat prices were high.

Look closely at the small boat on the right, a little boy is paddling it entirely with his feet----it was quite impressive.  Everybody needs a gimmick…..

The so-called ‘Secret’ caves….well I think the secret is out now….

As with much of the caves we’ve been in, the locals will point out formations that resemble real life objects, can you guess what this pink one is that Kim is pointing to?

Yes, a cannon was the correct answer.

Awaiting the small boat back to our big junk….I know, still sounds dirty to me too, but its not!

A kayak ride into a little bay known for all the monkeys climbing about.  We saw some, but if you’ve been reading recent posts than you’ve already seen way better monkey photos, so here’s some monkeys you already know….

A climb up to a small pagoda on a very steep hill….big climb, good views…

Halong Bay was unfortunately the last bit of scheduled service in our Vietnam tour, and after disembarking we had a 3 hour ride back to Hanoi where we would spend our last night.  We spent the evening doing some shopping and walking around the French quarter and trying not to get run over by motorbikes, it was fun!  We were both very sad for our time in Vietnam to be coming to an end.  The good news is that we are now on our way to Bangkok where we will be meeting Craig, and we are very excited for our Koh Chang Christmas.  We will try to make a post again as soon as we can.  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Cheers,

The Knotty Travellers