Our vacation in Phu Quoc was just getting started. We booked an all-day fishing and snorkeling excursion (only $15 dollars a person) around the south tip of the island. We weren't sure what to expect, but were ready for the tropical adventure. We headed out first thing that morning, and on the way to our tour boat, we stopped by another pearl farm. It wasn't long after the pearl farm visit that we arrived at our destination. Our tour boat was pretty small, and we had about twenty other people with us for the day. We immediately picked the 'prime' location on the top of the boat-halfway in the sun, halfway out of the sun. We could already tell it was going to be a hot day and lathered up the sunscreen. Thankfully sunscreen in ... Read More
[Vietnam] landing in paradise
Day four of our Vietnam travels brought us to the sunny island of Phu Quoc. We weren't sure what to expect; our acquaintances that had been to Vietnam before knew nothing of this island. Ideally we were looking for a tropical getaway where we could relax on the beach and do 'beachy' things (i.e. snorkeling, fishing, swimming). Well...we found the goldmine when it comes to a location in paradise. If anyone ever tells you that Vietnam doesn't have white sands, crystal blue water, and palm trees-they're lying. It's only short thirty five minute flight from Ho Chi Minh. Phu Quoc is a small little island (actually comparable to the size of Singapore) in the Gulf of Thailand. The 'essence' of the island is comparable to Hawaii with a little ... Read More
[Vietnam] a morning in the bay
Our second day cruising in Halong Bay started early with a'tranquil' Tai Chi session that Derik joined on the sundeck of the ship. To be honest, as I observed the session with taking pictures, I felt like the Tai Chi Master may have been making up more than half the moves. It was still fun enjoying the quiet, foggy morning with a cup of thick-as-tar coffee in hand. No joke about the coffee-that stuff was cruel. After Tai Chi, the cruise continued with our next tour destination in the horizon:Surprise Cave. The sights along the way were as beautiful as ever. We even sailed by a floating village. This guy was selling snack items and water to tourists and locals for the hike into the cave. On the way out, we met a ... Read More
[Vietnam] in silent waters
Christmas Day started early for us. We woke up early, grabbed a quick buffet breakfast at our amazing hotel (highly recommend Landmark Hotel in Hanoi...friendliest staff ever), and were greeted by the smiling face of our bus driver who would be driving us 3 hours to our destination of Halong Bay. We booked a 2 day, 1 night cruise on a five-star Chinese 'Junk' and were eagerly waiting to spoil ourselves with the luxury accommodations. My eyes were glued out the window the entire three hours. I just couldn't believe all the foreign, beautiful, national geographic-like scenes we were passing by. There were water buffaloes plowing fields (unfortunately not close enough to take a picture of with my small 55mm lens), people selling things off ... Read More
[Vietnam] of busy streets and great food
Where to begin. Vietnam is indescribable; which is most likely true for any other country a person visits that is not like their own. How can I communicate the general essence of the Vietnamese life to those who can only understand by seeing? Derik and I went on this vacation not knowing what to expect. We didn't know much about Vietnam at all. Why did we decide to choose a country we knew nothing about? It came to us highly recommended by several people. We were adventurous and went with it. Thankfully, we didn't have to go alone. I've talked about our amazing friends Ethan and Sandra before, because we've hung out a few times in Korea (and went to college together, for those of you who didn't know). E&S were very excited ... Read More
