Spring Break Vietnam Part 2

Halong Bay definitely was the highlight of the holiday.  As I look back on it I wish we had done the 3 night cruise and shaved a day off of Hanoi.  While on the cruise, we were able to kayak a couple of times, go to the beach, have dinner in a cave, and overall relax.  The weather was cool so swimming really was not an option to do daily but I can see in the summer months that swimming would entertain the kids as well.

card games

snacking

Kayaking...if you click on the pictures individually you can get a closer look at who is in the pics.

Graham doing all the work.

Back in Hanoi we did more site seeing and lots and lots of shopping!  The shopping was insanely cheap so everyone came away with some kind of something.

All in all, Vietnam was a wonderful country to visit.  I would definitely go back...maybe to Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City.  If we stay in Asia long enough we just might get to go back!

Spring Break 2012 Vietnam Part 1

March 26-31, 2012

This year for Spring Break we headed to Hanoi and Halong Bay, Vietnam with our traveling friends the Reids.  We spent the first couple of days in Hanoi and then went on a Junk Boat Cruise for 2 nights on Halong Bay then back to Hanoi to finish out the holiday.  As I am beyond behind on getting anything on the blog these next few posts will be told through pictures...enjoy!

View from our 1st hotel~ Hanoi Westlake

Austin, Bryce, Katie, Layne and Graham outside hotel

Huc Bridge, Hoan Kiem Lake

Traffic was insane!  I called it organized chaos.

Steps to a temple

After a couple of days of sightseeing in Hanoi we took a 4 hour drive to Halong Bay for our cruise around the bay.  This was the part of the holiday that we were all looking forward to the most.  Relaxing and enjoying the different activities and of course the beautiful scenery.

Our junk boat had 10 cabins.  Our group took up four of the cabins.  The rest of the group had no children...oops on them!  There was even a couple on their honeymoon.  Oh well!  I think everyone had a great time.

deep thoughts

Members of a local floating fishing village are coming to pick us up from the junk boat to take us to the village.

3 or 4 year old child already knows how to maneuver a boat.

one room school house

This is how they do laundry.