Merry Christmas - Happy New Year - Happy Lunar New Year (Chuc Mung Nam Moi!) to all of you! I hope the holiday season was merry and bright for you and your families and friends!!
I have a ton of updates since I last blogged, so here goes ...
It seems my blog should've been named 15 Months in Hanoi ... on December 29th I celebrated my 1 year anniversary in this amazing country! And what a year it's been ... staying connected to longtime friends in the U.S., meeting amazing new friends in Vietnam, crazy/sometimes (mostly) miserable job (but a helluva learning experience!), travel within Vietnam, travel within Southeast Asia ... it's been a whirlwind, and I've loved (mostly) every second of it!
As it turns out, though ... the project is coming to an end. After a year of constant struggles and misery (with brief glimmers of hope and happiness!) trying to get this project approved (we succeeded!) and RTI registered (never happened!), USAID has decided to cancel the Vietnam Pathways project. This wasn't a huge surprise, as we kinda knew it was possible ... but was also shocking as hell when the official decision was made. As a result, we're officially in closeout, and I'll be home sometime mid-March. I'm excited to get home and reconnect with everyone, but am having a very difficult time leaving my lifestyle in Hanoi and amazing friends behind. I did look for other opportunities to stay in Hanoi, but, alas ... no viable opportunities. But on the plus side - I'm coming home!! YAY!!!!!
Christmas was WONDERFUL, entirely thanks to Daraca, Damien, Nathalie, LaMont and Monae. Not being able to be with family was a definite adjustment (the first time I didn't spend a Christmas at Daisey Court in 33 years!), but my Vietnam family and I made the best of it and had our own special Hanoi Christmas! We had an amazing Christmas Eve dinner out at a local steakhouse, then I stayed with Dar and Dames (thanks again guys!) Christmas Eve into Christmas morning ... and the D'z hosted all of us for dinner at theirs on Christmas Day. All in all - a fantastic holiday!!
The day after Christmas, I flew to Phu Quoc, an island off the coast of South Vietnam. And it was GORGEOUS ... Phu Quoc has been on my bucket list since I moved to Vietnam, and it didn't disappoint. It's in the middle of nowhere, white sandy/tropical beaches, amazing weather ... it was heaven. Admittedly, it is difficult to be on vacation by yourself (which I realized night 1), but ... I made the best of it and just RELAXED. Heaven.
I got home from Phu Quoc just in time for New Years Eve in Hanoi!! Was a relatively low-key affair, but once again, spent with amazing friends and a super fun night! LaMont was DJ'ing at 88 North ... we had a nice dinner beforehand, listened to some great music, and rang in the New Year together - good times!
Nat and LaMont are Vietnam's best shoppers and took it upon themselves (thanks guys!) to introduce me to the Lacquer Village and Pottery Village ... got some AMAZING pieces ... and now have to figure out how to get it all home ... right.
And then Josh came to visit!! We had an AMAZING time ... he arrived late Tuesday night (1 of his bags didn't though), and Wednesday morning we were off! Wednesday afternoon we flew to Hoi An and spent the day walking around the old city ... Josh had 2 suits made, I had a dress made, we had a lovely dinner, a few $0.14 beers - was fabulous. Thursday morning we were met at our hotel at 8 a.m. by a guide + 2 motorbikes and we motorbiked from Hoi An to Hue. That's right ... I MOTORBIKED 180 KM (roughly 112 miles)! This is a FEAT for me, lemme tell ya ... and an absolutely amazing experience. We biked from Hoi An to Danang, up the Hai Van Pass (watch this video and you'll see what I mean: http://youtu.be/O1zfuBgCUqY), through little mountain towns, and finally arrived at Hue in the late afternoon. All in all, we did 180 km in 10 hours ... because we were only going 30-40 km/h (roughly 15-17 mph). Guess I should leave that part out, as it kinda takes away from the badass-ness of this accomplishment. Hmmm ... Regardless - we did it, and I can check it off the bucket list - it was amazing!
In Hue, we walked around the Citadel, went to the DMZ bar for dinner, and were asleep by 9 p.m. Friday morning our driver picked us up for the trek back to Hoi An ... by car - only 3 hours. Riiiigggghhhhttttt ... spent the afternoon on the beach on Friday, and flew back Saturday. All in all, a WONDERFUL quick getaway!
Saturday night was the Burns night here in Hanoi ... aka Whiskey Night ... I went last year and had a blast (http://12monthsinhanoi.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-night-with-robert-burns-and-whisky.html), and wanted Josh to experience it too. The best part of the evening for me was having my worlds collide ... my Vietnam family also attended, and it was WONDERFUL having my BFFs from different stages of my life at the event.
And, of course, the whiskey was good too!
Sunday was a lazy relaxing day, topped off by a BBQ at Nat and LaMont's. Monday and Tuesday Josh and I "did" Hanoi - Temple of Literature, Water Puppet Show, War Museum, Hoa Lo Prison Museum, Old Quarter ... all scattered around meet-ups with my Vietnam family.
All in all, an absolutely FANTASTIC visit ... I miss him already!
So on to the next adventure ... U.S. bound in T minus 6 (ish) weeks!
I have a ton of updates since I last blogged, so here goes ...
It seems my blog should've been named 15 Months in Hanoi ... on December 29th I celebrated my 1 year anniversary in this amazing country! And what a year it's been ... staying connected to longtime friends in the U.S., meeting amazing new friends in Vietnam, crazy/sometimes (mostly) miserable job (but a helluva learning experience!), travel within Vietnam, travel within Southeast Asia ... it's been a whirlwind, and I've loved (mostly) every second of it!
As it turns out, though ... the project is coming to an end. After a year of constant struggles and misery (with brief glimmers of hope and happiness!) trying to get this project approved (we succeeded!) and RTI registered (never happened!), USAID has decided to cancel the Vietnam Pathways project. This wasn't a huge surprise, as we kinda knew it was possible ... but was also shocking as hell when the official decision was made. As a result, we're officially in closeout, and I'll be home sometime mid-March. I'm excited to get home and reconnect with everyone, but am having a very difficult time leaving my lifestyle in Hanoi and amazing friends behind. I did look for other opportunities to stay in Hanoi, but, alas ... no viable opportunities. But on the plus side - I'm coming home!! YAY!!!!!
Christmas was WONDERFUL, entirely thanks to Daraca, Damien, Nathalie, LaMont and Monae. Not being able to be with family was a definite adjustment (the first time I didn't spend a Christmas at Daisey Court in 33 years!), but my Vietnam family and I made the best of it and had our own special Hanoi Christmas! We had an amazing Christmas Eve dinner out at a local steakhouse, then I stayed with Dar and Dames (thanks again guys!) Christmas Eve into Christmas morning ... and the D'z hosted all of us for dinner at theirs on Christmas Day. All in all - a fantastic holiday!!
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| Nat, Dar and me @ Jackson's - Christmas Eve Dinner |
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| The Grun-Wynn family and me - Christmas Eve! |
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| Monae & Nat @ Jackson's - Christmas Eve! |
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| Santa DOES travel to Vietnam! @ the D'z - Christmas morning! |
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| LaMont's Christmas onesie! |
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| One of my furry friends at the D'z - Max enjoying Christmas! (laying on a couch he knows not to get onto, of course) |
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| Monae and Dar opening presents Christmas Day |
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| Santa Monae! |
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| Gorgeous (and tasty!) yule cake made by Nathalie |
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| Having a kid around at Christmas is so fun - Monae LOVES Santa! |
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| Nat's gift to the D'z - how awesome is that??? |
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| Flying in to Phu Quoc! |
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| Amazing infinity pool, right on the beach |
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| @ the night market ... fresh seafood anyone? |
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| Oh right - they were also selling snakes ... |
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| If you're a serious seafoodie, you must visit the Night Market in Phu Quoc! |
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| A bar named "Sweet Home Alabama" on an island off the coast of Vietnam. Huh. |
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| HEAVEN |
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| Crooked, but still a gorgeous sunset! |
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| My home away from home in Phu Quoc |
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| Nat & me celebrating NYE! |
Nat and LaMont are Vietnam's best shoppers and took it upon themselves (thanks guys!) to introduce me to the Lacquer Village and Pottery Village ... got some AMAZING pieces ... and now have to figure out how to get it all home ... right.
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| I didn't buy ALL of this stuff, but ... definitely contributed to the local economy on this visit! |
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| Lacquer bowls in production |
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| WEIRD ASS POTTERY at the pottery village |
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| See?? |
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| 1 electric pottery wheel - crazy |
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| My favorite purchase from the pottery village - LOVE THIS! |
And then Josh came to visit!! We had an AMAZING time ... he arrived late Tuesday night (1 of his bags didn't though), and Wednesday morning we were off! Wednesday afternoon we flew to Hoi An and spent the day walking around the old city ... Josh had 2 suits made, I had a dress made, we had a lovely dinner, a few $0.14 beers - was fabulous. Thursday morning we were met at our hotel at 8 a.m. by a guide + 2 motorbikes and we motorbiked from Hoi An to Hue. That's right ... I MOTORBIKED 180 KM (roughly 112 miles)! This is a FEAT for me, lemme tell ya ... and an absolutely amazing experience. We biked from Hoi An to Danang, up the Hai Van Pass (watch this video and you'll see what I mean: http://youtu.be/O1zfuBgCUqY), through little mountain towns, and finally arrived at Hue in the late afternoon. All in all, we did 180 km in 10 hours ... because we were only going 30-40 km/h (roughly 15-17 mph). Guess I should leave that part out, as it kinda takes away from the badass-ness of this accomplishment. Hmmm ... Regardless - we did it, and I can check it off the bucket list - it was amazing!
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| Josh's "welcome to Hanoi" gift |
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| Dubious at breakfast |
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| Yup - that's my local grocery story! |
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| Josh again looking dubious, and me looking thrilled - Hoi An here we come! |
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| Old City Hoi An |
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| Sunset in Hoi An |
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| Japanese bridge in pink! |
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| The gorgeous lights of Hoi An! |
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| Ready for takeoff! |
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| Our trusty steeds to Hue |
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| Quick stop at the Marble Mountains |
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| Marble Mountains |
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| Josh and our guide Hoa on the trek back down the Marble Mountains ... |
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| ... and me and Hoa on our trek UP the Marble Mountains |
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| Temple in the cave |
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| Big Buddha |
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| Another Buddha |
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| More Pagodas! Marble Mountain is GORGEOUS! |
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| Motorin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| So ... I didn't pack for chilly weather (genius), and going 15-20 mph on a motorbike ... it gets cold. FORTUNATELY our guide, Hoa, had an extra rain jacket for me. UNFORTUNATELY, I'm taller than every Vietnamese I've ever met, so the sleeves were a little short. RIGHT. |
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| Heading up the mountain! Gorgeous views! |
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| Quick stop on our way up to the Hai Van Pass |
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| Hai Van Pass! |
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| We made it to the top! |
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| Heading towards Hue ... |
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| ... leaving Da Nang! |
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| Seaside village right as you come out of the mountains. Breathtaking. |
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| So that happened ... |
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| Epic |
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| Lunch left something to be desired, but the location was badass! |
In Hue, we walked around the Citadel, went to the DMZ bar for dinner, and were asleep by 9 p.m. Friday morning our driver picked us up for the trek back to Hoi An ... by car - only 3 hours. Riiiigggghhhhttttt ... spent the afternoon on the beach on Friday, and flew back Saturday. All in all, a WONDERFUL quick getaway!
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| We made it to the Citadel!!!! |
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| Flag Tower @ Citadel |
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| With a dragon @ the Citadel! |
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| So freaking cool! |
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| The Citadel in Hue is AMAZING |
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| Yellow is the color of power in Vietnam - gorgeous decoration in the Citadel! |
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| Sunset over the Citadel |
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| We're in Hue! |
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| DMZ Bar - rated #1 for food, drinks and atmosphere by Lonely Planet ... didn't disappoint! |
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| Graffiti in ladies restroom ... Forrest Gump anyone? |
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| Decorating the men's restroom walls ... |
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| Pool villa in Hoi An ... Le Belhamy doesn't disappoint! |
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| Oh Cabana Boy!!!!! |
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| Parka, hat, earmuffs and bedazzled shorts ... now THAT'S a fashion statement! |
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| Beachin'!!! |
Saturday night was the Burns night here in Hanoi ... aka Whiskey Night ... I went last year and had a blast (http://12monthsinhanoi.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-night-with-robert-burns-and-whisky.html), and wanted Josh to experience it too. The best part of the evening for me was having my worlds collide ... my Vietnam family also attended, and it was WONDERFUL having my BFFs from different stages of my life at the event.
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| Burns' Night Invitation - THE hottest party in town! |
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| Me and the girls |
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| Whiskey!!!!!! |
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| Nat and Joshie enjoying the whiskey! |
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| Dames, LaMont and Dar enjoying dinner! |
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| Haggis!!! |
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| David and Dames! |
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| LaMont and Nat! |
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| David and me! |
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| Joshie and me! |
Sunday was a lazy relaxing day, topped off by a BBQ at Nat and LaMont's. Monday and Tuesday Josh and I "did" Hanoi - Temple of Literature, Water Puppet Show, War Museum, Hoa Lo Prison Museum, Old Quarter ... all scattered around meet-ups with my Vietnam family.
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| Temple of Literature! |
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| Hanoi decked out for Tet! Chuc Mung Nam Moi! |
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| Tooling around downtown! |
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| Rubbing the stork (phoenix) for good luck! |
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| Fake money to be burnt as an offering - love it! |
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| Old Quarter |
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| Taking a break at Legend Beer |
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| Ready for the water puppet show! |
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| Water puppets! |
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| Turns out there was a 4th wise man ... |
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| Yup - those're frog legs ... |
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| David, Josh and me enjoying Goldmalt (thanks LaMont!)! |
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| The Grun-Wynn family @ Goldmalt! |
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| Visiting Uncle Ho |
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| Hanoi @ night! |
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| @ the Sofitel |
All in all, an absolutely FANTASTIC visit ... I miss him already!
So on to the next adventure ... U.S. bound in T minus 6 (ish) weeks!
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