alright already...
Emily T and I in Koh Samet!hey all!
I know I know I have been a blog slacker. And I'm sorry. Life gets busy and journaling loses its flair. Anyway - I have been busy. I have been working like a dog trying to squeeze in everything my kids need to learn before the end of the year.
Regular life is just plain old regular. I've been going into the city, I've shopped, I've seen a few sites, seen a few movies. Sidebar about movies. Jeff, Lisa and I went to see a movie a few weeks back. It was called Smokin Aces... worst movie ever... the only thing that kept me from walking out was the theatre. We bought these seats called Emperor seats. They were these huge, puffy, red velvet recliners. It was AMAZING. They even gave you a pillow and a blanket. I swear - I'd even watch science fiction if it was playing in the emperor theatre.
I digress, along with ordinary life, travelling has very quickly become a part of everyday life. Not so shabby.
Back in February it was Chinese New Year. Sheila, Kristen and I went to Hanoi for the long weekend. It was Tet in Vietnam (which is the Vietnamese new year) so apparently the city was a lot quieter than usual. A notion that seems insane to me, as the streets were crazy. The only way you can get across the street is by crossing and just assuming the cars and motor cy's and cyclos will avoid you! Basically you walk - no matter what is coming at you. If you wait for a hole you will be standing forever. So you just walk at a steady and constant pace (this is key to not dying) and all of the traffic will avoid you. It's INSANE.
I know I know I have been a blog slacker. And I'm sorry. Life gets busy and journaling loses its flair. Anyway - I have been busy. I have been working like a dog trying to squeeze in everything my kids need to learn before the end of the year.
Regular life is just plain old regular. I've been going into the city, I've shopped, I've seen a few sites, seen a few movies. Sidebar about movies. Jeff, Lisa and I went to see a movie a few weeks back. It was called Smokin Aces... worst movie ever... the only thing that kept me from walking out was the theatre. We bought these seats called Emperor seats. They were these huge, puffy, red velvet recliners. It was AMAZING. They even gave you a pillow and a blanket. I swear - I'd even watch science fiction if it was playing in the emperor theatre.
I digress, along with ordinary life, travelling has very quickly become a part of everyday life. Not so shabby.
Back in February it was Chinese New Year. Sheila, Kristen and I went to Hanoi for the long weekend. It was Tet in Vietnam (which is the Vietnamese new year) so apparently the city was a lot quieter than usual. A notion that seems insane to me, as the streets were crazy. The only way you can get across the street is by crossing and just assuming the cars and motor cy's and cyclos will avoid you! Basically you walk - no matter what is coming at you. If you wait for a hole you will be standing forever. So you just walk at a steady and constant pace (this is key to not dying) and all of the traffic will avoid you. It's INSANE.
Kristen and I on top of the hotelWe stayed at this amazing hotel right in the old quarter. The night we arrived we got whisked away to the rooftop and got to watch an amazing fireworks display going off over the lake in the center of the city.
The next morning we walked around the city and checked out a few museums... we did the walking tour a la lonely planet guide. It gave us a really good view of all the cool little shops and temples and stuff in the old quarter. Also we got to stroll around that amazing lake I mentioned earlier. Downside to it being tet - many things were closed. I guess the Vietnamese need vacations too!
After that full day our feet were pretty tired... so we went back to the hotel to relax before dinner. That night it was Kristen's turn to choose and she picked this really cool Mexican place.
Sheila and I at the Museum of Literature, petting the turtle for good luckThe next day we did more shopping and more walking and more looking at museums and temples. It was my night to choose the dinner location... so of course I chose the local vegetarian restaurant and it was wonderful!
On the last day we did a cyclo tour of the city. This is a super touristy thing to do where some poor old man has to drive around with you in this carriage and he is pulling you on his bicycle. It is a nice way to see the city though.
We wrapped up our Hanoi visit by going to a water puppet show. It was actually pretty cool. It had live music. The puppeteers are behind this curtain wearing hip waders because they are literally standing in a pool of water. The show is a whole bunch of vignettes of animals frolicking and people fishing and dragons flying around. It was a blast!
Then home we went after a very busy long weekend.
Whew... so I am gonna add my pics now. Beware I still have to talk about Chiang Mai, and Mom's visit (including a small adventure in Koh Muk) and then Koh Samet again, and then in the next 2 weeks I will be in Bali and Singapore. So I figure maybe by the time I make it home for the summer I should be able to report on all that. Man oh man this crazy life!
Miss you all. Happy Easter everyone.
We wrapped up our Hanoi visit by going to a water puppet show. It was actually pretty cool. It had live music. The puppeteers are behind this curtain wearing hip waders because they are literally standing in a pool of water. The show is a whole bunch of vignettes of animals frolicking and people fishing and dragons flying around. It was a blast!
Then home we went after a very busy long weekend.
Whew... so I am gonna add my pics now. Beware I still have to talk about Chiang Mai, and Mom's visit (including a small adventure in Koh Muk) and then Koh Samet again, and then in the next 2 weeks I will be in Bali and Singapore. So I figure maybe by the time I make it home for the summer I should be able to report on all that. Man oh man this crazy life!
Miss you all. Happy Easter everyone.
posted by Crystal @ 5:36 AM
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