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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Christmas Trip --Part Deux

   Hello readers! I almost forgot that I never continued the story of my wonderful Christmas vacation. After leaving Laos we headed to Vietnam. I have been To Vietnam back in 2005 ,but I had been to the south. This time we headed to Hanoi which is located in the north.
My friend and I were walking around a lake located in the center of the city and these girls came up to us and asked if we had a minute. At first I thought they were selling something but it turned out they are university students that are studying English in their free time and they are told to practice with native speakers and wanted to speak to us. We ended up talking to them for about an hour and I have to admit it was one of the highlights of the trip. They were so nice and interested in us. I even have one of the girls as a friend on Facebook now. They were so thankful for us taking time to talk to them that they bought us an ice cream.

   At the beginning of our trip we had promised ourself a spa day, a day dedicated to ourselves. Well, we took this treatment in the picture above that last 7 hours and only cost us 100$! I felt like a Kardashian! I have never been at the spa for a whole day! They even gave us Pho, the traditional noodle soup of Vietnam for supper.


The second day we were in Hanoi was the best day of our whole trip we took a four hour drive to Halong Bay, which is considered a UNESCO heritage site. We then took a two hour ferry ride to this:


Pictures do not do this place justice. I think this is one of my favorite places in the world. SO. Beautiful. there must be God because only he could have created something so breathtaking. 

We then stopped at a fishing village and took a row boat.

Stunning.

Even this little guy was taking people around. 

We then headed to these beautiful caves.

They have placed colored lights in the caves to give them that color.

View from the top of the caves.

Next stop was Cambodia. If you do not know about Cambodia's violent, genicidal past look it up, it is shocking.
Cambodia is know for its Angkor temples which has been on my travel bucket list since day one, they did not disappoint.


Cambodia is also known because Tomb Raider was shot there. This is when Angelina Holie encountered and adopted her son.



This is the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. I love this picture, granted it does have a filter on it but I find it stunning.

This is amok,the traditional dish of Cambodia. It is a fish soup in a coconut curry broth. This time it was served in a coconut, creative presentation. Amok can also be made with chicken.

This is the famous Angkor Wat temple. There was a line about three New York street blocks long to go to the top to see the sun set at the top.

Cambodia is also know for its fabulous night markets.


And that my friends concludes my three week worldwind tour of four Southeast Asian countries in less than 21 days.

Thank you for reading! 

2 comments:

  1. I need your adventurous life. It looks like it was a very memorable trip. I'm so glad you were able to scratch something else off of your travel bucket list.

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  2. Refreshing! Very refreshing story! I interviewed with Teach Away, yesterday. I have a second interview at the end of March or beginning of April. While I am excited, I'm also terrified of the unexpected. However, a wise woman once said if your dreams do not scare you, you're not dreaming big enough! Of course my family and (a few of my) friends are not celebrating my choice to relocate thus leaving the freedom of the United States. My greatest concern is adjusting to a culture unlike my own. I have never traveld outside of the US. I understand that I must make mental, spiritual, and emotional adjustments, yet for some odd reason, I feel that such adjustments will be enlightening and fulfilling! Terrified. Yes, I am...but I am more terrified of not stepping outside of my box. I am more terrified of never experiencing a culture outside of my own. I will definitely keep you updated and hopefully meet you upon my arrival. #claiming my destiny

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