Hey all!
After a quick 4ish days, we are back in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Monday we traveled up north to the province of Penang, where we stayed in the city of Georgetown. Georgetown is located on an island, yet still connected to the mainland by a 13.5 km long bridge! Tuesday we spent most of our day at a beach called batu ferringhi. It was nice to recline in the sun/shade after quite a bit of travel. The following day we went to go to the Penang National Park. The park is the world's smallest national park, with 1181 hectares of forest and 1381 hectares of wetlands. We were stopped on our way in by a tourist company trying to sell us a ticket for a speed boat. We told him we wanted to hike, duh! He said it would take an 1 hour, 15 mins to get to the beach we wanted to go to. I think Nicole and I both laughed in our heads.. "buddy, I think we can handle a hike, we just did a 2 day trek of hiking and we live in a country where we hike all the time." We probably should have bought a ticket for the speed boat back, ha ha! The hike in wasn't bad, quite fun actually. The path had us going up and down, jumping over rocks, crossing bridges, winding down staircases. It had rope tied to different trees to use as a railing or to pull yourself up. It felt like an adventure course someone had set up, and it was through a jungle-type setting. We finally got to the beach, called "monkey beach", where we read and took a nap in the sun. At first, the name of the beach didn't say too much for itself. Until I was just waking up from a nice cat nap, when Nicole said to me, "Sara, don't freak out but.. there are monkeys all around us." As I slowly got up, there was a monkey, I kid you not, a foot away from my right. My heart suddenly took itself into high gear. Just before we set off to the park, I had read on the Internet about what to do if you encounter one of the species. Basically, they can be quite aggressive and it's hard to read them! A set of rules such as: do not look them in the eye because they may be threatened, do not show your teeth because they may be threatened, do not feed them, do not pet them, do not even take a photo because the flash could set them off. Okay, let's just say when I sat up to see that monkey literally in my reach, I freaked out a little inside. No more then 30 seconds after I had sat up, a monkey ran in from behind me and stole my half-eaten granola bar. When I had looked back, there were about 10 monkeys staring me right in the eye. As fast as I could, without being too alarming, I grabbed my stuff and got out of there as quick as possible. It did indeed take awhile for my heart to settle down. I don't know if I was paranoid that the monkeys were following us from behind, or maybe it was the terrifying jungle sounds, but the hike out wasn't as fun! Thursday, we took a bus back to the city, which was a perfect travel day because it stormed all day! Now that we are back in the city, we are a little unsure of what to make of our itinerary. We don't fly out and into Bali until the evening of Wed May 2. That gives us 4 full days and a half if you don't count today. This morning we went to a bird park, which was super cool. Tons of beautiful and funny looking birds, all of which I can't quite remember what their names are called - very complex, except for the simple ones: peacock, hawk, eagle, stork, pelican, flamingo, owl, parrots, and ostriches. We did try to switch our flight to an earlier day, however it is quite costly to do so. Thus, we will be in the city awhile still, making things up as we go. Malaysia is an interesting country. Upon first arrival it did excite me. Lots of colour, history, and culture. But the more time I spend here it does fall short of what I had imagined. There isn't too much that really strikes my fancy, maybe because my mind is too consumed with everything to do with Bali and what we'll be enduring there. It's out of my control, so I will do my best to make the most of our days left here. I guess that's all for now. Also, I have ringworm and Nicole is a bit sick, so if you could pray for healing, we would be appreciative! And that we would continue to have hearts full of praise as we make the most of our time left in Malaysia. What an amazing opportunity that we have been blessed with, let us make the most of it !
Friday 27 April 2012
Sunday 22 April 2012
The end of one country, the start of another..
Hello my friends!
A new update is in order. Our travel to the South of Thailand was indeed a bit of a trecherous, tiresome journey. On the Monday night, we took an over night bus to Bangkok. Leaving around 8:30pm and arriving in Bangkok around 5:30am, neither Nicole or I got much shut eye. Our plan was to hangout at a mall for the day, since that evening around 7pm, we were back on an overnight train down to the South. The mall unfortunately didn't open until 10am, so bumming around the city was hot and gruesome. Our train delayed upon arrival in Suri, did not actually arrive until 10:30am instead of 7 ! We finally got on a bus and got moving, heading to Krabi by 5. Unfortunately, the bungalow the tourism agency booked for us fell through because the agency was neglecting to pay them. We had to contact them back in Bangkok and tell them to book us another place as we were very reluctant to spend our own money once again. What a nightmere! Finally, things turned around, we found a place to stay and did thoroughly enjoy the time spent there, the 2 full days that it was! The days were filled with the beach, reading, walking throughout the town.. it was pretty low key, but we needed it.
We flew into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday (April 21) in the late evening. We managed to get ourselves the hour distance from the airport to the heart of chinatown, where our guesthouse is located. The evening was spent exploring the markets a few foot steps from our doorway. We were about to call it quits for the evening when some staff at our guesthouse told us there was a festival happening a few blocks from where we were staying. Hesitant, but eager to check it out, we went on our mary little way down the road. It was so incredible. Man were we stoked to have found it. Through the crowds we made our way, closest to the front as possible, as we watched over a hundred students, in full costume, dance their way to the music. The dancing took place on and off with singers, as well as joined together. It was rad to get to see some cultural dance so vibrant. This morning, we ventured to the city centre, wanting to purchase a ticket for the skybridge. Kuala currently holds the largest twin towers in the world, 88 stories, since the tragic incident in 2001. On the 45(?) floor is a skybridge connecting the two towers. It is open to tourists for a price, holding one of the best views in the city. It was amazing to get to see such a view. The ticket also enabled us to go to the 86th floor, which holds a panoramic 360 view of the city. Outrageous! The pictures do not do enough justice, and until I realized this, I stopped snapping my camera and took it all in! We also spent most of our day in the city centre at the coolest mall ever stepped foot in! With 6 floors, going all over the place, we browsed and wandered endlessly, watched a few fashion shows, and took part in a Tawainese food festival in a supermarket! It was a day full of events. It has been awhile since we have literally walked ALL DAY!
So far we mutally agree that Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful city. Rich in colour and culture, it is one of the cleanest cities thus far seen. It has so much history, it draws you in. We also love it because of the LRT transportion system. I don't know how to stress the fact that we love not having to negotiate with tuk-tuk drivers (most of Asia's form of taxi, other than a taxi!) ! We came to this country having absolutely no idea of what it holds. No plan, no schedule, literally no diea of what to expect. We have concluded after one and a half days to head up to Georgetown, in the province of Penam, tomorrow. Penam is a small province in the North-Western region of Malaysia. Georgetown is a city on an island located west. We aren't entirely sure of what to expect, other than some beaches, cool historical building and streets, and some awesome parks.. I guess we're once again kept guessing. I'll leave it at that until we arrive there and let you know myself! Peace!
A new update is in order. Our travel to the South of Thailand was indeed a bit of a trecherous, tiresome journey. On the Monday night, we took an over night bus to Bangkok. Leaving around 8:30pm and arriving in Bangkok around 5:30am, neither Nicole or I got much shut eye. Our plan was to hangout at a mall for the day, since that evening around 7pm, we were back on an overnight train down to the South. The mall unfortunately didn't open until 10am, so bumming around the city was hot and gruesome. Our train delayed upon arrival in Suri, did not actually arrive until 10:30am instead of 7 ! We finally got on a bus and got moving, heading to Krabi by 5. Unfortunately, the bungalow the tourism agency booked for us fell through because the agency was neglecting to pay them. We had to contact them back in Bangkok and tell them to book us another place as we were very reluctant to spend our own money once again. What a nightmere! Finally, things turned around, we found a place to stay and did thoroughly enjoy the time spent there, the 2 full days that it was! The days were filled with the beach, reading, walking throughout the town.. it was pretty low key, but we needed it.
We flew into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday (April 21) in the late evening. We managed to get ourselves the hour distance from the airport to the heart of chinatown, where our guesthouse is located. The evening was spent exploring the markets a few foot steps from our doorway. We were about to call it quits for the evening when some staff at our guesthouse told us there was a festival happening a few blocks from where we were staying. Hesitant, but eager to check it out, we went on our mary little way down the road. It was so incredible. Man were we stoked to have found it. Through the crowds we made our way, closest to the front as possible, as we watched over a hundred students, in full costume, dance their way to the music. The dancing took place on and off with singers, as well as joined together. It was rad to get to see some cultural dance so vibrant. This morning, we ventured to the city centre, wanting to purchase a ticket for the skybridge. Kuala currently holds the largest twin towers in the world, 88 stories, since the tragic incident in 2001. On the 45(?) floor is a skybridge connecting the two towers. It is open to tourists for a price, holding one of the best views in the city. It was amazing to get to see such a view. The ticket also enabled us to go to the 86th floor, which holds a panoramic 360 view of the city. Outrageous! The pictures do not do enough justice, and until I realized this, I stopped snapping my camera and took it all in! We also spent most of our day in the city centre at the coolest mall ever stepped foot in! With 6 floors, going all over the place, we browsed and wandered endlessly, watched a few fashion shows, and took part in a Tawainese food festival in a supermarket! It was a day full of events. It has been awhile since we have literally walked ALL DAY!
So far we mutally agree that Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful city. Rich in colour and culture, it is one of the cleanest cities thus far seen. It has so much history, it draws you in. We also love it because of the LRT transportion system. I don't know how to stress the fact that we love not having to negotiate with tuk-tuk drivers (most of Asia's form of taxi, other than a taxi!) ! We came to this country having absolutely no idea of what it holds. No plan, no schedule, literally no diea of what to expect. We have concluded after one and a half days to head up to Georgetown, in the province of Penam, tomorrow. Penam is a small province in the North-Western region of Malaysia. Georgetown is a city on an island located west. We aren't entirely sure of what to expect, other than some beaches, cool historical building and streets, and some awesome parks.. I guess we're once again kept guessing. I'll leave it at that until we arrive there and let you know myself! Peace!
Sunday 15 April 2012
Songkran Festival !!
SAWATDI PI MAI!!!! (Happy New Years in Thai!)
This past week has indeed been magical. We arrived back in Chiang Mai on the 10th. The following day led us to begin our 2 day 1 night trek! Our group consisted of 14 people: 3 Germans, 3 Dutch, 3 British, 2 Australians, 1 French, and us, 2 Canadians! We began by a quick stop at a market (for those who needed additional supplies) and then our pickup truck-which carried us all in the back-drove forth up the mountain! Our first adventure was rafting down the river. Now this was not quite the river rafting you'd expect. The rafts, which consisted of 5 super long bamboo sticks tied together, carried us down. About 3 to a raft with a guide, who had a long pole to push us from edges, took us down. I am pretty sure this activity would be dubbed illegal in Canada.. just chilling on this raft as it's going through mild rapids, half submerged at times in the water, no helmet or life jacket.. no big deal. I think it was one of the funnest things I have done yet! We just motored down, skimming rocks, getting knocked too a fro-what a jolly good time. We got to a certain point where I think it was too dangerous to be on the raft, so we all filed off to climb some rocks, where at the other side, maybe 20 ft up, we got to do some cliff jumping! Our trek continued after rafting with a lunch before we actually started our hiking. Just a further drive up the mountain, where we were dumped onto the side of the road and our 3 1/2 hour hike began. I must admit, it was quite a strenuous hike.. I have also been battling a super bad cold, so my lungs weren't very impressed.. but I made it through. We stopped along the way, visiting waterfalls, (which may I add were AMAZING!) visiting a village, and at last found camp. Situated right along a loud thundery river, it was amazing! Had some delicious dinner, enjoyed a campfire, and drank too much rice wine or socke (sp?). The next day began with breakfast and a hike out, which felt like it would never end. Our trek concluded with, might I add the best part, an elephant ride! Ah, it was so great. Nicole and I climbed into the basket held on the elephant's back, we had a guide who sat on the elephant's head, and off we went up and down hills. It was very bumpy, but so amazing! We felt the elephant purr several times, it was such an unforgettable experience! What amazing creatures!
Back in Chiang Mai, the 12-15 a Songkran Festival took place. Essentially, since the Thai New Year is held on the 13th of April, to symbolise the washing away of the previous year, ready to bring on the next, they hold a nation wide WATER FIGHT!!! Uh huh, you heard me. I think it was one the of most unreal experiences ever. Not really sure of what to expect, I have really never seen anything like it. Everyone, you name it, the young, the old, foreigners, locals... literally everyone comes together with either a water gun, a bucket.. they use ice water, warm water, dirty water.. some throw flour on you... its a gong show. The streets are packed with people, you can't move, drive.. your soaked ALL DAY! Yep, it never really ends. There is no point of ever changing your clothes into dry ones, because once your back into the streets, another bucket drenches you again. The only safe place there is to go, is the markets at night! Which is exactly where we hung out. Plus the markets have the most amazing street food, for very cheap prices.. I don't think I have ever eaten so much, but so worth it. We are very thankful that the water fight, while it was fun, is over. Let's just say the chafing can speak for itself. Plus, it's so nice to be dry, although you can really feel the effects of the heat now. Back to the inevitable perma-sweat. Yay!
In between all of this crazy water soaking fun, I spent a day ZIPLINNING!!! AHHHH!!! It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! .. As I ventured with another group of people up a scary mountain side, we prepared ourselves for the highest and longest zipling in all of Thailand! In total, there was 22 ziplines, which took about 3 hours to complete! It was AWESOME! As Nicole spent the day learning new cooking skills, I spent the day screaming(wooo)and laughing in the heart of the jungle! Not only did I zipline, I conquered spiral stairs, walked across swinging bridges(80 m high) and propelled, up to 40m, down ! By mistake, I had told one of our guides that I had been bungee jumping, so he basically propelled me "free fall" on the last 40m fall, but it was incredible!
Alas, the Chiang Mai adventure has come to a quick end, although close to a week was spent here. Were heading to the South next. With an overnight bus tonight bringing us to Bangkok.. a day spent back in the capital .. and another overnight train down to the South of Thailand.. our time will be spent on the beaches of Krabi !! A nice relaxing few days before we head to a new country!
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon!
Ps. Here is a video I found on youtube from previous years that sort of sums up the giant water fighting!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtEKvBI_4Ws
Monday 9 April 2012
A place called Pai.
Time sure flies when you are having fun .. I have found this cliche phrase to prove itself true over my past week of adventure throughout Northen-ish Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok last week(which is where I left off). We had decided to spend a few days in the city to await the arrival of two of Nicole's friends(Jess&Jill)before heading up to Chiang Mai and eventually Pai. During the few days spent in the capital, we managed to find our favourite Pad Thai dish, explore more of the endless markets, taste one of the most refreshing fruit smoothies ever, and explore the greatest and craziest mall ever! At this mall we went to a restaurant which held almost every cuisine you could think of! From Seafood to Greek food to Thai, Mediteranean, Western, Japanese, Vegetarian, Arabic.. Everything! We also saw the Hunger Games, which I was extremely disappointed in. To be fair, I had just finished reading the book, so almost every detail lingered in my mind, but I just couldn't get over how they left so many key and important things out that they very well could have added. One of the highlights while we were in the city was my "base-oil massage". One morning Nicole went to do a cooking class, so I thought I would get pampered, paying only $10 for just over an hour, my massage was definitely unlike any other I have ever had. Let's just say it was relaxing, yet awkward, painful, and strenuous.. however, the outcome left me feeling very loose and light.
After a long 14 hour over night train ride, and a nauseating 4 hour minibus ride, we had finally arrived at a place so unlike any other! A place called Pai. (Pronounced Pie). From the minute I stepped out of the bus, my heart felt at ease. I am not sure if it was do with the fact that the past few weeks has been in huge tourist cities, but the exclusivity of this town, surrounded by lush mountainside was exhilarating. I really wish we had more time to spend in this slightly hippie town, but alas, the time spent was embraced. We stayed just outside of town, in a bungalow! With 4 rooms upstairs, it was surrounded by a huge deck, full of lounge chair and hammocks-where I did happen to take a relaxing nap! Our first full day was spend exerting our poor bodies in order to see some waterfalls. I am not sure if we were just so hot and exhausted by the time we got there, as we did not anticipate the journey, but they fell short of our expectations. It very well could have been the fact that we visited some falls, which I failed to mention above, while we were in Bangkok. They were so spectacular and mind-blowing, the water so cool and refreshing, the 4 hours it took to get there and back, was worth it, even though we spent just short of 3 hours actually at the falls. Our second full day in Pai totally made up for our exhausting first day. We rented vespas-which may I add was SO RAD-and rode them maybe 40 minutes outside the town, venturing to some hot springs. Once again, we didn't entirely anticipate the road once we had turned off from the main one. Let's just say it was very vertical, making Jill and Nicole having to walk in areas, as Jess and myself drove them up and down. The condition of the roads was also very poor, a quad would have been safer. I'll just leave it at that. The hot springs however, made the stress and difficulty SO worth it. It felt like a hot tub, no exaggeration. As the stream-like-pond trickled water down the body, we dipped our toes in unsure of what the temperature would be. But once that steaming water touched our sun-kissed feet, a full plunge was in order. We floated until our fingers were pruney. The nights were filled with amazing street food and cheap cocktails and beer. Roaming and aimlessly wondering, let us to discover the most tasty burger ever! I also indulged in ice cream, waffle sandwiches filled with blueberry sauce, shishkabobs coated with sweet chilly sauce, and mango-sticky rice(essentially stick rice, with slices of mango, covered in coconut milk).. YUM!
We are heading back to Chiang Mai this afternoon for almost a week. Tomorrow we will take part in a 2 day 1 night elephant trek before returning for a nation-wide water fight for 5 days.. is that not unbelievable or what. I am not exactly sure what to expect for either of these activities, all I know is that words cannot express my excitement. I guess you will have to hold your curiosity for another week. Until next time!
After a long 14 hour over night train ride, and a nauseating 4 hour minibus ride, we had finally arrived at a place so unlike any other! A place called Pai. (Pronounced Pie). From the minute I stepped out of the bus, my heart felt at ease. I am not sure if it was do with the fact that the past few weeks has been in huge tourist cities, but the exclusivity of this town, surrounded by lush mountainside was exhilarating. I really wish we had more time to spend in this slightly hippie town, but alas, the time spent was embraced. We stayed just outside of town, in a bungalow! With 4 rooms upstairs, it was surrounded by a huge deck, full of lounge chair and hammocks-where I did happen to take a relaxing nap! Our first full day was spend exerting our poor bodies in order to see some waterfalls. I am not sure if we were just so hot and exhausted by the time we got there, as we did not anticipate the journey, but they fell short of our expectations. It very well could have been the fact that we visited some falls, which I failed to mention above, while we were in Bangkok. They were so spectacular and mind-blowing, the water so cool and refreshing, the 4 hours it took to get there and back, was worth it, even though we spent just short of 3 hours actually at the falls. Our second full day in Pai totally made up for our exhausting first day. We rented vespas-which may I add was SO RAD-and rode them maybe 40 minutes outside the town, venturing to some hot springs. Once again, we didn't entirely anticipate the road once we had turned off from the main one. Let's just say it was very vertical, making Jill and Nicole having to walk in areas, as Jess and myself drove them up and down. The condition of the roads was also very poor, a quad would have been safer. I'll just leave it at that. The hot springs however, made the stress and difficulty SO worth it. It felt like a hot tub, no exaggeration. As the stream-like-pond trickled water down the body, we dipped our toes in unsure of what the temperature would be. But once that steaming water touched our sun-kissed feet, a full plunge was in order. We floated until our fingers were pruney. The nights were filled with amazing street food and cheap cocktails and beer. Roaming and aimlessly wondering, let us to discover the most tasty burger ever! I also indulged in ice cream, waffle sandwiches filled with blueberry sauce, shishkabobs coated with sweet chilly sauce, and mango-sticky rice(essentially stick rice, with slices of mango, covered in coconut milk).. YUM!
We are heading back to Chiang Mai this afternoon for almost a week. Tomorrow we will take part in a 2 day 1 night elephant trek before returning for a nation-wide water fight for 5 days.. is that not unbelievable or what. I am not exactly sure what to expect for either of these activities, all I know is that words cannot express my excitement. I guess you will have to hold your curiosity for another week. Until next time!
Sunday 1 April 2012
A city called Hanoi
Loving friends and family!
It has been a week again, my apologies but our time here in Hanoi has been so full and busy, not a second to spare! The last thing I told you was we were heading to Halong Bay, one of the world's 7th wonders! It was a wonder to see for sure. The bay was filled with amazing little islands(rock-type chunks)that were super cool! We boarded a yacht in Halong City, among 17 other tourists, and set sail! We first went to one huge island(not sure of the name)but it was marvelous. We actually got to go inside, many are caves and have been transformed into tourist attractions. It was sooo cool! It felt like we should have been swimming through it. The entire inside looked like chunks of corral. After the cave tour, which took us to beautiful heights overlooking the whole bay, we got the opportunity to kayak through the bay and explore on our own. It was an overnight trip so we were able to sleep on the boat and were served meals. All in all it was a great experience. Unfortunately, we did have a handful of young people (Americans) who thought it would be awesome to get full out wasted and jump off the 3 floor of the boat, kind of ruining it for the rest of us because the next day we were promised to do some things that we didn't, in the end, get to do! Oh well.
Our past week in Hanoi has truly been an incredible experience. The city is so full of character. The people are so genuine and hospitable. Nicole and I were at the bus stop last night and some girls just started talking to us, being so kind. Seconds later this guy comes to join the conversation he heard as he was walking by. Once the girls got on their bus, he continued to stand and talk with us even though he wasn't even taking the bus! The old quarter, where we are staying, is full of colourful shops, weird sounds, and delicious smells. One day we went to Vietnam's notorious "water puppet show". Apparently if you go to Vietnam and don't see the show, it's like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel tower - just something you do. It was quite comical, as music was played and these puppets danced around on water. It was a really good way to understand and grasp their culture more, despite the fact that it was all in Vietnamese. That night, we were invited over to hangout with Mary and some girls from her church. We made crosses out of palm branches, ate banana chocolate chip pancakes, and watched a movie. It was so great to have the opportunity to hangout with people who have the same faith values as you and be in a house, eating western homemade food, even if it was just pancakes! We also got the chance to go to a pottery village with Mary and her Vietnamese teacher, Huang and her friend. It was an hour from the area we are staying, so we rode on the back of each Mary and Huang's bike. It was super fun, despite it being a bit painfully long. At the village we made our own pottery on a hand spinning wheel. We then painted them and got to keep them. I think we got our pictures taken half a dozen times from Huang and her friend. They were so fun to hangout with and showed so much joy throughout the day. We proceeded to the night market later that evening. I have never been shoved, body slammed, rocked, elbowed, hair whipped, or touched that aggressively in my life! The market is jam-packed with SO many people who all revolve around themselves. It's like everyone feels invincible and that they are the only ones that matter shoving you to get what they want. It's crazy! Yesterday we were invited to Mary's international church for Palm Sunday. It was refreshing to be apart of something so familiar in a place so foreign. That afternoon we got to partake in something none of us had ever dreamt of, well I hadn't at least. Mary, Nicole, and I took part in a CHOCOLATE BUFFET!!! WHAT?!?!?! I KNOW!!!! .. We went to this incredible hotel that took us to another world. The hotel itself was astoundingly beautiful, you could feel how expensive it was the second you entered the lobby. I felt like I went back in time to the 70's and teleported to Europe. The ambiance and setting of the hotel was so exclusive and rustic, I can understand why people would stay there. So about the chocolate.. we thought we were in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Everything you could imagine was there : every kind of chocolate(pure), crepes, fruit you could dip in fondue, mousse, so many kinds of chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and millions of these chocolate treats.. I went up 3 times to fill my plate full! We also were given these little finger sandwiches and coffee, which sort of balanced it out.. not really though. It was awesome. I am pretty sure we all had the worst gut aches after, literally stuffing our faces full until not one more thing could go down without coming up. But I think we got our moneys worth!
Alas, we have finished our time in this crazy, wonderful, city so full of life. This evening we are flying out, heading back to Bangkok. From there we will try and get on a train that will take us up north to Chiang Mai. We have a guesthouse booked for April 10th, so until then we will explore the surrounding cities, hoping to discover new and incredible creations that God has wonderfully made. Please continue to pray for safe travels as we put ourselves back in a new country. Health wise we are feeling great. We were able to skype both our families the other day, refreshing and renewing our spirits. So blessed. We also feel incredible grateful to have been able to spend most of this past week with Mary! She is an amazing, hospitable, generous, godly woman, whom we felt is so inspiring! From moving to an entirely new country all the way around the world, depending solely on the Lord, it's admirable. It was refreshing to be able to hangout with someone that knew this city so well. From showing us around, giving us advice, and just catching up, it will give us fond memories! Thank you Mary, we love you !
Talk to you in Thailand.
Nicole is once again updating her blog with some fascinating photos taken in the duration of this past week! Enjoy!
www.helloavocado.blogspot.com
It has been a week again, my apologies but our time here in Hanoi has been so full and busy, not a second to spare! The last thing I told you was we were heading to Halong Bay, one of the world's 7th wonders! It was a wonder to see for sure. The bay was filled with amazing little islands(rock-type chunks)that were super cool! We boarded a yacht in Halong City, among 17 other tourists, and set sail! We first went to one huge island(not sure of the name)but it was marvelous. We actually got to go inside, many are caves and have been transformed into tourist attractions. It was sooo cool! It felt like we should have been swimming through it. The entire inside looked like chunks of corral. After the cave tour, which took us to beautiful heights overlooking the whole bay, we got the opportunity to kayak through the bay and explore on our own. It was an overnight trip so we were able to sleep on the boat and were served meals. All in all it was a great experience. Unfortunately, we did have a handful of young people (Americans) who thought it would be awesome to get full out wasted and jump off the 3 floor of the boat, kind of ruining it for the rest of us because the next day we were promised to do some things that we didn't, in the end, get to do! Oh well.
Our past week in Hanoi has truly been an incredible experience. The city is so full of character. The people are so genuine and hospitable. Nicole and I were at the bus stop last night and some girls just started talking to us, being so kind. Seconds later this guy comes to join the conversation he heard as he was walking by. Once the girls got on their bus, he continued to stand and talk with us even though he wasn't even taking the bus! The old quarter, where we are staying, is full of colourful shops, weird sounds, and delicious smells. One day we went to Vietnam's notorious "water puppet show". Apparently if you go to Vietnam and don't see the show, it's like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel tower - just something you do. It was quite comical, as music was played and these puppets danced around on water. It was a really good way to understand and grasp their culture more, despite the fact that it was all in Vietnamese. That night, we were invited over to hangout with Mary and some girls from her church. We made crosses out of palm branches, ate banana chocolate chip pancakes, and watched a movie. It was so great to have the opportunity to hangout with people who have the same faith values as you and be in a house, eating western homemade food, even if it was just pancakes! We also got the chance to go to a pottery village with Mary and her Vietnamese teacher, Huang and her friend. It was an hour from the area we are staying, so we rode on the back of each Mary and Huang's bike. It was super fun, despite it being a bit painfully long. At the village we made our own pottery on a hand spinning wheel. We then painted them and got to keep them. I think we got our pictures taken half a dozen times from Huang and her friend. They were so fun to hangout with and showed so much joy throughout the day. We proceeded to the night market later that evening. I have never been shoved, body slammed, rocked, elbowed, hair whipped, or touched that aggressively in my life! The market is jam-packed with SO many people who all revolve around themselves. It's like everyone feels invincible and that they are the only ones that matter shoving you to get what they want. It's crazy! Yesterday we were invited to Mary's international church for Palm Sunday. It was refreshing to be apart of something so familiar in a place so foreign. That afternoon we got to partake in something none of us had ever dreamt of, well I hadn't at least. Mary, Nicole, and I took part in a CHOCOLATE BUFFET!!! WHAT?!?!?! I KNOW!!!! .. We went to this incredible hotel that took us to another world. The hotel itself was astoundingly beautiful, you could feel how expensive it was the second you entered the lobby. I felt like I went back in time to the 70's and teleported to Europe. The ambiance and setting of the hotel was so exclusive and rustic, I can understand why people would stay there. So about the chocolate.. we thought we were in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Everything you could imagine was there : every kind of chocolate(pure), crepes, fruit you could dip in fondue, mousse, so many kinds of chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and millions of these chocolate treats.. I went up 3 times to fill my plate full! We also were given these little finger sandwiches and coffee, which sort of balanced it out.. not really though. It was awesome. I am pretty sure we all had the worst gut aches after, literally stuffing our faces full until not one more thing could go down without coming up. But I think we got our moneys worth!
Alas, we have finished our time in this crazy, wonderful, city so full of life. This evening we are flying out, heading back to Bangkok. From there we will try and get on a train that will take us up north to Chiang Mai. We have a guesthouse booked for April 10th, so until then we will explore the surrounding cities, hoping to discover new and incredible creations that God has wonderfully made. Please continue to pray for safe travels as we put ourselves back in a new country. Health wise we are feeling great. We were able to skype both our families the other day, refreshing and renewing our spirits. So blessed. We also feel incredible grateful to have been able to spend most of this past week with Mary! She is an amazing, hospitable, generous, godly woman, whom we felt is so inspiring! From moving to an entirely new country all the way around the world, depending solely on the Lord, it's admirable. It was refreshing to be able to hangout with someone that knew this city so well. From showing us around, giving us advice, and just catching up, it will give us fond memories! Thank you Mary, we love you !
Talk to you in Thailand.
Nicole is once again updating her blog with some fascinating photos taken in the duration of this past week! Enjoy!
www.helloavocado.blogspot.com
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