Walking in My Shoes

What an instigator, that Mr. Cliffhanger, using guilt and suspense to coerce me into writing. Just for that, you get another ordinary post and the fascinating, photo-filled travel posts will come later.

Though he did a fine job of summing up our weekend in Malaysia. The highlight for me was the dinner at Tamarind Springs, a beautiful restaurant in a tropical setting. I'm happy to have seen, in person, the iconic Petronas twin towers, but I'll admit that the sight made me miss New York's own iconic twin towers. Sometimes it's hard to believe that they only exist in memory.

Christmas is all wrapped up, the purple trees of Orchard Rd. disassembled. We completed that dreaded task of removing our home decorations; it was a wistful few seconds. We've retained the $7 tacky tinsel tree that we bought in HK two years ago and it performed just as dazzlingly this year. Its silver 'needles' shimmered in the gentle breeze of the perpetual air-con until the time came to collapse it like a pancake.

We celebrated New Year's Eve at the bar of Oso, the Italian restaurant. There was a fair sized crowd and some noise, nothing too memorable. The next day's event in the season of consumption was Paul's birthday meal at Morton's steakhouse. We were given a cozy corner booth and were asked if we were celebrating a special occasion. A coworker of Paul's recently dined at Morton's and clued him in to the offering of a complimentary dessert if they know it's your birthday, so we shared this fact with the server - since he asked. Paul's gratis cake of choice was American style cheesecake imported from some presumably well-known bakery in The Bronx (I forget the name). As part of the over-the-top service, they took our photo and presented it to us in a Morton's birthday card. Ah, the gluttony. I had to go along with it as Paul's birthday request. I had no choice.

Last thing, I complain all the time about the constant heat and humidity here, but I may keep it to myself after seeing what you all went through the week after Christmas. I had flashbacks of digging our cars out, especially when we lived in the apartment on Grymes Hill, only to have someone occupy the spot seven seconds later. We eventually acquired a house and driveway, but that only solved the parking space anxiety at home. S.I. libraries, where I worked, notoriously lacked parking. Once, I was forced to 'steal' a cleared spot in New Dorp after a huge snowfall and I was greeted with an obscene note upon return. I was probably lucky that it was just a note. Regardless of the conditions, I would still have to get to work in snow, ice, falling snow, falling frogs - whatever the case - as long as the library was open, and the library was always open. And more than once I cursed my own acquiescence as my car would tailspin while I drove 5 MPH in dangerous conditions only to arrive late and be docked the time from my annual leave.

So I'm not rubbing it in when I say how relieved I am to avoid winter, by chance, a couple of the whitest winters ever. I wholeheartedly sympathize. As I write this, it is snowing there again for the third time in two weeks. Surely the cleanup has to be better this time, right? Right? I hope you all have enough milk at home. Did you go out and stock up on milk???

Having said how much I hate snow, a chilly day would be lovely. I miss a change of seasons - even in Hong Kong we got a pleasant break from November to March. I've forsaken half my wardrobe, and I really miss wearing beautiful boots and jackets. It's considered rainy season here, which is difficult to distinguish from non-rainy season, though the rain does seem to fall for a longer time each day and on more days than the rest of the year. On Christmas night, in the pouring rain, it was a brisk 73F/23C, the coolest I believe I've ever experienced here. I've been taking walks/jogs at night and enjoying the cool weather while it lasts. By cool I mean that I sweat but it doesn't actually pool and roll down my body parts. So the grass is always greener in somebody else's hemisphere.

Guilty

So, as Lisa stated in her last posting I actually wrote this before her entry but just the threat of me posting first got her moving. Since it was already written I figured I'd upload it anyway if you have some time to kill.

Who would have ever guessed I would be the one to break the blog dry spell? But for these two holiday weeks things are really slow, so let's see if I can get this going again.
 

It’s been sooooo long since the last posting we’ve actually been on 3! trips of a life time in that period.

· Maldives, which is a series of islands with pristine white beaches and crystal blue water that you see in magazine advertisements or movies and have trouble imagining that someplace like that really exists.

· Bhutan, a mystical and mysterious country near the Himalayan mountains that is somehow frozen in time and so remarkably beautiful that it's often thought of as the real Shangri-La.

· New Zealand, though less exotic than the other two trips, its location in the middle of nowhere makes it quite difficult to imagine getting there from the US (it took us over 10 hour from Singapore). But this was a place both of us always wanted to visit and it lived up to expectations (more so than its more popular neighbor Australia had for the two of us).

Knowing I couldn’t possibly give the proper journalistic justice to such monumental trips with my diminishing memory and limited vocabulary I’ll leave those for Lisa, and I’ll update you on our very last trip of 2010: Kuala Lumpur.

For some reason I got a bug to go somewhere the last weekend before I needed to cover at work for year end. It may have just been a desire to get my passport stamped for the tenth time this year (that’s right double digit trips in one year!). But most likely it was that ten months in, and Singapore still has the same impression on us which is mostly just boring. When you throw in the heat and how expensive everything is, it’s amazing we don’t travel even more.

I know we haven’t written much about our experiences since living here but we are still mostly unimpressed. Nothing is particularly bad outside of the prices and heat, but nothing is particularly great either. We’ve found only one restaurant we frequent which ironically is for pizza. Yes, we found good pizza in Asia! Owned by actual Italians, they make a pretty damn good pie – good enough that we find ourselves there pretty much every Sunday and they know us well by now.

However we do pay for this privilege. Two personal pizzas and one soda cost us about 65 SGD a week (just over $50 USD) and I sometimes leave a little hungry. Also I’ve once again learned the lesson that the grass is always greener after complaining about the price of beer in Hong Kong. A pint of beer here will usually run about 18 SGD (about $14 USD). Plus every place charges tax and a service charge, so if we go out and have two pints each it runs us about $60 USD. Yes, it’s insane and yes, I think it’s time to admit I have a problem because I still drink beer here.

Anyway with little time to plan and only looking to take a day or two away from work we searched for places close by for a quick and hopefully cheap trip. As it is rainy season most places here, eventually we ruled out any beach areas (though Bali was making a case for itself). We also considered Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam but realized we really wanted to plan that in more detail.

So eventually we settled on KL (as it is more commonly known) - The capital city of Malaysia which you may know for Petronas Towers pictured below. It is only about a four hour car ride from Singapore or a 40 minute plane ride. Plane tickets can usually be had with enough notice for as little as $2 to $4 and you pay more in fees bringing the cost up to about 50 bucks. It’s a place we knew we’d eventually get to because we lived so close, though we really had no specific draw to the city.

Day time view of the towers
 

Of course we were booking last minute and near Christmas so the prices were higher and we contemplated taking a bus up (which is common) but decided to just jump on a plane for the convenience. However after we had an hour delay on the runway and a 45 minute cab ride from the airport we realized the bus was probably the way to go. Just because we travel so often doesn’t mean we are good at it.

We realize going some place simply because you feel like you should is not ideal. But as we were just looking for an escape and for a couple of decent meals and reasonably priced drinks, the city didn’t 
have any high expectations to live up to. And that is pretty much all KL did.

Many people go there for the shopping but as we now live in the Country of Malls this was not anything special for us (coming from HK may have been different). Walking the streets we could have been in any other city in Asia with its similar stores and predictable crowds. But we did end up having one very nice meal in a Thai restaurant outside the city, set in the jungle.

Here they are at night - Not many other photo ops in KL
 

We get my corporate rate in hotels in most major cities. The rooms typically have no view, are on low floors and never include breakfast (which is fairly standard in Asia). However we get to stay at 4 and 5 star hotels fairly cheap. We chose a high end chain hotel in Asia called the Mandarin Oriental but after several frustrating attempts to reserve a room we settled on our second choice called Traders.

The hotel has a very popular “sky bar” on the roof around their pool. We stopped up one night to check it out and grab a quick drink. As we sat in our window seat we paused for a minute to think how lucky we were to be discussing a fairly uneventful day in a back drop of one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks in the middle of Malaysia. We’re very aware that we are getting to live a life we would have dreamed of but probably never thought it could be a reality when sitting back in our house in Fords.

So with that let me just wish you all a Happy New Year! and say Thank You! to all of you back home that do so much to make our lives easier as we live out this adventure. From checking on our home, to shipping us the things we need or just really want, or helping keep us entertained. It is still recognized and appreciated as much now as since we’ve moved and all you’ve asked for in return is to include you in our experiences. (So do you think that should do the trick to guilt Lisa into writing again?).

Blog ya’ later!

And here's a few teaser photos from the blogs that should be just around the corner...

What stories lie outside this gate in Maldives?

Only Lisa's tales will tell....

Did we actually hike over two hours to this mountain side temple in Bhutan?

I'm guessing it will be at least two postings before that is answered...

Is this a post card or a photo from New Zealand?

Did I finally get my chance to go hang gliding and live to tell?

Oh well, I guess that is kind of obvious..

But did Lisa have the guts to join me? Only time will tell....

Right Here Right Now

Sssss-stretch... yyyyyyyy-yawn... Huh? I fell asleep. What time is it?

Wait. You don't understand. I have actually written countless blog posts in my head!

We brought the laptop to New Zealand in November and I wanted to write on-the-spot blogs from a (more) distant land for the first time, but internet access wasn't as reliable as I had hoped and we were also constantly moving. When I first told Paul I wanted to blog from NZ, he said, "About what, Maldives?" He's a card. By the way, no one has harassed me about my writer's strike more than my husband. And now he informs me that he's written one himself so I must beat him to publication.

I won't start with any of the three big trips we've taken since you last heard from me. I won't waste time with pathetic excuses either; I'll just get right into what's been happening recently, with about eight hours left until 2011.

I thought the US jumped the gun on Christmas decorations, but they began appearing mid-October in Singapore. Not until December did a minor mania begin to build: extra traffic, extra crowds, sales, songs, shopping. Orchard Road, the main shopping thoroughfare, was decked out in blue and purple lights and lighted trees. A bit more traditional red and green would have been appreciated, but one standout difference here (in a largely non-Christian country) is that signs actually say Merry Christmas. It may be just as commercialized, if not more, but they don't fool around with what idea in particular they are commercializing.

 Orchard Road

For my birthday this year, we couldn't fall back on any favorite dining spots as we haven't labeled any as favorites yet - though I always strive to locate them - so we tried an Italian place in our neighborhood called Oso. I owe a dedicated post to the uninspired yet always overpriced dining, nightlife and other stuff here, but luckily Oso was a cut above and we liked it enough that it's where we are going tonight. I've avoided cheese all day in preparation for the outstanding Burrata cheese appetizer for two. I wonder what Paul will start with. Kidding.

The day after my birthday we tried to get 'in the spirit' and we went to Fort Canning Park to hear Christmas carols by candlelight. Not to sound like a Grinch, but we would have been happier watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on TV at home. It started at 6:30 pm so it was actually carols by sunlight for most of the duration, though we only stayed until dusk, about 30 minutes, because sweating profusely while watching a dance troupe in neon blue outfits is not all that Christmasy. I think we may have been the only couple there without kids. I don't have any statistics but I'm fairly sure there were more children present than adults. Well we tried (can you guess whose idea it was to try?) but tropical heat dampens many ambitions here.

 Carols at Fort Canning Park

Oh yes, we also spent a weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. More on that next time. Lots of Christmas there too, which is a little confusing as it's a Muslim country.

I was privileged to have Christmas visitors this year. My friend Peggy and her family stopped in Singapore on their way from Hong Kong to Perth, Australia for two days just before Christmas. I toured Singapore with them while Paul was at work: botanic gardens, river cruise... one day I will take Paul on these tours that he always misses. The first night Peggy dressed her 5-year-old daughter and her three-year-old son in Santa outfits and we went to Orchard Road. The kids were celebrities! Asian locals and tourists couldn't get enough of two adorable blond Santas. They had to start refusing photos. Oh, I also got to dance inside a purple Christmas tree with the kids. Singapore's decorations may be non-traditional but they are engaging.

Inside the purple tree

By Christmas Eve we were missing home, especially since we got to be there last year. Paul suggested we stay home and cook so we did. This may sound odd, but I miss home more when I grocery shop for items on a holiday. I don't know if it's the crowds or seeing items that I know are only sold for a short time around holidays here but are everyday items back home, like pie crusts. It occurred in Hong Kong too when I picked up something on Christmas Eve and people, mostly marooned expats, were there picking up their cooked turkeys. Here, I picked up provolone cheese, marinated mushrooms, olives - had to settle for manzanilla rather than black, roasted peppers, bread, a packaged 'fresh' mozzarella that I salted myself, fish, shrimp, spaghetti and some brownie mix. I have a small oven so I can bake brownies now... but I've never wanted a cannoli more.

Paul fried the shrimp and fish and I did the rest. It turned out quite well and it really did make us feel a little better about being far away from where half our family would be enjoying such things. The wine helped too. And the music. We created a list of our favorite Christmas songs and made it through the list several times over the Christmas weekend. Thanks to Scott and Slingbox and TBS, we also didn't miss A Christmas Story. Speaking of which, we went out for roast duck on Christmas day. Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra. Luckily we had no other plans since it rained heavily most of the night.

Tonight, New Year's Eve will just be the two of us at Oso. Or should I say, the three of us? That Burrata is hefty.

We hope you've had a lovely Christmas and we wish you a wonderful new year. One thing you have to look forward to is our photos and blogs of our trips from 2010.

And happy birthday to my hubby.

Master of the House

Coming very, very soon. I promise! Technical difficulties...

Deja Vu

We've returned from the 4-day tour of Hong Kong. Paul, the employed one, flew business class on Singapore Airlines while I flew economy on Jetstar - at 6:40 a.m. (yawn). You do what you must for a cheap flight. A smile still found its way to my weary face as I looked out the window to find the green mountains sprawling toward the approach to Hong Kong's airport, just where I had left them. I didn't have much trepidation being on my own because I know HK's marvelous airport intimately.

It was raining when I got there. I had arranged lunch with two friends so I checked in at the hotel and my feet barely grazed the room before I was off to meet them. Over the course of lunch the rain reached "Black Rain" status (there's a description here, probably from June 2008 about black rain; it's an indicator of a whole lotta rain). Good to be back! It was an excuse to linger over tapas. Eventually, the rain mostly subsided and husbands resurfaced from work and tracked us down. Paul met me pre-dinner time after his half day at the office and we ate in Yung Kee, an HK classic. We went straight back to the hotel and quickly surrendered to exhaustion.

The next morning I was a tourist. There's a place, the Chi Lin Nunnery, that I honestly meant to visit for almost two years and, somehow, I failed to get there. I was determined this time. It's quick and easy to travel by train from the city. My friend Peggy met me there before she took off for a trip home to New Zealand. The rain had cleared overnight and it was hot. I know I live in Singapore, a tropical climate. So could Hong Kong possibly be worse - in July and August anyway? It seems impossible, but I boldly say, Yes. Sweat rolled down the sides of my nose the minute I stepped from the train station.

Luckily, the trip was worth the sweat. What a beautiful, tranquil spot in the midst of a bustling world. I've seen lots of temples in my Asia travels, but this one was perhaps one of the prettiest, and all the wood structures were built without one nail. What I found most interesting was the juxtaposition of a scenic retreat against the ubiquitous high-rise apartment blocks and the backdrop of green hills. There was a tea house on the grounds and Peggy and I stopped in for some tea and dumplings in an effort to escape the heat. If any of you ever visit someone else who lives in Hong Kong, I highly recommend a visit to Chi Lin.

 

Later that afternoon I ran off again to meet two friends for afternoon tea. My friend Victoria brought her one-year-old son and my friend Hester is pregnant, as is another friend whom I didn't get to see because she was visiting the UK. Something about that rain...

There are important decisions to make in life. As the dinner hour approached again, Paul and I faced ours. After careful consideration we chose our favorite little sushi place in our old neighborhood of Wan Chai. No regrets with that decision, except that it was so good it makes me wish I could go there right now. Did you know salmon could melt in your mouth? Back at the hotel we stopped in the bar, which we always liked, for some live music. Morning tea  + afternoon tea + a few sips of dinner tea = I know better but I like tea and I'll sleep some other night.

Early the next morning I got my hair done since I haven't yet found anyone too reliable in Singapore. In my non-stop social blitz of Hong Kong, I met a group for lunch at a posh restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. My friend Leslie made it her noble ambition last year to dine at as many Michelin starred restaurants as possible. I made it to two with her before I left and I was lucky to be present for another on this day. Leslie is in treatment for breast cancer and my visit also coincided with one of her good weeks between chemo rounds. She looks great and has an inspirational strength and an irrepressible sense of humor.

At lunch I also got to see my friend and old J Residence neighbor Maggie who, as of this past weekend, has moved to China. She and her husband were also staying in a hotel since movers packed them up the day before, so I didn't get to visit J Res.

A drink with Leslie then off again to dinner. This time we chose our overall favorite HK dining spot, Wagyu, and my friend Victoria and her husband John joined us. Happily none of our chosen meals disappointed. A final drink in Lan Kwai Fong and then I finally saw the hotel room for more than a few minutes.

On Saturday morning Paul and I did a little required shopping and I had a stroll around Wan Chai before we met one of his coworkers for a dim sum lunch. Then Maggie and her husband Chris met us in Wan Chai for the event I had been waiting for: a foot massage at Siam Thai Massage. I got really accustomed to those massages. Hey, when you can have your feet rubbed for an hour for about $10, it's simply wrong to pass up. Singapore lacks such economical pursuits of relaxation.

Then we got tattoos. You see, I love Maggie, but I don't love her love of theme parties. That night was her and Chris' farewell party and - similar to her birthday last year where everyone had to wear a uniform and I was a Mad Men style secretary and Paul was a chef - the theme was trailer trash. When in Rome... So Paul sported a big eagle on his arm and one on the other forearm: the double eagle. I went for a classy rose on my chest. Let's just say that the tats complemented the chosen outfits. And let's also say that after the party while everyone was hanging out at a bar, someone asked Paul where he was from. When he said NY, the guy said, "No way! You look more like you're from Texas than I do - and I'm from Texas." Maybe it was the handlebar 'stache. My husband dedicated himself to the occasion and shaved part of his face that I haven't seen in about 15 years. My outfit, complete with pink fuzzy pants that I wear to sleep but some people wear in public (often with a logo written across the butt) earned a lot of stares. Trashy costumes: successful. Oh, my friend Kathleen is also pregnant now but not yet pregnant enough to pull off the classic 'pregnant woman in a too small shirt holding a beer can and cigarette.'

I had to leave a little earlier than Paul for my flight home on Sunday. I was sad to leave - again. I miss Hong Kong - again. Everyone asked me how I find life in Singapore and for most, "Fine" was not a sufficient answer. I sincerely don't wish to sound negative or unappreciative, so I managed to provide some details of how Singapore is "fine," but I can't deny that I (we) prefer Hong Kong. I was asked, if we had moved to Singapore first, do I think we might like it more. That's a good question and I think, perhaps, we would. But it's impossible to withhold comparisons now that it is in fact our second home in Asia. As I walked through the streets of Hong Kong, the strangest feeling was that I was not a stranger. We haven't been gone so long and everything remains so familiar that it still felt like I was home, and the only odd part was not staying.

Have Love Will Travel

I hear it's a lil' steamy over there? Why don't you come visit Singapore now that you know how the weather feels?

Lots of travel plans are taking place here on Gopeng Street. First up, we are going to Hong Kong this week. Paul is going to work for a couple of days so naturally I'm tagging along. We'll stay through the weekend, and already my schedule is almost full. One reason I'm especially happy to be there this particular weekend is that my friend Maggie and her husband will be moving to China in less than two weeks and Saturday night is the farewell party. China! She's a braver soul than I am. Not that I wouldn't try it, but it's an entirely different world. Another of my earliest friends there, Kathleen, is soon moving to New York where her husband got a job. I'm a little envious. Such is the nature of expat life... a few years here, a few years there. Or everyone is leaving HK because it's just not as fun without us.

Have I ever mentioned how I knew four people in Singapore before moving here? Yes, I moved countries - in Asia - and I know people. They are either friends or friends of friends from HK. One already moved back to the UK, but I've seen each of the others a few times here. One just arrived recently. I didn't even know my neighbors' names in Fords.

In August, Paul is taking me on a whirlwind tour of... someplace. My hubby took it upon himself to choose a destination and book everything while leaving it a mystery to me. I guess we can call it a 9th anniversary trip. I'll find out what is once we check in for boarding passes. I'm not used to such a surprise since I plan all the trips and he comes along as Mr. Piraino. Sweet, isn't it? Don't think he's not harassing me with teasing statements, mostly about how much fun we'll have in Sentosa - an island off Singapore that's an easy day trip. He tells me to stop frowning my disapproval as he goes on about how great the ferry ride will be.

Then in October we will travel to Bhutan. This one's all me. I saw a documentary about this small, beautiful mountain kingdom back when I was maybe early 20-something, scribbled a note on whatever scrap of paper was on hand at the time, and decided I must go. So it's sort of a dream fulfilled. If you've never heard of it, look it up. It's often referred to as Shangri-La. You'll have to wait until we've been there for my description.

Once we get back from HK next week, I'll get to work on New Zealand, our November trip. That one will be our long, ambitious trip this year as Japan was last year, Australia the year before that. I've wanted to visit NZ for ages too. Two trips of a lifetime will happen about two weeks apart. I'm a lucky, lucky girl. You can't say we haven't taken advantage of the regional travel opportunities. The more we travel, the more I long to see more of my home continent. America, the beautiful.

Speaking of which, we did celebrate July 4th. A friend had a BBQ at her place and 10 Americans gathered and did what Americans do on July 4, minus the fireworks. But we did have sparklers! I don't know where she got them but they've been illegal at home for so long that it was a novelty to hold them again.

August 9 is National Day here. Preparations have been ongoing for weeks and they include military jets roaring overhead at a distance I consider too close for comfort. The rumbling unsettles me every time. I hear there will be loads of fireworks and a parade. In Singapore style, the government works to create interest, and in Singapore style kills all the spontaneity and fun by requiring tickets to see the parade. I don't even know how that's possible but I suppose I might find out if I get arrested for peeping at a marching band.

Come Sail Away

(Click on the arrow to play slideshow. Click on a picture to go to album.)

Surprise! We haven't taken a trip, yet you're getting a post about a trip. My every-day-living reports must be boring by now, but don't fear; I have Vietnam up my sleeve. It's the trip we took back in February and never documented. With moving soon after, settling here, and a pinch of procrastination it's taken some time (yikes - five months!) to complete a worthy post+photos. I probably forgot some details by now but I'll dig up what I can.

We arrived in Hanoi on a Thursday evening, February 4, and checked into the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, a historic luxury hotel built in 1901 in the French colonial style and perhaps my current favorite hotel in the world. There are two wings, the classic and the opera. The classic wing contains the original rooms and the opera wing is an addition of more modern yet equally elegant rooms. We passed through the hotel briefly for two non-consecutive nights with an excursion sandwiched between our stays in Hanoi. So to sample both tastes, we first stayed in the opera wing and upon return we stayed in the classic wing. They were both beautiful, but remaining true to my tastes, I especially enjoyed the classic room. The entire hotel had an old-world atmosphere and it felt like a true sanctuary in the center of the hyper city. I cherished the level of detail which you don't often find in more modern, built-for-efficiency hotels. It felt like something special. Elegance and charm all over. Wish we had more than two brief glimpses.

If I remember right it may have been a bit rainy when we arrived. We made a reservation at a "must try" restaurant called Bobby Chin but after some minor complications we canceled and ate nearby the hotel. My credit card company takes it upon themselves to randomly protect me at times when I try to charge something online from abroad, particularly airline tickets or travel plans, considering it high-risk activity - even after living abroad for two years. Therefore, I wasted a good bit of time before dinner trying to make an online payment to the tour company we had scheduled our next day's excursion with. Hotel staff tracked down someone from the company on a mobile phone after hours to confirm for us and we had to pay in cash once on the tour. Thanks, as always, Citibank.

Bobby Chin was a fair distance by taxi, so we nixed it. No matter, we had a fine dinner after all. We chose a place called The Press Club. When I studied the menu I was slightly disappointed at first that we hadn't managed to choose a more Vietnamese cuisine. We really enjoy Vietnamese food we've tried, mostly in Hong Kong, and this place had a more Western flavored menu, but it was a very good meal in a classy setting nonetheless. We took a short walk before returning to the hotel to have a drink at one of the hotel lounges, this one poolside.

The next morning, a van from Indochina Sails picked us and a few others up for the 3-4 hour drive to Halong Bay. Driving through Hanoi and surrounds is an adventure in itself. Controlled chaos is a gentle term. Vehicles sprawl in all directions with seemingly no road rules and converge at intersections like ants on a cookie crumb. Families of four on single motorbikes is a common site. What do you do when you have to transport two trees somewhere in Vietnam? Hitch them up on the back of the motorbike. Four six-foot porcelain vases? Why, the motorbike, of course. A cow? Motorbike. Wait - If you're picturing some sort of trailer attached to the bikes - no, no, no. Just the bike, driver, some fantastically manipulated cord and 200-400 pounds of miscellaneous items. It was a long, tedious drive sporadically eased by marveling at impossible sights on two wheels. One sight I unfortunately can't forget was a cage of kittens so tightly packed they couldn't move - and the sack on top of the cage where there were more kittens - unmoving for a different reason.

Once we arrived at the pier we had to wait for nearly an hour at a cafe/gift shop, obviously owned by the tour company. After 30 minutes of boredom, you might be more likely to purchase a can of soft shell crab flavored Pringles. Eventually a small boat conveyed us to the larger boat where we would spend our time cruising Halong Bay overnight. Ours was a traditional Chinese style teak boat. Our cabin was small but comfortable enough.

We started with a lunch of several small courses of Vietnamese specialties like fresh spring rolls. After lunch we cruised to a small island called Titop where we disembarked to climb the steps to its peak for some photo ops overlooking the bay. Halong Bay is enchantingly beautiful with its scattering of beveled limestone peaks jutting out and reflecting across the water's silvery surface. We weren't lucky enough to be accompanied by the stingy sun so the vistas were shortened by haze. But even the gray mists complimented the atmosphere.

We returned to the boat and cruised along to the next stop. Here we had a choice of either visiting a floating fishing village or kayaking. Feeling like we knew what to expect from the floating village, especially having seen one on the river in Cambodia that likely couldn't be topped for the "Wow, people live like this?" factor, we chose the kayaking. I'm glad we did. Even with the light drizzle, paddling around this stunning backdrop was so peaceful. I felt small among the peaks. It's a good moment that I'll remember. And our team kayaking skills have improved significantly - which only means that we didn't get hit in the face with branches this time (Russian River... Sonoma, CA... pre-blog travel).

After returning to the boat for some relaxation we cruised to our overnight anchor spot and had dinner. After dinner I think they started showing the film Indochine in the lounge but the sound didn't work so they stopped. Paul and I were already out on the upper deck enjoying that silence and the black sky and the light of another boat anchored in the distance. A few others were also out there but eventually we were the last ones.

Early morning activities began with Tai Chi on the deck, though we didn't participate. Our morning began by relaxing in bed next to the picture window, admiring the passing scenery as we slowly cruised. The tranquility came to an awkward end as a woman in a small boat paddled past and lingered along side our boat. She was fully stocked with seashells for sale. She caught our eyes and stared at us hopefully, as if we would throw open the window and shout, "We'll take six clam shells!" while tossing her the payment. It just wasn't her lucky day.

Our final stop was at Sung Sot Cave or Surprise Cave. After climbing the 100 steps to its entrance it was a surprise how... well, cavernous the cave was. It was vast and mesmerizing and exquisitely sculpted by time and the elements. I don't have a lot of cave experience to compare, but it was more than a worthwhile excursion. DEFINITELY different from the bat cave in Borneo. Not a cockroach or bat poop to be found. Probably why there were so many more tourists to be found.

After the cave exploration we ate breakfast back on the boat, packed and checked out. It was about a two hour cruise back to the pier so we sat on deck and soaked in the last of the mist and mountains. Then another hour in the cafe/shop. The reason this drove me insane was that the one and only thing I wanted to see in Hanoi was the Hanoi Hilton, the Vietnam War prisoner museum, and I knew we would run out of precious time which was wasted sitting around this dump. I had to give up the goal. I suppose it's possible we'll return one day? Let it go...

The van was full on the way back to Hanoi and Paul and I were the lucky ones who got to cram up front with the driver. Vietnam roads are not for the faint of heart. My front seat view kept me alert for the four hour drive which felt like six or seven. You name it and we saw it hurling past on the backs of motorbikes. The real circus only began as we wound through the streets of the city to drop off guests at their different hotels. I don't know how to describe the pace and the action of people and vehicles moving in every direction. I could only believe it by witnessing it. It was the one advantage of being stuck in the van. Normally I like to explore a city on foot, but if we had been walking those gritty, buzzing and whirling streets I would have quickly run screaming back to the hotel. Behind the relative protection of the windshield we got a good look at the frenzy that is modern Hanoi.

We did of course get back in the late afternoon, too late to catch the Hanoi Hilton. We instead made a reservation through the concierge for a water puppet theater performance at the theater a few blocks from the hotel. We headed out early and took a slow walk there along the river. I am still recovering from my anxiety of crossing the six lane street without any traffic signals. It was definitely reminiscent of Frogger. The general advice is to keep a steady pace with no sudden darting or stopping and the traffic will allow for your steady movement. In other words, just go. Easier said than done. The smaller streets are no picnic either as motorbikes zip past, inches from your feet. You may also be assailed by people selling stuff, as usual. We made it to the show alive... I guess the Metropole gets the best water puppet theater tickets because we sat front row center. It was totally touristy but fun to watch. It hardly lasted an hour which was the perfect amount of time to watch puppets.

We hit the streets again and walked around the "old section." The colonial architecture was something I really enjoyed. Some buildings showed their age while some were well preserved. Most were quite colorful. Life seems to be lived out on the streets. You can witness modern Vietnam mixed with steadfast tradition, comfortable cafes among ancient food stalls, faded and cracked facades next to brightly painted colonial architectural jewels, hawkers enthusiastically trying to get your attention as well as impenetrable faces staring silently, and I believe somewhat defiantly, back at you. Throw some ever-present communist flags into the apparently capitalist mix... Hanoi: a thriving and struggling composite in full color, full stereo frenzy. It's a peculiar and compelling fusion. I did appreciate the city's personality; I just think I could only handle it in small doses.

We had dinner on the small 2nd floor terrace of a casual restaurant called Bar-Club 69. We chatted with our neighbors, a Swiss (I think) father and daughter. She was a flight attendant celebrating her birthday by meeting up with her father in Hanoi. He suggested the location because when he had last been there 15 years ago, he thought it "quiet" compared to Saigon, so he was quite surprised to see how much Hanoi has changed.

Fed and content, we didn't make much of an attempt to find nightlife. It just seemed like it would be an exhausting and sweaty endeavor, so we walked back to the hotel and sat at the poolside lounge again. In the morning we took a last walk around outside. It pained me to bid farewell to our lovely room after such a short stay, but I was slightly comforted by the sandwiches we had made for the road from the hotel bakery. There's a legacy of great French bread in Hanoi. Not to mention that they buttered the bread - of my tomato and cheese sandwich. Butter and cheese. Mmm.

We ate the sandwiches on the drive to the airport. I'm glad it wasn't a chicken sandwich. One of our last memorable sights... Paul noticed something out his window and eagerly nudged me. I looked up and there was a cardboard box on the back of a motorbike. The box had two holes cut out, and poking out of each hole was the small face of a chicken, all eyes and beaks, both staring at us just inches from the window. They just cracked me up, even if they were heading for a dinner plate.

So that was our trip to Vietnam. It was an interesting enough place that I would like to return to and explore further if we had the time. I didn't even get any pho (simply delicious noodle soup), though Paul had some on the boat. I would go to Hanoi again just to stay at the Metropole, and beautiful Halong Bay was worth the nerve-rattling van ride.

What can I say? My memory did a respectable job after five months rest.

And my favorite moments shared with the one I love:

-Ha-long till we're there?

-I don't know. Stop Hanoi-ng me.

Finger an inch from the other's arm - I'm not tai-chi-ing you. I'm not tai-chi-ing you. I'm not tai-chi-ing you. 

-Now you're really Hanoi-ng!