48 hours in Ho Chi Minh City!

Christo and I are so glad we decided to include a couple of days in HCMC, why,,, because we loved it! It was modern, clean, organized, and overall a "hip" place. 

We managed to get in most of the sights, hit the famous Bến Thành Market and enjoy some delicious, French inspired cuisine! One afternoon we got stuck in a torrential downpour and seemed to be the only two people on the street that weren't prepared. It was a bright sunny day and within seconds of the wind starting to blow and the clouds rolling in, people were popping out ponchos from all over. People on motorbikes were throwing them on while driving! Obviously, they knew what was about to come and we didn't! 

Today is officially our last day across the globe. We got here (back to Bangkok) yesterday and will head to the airport later today. Last night we treated ourselves to dinner at SMITH.

ASIA = that's a wrap.
Next stop = USA.

From beach to big city!

This morning we wrapped up our time in Da Nang (insert sad face here) and hopped a flight to Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon.

The past few days have been full of relaxing and chill-axing! One morning we woke up super early to snap pics of the sun coming up. Although, we missed sunrise by probably 15 minutes, we did manage to witness tons of people on the beach at 5:20 in the morning! It was something I have never seen, not that I usually hit the beach at 5 in the morning but I can guarantee that if I did I would not see people playing, swimming, exercising, etc. like the people we saw here at that time! It was totally odd, no wonder, we had the beach to ourselves most days during what we would call "regular" beach hours!

Even though it was sad leaving the beach today, we're excited to experience a bit of life in HCMC before heading back to Thailand and then home, ahhh!

Farm to table, literally.

Where are the days going?! We wrapped up our time in Hoi An this morning and are about 30 miles north now in Danang, Vietnam. 

We had a great few days in Hoi An and can see why it is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We took total advantage of the bikes that came with our bungalow, enjoyed relaxing on the beautiful beach each day and strolling the glowing old town at night. Just outside of town, we found this hidden gem of a restaurant, Baby Mustard. We loved it so much we went there consecutive nights! We all know the "farm to table" concept but this place takes it to the next level! It was literally FARM to TABLE, like your table is on the farm! Baby Mustard is run by the most gracious family. Their smiling faces and the love they have for their country is infectious! Not to mention their family recipes make for the most amazing Vietnamese food we have EVER eaten! 

Life's a BEACH

Today is Thursday afternoon and Christo and I are in Hoi An, Vietnam. This used to be a secluded beach town but in recent years has become more and more popular amongst Westerners. Even the last season of The Bachelor was filmed here... yes, I'm guilty of watching it, gag!

We left crazy, hot, noisy, busy Hanoi yesterday morning and after a short hour flight arrived here in Hoi An. Our resort arranged our airport pickup and we were welcomed by the sweetest little man. He had a cooler with chilled washcloths and ice cold drinks for us. He spoke a little English (which has been rare on this trip) and stole my heart immediately!

Once we checked in there was no time to waste, off to the beach we went! Last night, we ventured in to town for dinner and to check out the tailors. There are stalls upon stalls of tailors waiting eagerly to make you an entire new wardrobe. I thought I was going to jump right into this part of Hoi An but I have to admit I was completely overwhelmed!

This morning we took a nice bike ride along the beachside and bought "real" RayBans for less than 2 bucks a pop, SCORE! Sun, sand, relaxation and massages are all on the agenda for the next few days, oh yay!

Holy motorbikes!

Yesterday we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam. The views of the rice fields from the plane were the most vibrant shade of green, absolutely gorgeous! In the car ride from the airport, it was surreal to see miles of those gorgeous fields with water buffalo and lady workers scattered throughout! Of course the camera was in the trunk (dang!) but we're hoping to get some pics on the ride back!

Before coming here we continuously heard how this city is run by motorbikes and how dangerous it is just to cross the street, well,,, that is NOT an exaggeration at ALL! It is absolutely crazy to see this in real time! I can't tell you how many times we jetted out to cross the street and jumped back on the curb! I'm sure the locals are having a good laugh watching us to do this over and over again.

We experienced treacherous amounts of rain last night but managed to grab a delicious Vietnamese dinner! We're trying to see as much of Hanoi as possible. We're happy to be staying in the French Quarter, which resembles a bit of a European feel nestled within such a hectic city!

Rags to Riches all in a day!

Our plan was to hit the Chatuchak Weekend Market early today instead we woke up about 3 hours after we were hoping to get there... oh well, after all we're on vacation! Once we got to the market it was senses overload; people, clothes, shoes, art, flowers, food, drinks and more... I could seriously go on here! After the market we strolled through a local park and enjoyed people watching! 

Even though we had a late start, it was a fun "day in the life of" kinda day! We ended our 2nd day in Bangkok with a phenomenal dinner at Issaya Siamese Club, same owner of the phenomenal Kittichai restaurant in NYC. Well, just like Kittichai, Issaya Siamese Club did not disappoint. Bravo Chef Ian Kittichai!

In a few hours we leave for Hanoi, Vietnam... literally a few hours, I better hit the sack!