Adventures in Vietnam: Beach Dayzzz

Vietnam was overall really relaxing!  We went to the beach everyday the kids were in absolute heaven.  We played in the sand, went boogie boarding, and Bennett was obsessed with running and flinging himself down on the ground over and over again.  It was hilarious!

One day, while we were out swimming, a man came walking down the beach pulling an extremely long rope that was connected to a net or something out in the ocean.  I can only assume he was fishing, but it was unlike any other fishing method we had ever seen!  And since he was pulling it right through where our kids were playing, they decided to help the guy out!  Here they are pulling the rope from beach:

And one evening while we were on the beach, a sweet lady came walking by carrying big pots on her shoulders.  She was selling homemade, warm tofu with brown sugar and ginger for $1/bowl.  I couldn't resist!  So, she dished me up some in an actual glass bowl with a metal spoon and then she sat and waited while I ate it!  It was so delicious!  I would love to know how she made it!

While in Hoi An, we also did our fair share of pampering :)  Peter got 2 or 3 massages, Clara and I both got our nails done, and I also got a massage!  And none of them cost more than $7.  Amazing.  

Our other favorite thing to do on the beach was to eat at Soul Kitchen!  Soul Kitchen was just a few steps down the beach from our house, and it was great!  We loved the food (and the convenience) and we ate there numerous times!  Plus, being right on the beach, the views just couldn't be beat!

 

 

Thailand and Singapore Trip: Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Last weekend we got back from our epic trip to Thailand and Singapore!  We went with three other families and it was unbelievable!!!  All except for the flight that is . . .  We caught a military hop down to Singapore, but just two hours into the 7.5 hour flight, Clara was hit with a nasty stomach bug!  She threw up probably 20-30 times and also had diarrhea.  It was a disaster.  Then, a couple hours after she started throwing up, Will had a case of really bad diarrhea as well that exploded all over him!  It was such a nightmare.  I cleaned Will up as best I could in the tiny airplane bathroom (we had to throw away his underwear and I tried my best to rinse his pants out in the sink.  Then we put a diaper on him and put his wet, stinky pants back on--poor kid!  We just weren't prepared with an extra set of clothes for either Will or Clara, but from now on, you'd better bet we will be!  Regardless of how old they are!!!  The entire remainder of the flight, Peter and I were alternating between holding Bennett and cleaning up Clara's vomit/rushing the kids to the bathroom.  I honestly thought the flight would never end.  But, as bad as it all was, our flying situation was actually the best case scenario.  Since we were on a charted military flight, it only had about 20 passengers, so we had plenty of room around us.  And, the two flight attendants were extremely nice and helpful.  They supplied us with plenty of garbage bags and cleaning supplies so that we were able to keep everything relatively clean.  We actually had the same two flight attendants on our return trip, and I was happy to hear that neither of them got sick after that awful flight!  I wish could say the same for our friends though; one of the little girls from another family on the plane with us got what our kids had, but she had it the whole time we were in Thailand :(  Poor thing.  

Once we arrived in Singapore, we rushed to the international airport from the base to buy tickets and catch a flight to Thailand (we only had 2 hours before the last flight was leaving).  Clara had stopped throwing up (for a little while at least), so we were just going to try and get on the plane and get to Thailand so that she could recuperate there.  However, that just wasn't to be.  As we were standing in line to buy our tickets, Bennett, who I was carrying in our Ergo baby carrier, all of a sudden threw up all over himself and me.  Like, he completely drenched us both.  Covered in puke, I looked at Peter and told him, "I cannot get on a plane right now."  He was already digging through our suitcase finding me some clothes to change into, and he said, "You CAN.  Just get cleaned up."  To which my response was, "Okay, let me rephrase that.  I WILL NOT get on a plane right now."  So, Peter was disappointed, but he seceded and Bennett and I got changed and cleaned up in a bathroom and then we went and got ourselves a hotel room for the night.  We ended up spending more money than we would've liked, but for the sake of convenience.  We stayed at the Crowne Plaza, which is connected to the Singapore airport.  It is a very nice hotel and, after all is said and done, even though we missed a day in Thailand, I'm glad we stayed there.  Bennett threw up two more times over the next couple of hours (which is when we would've been on the plane), and Clara threw up again in the morning.  The kids were also able to get more sleep than they would have had we continued on.  So, it ended up being good, but was a bummer that we lost money and time in Thailand.  Oh well!

We finally got to Phuket on Friday afternoon and we were ready for some relaxation!  Clara got progressively better over the next two days, and both Bennett and Will got better right away.  Everyone was ready for some fun!

We stayed at the Swissotel in Phuket (which was fine, but we wouldn't stay there again . . . ), which was right on Kamala Beach.  While we didn't love our hotel experience, we did love the location, which was easy to get places and was only a few minutes from the beach.  We only spent a couple of days on the beach, but I had so many pictures that I thought I'd better make it its own post :)  So, after that massive introduction to our crazy journey, here are some photos of us living it up at the beach!

The kids could have seriously spent all day everyday just playing in the sand.  They made tons of little sand castles and "goop", as Will called it, which was just wet, goopy sand.  And, they were in absolute heaven playing with their friends!

Clara tried boogie boarding for the first time . . . and pretty much hated it!  But she caught a great wave!!!  Her face in this picture cracks me up!

Will came leaps and bounds in his embracing the ocean during this trip!  He overcame his fears (or at least dealt with them) and played in the water, and he rode tons of waves on the boogie board.  He was awesome out there!

Stay tuned for the rest of our adventures in Thailand . . . 

Bali Trip: Nusa Dua, Hotel, and Beach

Last week we took our second big trip since being in Asia (the first being to Kyoto).  We went to beautiful Bali, Indonesia!!!  Bali was at the top of my list of places to visit; it just seemed so obscure, tropical, and foreign, but other than that I didn't really know what to expect.  But, had I had any other expectations, they would have all been exceeded!  Bali is incredible!  This was Peter's and my first visit to Southeast Asia, and it was unlike anywhere either of us had ever been before.  Bali is known as The Land of the Gods, or The Land of a Thousand Temples--which I didn't know before going, but now that I've been, I completely understand why!  There are literally thousands of temples--everywhere you go, every street you drive down, you'll see so many temples!  We hired a local driver for a couple of the days, and he was fantastic at describing Bali's culture, as well as Hindu beliefs and traditions to us.  He explained to us that everyone lives with their extended family, and each family's home has its own temple.  Then, in addition, every neighborhood has its own temple.  Then, of course, there are the bigger, well-known temples scattered throughout the country, making it really the land of tens of thousands of temples!  It was so fascinating to see a culture so unlike any other I've seen!  We absolutely loved it.

We spent about a week in Bali, but we didn't make any plans before going!  We had looked online and gotten a general idea of things we wanted to do, but we really just planned on relaxing and taking things day by day.  And it's a good thing we went about our trip that way, because the day we arrived Will came down with a double ear infection and tonsillitis!  Meaning, we had no choice but to relax and take it easy!  So, the first few days, we just enjoyed the hotel, its pool, and private beach.  All things we would've done anyway, so it worked out just fine while Will rested and started feeling better.

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Nusa Dua.  And it was a steal!  For just about $100/night, we had a spacious room with two queen beds (which is very hard to come by at hotels in Asia and Southeast Asia) and room for a crib, free breakfast, a great pool, kids club, and private beach.  We felt like we had scored a great deal, plus it was the fanciest Courtyard Marriott I've ever been to.  And to top it off, the food was delicious!  The breakfast buffet was full of traditional Balinese foods and tons of fresh, tropical fruit.  I tried star fruit, jack fruit, dragon fruit, and snake skin fruit that week--all were delicious!  We really couldn't have been happier with the hotel, especially given the great price.

Nusa Dua is the peninsula down at the bottom of the island, and is very touristy.  Our hotel was located in a resort area next to a bunch of other hotels.  There are plenty of hotels and villas to stay in in different areas of the island that are less touristy and will give you a better glimpse of local life, but with our kids and for our current circumstances, staying in Nusa Dua was perfect.  Plus, it's still only about an hour drive to Ubud, which is the heart of the island where most of the activities and day trips were located.  So, it was very feasible to still get to see the "real Bali" (as our driver kept calling it) while staying in Nusa Dua.

Right in the same area as the hotel and beach are a bunch of little shops and restaurants.  And, at one of the shops, they offer a fish spa and foot massages!  We couldn't help ourselves, and Peter and I did both!  And it was hilarious!  A fish spa is just a tank full of doctor fish in which you stick your feet and then the little fish swim up and eat all of your dead skin off!  Crazy!  It tickled so bad and felt totally weird.  But, it was an experience we'll never forget!  And afterwards, we each got a foot massage with coconut oil and frangipani cream . . . so relaxing!  Both the 10 minute fish spa and 20 minute foot massage only cost us $11.00!  Best $11.00 I've ever spent!  Such a great deal!

Stay tuned for part 2 of our trip to Bali--it only gets better!