Hoi An and the Lunar New Year

 

After our quick stopover in Ho Chi Minh, we took off for Hoi An, THE place to be for Tet--Vietnamese Lunar New Year. It's the place you see with a lot of lanterns, and we spent the whole week here...where it rained the entire time and most everything was closed for, well, Tet. 

We still made the best of things, despite many breakdowns and wondering whether we should just pull the rip cord, but for now, plan A is still in motion. Most of what we did was captured in the visual, so enjoy the picture journey. 

I'll update again after Hue, where we're off to today for four days. After that, we're up to pick up the girls in Hanoi to start our adventure with them (if they can get into the country--the visa situation is confusing as heck and many people have stories of needing to fly elsewhere or delay their trip). Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for us all!!

Ho Chi Minh (for 1/2 a day)

 

After galavanting around Thailand beaches, we packed everything up (again) and made our voyage to Vietnam.

After a quick review of our visas from the airline agent, we boarded our one of two flights that would get us to where we needed to be by the start of the Lunar New Year. However, upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, they informed us that Sila had to be on his own visa and not included on mine. Thankfully, they allowed us to get one upon arrival for him, and we then grabbed a car to our hotel so that we could sleep for the night and get up to catch our next flight to Da Nang, which would put us in the epic center of the celebration: Hoi An. 

We arrived nice and early back to the airport...only to be informed that our flight wasn't until 7:00 p.m. that night. VietJet (the budget, perhaps worst airline we have ever flown on) didn't give us any notification, so that was a surprise. Thankfully, they had luggage storage, so after some coffee and an all-American breakfast sandwich from McDonalds, we were off to spend the day in Ho Chi Minh.

Because all forms of schooling have really fallen to the wayside (forever to be known as the year Sila did NOT go to 6th grade), we decided to visit the Vietnam Remnants Museum to get a little knowledge about the Vietnam war from the Vietnamese perspective. It was an interesting and all-sides portrayal of the war, which was great. Sila's mind is a sponge, so I'm sure some of this all stuck. We'll see, though. Then, when hunger hit, we kept the American theme going by visiting Eddie's diner in Ho Chi Minh. Burgers, fries, a great beer, and a milkshake....ah!

Enjoy a few pictures below. And if you're wondering about our mental state, yup, we still want to go home. Home many days left, do you ask? 45. 45. Hugs to all!

So, Another Crazy Hair....

 

Well, being the privileged and impatient people that we are, we decided to ditch Borneo (a same-day decision) and fly to Thailand for a little beach time. This decision happened over the time span of a morning, and by the evening--for a whopping $7 total--we were flying to Thailand. Side note, Malaysia Airlines is AWESOME, and I highly recommend them. We rented ourselves a motto, and for the past few days, we've been just beaching it. 

What does it mean for our travel? Well, instead of being in Borneo until today and then flying into Ho Chi Minh, we flew out of Borneo on Saturday and have been in Thailand since then. On Friday, though, we fly to Ho Chi Minh for one night (where our visas are valid to enter through) and then fly to Da Nang the next morning to begin our time in Hoi An for the Vietnamese New Year! Woohoo. We'll be settled in Hoi An for a week, giving us time to catch up on a little work and get prepared to meet mi gals in Hanoi the next week. 

The light is ever-so-slight at the end of the tunnel. We can see it, but there is still a long way to go. Keep wishing us well, and we'll see you all soon!!

Borneo: Sabah and Current Mental State

 

Borneo: Sabah

After our 6 days in the jungle, we got another crazy hair up our butts and decided to go to ANOTHER rainforest/jungle area (Sabah) to see orangutans, sun bears, and monkeys, oh my. 

The itinerary was another jam packed one: a flight and sleepover back to the big city in Borneo (Kota Kinabalu), a flight to Sandakan (the biggish city in Sabah) and two nights in the area of Sepilok to visit the Rainforest Discovery Center (ironic, I know), the Orangutan Center, and the Sun Bear Center. 

After those two days, we then decided to book a three-day, two-night river adventure package (on the Kinabatangan River) for the chance to see some of these animals in the wild. Was cruising the river much like south Florida? Yup, yup it was. Was it still cool? Yes(ish). We did have to work hard to appreciate it, though. We saw monkeys, crocodiles, and a few birds. If someone were to do this, I would recommend maybe only one night, especially if you're from Florida. 

Our Current Mental State

Many people we ask along the way ask how this type of travel is and what do we miss. Our answer? It's hard, and every few weeks we are having to learn a new language, figuring out where to get food (or if street food is a viable option), figuring out how to get around, and then settling in for a few adventures or none at all (which is our current state because we've been in the jungle adventuring for so long). And what do we miss? Publix. Drawers. America (the good and the bad). Our beds. Our home. Exercising and being active. And the list goes on. 

And what about Sila? Hmm, well he pretty much breaks down each and every time we move and often hates every part of the trip other than when we are doing something epic like seeing Orangutans. It is definitely not easy, but we are hoping in hindsight he'll appreciate it. Probably not, though, which is why this type of travel should be done for only yourself, or take kids when they're young because they live more in the moment!

We truly loved being our in nature and away from everything, but what it did do is make us forget that we're in another country and culture. Culture shock hit big when we exited the jungle and made our way back to the city. We had to go to a grocery store (a HUGE shock because it was jam packed with fully-covered women, had no fresh fruit and vegetables, and we couldn't find milk) and then process that we still have two months left. We bought some essentials (because we can't stomach--figuratively and literally-going out right now), are settling into the massage chair our place has, and are enjoying our few days before we move again. Oh, and Conan had a bad fall as we were leaving the jungle because in many countries they like to spray the bathroom floors with water and there is no mat or anything to prevent one from slipping. Thankfully he didn't end up in the hospital, but he did cut his back and slam his shins. Eek!

So there you go. I've included a few pictures (including some solos of us that highlight our enthusiasm!) to help illustrate what I've written above. Much love to you all.