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Published: April 7th 2015
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Welcome to two more weeks of school holidays for Tiffany and Leslie, so as always, we are heading on the road. This is the first entry of a few that is going to bring us around Vietnam from the North to the South. This is also a trip that should never have happened, that I didn't want to happen...but that I'm happily doing today, as this trip has to be done, by Tiffany and Leslie. These two are nearly 13 and 15...and at the speed it is going, they will be pretty soon at University, and I will that day have to negotiate with them to enjoy their company on holidays. Every parents of kids who have left the nest know this...even if you have a great relationship with your kids.Young adults do believe, that living away from the parents...is best for them, for a while! Some how, I feel pretty safe, don't think that as young adult they would refuse some diving, rafting, maybe golfing or even some skiing around the world from time to time.
So why should have the trip never happened? Well, it should have, but not with me. Leslie and Tiffany Mum is
from Vietnam and lives in Saigon. If you have followed us for a while, you know that Leslie has been living with me for over 8 years now, and with Tiffany, we are getting very fast at a great four years. I've always said, their Mum is the one which should be showing them Vietnam, not me. Well, she hasn't made a single move over the last 12 months to visit them in Bangkok. Clearly not a priority for her as I fly them to Saigon from time to time. She has had all the opportunities....nothing happened...and they have asked...no real plans for the future either. So this trip is for me, just doing my job as a Dad...to have my kids visiting properly Vietnam, before they jump out of the nest. Crazy to figure out also at which speed these two have lost their Vietnamese language skills...sad...
So first stop, Halong Bay. We had an early afternoon flight to Hanoi, and spent the late afternoon arranging few of the details, and train tickets for the coming days. One blog on Hanoi will come later on. I had also one of the craziest moment in my life.
After arriving in Hanoi, Tiffany found out her Mum was also in Hanoi at the same time, thanks to facebook, and the computer time having drinks in the lounge ! She found out also that she was there for a wedding...she has time to fly for her friends wedding, but not to see her kids...don't ask my opinion! So the weirdest thing ever happened, kids meeting their Mum in the lobby of a hotel, for 20 minutes before their bed time, and she hasn't seen them for 6 months! I know, there is nothing to add about this!
My last visit to Halong was back in November 1998....ready for a good laugh, that's where I asked the kids Mum's hand! No kidding! I had done a first visit back in 1997, and both time, it was a a day trip to Halong Bay (last time, on a private day-trip boat). We have all read or heard about what Halong has become....a trash, a dump, or whatever you want to call it, a way too crowded place too. Halong has today 400 day-trippers boats...every single day, plus over 100 of them doing sleep-overs in the Bay. So how
was I going to deal with this? Well, did my homework...a lot of it, and after two days on a junk, I can write, we had an amazing trip!
I booked a two days, one night trip with Indochina Junk on the Red Dragon Junk. That junk can take 11 guests, and trust me, it is booked months in advance at the high season...and this is the high season!
The picked up us on a pretty cool ride for the 3 hours to Halong City and the port. 11 guests on a junk is risky business....they can be nice and you have an amazing time....or...you can guess! We were truly lucky, sharing some great time with four fun guests from Nevada, a young couple from Germany and a retired couple from France...nice company!
The junk is simply gorgeous, spacious....ok, would have preferred the original color to the white paint, but once on it, it is simply beautiful. I had brought some reading material, but no time for this. The first activity on the junk is eating....we spent our time eating...and pretty nice Vietnamese food at it! One more great point! Ok,
there was some drinking associated with this too!
First afternoon, it was kayaking and some beach time with the visit of a cave. All this in small groups. Indochina Junk run 14 boats...from ridiculous "Disney" type 24 cabins junks...to the honeymoon junk...one cabin! 11 guests, that was fun! And yes, what a sunset!
Next morning, we had a "floating village" tour organized on a small local raw boat. Ok, it is purely touristy...but it was really well organized, and few nice pictures too.
So what went wrong...well, when you do kayak, you see the trash...even if Bai Tu Long Bay,which is actually right next to Halong Bay, has way less boat traffic...trust me, you see some trash...from the kayak, from the boat...I'm not going swimming in this for sure!
Than there is the ride from Hanoi to Halong, it was not fun in 1998, it's not much better today...but at least the kids have seen Halong, and yes, we had an amazing time these to days!
Next entry coming soon...for the moment, the weather is still nice with us...but that may not last!
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Time flies
Was three years this month that we were together at TB's 10th Birthday in Kuala Lumpur, Peter. Your kids are looking good. Looks like a cracker place for a family holiday. Enjoy.