Breathing In The Experiences

Every now and then the little things make you sit back and breath in the experiences.

A perfect sunset over West lake greeted our family visitors capture by Mark.

Picture: Sunset over West Lake Hanoi

I have always found while living in Hanoi the people very friendly and as we walked past a young couple sitting by West Lake they let us join in while they lit and let go paper lanterns. We had seen these lanterns in the sky on many occasions but we had never seen the process of letting them go. I am not sure the reason for the lighting and letting the lanterns go, maybe it is for making wishes or sending preys to past relatives what ever the reason watching these lanterns float through the night sky is quite pretty as they float up up and away.

Picture: The lighting of the paper wick for the lantern

Picture: Keeping the wick alight until the hot air heats the paper lantern for it to rise

Visiting Sapa

Picture: Local crafts products

Taking time out to see other parts of Vietnam is always worth a trip. When some of our family came to visit we took off for a couple of days to Sapa. John, Margie, Mark, Jacqui, Ben, Paige and I decided that to get there we would try the train as it is a six hour trip from Hanoi. "Why not?" we thought as we could sleep all the way and wake fresh. How wrong we were. The train was very clean but the beds where quite hard so most of us didn't get much sleep except Paige.

Sapa is an incredibly picturesque village that lies on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the Chinese border in NW Vietnam. It is called as "the Tonkinese Alps" many hill tribe people, their villages, rice terraces, lush vegetation, and has the highest peak in Vietnam. Tucked high in Vietnam's remote northern mountains, the former French military outpost of Sapa offers some of Vietnam's most colorful experiences. The views are breath taking. Vietnam's highest peak, the 3,143-metre Mount Fansipan, looms overhead, while the surrounding valleys feature terraced rice paddies and blazing green fields cut by fast-flowing streams. Layer upon layer of green ridges fade into the distance, edged by sharp, rocky peaks. Visitors to this isolated village can browse in the traditional market, then hike into the valleys and explore the surrounding ethnic minority villages. Here, people live as they have for centuries, raising water buffalo and pot-bellied pigs, cultivating paddy, corn and cassava, and weaving their colorful clothing. Come to these northern mountains and you'll feel the thrill of discovery. This is one of the rare corners of the world where people's traditions continue to flourish and nature reigns supreme. Walking through the area you become over welmed with local tribes people trying to sell you things and it becomes very hard to break free of them. The two days that we spent in Sapa we did a lot of walking and it was well worth it as we where able to take in the beauty of this place and the culture that we saw.

Picture: Jacqui, Bernadette, Paige & Margie on the train

Picture: Sapa town

Picture: Chau Long Hotel where we stayed

Picture: Paige & view from our hotel

Picture: Walking through the hillside of Sapa

Picture: Walking along the paths

Picture : Walking up the hills

Picture: Local Tribes women trying to sell Mark items

Picture: Tourist surrounded by locals selling items

Picture: Mark & Jacqui

Picture: Margie & John

Picture: Local man walking

Picture: Local lady walking

Picture: Local tribes lady

Picture: Some local women's tribes dresses

Picture : Small child

Picture: Paige standing in local hillside cafe

Picture: On the trail

Picture: Handmade blankets

Picture: Bernadette, Paige & Ben

Picture: Bernadette standing with local tribes lady

Picture: Ben wearing his new hat

Visiting Hong Kong

A number of years ago Ben and I visited Hong Kong so seeing as Ben wanted to watch the rugby live between Australian and New Zealand we decided to take a short trip back there.

This trip was planned even before we left Mongolia so it was all very exciting waiting for it to arrive. Paige was more excited about the idea of seeing where Mickey Mouse lived as we had promised her while we were there we would go to the Hong Kong Disney Land.

It was also a time to catch up with friends Michelle, Pat, Oko and Terry from Mongolia who had planned to see the rugby as well. It seemed every man and his dog who was going to the rugby was staying at the same hotel as us.

Getting to the rugby went off with out a hitch after a couple of hicups along the way (trains and Pat, beer and Terry). Even though the All Backs beat the Wallabies, being there was well worth the trip. Seeing the game live is something I will never forget. I dont think you can capture the atmosphere in the stadium on the tv.

Picture: Paige & Bernadette ready for the rugby

Picture: Bernadette, Michelle & Liz on the train to the rugby

Picture: The sea of people all going to the rugby

Picture: (back) Bevan, Pat, Ben, (front) Bernadette, Paige, Michell & Liz

Picure: Ben, Paige & Bernadette

Picture: Pre match entertainment

Picture: The Australian rugby team

Picture: The New Zealand rugby team doing the haka


Picture: During the rugby game

Many years ago Ben and I visited Disneyland in LA so we were not to sure what to expect from the Hong Kong one. It didnt matter to Paige as she was very excited to see where Mickey Mouse lived. What a great day we had seeing Disneyland through Paige's eyes. She was really excited to go on all the rides and waiting in the small lines wasn't a hassle. Compared to LA this Disneyland seemed to have a lot more space and a lot less visitors. Paige loved seeing all the characters but would only stand next to Winnie the Pooh and a white cat from one of the Disney movies. When it came to Mickey Mouse she didnt want to have a bar of him, "his is so big" she said which we found quite funny. I don't think you could ever recreate the LA Disneyland but no matter which one, I think it is a place where you can be a kid again and have fun no matter what age you are. All in all, it's not quite as good for older kids and adults as the one in LA, but none the less, still good fun.

Picture: A sign as you enter Disneyland

Picture: Ben & Paige

Picture: Bernadette & Paige on the tea cups ride

Paige & Winnie the Pooh

Picture : Bernadette, Mickey Mouse & Ben

Picture : Goofy & Ben