Christmas 2011

The lead up to Christmas was it's usual madness. Here is a quick run down of all the fun and festivities. Mark was away in Singapore for work (and a little fun) for the 3 days before his birthday, touching down for present opening at the airport on the 23rd. Loved that Luca thought daddy defiantly looked older when we picked him up! Family and the usual Fried Chicken Feast was at our place as the weather was a bit iffy for our traditional birthday picnic.

Christmas Eve was fabulous with a big group including friends and family, turkey and blue cheese burgers. The weather was beautiful, everyone had a swim and amazingly the kids were in bed before 8:30. Mark and I performed our official Santa's Helpers duties (Mark drank Santa's beer (yes, our kids left Santa a beer, Coopers green, only the best for Santa) I put ribbons on all of the already wrapped gifts) and then it was off to bed for us as well.

Christmas morning kids were up at 6, I heard Luca say "It's Christmas" then "Scout, Scout, Scout, Santa's been here, quick it's Christmas" the excitement was adorable. They were both very good kids this year and Santa brought them what they asked for, after lots of present unwrapping and a whole lot of playing with new toys we were off for a seafood feast at Mark's parents. An amazing heap of prawns were consumed, followed by a leisurely naps in the lounge room and swims in the pool.

It was a very hectic few days and I for one was thrilled to get a nap on Christmas afternoon after barely sitting down for a week prior. That being said, there is something magical about Christmas, the kids just love it, give me another 300 days and I'll be ready again. -kel

Twinkle Twinkle Ballet Recital

Once again, Scout dominated the ballet recital, at the end of the entire event refusing to leave the stage because “she wasn’t done yet”. She and her class mates wore the most adorable and quintessentially ballerina white dresses. They performed a short “dance” to twinkle twinkle little star. She's improved heaps and as per usual demonstrated extreme enthusiasm. She was totally adorable and she loves her ballet, next year she will be moving up to a new class at a new school…she can hardly wait. -kel

5 Totally Awesome Years

Luca turned five with a bang. My mom and step dad flew in from the states for the occasion (oh and for Christmas but we didn’t tell him that). We celebrated with ice cream and dinner out at his favourite Thai restaurant. He is a wiz with chop sticks! Luca was stoked with his new bike and I am in utter disbelief that he is 5! My little man...seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. – kel

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City - pt II

We returned to the big city for a day before we headed home. A few food appointments awaited us and a couple more museums to visit. We swapped hotels and stayed at the Duxton. Although it was only two blocks away from where we stayed initially in Saigon it was a world away as far as charm, certainly nice enough but really just a standard business type hotel.

No hotel breakfasts this time around, our first stop was Pho 24, a local chain restaurant that had come highly recommended. It didn't disappoint, it was really, really good.

We spent a large chunk of the day at the Vietnam History Museum which was memorable for things other than what we should remember it for. As soon as we entered the museum we noticed a English language guided tour had just started so we discreetly followed thinking we would get some deeper insight into the exhibits. How wrong were we! The tour guide was so bad, he spent about two minutes in each room and actually contradicted what was written on the exhibits. The classic instance was in relation to a six hundred year old mummy that was on display in a special room. By this time Kelly and I had ditched the guide realising he was useless and we had already been in the mummy room when we saw the tour approaching. The guide didn't even lead the group in the room and simply said "there is some old mummy in that room" and kept the tour moving.

The other funny thing at the museum were the diorama's that were used to illustrate how an ancient war strategy was executed on the battle field. These things looked as though they were a first grade art project - they were so bad. And they were used extensively throughout the entire museum.

The Museum was in a very cool old building and did have some good exhibits but it was two stars out of five at best. I had worked up enough courage by this time to try the street food, in particular there was a local variation of Chinese steamed pork buns that I kept seeing that I had to try. I can't believe I left it until the last day these things (char siu bao they are called) were beautiful.

A few hours chilling in the pool to end the vacation and we were off home and by this time incredibly excited to see Luca and Scout. Awesome holiday and there is so much more to do in Vietnam than what we managed to fit in, having said that I was happy to leave that for another holiday as I wouldn't have changed a thing about this trip.

Vietnam - Hoi An

The next part of the vacation started with a flight from Saigon to DaNang on the way to Hoi An. After a grilling from us to ensure he knew where he was going we jumped in a cab from the airport. DaNang and the entire tip south to Hoi An really showed how much the country was growing. In DaNang there were a lot of new very unusually designed buildings, pretty funky, and then the on entire trip down the coast there were either completed or semicompleted resorts on a massive scale. Hard to accept that this is a good move–it becomes just like any other Asian beach resort and price will be the differentiator.It is definitely selling out some of it’s character. I’m glad we were not staying in that area.

Anyway, after 40 minutes the cab driver pulls over to ask directions. Kelly was not happy given the guy swore he knew where he was going. Following this the driver sheepishly got back in the car and drove on. Luckily we weren't really off track and after crossing from the coast through rice fields and across a couple of rivers we made it to Hoi An.

The hotel was awesome, the Life Heritage Resort, a colonial feel, although it was only recently built, very funky rooms with day beds out front , we definitely made a good decision. It had a very strange pool though, nice when you were in but a major pain in the rear to get in, walking across rocks and then an awkward step up and over the side into the water.So as ordinary as the buffet in Saigon was the breakfast buffet at the hotel in Hoi An was great. The chocolate crepes won Kelly over. She doubled down a few of the mornings we were there much to the suprise of the chefs.Hoi An is a Unesco World Heritage listed town that is a good five hundred years old. Lots of little wooden French and Chinese influenced homes. The area has become very tourist focussed(without being overrun with tourists)and nearly every home has become either a shop or restaurant. Even with the tourists it is extremely laid back, very interesting and beautiful – also very romantic according to Kelly.

The first afternoon we were in Hoi An we ate basically out of somebody’s kitchen. The food was nice but something didn’t agree with Kel and she got a bit of an upset stomach. Really the only slightly negative food experience of our time in Hoi An and Vietnam.

The next day we did a walking tour of the historical sites. We started with a house tour from a guy whose family had been in the same house for seven generations. The houses are so simple, just a few open rooms with wooden slat beds for sleeping. The house tour was great, it was just Kelly and I, the guy brought out his old photos and spoke to us about the funeral of his father, how the area had changed with tourists coming and out of towners buying the old buildings to start businesses – we were there for ages and enjoyed every minute of it.

The rest of the day involved checking out a few Pagodas (m

uch better than the one in Saigon), some local singing and dancing, walking across a three hundred year old Japanese covered bridge and visiting a place called ‘The Department of Managing and Gathering Swallows Nests'. A lot of the day really involved cruising around checking out the old buildings and alley ways, going to the market and of course a little shopping (always involving haggling over price which Kelly loved).

One of the things that the area is known for is producing fabric and tailoring. Kelly brought a few dresses over to have copied. I couldn’t believe the quality based on the time it took to make and cost. The place Kelly went to was a well oiled machine with seamstresses sewing away all day and most of the night. The assistant who looked after Kelly called herself ‘Fairy’, she was really nice an even brought Kel flowers on her birthday.

We found a lunch place we liked on the first day and ate at the same table everyday - first floor balcony overlooking the river. From the table you could see the boats coming and going and not surprisingly we saw some very sketchy practices. These relatively small two level boats were packed with motorcycles on the top deck and then absolutely crammed with people below. If any of those things went down or capsized there was no escaping.

It was Kelly’s birthday while we were there so we did a few special things that day. We borrowed bikes from the hotel and hit the streets which was an adventure in itself. Although the traffic in Hoi An is nothing like Saigon it is still crazy and has the same anything goes mentality. Early on our ride I realised this was no birthday treat for Kelly as she was passed by a semi trailer and nearly collected by a motorcycle coming up from the rear as she moved over to give the truck some space. We decided to cut the ride short and head back through the old part of town where there are restrictions on motorised vehicles. This new route involved a major left turn (driving is sort of on the right hand side of the road in Vietnam). This was a pretty major intersection so we gradually made our way to the centre of the road and stopped, waiting for a break in the oncoming traffic to make the turn. It was intimidating sitting in the middle of the road while trucks and thousands of motorcycles are going around you. So we finally get a break in the traffic and I start to turn only for some guy on a motorcycle behind to try and over take me on the side that I am turning to. Kelly got the view from behind and said she couldn’t believe I didn’t get taken out. I guess I was pretty oblivious but Kelly had had enough and it took a while for her to calm down after the ride.

At least the next part of Kel’s birthday went well with a massage back at the spa at our hotel a few early evening cocktails a beautiful dinner and some ice cream. It was a magical night with my magical wife. We missed the kids a lot by this time and wished they were there.

Our last days in Hoi An were spent much like the others, wandering the streets, going to the markets, grabbing something to eat, a few beers at fourty cents a pop and stopping by the hotel for a swim when we got hot. I did get Kelly on the bike again for a ride along the waterfront where there was virtually no traffic. This ride was a lot more fun, watching the fishing boats in the river as we rode.

The last story from Hoi An is much funnier when you hear Kelly tell it but I will give it a go. While we were walking around town Kelly noticed the local women wearing these shoes that she liked and had asked where she could get a pair. We were directed to a market that was not meant for tourists, it was where the local Vietnamese brought household cleaning items, bits and pieces for their businesses and also where they brought clothes. The place is packed and you are lucky to see more than five inches in front of you. Finally we find a stall selling these shoes. Kelly explains what she wants and in broken English the stall owner starts to ask Kelly what size she needs, by this time we are close enough to the stall that the women can see all of Kelly so she looks down at Kelly’s feet and begins to laugh out loudly and speaking in Vietnamese, while Kel had doesn't speak Vietnamese, it was pretty clear she was saying ‘’Ohhhh, you have HUGE feet” – it was very funny.

We both highly recommend Hoi An, we had a great time, ate so well and found it really interesting and beautiful. Having great weather the entire time also helped.

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City - pt I

A Vietnam trip has been on our radar for some time so we were both really excited to finally make it over there– relatively soon after Thailand and travelling without Luca and Scout it seemed likea real treat. In late November we headed on our first Vietnam adventure. We arrived around 10:30pm and on the drive from the airport to the hotel the chaos that are the roads in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) held our attention the whole way – four and five people on a scooter, really young children standing on their parents laps with no helmet, lots of crazy helmets but really it was the sheer volume of motorcycles and scooters and the almost anything goes attitude that was the real eye opener.

Our hotel, the Rex, was a large colonial looking building on a really beautiful square and to make Kelly feel at ease the street level of the hotel had stores for all of the big luxury brand labels. We arrived late and were looking for a bite but the concierge put us off going out of the restaurant telling us how dangerous it was. We went up to the rooftop bar instead, good view although mostly of a massive intersection (roundabout) that took the crazinesson the road to a new level – I could have watched for hours (I eventally did as we had breakfast up there every day we were in Saigon and I made sure I could see the road).Breakfasts at the hotel were ordinary, not bad, just not great. They were the only meals I can say that about on the entire trip. Overall the food was magnificent.After breakfast we hit the streets and the first task was to cross the crazy intersection we got so much amusement out of watching while at breakfast. No stop lights you just have to get thecourage up and go for it, all the while motorcycles honking at you and missing your legs by half inches.Things on the street are very different, lots of people sitting around making food and eating, a few beggars, lots of little stores but even in this tourist friendly part of town no US/Euro chain stores. I can only imagine what it was like just ten years ago, seems like a lot of development has taken place in Saigon and a lot more is underway. Lots of interesting street food but at this stage I wasn’t up for the challenge.

On our walk we came across a street market (Ton That Dam) aimed more at the locals than tourists. The market primarily sold produce and meat, the meat not being in refrigerated storage had a strong smell – not for the last time I thought Kelly would keel over.

We got out of the local market and headed for the Ben Thanh Market. For the first time we saw a lot of tourists but still the markets were pretty crazy. The aisle’s between thestores are tiny, there were stalls that had t-shirts, others that had bags, some that had women’s hair accessories, wine made with cobras or scorpions still inside the bottle, belts , seafood - almost anything but each stall had it’s speciality, there were probably 1000 stalls and none were general. Kelly started to get her bargaining grooveon from this moment and she saved us a lot of the entire trip. She is brutal. At one stage Kelly made an offer on a dress for Scout that was about 10% of what the vendor started at, the vendor started to laugh so Kelly started to walk, all of sudden the other womenatthe stall jumps up and blocks the way and the first lady blocks Kelly on the other side (literally made it impossible for Kelly to move without shoving them into their stall). Even with this pressure selling Kelly wouldn’t budge and the ladies eventually gave up and agreed to Kelly’s price. The first of many victories.

We spent the rest of the day cruising the streets and seeing the sights. The river that runs through the city is another eye opener. It was running fast and was carrying a lot of debris, definitely a bitofpollution but mainly full trees and foliage a real hazard for small boats I would think but still there were plenty of small boats out there. It was cool to see the large propaganda posters still have their place even though the country appears to have embraced a capitalist economy with as much passion as Australia or the U.S. One thing that we did not see was anything to be worried about – seems like the concierge from the hotel was more concerned about drumming up business for their restaurant than telling us the truth when we asked about going out on ourfirst night.

As I said earlier the food was amazing and the first day set a trend for our time in Saigon, we stopped for lunch twice on top of dinner and breakfast. Kelly made the arrangements for dinner and we ate at this beautiful old place (The Temple Club) that had really cool tiles on the floor and again great food. I was thinking nice to have at least one expensive dinner while we are in Saigon – three courses and cocktails cost us less than $20 between us. We also found a great ice cream place on our travels so after dinner we did it up nice and enjoyed some ice cream at Fanny.We had done a lot of walking and were in bed early.

Having covered off a lot of the Lonely Planet ‘must see’s’ on the first day we had to go a little further into the bustling burbs to see the things on our list for day two. We legged it again (have to work all of this food off somehow).

First stop was the War Remnants Museum. Our first reaction was Luca would love this place. There were at least 50 actual U.S. tanks, planes, helicopters, mounted grenade launchers and flame throwers from the “American War’ as it is called over here. I’ve got to say the museum was generally a let down, lots about the brutality of the US and how agent orange is impacting people in Vietnam even today, a really great area dedicated to war photographers from all sides with some amazing photo’s – but nothing that would given an insight into the day to day life in the jungle for the VC or NVA or how much ingenuity went into building the underground tunnels. The war ended nearly 40 years ago and the Vietnamese people don’t seem to think anything of it, it is ancient history, they are more concerned with making a buck, so the blatant anti-US sentiment at the museum definitely seemed out of place.
Now for the clanger of the day. I had read somewhere that there was a really cool Chinese Pagoda (The Jade Pagoda) that we should see. It was a long, long, long walk in 95 degree weather. For the first time we doubted ourselves while crossing the road on the way there and nearly got mowed down. When we finally made it to the Pagoda, what a disappointment! It was really sketchy, there were old people selling these nasty looking turtles for people to throw into this pond (more like a well) that had four fold more turtles in it than it should hold, there didn’t appear to be any moving water in/out of the pond so it was really smelly.

The only saving grace was that on the long walk back we ran into the lunch place that only had two things on the menu and was full of locals. We sat down ordered the two things on the menu and immediately wanted more. When we made it back to the hotel, we did a little relaxing by the pool with a Singapore Sling (I know, another country but they are nice). Kelly ended the day with a foot massage.