Vietnam adventure!

We traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia for a quick 12 day trip over the April school holidays 2016.   Flying into Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) staying at the historical Majestic Hotel - a base for journalists during the Vietnam War.  From here we travelled to the Mekong Delta to stay in a family run hotel experiencing the sweaty, muddy back waters on sampans, eating elephant ear fish, coconut sweets, Vietnamese pancakes and Dragons Eggs - sweet sticky rice wok fried to make a large ball.

Next stop was the beautiful Hoi An a UNESCO world heritage site.  We stayed in the heart of the historical quarter at the Vinh Hung1 hotel right on one of the narrow streets hung with lanterns and full of pedestrians at night.  Hoi An is famous for its silk lanterns, on the towns water way you can purchase paper lanterns at night to float down the stream from a long boat.

We then flew to Hanoi staying at the beautiful Sofitel Metropole Hotel another French Colonial building in the bustling city.  From here we drove to Halong bay to go on a two day cruise amongst the karst formations in the bay.  The junk boat was a small floating hotel and so relaxing.  The timing was perfect also as Hollander came down with a bad GI so she could lay low for a few days.

From here we went back to Hanoi before going forward to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

We loved the food: vietnamese pancakes, stringy fried spring rolls and lotus seed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf!

Roof top terrace at the Majestic Hotel Saigon - lovely food

The formal lobby of the Majestic Hotel Saigon 

Majestic Hotel 1925 French Colonial style, rooms were lovely.

Mekong Delta floating fish farms.

Coconut barge Mekong

The brick kilns on the Mekong

Coconut sweat factory on the rivers edge.

Catching a long boat to explore the Ben Tre province in the delta.

Drying the matting reeds.

Having local fruit for morning tea - rambutans, dragon fruit, bread fruit. 

A local family catching fish.

Motor bike tuk tuk

It was soo hot in the village.

The Elephant Ear fish

The sampan in the Delta.

Midday nap!

Oren snoozing - it was sooo hot!

Oren getting a lift to the family hotel stay at Cai Be.

The home stay family run hotel.

Learning to make vietnamese pancakes.

The local market we rode to on bike.

Basil seed sweet drink - looked like frogs eggs!

Cooking the dragons egg - sweat sticky rice.

Cyclo to the Ving Hung Hotel in Hoi An.

The Vinh Hung lobby very authentic experience

Loved the towel swans.

The hotel featured in  Michael Caine's 'The Quiet American' movie - its lovely balcony to view the night time activity below.

Creaky floors at the historic 200 yr old Vinh Hung hotel. 

The historical Japanese covered bridge built in 1593 to link the Japanese and Chinese trading communities.

Purchasing paper lanterns on the banks of the Thu Bon River.

The purchase entitles you to go on a sampan and release it on the river.

Silk lantern night stall.

Typical market street in Hoi An

Inside the Quang Dong Assembly Hall 1786

Incense coils suspended

Entering the shrine on the Japanese Covered bridge.

Shrine to Tao god Bac De.

Inside the historical house of Phung Hung 1780

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Historical house of Tan ky - C18th Sino Vietnamese shops house with court yard leading to the river.

Markings show the many years of high flood levels.

A traditional bedim house of Tan Ky.

Cultural performance at the Hoi An Artcraft workshop.

Hollander won the obviously rigged bingo game - her card was swapped by one of the staff just before the game started!

Seeing how silk lanterns are made.

We saw families of five on a motor bike but I like the baby in the high chair above!

The historical Tran Family Chapel C18th.

Fruit sellers.

Loved the fruit juices at this trendy cafe - Cocobox

Going on cyclo's to another part of town.

Sunset cruise on the Thu Bon River.

The lanterns were beautiful to watch at night on the river.

We were looking for something fun for the family to do and found this tour company - Jack Trans Eco Tours - brilliant!

Riding the buffalo.

The unexpected high speed Gangman style performance!

Our turn on the basket boat - they spin really fast!

The crew made leaf objects to amuse the kids.

One of our cabins on the Indochina Sail's junk boat at Halong Bay.

The amazing limestone and dolomite karst outcrops were formed by a dragon lashing its tail according to legend.

Rowing with your legs.

Floating fisherman village.

Alex and Oren kayaking.

Daddy getting a back massage.

Fruit carving - lotus flower, swan and sun bursts.

Junk boat cocktails.

Our junk boat - Indochina Sails.

The courtyard and pool area of the Metropole Hotel Hanoi.

Very expensive champers by the pool!

The red Huc or Sunbeam bridge to the Den Ngoc Son temple. 

Den Ngoc Son temple.

The preserved giant turtle died in 1968 from Hoan Kiem Lake was thought to be linked to the divine turtle legend.

The legend of the divine turtle who reclaimed the sword from Le Loi was a Ming Chinese General in the C15th.

Hoan Kiem Lake - Lake of the Restored Sword.

Vietnamese power lines!

Back streets of the old quarter in Hanoi.

Typical back streets of Hanoi - crazy motor bike traffic.

The lovely Sofitel Metropole Hotel 1901 French Colonial style.

The nice lobby.