Ha Long translates to "where the dragon descends into the sea". Legend has it that the islands of Ha Long Bay were created by a great dragon that lived in the mountains. As it ran towards the coast to fight off sea faring enemies it's flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses; as it plunged into the sea, the areas dug up by the tail became filled with water, leaving only the high land visible. The High land makes up the limestone karsts that you will see in some of the following pictures. The 3000 islands are dotted with natural white beaches and grottoes.
We joined our tour group for the 3 hour drive to Ha Long Marina at 8:00am on Saturday. Our group was represented by youngsters like ourselves from France, Switzerland, Australia and San Francisco. It seemed like a lively group and we were looking forward to the company as we sailed. We arrived at the marina and waited only a few minutes before we, Chris, Hadley and I, were ushered to the Lagoon Explorer. We walked the gangplank and unloaded our bags on the deck. When we turned around to address the rest of our group we discovered that we were alone. Looking back we saw the rest of our group getting on a different boat. Once we settled in and the crew "tour guide" introduced himself we were able to ask some questions. First, of course, was about the rest of the group. Hoai (tour guide) said that we were the only ones on this boat for this trip. We were a little disappointed at first but once we saw that our crew consisted of 5 Vietnamese men at our beck and call we decided we deserved the royal treatment and graciously accepted it.
We shoved off and were told it was lunch time. We sat at our lovely table, white linens, and enjoyed an 8 course meal consisting entirely of seafood. Those of you who know me well know that I don't "do" seafood. I was hungry and knew it was seafood for 24 hours or ration the 2 Kashi bars in my suitcase (thanks MIL). Chris was a little more easy going about the menu but as he said "I do not love seafood, but I do not dislike it either". As each course was served, squid, prawns, shrimp, white fish etc we joked about how there must be a net off the back of the boat and whatever they catch is served up to us. We both decided we should attempt to enjoy the 4 meals aboard the Lagoon Explorer as those seafood lovers we know back home would have been in heaven. Chris wanted the first picture of this post to be the "praying mantis" we were served as course 3 of 8 for the first meal aboard. So, here you go...
Chris "took one for the team" as we were told the Praying Mantis was a delicacy in Vietnam. It would have been offensive to not eat it and I just couldn't do it....I tried, I swear!
Our boat. The sails weren't up as it was too windy.
The kitchen was open air off the back of the boat.
There is a floating village in the bay. About 400 people inhabit this one. Many of the boats are tied up to one another during the summer but because of the winter elements they all tie up together so they can ride out the storms in safety. The Vietnamese government supports this lifestyle but send in teachers from the mainland to ensure that the children receive a proper education in case they choose to leave the "river dweller village" when they are grown.
Same village.
We took a short boat ride through this tunnel. Hadley has these enormous, beautiful eyes and we have been wondering how big they would get if she were amazed or surprised. Well, now we know...
Inside the tunnel, eyes wide as saucers!
A 420 step hike to the top of this peak has been our only exercise while on this trip. It was a steep climb and many comments along the way about carrying a baby to the top. Since I don't speak French, Japanese or Chinese I'm not sure if they were being complimentary of my physical shape or critical of risking the baby on such a treacherous climb. I chose the former.
We made it to the top and it was worth the climb!
Happy to be home and it is like Hadley has always been with us. Such a good baby and sleeping 8+ hour stretches at night already. Eating rice cereal and pears. Doesn't seem to like bananas. Starting to giggle. We are all happy, healthy and adjusted to our "home" time zone. This post concludes this blog, thanks for reading.
I'm sitting.
Okay, now I'm sitting with a hat on.
Uh, mom?
Oh, rats! Man, that's hard!
Out and about today we snapped some shots along the way.
T-shirts for sale all throughout the Old Quarter.
This is one of our favorite intersections to watch the traffic merge. There are more close calls than we bother counting. Always a challenge for pedestrian traffic.
We have been told that there are approximately 4 million motorbikes on the road in Hanoi. They are parked everywhere!
Many still use pedal bikes. Surprisingly I see a lot of school children (who don't look a bit frightened) in uniform making their way to and from school each day. Picture Kaylee McQuillin riding amongst speeding taxi's, motobikes and cars on her way to school.
It never ceases to amaze me what people carry on their bikes. A bicycle is a very valuable means of transportation around Hanoi. 
On our list of things to do this trip was to find the hospital where Hadley was born. You aren't going to believe what we discovered. The hospital is located not 500 feet from our hotel and we have walked by it several times during our stay. I recall noticing the many pregnant women coming and going from the building. 
We got the news today that the US embassy would issue Hadley's Visa at 4:00pm Friday. So we were able to move our departure up a few days to Saturday.
The Hanoi Opera House is not far from our hotel. It was built by the french in 1901. In my opinion it is the most spectacular building in Hanoi
Sidewalk cafes are all over the place, but only during meal times. Most of the time the food looks, well, interesting and smells wonderful but neither Chris nor I were adventuresome enough to pull up a stool. Maybe next time.
A very handsome Dr. Frank from Germany conducted the required medical exam. He did a very thorough job and signed off on all the paperwork necessary for the Visa. Hadley was not happy about all the poking and prodding but fortunately it only lasted a few minutes. The best part is that she was easily consoled by me and of course that means a lot since we have only known each other for 2 weeks.
Chris "took one for the team" as we were told the Praying Mantis was a delicacy in Vietnam. It would have been offensive to not eat it and I just couldn't do it....I tried, I swear!
Our boat. The sails weren't up as it was too windy.
The kitchen was open air off the back of the boat.
There is a floating village in the bay. About 400 people inhabit this one. Many of the boats are tied up to one another during the summer but because of the winter elements they all tie up together so they can ride out the storms in safety. The Vietnamese government supports this lifestyle but send in teachers from the mainland to ensure that the children receive a proper education in case they choose to leave the "river dweller village" when they are grown.
Same village.
We took a short boat ride through this tunnel. Hadley has these enormous, beautiful eyes and we have been wondering how big they would get if she were amazed or surprised. Well, now we know...
Inside the tunnel, eyes wide as saucers!
We made it to the top and it was worth the climb!
Hadley faded fast today and since she has been feverish, congested and coughing we went ahead and took her to the international clinic just to have the Doctor (Vaneer from Holland) check her out. Since we don't have any medical history for Hadley we decided we should be cautious. Her lungs and ears are clear of infection and it was worth the trip to have some peace of mind.
Kindergarten field trip to Hoen Kiem Lake? Lots of "hellos" to us from these kiddos.
Vietnam's equivalent to "Parks and Rec employees". They were removing the marigolds but we didn't see what they were going to replace them with.
At 7:00am the humidity is rising, maybe because half of Hanoi is on the lake doing their exercises. This was a group "dancing with rackets". I'm sure there is a more technical name but since my brain is cooking again it's the best I can do. The Vietnamese make a superb cappuccino and I've had one every morning. Chris is still experimenting and today got what tasted like Folger's instant coffee...well, what I imagine it would taste like as I've never actually tasted it before.
Everybody wants to see the baby and share their suggestions on how we can care for her better. We know most mean well but we are always in a state of confustion as the suggestions can differ so much from one woman to the next. Hadley has a little cold and she does much better in the "fresh air".
This one is for Nancy and Lexi. The woman sitting behind us told us to put a hat on her head because even though to us it feels warm, to a baby it is chilly. The women in the picture of Hadley in the stroller told us that she is too hot and told us to cool her off.
I'm just hot, not unhappy.
The bridge over Hoen Kiem Lake that leads to the Ngoc Temple. Haven't crossed that bridge yet but will one of these days. 
Ho Chi Minh Museum was a bust as far as we are concerned. It looks like he was a popular figure in Vietnamese history but since hardly anything was in english we aren't sure why...or maybe it was too hot and our brains were cooking and thus not functioning well.
One Pillar Pagoda, well this is a re-creation of the one built in 1047 in the shape of a lotus blooming on a stem.
We can catch an honest taxi from the hotel but getting one for the way home is tough. We got into one today that was a "metered" Yugo, remember those? but we're thinking metered time vs metered distance as he was the slowest driver in Hanoi and the meter was turning even as we sat still....Not only do we look rich, we apparently look stupid too. The cost was double what we paid to get to the museum...36,ooo dong or 2 bucks.
