Cheers!

Our last jaunt before coming home to the U.S. was Hanoi. It’s different than Ho Chi Minh City… it seems simpler, cleaner, calmer. Women balance baskets of fresh foods, fresh fish and whatever goods they have to sell that day. There is still a bustle in the air- jobs to be done, customers to gain, places to be.

We ventured to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. It’s award winning and quite a treat. It was broken into 17 different scenes and many were quite funny. The movement of the puppets combined with the authentic music allowed you to understand the story even without knowing the language.

We booked a ticket on a “junk”. It’s a houseboat that took us throughout Ha Long Bay. The bay was beautiful- Dr. Seuss mountains that poke out from a warm haze, covered in lush greenery, surrounded by green water, and sky that fades into lazy mist. We quietly float on and on, enjoying the cacophony of sounds pouring from the nearby jungles.




Our first stop was at some pretty amazing looking caves. You see pictures of really incredible caves in magazines, but it’s hard to believe they truly exist. They are real. They are natural. Man had no hand in their creation; they are pure nature. I am in awe.



My favorite part of the trip was when we hopped off the houseboat onto a smaller boat. The smaller boat then took us through a small tunnel into a really cool nook. Aside from the opening in the tunnel, we were completely surrounded by the limestone fortresses. I jumped into the warm waters and simply floated around, looking up, with magical peaks framing a threatening sky and big winged birds dipping and diving across the canvas. I could have done this for hours and hours. It was divine.


I spent the rest of the day lying on the top deck of the boat just staring… thinking thoughts… breathing air… seeing, I mean really seeing… and suddenly, I have renewed energy. I have been recharged. And perhaps now, I am ready to rejoin my old life and begin to create another year.
Cheers!