I don’t often post on trips within Canada but I thought I would share some of our experiences from this short visit to British Columbia. Like usual we stayed in the quaint Rosellen Suites hotel near Stanley Park in Vancouver. On Wednesday we took a stroll by the lost lagoon until the path changed into the sea wall that lead us to Vancouver Harbour and eventually to Gastown. It was a lovely walk. We ate dinner in the same Italian restaurant we ate in 41 years ago on our honeymoon.

We spent Thursday connecting with Dale’s cousins and comparing notes on his family history. We followed that up with a second walk along Lost Lagoon until we reached English Bay. The paths were peaceful and it was hard to remember we were in a large city.

One of the wonderful parts of our walks along the Pacific shore is the diversity of languages we overheard. This ethnic diversity was also evident in the options we had for which cuisine we could choose for dinner. We decided on a lovely Persian restaurant before calling it a night.

On Friday we walked along the shore of English Bay and took the False Creek Ferry to Granville Island.

We wandered through the shops on the island and stopped for refreshments at the Granville Island Brewery. Our next stop was the Vancouver Fringe. We saw Behind the Wall: a musical at the Waterfront Theatre. It was not great – ranking in the top 5 worst Fringe plays we have ever seen. However, the risk of witnessing plays that are brilliant or bitter failures is what Fringing is all about. This Fringe is so much smaller than Edmonton’s. They are both 10 days long, but plays only begin at 5pm. By the time our play ended Granville Island had transformed from a regular tourist site to a genuine Fringe playground.

We got to see parts of Granville Island we had never seen before and had a lovely dinner at the Harbour Front Hotel. Our meal was delicious. The entertainment was a group of 20+ teenage girls at a birthday party. Many selfies were taken. Despite all the photo taking, the stage was stolen by a lone seal that had all the 16 year olds reverting back to childlike excitement.

We retraced our way back across False Creek and English Bay to our hotel. The walk at night was wonderful and alive with people.

Tomorrow we shift our focus to Vancouver Island and a long overdue visit with good friends.

I woke up this morning to learn that we were not returning to Canada via Tokyo as planned. Our flights had been rebooked to different airlines. Dale was going to fly from Hanoi to Manila via Vietnam Airlines and I was going to go two hours later via Air Philippines. They had us booked on the same flight from Manila to Vancouver but different flights from Vancouver to Edmonton. The good news is that we booked through a travel agent all with one airline so they were able to rebook Dale on my later flight and to put us on the same flight to Canada. However, given the time frame involved, we had already started for the airport when we learned of the 2:50 am flight time (not 12:30 am as hoped for). So we had a long wait until our gate opened at 11 and longer until we took off.

We have had some fun watching the crowds in the airport. A family sitting near us were there to see a family member off who is flying to Korea. There were at least 30 people to wish him a good flight. There was even a picnic basket involved. They cheered as he went off to security. We attracted a bit of attention as we played crib. A couple of parents were encouraging their kids to say hello and practice their English (and compare shoes with Dale).

We arrived in Manila at 7 am local time. Our flight boards at 9:00. We knew that we had to change terminals. Cue dramatic music. We got off the plane and started following the transfer signs when I notice a man with a sign with our names. The very helpful staff informed us that we had to fill in arrival cards (which they did for us). They were very clear that we had a tight scheduled flight and we needed to hurry. What we didn’t know was that the terminal we landed at was miles and miles away from our departure terminal. We were rushed through the diplomatic lines to get through immigration. We grabbed our bags and were escorted to the shuttles only to learn that if we took the shuttle we would miss our flight. So, we bought some local currency and took a cab to terminal 3. We then checked in and went through immigration again then through security to get into the waiting area. We didn’t have time to make good use of the lounge so we went to our gate only to go through security again. The service here has been phenomenal. The reality is without it we would be stuck in Manila for sure.

Of course, this is just the next leg of our journey home. Dale and I got booked on different flight from Vancouver to Edmonton. He leaves for home at 10 am, I get to wait until 1pm. To keep the drama going, Air Canada sent me a message saying my flight has been cancelled and nothing new has been booked yet. Then, after taking a deep breath and calling my travel agent, Air Canada sent me an oops message saying please ignore the cancellation, they just renumbered my flight. Ugh – travel can be stressful. It will be good to get home.

We started our day with another city wide blast of music and news at 7:30 am. The song is always the same but we aren’t sure of its meaning. Apparently the talking that follows is the morning announcements and news.

Our first focus was a walk to the area where Dale worked during his trips here almost 9 years ago. He worked on the top floor of a tower surrounded by embassies and a cute park.

We then strolled to the National Fine Arts Museum. It was a long walk but took us through some interesting neighborhoods. We had a quick lunch at the museum cafe before venturing into the 4 story historical building. The museum was structured according to era and art form. It was an interesting stroll through some fascinating art.

We left the museum to head over to Beer Street. What an experience! We chose to sit on a balcony overlooking our street level seats yesterday. While we enjoyed our beverages the police showed up and cleared all the seats in the square. Apparently the seats the beer bars put out for their patrons are illegal and the police show up a few times a day to get them to remove them. There was a huge amount of scurrying as the bar staff gathered up as many chairs as possible while at the same time, the police confiscated some of the furniture. As we were asking our waitress about the process and how long it takes to get the chairs back out, she simply pointed to the fact that they were already out again within a few minutes.

We enjoyed the conversations we had with our waitresses and decided that adding food to our day was a good idea. We ended us at an Indian restaurant just down from our residence before calling it a night. Simply walking in Hanoi has been interesting. There is always something going on. We have now become relatively fearless at crossing the streets and have lived to tell these tales.

We started our day at exactly 7:30am when a loudspeaker in the street started blasting a loud, lively song which was followed by animated speeches by at least two people. The fellow we bought our pastries and coffee from (a priority for any civilized folk on holidays) told us it was just information about what is happening in town. It sounded more like propaganda but, what do we know. Our mission today was to explore the market streets and we set out around 10am.

The market streets cater to both tourists and locals. There are food stalls of all kinds, some of which would never fly by Canadian standards, but are normal here.

Many of the streets have a unified focus. For example, there is a shoe street, hardware street, underwear street, etc. Of course our favourite street was Beer Street. Our first stop was a little rooftop bar however, to get to it we had to go into the clothing store and climb narrow chipped stairs to get there. The beer was cold and delicious. I had a draft while the others had a raddler type of beer in this case a Pummelo (a mild grapefruit) beer.

As we wandered, we dodged all the usual traffic and enjoyed the chaos.

We decided a little museum time would be nice and we set off to find the Klimt Gallery. We laughed when we realized that it was a tourist trap and simply a few stalls selling reproduction art, including posters by Klimt.

One of the highlights of the day was sitting at a crossroad on Beer street watching the chaos around us.

We went to a lovely restaurant for supper that served upscaled street food. They also served us ice cream for dessert. They added shaving from a cinnamon stick in the same manner that someone at home would serve Parmesan cheese over pasta. It smelled incredible. Vietnam is one of the largest exporters of cinnamon in the world. Brian bought a $2 bag of ground cinnamon at the wholesale market that will last the rest of his natural born life.

After dinner we strolled around the lake again, enjoying the atmosphere.

Of course there were several people who wanted to be seen with Dale. This little one caught his attention more than most.

We were home and in bed by 9pm. As I write this it seems like we did very little, however, it was a day full of sensory experiences and just being in the moment. It was a good day.

We shifted to our AirB&B today. Getting into the building took a bit of figuring out but eventually we got into our 4 story skinny house. There is a living area on the main floor, a bedroom & bathroom on the first floor that had a very low ceiling. There were three further floors with a bedroom, bathroom & balcony on each floor. All in all – a lot of stairs. The great news is that it is across the street from a bakery that also serves coffee.

Our first stop was for a snack by the Lake of the Returned Sword. According to legend, an Emperor had been given a magical sword by A golden turtle god to defeat a Chinese enemy. After he defeated the Chinese, the emperor was boating on the lake and the Golden turtle god asked for his magic sword back. The Emperor Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, The Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of the lake is linked to the legend. The legend is a little confusing so please don’t take my word for it that I got this correct.

We set out to find bespoke clothing manufacturing for the guys. Dale & Brian ordered bamboo fibre shirts that they will try on tomorrow for a fitting and they will be finished on Sunday. We wandered by the Catholic Cathedral and a lovely park dedicated to a historical hero.

We then went out to explore Hanoi on our own. We made our way to the Metropole Hotel for Charlie Chaplin martinis. Apparently Charlie Chaplin spent his honeymoon with Claudette Goddard at this hotel and he created this martini. We had two. They were delicious and somewhat of a show to pour. The martini was served with a glass of lime sorbet that could be added to the drink for a little more sourness or sampled on the side. I did both. I strongly encourage you to try one at some point in your life!

Charlie Chaplin Martini.
Metropole Hotel Hanoi Vietnam

60 mL Gin. 30 mL apricot brandy. 20 mL lime juice. 10 mL simple syrup. Served with a lemon twist.

60ml is 4 tablespoonfuls, 2 ounces – gin
30ml is 2 tablespoonfuls, 1 ounce- apricot brandy
20ml is 4 teaspoonful – lime juice
10ml is 2 teaspoonful – simple syrup
Lime sorbet on the sode

We left the hotel to find dinner people shared pizza for a bit of a change. On our way back to our residence we realized that the main streets were closed to traffic and we were free to wander without the fear of being picked off by a wayward scooter. There were side shows on the street, people line dancing and during Zoomba in the park and live music. It was so much fun. We are now looking forward to another fairy unscripted day tomorrow. This was a nice change of pace today. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

The last day of our tour was entirely in Hanoi. We started off with a visit to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam. It was founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, scholars and education in general. Initially the focus was on educating the elite. The gates entering the temple were wonderfully named. It was clear that education was important in this space.

Those who passed their exams had their accomplishments and names written in stone steles that were mounted on the backs of stone turtles. Turtle were thought to represent longevity and luck. Some of these monuments of accomplishment date back to the 14th Century.

Confucius and his best students are commemorated in the inner buildings. Confucius’s teachings form one of the three founding philosophies of Vietnamese culture, the other two are Taoism and Buddhism. Confucius influences can be seen in the deep respect the Vietnamese have for their parents and ancestors and education. Confucius promoted the “5 contestant virtues” of benevolence, righteousness, ritual/propriety, wisdom and trust.

While we were there, a group of high school aged youth arrived for teachings and a tour of the facility. Of course, many wanted to practice their English and take pictures with Dale.

There was an extraordinary sculpture garden at the temple reflecting the New Year of the Horse.

Our next stop after the Temple was the Women’s museum, a tribute to the contributions of women to Vietnamese society. The 4-story museum told the story of women’s roles and leadership during the wars of the 20th century. It also described and displayed the daily lives of families and in particular the cultural clothing of women from the 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam.

At this point we were ready for lunch and were once again whisked off for a delicious meal of local food. Sated we returned to the hotel for rest before our farewell dinner. Jane and I took the opportunity to get a pedicure.

Our tour ended after dinner. It was sad to part with this lovely group of folk. We were so lucky to have such a compatible group of companions. Everyone was game for whatever was thrown at us. People showed up on time and were respectful to each other. We had a lot of fun and many laughs along the way. Our group guide was phenomenal and we felt lucky to get led by someone who was so knowledgeable about cultures, faith practices, and politics of the 4 countries we explored.

We shift to our airB&B on Friday at noon. We have 4 more days in Hanoi to explore more of the city and what Dale experienced on his trips to Hanoi almost 10 years ago.

We had an early start to the day with a pre-breakfast visit to the Sung Sot caves. These caves have formed in the karsts (limestone rock formations scattered throughout the bay). The Karsts are made of soluble stone (I.e., limestone) that are slowly dissolving over millennia. The caves we saw yesterday and today are a product of that process. The Sung Sat caves were “discovered” by the French in 1901 who named them the surprise caves because of their size and the shapes within. The caves have stalagmites (grow from the ground) and stalactites (growing from the ceiling) formations in the three large caverns. The government developed the caves for tourism after the 1990’s.

We returned to the boat to check out and have brunch. We then headed back to shore and a return trip to Hanoi. On the way back we stopped for a water puppet show at one of the villages. It was fantastic! The puppeteers stayed behind the curtain in chest high water and manipulated the puppets through long poles under water.

We returned to Hanoi for our next stop – the Hanoi Hilton. This prison was initially designed to house, torture and kill Vietnamese dissidents, including women, during the French Indochina war. It later housed American pilots captured during the Vietnam/American war, including John McCain. The exhibits were from a Vietnamese perspective and highlighted the resiliency of their people. Much like the visit we had to the Chu Chi Tunnels, this was an important and educational stop that depicted the horrors of war. I found it difficult to take pictures so you will just have to imagine dark, dank cells with horrible lighting and conditions.

We ended our day back at the hotel. After a brief relaxation followed by our ritual of happy hour, we headed off for supper. Our destination of choice was a 1 star Michelin restaurant (my first ever). The food was great but we had difficulty understanding the difference between quality of this restaurant compared to the others we have eaten in (the food here is fantastic in general and our tour company has made sure we eat well). We were amazed at the total bill which, for the two of us came to a whopping $60 cdn.

Tomorrow starts the end of our last day of our tour.

We left our hotel at 8:15 for our 2 hour drive to Ha Long Bay. We stopped for coffee along the way at a very busy highway stop. It was massive and included a snack shop, bathrooms, temple area and bonsai and grapefruit trees.

Our second stop was at an oyster farm. OK, it was a pearl sales opportunity, but they did a great job of describing how cultured pearls are made.

We made it to our boat. We are on the largest wooden boat on the bay. Our group has the boat to ourselves and it has been really fun. We cruised the bay and took in the amazing views.

It was somewhat overcast today so the colours didn’t come through as much as we’d have liked them too.

We took the tender off the boat to explore Ti Top Island where we had the option to climb 400+ steps to a look out or go swimming. I did neither as I am nursing my knee injury from November. While the climb was manageable, the 400+ uneven stairs that didn’t have a handrail seemed a bit too much. Dale was aware of how much Ha Long Bay has changed in the 10 years since his visit. The bay is much busier with both boats and people.

We then went for a cruise into a lagoon through Luon Cave.

We ended our day with happy hour (2 for 1 drinks are never dangerous) and supper. However, before supper the men in our group were challenged in a spring rolls making contest. The good news was that Greg was declared Master Chef in charge of spring rolls with a certificate to prove it.

Once again we ate well and are now crashing in readiness for another busy day tomorrow. I hope we sleep well tonight. It is really quiet on the Bay but we are also at anchor and the boat has been turning slowly for the past few hours. Not dizzy yet!

We got into travel mode again as we made our last plane trip before heading home. The two hour flight to Hanoi from Saigon was largely uneventful.

The name Hanoi means “inside the bend in the red river” and was established in 1010 AD. It’s original name was Hung Luang or Soaring Dragon. This image remains an important one in the community.

We immediately went for lunch at a local restaurant. It was our first opportunity to deal with crossing roads in Hanoi. Our guides encouraged us to be like “sticky rice” as we waited for a lull in oncoming traffic. The idea is to find the gap, walk slowly and confidently across traffic and expect people on scooters or in cars to go around you. So far so good!

After lunch we headed into the downtown area and toured Ho Chi Min’s mausoleum. Ho Chi Min had originally wanted to be cremated and have his ashes divided between the three parts of Vietnam (north, central and south). The government decided to ignore his wishes and arrange for him to be embalmed and enshrined in the capital. The building itself was designed by Russian architects. People can see his body in the mausoleum on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The site is closed for a few months every year when they re-embalm the body. They used to take him to the Soviet Union for this task but are now able to perform it locally.

We also saw the single pillar pagoda. An 11th century king of the area prayed to the lady Buddha to help him have a son. His wife became pregnant soon after and he built the shrine in her honour. The original shrine was rebuilt in its current form after the French left. It was initially built on a wooden pillar and was somewhat larger. The current pagoda rests on a concrete base. It is an active shrine.

Our next adventure was an electric car tour of the old city. This warren of market stalls was incredible. The chaos was overwhelming. Historically the markets were organized by streets dedicated to selling specific goods (e.g., shoe street or metal working street, etc.).

We then checked into our hotel and, after happy hour, went to find dinner. We have yet to find the method of ordering the right amount of food. We ate family style and still had too much! However, it was too much of a good thing and we retired for the night comfortably sated.

Tomorrow we are off for a cruise to Ha Long Bay on a Junk ship. The ship will likely be filled entirely by our tour. It should be exciting.

Our day was fairly laid back compared to the last week. We had breakfast, boarded the bus and headed for the Mekong Delta. We stopped at an interesting religious site called Cao Dai. This is a new religion developed in 1926 after the leader consulted with a Ouija board. Our guide explained that Caodaism is a merger of  Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity. They believe in one god, that all religions come from the same source and that people can access spiritual connections through seances. Their main symbol is the left eye – a sign of god’s omnipresence, spiritual awareness and universal truth. This faith has become popular and has millions of followers around the world.

Our next stop was the river. Our tour took us to several villages where we had the opportunity to see the crafts and culture of those living in the Delta. The cruise was laid back and interesting. The villagers get around by canoes, either motor or hand powered. The eyes painted on the boats are protection from the river monsters and to see the way home. There are no eyes on the fishing boats so that they don’t scare the fish away.

At one of our stops we watched the women turn water hyacinth stems into baskets. When fresh, the stems break easily. When dried they make strong fibres for baskets of all kinds.

We were served at least 10 different fruits on the cruise, including coconut water (still in the coconut). Drinking coconut water is the natural and Local way of getting electrolytes into your system. Given the heat, this was welcome.

We stopped at one site where the locals demonstrated folk music in song and dance accompanied by interesting instruments.

We also stopped at a shop that made popped rice, rice paper for food and coconut candy. The gift shop allowed us to purchase the snacks (and taste the rice wine they also made) and local handicrafts.

Lunch was at an historic wooden house built in 1886. More food was provided than we could possibly eat (as usual) but it was so good we tried our best. The most unique dish was the grilled tilapia fresh rolls prepared at our table.

The 10 minute walk back to the bus was helpful for our digestion. The journey back into Saigon was mellow. We called it a night after a drink on the rooftop bar. Tomorrow we head to Hanoi.