April 24, 2015 - Travel day from Hoi An, Vietnam to Koh Lanta, Thailand - Day 253

Peter's POV

Today was a travel day which included a 4:00 wakeup to get to the airport before our 8:10 flight took off. When I was done packing up I walked out of my room and found my Dad and Fredric, the guy who checked us in talking. Fredric wanted the money that we owed him from some of the things that we bought from the house. My dad didn't have enough cash because he didn't know if Fredric was going to show up.  We had been trying to get a hold of him all week, but he never replied and my Dad did not want to leave a bunch of money laying around the house. 

In the end my Dad and Fredric drove to an ATM to get him his cash. At 5:15, our estimated departure time there was no car waiting to take us to the airport. Yesterday we had payed the place that we rented our scooters from to take us to the airport, but apparently they forgot. After about 5 minutes a guy walked up to our house and told us that he was our driver. We ended up walking 5 minutes down the small road that the house is on to get to the car. 

After a 30 minute car ride we got to the airport to find that our flight had been canceled. After seeing that the flight had been canceled we ran over to the desk where a clerk informed us that we were moved to a 9 o-clock flight. This really didn't bother us because it gave us a chance to get breakfast. After waiting for two hours we ran through security and boarded our flight for Hanoi.

When we got to Hanoi we had another two hour layover but it flew by because we had to get our bags, transfer them to the international terminal, re-check our bags and go back through security and immigration. When we finished all of that we had about 40 minutes before our flight took off. We decided to go get lunch at a Pho place. 

When we were all full we walked to our gate. We got there and decided to place a sticker (covertly) on a vent of some sort. After placing the sticker we headed off to Bangkok. 

View fullsize

When we got to Bangkok we were impressed by the size of the airport, it was massive. Following signs for a while we finally found our way to our gate. When we got there we had 15 minutes to spare so my parents ran to get us something to eat. 

When we landed in Krabi we waited for 15 minutes to get on a bus, ride for 1 minute around a corner and get off - pretty silly. We got our bags and headed through customs. When we got through customs we tried to find our driver and after a little while of looking around we found him. When we got in the car we were informed that the drive would take 2 and a half hours. Because our driver really wanted to get home he shaved 30-45 minutes off of the drive and the person that was checking us in was surprised to see us at the house so early.  We got inside and fell into bed exhausted after one of the longest travel days.  

April 23rd, 2015 - Hoi An, Vietnam - Day 252

Big Pete's POV

Today is our final day in Vietnam and therefore a little bit of reflection is in order.  To be honest when we first arrived in Hoi An we were a little underwhelmed.  Our house was out in the middle of an agricultural area which was very dilapidated, and the town itself appeared quite run down.  However, over our short stay here we have had a transformation and are leaving Hoi An loving the people, the food and even the town.  Our experience here has been wonderful and we all agreed at dinner that we would come back to explore more of the country.  It is certainly a country undergoing massive change and growth, but at is core you will find very warm, happy people, incredible food and GREAT prices.  

Today was pretty normal as far as the past few days go.  We did some work in the morning and then went in to town to pick up the clothes we had made. After getting the final product we went back to our favorite lunch spot, Morning Glory for another wonderful meal.  After the meal we made our way home and took a nap to stay our of the oppressive heat.  After the nap Lea and I worked on math for a while and then we headed back into town to drop off the scooters, do a little more shopping and have our last meal.  

View fullsize

Peter has been braving the roads in Vietnam - and even braver, Stacie is his passenger!

View fullsize

One of the real magical things that happens in Hoi An is that the city lights up at night.  

View fullsize

The lanterns are everywhere and it turns the madness of the town into a charming pedestrian village exploding in color.  I took my camera and could have spent the entire time taking pictures, however, the kids were getting hungry after a while and we decided to head back to Lantern Town Restaurant for dinner.  

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

We had another wonderful meal and then headed back to the house to pack up for our early departure the next day.  We have an 8AM flight out of Da Nang and then two additional flights before we arrive in Krabi Thailand.  From there we take a taxi and ferry to get to Ko Lanta - so it is going to be a very long day.  

View fullsize

View fullsize

I am so happy we came to Vietnam and we are leaving with a much better understanding of the culture, people and the history of this wonderful country.  

View fullsize

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our stay in Hoi An.

April 22nd, 2015 - Hoi An, Vietnam - Day 251

Peter's POV

View fullsize

Today was our last day in Vietnam or so we thought. Last night my dad realized that we had done it again. We leave on Friday, not on Thursday. Luckily we didn't drive to the airport before we realized our mistake this time.

Today we had a fitting appointment at 11 and after we were planning on grabbing some lunch and exploring the town.  When we got to the taylor shop my mom fixed all of the things with her clothes but my dad was still having some problems with his pockets. He made a couple of changes and they told us to come back at 3 in the afternoon. After we were done with the taylor we headed to lunch at Morning Glory. While we were eating we decided that instead of walking around in the heat of the day that we would go out after my dads fitting at 3. 

When we got home we worked for a little bit, got in the pool and then got ready to go. Just as we were leaving Lea decided that she would stay home and get some work done. When we got to the town we split up, my dad going to his fitting and my mom and I going to look at some tank tops that she found. After walking around the town for a while we decided to go and get Lea for dinner. When we got to the house it started raining and we decided that we would take a cab into town. The place that we were planning on eating at was down a pedestrian street so we couldn't get there without walking in the rain. After about 10 minutes of walking we decided to hop into another place that my dad said looked good. 

The food was great and we had an awesome dinner filled with some of the best chicken that I have ever had in my life. After we were all filled up we decided to head home and call it a night. We all fell into bed, exhausted from another day in Hoi An.  

April 21st, 2015 - Hoi An, Vietnam - Day 250

Peter's POV

Today I woke up to my moms knock on the door of my room telling me that breakfast is ready. The breakfast's that we have been having have been amazing, fresh fruit, eggs and bread with some orange juice. After breakfast we all did our own things until 10:45 when we went into town to try on our new clothes. After waiting for a little bit in a waiting room, we got a glimpse of our clothes.

View fullsize

The waiting room

My parents liked there clothes but I thought that mine were just okay. After making a couple of changes we left to go and get some lunch at our house. 

When we got there we heated up our dinner from last night and ate a great lunch. When we were done for lunch we relaxed for a while. Around 3 we left to get my moms tablet case and try on our clothes again. When we got to the leather shop we were relieved to find that my mom's case worked perfectly and was beautiful - all for $30. After the leather shop we went back to the taylor shop and tried on our clothes again. I finished mine but my parents still needed some things done to there clothes. After we left the taylor we drove to our house to drop off some things and headed to the beach where we were going to meet the Chicago family that we met on the boat. After about 15 minutes of driving we pulled in to what we thought was the beach but it turned out to be a different beach and we felt a little lost.

We found the beach about 5 minutes later, getting there was easer said than done, my dad and I almost wiped out on our scooter in the sand, but we saved it just in time. When we got to the beach we immediately found our friends.

View fullsize

An Bang Beach

View fullsize

When we got to the beach Lea and I went into the water with Tommy and C.C. while my mom and dad talked with Monique. After we got out of the water we had a nice dinner at a restaurant on the beach called White Sails.  We had so much fun with them, CC and Tommy kept us laughing the whole time.  Even though they were much younger than us, it was nice to be with kids again.

About half way through our meal a bunch of lightning lit up the sky. After about 30 minutes of on and off lightning we decided to call it before we had to ride our scooter in the rain. We said goodbye and drove home. When we got home we decided to play a game of Euchre before bed. After Lea and my dad pulling off another win we decided to call it a night and go to bed after another great day in Hoi An.    

April 20th, 2015 - Hoi An, Vietnam - Day 249

Peter's POV 

View fullsize

Our house in Vietnam

Today was our first full day in Hoi An. I woke up and found a note from my parents saying that they went out for a walk. We got in at about 9 at night yesterday and didn't have a chance to get any breakfast supplies, but we were told that the house keeper would bring by some bread, eggs, and fruit for breakfast so all I had to do was wait for her. After about an hour she arrived with and started making me my breakfast. It was delicious, after about 20 minutes Lea woke up and she ate breakfast as well. About an hour later my parents showed up on a motor scooter!

View fullsize

Sweet Rides!

After they made their breakfast we all got ready to head into town to start looking for clothes. Hoi An is know their inexpensive custom tailors. While me and my sister were getting ready my mom and dad went to get another motor scooter (which you can rent for 5 dollars a day). When they got back we hopped on and drove to town. Once we found a parking spot we got off and started to look for some of the recommended taylor shops. When you walk around Hoi An the tourists stick out like sore thumbs. Everyone is telling you to come into their shops to buy something. You can really tell which shops are the good shops and which are the bad.   Here are some pictures of the town:

After about 45 minutes of exploring the town, we found a leather store and my mom started the process of getting a tablet cover for her drawing pad. After we left the leather store we found one of the best taylor's in town, Yaly. My mom was very excited about the opportunity to get custom clothes and had a list of things that she wanted to get. After about twenty minutes of looking through catalogs, everyone found something except for Lea. I found a pair of shorts, my dad found a pair of pants, and my mom found a pair of pants, a skirt, and a shirt. 

While we were waiting for the measurements to be complete a nice lady came up and asked if Lea wanted her nails done.  She said it would be $4 so Lea went for it.  After getting all of the measurements and Lea getting a manicure and a pedicure we headed off to lunch. We ate at Morning Glory, and it was delicious. Lea and my dad got some shrimp in coconut, literally it was in a coconut. I got a Hoi An sandwich and my mom got a mango salad.

View fullsize

Morning Glory - Amazing Food!

When we left the lunch place we were all hot and tired. On our way home we stopped by a lady's stand and grabbed what we thought were limes but they turned out to be oranges. Luckily we found out that they were oranges before we bought them. We grabbed our limes and drove our motor scoters home. 

When we got home it was super hot so me and my mom hopped into the pool while my dad and sister did math. When we got out my mom and sister did some science while I relaxed. Being done with school has some major perks! Around 7 we ate. One of the things that we could do at this house was pay the house keeper to make us some food. We ordered way to much food, but it was delicious.   When we were stuffed you could barely tell that we had eaten any. After dinner we played a game of Euchre and went to be after a long first day in Hoi An.