Moalboal, Philippines

Back on the island of Cebu, time has moved slowly for the last week in the tiny coastal town of Moalboal.  It’s another top spot for scuba diving – home to a variety of marine life especially at Panagsama Beach, with its giant schools of sardines. 

We booked an AirBnB for four nights but after we arrived, honestly a little tired of moving around so much, we booked for another four nights.  The house is owned by a large hospitable family, where the apartments are upstairs and the ground floor is retail (massage).  Our place is just a short walk from the laid-back main street that has dive shops, tourist restaurants, and a few souvenir shops.  But we are definitely in a local neighborhood: goats, roosters, and local food stalls (3 pieces of fried chicken for 45 cents).  The neighbor boys build kites out of reclaimed plastic and Everett has joined them a few times.  

A common form of transport here is called a “tricycle,” which is a motorcycle with an attached sidecar.  The small town we’re in has a strong American music vibe: loudspeakers blast 80’s easy listening music at all hours.  And yes, karaoke sounds from most homes and establishments nearby.  Everyone seems to be humming or singing, even at the grocery store.  The weather has been especially sunny and the mid-afternoon sun is brutal.  In the late afternoons, Ken and Everett have played basketball with local kids.  Basketball is a huge sport here, and even the smallest towns have a covered court.  The dive highlights so far have been swimming with the massive school of sardines (millions moving together in unison) and the coral wall near Pescador Island (good visibility, caverns, turtles, frog fish, barracudas, and sea snakes).  

Malapascua, Philippines

Another sleeper bus brought us back to Hanoi, where we spent our final days hanging out post-Tet.  This being our third stay in the same neighborhood and on the same street, we didn’t do much tourist sight-seeing, but started to feel that comfortable “we live here” vibe.  We truly loved our time in Northern Vietnam and will definitely visit again.

Everett, being an airplane enthusiast, was excited to fly the A330 on Cathay Pacific.  In hindsight we should have taken a long layover in Hong Kong (for at least a day or two) but instead, we rushed between gates with no time to spare and boarded our flight to Cebu, Philippines.

 

After being in Vietnam the last few weeks we were thrilled to see and hear English again!  The vibe feels very “Pacific Island” (everyone wearing board shorts and flip flops) so we had the first impression, “Are we still in Asia?”  Since we arrived late in the evening we spent one night near the airport, intending to take a bus the next morning to the northern tip of Cebu Island.  After calling a taxi to take us from the hotel to the bus station (5 mins drive), Ken jokingly asked the driver if he would take us the full distance to the north (3.5 hours one-way) and he agreed!  Ken being Ken, negotiated a private ride all the way to the ferry port, avoiding the bus ride all together.  Well, our $1.40 bus ride turned into a $55 private transfer (Survey: Is he even still a backpacker?!?)

The “ferry” was a large canoe with outriggers, taking us about 40 mins to the small island of Malapascua, known for its thresher sharks.   Apparently, it’s one of the only spots in the world where thresher sharks are reliably accessible to humans.  Everett was recovering from a head cold, so unfortunately couldn’t dive.  Big Bummer.  But Ken went solo and met friends on the dive whom we’ve hung out with since (Germany, Australia, and San Francisco)!  Annette was named Hot Mess (she kept losing everything), Jenni was Mom (she took care of everyone), Mike was Miguel (we were drunk and insisted on his Filipino name), Bec was Saving the Children (our young optimistic sociologist – a group always needs at least one), I was Bec’s Pharmacy, Ken was Dad, and Everett was Annette 2.0 (he was ALSO a Hot Mess who needed Jenni’s constant attention).

Left to Right: Bec, Ken, Annette, Terry, Mike, Jenni, Hill and Ev

Thresher Shark pic courtesy of our new friend and diving buddy, Mike. 

In addition to homeschool, the events of the day included: beach volleyball, basketball with the local kids, fresh mangoes (sold from a laundry basket), sunsets (hit and miss), and floating in the ocean (thanks Jenni aka Mom!).  

Unfortunately, the power here is unpredictable, so we spent our last day with an island-wide black-out for several hours.  Since our room was unbearably hot, we took the opportunity to snorkel with baby sharks at a nearby beach.  Yes, I said snorkeling with sharks.  The sharks were cute, about one to two feet long and traveled in small packs.  Everett said he counted eighteen.

Sapa, Vietnam

The ride from Ha Long Bay to Ninh Binh had us questioning our decision to use local transport.  The erratic driver yelled at everyone, suffered from Tourette-like symptoms, couldn’t stay in a consistent lane, and kept randomly stopping (in the road, not pulling to the shoulder) to jump out and deliver packages to people waiting along the roadside.  Our nerves shot, that evening we arrived at our North Vietnamese commune hidden in the mountains, far away from the noise of the city.  

Picture courtesy of hotel website.  If only I had my drone.

At the end of a village road, steep limestone cliffs formed the letter “C,” (closed on three sides with one entrance) with 20 individual bungalows positioned around a big lake at the foot of the mountains.  We were a little worried about being trapped in the countryside, but luckily a 10-year-old boy from the UK stayed in the cabin next door.  He and Everett had fun together running wild around the property.  It rained the whole visit so Ken and I relaxed and enjoyed the nature, thankful that Everett found a new friend.

Everett and Franklin ordering food and hanging like old friends

Had to squeeze in a little school work

Sad to leave our magical commune, we rode back to Hanoi, luckily with a composed driver this time.  On the bus with us was a family from Montreal.  The Vietnamese husband was born and raised in Canada (his parents were 1975 boat people resettled to Montreal).  We had an enjoyable ride because he spoke Vietnamese and became our new-found translator.

 

Hanoi was very quiet the days leading up to Tet.  Shops were shutting down.  We spent the afternoon looking for an open post office.  Everything was closed but we found a lady who broke into the closed post office and came out with stamps.  Success!  We boarded the 6am bus to Sapa, a northwestern mountain town terraced with rice fields about 45 mins from the border with China.  We unknowingly booked a sleeper bus!

The tourist town was known for its spectacular views and its many ethnic minority groups (e.g., Hmong).  Our first two days in Sapa were cold and rainy – not the ideal conditions for trekking, which the area is known for and what we had intended to do there.  95% of businesses were shut down for Tet, so the town was peaceful and festive.  We took a long walk around the empty town and found scooter rentals; Everett happily zipped around the town square. 

 

Our third and final day the weather turned around.  The sun peaked out, half the stores opened, and suddenly tons of tourists appeared out of nowhere.  We took an unforgettable cable car ride up the forested slopes of Fansipan Mountain, the highest peak in Vietnam.  Climbing the 600 stairs to the summit, we knew the visibility would be non-existent (totally fogged in) but nonetheless, we were thrilled to get out and enjoy a climb at 10,000 feet.  The crowds were manageable and the grounds were immaculate with beautiful gardens.  The captivating afternoon turned our Sapa journey into a memorable one.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

We ferried back to mainland Thailand and rode north towards Chumphon Airport.  With only one flight per day to Bangkok (9am) we stayed one night at a nearby hotel.  Chumphon Airport only had one gate; we checked our luggage and cleared security in less than three minutes.  Our AirAsia flight was only 45 mins but they served Boba Tea and Ice Coffee.  The best service!  The flight arrived at a small airport in Bangkok so we had to self-transfer to the international airport across town (BKK).  On the shuttle ride we met a retired couple from LA who told us they too had taken a family gap year with their kids ten years ago.  It’s always fun to meet fellow long-term American travelers, since they are so rare. The immigration line at BKK was extremely long but luckily, we had plenty of time to kill.  We relaxed in the Oman Airlines lounge – it had the best food (Ken could eat Thai food indefinitely but I really love Arabic food so I was in heaven).  Then: Vietnam Airlines to Hanoi, a brief two-hour flight.

 

We were wary that Vietnam might be uncomfortable for American tourists.  We couldn’t have been more wrong.  The second we landed in Vietnam we knew we were somewhere special.  First, the currency is 1:25,000, so we went to the ATM and got a few billion dong.  Our driver, who was parked in the front row in the first parking spot, smoked a cigarette as the sun set; the road traffic was absolute chaos.  We stayed in a 4th floor apartment in the Old Quarter, which had a French influence and was just a sight to see.  There were a million motorbikes zipping by everywhere.  The sidewalks were filled with parked motorbikes and people eating on tiny blue plastic chairs.  So much of the sidewalk obstruction forced us to walk on the road.  Ken was a giant: every restaurant used small chairs (in the US we would call them “kid size.”)  Every kind of store was at our disposal (knock-off apparel, food, flowers, spas) and since it was Tet Holiday (New Year’s) the streets were particularly festive with red lanterns, kumquat trees, and fireworks.  Shout out to Uncle Moku: Vietnam had the most extravagant and luxurious orchid arrangements.  Vendor ladies walked by pushing baby carriages, which were filled with donuts for sale.  Coffee was at every corner, including egg coffee, which was coffee with a whipped foam egg on top.  The waitresses continued to be obsessed with Everett (we’ve been here a week and have not seen any black people).      

Nearby was a local restaurant where Anthony Bourdain famously dined with President Obama - for $4 we got the “Obama Special'' - pork noodle soup, seafood egg roll, and Hanoi beer.  The endless street food was tasty and usually $1-3 – our favorites were banh mi (like a Subway sandwich but better) and bun cha (rice noodles with fried pork).

I was skeptical about the Water Puppet Show, a puppet performance originating from the rice fields.  A tourist trap, I thought.  Pleasantly surprised, the super unique theater performance told historical Vietnamese tales, including one about a famous turtle with a sword.  Ken and I exchanged big smiles, as the four-year-old boy behind us kept shrieking in delight.

Our time in Hanoi was too quick (two days) and we can’t wait to get back soon.  We booked a 3 day-2 night cruise through the famous Ha Long Bay, about two hours from Hanoi.  The ride there was in a comfortable 12-person van, but we quickly realized we were now on the “tourist route” (the driver literally gave us lanyards that said “tourist”) and stopped for an oddly long restroom break.  Of course, the bathroom was in the back of a giant souvenir shop.  The Ha Long Bay pier followed suit – filled with pre-packaged tour operators and thousands of tourists wandering around.  We didn’t mind though, since we were familiar with these places and knew what to expect (standing in lines, overpriced everything, endless selfies, etc.)

Several friends gave us mixed reviews of Ha Long Bay – in addition to being over-touristed, the water was polluted with trash floating around.  After so many beach destinations we now see the unfortunate impact of single use plastic water bottles.  All that being said, it’s a UNESCO Heritage site and we can see why.  

 

The scenery was world-class with towering limestone mountains jutting out of the water covered by rainforests.  Our super fancy cruise boat (Venus) had a pool and an elevator!  (Sidenote: I do most of the trip planning but in this instance, Ken booked the cruise.  We climbed aboard and I gave him the evil eye, like, “What did this cost?!?!?!”  And his sheepish response, “I booked the cheap boat I swear… they gave us an upgrade??” Ok guys, I secretly love when he books the accommodations because they’re always nicer than I would pick!)

 

Owen, the cruise ship manager, was so professional wearing his full suit.  We could tell he was secretly a jokester, yelling to the newlywed Indian kayakers, “Shark!” and to the Swiss college students fishing off the boat, “Do better, we need to eat tonight.”  The assistant manager, Ving, with his impeccable English, guessed Ken was either American or Israeli:) Ving also told us the story of his father who was captured - in this very bay - and was held in an American prison camp for two and a half years.

The daily activities included extensive eating (all-inclusive with fresh caught seafood), kayaking (Ken did all the work), swimming (did we mention the pool?), cooking demonstration (spring rolls – Everett’s was more like a burrito), bicycling to a village where we drank “happy water” wine (see the snake?), fed fish with our feet, and took a bamboo row boat through a cave (5:30 am wakeup call!).

We are absolutely enjoying our first week in Vietnam!