Month: February 2014

Good Evening Vietnam!

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Trips outside Shanghai, Vietnam1 Comment
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Dinner here is served on and in the streets

Holy.  Hell.  We landed in Hanoi and immediately inhaled a smell that made a lasting impression and not in a good way.  The humid hot air enveloped us as we climbed into the car for a long ride to the hotel, Calypso Grand, in the Old Quarter.  In the darkness, I could make out very rundown French style buildings yet could see big screen TV’s in many apartments.  The billboards screamed technology–Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, etc. but the vibe was more like being stuck in the 1950’s.  The Vietnamese love karaoke bars and massage parlors just as much as the Chinese do–they are everywhere!

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Café on the corner by our hotel

Scooters dominate the streets and here they are family vehicles, accommodating Mom, Dad and the baby.  There are no street lights or traffic signals and it’s even more crazy than China.  It’s the last day of the Tet Holiday and everyone was on the street squatting on little plastic stools eating their dinners late into the evening.  We walked by buildings to peer inside, seeing decay on the outside and a much more renovated interior, many with circular staircases and one with a Porsche parked on the first floor.

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Calypso Grand Hotel in Hanoi-yes, rose petals on the bed!

At our hotel, we were greeted with a smile and told to sit down emphatically so we could be served a fresh fruit welcome drink.  Our room was very charming with a French balcony overlooking the busy street.  There are no big chain hotels, only small boutique hotels lining the streets.  We immediately stowed our bags and hit the streets, literally in Thom’s case as he fell walking off a rugged curb and sprained his ankle.  The streets and sidewalks are all broken and hard to walk on especially at night.  He’s sitting here now with a cold Coke can on his ankle trying to stop the swelling.  No Walgreen’s on the corner for the needed items–we will learn to pack more medical supplied in the future.

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Thom rocking his dragon T-shirt

Being a trooper and not wanting to go back to the hotel immediately, Thom hung in there and we sat at the café on the corner where we watched the scooter parade and enjoyed some tea/wine.  Tomorrow, we leave early to go to Ha Long Bay to enjoy an overnight cruise on a junk boat.  I can’t wait to see Vietnam by daylight!

Off to Vietnam we go…after the Super Bowl!

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Shanghai, Trips outside Shanghai, Vietnam4 Comments

It’s surreal to think I am enjoying the Super Bowl in Shanghai this morning-Go Seahawks-and then will be eating dinner tonight in Hanoi, Vietnam.  WHAT!  I’m just a simple Midwestern gal.  People like me marry young and never move from their hometown.  Certainly a nice life but not for me.  In this second chapter of my life with the kids all grown up, I chose to risk it all.  Instead of leading a predictable, safe existence, I deliberately put myself out there daily with a goal that when I die, I’m just exhausted.  How did this happen?

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Road Warrior

I guess it all started when I jumped off the cliff of life, leaving my “safe” job with a company I had been with for fourteen years and challenging myself to join a start-up that had the potential to keep me from eating cat food in my retirement or it could have failed just as easily.  Coin toss!  It has not been a cake walk for sure but along with all the tears of frustration amid feeling incredibly stupid as I learned, there have been the highs of making a difference in other people’s lives with precious moments that I will never forget.  Those moments I cherish and remind me what’s really important.  I am humbled daily and am constantly aware that everyone knows more than me and it usually takes me longer to figure some stuff out so I have to work harder than most but I’ve learned to just keep at it and never, ever give up.  I’ve also accepted that I have to ask for help at times-tough for me to do.  I’m the one who offers to help, not ask for it.

Leaving family behind to take on this China Challenge, I have had tears and guilt but when my son tells me that he thinks we lead the coolest life, I can only hope that I am setting a good example to my kids to take chances and live a life full of surprises and adventure.  When my dad died, it was a wake up call to remind me to appreciate every precious moment that we have here.  You truly never know when it will be your turn to pass. You cannot control the end but you can control the now.  You can try to find joy in the simplest things every day and every moment.  This I try to do.WP_20130929_022

 

So, off to Vietnam I go to have yet another great adventure with my travel partner aka the love of my life.  I will savor the journey and the smiles that Thom will inevitably elicit from the Vietnam locals with his antics and goofy smile.  More to come!