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2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
  • Courtney Johnson
  • Courtney Johnson

2017 Europe & Asia Adventure

Un’avventura di 62 giorni di Courtney Leggi altro
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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore

    Day 24 - Capri!

    3 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Wow...Capri is beautiful! We left Naples this morning for the short ferry ride to Capri. Then we hailed a cab from the ferry port and rode in the back of the open convertible up through the mountains and along the windy rode to our Airbnb in the highlands of Anacapri. We decided to stay up here in the quieter Monte Solaro area instead of down in the crazy packed Capri, filled with day trippers. Our Airbnb, which is actually a family owned bed and breakfast, is probably the highest point that we could be staying, with gorgeous views of the cliffs, the Mediterranean Sea, and the island of Ischia. We ordered delivery salad and pasta and set up on the pool deck for a late lunch. Then we walked down the steep hill (about a 5 minute walk down...but about 20 minutes back up) to the Anacapri town. We walked around for a little bit and then returned to the pool deck for the beautiful sunset. We decided not to go back down for dinner, since I am still not feeling great. We are going to have another relaxing night and hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow to explore the island.Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    2
    3Walking down with our new kitty friendFinally enjoying the chairlift!Swimming into the green grotto1The "heart cave"1The entrance into the blue grotto

    Day 25 - Capri - Best Day Ever

    4 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Today was absolutely the best day ever. And Capri is absolutely the best place ever. It is basically a giant island made up of giant cliffs and giant rock formations that stick hundreds of feet out of the Mediterranean Sea, with views of the Bay of Naples, the Sorrento Coast, the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius, and, at some points, just water as far as the eye can see. About three quarters of the island is beautiful empty cliffs while the other quarter manages to squeeze a couple of small towns - Capri, down on the water, and Anacapri - up in the cliffs.

    We started our day by walking the short but steep walk from our beautiful bed and breakfast down to Anacapri town (with a friendly kitten) to catch the chair lift to the top of Mount Solaro. I am terrified of heights and was terrified to get on this single-person chair lift to the highest point on the island. I didn't do well. I gripped the railing and either stared at the cliff on my left or closed my eyes the entire way...not once looking at the beautiful view of the water and town and cliffs on my right. Once we made it to the top, we got off and walked around and I got to actually take in the beautiful scenery. It was amazing. I am so glad we took this trip in September/October because there were not that many people on the mountain. I imagine in the summer there is barely room to stand, let alone grab a seat overlooking the cliffs. We had a cold beer and relaxed and I built up the strength to take the lift down instead of hiking all the way down. The ride down was beautiful.

    Once we got back down, we had a quick pizza, and took the crazy bus down to the Capri marina for a private boar tour around the island. I'm not sure what to say about this tour except that it was the absolute highlight of the trip. I can't think of much else I've ever done to top it. We spent three hours in a private boat, riding around the entire island of Capri, sipping wine and beer, swimming, and taking in the views. We went into several caves, swam in caves and grottos, and saw the island in the best way imaginable. The white grotto was amazing, with it's natural Madonna statue. The green grotto was beautiful, and Tim was able to scale the rocks inside and dive in. But nothing could ever compare to the blue grotto.

    I had read so much about the blue grotto this past year. I knew it would be amazing. But everything I read said that you paid a small boat a lot of money to take you inside the grotto with a dozen other boats, turn you around, and you're out in 2 minutes. I had also read that, before and after hours (9-5), the boats and the cops leave and sometimes the locals just swim in. I had wanted to do this and had told everyone I would do this for the past year. Well that's how our boat trip ended. He dropped us off near the entrance and told us to have fun. We swam over to the tiny opening (I have no idea how any boat can fit in), we pulled ourselves in on the rope, and we saw the most beautiful thing imaginable. The entire cave is lit up with a glowing bright blue water that I can't even describe. We spent a long time in the cave, swimming and climbing and diving off rocks. It was unreal.

    Then we rode back to the marina, dried off, changed, had a good pasta dinner, and now we're ready for bed. What a day!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    1The view on the way in on the ferry
    The view from our terrace!!The view on the walk back from the beach!Wine on the private terrace2Tim with a cat! And a full moon!Yum!!

    Day 26 - Positano Arrival!

    5 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Wow! Positano is stunning.

    After checking out of our bed and breakfast in Anacapri, we caught the (wrong) bus down to the Capri marina (followed by a taxi to the right place) to catch our quick 25 minute ferry to Positano on the Amalfi Coast. After we arrived at the Positano port, I saw our arrival message from our host, telling us to take a taxi or bus to the B&B. I looked the address up on Apple Maps and it said 0.3 miles, 7 minute walk...

    Tim gets a quick shot of espresso (bad idea!!) and we begin the walk (with about 30 pounds on our backs). Well...this 0.3 mile walk is essentially a hike up 400+ steep steps into a completely vertical cliff in the blazing sun. With no water. And without the phone navigation working, so I was pretty sure we were also lost. BUT...then we saw the B&B sign at our entrance...we made it!!

    Our awesome host gave us some water and let us settle in. This is the best place we have stayed by far. Our view of the cliffs and the buildings and the water is amazing. Of the 4 rooms in the B&B, ours is the only one with a private terrace. We also have a sitting area on the main terrace. The views are incredible.

    We caught our breath, changed into our bathing suits, and walked down the 400 (now easy) steps to the Fornillo beach. We had an awesome lunch on the beach, then got some chairs and an umbrella. I started a new book, Tim went for a quick swim, and we laid out in the sun for a couple of hours. We returned to our room to relax for awhile and to rinse off. Then we had some wine on our beautiful terrace and got ready for dinner. Our dinner was at a beautiful restaurant on the side of a cliff (as everything is here) - a bottle of Amalfi white wine, a pear and walnut salad to split, sea bass for Tim, and clam pumpkin ravioli for me, followed by tiramisu and decaf espresso. Amazing.

    Now, back to my book!! Goodnight!!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
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    Day 27 - Positano Beach Day

    6 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today was a much needed relaxing beach day. After breakfast on the terrace, we climbed down to the beach. We got some chairs and laid out for about 6 hours. Tim went for a long swim, which included a small cave swim and jumping off of some rocks. I just read all day! We had an awesome lunch on the beach - mussels and clams for me and sea bass for Tim! After the beach, we hiked back up to our room for a few hours of more relaxing, this time in bed with the beautiful views of the cliffside outside our terrace. We finished the day with a wonderful dinner - prosciutto and melon to start, spaghetti with clams for Tim, spaghetti with shrimp for me, and tiramisu for dessert! Yum!Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    1The main Positano beach
    1The Path of the Gods11

    Day 28 - Path of the Gods (for Tim)

    7 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Today was a fairly uneventful and relaxing day for me. I woke up, had breakfast, walked the long windy road through Positano, checked out the city center and shops, then laid out on a chair at the main beach and read my book for awhile. Then I got a sandwich at a cafe overlooking the sea and headed back to the B&B for a nap.

    Tim, on the other hand, had a very long and eventful day. He woke up, had breakfast, and set off for the famous Path of the Gods hike through the Amalfi Coast. It took a few hours, lots of walking, and two crazy bus rides to get to the start in Bomerano. He met a couple of friends and they set off for the 8 km or so walk. He said it was definitely the coolest hike he has ever done and that the views were amazing. The hike ends at Nocelle, a small town at the top of Positano, and then he walked the long road back home.

    (The walk is apparently not for anyone with severe fear of heights or vertigo...that's why I didn't go. I went back and forth for months whether I was going to do it. But I'm glad I didn't. Tim said there were definitely parts where I would have panicked.)

    Even though Tim was exhausted, we went out for our last Positano dinner. We split a cheese and meat plate with jelly, lobster pasta, and grilled sea bass. Yum!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore

    Day 29 - Rome Arrival

    8 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We were very sad to leave Positano this morning! But excited for Rome (and even more excited for Vietnam in a few days!!).

    We had a long travel day to Rome - walked down the windy Positano rode to the ferry port, ferry to Salerno, train to Rome, and then a bus to our Airbnb right outside Vatican City. The plan was to immediately do all of our laundry, then go to a market and stock up on some of the toiletries that we are running low on. We got all of our clothes together and got to the laundromat and it was closed on Sundays! So, we ended up not doing too much. We relaxed for a couple of hours, then went out to dinner - split a pear and arugula salad and two pastas (carbonara and sausage). Then we walked through Vatican City before heading back for an early night.Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    2A statue in Piazza Navona
    1The Pantheon1Teatro Marcello1The CollosseumThe underground chambers2

    Day 30 - Rome!

    9 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    What an awesome, long day! After breakfast at the Airbnb and dropping our laundry off at a laundromat, we set off to explore the city. We crossed the bridge towards the city center and ended up in Piazza Navona where we bought a mini map. Then we walked a couple blocks out of the piazza to the Pantheon - one of the oldest monuments/buildings in Rome, built in 27 B.C. We wandered around a little longer and then split a salad and salami pizza for lunch. Next, we picked up our laundry and went back for a long rest.

    After a nap and showers, we headed off for more city exploring. We walked along the the Fiume Tevere river towards the southern part of the city and then crossed over to the Teatro Marcelo, the only ancient theater left in Rome, conceived by Julius Caesar. It is huge and surrounded by the ancient ruins of fallen columns. Next, we had one of our best dinners yet in the Jewish Ghetto - an appetizer of fried codfish, zucchini flowers, and Roman artichoke. Then, Tim had lamb chops with rosemary potatoes and I had another spaghetti carbonara (last night's wasn't very good and I needed to get it right, which I fortunately did tonight!). For dessert, we split the best tiramisu of the trip.

    After dinner, we went to meet our tour group for a night tour of the Colosseum and several other historical monuments around it. We saw the Trajan tower, the ancient Forum, the Venezia Square (where Mussolini lived), and several other ruins and monuments. Then, we went inside the Colosseum, after hours, where our tour of 20 was the last group of people inside. It was awesome. We walked along the upper corridors, walked down onto the arena, and even went down into the basement of the gladiator and animal chambers, which is closed to the public. Now, we are exhausted and ready for bed before our Vatican tour in the early morning!!

    Rome is probably my favorite of the big cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Florence) so far on this trip - everywhere you look, there are ruins and monuments and beautiful historical buildings. Can't wait for tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    1The ceiling of the map room in the Vatican museum
    2The Sistine ChapelTrevi Fountain2An amazing spray painting artist1

    Day 31 - Last Day in Rome/Italy/Europe

    10 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Another long and great day in Rome! We started our day waking up early for our Vatican tour. The tour was a very small group (us and a family of 3) that started at 8:00, an hour before the Vatican is open to the public. We walked through all of the Vatican museums, including the royal apartments decorated by Raphael, and then went into the amazing Sistine Chapel. After the museum, we went to St. Peter's Square and then into St. Peter's Basilica - the largest Catholic Church in the world. Of all of the churches that we have seen, this one was definitely the most extravagant.

    After the tour ended, we had a quick lunch (Chinese food!) and then took a very long nap. We woke up, and ventured out for more wandering, including a visit to the huge Trevi Fountain (and tossed in some coins for good luck!). Then we walked around for miles and finally found a good Italian restaurant for our last dinner in Rome - we started with mussels and sausage/sun-dried tomato bruschetta and then we both got fresh pasta - clam and mushroom for Tim and spinach ricotta ravioli for me. We walked for a bit more and now we're ready to read (Tim got 3 new books at a bookstore today) and bed!

    Off to Vietnam tomorrow!!!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
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    Day 32 - Pope Francis and Rome Departure

    11 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Since it will be Thursday by the time we land in Hanoi, I figured I would do a short day entry for today...

    Every Wednesday, Pope Francis does a free public mass in St. Peter's Square. Yesterday, we were able to get tickets from a guard in the Square (although it seems those were just souvenirs and we didn't really need them). After we showered and packed, we walked the couple of blocks into Vatican City, went through security, and entered the Square. We thought we were early - the mass was supposed to start at 10:00 and we got in around 9:15 - but when we saw thousands of cheering people, we were happy we got there when we did! We walked up to the crowd and noticed that the Pope was doing his rounds through the crowd, riding on the back of a truck, standing and smiling and waving and kissing babies. Within 5 minutes, he started coming down the empty lane right next to where we were standing. We got within a foot or two of Pope Francis. It was really cool!! We stuck around for the mass and then left to get to the airport.

    Now, we are sitting at the airport, eating ramen, and ready for the long flight to Vietnam!!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore

    Final Thoughts on Italy

    12 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    - Italy is way more expensive than Spain, especially Capri and Positano. You can probably get by relatively cheap if you just wander around and grab a sandwich or a slice for lunch and dinner, but sit down restaurants, tours/museums, and some of our accommodations were quite pricey. It's a good thing we left for Vietnam when we did!!
    - Just because there are four separate courses on the menu, you don't have to order something from every course. It took us a few days to realize this...
    - There are cats everywhere!!
    - Nearly everyone we came across spoke English. They say "a little bit" if you ask them and then they are fluent.
    - Basically everyone we came across was very nice and helpful and hospitable.
    - Capri and Positano were by far our favorite places on the trip so far. There are indescribable. We will absolutely be back.
    - Venice was awesome. I could see how some people might not love it, if they are staying near St. Mark's Square, since it is heavily packed with tourists at all time. But if you stay in a less busy area (like we did), it is amazing.
    - I liked Rome a lot more than I thought I would. It was probably my favorite of the really large cities. We had a wonderful three days there.
    - I wish we had given ourselves more time to explore Florence. We were there for 4 nights, but the first night was just getting settled in, the second was jam packed with hitting the top attractions, the third was a day trip to Siena, and the fourth was the Chianti wine tour. We never really had a chance to just wander and explore the city. Since we only saw the really touristy areas that second day, it was overwhelmingly crowded and I didn't quite fall in love with it. By this point, I was so sick of cities and crowds that I was ready to leave. I would like to go again and see the other side of the city. I would also love to spend more than 8-10 hours in Siena. The city was beautiful and I could see us loving spending a few nights there.
    - Naples was..."rough". Tim loved it for some reason, he enjoyed seeing a more "authentic" side of Italy. I am really glad we did the kayak tour, so we were able to see the beautiful coast. But I'm not sure I need to go back there.
    - We are really happy with how much we were able to see and do in two and a half weeks. Next time, we would love to go to Sicily. And Tim really wants to go to the Italian Alps. And we would like to explore more of Tuscany, and Cinque Terre.
    - The Blue Grotto is magical. If you get a chance to swim in it after hours, do it. That boat trip was by far the highlight so far.    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    So happy!11Yum yum1

    Day 33 - Hanoi Arrival

    12 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    What a long day...or was it 2 days?! We didn't sleep at all on the 10 hour flight from Rome to Bangkok...arriving at midnight Rome time, 5:00 am Bangkok time. Then, after a 2 and a half hour layover and a 2 and a half hour flight (with a little sleep), we arrived in Hanoi at 10 am local time. We got our Visas, got a taxi, and went straight to our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, right next to Hoan Kiem Lake. Fortunately, we were able to check right in. This hotel, Golden Moon Hotel, had the nicest room we have stayed in the whole trip. It is one of the nicer hotels I have ever been in. And it's $25/night, which is actually our most expensive accommodations in Vietnam. We set down our luggage and took a much needed 3 hour nap. We could have slept the whole day away but we knew we needed to adjust to the time, so we forced ourselves up around 2:00, took showers, and went out to check out Hanoi.

    Hanoi is insane!!! The roads are wild, filled with motor scooters, pedestrians, construction, street food, children, and even a few tourists. We had fortunately seen some random Facebook/YouTube videos on how to cross the street in Hanoi before we got here (basically you just walk across slowly and the vehicles avoid you). If we hadn't just spent a few weeks in Italy with those crazy roads and drivers, I'm not sure we would have had the courage and confidence to do it. But we seem to have figured it out.

    Our first stop, of course, was a pho lunch at a busy street vendor. YUM! It was so good (and $3.75 total for both of our meals). Hanoi is known for having some of the best street food in Asia and that is one of the main reasons we are here. After pho, we wandered the streets a bit until we found our way back to our hotel. We relaxed for a bit and I was about ready to call it a night, but Tim was somehow hungry again. We found a restaurant a couple of blocks away. I wasn't too hungry, but we got a couple of passion fruit mojitos, a couple of beers, and split veggie spring rolls and a chicken curry dish (all for under $15...which is actually very expensive here). The meal was pretty good, but I think we will stick to street vendors for the rest of our time in Hanoi.

    Now, some reading, and then probably 12 hours of sleep!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    Breakfast!
    12Crossing the street in Hanoi...

    Day 34 - Hanoi

    13 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    What a great day...Hanoi is awesome!

    We got to bed pretty early last night but knew we needed at least 12 hours to catch up on sleep. We got about 10 hours, then woke up to eat the free hotel breakfast (pho and fresh fruit!) and then got another couple of hours of sleep and relaxing before we set off for the day.

    As soon as as we left the hotel, we saw a crowded little food stand selling chicken on a stick and decided to order two. We accidentally ordered two full meals to go - chicken, vegetables, rice noodles, and broth, all for $1. We found a bench at Hoan Kiem lake and ate our lunch there. The chicken was amazing!! Then we went into a temple over the bridge in the middle of the lake (I had to borrow a "costume" to cover my bare shoulders). After the temple, we walked around the whole lake and then started wandering through the busy streets for hours and going in several little shops. Since we recently decided we love Chess, we bought a cool little stone Chess set, and found an outdoor beer bar to sit down and drink and play. We hung out at this bar on the corner of two wild streets and played Chess and drank beers for awhile. Then we went out for a pho dinner, came back and played a little more Chess, and now we're about ready for bed. We have an early bus in the morning to Sapa!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
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    The only picture I took of the bus views...it got much prettier!2On the taxi to the homestayPig roast!

    Day 35 - Sapa Arrival

    14 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    What a wild day! We woke up early (5:40), got ready, packed, ate breakfast (the hotel set up breakfast an hour early for us), and hopped on the sleeper bus to Sapa. I had no idea the sleeper bus meant basically individual beds! It was awesome and super comfortable. The ride to Sapa was beautiful, through the mountains with views of the rice terraces and waterfalls.

    Once we arrived and got off the bus in Sapa, our host (well, the homestay taxi driver) was waiting with a sign that said "Courtney". This is when things got interesting and our (my) first minor mess up happened! We were supposed to be staying at a nice hotel, with a private balcony and beautiful mountain views, right in Sapa Town. I had been looking forward to this place for months. As the taxi driver drove out of the town and down through the mountain, I started to get a little confused, but wasn't too worried about it (and he didn't seem to speak much English so there wasn't much we could do). Then the ride continued for about 45 minutes through rocky roads, lined with all sorts of animals - cows, ducks, chickens, pigs, dogs. We ended up in the middle of nowhere at a place called Heavenly Homestay. I recognized the name from some emails but the place didn't seem right at all. We checked into our room and I tried to figure out what happened. I pulled out our little notebook with all of our bookings and travel documents and, sure enough, our Sapa hotel was called "Botanic Sapa", and I had jotted some notes about the terrace and the views and being right in the middle of town. That's when I realized what had happened. Back in April, when I was first looking at hotels, I had emailed this homestay about availability, since it was so highly rated. He didn't get back to me for several weeks, at which point I had already booked the other hotel. I deleted the email and forgot about it. Well...2 weeks ago, he emailed me and said he wanted to confirm our Sapa booking for the same dates that we were planning to be in Sapa. I just assumed it was our hotel and told him yes. Then about a week ago, due to the weather forecast, we switched around our Vietnam plans. I emailed him back and asked if we could switch dates and he said it was no problem. He had his driver pick us up and we ended up at the completely wrong place. We considered just staying there, but the weather isn't great so there would be nothing to do, and we were hungry and there was nowhere to go, and there was a chance of flooding and we really didn't want to get stuck there for a week, and there was absolutely no wifi/service and my mom would freak out if she didn't hear from me for a week. So, it was basically all my fault for not paying attention, but we were in the middle of nowhere, not where we wanted to be, and the host was really nice about it and had the driver take us back to the town (not for free this time). Our really nice hotel that I was excited about was full since we were here on the wrong dates, but they were also really nice and gave us a full refund even though it was passed the refundable date. We found another (cheaper) awesome hotel right in the middle of town. We don't have our beautiful terrace with mountain views, but it is foggy and cloudy anyways so it's not a huge deal. It all worked out in the end, just had a couple of hours of stress. We knew something would go wrong at some point, so it could have been much worse!!...sorry...that was a long story!

    Anyways, after we checked in, we checked out the town. It's really cool. Full of restaurants and shops and bars, with both locals and tourists everywhere. We wandered around for awhile, got pho for dinner, then settled down at some outdoor seats on a busy corner right on the lake for some beers. Now, we need to rest up - Sapa trekking tomorrow!!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    With the Black Hmong people. Our guide in the middle. Two villagers on left that trekked with us.
    1These pictures do no justice for the breathtaking views. Looked like scenes from Lord of the RingsPictures of us with animals!Yummy dinner

    Day 36 - Sapa Trekking

    15 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today we went on a 6 hour (about 13 mile) guided trekking tour through Sapa and the surrounding villages. The beginning and end were through some rugged/steep/rocky/muddy trails - going up to the ridge in the beginning and down into the valley at the end. At a couple of spots, we were pretty much rock climbing and at one point we had to climb over a tree through a muddy landslide. After I had a minor slip towards the beginning of the hike (and accidentally grabbed onto a fence covered in barbed wire to catch myself), Tim and the trekking guide and one of the other village ladies that was following us, were very helpful guiding me any other time we reached a rough area (even though I insisted I could handle it). But most of the walking in the middle was on decently maintained paths through mountain villages where they farm on the terraced mountainside. We passed by a ton of animals roaming free along the paths and in the villages - pigs, buffalo, cows, chickens, ducks, dogs. There were great views of tall, steep, lush green mountains, recently harvested rice terraces, waterfalls, villages, and the valley below. It was an awesome day.

    After the trek, we took much needed showers, I took a nap, and then we went out for one of our best Vietnam dinners yet - veggie spring rolls, beef fried noodles, and curry chicken in a coconut with fresh mango juice and a couple of beers! Tomorrow is our last day in Sapa and it will likely be our first (and maybe only) day of bad weather of the trip (this should be the last rain storm before the region's dry season officially begins). So we plan to get massages, do some shopping, eat a pho lunch, and a fish hot pot dinner!!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
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    Day 38 - Back to Hanoi!

    17 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Wow! Has it really been 38 days?! This trip is flying by. But, at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago that we were getting on the Greyhound in Richmond to head up to JFK back in early September. I could stay in Hanoi forever. But I also miss my cats. And everyone and everything else. But I'm also not even close to ready to come back.

    Anyways, today we traveled back to the amazing Vietnam capital, Hanoi. We relaxed in our hotel room in Sapa until check out, then we ventured out to lunch. Our entire time in Sapa, we had been watching groups of people eating a dish called a hotpot. We wanted to try one but they seemed to be best split between 4-6 people (or more) and we weren't sure if we could find a smaller one. We couldn't, but we got one anyways. We decided to go with a salmon hotpot (1 kg was the smallest they would let us have!). About 5 minutes after we ordered it, one of the employees walked into the restaurant with a grocery bag that had a giant flopping salmon in it. Talk about fresh! Then, about 10 minutes after that, they started to bring out the food - a small tabletop stove with a pot of broth (water, herbs, onions, pineapple, and so much more), a plate full of the entire raw salmon (filleted), potatoes, carrots, greens, noodles, tofu, and all sorts of sauces. We devoured almost all of it, over the course of a couple of hours, along with a few beers.

    We headed back to our hotel to pick up our bags and wait for our van to pick us up to take us back to Hanoi. The van ride back seemed to take forever, but we made it back, got dropped off at the wrong hotel, walked the quick few blocks to the right hotel, and checked in to another amazing hotel right in the center of the Old Quarter. Then we set off for dinner. We finally got a pho that is possibly better than our favorite spot in Richmond, Pho So 1. A couple have been close, a couple have been worse, but this was definitely the only one that is as good or better. We will certainly be back.

    Now, bedtime. A long day of Hanoi exploring and eating and drinking tomorrow. Can't wait - I love this city!!!

    (Only pictures today are off our awesome hotpot lunch. Unfortunately my phone was dead for our late night Hanoi wandering and pho dinner.)    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    1A model of the prison and one of the male cells
    Guilletine and death row cells1Church near our hotelYum

    Day 39 - Hanoi!

    18 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Hanoi is awesome! We started the day with a delicious breakfast of banana pancakes with fresh watermelon, pears, coffee and juice. After breakfast, we visited the prison museum where French colonials jailed Vietnamese revolutionaries and where US POWs (including John McCain) were imprisoned during the "American" (Vietnam) war. The museum was really interesting but also very depressing.

    After the museum, we decided to grab some lunch. We found a local street restaurant and had a delicious lunch of spring rolls and vermicelli with stir fried chicken and peanut sauce. Yum!

    Following lunch we decided to get a 90 minute Swedish massage at a highly recommended parlor which trained and employed masseurs who were visually impaired. Best massage ever! We were so relaxed we decided to return to the hotel to rest for about an hour.

    Around 7, we decided it was time for dinner. We found another nearby street spot and had an amazing dinner of pork, chicken, and beef with rice noodles.

    After dinner, we did some shopping for a few gifts before drinking a few beers at restaurant on a second story balcony overlooking a busy street. After paying our bill and before heading home, we stopped in at one last bar for a few icy cold ones...and some manhattans! We have an early morning tomorrow so its time for bed!!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    1View from the hospital cave looking out onto a town2Views from our drive!Sunset over the bayCat Ba Town - floating restaurants, boats, and hotels

    Day 40 - Cat Ba Island - Best Day Ever!!

    19 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Waking up really early after staying out and staying up way too late, we thought we wouldn't end up doing much today. Well we were wrong!

    After our hotel breakfast (pancakes for Tim and pho for me), we caught our transportation to Cat Ba Island. The public transportation system in Vietnam might even beat what we experienced in Europe (except that there aren't high speed trains). We haven't even had to walk to a bus station; we're always picked up and dropped off at our hotel. The bus driver picked us up at our hotel in Hanoi, drove the 2.5 hours to Halong Bay, drove the bus right onto the ferry to Cat Ba Island, and then dropped us off at our hotel right on the water. Our 4th story room with floor to ceiling windows has a beautiful view of the sea.

    We got here around 1:00, ate lunch (fried rice for me, chicken and vegetables for Tim) and were planning on just relaxing most of the day but the hotel owner insisted that we rent a motorbike and explore the island. So we did - $4 for the whole day! We would never have considered doing this in Hanoi with the crazy traffic, but it is way more calm here - a little traffic in the town but once we got off the main drag, the road was clear. We stopped at the cave hospital museum, where soldiers were treated during the American war. Then we continued on through Cat Ba National Forest, all the way to the other end of the island (there are 2,000+ islands in Halong Bay, Cat Ba is the largest). The views on the ride were beautiful - mountains and giant rock formations, all covered in green. We turned around once we reached the beautiful bay on the other side and returned to Cat Ba Town to watch the sunset on the bay. Then we got a strange but delicious dinner of spring rolls and clams.

    Now we are ready to get to bed early - boat trip tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
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    Day 41 - Cat Ba Island Boat Trip

    20 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today was even better than yesterday! We woke up early and had a delicious pho breakfast (with Vietnamese coffee for Tim) and then set off for our all day boat excursion set up by our hotel owner. The tour was absolutely amazing. We got to ride around Halong Bay all day and see the beautiful views with about 20 other tourists from all around the world.

    The trip started with about an hour of riding from Cat Ba Island to the other end of the bay. Then we got a double kayak and got to kayak around the bay, in and out of caves, for about 2 hours. Then we anchored in the middle of the bay, surrounded by nothing but water and rock formations and islands, for lunch. Lunch was awesome - family style - fish, chicken, spring rolls, cabbage, rice, potatoes, and vegetables. After lunch, we got to jump off of the boat and swim for awhile. Tim and I must have dove and flipped (him) off of the top deck a dozen times. After everyone was done jumping and swimming, we took off for another couple of islands with small beaches for snorkeling. There wasn't much to see under water but it was nice to swim around. Finally, to end the trip, we went to Monkey Island - a large island in the bay that is literally filled with monkeys. They are everywhere! You can feed them peanuts or beer or whatever you want but really they will just steal whatever you have when you aren't looking. Tim and I each had peanuts and beer stolen right out of our hands. We wandered around on the beach for awhile watching the monkeys and then got back on the boat to return to Cat Ba.

    After our showers, we went out for what ended up being one of my favorite dinners of the trip - sautéed shrimp with chilis and garlic. Tim got pretty much the same meal but with chicken. Yum! Now time to watch movies and go to sleep - another early day tomorrow as we set off for another island in the bay.    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    The view from our room in Cat Ba
    1On the ferry to Halong1Seafood fried noodlesGrilled oystersShrimp and pork rollsGrouper

    Day 42 - Halong Arrival

    21 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We had a crazy adventure this morning to get to the ferry port on the other side of Cat Ba. We somehow missed the bus at our hotel and so the hotel owner quickly grabbed all of our luggage and us and threw us on the back of his and his son's motorbikes to chase down the bus. We caught up with the bus, flagged it down, and got on! Then we took the quick beautiful ferry ride to Halong.

    We had planned to either hike Poem Mountain for beautiful panoramic views of the entire bay or to lie on the beach and swim all day, but we ended up having a much needed rest day.

    After the taxi ride to our homestay, we took off for a walk along the water to find a place to eat breakfast/lunch. We stumbled onto a restaurant where no one spoke English so we didn't really order anything - they just brought us an order of seafood (shrimp and octopus) fried noodles. It was yummy!

    Then we took a long nap and relaxed for awhile. After we woke up and got ready, we set off for another walk along the water. We found a really busy fancy restaurant right on the bay and had a fantastic dinner - appetizers of grilled oysters and pork rolls, entrees of a pound of steamed shrimp for me and an entire fresh grouper with plum sauce for Tim. Everything was delicious!!

    Now, we are going to have a relaxing night - we have another boat tour tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    3
    Top - our fishing boat in the bay. Bottom - rowing through a secluded lagoon on a piece of styrofoam111Inside and outside of a cave

    Day 43 - Halong Bay Boat and Cave Trip

    22 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    We had another amazing day and another amazing boat trip in the bay!

    We slept in late (after staying up late watching bad movies) and headed over to the local mall for the ATM, toiletries, and breakfast/lunch (fast food spicy baked chicken and French fries - yum!). Then we walked the two blocks from the house with our awesome host, Dinh, to the water to meet his friend for the private boat trip.

    The 4 of us set off in a wooden fishing boat for a 6 hour boat trip through the bay, exploring several caves along the way. Some of the caves were easy to venture into (some were even used as old navy bases and fish farms). But a couple of the caves were crazy and huge and involved quite a bit of intense rock climbing to get through. On the first steep rock climbing cave, I cut up my leg pretty bad almost immediately and let the boys continue on without me. But by the time we got to the last cave, which was by far the biggest and the hardest to climb, I was able to get through it (not without cutting up my leg a little more!). This last cave was awesome - filled with huge stalagmites and stalactites which were dripping and wearing away at and crystallizing the rocks above and below us. We also saw large columns and holes that went down 20-30 feet, filled with water. From the caves, there were beautiful views of the water and the islands. It was a lot of fun, but pretty intense. The climb down the side of the cave back to the boat was a bit terrifying. At the end of the trip, we were going to go for a swim but decided against it. The jellyfish were crazy today - some of the biggest jellyfish I've ever seen (some over a foot in diameter and some smaller ones that had tentacles that were 1-2 feet long). So we headed back to shore, watching the sunset on the way back.

    After showering (and putting on a few bandaids!), we went out for an interesting dinner. Our host recommended a good restaurant on the water, and we had seen the place packed the night before, so we decided to check it out. When we walked in, everyone kind of giggled and looked at us strangely - we've gotten used to that the past couple of days. The neighborhood we are staying in is not touristy at all and we are the only Americans (or even non-Vietnamese people) that we have seen since we left Cat Ba. As the waitress handed us the Vietnamese menu, she laughed a little, because she knew we would have no idea how to read it. Then a lady sat down at our table who spoke a little English. We told her we wanted beef pho soup and spring rolls. We got a beef stew, a giant plate of amazing spicy garlic chili beef with a delicious sauce, and a giant plate of bread rolls. She didn't understand what a bottle of water was, so she brought me a warm beer instead. She also sat with us for most of our meal and kept asking us to stay and drink beers and sing karaoke. We enjoyed the meal, but declined the karaoke invitation!

    Another awesome day is in the books. We will be sad to leave tomorrow - Halong Bay (especially Cat Ba Island) has been my favorite place on the trip by far. I can't think of anywhere else in the world like it!    Leggi altro

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    Day 44 - Hanoi Again/Last Day in Vietnam

    23 ottobre 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today was pretty uneventful. Besides the shuttle back to Hanoi this afternoon, we didn't do anything too exciting. The highlight of the day was definitely our return to the restaurant where we had the best pho ever. We each got an order of beef pho and we split the vegetable spring rolls. I had a fresh mango juice and Tim had a fresh orange carrot juice and a beer. It was all delicious!

    Now we are resting up before the trip to Bangkok tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    Airport Thai food - green curry shrimp for me and massaman chicken for Tim1

    Day 45 - Thailand/Bangkok Arrival!

    24 ottobre 2017, Tailandia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Well we made it to the fourth and final country of our trip. We woke up early, ate breakfast, and got a ride to the airport. We landed in Bangkok around 1:00pm but after going through immigration, baggage check (they made us check our bags for the first time this trip), and customs, then eating lunch, taking the airport rail to the city, and catching a cab, we didn't get to the homestay until close to 4:00.

    This place is amazing. We are staying at a Thai homestay about 10 minutes outside of the city (we move to the city Thursday). The house is a wooden Thai style house next to a canal that has been passed down for 4 generations. The property is huge, with the main house for the family, a museum of old antiques, 4 guest cabins with private bathrooms, an outdoor breakfast area, sitting areas, and more! The family also has a coffee plantation in southern Thailand so we will be enjoying fresh coffee and coffee flower tea tomorrow.

    After we settled in, we walked around the property, and then wandered the neighborhood. After awhile, we found a street full of little restaurants and street food. We sat down at an outdoor restaurant (basically a food stand surrounded by a couple of plastic tables). No one spoke English so we couldn't order but they made us two amazing plates of food - ground chicken with garlic, basil, and chili peppers over rice. All of that with two water bottles for $3. Yum!

    Then we went back to the homestay just in time for a quick thunderstorm. We sat outside, under shelter, and watched the storm while playing chess and drinking Chang beers. Now we are in bed under our mosquito netting and getting ready to read!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    Making coffee!
    Playing an antique hammer dulcinerAntiques and the Buddha room1Relaxing on the deck1People camped out for the funeral

    Day 46 - Bangkok

    25 ottobre 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Bangkok is chaotic right now. Yesterday began the 5 day cremation ceremony for the Late King Bhumidol who died in October 2016. The ceremony has a budget of approx. $120 million and is the biggest royal event since Will and Kate's wedding, with an estimated 250,000 people traveling to Bangkok to witness the event. For the entire 5 days, everyone is wearing all black to mourn the Late King. The actual cremation began at 7:00am this morning and, last night, we saw thousands of people lined up for miles to get a good spot this morning. Several neighborhoods in Bangkok, including the touristy Khao San Road, are blocked off. We had to show our identification and go through security to get in. The bars in these restricted zones are forbidden to sell alcohol during the ceremony, although we found 3 different ones that were serving it illegally in coffee mugs.

    Anyways, yesterday we woke up at our homestay and had a delicious homemade Thai breakfast served by our host - fish rice soup, fresh fruit, and some type of coconut sticky rice for dessert. Then we roasted our own coffee beans from our host's coffee plantation and made coffee and coffee flower tea - yum! After breakfast and coffee, our host gave us a tour of his amazing house, including all of the antiques that have been collected by his family for generations - bayonets from WWI and WWII, handmade silver from the 1940s (cigarette case, lighter case, purse, jewelry), old cameras and telephones that are still working, instruments, record players, and so much more.

    Then we set off for a long day of exploration. Our first stop was a beautiful temple near the homestay. Then we grabbed a yummy spicy chicken lunch and took a taxi into the city. Since the royal palace and many of the attractions are closed off for the cremation ceremony, we didn't really know where to go. The only place I could think of was Khao San Road so we asked our driver to take us there. We couldn't get all the way to the road since the area is currently restricted, but he dropped us off close. We visited another couple of temples and then went through security to get to Khao San Road.

    We spent the next several hours just wandering around, shopping for a few gifts, and figuring out which places we could have a cold beer. After awhile, we were hungry again and set off for dinner. On the walk to dinner, we passed the thousands of people lining up down the street for the ceremony. Dinner was amazing - we had a mussels appetizer, Tim had seafood curry, and I had spicy shrimp. Then we tried to find a taxi back home. That was difficult. The traffic was insane and the taxis were busy, refusing to do a legal metered trip outside of the city. We finally found a guy to agree to a fixed fee of 400 baht ($12 and triple what it cost us to get into the city). We made it!    Leggi altro

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  • Courtney Johnson2017 Europe & Asia AdventureViaggiatore
    1Lunch!
    1

    Day 47 - Last Day in Bangkok

    26 ottobre 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    An exhausting morning turned into a very relaxing and wonderful day! We woke up early at our homestay and had anther yummy home cooked breakfast - Thai chicken wings, black rice, and apples. Tim made some more coffee and then we relaxed for a bit until check out time. Next was the exhausting part. The Late King's cremation ceremony began at 7:00 am this morning with his urn being walked from the Grand Palace to the crematorium. People lined the streets and all of the roads were blocked off, including our hotel's street. We caught a cab near the homestay (after the first one told us "no") and the driver basically told us he would get us as close as he could and then we would have to walk. Luckily, it ended up only being about a mile walk. Unfortunately, this mile was through the busiest area of the ceremony right by the Palace. We had to go through security and then walk through thousands of mourning Thai people dressed in all black, waiting for their chance to watch the urn pass by.

    We finally made it to our hotel but weren't yet able to check in. So we dropped off our luggage and walked to a small nearby restaurant for lunch - red curry with shrimp for me and green curry with chicken for Tim. It was delicious. Then we went back to the hotel, checked into our very nice room, and relaxed for hours. When we finally got up, we went up to the rooftop pool to swim laps for awhile. We had worked up an appetite so we showered and got ready for dinner. After wandering around for awhile, we noticed that a lot of the restaurants were closed for the ceremonies. The only ones that were opened appeared to be touristy and likely not very good. So we went back to our lunch restaurant! We had spring rolls, pad Thai with chicken (Tim) and basil chicken (me). It was all delicious. Now we are getting to bed early before our early trip to the islands tomorrow.    Leggi altro

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