Don't Stop Believing : 2012-05-20

Our time in Vietnam flew by in a flash yet the memories made will last a lifetime. We are currently now in Cambodia and looking back it is difficult to distinguish what we did in each city. The lack of sleep coupled with too many beers blurs everything together. But one thing stands out – I am so blessed to be on this journey with such an amazing travel crew. In Nha Trang we all had one of the best days of our lives thus far!

We arrived in Nha Trang after a horrible 16 hour bus ride in which none of us slept except for Stevie (note: he has the ability to sleep absolutely anywhere). After checking into our hotel and eating breakfast as the sun rose we ironed out the plans for our day. We decided renting scooters exploring the temples/big Buddha and then heading to the mud baths for some much needed R & R (pictures below) . While at the big Buddha we had the phenomenal opportunity to meet the oldest monk in in the world. The Dali Lama visited this monk only two weeks prior. The monk gave Cindy and I bracelets which are meant to bless us with luck...I think its working. It was such a touching experience that I couldn’t help but shed a few tears. After seeing the big Buddha we headed out to see some local ruins and temples. As the mid day heat hit and the sweat started to drip down our backs we headed for the spa. There are no pictures of the mud baths but I am sure you can imagine five sleep deprived travellers covered in mud and then sleeping in the mineral baths. Your skin after is so soft and your hair feels like silk. The following day we headed out on a boat cruise of the local islands. This is the day we all refer to as one of ‘the best days of our lives’. We spent the whole day aboard a boat eating, drinking, snorkeling, and jumping off the top. There was a floating bar, local food, great music and endless cheap beers. The boat had its own DJ which played the strangest tunes from Kenny Rogers to Vanilla Ice. At one point I was sitting on the edge of the boat with my foot in the Vietnam sea, a cold beer in my other hand smiling ear to ear. I remember saying to Cindy this moment couldn’t get any more perfect….and then it did! The next song was Journey – Don’t Stop Believing. My travel crew all knows the importance of this song so here we were screaming journey on a boat in Vietnam. Thank you Universe!

The next day we battled a horrible hangover and packed our bags for HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City). We decided this time to take a train instead of a bus however the trains AC didn’t work. So we embraced the heat & sweat and stayed up till the we hours again chatting about everything under the sun. These are some of the best moments about traveling that don’t always get mentioned. When we arrived in HCMC we had forgotten to book a hostel so we wandered the streets at 5am looking at rooms attempting to find one with no bed bugs or cockroaches. Success! We found a great hostel with clean rooms and free breakfast/dinner. In HCMC we took a tour of the of Mekong Delta, saw the tunnels used when America bombed Vietnam to bits and pieces, as well as, went to the war museum. After seeing the tunnels and war museum I have a whole new respect for the Vietnamese people. America dropped more bombs on nam than during World War II yet the Vietnamese people never gave up. They hid in tunnels, made traps, and never, never, never gave up hope. America never won that war but simply walked away and left Vietnam to pick up the pieces. There are still people today affected by Agent Orange. If you don't know what that is google it. At the war museum I puked after seeing what America did to Vietnam and we had just eaten KFC. On a more positive note at the tunnels I had the opportunity to shot an AK 47. Super cool experience!! We left HCMC ready for a new country and the next adventure.
There are so many moments about traveling that can't be captured in words or in pictures but will forever remain in my heart. I have only been traveling for two months now - one in Canada and one in Hong Kong/China/Vietnam but if I was forced to come home now I would feel blessed beyond words for what I have already experienced. Thank you to everyone who supporting me in taking this step away from Canada and into the unknown. My life is overflowing with love.