Hanoi Part I

Our third October Holiday while living in Shanghai…it really is hard to believe that! This is our first without the Watt Family, and it’s just not quite the same. Greg is not falling into parked motorbikes, Di is not becoming best friends with the locals and Alysha and I are not eating street pancakes. Nonetheless, it’s still pretty awesome so far!

Things started off on Saturday morning quite well. We left our apartment and got to the city airport in about 10 minutes! The line for China Southern was speedy, customs was quick, all was well. Our first flight was to Guangzhou, one of my least favorite airports. The flight was much shorter than anticipated and it was a quick stay in the Guang. Our next flight was straight to Hanoi, another short distance. We landed and were off to get our Visas on arrival. Of course we didn’t bring US dollars for this, which we were told was the only form of currency they would take. We only had RMB, and although I think we paid more than others, they took it and it was time to find our driver to the hotel.

It was another 45 minute ride to the Meracus Hotel, making our trip now about 10 hours since the time we left our apartment in Shanghai. However, when we arrived, I saw one of the most amazing sights…SHOES! Shoes were EVERYWHERE!!! Our hotel is on the street of shoe shops. I couldn’t believe our luck. Travis was not expressing his enthusiasm, but I am sure he felt the same. It was such a beautiful sight! Oh, and our hotel was great too. The bed had pretty flower petals on it and the sink was full of water with floating flowers. Cute little touches that made it an inviting sight. It’s not a big room, mind you nothing is really big in Vietnam, but it is clean, has a great shower, comfy bed and fantastic location (remember the shoes?). There are also tons of other shops and plenty of bars and restaurants near us. We couldn’t ask for more.

Shoes!

Our Hotel 

Our first night we ate some delicious Vietnamese dinner at a restaurant near our hotel and then went to another restaurant to sip some beer from a second floor balcony and do some people watching. To say the traffic here is nuts, is an understatement. For example, when we checked into our hotel, they gave us a map and a paper titled “Travelling Advice in Hanoi”, number 1- How to cross roads. Yep. Pretty dicey, but they say to be relaxed and confident and you should survive…so far so good.

After an 11 hour night sleep (apparently we were exhausted from the first month and a half of school), we headed to our breakfast. It was great! One of my favorite things here in Vietnam is the amazing coffee with condensed milk. It’s a perfect way to start the day (and then drink later in the day as well)! We decided today would be a day of shopping, eating, drinking coffee and drinking beer near our hotel. It is now mid afternoon and we are beat! I think it is now siesta time…

Some sights from today:

 Street vendor taking a break.

 Think this would pass American codes???

 Mobile store...

Travis and some new friends!

Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to a nearby city, Hoa Lu- Tam Coc. It should be interesting. Fill you in more after that.

C

The Start of Year 3…

It’s hard to believe that we are in our third year here in Shanghai! It always makes me laugh when I think of our first year here…hit by a car in the first 6 days, scared to go anywhere alone after that, arguing with anyone who told me I would stay more than 2 years... I was SO sure that two years would be it…no way was I staying more than that. I wanted to go home and I didn’t care what people said, I wasn’t changing my mind. I think it’s safe to say I was wrong, really wrong (for the first time EVER! :). As much as we miss our family, friends and the amazing state of Michigan, we just aren’t ready to go back. We don’t know when we will make it back to the mitten state for good, but for now, we are loving our life and don’t want to change it! 

Ok, enough babbling…here is a quick update of what we have been up to over the last month and a half.

As usual, we love our happy hour time with other teachers. Lucky for us, a new restaurant and bar has opened right on our street. It's a big American bar that is just a little too convenient to get to! We have already spent numerous evenings...and nights there. Here is a photo from our first big Happy Hour that I organized for the entire school. It was so much fun!

This is me with Krystle and Anne. I missed them both so much this summer!

Then, of course, I have had a few girls' nights. One was a nice little movie night to watch "Magic Mike". There were a lot of laughs that night! A couple weeks later some of us girls had a longer night. It started with a hair washing and style. This is one of my favorite things here in China and I don't do it enough! The massage is my favorite part. Here is a photo of Krystle and Jocelyn enjoying the washing.

After we got our hair done, we all got braids, we headed to one of my VERY favorite restaurants here in Shanghai, Lost Heaven. The food is from the Hunan province and it is simply amazing! The taste is unbeatable and so unique! Here is a photo of Jocelyn, Krystle, Cheyanne, and me. 

The night continued with a wet walk down the Bund to the trendy and expensive Glamour Bar right on the Bund. Mel met up with us and we had a couple drinks there. I think the best part of the night was watching the crazy Australian Bachelorette party! They were having such a good time and it was great entertainment! 

We have also celebrated a few birthdays this fall. I have been really bad with taking photos this year and don't have much to show for it. Here is a photo from Bri's birthday celebration. It was a weekend long event, but this is from Eddie's, that famous American bar down the road!

This is Adriana, me and Bri. I don't know what I would do without all the amazing women in my life here!

The next day we went to the 7th annual Chili Cook Off. This was our third one, and the best one! We had such a blast. Basically it is a contest for the best chili. Travis was a judge and the rest of us just went to taste the chili, drink beer and margaritas! We met some interesting people this year. Here are a few photos.

This was one of the interesting people we met. We called him Franck! He was a fun person!

As for school, things are going well. Travis is adjusting to fourth grade and I am loving that I have returned to second grade. The beginning of the year is always stressful and a lot of work, but overall things are good. We are super excited for October Holiday next week. We are going to Hanoi and Halong Bay in Vietnam. It should be a nice relaxing time for the two of us. I will post updates on that soon. We leave on Saturday Sept. 29. While we are in Halong Bay we will be on a boat for 2 days...should be interesting!

That's all for now. I will try my best to update often.

Love,

C & T