Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

 In Sabah our main excursions were a jungle stay by the Kinabatangan River, a few days at the base of Mt Kinabalu, and snorkeling at Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park.  Of all the places we revisited, Borneo was lacking compared to our last trip.  Part of it is likely that we were priced out of most excursions.  For instance, one of Dave’s regrets from our last trip was that he didn’t get to climb Mt. Kinabalu as he was reconvening from illness.  When we looked into another try but it was $900 CAD per person.  There’s no way we would have spent that much last time around to climb a mountain.  Turtle Island was another memorable outing that we chose to forego at $350 pp.  Finally, the snorkeling at Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park was difficult to navigate re: buying tickets, poorly communicated (one island we bought a ticket for was actually closed for maintenance, another that we were supposed to visit in the afternoon was actually closed for snorkeling after 1 pm) and the actual coral had suffered since the last time.  

At the jungle stay one of the highlights was seeing a group of wild elephants hanging out by the river, and seeing a spider on a giant net catch a huge bug and wrap it up during one of our night walks.  Our river cruises and night walks also gave us a glimpse of small crocodiles, orangutans, silver leaf monkeys, hornbills and more.

A highlight was this random Japanese Airbnb we booked in the mountains. It was a bit crazy to get to (we were warned about the steep one way roads in the reviews), but once we arrived they mentioned that we could use the traditional clothes during our stay.  There was a kimono as a wall decoration in our apt, but it was nailed to the wall so we weren’t sure what they were referring to.  The next day we found there was an actual costume shop and people come to the hotel just to dress up in Japanese outfits and take pictures.  They had many cute Japanese backdrops to choose from around the property and we ended up having a really fun 2-hour photoshoot. 

 

Trang An, Vietnam

 Trang An was a new spot for Dave and I and a nice surprise. It is the founding capital of Vietnam and the karst rock protruding from the surrounding lowlands created a natural citadel protecting the town.  The row boat tour took us through numerous cave tunnels and excursions to some of the many temples hidden in the hills.  Racing the cousins’ boat was good incentive to help our boat lady row to the finish.  

 We took another limo bus direct from Sapa  and stayed in a beautiful group of rooms nestled by the rock and surrounding the pool.  The temperature was hot, feels like 49C, and while the pool was well used it was by no means refreshing.

Also visited a new Buddhist temple that seemed to be going for all the records… most statues, biggest statues, heaviest statues…

Did I mention it was hot?

For the third time we also had an outing to find a shoe repair person to sew a broken sandal.  These fellows typically operate on a stretch of sidewalk and repair your shoe in no time - a great service if you can find them.

Sapa, Vietnam

 After a few frenetic hours in Hanoi trying to hit the major sights on little sleep, we took a private “limo” bus to Sapa in northern Vietnam.   Travelling as a group of 10 makes private transportation a much more enticing option.  Kiddos are now expecting lazyboy type chairs with massage functions on future rides.

Northern Vietnam is known for rice terraces built into the mountains and hill tribe people selling their colourful fabric to wares. We stayed in a small village and spent our time walking through rice terraces, enjoying the best bubble tea, and trying our hand creating indigo batik artwork.   Different hill tribes have different crafts, we learned that what is sold in the market can be either new wares designed specifically for sale, but much of the more intricate pieces are actually second-hand goods.  They will wear their clothing for a few years and then sell it or repurpose it themselves into wallets, placemats, table runners, etc.  Different tribes specialize in different crafts with the primary offerings being indigo dyed batik (wax painting), brocade (embroidery and cross stitch) and home made hemp fabric.  Many Hmong women will grow, spin, weave and dye their own hemp.  

The temperature in the mountains was a refreshing change, it was cold enough overnight to warrant a comforter.  

We also decided this was the place to get nails done!

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

 First up in Vietnam was Ha Long Bay.  Last time we went on a traditional boat cruise, this time we decided to opt for something a bit different and stayed one night in a home stay in a floating village.  We combined that with short boat and kayak outings on both days to see more of the scenery.  In a stroke of luck, we were the only group on a 48 capacity boat so had lots of space and flexibility over departure times.  

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO heritage site, known for karst formations jutting out of green waters. The homestay was gorgeous, on a private inlet just outside of a fishing village.  We were treated to one of the best meals of the trip that included fresh grilled oysters, water buffalo stir fry and pickled jellyfish salad.  Most floating houses had enclosures to culture fish and oysters and our place was no exception.  

On our outings we kayaked through tunnels under rock formations, entered bowl like features where we were surrounded by karst and dared one another to jump from the top of the cruise boat.  

Chiang Mai, Thailand

 We flew into Chiang Mai. The first thing we did was have a Thai massage. I liked the Thai massage. We also did an oil massage but I think I like the Thai massage better because you got to keep your clothes on, I liked the place better and because the Thai massage was massaging me but the oil massage was more like rubbing oil on me. The Thai massage was done by girl prisoners that learned how to massage and that are getting out of jail soon. The prisoners seemed really nice. 

The next day we met up with our cousins so for the next month we will be in Southeast Asia with them. The food in Chiang Mai was really tasty. My favourites were the papaya salad, Pad Thai, deep fried chewy banana, and this cooked coconut milk with filling like corn that was shaped like semi-circle. We stayed in old town Chiang Mai that had walls and a moat around it. The border had 4 gates and we went to one of them. 

One of the exciting activities we did around Chiang Mai was see elephants. We got to feed them, pet them, bathe them and play in the mud with them which was really cool. Seeing the elephants was part of this adventure we did with a guide. 

The adventure also included us using this raft made of bamboo to go along the river. The raft was kind of scary considering that 2 people fell in the water and that there were strong rapids turning us to one side. We also went over some rocks that broke some of the rattan that was holding the raft together.  Overall the rafting was really fun.  

Overnight at this adventure we stayed in a village. The kids were really cute. One kid that was about 7 held my hand and a boy my age challenged us all at arm wrestling. The only ones out of the kids that could beat him was me and Evelyn.