Noo Doo!

For almost all my life I have had long, awesome, proud, trustworthy , cool, sweet, sick and allot of other things I'm to lazy to write, about my hair!

But anyways for years I have had long hair but after a long life of troubles such as not being able to see and being mistaken for a girl I decided a new look should dawn: ladies and gentleman I give you the Mohawk! My old long hair just lies in the shadow cast by my awesome new hair! So what I'm really after hear is that I have a new look that I like and am proud of so when you come over or I come to visit you don't ask questions because I just gave you all the answers!

3 day weekend

I spent all week counting the seconds that went by. Then, it finally came...our three day weekend had come. I already knew what I was going to do all weekend. My plan was to kick back and relax but my parents had other plans! #1 on their list was the Iris garden! I was really pumped when I heard this news because it's so much fun to look at plants with two screaming babies. And when I heard how long the drive was I was jumping for joy!

After a day of driving and looking at Irises I figured the rest of the weekend could go according to MY schedule. But no. Instead of watching TV and soaking to a prune in the hot tub it turns out we were having "lunch" with some friends. You are probably wondering why "lunch" is in quotation marks. Well that is because I'm pretty sure lunch and dinner were planned. Either that or that was the longest lunch I have ever had!

In the end, when I didn't have steam coming out of my ears, I figured that going to the Iris garden was kinda fun and having lunch at the beach wasn't bad either. All I can say is that the weekend was definitely not wasted!

Another Random Adventure

You never know where a staircase night lead. Maybe to the downstairs of your house or maybe to the roof of a dirty motel or maybe it will lead to something great like a random adventure.

We just had got out of our airplane with 3 hours to kill in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam so we wandered the airport a little. We got a soda and had some snacks. Then we saw a sign for "foot massage" leading up a staircase. So we followed it up the staircase and onto an upper airport area that had sushi and beer. But above all it had a foot massage. We were all hoping they would accept children but I wouldn't be blogging about this if they didn't.

They made it very relaxing with an eye pillow and neck cushion and it just wouldn't be complete without tea! The foot massage was amazing. So amazing that I can't describe it. If you want to really understand, fly through Ho Chi Minh airport and you can get quite an experience!

5 Star!

From the moment we got off of our plane, it felt like we had been sucker punched by heat! If there was one thing I could tell about Cambodia right away, was how hot it was!

When we arrived at the hotel, we got a greeting I'll never forget. Instead of a doorman opening your taxi door and inviting you in, we got a big welcome from two people dressed up in the creepiest monkey masks I have ever seen!

The monkey people only come around at night, so my dad was in for an experience when he went down to check his email in the lobby! The whole time he was there typing on his computer the monkey guys were fake typing on his shoulders. He also said that everytime he hit the space bar that they would do one big "tap" on his shoulders.

But monkey men are not the only thing that is unique about our hotel. Another amazing feature is that if feels like you are out in the open! With the salt water pool and that the rooms aren't jammed into a sky scraper. Not only that but there are animals too. Not so much as lions, tigers and bears but there are hundreds of lizards scurrying around. But if you want to see other slippery reptiles, just go down to the lobby and you can observe the rare endangered Siamese Crocodiles! It is kind of odd having crocodiles in your lobby but they found a way to transform a scary thing into a fun thing. 2 times a week at 1:00 pm you can help feed the crocodiles. I tried it and thought they would bite my hand off!

Also, for the couple days, we had a private tour guide and we also had a private driver. We even had a private tuk tuk. It was amazing. We had become the stars of the hotel and everybody knew us. So if you are ever in Angkor, Cambodia and don't know where to stay, Victoria Hotel would be my first choice!

Random Adventure Part II

It started out with us going to have lunch with a Vietnamese family. But then it turned out to be lunch and dinner! We had just finished our lunch when the Dad was telling us about the mountain and then he suggested that we go on a hike. So off we went!

The mountain wasn't that big but it was steep! The kids were at the top when the adults were still going up the middle. At the top there was a big shrine...I wonder how they got cement up there? But if you thought going up was bad, going down was worse. My strategy was to run as fast as I could all the way down.

Towards the end of our hike, I started to become friends with the son of the family who was my age. It turned out that he liked a lot of the same stuff I liked, like soccer. I realized that no matter where you are, it is the same story!

Basket Boat or Buoy?

My mom is crazy! She wants to buy 2 basket boats and bring them home to race around lake washington! But that is not it. Basket boats have a tendancy to sink. The last time I checked, a not of basket had holes in them. Taking a basket boat out for a ride is just a bad idea...people might mistake you for a speedbump or a buoy. So that is why her idea was rejected!

Sidewalk or Sideshop?

Sidewalks in Hanoi are for everything but walking. The sidewalks are always a great place for a restaurant. Kind of like a lemonade stand, but the difference is you sit on plastic chairs and buy some beers instead of lemonade. We can't seem to summon up the courage to try one of these "restaurants" yet! Also, if you are having car trouble, you could just stop by one of the sidewalk tire vendors and they will fix it for you for a low price. Who needs parking lots when you have a brand new 10 foot wide sidewalk? It is better than any parking lot! In a hurry? Need to go the other way down a one way street on your motorbike? No problem! Just use the sidewalk...there is guaranteed to be no pile-ups!

Too Much Food!!

We set sail for Ha Long Bay.  We got a special deal on a boat, we got to stay on a much fancier junk than we thought. And fancier boat means fancier food! For breakfast we had potato, eggs, shrimp, rice, beef and fruit." For lunch we had x2 that and for dinner after a whole 3 courses of seafood they bring out beef and say, "done with seafood, now beef!" And let me tell you it was TOO MUCH!

Ho Chi Minh's House

Today, I went to see Ho Chi Minh for the second time but this time, I paid more attention to his life than I did to his body.

I learned that he was offered a really fancy house that they called "the yellow house." But he refused and built a small, plain house next to the yellow house but the yellow house remained his office. Later on, Ho Chi Minh moved to a house on stilts that was almost like a tree house. It was built right next to his old house which is where he ate his meals. Later, after that, a building next to that became a hospital which is where Ho Chi Minh passed away.

Legends Beer View

One of the first things you will notice about Hanoi is how much traffic there is. Beeping is all you hear and motor bikes are all you see. But it's hard to take it all in, which is why Legends Beer is a great place to sit down and soak it in with a view of mayhem.

The Planting Ceremony

Yesterday we visited the village of luck or the village of flowers and tofu. We had the pleasure of staying with a family that lived there, so we got to experience what it was like to live in a small vietnamese village for a day. But we came on a very special day because that day a festival took place, that honored a new planting season and the ancestors of the village.

This festival only takes place 5-6 times a year so it is pretty rare to see. It took place in a big temples that was at least 200 years old and also 3 home to 2 monks. However one of these monks performed a ceremony that day and it was amazing! There were people playing instruments and there were paper dolls every where. I just felt bad for the monk because he had t0 change his clothes for each taught he had and he had 50 so lucky him he got to change 50 times. We actually only stayed for three of the changes and it took 1 hour long so you can just imagine 50, we would still be there! When I was watching this all I could think about was how long it took to learn that technique and how hungry I was. Also when the monk was dancing with fire I thought he might burn the place down!

Who Needs A Suburban 3

When we visited the pottery village we saw people loading big vases on to a truck but we had no idea that they carried the pottery this way.(just don't drop it)

This really proves the title who needs a suburban because why use a suburban when u could all squish together on a mortar bike

Nothing will stop these people from riding there bikes not even stiletto heels!

He is a portable vegetable garden.
I wonder what he's sellingThis guy either is cleaning up from
Valentine's day or hes just gone mad!

Different but the Same

Yesterday we visited two villages that had mastered different types of crafts. After we visited them I wondered about how they were alike. One of the first things I noticed was how old everything looked it all was ancient and their technique was just as old it had been going on for hundreds of years. I also found it interesting that both crafts were hand made and all natural. I was amazed that each was like a family business that had been passed down for hundreds of generations. This trip helped me understand a little more about how these objects I see every day.

Better Than a Bed?

Beds are always cozy, warm, and soft. but once in a while its fun to pitch a tent and cuddle up in a sleeping bag, and that's exactly what we have recreated except instead of pitching a tent we pitch drapes over a window! One of the many things I like about camping is lying down and watching the stars but here the stars have been transformed into the head light of motor bikes and the lit buildings of the city. The only thing that I don't really like is the harsh wake up. I don't enjoy, waking up to the blinding sun or the twins screaming their heads off. Speaking of harsh wake ups, this morning I learned a valuable lesson...to barricade the doors or else the twins will come in and jump on, also after the door you have to make sure your roof is stable or else they will get up on the chair and jump on the drapes till they come crashing down on top of you! It is certainly a whole other experience.