We had interesting and fun New Year's Eve and Days. I promise not to be as verbose as yesterday.
We awoke on December 31 in the Bamboo Hotel in Sa Pa, Vietnam. Much better sleeping there than on the night train. We had a morning of souvenir shopping and lounging before we walked through Cat Cat village in the afternoon (a traditional Black Hmong village in the region). What a place! The village is literally carved out of a cold, wet, foggy, steep mountainside. So beautiful. None of our pictures do it justice. It was other-worldly and I wouldn't have been surprised at all to see a dragon or a fairy pop out from behind a tree. Such a beautiful place to live, but such a tough place for the villagers to live and work and eke out an existence.
The walk down to the valley was full with mist, animals, beautiful people, huge stands of bamboo, and a crashing waterfall at the bottom. We almost forgot about the train ride there and the ride ahead. It was worth the trip.
We spent the night in the night train back to Hanoi. We knew what to expect, so I think that the adults fared better on the way back.
We're now in Hanoi until we return on Friday. A couple of things of note that happened here:
Firstly, as seen below, Betsy, Barbie, and Cindy went to the place on Silk Street (precisely, 62 Hàng Gai in the Old Quarter), to recreate the photo taken when they received word that the kids visas were being completed and they could come home back in January 2008 (nearly 5 years ago)! That was a lot of fun.
Secondly, we visited Pizza 123 (www.pizza123.net) and partook in a pizza feast prepared by our great friend, Mr. Hien. Mr. Hien worked for the adoption agency and helped us while we were in Vietnam five years ago. Now he runs a pizza delivery service in Hanoi (and also helped us in making some of our Vietnam travel arrangements). We had to squeeze in tight to fit all 15 of us in his place, but it was great fun for the kids to watch Mr. Hien making the pizzas, and the pizzas were DELICIOUS! It was also a great joy to meet Mr. Hien's wife and son (she was expecting him while we were in Vietnam last time, but we never got to meet her).
Now we have only two days left here. It will be great to come home, but I will be sad to leave this wonderful place. We wish you all a peaceful and healthy 2013!
The Atkins Family
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| Reenactment of the big news |
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| Terraced Rice fields in Cat Cat Village |
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| These two are lucky that they got away from me |
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| Waterfall in the valley below Cat Cat |
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| The kids in the Old Quarter of Hanoi |
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| Our family near the bridge to Ngoc Son Temple in Hoan Kiem Lake (Hanoi) |
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| As was the case 5 years ago...sometimes Caucasian kids stand out in a crowd in Vietnam |
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| Mr. Hien making pizza for us |
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| Mr. Hien, his wife, and his son |
