96. Take a ride on a junk

A junk is basically an old school Chinese boat. When we were in VietNam we took a cruise on Halong Bay on a junk boat. The cruise we took was pretty amazing and the best part about it was that it was Lynn's birthday while we were on board. We did a little kayaking, explored Halong Bay, and had an amazing birthday feast! Kylisha and Lynn were swimming before dinner and Kylisha got stung pretty badly by a jellyfish. Her entire arm blistered immediately and she said it felt like she had been electrocuted. The staff on board quickly rubbed lime all over her arm and covered it in burn ointment. Good times.





Halong Bay is gorgeous and we were so blessed to be able to be able to spend Lynn's birthday with her there!!

56 down. 44 more to go.

63. Ride on a train

When we went to China in Beijing we were supposed to take an overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an but the lady booking our train tickets didn't book our train tickets. So, we had to fly. But, in VietNam we took an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa and it was interesting. And something I never want to do again. First of all, the train was old and noisy which made sleeping difficult. Plus, the gentlemen in the same train as us were chain smokers and gamblers who spent the night laughing and drinking. THEN, the train kept stopping. It would be traveling a long at a reasonable speed and then abruptly stop. Of course, I assumed the train was stopping because we were being hijacked and therefore, I ended up getting zero sleep! But, it was an experience and Kylisha and Rachel really enjoyed it. Here's a pic of our little sleeper car:



55 finished...45 remaining.

41. Eat Pho and vermicelli in Vietnam

Eating Pho in VietNam is easy. You can get it everywhere! It's mostly served for breakfast and is very similar to the Pho found in Vietnamese restaurants back home).





BUT-finding vermicelli like back home proved to be VERY difficult. Back in Canada when you eat at a Vietnamese restaurant you can order vermicelli and it will consist of noodles, some veggies, and usually some spring rolls and pork. We assumed this type of dish would be readily available in VietNam...and it wasn't. First Les and Jordan tried last December, and then we tried this summer to find it. No luck. You can get Vietnamese noodles and spring rolls and pork are plentiful, but apparently putting them all together on one plate is something unique to North America (unless we missed something while in Vietnam). Regardless, the food there is our fave. And here are some pics of some Vietnamese/Cambodian deliciousness:































54 down, 46 left to go

39. Hike to the top of a mountain

Okay, it may not have been a really big mountain, but when we were in Sapa we hiked up a mountain one day and went to a village set up on the steep mountainside. The Black H'mong villagers farm rice and corn up there, and we had lunch at our new friend Chu's home. We saw a lot of interesting things on our hike that day...







53 finished...47 more to go

19. See Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Whenever we ask people back home who have been to Asia what their number one destination was most have mentioned Angkor Wat. So, as part of our girls' trip we knew we had to visit Siem Reap and see the Wats there.

The temples at Angkor are anywhere from 1000-800 years old and they are truly spectacular! They are apparently the largest religious sites on earth and there is evidence of both hinduism and buddhism within Angkor. There are several temples inside the complex and we spent an entire day with a tuk tuk driver who would drive us from temple to temple. Of course, the main attraction is Angkor and that's where we started. It truly is magnificent! The pictures really don't do it justice. Angkor was also the busiest of the temples we visited that day. You can still climb up the stone steps and explore inside and outside all of the small buildings that make up Angkor. This proved to be a bit dangerous at times...so I'm guessing it won't be long before all of the stones stairs are closed to tourists (as some already were).


My favourite temple was Bayon. Bayon is the temple with numerous towers and each tower has 4 faces carved into it (one in each cardinal direction). The temple itself was full of nooks and crannies to explore and get lost in.








The Wats of Angkor (and Siem Reap in general) are definitely must sees!

P.S. We found a sacred fertility stone and I made Lynn rub it.



Nobody else touched it!









52 down...48 left to go!!

29. Swim in a pool at the bottom of a waterfall

When we went to VietNam in August we spent two days hiking near Sapa. We ended up spending our days with some women from the local H'Mong tribe. They were absolutely wonderful and those two days were amazing! We hiked to a different village each day and had lunch with our new friends in their homes.

Les has said MANY times that he isn't too sad that he missed this portion of our trip. One look at the photos of us walking along holding hands with our new pals was enough for him to decide that type of adventure wasn't for him.

We saw a lot of amazing things in Sapa! On our second day we ended up hiking up into the more mountainous region. We found this waterfall that Kylisha and Rachel had fun swimming in...


51 down, 49 left to go!

Pictures from VietNam and Cambodia

The girls went on a 16 day trip to VietNam and Cambodia this August. Here's some pics...