Goodbye and Hello

Well, it's almost time for us to say "goodbye" to our friends in Asia and "hello" to our friends and family back in the U.S. After all, we leave Vietnam the day after tomorrow, and will be home on Monday afternoon. It's likely that some of you will first read this after we get back to 47 Park Ave.

We had a pretty amazing trip to Hanoi, Bangkok, and Penang, Malaysia. I've posted a few photos providing some highlights.

They say that if you want commerce, go to Saigon, but if you want culture, go to Hanoi. That truism was borne out in our experience. Hanoi is totally different from Saigon and Can Tho, and would have been an amazing place for us to have lived. Ah, well. . . .

One afternoon we went to a water-puppet show, an elaborate unfolding of traditional tales accompanied by live music.

Later that evening, Anne and the kids were at the hotel and I was wandering around the neighborhood and came upon this live show of traditional Vietnamese music--so much different from the cheesy pop music we endured in Can Tho!

Bangkok. What can I say? In some ways Anne and I felt twenty years too old for the tourist/traveler scene there. Once we got away from that part of the city, though, we grew to love everything we saw. The food, of course, was phenomenal, and surprisingly similar to Thai food found in the U.S. We took a boat ride one day that ended up near Chinatown, then rode in a "tuk-tuk" (three-wheel motorcycle taxi) around Chinatown and to various temples.

The kids aren't as jaded with travel as this photo might suggest. Hudson, especially, loved the intricate designs and colors of the Thai temples. Here they are at the Grand Palace, which is the former royal home and is where the famous Jade Buddha is found.

Penang was an odd mix of resort-like playtime and religious conservatism. In addition to fully-burkhad Islamic women, a Baptist retreat was going on at our resort, which was located right near a Hindu temple. An interesting mix. Here's Anne at Penang's butterfly farm. (The photo was taken mostly for the background. . .)
Here's Anne para-sailing at our resort. (We both went up, and Hudson almost did, too, but decided he'd feel safer doing it in a few years.) We also zipped around on jet skis and swam in the ocean on our last day there, which Hudson termed "fun in the sun day."
Hudson finally figured out how to swim without his arm floaties while were in Penang. Such a big boy!

So, that's it for me from here. It's been a great experience and, hard as it was at times, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

All Best,

Mark