Vietnam

Our next stop on our honeymoon was Saigon -- we met up with the family there. The city is super crowded, and honestly not my favorite -- Ben Thanh Market was one of my least favorite touristy markets ever. That's why in the smile pictured below its kinda a grimace lol.

 We did go to a restaurant called the Refinery, it was an historic opium factory, and the food was AMAZING. They had old photos from when it was an opium den in the 1800s on the walls and stuff. Super fancy romantic restaurant too. :)

We had food at the top of Bitexco tower, and we walked around. We had drinks at the top of the Rex which has a huge Vietnam war history (journalists would go there to get the news on a daily basis and to hang out).

We went to the palace where the tank drove onto the lawn to signify the end of the war and the fall of South Vietnam, that was really interesting, they have basically kept it in its 1970s garb, haven’t changed anything. We also went to a museum called the War Remnants museum and that pissed everyone off because of all the propaganda there. :/

On Phu Quoc we went on a snorkeling tour. The snorkeling there wasn't even an iota as amazing as the Phillipines, and I am realizing, NOWHERE I have been had reefs that beautiful! I guess there is a reason they are ranked number one for reefs. These reefs look crappy in comparison. However, we did go to a place called Sao Beach and that was nice, nice tame waves for us to play in with the kids. 

My favorite places in Vietnam were Hue (the ancient citadel) and Hoi An. Hue is the city of ancient Vietnamese royalty, as you can see below.

Hoi An was truly magical with all the lanterns and the makings of a medieval city encapsulated in time. 

 The legendary Cau Lau well and noodles were a must for us, we even trekked to see where the well was. See, you can only get the noodles here, and they are said to be made from this magical well water. We did find the well, but it was at night, and I think we freaked a few people out. Just a part of the adventure!

I also got fitted for a traditional Ao Dai dress, it is so beautiful, and I can't wait for the opportunity to wear it.

Hanoi was our last stop (and Ha Long Bay which I will talk about in a separate entry, it was deserving of its own checkmark off the bucket list). It was pretty rainy, but a fascinating place! I think the best thing we did here was get brave and try some of the street food. 

And that's the thing I will remember most about Vietnam, really.... the delicious cuisine!