limestone majesty and an unforgettable city

My last three days in Hanoi were pretty busy. Feeling much closer to normal, I was determined to get away from the hostel and see some sites.

First up, I checked out the war museum. I happened to be walking through during the same time that an Australian student group was being scolded by a woman who I assume had to have been their history teacher. 

i love pho!

After a little more exploring, I went back for some late lunch. I was lucky enough to run into Sarah and Tom - the first Seattleites I've met over here! We were trying to convince another gal who is thinking about moving to Seattle to do it - we all love and miss our city! Talking about the neighborhoods and food back home got me a bit homesick, but it was refreshing to have some buddies to talk about it with. It happened to be pub quiz night, which led to a pub crawl, and needless to say, drinking late.

I woke up early the next day for a day tour to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. They call it "Halong Bay on land".

a temple along the way

rowin like a boss

this is Thao :)

After returning home, I was beat and needed to rest for the next day - a tour of the ACTUAL Halong Bay! Luckily, the weather had improved and the tours reopened. At this point, I only had a day which isn't ideal considering it's a four hour drive just to get to the boat. Most people give it two or three days. Still, I was just stoked to be able to see it.

our ride

pictures don't do this place justice!

floating village

someone lives here

i'm on a boat

this cave was dope!

i've never wanted to attend a caveman themed party more...

going back

Once I got back, it was comedy night at the hostel. I was happy to be the only one on the receiving end of some American jokes. I met up with Sarah and Tom later, talked about comedy and movies, and made plans to meet up for some brews when they get back to the states from their travels. We said our goodbyes and I left the next  morning for Singapore. Which I'll gush about next…

Singapore is an incredible city. At first I wasn't sure if I liked how modern and progressive it felt here, but after a little learning and reading I must say that Singapore is a shining example of a city/country done right - as it seems anyway. Obviously, I'm no economist or have any idea of how to build a city that is liveable, modern, industrious, self-sufficient, and green among other things - let alone, on an island. But it doesn't take a genius to realize that however they've done this, they've done and continue to do it with flying colors

In a nutshell, Singapore began as a major trading port under the British which attracted Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian migrants. Singapore gained it's independence as a city-state (country) in the 60's, but has been evolving since the end of WWII. In only the past 50-60 years, they have transformed what used to be a slum-ridden, congested island, into a booming country that is among the top in the world on most fronts. All while recognizing and conserving the diversity of its various people and cultures, as well as their quality of life. In comparison, Singapore is about twice the size of Seattle geographically, but it also has more than 8 times the people (5.3 million) that Seattle does (635,000). Still, Singapore has managed to organize thier resources in such a way that all of their needs are taken care of and their citizens live in comfort and peace. The reality of the limitations of their resources requires innovation, cooperation, and execution of impeccable accuracy. I could go on and on... And I will, I'm the form of photo captions...

i was thoroughly tickled by this :) Hanoi airport

flying in

best mass transit i've ever been on!

Mike is awesome

it's the little things :)

chinatown!

chinatown fish market

heads, anyone?

yes.

i've had several meals here - cheap and delicious!

singapore city gallery - i learned so much here.

and the heavens opened...

$500 a night apparently...

not only do they look cool, but they provide solar energy to cool the two buildings below:

this is the flower dome - they have incredible amounts of different plants and trees from around the world in here

this is called the cloud forest (i don't understand why)

an impressive AV setup...

bring on the nerd hate...

chinatown market

these folks were doing some kind of line dance to "She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain"

laksa - oh. my. stars. peanut and coconut cream noodle soup

ViVO shopping center

play area on top of the mall

looking across to sentosa island

cable car ride

little india

This is but a fraction of this city. I've got a couple of more days to see as much as possible, so I'm sure that you'll be seeing and hearing more from me about Sing City! Also, I must say my mom lived in this city for a couple of years during her work as a missionary. I think I'll try to find her old neighborhood tomorrow...