Hanoi...the city of horns!

We arrived to Hanoi Vietnam! And just when we thought we had a handle on our travels to the East, Hanoi proved to be a whole new adventure! This city is truly like none other!!! As we were leaving the airport in our cab, fields of rice with water buffalo lined the roadway all the way into town!

The driving is the craziest thing we have ever seen, but somehow it is extremely "zen" and totally makes sense after a while. Our cab driver literally parked his car in the middle of the road to go talk to the toll person, but this just works here! There is a sense of calming flow to it all...and after a day now, even the constant tooting horns isn't maddening. Because the tooting isn't aggressive, it is simply to say "hey, be aware, i'm here....about 2 inches behind you now." If Los Angeles traffic worked this way, I think we would all be a bit happier! There is no stopping, no lights, just constant movement. We were completely terrified to even cross a road at first, but we've got the hang of it now. You just go...no sudden movements and the scooters and cars and buses just gently weave around you. There is a sense of trust and calm about it all!
Although as you can see in some of the videos...that calm took about a day to achieve!!!

There is food EVERYWHERE! But street foods mostly, the most adventurous street food we have gone so far was a cookie...and that was still from an outdoor shop. But the idea is people cook right on the sides of the street and you pull of this very small plastic kids chair and eat! We played it very safe last night and went to a "fancy" dinner last night. Still very authentic, but a bit cleaner than the street foods. But maybe we will get a bit more adventurous today!

The language is much harder. We are back to square one...but certainly not without effort! In one conversation yesterday Sara used every word she knew...hello, thank you...and good bye. All to a laugh! The people a bit more stone faced here...but of course we are working our magic on them and they are warm and welcoming to us. The hotel staff finds us VERY amusing! They are absolutely wonderful, especially LANA!!! She has been so sweet and taken the best care of us! She is very special and our new friend here in Vietnam!

Oh, and for $25 a night, this place is great! About to go eat our free breakfast! We will get more pics because this place is the definition of the word different!


**just got back from a long walk around the city...wow!!!! what a different place this is for sure! and we ate very authentically...video attached!
now, tomorrow we have chartered a private boat to spend one night on in Halong Bay. Very excited to see a natural wonder!
love to you all...
p+s

Greetings from Paradise...aka Panviman in Chiang Mai

Hello All!

Today was all about some R&R as we prepare to head to the hustle and bustle of Hanoi Vietnam tomorrow. Breakfast was lovely...including mini french toasts, organic tropical jams from the garden here (we are taking home 4!), and pork shooters...Peter's dream come true and Sara's worst nightmare!

After breakfast, life got tough when we spent the afternoon sipping cocktails by the resort waterfalls and pool as the only guests around. We both practiced our yoga on a ledge by the pool and had a photo shoot a la Tyra...you decide whose photos are best! We also discovered the timer button on our camera, so that became fun to set it up and take pictures wherever we could.

It really is so hard to try to describe the details of this resort. From the hidden sitting places overlooking mountainous farms to the cascading massive pools and ponds, to the spa treatment rooms butted up against the mountain and overlooking the water, this resort seamlessly connects nature with extreme elegance!

Our massages were together in a room and wonderful as always, to come back to a life with no massage every day will be a challenge for sure!

We found a bed, elevated and somehow catty cornered on a ledge that became our new favorite spot where we had sunset cocktails, we wanted to eat there, but apparently that is where the staff here draws the line, so we ate outside with the other few guests that are here now, listening to frogs, dogs, and who knows what else. The sounds are the most spectacular, strange, and awe inspiring we have ever heard.

We returned to our little oasis of a room to be pleasantly surprised that the bugs seemed to only be around after a large rain, so Peter took a night swim and then we snuggled up in our dream cottage for 2.

Loving the life of luxury and sad to say goodbye! But alas, Ha noi awaits and we must move on! Tomorrow we are skybound for Vietnam! See you then!

Luxury dreams for you all....

p+s