Africa, Morocco
Jonathan Jung
THE SAHARA

September 27, 2017

Today was a looooong drive from Fes to the Sahara just outside of the city of Merzouga. A friend of a friend runs the Sahara Garden. Brahim coordinated everything for us and welcomed us upon our arrival with open arms. Truly an amazing human being. We were welcomed with dinner and singing and dancing around a bonfire.

THE SAHARA
Africa, Morocco
Jonathan Jung
CHEFCHAOUEN

September 24, 2017

Our second stop in Morocco was the blue city of Chefchaoen. A small city located up on a hill, wandering thru the medina surrounded by so many shades of blue was quite a different experience from Tangier. We stayed at Casa Perleta, a small bed and breakfast recommended by our friend. It was perfectly located within the upper hill area of the medina. The blue hues of the walls of Chefchaoen are believed to have originated when the Jews came while escaping Hilter in the 1930s. The blue is said to serve as a reminder to lead a spiritual life while symbolizing the sky and heaven.

CHEFCHAOUEN
Europe, Iceland
Jonathan Jung
ICELAND - CHASING THE AURORA BOREALIS

September 11 - 15, 2017

Enroute to our close friends' wedding in Greece we found a cheap flight to Paris via Reykjavik, Iceland and decided to take advantage and do a little stopover in an effort to (fingers crossed) see the northern lights. We decided to restrict our few days to just the southern highlights along the coast. The first thing we noticed was that even though it was supposedly shoulder/low season in Iceland there were significantly more people than when we came the year before in August.

ICELAND - CHASING THE AURORA BOREALIS

Vietnam

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NHA TRANG

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NHA TRANG

days one hundred and forty-two thru one hundred and forty-five: february 18 - 21, 2016

We spent our last few days in Vietnam in a beachy town called Nha Trang so I could get scuba certified. Yes, I finally decided to jump on the Jung Family Scuba Diving wagon. It only took me 10 years...hahaha! I joined another group of 3 people and spent 3 days doing a confined water dive (in a pool) and four open water dives (in the ocean). I'm glad I finally got over my fear and will be able to dive on our upcoming trip in Raja Ampat with Jonathan's parents. Here is a picture with my buddy, Danielle -- another fellow American from South Carolina and our dive instructor, Flo from France. We had a lot of fun together and quickly became real buddies over the 3 days!

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BA BE NATIONAL PARK

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BA BE NATIONAL PARK

day one hundred and forty: february 16, 2016: ba bể national park

We arrived in Ba Bể National Park today. Our original itinerary had us taking a boat down the river and visiting a cave along the way before arriving in Ba Bể Lake at the Mr. Linh's Homestay. Due to a mechanical issue with the boat, we swapped our itinerary for the last two days, so first we squeezed in something not on the itinerary, a visit to Thác Bạc Falls (Silver Falls), but known to foreigners as Silk Falls. 

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DONG VAN TO CAO BANG VIA MA PI LENG PASS

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DONG VAN TO CAO BANG VIA MA PI LENG PASS

day one hundred and thirty-eight: february 14, 2016:

Remember the bánh cuốn we had in Hanoi? Well, when we told Quang we had eaten it in Hanoi, he told us that we had to have it Đồng Văn because they made it the best. In Đồng Văn, it is commonly made with egg and served with a noodle soup and type of sausage. We had been looking forward to trying this for breakfast and were not disappointed at all. It was waay better than the one we had in Hanoi.

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THE ROAD FROM HA GIANG TO DONG VAN

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THE ROAD FROM HA GIANG TO DONG VAN

day one hundred and thirty-seven: february 13, 2016: ha giang to dong van

Soon after waking up, Jonathan went to take the photo below only to be accosted by several bees (maybe looking for their missing honey?) and got stung on the cheek and the back of his neck. It's the first time he's ever been stung so we were happy to learn that he wasn't allergic!

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TREKKING FROM SAPA TO TA PHIN VILLAGE

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TREKKING FROM SAPA TO TA PHIN VILLAGE

day one hundred and thirty-five: february 11, 2016:

This morning, we met our local guide for the day, San May. She was from one of the local minority groups, the Red DZao. The women of the Red DZao are easy to recognize based on their red head scarves. Married Red DZao women also cut their bangs very short to signify their marriage status. As they get older they change their head scarf to a much larger more decorative one. San May insisted that she will continue wearing the same scarf hoping to stay forever young. We headed north from Sapa up and over a hill, thru villages, past small homes and barking dogs to reach the extensive rice fields we would trek thru.

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TREKKING FROM SAPA TO TA VAN VILLAGE

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TREKKING FROM SAPA TO TA VAN VILLAGE

day one hundred and thirty-four: february 10, 2016: sapa

Our next eight days were spent traveling around Northern Vietnam. The tour company we ended up going with was Mr. Linh's Adventures. Jonathan initially found Mr. Linh on Google after researching multi-day trips that included visiting Sapa, a place we had heard great things about. After further looking thru reviews and their trip options we ended up choosing Mr. Linh's 8 day/7 night "Off the Beaten Path" trip. 

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HANOI FOR LESS THAN 24 HOURS

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HANOI FOR LESS THAN 24 HOURS

day one hundred and thirty-three: february 9, 2016: hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi mid-day giving us a full afternoon and evening in the city. After checking in at our hotel we set out on foot to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater to get tickets for later that evening. Just as Jonathan walked up to the window to ask about tickets, the woman put up a sign stating that all shows for the day were sold out. As we stepped back to decide on what to do, a tour guide and his two guests walked up and were able to purchase tickets. I asked him if there was any way I could purchase the tickets thru him but he said there was no way. To our luck, he mentioned there was another theater across the lake! So we hustled to the other theater only to discover that they would not open for another hour or so.

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HOI AN FOR TET

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day one hundred and thirty-one: february 7, 2016: arrival in hoi an

We arrived late in the evening due to a delayed flight causing us to miss the beginning celebrations for Tết, which included some singing and dancing. Nonetheless, we still had plenty of time before the big fireworks show at midnight. Our hotel was situated close to the old ancient part of the city so we took to the streets immediately after checking in to our room. We were in search of food. We ended up stopping for some street food by the river. Not our greatest meal, but it did the trick. The streets of the old part of the city are closed to cars, but motor bikes are still ever present. Anywhere a motor bike can fit, someone will inevitably be riding one there. The old city still had a very old feel to it, with its cobblestone streets and almost all of the buildings being older and no hotels in the area. It was great.

As we got to the river, we noticed many vendors including these three young girls below selling floating lanterns to put afloat in the river. Jonathan snapped some photos of them and they tried to sell us some lanterns. We said no thanks and told them maybe later.

The entire river front area was decorated with lanterns. Every building, across the bridges and walkways and even larger lanterns in the water.

The famous Japanese Covered Bridge was also lit up with changing colors, which made for nice reflections in the water. 

After making our way around the river area, we returned, as promised, and bought a lantern from one of the young girls. Unlike our float experience in Chiang Mai for Loy Krathong, i.e. Kristina, Carina and I had to basically lay face down on a bamboo dock and drop it into the water, then our floats got stuck in debris and didn't really make it down....this was waay better. The young girl had almost like a large ladle that I put the float in and then slowly lowered it into the water. So much better! She then stayed with me until my float cleared the nearby boats and made its way down the river. :)  

As midnight approached, we found a nice spot on the bridge and setup the camera to take some photos. The fireworks were incredible, maybe even better than Disneyland. (Sorry, Disneyland lovers...I know there are a few of you out there, Sharon, Megan, and Miche!) 

On our way home there were people along the street outside their homes and shops burning fake money as offerings for the new year.

day one hundred and thirty-two: february 8, 2016:

With a full day ahead of us to explore the ancient city we slept in a little bit knowing we didn't have much area to cover and that some shops might be closed due to the Tết holiday. We chose to walk down some narrow alleys by people's homes rather than the main streets.

As soon as we came out onto one of the main streets, these beautiful smiling faces greeted us and smiled as we snapped a quick photo. And yes, we pretty much fell victim to the coconut trick again and Jonathan felt bad and bought some bananas from one of the ladies in exchange for some photos. 

As we walked around town we visited some of the family gathering halls where locals were lighting incense in celebration of the new year.

We stopped at a coffee shop and enjoyed our seats overlooking the busy street below. 

After our coffee and hot chocolate, we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap before heading back out in the evening.

I managed to find some raving reviews of the restaurant Morning Glory so we decided to check it out. When we arrived, the group before us was turned away because they said they were fully booked for the night. However, when we asked for a table for two, we were seated at the table right in the front within 5 minutes. Lucky, I guess? The food was awesome and probably the best meal we've had thus far in Vietnam!

After dinner we took our time and strolled around the river area and the surrounding streets.

Near the sculpture garden on one side of the river they had some games, one of which participants would put on a mask and approach a small clay pot and swing a stick to try to break the pot. We must have watched people try 20 times before this young boy won.

On our way home we cruised thru some narrow dark alleys, which were much creepier at night.

Tomorrow morning we wake up early to head to Hanoi, where we'll spend less than 24 hours before heading further north to Sapa and beyond for 8 days.

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HO CHI MINH CITY JUST BEFORE TET

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HO CHI MINH CITY JUST BEFORE TET

day one hundred and thirty: february 6, 2016: arrival in ho chi minh city

This morning, we jumped on a quick flight from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Extremely hungry, we checked in at our hotel, dropped off our bags and hit the road looking for some food. Thankfully, we were right near the Ben Thanh Street Food Market, which had a ton of food stalls all offering different kinds of Vietnamese food.