Happy Monday! We’re experiencing a bunch of NEW things on this trip. In my last post, I created a 5-senses portrait, but really, I could do that over and over again! I’ll just add a few new photos this time. The photos above and below are of Hoi An, Vietnam. Hoi An is a UNESCO heritage site because the town is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th to 19th century that remains largely intact. They have lantern festivals every month (which we will just miss), but every night there are lantern boats out on the river.
This is at Ba Na Hills. It’s a pretty iconic bridge in the area! It’s on top of a mountain. People get here by cable car, and as you go up the mountain, you go up into the clouds/fog! Pretty cool!
I’ve lost track of how many temples and pagodas we’ve visited! All are ornately beautiful!
As you all know, I adore experiencing NEW things and learning NEW things. Traveling sure is the best way to do that! I hope you have a terrific day and get to learn or do something NEW today too!
I often listen to Gretchen Rubin’s podcast (link HERE). She and her sister chat about a lot of different things. Sometimes, Gretchen talks about doing a 5-senses portrait of someone or something, and that makes her more fully appreciate it. Here is a link of Gretchen’s 5-senses portrait of her dog, Barnaby (link HERE). I decided I’d do a 5-senses portrait of our trip to Vietnam. Here goes:
SMELLING:
The incense burning at the entrances to many of the temples; The street vendors cooking various foods; The stench of garbage that hasn’t been taken care of; The smell of the ocean surf.
SEEING:
The chaotic driving in Hanoi was SO interesting to watch! They don’t have many traffic signals. The drivers just go where they need to go! Whether it’s turning left into a mass of traffic, or weaving back and forth between vehicles and motorbikes, the system seems to work. We only saw one accident. And there are so many motorbikes! I’m hoping to prepare a collage soon of all the crazy things we saw people carry on their motorbikes. Stay tuned for that, haha!
Of course, seeing the rock formations in Halong Bay was also highlight (see this post), and riding in a bamboo boat through those rock formations and through a small arch/cave was great fun!
TASTING:
Pho, spring rolls, lots of fresh seafood, lots of fresh fruit and delicious soups.
TOUCHING:
A fish massage! We stopped at a little village on Cat Ba Island and we dipped our feet into a small pool of water and fish sucked on our feet! What a freaky feeling! That was a NEW experience for me. Apparently, the fish like to suck the dead skin off the bottom of your feet. Ha! I didn’t get any photos of my feet, but here are my brother-in-law’s feet with the fish having a feast!
While visiting a Buddhist temple, I missed a step and came crashing to the ground. I sprained my ankle, pretty badly. So my ankle was very tender to the touch for a few days. This was me lounging by the pool the next day, trying to baby it! Ouch!!!
HEARING:
The sound of the Vietnamese language and lots of honking horns!
So I’ve tried something NEW and created this 5-senses portrait today! I hope you have a terrific day and do or learn something NEW today too!
And hello from Halong Bay, Vietnam. We’ve loved cruising around these awesome rock formations! So pretty. Here are a few more photos (the number of photos on my phone from just the last few days is insane). Vietnam is a NEW country to us, and we’ll be visiting many more NEW locations on this trip.
Have a terrific day, and I hope you get to do or learn something NEW today too!
Explore Newness 