Trying to catch up with the vacation posts…

———

Our first trip to Vietnam was great! Our entry point was Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. It reminded me very much of Manila, big, dirty, noisy but except for one thing….thousands of scooters!! They pretty much ruled the city. The scooter/car ration seemed to be 50/1. It was pretty insane, but it did bring upon an unexpectedly fun city activity…crossing the streets. It was like Frogger on steroids!

We did the usual tourist stuff which were really cool. The Cu Chi Tunnels, the Mekong Delta, and a few local war museums. It was definitely interesting to see the “other” point of view. But the main highlight for me was the Food! Everything we ate was soooo yummy! But I already loved Vietnamese food, so I was already looking forward to it. The people in Saigon were really friendly so it made touring the city pretty easy. Some pics:

This guy probably has the hardest job in the world.

One of many, many scooters.

I had to give Tey a Dong slap…hahah. In this case, 5 milllion Dong!

The Mekong was cool…right out of Apocalypse Now (even though that was filmed in the Philippines!)

Never thought I would do THIS!

Lisa and Tim going to the entrace of the tunnels.

In the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were widened for tourists.

Lisa coming up for air.

In the forest of Cu Chi.

Your requisite tourist shot of a foreign street sign.

The second part of our trip is in Boracay, an island getaway in the Philippines. It’s known for it’s powdery white sand beaches and amazing blue water. It’s, by far, the softest and nicest beach sand I’ve ever felt. So it can be super hot outside and the sand is still cool to the touch…awesome!

The 6 of us are staying at Villa Kaloo, a beach-front villa near boat station 1. The most secluded part of White Beach. The location is super nice and quiet but it’s just a bit further from the action of Station 2. I guess that’s good and bad. The villa is pretty stunning. One of the nicest accommodations I’ve ever experienced. Our caretaker, Paul, and his staff are so great. They took great care of us and even cooked us breakfast and an awesome seafood dinner!

We’ve done a bit of snorkeling, a lot of lounging and a ton of eating. Today, we rented some scooters and checked out some of the non-beachy sights, including the Bat Cave. It was pretty cool, but too bad we didn’t have the proper lights to go all the way down, I’m sure it would’ve been even cooler. The night life is also pretty cool…a bunch of cool lounges and yummy restaurants just down the street. Everyone is getting their fill of Filipino food and they seem to be enjoying it all. So far, so good. A bunch of us even got some black henna tattoos…that’s pretty much our crazy act for Boracay!

Tonight is the last night and we are off to Vietnam tomorrow morning. First stop, Ho Chi Minh City then Hanoi. Until then, enjoy some of the pics!

We are now in Manila! If anyone needs to contact us, just email: info@jangarcia.com

Our first leg of our vacation is in Manila spending a few days with my dad, aunts and cousins. We finally saw my Dad’s new house in Makati, which is really great. He did a fantastic job with the layout and design of the place. Check it out here:

We really miss the boys, who are back at home with Gramma and I’m glad we get to video chat with them everyday. I’m glad they are able to see that we are alive :) But, of course, it makes Tey a bit sad every time she sees them :( In the meantime, we visited my aunt who lives in Manila, and got to taste her yummy mango shake…it’s to die for. Tey is getting used to lounging around a bit:

Last night we had a family dinner and got to see my nephew Tristan again. He’s getting so big now and is such a sweet little dude. I wish Lucas was able to play with him again. He’s such a sweetie..

We’re off to pick up the rest of the gang who are arriving today (Tim, Lisa, Julie and Felix). We are off to Boracay tomorrow for some fun in the sun! A bunch more pictures to come…

Some random things goin on in the past week:

• Tey’s got me doing some handy work around the house and yup, my hands hurt! Our slight kitchen remodel is almost finished and I’d love to share some before and after pics that…probably next week.
• The boys are finally over their colds (Thank God!) and are back to their normal schedule.
• We got Disneyland season passes and have been their twice in two weeks already! Tey loves it, but I think i’ll be spending so much with every trip there since I can’t resist buying churros and cotton candy.
• Back to shooting…shot 3 times this past week and it’s nice to get back into the flow of things. Blog posts coming soon.

That’s about it. I’ll leave with a sad and happy pic of Nathan. He’s a drama queen…cries one second and five seconds later was all smiles! Happy Friday!

Before:

After:

In one week…

In two weeks…

Excited is definitely an understatement!