Vietnam Day 3: On the road again...

After a fabulous trip to Nha Trang, it was time to get everyone back to their homes and into their normal routines again. We were SO thankful that so many of our family members were willing and able to put their busy lives on hold for a few days to spend time traveling with us. The time together was such a blessing and the memories are so sweet!

I don't have too many details to share about day 3 since it was mostly a car day. Remember how I told you we drove 9 hours to Nha Trang on the first day? Well...it certainly didn't take any less time to travel back! Only this time we took a completely different route. First, it was off to Uncle Hiep's house to drop him and Ba Noi off. Uncle Hiep lives way up in the mountains.

See that straight white line going up the moutain? Somehow, Jason, Janelle and I all confused ourselves into thinking that THAT was the road. I'm sure we were all thinking "how the heck is our van going to drive up a vertical road?" After all, Dad kept saying the road was a bit scary. What could be more scary than that?? Well, it turns out that "road" is actually a drainage pipe! Thank goodness! Some time later we all confessed that we thought the road was the pipe from a distance. Matt just shook his head...apparently, he's too smart to think that.

About halfway up the mountain we stopped to check out a look out point...but, as is normal for Matt and I whenever we try to see a nice view (remember Hong Kong?), it was hazy and we couldn't really see anything at all.

Still, the look out point gave us a MUCH needed break from the extremely winding and bumpy road we were traveling on. Hello car sickness!

 

This picture brings a little preschool tune to my head: "one of these things is not like the others...one of these things just doesn't belong..." (Hint - its wearing a blue shirt) ;)

Finally, we made it to Uncle Hiep's house!

When we arrived we got to meet Uncle Hiep's wife and more cousins :) Everyone had huge smiles and they were just so welcoming! Even though we couldn't speak with them, again, there was an unspoken bond. They spoiled us with a huge spread of fresh fruits to eat and coconuts to drink from.

My cousin holding her niece

She was sooooo cute! This is my cousin, Hoai's, daughter. You'll meet Hoai in the day # 5 blog :)

This is my aunt, Uncle Hiep's wife. Of course, the baby is in the picture too. Don't cute babies usually make it into every picture?? I just adore her little laughing face in this picture!

This is my dad with his cousin. Again, I just love this picture because of their happy faces! What are they laughing about? Oh, just the fact that my dad used to yell at him very harshly when he didn't study well as a child. Apparently, Dad's cousin got over it!

Sadly, it was time to leave Uncle Hiep's house which meant we had to say our goodbyes to him, Ba Noi and everyone we had just met. :(  Of course, we couldn't say goodbye before taking the obligatory group photos!

The entire group...Dad and Vivi's family members combined!

Just Dad's side of the family

Hung, Uncle Hiep, Dad, Ba Noi, Jason, Uncle Hanh and me :)

Then came the goodbyes :( Our adorable grandmother was holding back the tears in the picture. We are so glad we finally got to meet her. I think it's safe if I speak for Jason and say we both miss her!

Dad saying bye to his mom until his next visit!

Bye Uncle Hiep! :)

Our next stop was just 5 minutes down the road to visit my grandfather's grave. Unfortunately, he passed away when my dad was only 10 years old. Uncle Hiep actually takes care of the grave even though he himself was only one year old at the time of his father's death.

The cemetery where my grandfather is buried.

Dad paying his respects to his father.

After we left the grave we continued another 3 hours to Vung Tau to spend the night at Uncle Hanh's house. When we arrived, my aunt and my cousin, Ngan (Hung's sister), were cooking up a storm for us! They made us so much delicious food and we ate until we were STUFFED! When dinner was over, Ngan and Hung sat down with us and we enjoyed getting to know them. We felt like we'd been around them all of our lives even though we'd only known Hung for 3 days and Ngan for 3 minutes :) We have plenty of good conversation and even ended up having a sing-a-long!

Kim, Ngan and Janelle

Dad with Uncle Hanh's wife

Matt even taught Ngan how to do the Texas two-step :)

...and while he was at it, he taught Hung too!

Jason didn't want to be left out so he busted a move too ;)

A good time was definitely had by all! What a fun way to end day 3!

Vietnam Day 2: Dad's Hometown

If I had to pick which of my 5 days in Vietnam was my favorite, it would hands down be day # 2: the day we toured my dad's hometown. As a child, my dad would sometimes share stories with me of his own childhood. I knew enough to understand that his life in Vietnam was completely different than the life I was blessed and privileged to have in America, but I would be lying if I said that I really connected to his stories. The truth is, I didn't. How could I have connected with things that I had never seen nor experienced for myself? As we toured around his hometown, Nha Trang, suddenly I found myself wanting to know everything about his childhood. What did his house look like? Did he sleep on the floor? What was school like for him? What was it like being a child in a war-torn country? I could just kick myself for not caring about these questions in the past! (Although isn't that how it always goes? Your parents tell you things as a child and it goes in one ear and out the other!)

As the sun rose early on our second morning and we set out to explore Nha Trang, the first thing that struck me was how beautiful everything was. Nha Trang is a beach town! A seriously beautiful beach town where the mountains dip right into the ocean. How did I not realize that my dad grew up right along the water?

Alright, time for me to back up just a little bit. The sun did rise early, in fact, much earlier than I rose. And we did explore Nha Trang in the morning. But while some of us were sleeping (ahem...me and Janelle) others got up WITH the sun (at 5 a.m.) to take a dip in the ocean!

Uncle Hiep, Matt, Hung, Jason, Uncle Hanh and Dad

Vivi, the bravest of all the women, was the only one to wake up early and swim with the men!

So a few hours later, around 7 a.m., those of us who snagged those extra two hours of sleep were up and ready to hit the town! Our first stop - Cho Dam - a famous market in Nha Trang. My dad recounted the many times he walked through there as a child.

Dad with all of his children in his hometown :)

Don't you want to scoop up the little man in the middle and put him in your pocket? I know I sure did. Since that wasn't an option, I had to settle for a picture with him instead.

After we left Cho Dom, we hopped on a small private boat to sail from island to island around Nha Trang. The scenery was to die for!

Here we are with Vivi's nephews

The first island we stopped off at had an aquarium among other fun activities. As you can see, Matt was mostly excited about "drinking under a thatched parasol" ;)

The whole crew at the entrance to the aquarium

Walking with Ba Noi...isn't her hat too cute?! :)

Back on the boat.

"We are PHAM-i-ly, I've got all my uncles and me!"

(You may not know what a "Phamily" is...well, my maiden name is Pham)

So apparently, Matt is a fan of durian now. Umm....gross?

Then Vivi and Janelle decided to partake in the durian eating which meant that Jason, Dad and me all had to stay away from our spouses because they smelled bad ;)

After the boat trip was over, half the crew went back to the hotel for an afternoon of rest while Dad, Vivi, Uncle Hiep, Uncle Hanh, Hung, Matt, Jason, Janelle and I went to explore more of Nha Trang and check out Dad's old stomping grounds.

First Dad took us to his old house. It was so amazing to walk down the very path he walked on every day to get home! As we approached the front door I got more and more excited to see the very home he lived in. Thankfully, the new owners were more than happy to let us in and look all around!

Standing at the front door

Sitting in the very spot my dad used to sleep. He says everything still looks the same! He told us about having to sleep with one change of clothes and a bag of rice next to the bed every night incase they had to escape in the middle of the night due to an invasion.

Dad with some of the original furniture from when he lived there.

In the kitchen. My dad said he felt a little emotional being in his childhood home with his now grown up kids for the very first time.

After we left the house we walked straight over to the elementary school that Dad and his brothers all attended as children.

Then we continued on to the high school that Dad and Uncle Hanh went to (Uncle Hai, the one in America went here too).

Inside the actual classroom Dad used to be in. He said all of the desks and chairs are the same as when he attended the school back in the late 60s!

Jason was able to get in a quick game of basketball with the local high school kids. They loved it!

We also went up to see this big buddha statue up on a mountain. My dad shared with us that he used to walk up and then down that mountain as a short cut to his house (which is somewhere in this picture). He told us the story of one particular day during the war that he literally saw dead bodies rolling down the hill and had to step over them. What a sad thing for such a small child to witness! These were the things my dad grew up with on a daily basis. It wasn't until this trip that I put any of that into perspective.

So anyway, after an afternoon of touring the city in extreme heat, our stomachs were growling and it was time for Vietnam pork chop #2. As promised, I'm featuring it on the blog, ha!

To beat the afternoon heat, we went for a swim. It was really cool standing on this beach because as a child, my dad always told me this story about how he was knocked over by a enormous wave on the beach in Vietnam, which ultimately scared him from swimming to this very day. This is very beach that the wave knocked him over!

When evening came we made a very fast stop at one of Nha Trang's famous land marks, Thap Ba. It was actually closed to visitors, but my dad sweet talked the guards into letting us in. Thanks Dad!

Jason and our new cousin, Hung :)

Dinner consisted of more delicious grilled meats that we couldn't get enough of. We wrapped them in rice paper with veggies and they were SO good. We ate until we were all about to burst!

That was the end of a very long, but FABULOUS day # 2. I will never forget the memories from from that day and I'm so thankful that we were able to experience everything together! :) Check out the slideshow below if you're interested in more pictures! (Use the pause button to stop the slides and look through them at your own pace)