Spring Break 2018 - Vietnam - Part IV - Coming Home

Saturday morning we woke up and checked out of our apartment and were picked up by a van to take us to the airport.  It was interesting to notice all of the construction on our way to the airport.  They are really turning the area into a resort with large hotels and big housing subdivisions.

We checked into our flight with no problems and followed along with the Jazz game on the spotty wi-fi while we waited to board.  The flight to Ho Chi Minh was about an hour and it went quickly.  Once we landed it took awhile to get our bags, and then we walked from the domestic terminal to the international terminal.  Our flight wasn't until late in the evening - around 10:00 p.m. and it was only 12:30, so  we found a luggage storage area at the airport and put our suitcases there for a few hours.

We walked out of the airport and had to dodge a million scooters as we crossed the street.  We went first to a shopping mall and found a food court on the top floor.  We had one last bowl of delicious Pho with fresh vegetables.  After we had finished eating, we went out on the street and started walking.  We walked past the hotel where we'd stayed our first night and kept walking.  Within about half a mile we found a large park that was located between the two lanes of the road.  We crossed over (a dangerous and exciting proposition without stop lights) and walked through the park in the shade.  It was a beautiful and quiet oasis in the middle of the bustling city.

We stopped and bought some coconuts and other drinks and rested in the shade before heading back to the airport.  We still had time at the airport before we flew out, so we lounged around in the air conditioned terminal waiting to check into our flight.

The flight back to Kazakhstan was uneventful.  We had to wait for a few hours in Almaty for our outbound flight, but then made the last leg to Astana without any problems.  We caught the bus home.  As is our tradition, we arrived to a cold and stormy day in Astana after being in the tropics just the day before.  Spring break always seems to end that way.

We had a wonderful time in Vietnam.  We loved the pace of life, the way that things were clean and people were friendly.  We were happy to have the experience.

Pho for lunch?  Pho sho!!!

Park picture with the family.

Refreshment at the little cafe.

Kids' table.

The park was really beautiful.

More view of the park with some city buildings in the background.

Yulia and Spencer

A ring of flags at the end of the park.

The street heading back to the airport.

Street vendor and the scooter patrol heading our way.

Scooters were everywhere.

Home.  In the snow!

Heading back into the University - The "Nauryz" or Spring holiday banners nicely contrast with the snow.

Making our way through the university Atrium to our home.

Spring break 2018 - Vietnam- Part III - Our Snorkeling Adventure

Friday was our last full day in Nha Trang.  We had moved our snorkeling date once Alexandra had gotten sick.  Nika was the last of the four children to pick up the stomach bug and she had to stay home from our last big adventure.  Poor kid.  She had really been looking forward to snorkeling on a real tropical reef.

We were picked up at the hotel in a van by Andrey, a Russian who worked for the snorkeling company that we were using.  We stopped along the way at a few hotels and picked up some more people, a couple, a family with a teenage daughter, and a couple of single folks.  We got down to the dock where there were a number of boats - fishing boats and other tour boats.  We waited for a few minutes until our boat was ready and pulled up, and then we loaded up.

On the way out to the reef (about an hour ride) we passed a number of small islands and had a beautiful view of the aquamarine waters of Vietnam.  All the other people on our tour were there to scuba dive, and so they were having some lessons.  We were kind of left on our own.

A boat like ours pulling up to the dock.

Heading out of the marina past the different boats.

The beautiful water and islands.

Sophie and Lexa gearing up.

When we arrived at our first dive spot, we all got geared up and jumped into the ocean to start snorkeling.  We were near some islands and the reef came up to within four or five feet of the surface in many places.  There were also some deeper areas.  There were dozens of different types of coral, and we saw about 15 different species of fish. Lina and I also saw a squid in one of the deeper areas.  The snorkeling was amazing and we had a good time.  Yulia had a few misadventures with her equipment, but eventually got things figured out and joined us.

We snorkeled the first time for about 45 minutes or an hour.  Once the scuba divers surfaced (they had seen barracuda in the deeper waters) we picked up anchor and moved to another area about ten minutes away.  In the second area we snorkeled for about twenty or thirty minutes and then spent most of the time on the boat.  Lexa and I jumped off the front of the boat and did a bit of swimming while we waited.

Once we were done, we were fed an excellent lunch with different fixings for ban-mi sandwiches as well as rice and other delicacies.  Once lunch was over, we sailed back to the marina where we disembarked and were shuttled back to our hotel.

LIna adjusting her mask.

Lina and Spencer talking about what they saw.

Lina and Spencer snorkeling

Returning to the boat.

Yulia smiling after a successful snorkeling run!

Twins drying in the sun.

Another boat at our second stopping spot with the island in the background.

Lexa sunbathing.

Lexa getting ready to jump.  The sea in the background is so beautiful!

Lina catching some sun.

Lunch is served.

One more view of the water with some small white-caps for contrast.

Returning to the marina.

We found Nika at home doing okay, so we cleaned up and then went out to the small market near our hotel to do some souvenir shopping before we went to dinner.  We had a nice evening walk and a nice last night enjoying Nha Trang.

The little alleyway souvenir market near our apartment.