Mr. Coconut man!!!!

Everyone is hustling getting ready for the big New

Year parties!!!

This place was using orchids and other fresh

flowers on wire frames to make these beautiful Happy New

Year banners :)

What a mess... I was feeling a bit like this

the past few days.. a bit lost in the madness. 

Most street corners look like this here.

Scary

Proud to introduce Ms. Esther Flatters!!!!!!! 

Looking for a good place to eat can be tricky here. The city is
so busy and overwhelming..
This was a menu from a place we found.

a little lost in translation I think... We had to eat there because of all the great 

food options..

Cook Shark Exhaust Technology.

This was the bus I spent most of Christmas day on..It broke down in the middle

of the night.. caught on fire {it wasn't a big fire} and made my Christmas a bit of a downer.
But I made it to Ho Chi Mihn City Christmas night and have been staying
with a great friend of mine here for the past few days.

The long night bus from Hanoi to Hoi An... We were

packed to the max and surrounded by luggage.

Making lanterns in old Hoi An :)

I stumbled upon a beautiful store called

Papillon noir where all the clothes are

made of silk and hand painted. 

They are also custom tailored :)

Hand painted scarves

This will be a dress...

I decided for Christmas I would treat myself..

I took a course to learn the techniques of painting silk

My beautiful hand painted silk scarf!! It took about 4 hours.

Painting on silk is a delicate and meticulous 

art. What a beautiful experience!!! 

Thank you Uyen for your time!!

Happy Holidays!!! 

I'm going to spend the next 24 hours

on a bus to Sai gon to visit a very

special friend :) Esther I can not wait to see you!!!

 Vietnam!!! The busy streets of Hanoi

Halong Bay

These women were trying to sell us shrimp

through the window on the boat

Halong bay was beautiful but the fog came in quick

we stopped at a floating village. The women row boats 

around selling fruit and peanuts to tourists on the tour boats.

I'm moving around quick. I took the train North to Loa cai..10 hours.. The locals thought

it was very funny I was working. This man wanted 

to try and make earrings. No one spoke english but 

you don't need to speak to understand..

the toilet on the train.. Need I say more?

My new friend. I entertained her with my monkey mittens 

for hours :)

Sapa!! It is really really cold here...

The sweet woman who made me breakfast

vegetable noodle soup $1

the amazing view

I went trekking with a H'mong woman named Ma. We

walked for 2 hours to her village Loa Chai.

I think Sapa could be the most beautiful place

I've seen so far..

in the village growing vegetables

Ma's house was built in the middle of the rice terrace. She 

is 24 years old and has three children. She was married 

when she was 16. 

She dressed me in her new clothes. 

For the new year they make new clothes. I've been wearing

2 pairs of pants, a t shirt, a long sleeve thermal, a fleece, and 

my jacket. Once the sun came out it warmed up but I am 

so thankful I brought warm clothes. 

Ma 

The fabric here is hand made. Cross stitching for hours and hours... All the women

wear traditional clothes. They wear big earrings and stretch their earlobes.

They carry big baskets on they're backs and walk for hours a day

to get to Sapa to sell handmade bags, wallets, & blankets. It was really hard for me not to spend 

all my money here. These women work so hard and everything is so 

beautiful. I'm heading back to Hanoi on the sleeper bus tonight..

Finding inspiration

It's hard not to fall in love with places like this

My room for the past week :) 

It had the best view 

And there were always beautiful people all around me... but now I'm moving onto the 

next chapter. Goodbye for now Indonesia...

Mr. Nathan Hammer and the reason for our adventure..the waves

 Sam, Hannah, Nathan

 one morning Nathan got up at 5am to

surf and these kids were asking him "Hey mr. where is your miss's?" 

I had spent the previous day running around chasing them, doing yoga

and teaching them different kinds of exercise, push ups, sit ups, kartwheels.. :)

I spent a few afternoons entertaining locals on the beach

We met some really beautiful people along the way.. 

genuinely sweet

It might seem like a dream... but

lets not take it for granted

I guess sometimes we need a slap in the face

to wake us up and make us realize..

Morning walks.. sipping coffee.. taking it all in

We traveled by bus and ferry. 22 hours later we reached paradise..