Ernst's parents come and visit

Ernst's parents came to visit and we spent a very special week together. Arden LOVED seeing his grandparents again and enjoyed all the attention and fun. The photo above is of us chilling at the beach near our flat.


Pa and Ma treated us to lots of lovely meals out- one being at the Jumbo restaurant- one of the world's largest floating restaurants, a Hong Kong hot spot, where we had Dim Sum- a traditional dish. We had to take a short boat trip to get to the restaurant. Arden ran around the restaurant making friends with the other children and having his photo taken!


We attended a fascinating 'Chinese Tea appreciation class' where we learned about the different teas that have made Chinese tea such an institution as well as how to correctly prepare each type of tea.


Enjoying some takeouts in the park for lunch, and time to chat and catch up on each other's lives.

Trip to Vietnam

Sorry it's taken SO long to write about Vietnam... the truth is that as much as I enjoyed the trip, it makes me feel nauseas to look at the photos of our trip... reason- well, we found out the day before we left that we are expecting our 2nd child and the pregnancy nausea kicked in in such a memorable way toward the end of the trip, that I have, until this moment (that I feel particularly brave and strong), been unable to face updating my blog! But here goes... Vietnam is an amazing country, very third world, bustling with life and energy, the people are beautiful, friendly and resilient.

Selling veg on the street.

A common sight- people carrying their wares over their shoulders.

Out for lunch- finally somewhere serving 'normal food' for preggy belly!

American plane captured during the Vietnam war.

Interesting fruit at the market.

One of the main street intersections in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. One of the first things we realised was that there are NO road rules in Vietnam- you basically have to keep moving slowly, to cross a road, or you will never get a turn! Quite an experience- we got really good at it!

Last night in Vietnam- we met up with Kevin, Vanessa and Steve- friends from Canada that we met on the boat.

3 day boat cruise of Halong Bay

Setting off on the ferry, to get to our boat- where we spent 3 days and 2 nights with 2 other couples, exploring the beautiful Halong Bay.

Our boat.

We stopped at an island and explored some caves.

Halong Bay is famous because of the thousands of rock formation islands that protrude from the sea.

Little skipper. It was the ultimate parent test for us, to date- watching him 24/7 to make sure he didn't fall into the sea.

Enjoying the view.

The cheff put so much work into all the food- we had about 8 courses every meal and no effort was spared.

Kayaking!

This was one of my favorite days ever- kayaking through caves!! It was incredible- going through long dark tunnels, and then popping out the other end in areas of water that can only be reached by going through the cave. Absolutely breath taking and so lovely to be able to share with Ernst and Arden.

We landed on a little beach for a break, before heading back to the boat.

Tweet, our Vietnamese guide.

Family van Rensburg- powered by Pappa!

The last morning of our trip, we set off for a kayak and were told to be back in 40 min. Ernst and I decided to go all the way round one of the small islands- which got bigger and bigger as we went... we reached a point where we had gone so far, we couldn't turn around, but the island was still not heading   in a homeward direction. It was very scary being so fragile on the open sea, with only Ernst having an ore and me pregnant and trying to hold a toddler who decided at one point that he had had enough! It was also cold and misty and Ernst got cramp in his arm after an hour and a half of hard rowing. We ended up getting back to the boat- everyone was very relieved to see us. Made me realise again how very fragile we are as humans. 

Rice fields and silk sewers on the way to Halong Bay

Rice fields everywhere. Most families have a rice patch where they grow and harvest rice twice a year, to boost the family income.

Craftsmen and women, sewing silk pictures.

Museum and Silk Village

This is a replica of the houses built by one of the ancient Vietnamese tribes.

I really enjoyed the silk village, where i got silk scarves for R25 each!

Lunch on the streets of Vietnam

Typical street- kayos!

Very eager to experience the Vietnamese culture, we had lunch at one of the street restaurants on our first day in Vietnam.

We had 'butcha nam' or something that sounded like that... it was pork pieces (which we thought at the time was lamb) cooked in mint leaves, floating in a sweetish sauce, topped with chopped apple and served with a plate of lettuce and noodles...

Women serving the food.

All the washing up of dishes happens in buckets, on the street.

The little shopper