The Last few weeks of our 2020 trip

Ninh Bin

After the wonderful visit of the Halong Bay, it seemed natural to want to visit Ninh Bin, also known as the terrestrial Halong Bay with similar karst formations without the surrounding sea.
At this point it felt that we were keeping just ahead of Covid with sites closing just after we had the chance to visit. We have to remember that back then, we knew very little about Covid and we honestly thought that the Vietnamese in northern Vietnam were really exaggerating and panicking around "just a small virus"... little did we know! Anyhow, after several hours on a bus and arriving at the guest house late in the evening, we were taken aback when the lovely lady hosting the place informed us that more likely than not, the village would be quarantined the next day as a tourist had tested positive that same day. We were welcome to stay if we wanted to but possibly it would be best to find a place to stay in the neighboring town. Grateful for this information, of we went again to finally hit the sack for the night.

The next day, we rented motor bikes and explored the area that was indeed quite impressive. We also visited several caves, one of which we explored with a local guide on a small row boat. It was the first time we were required to wear a mask, but we were happy we could visit since they were closing the next day!

Back at the hotel, we were in for a surprise... we had all just showered when the owner knocked gently at the door. Apparently, we were requested to make our way down to reception where the police were waiting to interrogate us!!! OMG what was going on....

Alex went down as requested while we waited in the room. After half an hour of various questions (where have you been, where are you going, etc.) all ended well with the officers wishing us well.

Tam Coc

Not so far away from Ninh Bin, we spent a few days exploring some amazing and huge caves. We have visited many caves over the years but here we saw some that really impressed us by their size and the beauty of the stalagmites and stalactites. Once again we were there on the last days before they were to close. Quick anecdote, they were taking body temperature prior to allowing entry... but after being in the beaming hot sun for a while it is no surprise that one of us had a high reading on the thermometer! Haha.. nothing a quiet lunch in the shade couldn't fix.

Hôi An (center of Vietnam)

Hôi An is a charming town, decorated everywhere with colorful lanterns, that we explored on bicycles. Again our visit here was offset by Covid and so we can share a few stories related to that but know that we have chosen to remember the great times we had here and to laugh about the rest.
We had found a great place to stay with a pool. Upon arrival late in the evening, we announced ourselves at the reception. They had time to ask for our passport to complete registration before we were kindly asked to step aside to the kitchen area close by. We than witnessed the arrival of a tactical squad, dressed in hazmat suits and a tourist then came down the stairs to be whisked away...  We were than told we could stay the night but they had to close tomorrow to disinfect everything related to the positive tourist that just left! Ah.. no thanks!! Off we went to another guest house we could find at this time of night since at this point you can't be too picky. Well, the room was nice but it was located right next to a small steal bridge. I can't even begin to describe the racket with the endless passage of motorbike on this bridge. After a sleepless night, we were quick to find yet another guesthouse. Check in was only at 1pm but we took our chances and headed over at 8 am hoping they would agree to keep our bags while we explored town.
This was the start of one of the unforgettable times we had in our last 2 weeks. The young lad that took care of the place was exceptional from start to finish. Not only did he agree to keep our bags but he actually fed us a lovely (and free breakfast) before letting us into an upgraded room for no extra charge! During our stay there, I asked where I could buy a cake for Oliviers upcoming birthday. He would not give me an answer only to say that he would take care of it. The next day was the day we had chosen to celebrate Oliviers birthday. We went out to an awesome restaurant and had the most amazing fried fish with tamarin sauce you can imagine.

Needless to say, we were stuffed after this feast. We slowly make our way back to the guest house, only to find a party awaiting! He had not only gotten Olivier a cake, but had put up decorations and bought chips, candy and fruit too! This moment is priceless!! 

And to top off this great experience in Hoi An, the next evening the lad and his brother organized a sidewalk BBQ for us in honor of Oliviers birthday. In the end, he refused that we pay any of all these extras :)

Unfortunately, at this point we were playing "catch me if you can" with the unwelcome Covid virus. Golf carts were rooming the streets announcing that all must be shut down to tourists on march 26th (restaurants, guest houses, buses... everything). We had no choice but to change our plans, and that we did several times over the next few days. We were initially hoping to make it to Nepal next, but they closed their boarders. So we thought we could still stay in Malaysia since our flight to Nepal went through there... but they closed too. We then hoped to hide out in Thailand for a few weeks... until they announced boarder closures to... check-mate... we had to go home and this was heart breaking to all 4 of us...

With everything closing down, we made our way back quickly to Ho Chi Minh were we spent 1 week walking about and waiting for our return flight. We were lucky and we had no issus finding a flight home and everything went smoothly from there. We even had several awesome moments during this time.

We were able to cross paths again with our friends Mark and Maureen and enjoy a lovely supper with them. And Oliver got to celebrate his birthday yet  again! Let me tell you this story since it is also memorable:

March 19th, Olivier official birthday, we are walking around town making the most of the situation (buying lots of souvenirs!) and we find a watch as a birthday gift for our boy. When we make it back to the guest house (Alex is off running an errand), Éloïse and I take off our shoes while Olivier is in dreamland playing with his new gift. I felt the need to explain to the guesthouse owner looking over at Olivier why he was in such a state of mind. "His birthday is today?" he asks "today is his actual birthday?" he repeats after I validated that it was so. Well here we go for an adventure, without word, he grabs Olivier by the wrist and off he goes with Olivier forced to follow behind. Éloïse and I hurry and put our shoes back on and try to catch up. After 10 minutes of going up and around small alleys, we end up on a bigger street in front of a retail store. In we go, The owner picks up Olivier in his arms and stands him on a stool in front of a large fridge (like a patio door) in which there is a variety of cakes! "Choose one" he says. Lol, Olivier felt bad and so chose a small one... to which the owner of the guest house had them write out his name and age and top it with a #8 candle. The cake was for us to enjoy as a family and he didn't want to share with us. 

We absolutely adored these last few days of our trip and is with tears in our eyes that we watched it all be taken away as the plane took flight. We will be back!!! 

La douce folie de Saigon!