Belated updates

I know, I know- I've been suspiciously absent from the blog-o-sphere lately, save for some posts about homemade meals, mold, and other non-cultural-immersion-related items.

But I know I am long since due for the update on my family visit almost a month ago- so my apologies to everyone who has been waiting on the edges of their seats for photos and stories.

So if you didn't know- Jenna and Dad came for a visit!

We began in Hanoi, where I promptly took them to my favorite  bun cha nem restaurant.

And we spent the day walking around the city and taking in the sites. We eventually stopped at Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. 

A few days later, we flew to Dong Hoi to visit Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which was well worth the bumpy terrain of accessing it by jeep. 

Cold beer - Coke - Menu with prices - WOW! Wow is right!

Our first day, we took a lovely boat ride to Phong Nha Cave.

Some sweet stylish Cambodian army boots- but they were a few sizes too big and pretty darn uncomfortable.

Entrance to Phong Nha Cave.

A family shot between some lucky pillars- one is a stalactite and one is a stalagmite, and they grew at the same time until they met! How interesting!

See the teeny-tiny Allie and Jenna all the way in the background?

After Phong Nha Cave, we trekked for a few kilometers through farmland to get to Wine Cave. This part of the day, I did not much care for, as my poor feetsies were not reacting well to the rented boots.

But we did get to see some lovely water buffies who were bathing in the bright-blue river!

For all of you who know of my obsession with baby animals...

Oh, and did I mention that it was Jenna's birthday on the day of all this caving? Here she is with her first of two birthday cakes!

And her second of two birthday cakes!

The next day we visited Paradise Cave, which was so spectacular and awe-inspiring and truly unbelievable. It's hard to imagine that nature has the power to create so much beauty, but hey, there it was right in front of our eyes. 

Dad and Jenna also came to visit K2B English. Both Jenna and I received rousing renditions of "Happy birthday!" and the girls were tickled pink to meet my foreign family. Can you spot the westerners?

The next day was my own birthday, and after an early-morning walk around the lake with MJ, I returned to my hotel room to a cake and flowers, courtesy of the Rising Dragon! How precious- I sure do love that hotel!

What? You've never seen a creepy Vietnamese cake before? The character seems to be a cross between a polar bear, a walrus, and a ghost- and it was delicious!

That night we went to a Brazillian BBQ restaurant that I absolutely ADORED. Although it's definitely out of my price range for every-day dinners, I would really like to return there for more western-style meat (meaning no feathers, hair, bone, gristle, or fat involved- Vietnamese people love that stuff!). 

 The next few days were a whirlwind of sister-shopping trips with Jenna, lovely ex-pat meals, and quality family time. A few days later, Dad and Jenna returned to the comforts of life back in America, and I returned to my own more solitary existence in Vietnam.

The past few weeks have been filled with lots of books (I'm up to 56 now!), lots of cooking (my new purchase of bacon has rendered Vietnamese-style BLTs and black bean fajita soup), and lots of escapes to Hanoi.

62 days until my homecoming, and I am so excited to be home, see friends and family, feel the Cape Cod sand, and eat REAL western food.