Cruising Day 3: Cruising by Canada

Today was our first full day at sea. Mom, Lauren and I were up by about 6:30. I wanted to go to the gym, so I got my running clothes on. Mom and Lauren also decided to come, so they got ready too. We were all ready to go and Lori was still sound asleep. We didn’t know whether to wake her or not, so we sat there debating for a while. In the end we decided that if it was one of us, we would have felt left out if everyone left and we woke with everyone gone. So, we decided to wake Lori up, and I’ll tell you what, it was the wrong choice! Lori was not happy that we woke her up and she spent the next few hours grumbling and grouchy.  Come to find out, it wasn't necessarily that we woke her up as much as the method that we took in waking her up. You see, mom had a flashlight out and we kept shinning the flashlight at Lori, and that was definitely the wrong way to wake her up.

After getting in a good workout and eating at the breakfast buffet, we all took showers and got ready for the day. We eagerly looked over the agenda for the day, expecting to see a plethora of exciting events to fill our day. We were disappointed to see nothing of the sort. We learned that there isn’t a pool-side screen that shows three movies a day, we learned that there wasn't really anything to do until dinner time.

Pulling at strings, we decided to try the trivia game. It was a music trivia, so we go down and find standing room only. What the heck?! Every other cruise I went on, there wasn’t many people that went to the trivia. I guess everyone else was pulling at strings, just like us. The music is too muffled and Lori couldn't make out the words, so the bear continued to growl. It was an easy trivia, and everyone got full score, so there wasn’t a prize offered.

We leave the trivia game unsatisfied, and move onto the Follies Theatre where a game of Clue was to take place. When we get to the theatre, all we see are signs about Bingo, and Bingo cards being sold and people walking around with Bingo scratch offs. We find out that there is no time between the Clue and the start of Bingo, so they combine the sales of Bingo with Clue. The ship does a quick 10 minute little show to introduce a ship game of Clue that will last the entire cruise. During the cruise we can find clues to solve the murder mystery. It was cute and Lauren and I were excited to join the game.  Mom and Lori were a little bored and fell asleep during the entire thing.

As quickly as it started, Clue was over and they went straight into Bingo. "Lucky Lauren" stepped out and we found ourselves surrounded by crazy Bingo people. We honestly had absolutely nothing to do, and since we had some room credit, we went ahead and got some bingo cards and joined the craze.

Bingo is boring! Holy cow, why do people get so hyped up over a dumb game. I was finding myself falling asleep. We didn’t win anything, and we never got a Bingo, so just like that, our room credit was flushed down the drain.

Luckily, we all brought card games, so we decide to create our own fun. We grab our games and go to the top deck. There’s an ice cream machine up here, so we get ice cream and play games. Finally a win! The water is pretty calm, so while playing we are all watching out the window in hopes of catching a glimpse of a whale. We played Monopoly Deal, Get Lucky, and Cover Your Assets a few times. Now, you may be wondering, why didn’t we just sun bathe or go swimming in the pool? I’ll tell you why, it’s freezing! Alaskan cruises are definitely NOT for the warm rays of sunshine. Alaskan Cruises are for the nature and wildlife and beautiful scenery. Warmth is not part of the package deal.

Tonight was our first formal night, so we all get dolled up before dinner. I forgot to keep out my formal dress when the packers came, so I didn’t have a dress. Lori was sweet enough to bring some of Talia’s dresses for me, and I am so grateful that I had something nice to wear. The dinner was really good and we had fun getting fancy and all dolled up.

We kept our dresses on and made it to the comedy show at 7:00. It was good clean funny fun. The comedians did a fantastic job keeping it clean and funny. They would use the audience and ask questions then just roll with the answers they were given. There was a comedian at 7:00, and then a different one at 7:15. They both were funny and did such a good job.

There was another show tonight by the same performers as last night. At first I decided I wasn’t going to go, but after looking at the description and pictures, it looked like the dancers were all dressed modestly and the music would be good. We all chanced it and decided to go to the show. I’m glad we did. The music was old popular oldies, and their beautiful gowns and outfits matched the era. The dancing was fantastic and the performers really did an excellent job performing.

The show ended about 8:30, and as we are walking out, I notice that it is still super bright outside. We ventured out and find the sun still decently high in the sky for 8:30 PM. Since we are making our way north, the sun sets later and later each night. We all decide to try to get some pictures outside in our formal dresses.  We go outside and are blasted by freezing cold wind.  It looks nice and sunny and warm, but don't let that fool you, it was freezing!

We went back to our rooms and changed into warm and comfortable clothes, then went up to the Lido deck where the buffet is located to play games and watch the sunset.  It was such a beautiful sunset!  I asked if anyone was brave enough to go outside to get sunset pictures and Lauren was the only taker. Mom and Lori opted to watch behind the safety of the buffet's indoor window.

Lauren and I came back to mom and Lori in the warmth of the buffet and we played cards and games for the next few hours. We watched as the sun just hovered for hours before finally dipping past the horizon calling it a day. We call it a day with the sun and head to bed. One of the fun things about the cruise is the towel animal creations that the room service leaves for you every day.  We were excited to get our first towel animal.

Cambodia: Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Welcome to one of the major highlights of our trip to Cambodia! Day one of our trip here was one of the most overwhelming of our entire trip, and honestly couldn't be topped. Today was a 4am wake up call to travel to Angkor Wat for the sunrise. I was personally worried that waking up the kids that early would be a bad idea, considering that little Monster and Little A are not morning people, but they surprisingly did so well with the early wake up. Furthermore, the hotel didn't offer breakfast that early in the morning, so we had to wait until almost 9 before we ate.  

So we feasted on memories instead! Our driver picked up the Fillmore's and us and we drove out to first go and get the tickets. The lines were insanely long, but luckily we had a hook up with our driver that made it easier. When we arrived out there we could barely seen the outline of Angkor Wat, which at first glance you can tell is absolutely huge. 

Angkor Wat means "Temple City" and has been in existence since the 12th century. It was originally constructed as a hindu themed temple, but was transitioned to a buddhist centered temple as the kingdoms religious affinity changed. You can see themes of both throughout, which was amazing. 

We decided to limit the tour length to just the highlights. We stood out at sunrise to see the sun come over the east of the ruins, which brought with it a since of serenity and peace. Everyone was so quiet and calm, just soaking in the perfect reflections on the pool and the cool air. Monster was periodically grumpy, but who can blame him. 

This sunrise was breathtaking, and for the first time my family and I looked upon something 800 years old! It was interesting because our tour guide told us that the majority of the tourist leave right after the sunrise to go home and sleep some, and sure enough it was a mass exodus of people leaving, which opened up the place for us to see. As we started to the walk the grounds, he took us down some of the outer halls, showing us the intricate stone work. The sun broke through the pillars in such a majestic way. 

It's hard to picture, here, the size of this place. It's amazing to think how many people and time it took to be build something so large and expansive!

Our tour guide would take the time to tell us little nuggets of knowledge. One of them was the search for this sacred amulet (like on Big Hero 6: The Amulet was green). In the process of stone work they  periodically would chip away stone accidentally, and then have to repair it. The legend was that they hid this sacred amulet of limitless power within the walls of the temple, and the country was overthrown again and again, different rulers would punch holes in the walls to search for the amulet.  The legend says that the amulet was finally found in this hole that our tour guide showed us.  He said that since there was a small hole that went behind the stone, it was where the amulet was hidden.  We all took turns reaching our fingers in to feel a small stone size hole.

Down the vast corridors the entire walls were carved with religious figures, in what appears to flow in a continual story, all carved by hand. Now, the areas "darkened" as you can see are areas that people have touched so many times that it was become smooth.

The halls were head to toe carved with the most intricate of designs, built to last as they have being fully exposed to the elements for 800 years!

As we rounded the halls we then came across the location where the King would arrive to the temple. I must say, kings back then (and probably kings now) have such a pride complex and a completely wrong and ridiculously perspective on life. Case in point was this: Multiple locations in the temple were for the King only. He would arrive on an elephant, his entrance would be higher than every one else, and he and only he was allowed to the go through the center of the temple into the main area, when all others had to go around, signifying his superiority and access to the temple was his alone. Barf! But it made for good pictures despite being the most incorrect and ridiculous perspective on life.  You can see here how high these elephants were to drop off the king into this entrance. 

These were the other entrances for the servants, off the side, out of sight, to remind them of their inferiority. Barf again...

As we entered into the central area of Angkor Wat, we got a chance to see perhaps the best picture we took of size comparison. On the west side of the inner temple is found the "stairway to heaven." Once again, only the King in all of his glory had sole access to this location, and representing the highest point of the temple grounds he was only allowed to be the one closest to God. Lame! The stairs were crazy steep, super thin and small, but my little rock climbers started up, and naturally, Heather went as she is in our family the nearest to the quality of King, so it was only fitting! I had little Monster on my back so that ascent didn't sound rather safe. It was amazing thing to behold, however.

From there we made our way through the rest of the temple grounds, seeing the height and expanse of decades of work that was built to last throughout time. 

Next we saw that these areas had built in baptismal fonts. There were four in this large temple, each one representing a different element of the earth. Now I know you may think that you can progress from one baptism to the other, but no, you were branded a certain element and allowed only one baptism in that font. If we were elements back then, I would put Heather as Fire because she's smoking hot, and I wouldn't mind being baptized by that fire! You can see M & M standing by these fonts, much similar to the ones we use in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints only missing the authority to do so. 

So at this point we were spent and starving, so we headed out to go to one of the local restaurants to get breakfast, which was amazing! Lo and behold though, on the way out was the realization that this place is covered with monkeys, and they were cheeky! 

We seriously had the best tour guide.  He took us to amazing restaurants, he made sure we went when it wasn't crazy crowded and he would tell us the neatest things about the temples.  Our guide was Kamsan Sreng with bestangkorguide.com.  He really was so amazing and took such good care of us.  I can't praise him enough.
-Kevin

Vietnam: Halong Bay- Silversea Cruise

We knew we wanted to go to Halong Bay, but since the trip was so last minute, none of us had time to book a cruise or even do research, for that matter.  When we got to our hotel, we sat down with the concierge and picked out a cruise.  It ended up being harder then we thought, because we needed a room that fit 3 people and we wanted TiTop Island to be part of the cruise.  After a few hours and a lot of phone calls and an extremely patient and persistent concierge, we were able to book with Silversea Cruise.  We were picked up by a shuttle bus around 8:30 am and drove about 3-4 hours to the bay.  The bus ride wasn't horrible, but it wasn't amazing either.  The bus had working A/C and gave us water, so I can't complain.  We had an amazing tour guide who did everything he could to keep everyone comfortable.  

We got to the bay and loaded our cruise boat and were already excited about our next two days!  The Bay is beautiful!  It's amazing, breathtaking, gorgeous, stunning, and jaw dropping perfection.  Everywhere you look was just as beautiful as the last! The rock formations that spouted out of the water at every turn were so mysterious and captivating.

I just couldn't get enough pictures.  I wanted to get a picture of everything that we passed.  It was so neat seeing the boats all along the bay and all the inlets.

One of the first things we did was check into our room.  I loved how the room had a huge window to look out and enjoy the landscape.  It was a nice clean and comfortable room.

Since we had been on the shuttle for so long, we were starving.  We sat down to eat and were surprised to be fed a meal that included so many courses that it felt like it was never ending.  Every time we would finish our plates, they would clear them off and bring something different.  The food was amazing.  I loved all the tastes and textures.  I love how Vietnamese food has so much cilantro in all their dishes, it gives it such a fresh taste.  

After eating until we were bursting at the seams, we went back on deck to see more of the bay.  We chose such a perfect day to come, the sky was so clear and blue, and the temperature was hot, but not unbearable.

 We spent the next few hours doing the cruise excursions!  We had an amazing hike and then went kayaking at a pearl farm (More details on the post to follow). After a day of beauty and adventure, we enjoyed another full delicious meal.

Cristin went to bed early, and Corianne and I stayed up late just talking on the top deck.  We found ourselves a chair to lounge in and spent the next few hours just enjoying the sights and sounds around us while talking as great friends do!

The bay was a perfect place to catch the sunset! I am a huge sucker for a good sunset.  The breeze was perfect with the sounds of water splashing across the boat. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

After getting a good nights sleep, I found myself wide awake at 5:00 in the morning.  I couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to use my time to watch the sunrise.  I found a chair to relax in, brought a book and waited for the sun to peak over the mountains.

I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise with peaking rays and all!

 Right after the sunrise, the cruise offered a Tai Chi class on the top deck, since I was already awake, and haven't ever tried Tai Chi before, I decided to try it out.  I spent the next 45 minutes stretching my body and mind in ways I haven't ever stretched before.  I found at the end of the class my joints and muscles and mind felt younger, taller and better!

Day two on the bay was just as glorious and beautiful as day one.  We went to the Surprise Cave first, then took the next few hours cruising back to the port.  While we were cruising, we took more pictures of the majesty around us!

It was defiantly hotter today, so we found chairs in the shade and relaxed, napped, and had a great time talking.  When we got close to the dock, we went down for one more amazing meal.  This time it was more of a buffet!  I was so glad because I was still stuffed from breakfast and dinner the night before.  The food was outstanding again.  

 As we waited to unload, we participated in a cooking class.  We were able to make spring rolls!  A Vietnamese spring roll wouldn't be complete without cilantro!  The cruise ship was perfect!  The room was nice, the company was simply the best!  This is defiantly one of the most beautiful places that God created and I am so grateful for Cristin inviting me and sharing Halong Bay with me and Corianne!