Langkawi, Malaysia

I know I have been posting about my extended honeymoon for quite sometime now, but I've finally made it to our last stop almost a year later! 

Our final stop was to relax and rejuvenate before we headed back home. Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation, and we didn't want this to be the case. We ended up staying at Four Seasons Langkawi as our final stop. It is an absolutely beautiful resort, and finished off our Four Seasons Asia tour very nicely. 

There were a few things that really surprised me about Malaysia, or at least where we were at in Malaysia. First off, it was by far the nicest and most modern country we had been in. Langkawi reminded me a lot of staying on the island of Maui with out some of the large mountains. The towns were really similar to the small towns of Hawaii, and the temperatures were also very moderate.

I was also surprised about how much more popular the Langkawi resort was than the Bali resorts. Four Season Langkawi had many other guests, while in Bali, Kevin and I often felt alone.

The Four Seasons resort could have been the Disney Princess Jasmine's summer home. It looked like it came right out of the movie Aladdin and it was a labyrinth of rooms and buildings.

These next four photos I used are from the Four Seasons website, because they really show the beauty and uniqueness of the resort.

As you can see you are emerged into a beautiful jungle, giving you no reason to leave. The hotel itself has a very Moroccan style.

The rooms were a large open room with floor to ceiling windows on two sides. They had a huge beautiful yellow rug over the dark wood floor. The bathroom had a large jacuzzi tub, and the lower level rooms had an outdoor tub, all fitting into the Moroccan theme.

 The hotel spa was even more amazing. We didn't end up getting massages, but we did tour the spa, and it is a must see! It is prettiest most tranquil environment anywhere. I could have spent a week just at the spa, enjoying all of the rooms, baths, and beds.

All over the resort you would find places to relax and hang out. There were couch swings and benches, and the most amazing places to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

Even the dinner spots were amazing. Every night we were able to eat at a different outdoor restaraunt. All of which were delicious and fresh.

Before dinner each night Kevin and I would go play a few games of tennis. The court wasn't as nice as at Jimbaran Bay, but we were happy they had one.

Most people that know me know that my parents are some of my favorite people to hang out with. We had a lot of fun with them and couldn't ask for anyone better to go on the trip with. I'm happy they decided to extend our honeymoon and meet us in Asia.

We really had the best honeymoon ever and I am so so so thankful to my parents for giving us such an amazing opportunity. I can't believe how lucky we are and what an amazing experience it was. Kevin and I are both used to staying in a lot of hostels, so I don't think we will ever have a trip that is quite as luxurious as our honeymoon was. I'm sure we will have some really great trips in the future, but none that live up to this one.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Our next stop was Vietnam. We flew into Hanoi, Vietnam, which is the capital of Vietnam but only the second largest city. Ho Chi Minh City is the largest.

Vietnam is really inexpensive making it easy to afford almost anything. We spent the day and Hanoi and then woke up early the next morning and took a bus to Ha Long Bay.

Because Vietnam was so inexpensive we were able to order the Luxury Junk for a few days, which means this lovely boat was just for the six of us. It was also equipped with a full staff that cooked our meals, cleaned our rooms, and shuttled us around. It was the ultimate Lake Powell house boat adventure.

We were welcomed with a nice rose center piece, and a lovely lunch full of healthy local foods.

We had a driver and tour guide from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay and back. We were able to talk to him a lot about his culture and learned a ton of interesting new facts.

At one point my dad was asking about The Vietnam War against the U.S. It was fascinating to hear his take on it. My entire life I'd heard about the war and how the U.S. shouldn't have been a part of it and how bad it was. It really is a low point in U.S. history. In Vietnam history he made it sound like it was extremely insignificant. He talked about how Vietnam has been at war with China forever and how they are always fighting to remain independent and free. He made it sound like the war with the U.S. was the least of their worries, since they are always looking over their back for China. They don't really talk about the U.S. war because compared to the rest of their wars it was tiny. I don't know if that is how all Vietnamese feel, but it was interesting hearing that take from our driver.

We also talked a lot about Buddhism and more specifically Mahayana Buddhism and how it differs from Theravada Buddhism. It was super cool learning more about the differences and how it results in the different practices. I always get mixed up about who practices what where, and he helped solidify it in my mind.

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is the main reason we were going to Vietnam. It is such a unique landscape and absolutely worth seeing.

Ha Long Bay wasn't exactly what I had expected. I expected it to be tropical with blue waters that invited you to swim in. It wasn't that at all. The weather was overcast the majority of the time we were there, and the location was very poorly taken care of. It is the only place I've ever been that has the ocean littered with garbage everywhere. You would often pass very large floating rivers of trash. We went kayaking a few times and you would find hidden trash around every corner, stuck in every cove. In one cove we came across huge plastic containers, nets, tires, and lots of wood. It was absolutely ridiculous that such a beautiful site was so poorly taken care of. 

One of the highlights of Ha Long Bay was the Dau Go Cave. Not only was the cave absolutely enormous, but it offered amazing views of the bay on the walk up to it. It definitely was a tourist destination though. It was packed with others getting shuttled along the walkways, but it is what I expected from such a popular location.

My very favorite part was kayaking around the bay. I loved being able to explore wherever we wanted, and find little caves and nooks. Unfortunately this is also how we found a lot more garbage.

We also swam around and jumped off of our boat even though the water grossed you out a little.

Even my mom and dad came out with us for a bit and kayaked.

Another stop we made was at the pearl farm. I'm still extremely confused on which pearls are natural, if any, but it was fascinating learning more about how pearls are created.

Our last night we had a cooking class on the boat and they taught us how to make really good vegetable rolls. They then served us a HUGE dinner of fresh seafood. Some of it was extremely delicious where as other parts of it left a lot to be desired.

My family doesn't really like clams. I felt bad waisting it all so I ate way more clams and squid than I normally would. They weren't that good, but the crab and lobster was amazing!

We ate the last meal on the top deck, outside, in the perfect temperature weather. It was very beautiful and relaxing. The luxury junk was so much fun and ended up being a highlight of our trip. It turned out way better than I had imagined when I booked it, and it was well worth our time and money.