Southeast Asia Adventures — a beautiful life

In the spirit of changing things up, we decided to do something out of the norm this year: Skip the holidays to go on a cruise throughout SE Asia, hitting 7 beautiful cities within 4 countries total. Not only was the cruise a budget-friendly option, but it allowed us to maximize our 2.5 weeks off too.

Despite some very rocky nights on the ship (due to stormy weather conditions) where at several points I was sure we were going to flip over (and sink), we had an absolute blast! Each time I go to Asia, I'm reminded of my roots, how fortunate I am, and how it's my favorite part of the world. All of the places we visited changed so much since my last visit in 2010, which tells you how rapidly Asia is growing.

Each destination came with its own random adventures, as you'll see below. Here's to more Asia adventures in 2016!

HONG KONG

Beautiful view of HK from Causeway Bay.

We stayed one night at my Gong Gong's apartment in HK before the cruise.

Derek stayed in the small room that overlooked the Tung Chung area. He slept 12+ hours the first night we landed!

Nearing Ladies Market in HK. So many lights and signs!

We visited Nan Liang Gardens, once of my favorite spots in HK. You walk away feeling so zen.

Beautiful small pagoda in Nan Liang.

The HK office is so cool - lots of mini drinks and yummy snacks. We met quite a few Googlers there as we walked through!

One of the meeting rooms in the office!

Another awesomely decorated meeting room.

Marketing for the Star Wars Movie was HUGE throughout Asia - here's a mini relic that was in the middle of a mall.

Derek, pondering life, while staring out into the HK bay from the ship.

Hands down, HK had the BEST skyline, especially at night!

HALONG BAY, VIETNAM

It was a foggy, humid morning when we got to Halong Bay. This is on the boat to the caves.

Derek pondering life again...

We did a hike through a huge cave. They had it all lit up with colored lights inside. It was pretty neat!

I love this picture with the boats in the background!

Breathtaking view of Halong Bay.

The second day we took a cab into the little market on Halong Bay.

They're trying to build a roller coaster here to attract more tourists.

The mall where Derek bought his one and only purchase of the trip: $25 fake Nike shoes. Gotta love his frugality!

As the ship left Halong Bay, the view was absolutely stunning.

HOI AN, VIETNAM

Derek and Ho Chi Minh.

Hoi An is a cute merchant town filled with lots of shops and restaurants. It is filled with tons of historic temples, bridges, and houses too.

One of my favorite photos of the trip.

Colorful lanterns everywhere!

This is an ancient, ancient bridge that was built a long time ago (can't remember) to connect the Chinese village on one side to the Japanese village on the other side.