Positano, IT .. a place I had always dreamed of going. Seeing it's picturesque villa covered hills on 100's of travel magazines all of my life. I had wanted to go there since I was 12 yrs. old. I finally made it!! Positano was better than any dream I could have had. It exceeded my expectations in so many ways, but the people were what truly made the experience so wonderful.
I worked in the travel industry for years and although I loved it I always felt something was missing in my life. I had creative energy stirring within me that needed to be developed in to something. In 1996 I accidently found my calling when stumbling upon a candle and soap making kit in a new age shop in Seattle, WA while looking for Christmas gifts for my family. Well needless to say they were the very first recipients of my handmade candles and soap that year.
It was strange how as time went on I was able to combine all the things I love in to a career, it was some sort of natural progression by following my heart. I couldn't quite give up travel so I found a way to make it part of all I do. Every year now I take a trip to collect ingredients for all of my handmade bath and body goodies. My trip to Positano in 2005 was one of those trips. I found a wonderful place for lemon oil in which I still purchase from today. Not sure where I am going to go this year, that is still in the works.
One of the many things I love to do is travel. I travel every year to collect ingredients for my handmade soap creations. I'm able to enjoy all the things I love by combining my love of nature, food, culture, photography and travel when I take these trips. Above is a photo of the famous Chapel Bridge in Lucerne Switzerland. Built in the 14th century. Lucerne was one of my favorite places I visited in Europe and Switzerland. A very vibrant and beautiful community. I truly felt at peace there.
Well I've been in Vietnam almost 2 weeks now and I don't even know where to start to tell about this trip. It has been an amazing experience in all ways. The food, the people, the differences in culture and just getting around is a big adventure. I arrived safely after almost 24hrs of travel from Boston to Saigon which was the most traveling I had done in a 24hr period. My friend picked me up on a motorbike, we strapped my bags on and off we went into the streets of Saigon.
Here I am the motorbike...hahahaha
Right away I was introduced to many different foods, most of which I have had in the USA and the ones I hadn't had in the USA scared me off enough to say "no thank you." Mmmm how do you say "no frog eyes in my soup please" in Vietnamese?
This is one of the first dishes I tried here and it was absolutely delicious. Basically a beef stew with fresh basil, cilantro and peppers. I've been back for seconds ;-) Almost everything here is served with fresh basil and greens and of course lots of noodle dishes. Here is one of the noodle dishes I had:
I spent the first week in Saigon wandering around and peeking in to all the little allies and shops. There is something fascinating around every corner. Women carry heavy baskets on their shoulders all around town selling fruit, vegetables and more. I'm very curious why it seems only the women do this? Below is a photo of a woman weighing and selling fruit from the baskets she carries on her shoulders.
Some of the architecture is quite fascinating here too, there seems to be a cross of Asian and art deco style here. One of the famous buildings though is the main post office in downtown Saigon. Below is a photo of the inside of the post office.
The second week I left Saigon and headed up to Nha Trang, which is a gorgeous 7 hr. train ride north from Saigon. Here I am catching the train :-)
Saigon is so hectic and full of traffic so it was nice to head off to a beach town. The train was fairly comfortable, not very clean...but not much is here. The ride was gorgeous though. Here is one of the photos I took from the train along the ride.
Once arriving in Nha Trang I was pleasantly surprised by this little beach town. I loved it!! There is lobster and seafood everywhere. I felt I had died and gone to heaven. Here is a photo of the beach outside of my hotel.
I will definitely be sharing more photos when I return, Vietnam is a very photogenic place. I've taken almost 1,000 photos already. There is so much to share and to tell but I'll have to wait to return to give more detail and add more photos to my blog, flickr, etc. I had an amazing time in Nha Trang...I really fell in love with it. I'm now back in Saigon and just picked up some Prawn soup yummy!! Here is a photo of the soup.
I've also been frequenting all of the markets and have picked up a lot of herbs, spices and teas for new soaps. Vietnam is an amazing place and I am sure I will be returning here again. There is an abundance of raw and natural ingredients, it's a soap makers dream come true! Here is a photo at one of the markets of some beans, nuts, dried fruits, etc.
I'll be taking a hydrofoil from downtown Saigon tomorrow to Vung Tau, an island that is not far and also has gorgeous beaches. I'm really looking forward to that. One thing that I haven't been able to do since being in Vietnam is post anything to my facebook pages as facebook is banned here and you can't sign on. I find that strange since you can sign on to MySpace and many other social networks. Well I will just have to catch up on all of that when I return next week.
I've had to slack a bit on my blogs over the holiday season since that is the time of year I am busiest, but I will be back in the routine of things soon. The New Year is just around the corner and I've got lots of things planned for 2010. Starting with a trip to Vietnam in mid-January. This trip will be part business and part pleasure. As you all know each year I plan trips to discover and collect ingredients for my soaps. Asia will be the focus of this years trips, I am sure I will be inspired to create all kind of different exotic soaps.
I already have a few new soaps in development and I'm also working on an organic line. I will be unveiling all of my new creations some time in mid-March. So stay tuned for my Vietnam adventure and new soaps in the New Year. I will be blogging while on my trip with videos, photos and more.
I wish you all the happiest of New Year filled with joy, success and love!
PS. I heard from Sara Valor (the winner of my soap of the month free for a year giveaway) last night and she received her first soap yesterday. I'll be looking forward to hearing how she likes it.
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