Fall Break 2014 THE MALDIVES

Our Fall Break destination was the Maldives. The country consists of 1,190 islands and only 200 of those islands are inhabited. Ninety-nine percent of the Maldives is made up of the Indian Ocean..We spent four nights at the Shangri-La Villingili which is located in Addu Atoll. During our flight we received a certificate for crossing the equator and once we landed we learned that traveling south the next piece of land that one would encounter is Antarctica.

This is an aerial shot of some of the water villas like the one we stayed in, The reef in and around us was full of tropical fish, sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays.

 Our girls have never been so spoiled, At the airport they were greeted with personalized sea turtle toys. Here they are as we got to the resort with a fresh coconut and a flower bouquet.

 This was a favorite spot for all of us. A hammock over the water on our back deck.

 The girls also enjoyed the outdoor shower. Josh was showering here on our first morning and saw a shark swim by underneath.

 What do you do in the Maldives? Spend time on the beach or in the water.

 On our second day we climbed to the summit. The highest elevation in all of the Maldives was on our island. 16.7 feet!

The resort had bikes for us to use during our stay. It was fun to ride all over the island, and especially over the bridges.

 Check out the tree stump parking.

 The pool and pool huts.

 Our nighttime transportation was a "buggy".

 This was our breakfast spot.

Lunch on the beach.

More pretty pictures, I took over 600 and most of them were of the water. I'm convinced this is the prettiest place on Earth.

 One afternoon we had rain, and it was still beautiful!

 The back of our villa.

Most of our snorkeling we did right off the back of the villa, but we did take a charter out one day for a guided excursion. We were really disappointed in the pics from our underwater camera. We think we saw about 40-50 different types of tropical fish. And lots of them!

 This is a manta ray we saw from our deck.

 And a shark we saw before getting in to snorkel.

 The girls told us everyday that this was the best trip ever, It will definitely be hard to top.

It was really hard to leave at the end of the week. This was definitely the trip of a lifetime.

Hanoi and Halong Bay, Vietnam

Our four day trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.

 Hotel Essence- We flew into Hanoi and spent one night in the busy city.

 Motorbikes everywhere. Jae asked if it was ever "quiet" here.

 Art studio where I found three prints to bring home.

 Street vendor selling fresh spring rolls.

 Our dinner in Hanoi with our friends and traveling buddies the Heinrichs.

 On our three hour van ride to the bay. So much to see- this was a roadside barber shop.

 Stopped for a drink and snack.

 The dining area of our boat- Indochina Sails.

 So excited to sleep on a boat.

 Jones got to be captain for a bit.

 These guides took us around the floating village in their bamboo boats.

 Little girls on the floating village, They waved and then stuck their tongues out at us.

 Tai chi on the boat in the morning before breakfast.

 This was our day boat. It took us to explore limestone caves, kayaking, and swimming.

 Getting ready to go into the limestone cave.

 Marketplace.

 Fresh seafood- some we had never seen before.

 Kayaking into caves and a smaller bay.

 Jumping off the front of the boat.

 Jumping off the second level of the boat.

 Look at how she's rowing the boat! This family was trying to sell us seashells.

 The cliff that we climbed on our last day of the trip. We made it up to the pagoda at the top.

 Halfway up the mountain.

The last part of the trip was spent in the water. Our boat is behind them. It was a fantastic, beautiful, and relaxing four days.